Chapter 434: Temple of the Earth Element Spleen!
Ning Zhuo returned to Canglin Immortal City.
However, he did not rush to the Complete Book Tower. Instead, he first visited the Large Market, Small Market, and the Black Market.
While browsing, he selectively sold off some of the rare materials he had on hand.
For example, he sold two hundred stalks of Mist Orchid, and when he saw the price couldn’t rise any further, he decisively withdrew the rest from sale.
All 180 pieces of Haze Stone were sold out.
Originally, Ning Zhuo had intended to pair this material with Weather Orb – Ice Crystal Snow. But now, it seemed that even with a slight boost to combat power, the Weather Orb – Ice Crystal Snow offered little effect in the current war situation, especially when facing Golden Core, Nascent Soul, or even Soul Formation level enemies.
Furthermore, Ning Zhuo was currently pressed for time and energy, and couldn’t afford to invest effort in such minor upgrades.
As it happened, he ran into a cultivator in urgent need of Haze Stone to make Spirit Food, so he sold it all at a relatively high price.
The sixty drops of Purple Qi Morning Dew were quickly sold out.
After all, many cultivators used Purple Qi for cultivation.
With so many cultivators gathered in Canglin Immortal City and the military camps outside the city, the daily consumption of resources was an unimaginably vast amount.
Purple Qi Morning Dew was not easy to collect, but it wasn’t considered particularly rare, so it sold out quickly—but never fetched a high price.
Ning Zhuo also sold more than half of the Heavy Thunder Beetles, mainly to cultivators from the Fire Cloud Army. Although the Fire Cloud Army specialized in fire techniques, the saying “fire and lightning are one family” had long been established. So it wasn’t unusual for them to make use of Heavy Thunder Beetles.
This batch actually sold at a fairly high price.
The cultivators of the Fire Cloud Army were straightforward—they didn’t even haggle and directly accepted Ning Zhuo’s asking price. This revealed that the Fire Cloud Army's military funding was relatively abundant.
Inspired by this, Ning Zhuo immediately adjusted his sales strategy.
He took the initiative to market to other army camps. While no one else was interested in the Heavy Thunder Beetles, all of them showed great interest in the Sky Dew.
That was because the Sky Dew in Ning Zhuo’s possession could be used to refine healing pills. With a great war looming, there could never be too many such medical supplies.
As a result, all the Sky Dew in Ning Zhuo’s possession was sold out, distributed in batches to several army camps, with the White Jade Camp being the biggest buyer.
After doing the math, Ning Zhuo found that the spirit stones gained from selling these materials were still not enough.
So he continued to conceal his identity and discreetly sold off one or two materials from the Stone Dwelling Old Monster in the black market.
Materials from a Nascent Soul–level being were considered top-tier, and the ones Ning Zhuo had were of especially high quality. The moment he took them out, they instantly drew attention.
In the end, both pieces of materials from the Stone Dwelling Old Monster sold for high prices.
With preparations done, Ning Zhuo, carrying a large amount of spirit stones, finally made his way to the Complete Book Tower.
The Complete Book Tower belonged to a super sect, with branches across many cultivation nations.
Due to its strict neutrality, all factions—whether righteous, demonic, or unorthodox—had a constant and strong demand for cultivation techniques. As a result, the Complete Book Tower had an enormous customer base and space for survival, whether in the black, white, or grey markets.
Thus, its scale far surpassed that of even sects like the Soul-Devouring Sect and the No-Void Sect.
Canglin Immortal City also housed one such Complete Book Tower.
In broad daylight, Ning Zhuo dressed in black, covered his face, wore a hood, activated spells, and used magical instruments to disguise himself.
He stepped slowly into the Complete Book Tower and spoke in a hoarse voice:
“Shopkeeper, give me a demonic technique. One that involves blood sacrifice.”
On the first floor, several cultivators were browsing techniques. Upon hearing this, they immediately turned and looked his way.
