Chapter 488: Begin a Streak of Great Luck
Mount Huoshi.
The battle to encircle and suppress the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence had reached its most critical moment.
“Not good, it’s trying to escape, catch it quickly!” Zhou Nongying cried out in alarm.
The formation encircling the Fire Essence was riddled with cracks on all sides, having endured too many residual shocks from the battle.
After a prolonged struggle, the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence had fallen into an extremely weakened state. Its fighting spirit and will had plummeted drastically. No longer willing to continue the fight, it chose to flee.
Zhou Nongying gave chase from behind.
Ning Jiufan and the second Golden Core Ancestor of the Zhou Family flanked it from left and right, attempting to intercept it.
Just as it seemed they were about to fail and the Fire Essence would escape, a walnut suddenly shot down from the sky.
The walnut scattered emerald light and struck the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence directly on the top of its head.
Seeing this, the corner of Ning Jiufan’s eye twitched, and he instinctively slowed his pace.
The other Golden Core Ancestor of the Zhou Family was the first to reach the side of the Fire Essence.
The Fire Essence didn’t move at all, collapsing into the lava, bobbing up and down.
“Damn it,” Ning Jiufan cursed inwardly, sensing trouble. He remembered clearly what Ning Zhuo had instructed—how much he needed this Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence.
Now it was about to fall into the hands of a Zhou Family Golden Core cultivator. If he wanted to buy it back, it would certainly cost even more.
Just as Ning Jiufan was blaming himself, the Fire Essence suddenly opened its eyes and launched a desperate final strike.
Boom!
A terrifying explosion erupted, and in an instant, the magma surged into massive waves.
The Zhou Family’s Golden Core Ancestor was instantly engulfed in raging flames from head to toe.
He let out a blood-curdling scream.
In that moment, all his defensive methods were reduced to ashes. His robes and armor were completely annihilated.
His flesh and blood were consumed in the orange-red flames in the blink of an eye. Even his exposed skeleton was charred and crumbled away inch by inch.
In just two breaths’ time, a Golden Core cultivator vanished into smoke.
After slaying his enemy, the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence grew dim all over, nearly shrinking to the size of a fist.
With extreme caution on his face, Ning Jiufan rushed forward and used a talisman to successfully seal it.
“I’ve captured the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence!”
“That was close…”
Even after such an intense battle and while standing within the heart of a volcano, Ning Jiufan still felt chills rising from deep within.
Had he not hesitated just now, the one to suffer that fate would likely have been him.
From beginning to end, Meng Kui sat firmly on the throne within the Lava Immortal Palace, then slowly closed his eyes, no longer observing the battlefield within the volcano.
His expression was displeased, and he felt a sense of regret.
To avoid suspicion, he had never personally joined the battle—he had refrained to prevent the Zhu Family from holding him accountable afterward.
Ning Jiufan had always been his true target. Meng Kui had thrown out the walnut and secretly pulled back, so the Fire Essence wasn’t actually that badly wounded.
In this battle, Ning Jiufan had performed extremely conspicuously, even with a Nascent Soul cultivator like Lin Bufan fighting alongside him.
“His spirit pet, the Fire Fusion Demon Ape, seems to have started cultivating as well…”
“Sigh.”
Meng Kui sighed inwardly.
At that critical moment, Ning Jiufan’s hesitation had allowed the Fire Essence its final counterattack, which caused Meng Kui’s scheme to fail.
Of course, that didn’t mean Meng Kui had gained nothing—after all, the Zhou Family had lost a Golden Core cultivator.
“If I had weakened Ning Jiufan’s Fortune Energy beforehand, he definitely would’ve perished.”
“What kind of treasure does he have that conceals his Fortune?”
“Could it be something the Southern Dou royal family secretly gave him?”
No wonder Meng Kui suspected this.
Because previously, he had used the Peach Beyond the World Walnut to strike Ning Jiufan’s head, and the effect had been extremely obvious.
