Chapter 483: Thief! That’s a thief!
“Master? Master!” Liu Er exclaimed in alarm.
He watched helplessly as the Demon Cultivator Elder dissolved into a swirl of multicolored smoke, vanishing on the spot.
Liu Er instinctively reached out to grab, but grasped only empty air.
Panicked, Liu Er quickly activated various incantations and searched all around—but found nothing.
“Master couldn’t have died, right?” Liu Er’s heart went cold. For a moment, he stood frozen in place, completely at a loss.
Soon, he shook his head and muttered to himself, “No, no way. Master’s methods are profound and mysterious. How could he possibly perish so easily just from giving me a bit of guidance?”
“But Master clearly paid a great price this time, that’s for sure.”
“Sigh! He has done so much for me—I must fulfill my aspirations to repay him!”
After comforting himself, Liu Er finally left the forest hesitantly.
Moments later, faint wisps of smoke arose from thin air, gathering once again at the original spot.
At first, the smoke was a pale gray-white, giving off a sense of old age and feebleness. But as more smoke gathered, spots of color began to emerge within it—as if life was returning.
Soon, the colors became vivid and vibrant, then suddenly compressed and condensed—once again forming the Demon Cultivator Elder.
The elder’s face and exposed skin were a chaotic blend of colors, a riot of hues.
After a few breaths, the dazzling colors rapidly dulled and faded, until his skin appeared no different from that of a regular human.
The Demon Cultivator Elder’s body trembled. His eyes suddenly opened—like a drowning man rescued onto shore, finally able to breathe again. Or as if he had just escaped a terrifying nightmare and returned to the waking world.
“Huff… huff… huff…”
His expression also became vividly animated, full of terror.
“How could this be?!”
“I only gave the slightest bit of guidance—how could I suffer such horrifying backlash, even triggering my life-preservation divine ability—Mist and Smoke Rebirth?”
“This doesn’t make sense!”
The stunned expression stayed frozen on the Demon Cultivator Elder’s face for a full cup of tea’s time before it slowly faded.
He furrowed his brows and sank into deep thought. “Not good.”
“When facing one with astounding fate and destiny, divination brings an unbearable burden.”
“Previously, I only considered Little Six and calculated the price of guiding him.”
“But clearly, this act of guidance was far more far-reaching. It disturbed other powerful individuals—thus resulting in such disaster.”
At this thought, the Demon Cultivator Elder’s expression grew even more grim.
The first person he thought of—was Ning Zhuo.
“My guidance of Little Six is most disadvantageous to Ning Zhuo.”
“Could it be that the backlash I suffered… was all because of him?”
“Hiss…”
“Could it be that Little Six’s failure, and the decline of Liangzhu Kingdom and Mu Lan’s fortune—were not the key reasons? Was it actually because of Ning Zhuo?!”
At this point, the Demon Cultivator Elder could no longer sit still.
He immediately stood up, swallowed a spirit pearl, tore open his forehead, revealing a blood-red eyeball, and began observing the fortune of the Three Generals Camp.
There sat a Three-Eared Monkey, motionless with closed eyes, meditating in calm breath.
The Demon Cultivator Elder’s gaze fixed on the surface of the monkey. The bloody eye on his forehead shone with mysterious light, growing ever brighter.
His own flesh, visible to the naked eye, began to wither and deflate.
Within his unique vision, the Three-Eared Monkey gradually enlarged, becoming clearer and clearer.
He perceived more and more hidden truths.
The monkey’s belly was slightly bloated—indicating that the Three Generals Camp was not lacking in military supplies.
With every breath the monkey took, its belly deflated slightly, and its entire body bulked up correspondingly—this meant the Three Generals Camp was constantly growing stronger.
These were all signs of steady progress and positive growth.
But the elder wasn’t satisfied—he wanted to see deeper truths.
With a low cry, he took a huge breath, his body inflating like a small giant. Sitting cross-legged, he crushed the nearby hills and flora flat beneath him.
The elder’s eyes shut tightly. Mana, spiritual sense, and blood essence burned wildly, all fueling the blood-red spirit pearl on his forehead.
The eyeball twitched erratically—at times staring straight, sometimes tilting, sometimes circling, and at other times its pupil fragmented into countless black specks. These specks transformed into twisted smoke clouds—then abruptly condensed again.
In the elder’s vision, the Three-Eared Monkey magnified once more, its outer form becoming transparent—revealing deeper essence within.
The inside of the monkey was very simple.
There was a heart, earthy yellow in hue, shaped like a monkey head, with a pointed face and hairy cheeks. Its expression was gloomy. With every occasional heartbeat, it let out a monkey-like cry, filled with deep agitation.
The Demon Cultivator Elder immediately understood: “This is Little Six’s fortune energy.”
The elder then looked to the side—at the lungs.
The lungs were deep red, laced with blood vessels. These vessels were all perfectly straight, with no curves or round arcs anywhere.
With every breath the monkey took, the blood-red lungs moved in rhythm.
Most of the time, the rhythm was stable—but occasionally it turned chaotic.