“Demonic cultivator!”
“What a jinx.”
“Ugh, ever since Canglin Immortal City became the rear base for the Liangzhu Kingdom’s army and began training new troops, these unorthodox and demonic cultivators keep popping up. Security has gone downhill.”
“When did demonic cultivators become bold enough to walk into the immortal city and openly purchase demonic techniques?”
Many cultivators shook their heads in secret.
Typically, demonic cultivators operating within immortal cities had to hide their names and conceal their identities.
Many of them were on wanted lists, with their portraits vividly posted on city gates or bulletin boards.
Canglin Immortal City was going through a special period due to the Thousand Peaks Forest War.
What Ning Zhuo was doing was out of necessity.
There was no way he could use his real appearance to acquire demonic techniques. That would benefit neither himself nor the Ning Family.
A clerk from the Complete Book Tower, full of wariness but smiling ingratiatingly, approached Ning Zhuo and bowed repeatedly:
“This way, honored sir, please follow me inside.”
As the Complete Book Tower prided itself on its name, it naturally sold demonic techniques as well.
The clerk led Ning Zhuo into a secret chamber, where a steward came to receive him and inquired about his specific requirements.
Ning Zhuo replied that he needed something to sacrifice the physical body with blood.
The steward paused for a few breaths. Seeing no further elaboration, he asked with some suspicion,
“Honored guest, there are many demonic techniques involving blood sacrifice, but they differ in effects. Some greatly enhance escape techniques, others cause a spike in combat power. What kind of effect do you need?”
Ning Zhuo didn’t care for specifics.
“As long as it involves sacrificing the body, I don’t care what the effect is. Just list them all.”
The steward’s heart skipped a beat. His vigilance grew stronger.
This black-robed man only cared about blood sacrifice and not the outcomes—he clearly seemed like someone planning a massacre or wanting to destroy all traces.
Still, business was business.
The steward took a deep breath and activated his spiritual sense, first scanning the records in a jade slip. After some searching, he found his answer and began to explain.
There were many demonic techniques that involved sacrificing the physical body with blood.
The most classic one was the Blood Demon Disintegration Method. In the Complete Book Tower, it was categorized into Lesser and Greater versions, with a clear difference in power. The Lesser version had less power but only disintegrated part of the body, with minimal aftereffects.
The Greater Blood Demon Disintegration Method was the most iconic. In its earliest form, once activated, regardless of the enemy’s outcome, the user was guaranteed to perish—flesh and Dao alike, a fate too tragic to bear.
However, after generations of refinement and innovation by wise cultivators, the modern version had far fewer side effects and no longer required sacrificing one’s life.
“Bone Soul Desolation Sacrifice…” the steward continued.
This technique traced back to the era before even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Back then, the heavens had yet to spawn gods, demons, or spirits. The ancients sacrificed to heaven and earth by temporarily separating their skeleton and spirit from the flesh, transforming into a skeleton wraith, wandering the world.
If successful, the ancient cultivator would return to the body with enhanced power. If they failed, their bone soul would dissolve into the world, becoming an offering to the heavens.
“Flesh-Shedding Shadow Sacrifice…”
This was a new technique, developed after the Night Rain Dynasty, when the concept of “bizarre” Dao emerged in the world.
As the name suggested, this technique involved refining the cultivator’s shadow, increasing its power by repeatedly slicing off flesh and blood from the body—eventually turning the shadow into a formidable shadow monster.
“Crimson Blood Heaven Offering Art…”
This technique was exceptionally powerful but required the cultivator to possess blood-type innate talents. The cost was enormous—usually, after casting it, the user’s innate talent would drop. If pushed too far, it could permanently burn out one’s talents.
Aside from these, there were also Dead Moon Offering Chant, Soul’s Return to Heaven and Earth, and Celestial Burial Ceremony, among others.