At that time, Ning Jiufan clearly didn’t have any treasure shielding his Fortune Energy.
Lin Bufan took a deep breath and cast another spell.
The violently surging magma quickly calmed under his magic.
The grand formation slowly opened.
Zhou Nongying, wearing a face of grief, flew over to join Ning Jiufan and Lin Bufan.
He didn’t have time to mourn the fallen cultivator from his clan. His mind was already turning over the coming power shifts in Huoshi Immortal City.
Since the battle in the Lava Immortal Palace, the Zheng Family had been eliminated. The Ning Family had taken over the Zheng clan territory and soared in influence, becoming the leading power beneath the City Lord’s Mansion.
Normally, as one of the old families of Huoshi Immortal City, the Zhou Family would be expected to suppress upstarts like the Ning Family.
However, the situation in Huoshi Immortal City was very unusual.
The Meng Family sought to occupy the city. They were a more urgent and formidable enemy.
Previously, due to Zhu Xuanji’s maneuvering, the Zhou, Zheng, and Ning families had formed an alliance with the royal family, making it hard for the Zhou Family to switch sides.
In this context, with the Zhu Family’s strong support behind them, the Zhou Family found it difficult to move against the Ning Family.
Especially since the Ning Family had produced someone as extraordinary as Ning Zhuo, who had displayed Golden Core–level combat power during the battle for the Lava Immortal Palace. And with Ning Jiufan’s formidable strength as well, it made it all the more impossible for the Zhou Family to make a move.
Thus, after Ning Zhuo left the main family, Zhou Nongying had even personally visited to express goodwill, and had Zhou cultivators assist Ning Zhuo in setting up formations.
All of this was when the Zhou Family still had two Golden Core cultivators.
Now, with only Zhou Nongying remaining, their situation had worsened dramatically. Their strength had been severely damaged, and they were likely to become vassals to the Ning Family.
Outside Mount Huoshi.
Shen Lingshu and Zhu Xuanji also received news of the battle’s outcome.
“So in the end, the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence still fell into Ning Jiufan’s hands. Ning Zhuo truly lives up to the title of Child of Calamity—his Fortune Energy is astonishing,” Shen Lingshu sighed.
Zhu Xuanji mused, “In the end, Meng Kui got what he wanted. The Zhou Family lost a Golden Core cultivator, and our strength within Huoshi Immortal City has diminished considerably.”
“From now on, the Ning Family will be the main force obstructing Meng Kui.”
“Looks like we’ll need to give the Ning Family even more support.”
Shen Lingshu nodded in agreement and smiled. “I just boosted Ning Jiufan’s Fortune Energy. Now that he’s received our aid, it makes perfect sense.”
Zhu Xuanji said, “No matter what else, at least within the Myriad Medicines Sect, the Ning Family is a close ally of our Zhu Family. Sigh, if only Ning Zhuo weren’t the Child of Calamity—things would be much simpler for us.”
After their exchange, the two concealed their auras and quietly approached Huoshi Immortal City.
Liangzhu Kingdom.
Canglin Immortal City.
Three Generals Camp.
“Neigh—!” Liu Er’s mount suddenly stumbled, its hoof falling into a pit in the ground.
Liu Er had been fully focused on drilling the troops. Caught off guard, he fell to the ground along with the horse.
Though Liu Er got back to his feet quickly, the noise drew the attention of many soldiers who rushed over.
“Big Brother, are you alright?” Zhang Hei was the first to run up, asking with concern.
“I’m fine,” Liu Er shook his head and frowned at the ground.
Guan Hong also rode over and inspected the scene, then let out a breath. “There was a hidden pit in the ground. The horse just happened to step into it.”
Liu Er had been training constantly with his soldiers, coordinating battle formations over and over, leaving his horse utterly exhausted. That’s why it tripped when it stepped into the pit.