Whenever chaos struck, the lungs would spasm, and the straight blood vessels would flare with eerie violet light.
“This is Guan Hong’s fortune energy.”
“Guan Hong cultivates a blood-aligned demonic art, with a proud and upright nature. His injured right arm never fully healed—it has become a hidden danger.”
Inside the monkey’s body, there was also a kidney.
This kidney was full and rounded, pitch black. The blackness surged like waves, and every wave crashing on the shore sounded like thunder.
“Zhang Hei cultivates a water-attribute technique, has a fierce temperament, and is quite wealthy. This kidney fits him well.”
“But strange!”
“Where’s Ning Zhuo’s fortune energy?”
Inside the monkey, there were only the heart, lungs, and kidney—nothing else.
The lack of soldiers could be understood—the Three Generals Camp was newly founded. Though they had won a recent ambush battle, they were now under pressure. Morale had dropped, and many had been poached by the White Jade Camp.
Moreover, among those soldiers, the strongest were only Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, with no Golden Core.
None had the unique talent or strength of someone like Ning Zhuo. Their power simply didn’t measure up.
Thus, the soldiers’ representation had always been the monkey’s body hair—growing externally, not the core of the Three Generals Camp’s fortune. They were dispensable.
“But Ning Zhuo fights at the Golden Core level, and is the son-in-law of the Grand General’s Mansion, son of the powerful Ning Clan, and the strategist and sacrificial wine of the Three Generals Camp—so where is his fortune energy?!”
“Where did it go?”
“Where is it?!”
“Show yourself! Show yourself!!”
The more he couldn’t see it, the more the Demon Cultivator Elder panicked. His face twisted in rising madness.
His once enormous body shrank rapidly—like a balloon being punctured!
His lifespan was being shaved away continuously!
The bloody eyeball on his forehead swelled slightly, as if it would burst through the socket. Blood and foul yellow pus mixed together and leaked from the edges.
The torment of body and soul made his furious face twist with added agony.
But after paying such a steep price—he finally saw something.
He saw it!
Faintly, vaguely, he saw the shadow of a left arm.
The shadow wasn’t fixed—it moved freely inside the monkey’s body.
At times, it drifted to the blood lungs, where it scooped up countless blood threads. Upon gripping them tightly into a fist and opening the hand again—the threads were gone without a trace.
Sometimes it drifted to the black kidney, where a casual hook of the finger stirred great tides. The arm-shadow acted like a bottomless pit—swallowing all the waves silently.
And when it approached the yellow heart, the monkey-faced heart would let out shrill, anxious cries. Yet these cries did nothing to stop the arm’s actions.
The left hand spread its five fingers wide—grasped tightly—and drew out a large handful of profound energy from the earthy yellow heart. The energy was absorbed into the shadowed arm, and the monkey’s screams weakened visibly.
Seeing this scene, the Demon Cultivator Elder was dumbfounded—then burst into furious inner roars:
“Thief! That’s a thief!!”
“So that’s how it is! That’s how it is!!”
“No wonder Little Six failed, and in the end, Ning Zhuo became Mu Lan’s husband.”
“Ning Zhuo, that thieving scoundrel, is stealing Little Six’s fortune energy!”
“Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!”
“Eradicate him, he must be eradicated!!”
Never before had the Demon Cultivator Elder’s killing intent surged with such ferocity and violence.
He had never hated anyone so deeply!
“Ning Zhuo!”
“You are the true culprit behind Little Six’s failure. Eradicate, I must eradicate you—”
The Demon Cultivator Elder’s roar came to an abrupt halt.
In reality, he had already shrunk from a small giant into a dwarf.
Then, this dwarf appeared completely withered, pale as paper.
With a gust of wind—
The dwarf dissolved into a wisp of light smoke and scattered with the breeze.
By the time the Demon Cultivator Elder recondensed his form, day had already turned into night.
“The Mist and Smoke Rebirth divine ability has triggered once again.”
“But all of this was worth it.”
“I have seen the truth clearly. It’s time to raise the altar and perform the ritual—use the Fortune-Seizing Life-Reclaiming Great Curse!”
The Demon Cultivator Elder's face was twisted with ferocity.
“You thieving scoundrel, how dare you steal Little Six’s fate!”
“Just seven days and seven nights—then I can curse you to death, overlaying your fortune and destiny onto Little Six, empowering his fate for at least seven years!”
The Demon Cultivator Elder, full of hatred and fury, acted upon his words. He immediately departed from Canglin Immortal City, flew far away to a deserted mountaintop, set up an illusion formation, and began raising the altar before starting the ritual.
At this moment, Ning Zhuo had already activated the Wanli Dragon, traversed a section of the void, and arrived at a certain valley where he began repairing the mechanical dragon.
The Wanli Dragon’s exterior was heavily damaged—especially the dragon-scale armor, which had large sections cracked and destroyed.
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong stood side by side.
The latter frowned deeply as he examined the extensive damage.
The former wore a look of pure heartache.
Ning Zhuo’s love for mechanical constructs stemmed from the very depths of his heart.
His emotions were complicated at the moment.
He was both anxious and thrilled.