After hearing the steward’s detailed introduction, Ning Zhuo couldn’t help but marvel:
“As expected of the Complete Book Tower. So many demonic arts… what a dazzling array.”
The cultivation world had developed to this point—not only had spiritual energy grown richer and innate talents more diverse, but various divine arts and techniques had spread on a massive scale, continually optimized and innovated each year.
This was a golden age of cultivation—like fire boiling oil, a scene of overwhelming prosperity.
Ning Zhuo pondered and chose the Lesser Blood Demon Disintegration Method, the Dead Moon Offering Chant, and the Celestial Burial Ceremony.
Seeing him select so many at once, the steward’s smile became more genuine. This was a big deal, and he would earn a hefty commission from it.
At the same time, his wariness toward Ning Zhuo deepened.
Buying such techniques in bulk—this man clearly had serious intentions, ones that could not be easily guessed.
“Honored guest, you may already be familiar with our Complete Book Tower’s payment methods. Currently, we offer two options.”
“One is direct payment in spirit stones.”
“The other is using Tower Credit for exchange.”
Tower Credit was a currency exclusive to the Complete Book Tower. It had no physical form, only digital records.
Ning Zhuo had a small amount of Tower Credit, earned by selling some techniques back when he was in Huoshi Immortal City.
But of course, he wouldn’t use that Tower Credit—after all, it was tied to his real identity, and using it now would expose him.
“I’ll use spirit stones,” Ning Zhuo responded immediately.
The steward smiled faintly:
“Honored guest, using Tower Credit is far more cost-effective than spirit stones.”
Ning Zhuo knew this, too.
The Complete Book Tower had deliberately designed two payment options, mainly to highlight the benefits of Tower Credit and encourage wider use.
And how did one earn Tower Credit? By selling techniques, naturally.
This way, the Complete Book Tower’s foundations continued to grow. The more techniques sold, the greater the profit.
It was a brilliant business strategy—an open secret.
Ning Zhuo shook his head.
“Spirit stones will do.”
He didn’t want his real identity entangled with any demonic techniques.
Temple of the Earth Element Spleen!
Back when he had first displayed the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique within the Radiant Reflection Wall, it was only after seizing the right moment that he had dared to show it in public. Before that, he had never revealed it to Lin Shanshan, nor had he used it on the Martial Arena.
Ning Zhuo was fully aware of his own limitations—he knew his skill in disguise wasn’t outstanding, and it would be difficult to establish a second identity within the Complete Book Tower.
In the end, the large supply of spirit stones he had just earned from reselling rare materials was nearly depleted.
Still, Ning Zhuo found the price acceptable.
The techniques he had chosen were unquestionably top-tier.
From this experience, Ning Zhuo came away with a new perspective on the Complete Book Tower:
“Selling techniques… really is a lucrative business!”
“As long as one has access to techniques like these, the more times they’re sold, the more the acquisition cost gets spread out—eventually approaching zero.”
He couldn’t help but feel envious.
He had obtained a large stockpile of materials from the Stone Dwelling Old Monster, practically escaping poverty overnight.
But now that he was back in the immortal city, he realized that although his gains were considerable, the expenditures were equally immense!
This time, purchasing three demonic blood-sacrifice techniques was out of necessity. Ning Zhuo had to do everything in his power to prepare for the upcoming ambush battle.
“I once planned to buy a suitable technique for Meng Yahu.”
“Alas… my purse is empty.”
The greatest wealth in his possession was the Stone Dwelling Treasures, and he still hadn’t had time to assess their full value.
However, not only did those materials come with the hidden risk of the Stone-Forged Earth Treasure Divine Ability, but their exceptional quality also made them inconvenient to sell casually.
At present, Ning Zhuo’s reserves of spirit stones and Fire Essence were nearly exhausted—a dangerous state.
He had no time to deal with it for now.
After acquiring the three demonic techniques, he retreated into the Wanli Dragon and immediately departed the city.