Liu Er had fallen because he had focused almost all his attention on directing the formation, and was a beat too slow to react.
He patted his armor, pulled the horse up, and mounted once more. “Resume training!”
At his command, the Three Generals Camp resumed their drills.
Yet Liu Er’s brows remained furrowed, and a hollow feeling gnawed at his heart.
“What’s this awful feeling supposed to be?”
“Could it be that Mu Lan forced Ning Zhuo into dual cultivation?”
“And that Strategist too! Disappearing from camp all day, nowhere to be seen.”
“Sigh, if back then I’d agreed to give him a spot, he’d be here now, running drills with his mechanical soldiers…”
Ning Zhuo had already entered the Wanli Dragon.
He slowly lifted his head, straightened his upper body, and no longer remained hunched over his desk.
Before him were layers upon layers of blueprints—each one filled with various mechanical structures.
Canglin Immortal City.
“Honored guest, please take care,” the shop assistant bowed respectfully as he sent Ning Zhuo off.
Ning Zhuo strolled unhurriedly out from the Complete Book Tower.
He had just entered the Complete Book Tower, selecting a cultivation method for Meng Yahu.
Meng Yahu’s Spirituality was even higher than Yuan Dasheng’s, allowing him to practice cultivation techniques. For this, Ning Zhuo had come, carefully selecting from countless options, and at last picked out a suitable method for Meng Yahu.
This cultivation method was closely linked to Meng Yahu’s innate talent. It was called Nightwalker Backstab Diagram.
Upon returning to the Wanli Dragon, Ning Zhuo buried his head in designing a mechanical body for Meng Yahu.
In all the design drafts, Meng Yahu was depicted with a tiger head and a human body, striving to align with his Spirituality, restoring his original appearance as much as possible.
Ning Zhuo centered the design around his innate talent Nightshade Shadow Fiend, building a mechanical form suited for that ability.
In terms of materials, Ghost Bamboo was the most suitable—after all, it was a natural companion to the Nightshade Shadow Fiend trait.
However, the amount of Ghost Bamboo in Ning Zhuo’s possession was quite limited, and this precious material was rare to come by. He decided not to use it just yet. Ning Zhuo had already resolved to use other materials for now and consider Ghost Bamboo when the time was right.
“I don’t know much about Nightshade Shadow Fiend, and Meng Yahu’s cultivation method, Nightwalker Backstab Diagram, isn’t connected to the Five Elements either.”
Ning Zhuo contemplated for a long time, until his head ached faintly.
One approach was to use Ghost Shadow Talismans as the core. Each time Meng Yahu activated his Nightshade Shadow Fiend ability, the talismans would trigger, spawning countless pitch-black shadow ghosts that would instantly assemble into a small army of dozens. With numbers on his side, he could... no, enact righteous encirclement.
The second approach involved mechanical components that altered the form of the Nightshade Shadow Fiend, transforming it into a mist of fiendish energy that corroded powerful enemies, inducing hallucinations of vision and spirit, confusing reality.
The third approach was to arrange a Blade Formation on Meng Yahu’s body. Once triggered, it would unleash tens of thousands of shadowy blades, sharp enough to slice enemies apart through brutal execution.
The fourth plan focused on fully utilizing the Nightwalker Backstab Diagram, equipping Meng Yahu with a set of mechanical attachments to greatly boost speed in dark environments, allowing him to dodge like a ghost, making him utterly unpredictable.
The fifth plan involved setting up a Netherworld Soul-Binding Formation. Centered on this formation and paired with the Nightshade Shadow Fiend, it would bind enemy souls. The more souls he trapped, the stronger Meng Yahu would become.
The sixth plan...
The seventh...
The eighth...
Ning Zhuo came up with nearly twenty variations. His mind spun from all the possibilities, making it hard to decide or pick between them.
“To try each one out—completely unrealistic.”
“My current funds can't support such extravagant experimentation.”