Anxious whether he could repair the Wanli Dragon—thrilled because he could personally lead the repair, which promised to be a wondrous experience.
Sun Lingtong probed with his spiritual sense, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.
He sighed inwardly: “Difficult, difficult, difficult!”
“Without a doubt, repairing the Wanli Dragon’s shell is a monumental task. It requires not only precise materials, but also extremely advanced refining techniques. Especially crucial is ensuring that its armor regains its original hardness and flexibility—only then can it withstand the harsh conditions ahead.”
“Soon, we’ll be part of a grand battle. We might once again be pursued and attacked by the Six Caves Sect’s Nascent Soul experts. We can’t afford to suffer a loss like last time.”
Thinking this, Sun Lingtong turned his gaze to Ning Zhuo: “Zhuo, I’ll be your assistant. Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it!”
Ning Zhuo nodded, spiritual sense continuously scanning the mechanical dragon, meticulously inspecting every crack and break.
The Wanli Dragon’s outer armor was severely damaged, and in some places, even the inner armor was missing—this was increasingly evident toward the back half of the dragon’s body.
“The Wanli Dragon was forged by the Lava Immortal Palace. Even the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit knows the result, but not the method.”
“I can’t analyze how these dragon-scale plates were originally made.”
Although Ning Zhuo had a profound mastery of the Five Elements and was highly skilled in refining among his peers, the Wanli Dragon was at Nascent Soul level and a product of the Lava Immortal Palace—far beyond his capabilities.
Therefore, analyzing the original dragon-scale plates was already beyond the upper limit of his abilities.
“But that doesn’t stop me from repairing the inner and outer armor.”
When one’s personal strength isn’t enough, then rely on external resources.
Piling up high-grade treasure materials could also create miracles—breaking through with brute force!
“However...” Ning Zhuo hesitated.
He had previously made a large purchase of treasure materials from Jin Li.
Based on his current inventory, there were two options.
One was to use Dragon Scale Iron, combined with Dragon Soul Grass, for alloy refinement.
The other was to inscribe talismans using Spotted Star Tear, Thunder Dragon Horn, and Soaring Cloud, link them through formations, and overlay them onto the damaged dragon body. Once the formation was activated, the talismans would gradually dissolve and merge into one.
What made Ning Zhuo hesitate was the cost.
Dragon Scale Iron was compatible with the Wanli Dragon but only Golden Core–level. Dragon Soul Grass was at Nascent Soul level but extremely rare.
Thus, this option had lower cost.
Though Spotted Star Tear was only half a drop, it was a Soul Formation–level treasure! Thunder Dragon Horn and Soaring Cloud were both Nascent Soul–level.
If he went with the second method, all the Spotted Star Tear and Thunder Dragon Horn would be consumed, and only about three or four taels of Soaring Cloud would remain.
The second repair method was extremely costly—over a hundred times more than the first.
“The first plan is sufficient. The second one is too extravagant—the cost is a hundred times higher, but the added defense is only twofold.”
“Yet, war is perilous. If a future battle at Qianfeng Forest ends in irreversible loss just because of that doubled protection power… that would be regrettable.”
Given Ning Zhuo’s cautious nature, he would normally choose the second option.
But reality was complex.
The materials saved from using the first plan could be invested elsewhere, enhancing other functions—not necessarily for the Wanli Dragon, but still boosting Ning Zhuo’s overall combat strength.
Torn between choices, Ning Zhuo didn’t act arbitrarily and shared the situation with Sun Lingtong.
Sun Lingtong shrugged, expressing his opinion: “Zhuo, we’ve only just started repairing the Wanli Dragon. There’s still a long way to go. The Wanli Dragon excels at evasion and stealth—boosting defense won’t help much.”
Ning Zhuo nodded: “Then let’s go with the first—”
He hadn’t finished speaking when his expression suddenly changed.
He looked down at the mechanical ring on his finger.
The ring was tightening, signaling imminent danger.
“What could it be?”
“Is it warning me that choosing the first option is dangerous? That I should choose the second?”
Thoughts flashing like lightning, Ning Zhuo made a decision—go with the second option, even if the price was steep.
Three incense sticks’ time later.
Atop a mountain near Canglin Immortal City, the Demon Cultivator Elder was raising an altar and performing the ritual!
The chanting of the Fortune-Breaking Life-Reclaiming Great Curse had reached its first stage.
“Ning Zhuo, Ning Zhuo, the thief plots treachery.”
“Fortune, oh fortune—dark as shadow, hiding in the secret tower.”
“You are strong—I am stronger. Stronger by just a thread, and that is the heavens!”
The Demon Cultivator Elder stood atop the high platform, a ritual sword in one hand, shaking a bell with the other, dancing with wild fervor.
The One-Line Fortune-Breaking Curse!
Suddenly, the Demon Cultivator Elder’s body froze, eyes bulging wide as he shouted: “Break!”
But at that exact moment, Ning Zhuo’s fortune surged by two levels, suppressing the Demon Cultivator Elder by a single thread.
Puh!
The Demon Cultivator Elder spewed blood, the curse failing instantly—an agonizing defeat!