Arriving at a secluded, uninhabited mountaintop, he buried himself in studying these techniques.
In terms of body refinement and demonic arts, his foundation was shallow, and he couldn’t fully comprehend the theories behind them.
But having three different techniques allowed him to cross-reference between them. It was like how he had once learned to cultivate Lingyin Willow while at the Myriad Medicines Sect. At the very least, he could now grasp the application level of the techniques he needed.
Ning Zhuo began working to refine the Divine Spirit Art of the Five Viscera Temple, centering it around blood-sacrifice methods.
Improving a technique had never been easy.
Yet to his surprise, this most difficult step felt easier than when he had just started studying demonic techniques.
After a day and a half of intense work, Ning Zhuo completed his refinement.
Originally, the Divine Spirit Art of the Five Viscera Temple was a technique that focused on cultivating the Middle Dantian Sea of Qi, transforming the body to rapidly enhance mana and granting great control over the Five Elements Spiritual Qi.
Now, however, he had cut out most of the technique, retaining only the section related to bodily transformation, and merged it with demonic blood-sacrifice methods to create a new spell: Five Viscera Temple Divine Spirit Technique.
Satisfied after carefully reviewing the result, Ning Zhuo acted without delay.
He went to the cabin and woke Sun Lingtong.
Sun Lingtong broke out of his Stone Armor, and when he heard Ning Zhuo’s plan, he couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise:
“What? Xiao Zhuo, you’re going to burn the Stone Dwelling Old Monster?”
After so many cultivation sessions, Sun Lingtong had developed a certain fondness for the body of the Stone Dwelling Old Monster.
Ning Zhuo nodded. “Boss, I’m very confident.”
Sun Lingtong nodded back, stowed away his Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel, and began watching from the side.
Ning Zhuo first activated the Stone-Forged Earth Treasure Divine Ability, disabling all protections on the Stone Sphere.
Then, he immediately activated the Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Resolving Sutra to begin incinerating the Stone Sphere.
The sphere, composed of Nascent Soul–level materials, was highly flame-resistant and only began to release spiritual essence after burning for quite some time.
While incinerating it, Ning Zhuo absorbed the released spiritual essence.
Only when the essence had reached a satisfactory level did he extinguish the flames.
Next, he took out a thin awl and carefully drilled a narrow tunnel straight into the heart of the stone.
Through the tiny opening, he could now see the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Essence hidden deep in the stone’s core.
That Earth Essence was the true body of the Stone Dwelling Old Monster.
“Let me do it! Let me do it!” Sun Lingtong couldn’t hold back any longer and eagerly volunteered.
Ning Zhuo stepped aside.
Sun Lingtong giggled, took a small leap, and landed in front of the stone sphere.
“Hei—!”
With a childish grunt, he stretched his stubby arms and tried to wrap them around the sphere.
He lifted it straight up and began to shake it from side to side.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Essence inside, like golden sand, began to pour out through the tunnel.
The sphere was quite heavy—under normal circumstances, Sun Lingtong wouldn’t have been able to budge it. But now, his physical strength had surged dramatically, and not only could he lift it, he could shake it as well.
Gritting his teeth and puffing up his little cheeks, Sun Lingtong gave a final grunt and set the sphere down with a thud.
“Still a bit heavy… I almost ran out of strength,” he thought to himself, a bit nervous. He wasn’t afraid of being crushed—he just didn’t want to look foolish in front of his sworn brother.
He tugged on his collar, exhaled in a show of composure, and then turned toward Ning Zhuo.
His face was flushed red, but he did his best to appear nonchalant as he raised his brow at Ning Zhuo.
“How was that, Xiao Zhuo?”
Ning Zhuo ignored the flushed face and gave a thumbs-up.
“Boss, you really are something else.”
“Ehehehe!” Sun Lingtong immediately placed both hands on his hips, lifted his little face, and beamed with pride.