“I must pick the most suitable plan.”
But that was exactly the awkward part.
Ning Zhuo didn’t know which plan was truly the most suitable.
His opinion alone didn’t count. Only the trial of actual combat would yield the answer to that question.
“Sigh!”
Ning Zhuo let out a deep sigh, standing up to get some fresh air.
In doing so, he bumped into the desk. Design blueprints scattered all over the floor.
Just as he bent down to pick them up, his motion froze abruptly—because he saw five or six blueprints had landed in such a way that they just happened to form a complete layout of Meng Yahu’s form.
More importantly, under Ning Zhuo’s mental calculation, this arrangement turned out to be highly viable, with a significant chance of success.
“What a stroke of luck!”
The more Ning Zhuo thought it over, the more convinced he became of its excellence. He immediately declared, “This is the plan I’ll use!”
Without hesitation, Ning Zhuo flew out of the Puppet Dragon, rushing through the various markets and shops of Canglin Immortal City, spending spirit stones left and right to obtain the materials he needed.
“I must thank that great war!”
“Canglin Immortal City was turned into a rear base, so now I can actually find the things I want here.”
“If it were normal times, the variety of precious materials in Canglin wouldn’t be nearly this broad.”
While Ning Zhuo was toiling away for Meng Yahu, Sun Lingtong lay inside the Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel, listless from boredom.
“This cultivation method has a thousand benefits, but there’s just one part I can’t stand!”
“It’s way too boring!”
Driven mad with tedium, Sun Lingtong could no longer endure. He began randomly circulating his blood essence, hoping to enhance the Innate Earth-Nurturing Fetal-Breath Great Method.
The result…
The blood essence rampaged through his body, instantly injuring him.
His internal organs were damaged, and he began bleeding heavily from within.
“This is bad, really bad.”
“Little Zhuo, save me—!”
The internal bleeding surged upward, immediately choking Sun Lingtong’s nose and mouth.
As he neared suffocation, a flash of inspiration struck. He suddenly gained a deeper understanding of the Innate Earth-Nurturing Fetal-Breath Great Method.
“So that’s how it works!”
Overjoyed, Sun Lingtong experienced a moment of epiphany, his heart swelling with enlightenment.
The next moment, the scripture of the Innate Earth-Nurturing Fetal-Breath Great Method radiated even more brilliance.
Not only did Sun Lingtong escape from danger, but his cultivation efficiency also doubled.
Ning Zhuo, having completed the selection of materials, didn’t refine them himself. Instead, he sought out Jin Li once again.
He wanted to ask Jin Li to help process the materials and craft some mechanical components.
Jin Li laughed heartily, “Little friend Ning, your timing is perfect. The Royal Capital just sent several artifact-forging cultivators to assist me.”
“They arrived yesterday and are coming here today to forge.”
“Tell them what you need.”
“With their skills—not quite as good as mine, of course—but they’ll surely get the job done for you.”
Ning Zhuo cupped his hands in thanks and gifted a portion of the materials to Jin Li as a token of appreciation.
Jin Li laughed even louder, clapping Ning Zhuo on the shoulder. “You’re too kind, Little Friend Ning. You really didn’t have to go to such trouble.”
People willing to spend generously were always well-liked.
With help from Jin Li’s assistants, Ning Zhuo received all the semi-finished components by that very night.
“There really is strength in numbers. If I were doing this alone, it would’ve taken at least half a year to reach this point.”
Ning Zhuo felt his spending and gift-giving had been more than worthwhile.
He simply pulled an all-nighter, assembling all the mechanical components.
Meng Yahu’s body began to take on a hazy prototype.
When Ning Zhuo took out Meng Yahu’s Spirituality Sphere and placed it inside, the mechanical Meng Yahu activated shortly after.
He didn’t glance around, nor did he examine his new body. Instead, he bowed deeply to Ning Zhuo and said in a low voice:
“Father God!”