“Xiao Zhuo, using the Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel to nourish the body is really incredible.”
“I strongly recommend you follow my example. Let’s not rush to dismantle the Stone Dwelling Old Monster’s remaining corpse. Combined with the Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel, it’s an outstanding cultivation method.”
Ning Zhuo smiled wryly, saying they were still tight on funds—but he agreed with Sun Lingtong’s opinion.
Financial problems could be solved through other means, but opportunities like this for cultivation were rare and invaluable.
Whether the Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel or the Stone Dwelling Old Monster’s body, both were rare fortunes. Only when used together could they produce such an extraordinary effect.
Ning Zhuo murmured,
“I don’t have your same level of spiritual insight into emptiness, so if I used it, the effects would be far inferior.”
“But never mind that for now. Boss, I need your cooperation next.”
Sun Lingtong would basically agree to anything Ning Zhuo asked. He nodded at once.
“No problem!”
Ning Zhuo sat cross-legged and adjusted his state of mind.
A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes, his face resolute.
“Boss, light the fire.”
Sun Lingtong responded with a grunt and activated the Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Resolving Sutra, summoning a blaze.
The firelight reflected off Ning Zhuo’s face, which remained utterly expressionless.
In the next instant, he pulled out a dagger and stabbed it into himself.
No blood sprayed out. Instead, strands of blood tendons condensed and wove into a net that sealed the wound.
Ning Zhuo gritted his teeth, slashed again, and began to disembowel himself!
Waves of searing pain surged through him. His brows furrowed, his face grew colder.
There was no need to look down. With his spiritual sense, Ning Zhuo had already locked onto his spleen.
With the dagger, he sliced it out and caught it in his left hand, then gently tossed it into the air.
Immediately, he activated the newly refined Five Viscera Temple Divine Spirit Technique.
Mana poured out rapidly, channeling a crimson glow that enveloped the spleen.
Bathed in the glow, the spleen emitted a faint yellow hue. Of the five internal organs, it belonged to the Earth Element.
After a few moments under the blood light, the timing was right. Ning Zhuo willed it, and the spleen dropped into the fire.
As the flames burned, he threw in the spiritual essence from the Stone Dwelling Old Monster.
At the same time, he maintained the blood light on the spleen within the fire, without letting it flicker for a moment!
The spleen gradually melted in the cremation flames, absorbing the Stone Dwelling Old Monster’s essence, and eventually condensed into a sphere of light.
The core of the sphere glowed yellow-brown, vaguely shaped like a temple, while its outer layer shimmered with crimson light.
The Divine Spirit Art of the Five Viscera Temple was about transforming the five organs into five temples—used to birth gods and house gods.
Though Ning Zhuo had heavily modified the technique into a spell, it still involved forging internal organs into divine temples.
However, he had combined it with external materials—a concept he had gained from practicing the Three Sect Supreme Techniques.
Those techniques emphasized the use of external objects.
For instance, the Mirror Platform Spirit Technique required various spiritual mirrors and coordination with spiritual sense to manifest its mysterious effects.
“I’ve already practiced the Three Sect Supreme Techniques—I can’t cultivate the Divine Spirit Art of the Five Viscera Temple.”
“That art refines a cultivator’s own spiritual essence to create internal gods.”
“I can’t abandon my current path, yet I still want to create gods—so I must make external gods.”
Thus, Ning Zhuo refined his own spleen and used the pure Earth Essence from the Stone Dwelling Old Monster as the core of his external god.
This aligned perfectly with the Earth Element among the Five Elements.
Once the process was complete, Ning Zhuo gently inhaled and drew the Temple of the Spleen back into his abdomen, returning it to its original location.
The wound swiftly sealed itself. The temple retained its normal function and continued sustaining Ning Zhuo’s life processes.
Moments later, Ning Zhuo smoothed his stomach, erasing all traces of the wound.
“Boss, I did it!” the youth exclaimed, his face lit with excitement.