Chapter 571: Void Tide Sound
Assembling an army…
If it were attached to an existing cultivation nation, the issue could be solved quite easily.
But if Ning Zhuo wanted to start from nothing and build an army of his own, the cost would be extremely high. He would have to solve problems such as military registration, military discipline, military authority, military structure, and army morale.
“Even if I went through endless hardship to form an army, the cost of maintaining it afterward would still be enormous.”
“For me, that isn’t suitable.”
“So the better choice is to focus on elite puppets, such as Yuan Dasheng and Meng Yahu.”
Heavy Armor Blood Ape, Dasheng had clearly fallen behind.
The primary purpose behind designing this mechanical battle puppet had actually been to help Ning Zhuo cultivate the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique. Its outstanding defense had also been the result of Ning Zhuo sparing no expense at the time, borrowing strength from many sources and stacking a large amount of precious materials.
In terms of actual design, however, it could only be considered mediocre at best.
On the battlefield of Liangzhu Kingdom, Heavy Armor Blood Ape, Dasheng had become little more than a meat shield. It could barely even draw enemy fire, and almost every time it appeared in battle it ended up completely destroyed. It could practically be called high-grade cannon fodder.
There was no helping it. In battles of that scale, even its materials appeared fragile.
As for Shadowblade — Night Tiger, it had repeatedly achieved merit in battle. After all, its design plan was far superior to that of Heavy Armor Blood Ape, Dasheng.
Their roles were also different, which made it easier for it to gain achievements in combat.
However, its shortcoming lay in its materials, which were not sufficiently high-grade.
“I need to redesign Yuan Dasheng’s mechanical body. This time I’ll carefully plan it and strive to make the design reach a superior level.”
“As for Meng Yahu, the design can remain. Taking advantage of this complete overhaul after its destruction, I can replace its materials with better ones.”
Ning Zhuo quickly finalized his plans for Yuan Dasheng and Meng Yahu.
Although he had preserved much of his military merit without exchanging it, he still possessed many precious materials.
The reason lay with the Heavenly Ghost.
Under the overwhelming influence of Buddhist thoughts, the Heavenly Ghost had voluntarily given almost his entire fortune to Ning Zhuo.
This powerful ghost cultivator True Lord had long been famous among many nations, and his wealth was extremely abundant.
Even though most of his materials were related to the Ghost Dao and soul cultivation, there were still many conventional treasures that had reached the Nascent Soul level, which could be used on Yuan Dasheng and Meng Yahu.
However, even after deciding on the plan, Ning Zhuo first restored Heavy Armor Blood Ape, Dasheng and Shadowblade — Night Tiger to their original forms.
With the help of the Nascent Soul–level mechanical work platform, even though both puppets had been completely destroyed, they could still be quickly reconstructed.
After experiencing the war in Liangzhu Kingdom, Ning Zhuo had changed greatly—especially in terms of preparing for danger in times of peace.
He would rather spend a little more money to repair Yuan Dasheng and Meng Yahu as quickly as possible, ensuring his combat strength.
Who knew whether the next moment would bring an accident—and whether that accident might be fatal?
After repairing the two battle puppets, Ning Zhuo once again had two Golden Core–level combat forces by his side, which greatly reassured him.
As for the ordinary mechanical puppets, Ning Zhuo did not create any more.
His military position would likely soon be revoked, and the mechanical army under his command would also be disbanded.
Under such circumstances, if he displayed a large number of mechanical puppets, it would be like a beast-taming cultivator summoning a swarm of demon pets.
His Military Art—Warrior Returns Art would be difficult to use effectively.
Thus, even using those mechanical puppets as cannon fodder would become extremely inefficient.
“Next, there won’t be large-scale wars.”
“When conflicts arise, they’ll mostly involve powerful individuals. These ordinary mechanical puppets are far too weak. Once deployed, strong enemies could easily cut through them and carry out a decapitation strike against me.”
“Other than distracting my spiritual sense to control them, they hardly possess any offensive capability.”
Practical and flexible, Ning Zhuo immediately adjusted the overall direction of his puppet crafting—from focusing on scale and quantity to focusing on elite individuals, striving for a higher standard of quality.
He then placed his next focus on the Hundred-Armed Arhat Armor.
This treasure-level mechanical battle armor had performed brilliantly during the grand battle—Ning Zhuo had relied on it to withstand multiple attacks from Xiang Yue.
The upper half of the Hundred-Armed Arhat Armor was now covered with scars and layered cracks, requiring meticulous repair.
“If I relied solely on my own abilities, I wouldn’t be able to repair the Hundred-Armed Arhat Armor. Fortunately, I have the mechanical work platform.”
Ning Zhuo’s cultivation was too weak—only at the Foundation Establishment stage. With such limited mana, it was extremely difficult for him to do anything to a Nascent Soul–level treasure.
The mechanical work platform allowed him to reach beyond his natural limits.
This was the power of the Cultivation Arts!
After developing for countless years, the cultivation world had become prosperous and flourishing. The refinement of the Cultivation Arts allowed cultivators to transcend cultivation levels and even cultivation paths, accomplishing things they could not achieve alone.
“Repairing the upper half of the Hundred-Armed Arhat Armor shouldn’t be a problem.”
“But its lower half needs a far better reconstruction!”
The current lower half of the Hundred-Armed Arhat Armor had merely been a crude imitation hastily made by Ning Zhuo.
It was also thanks to luck.
During the previous battle, this weakness had not been discovered. Most cultivators had been trapped in chaotic battles of their own and had no time to spare.
Ning Zhuo had also chosen his timing to enter the battlefield very well, avoiding too much focused attention.
After joining forces with Mu Lan and Liu Guan Zhang, they had also held a local advantage for quite a long time.
The Puppet Dragon was traveling through the void.
“What sound is that?” Sun Lingtong suddenly stiffened, quickly contacting Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo had been bent over the mechanical work platform, performing delicate repairs on the Hundred-Armed Arhat Armor. Upon receiving the message, he immediately raised his head.
The big-headed youth listened carefully for a moment, then showed a puzzled expression. “I didn’t hear anything.”
Sun Lingtong exclaimed, “You didn’t hear it? Strange! Wanli Dragon didn’t detect anything either. But I definitely heard a shrieking sound—like the sound of surging tides.”
“The sound has been continuing, and it’s getting louder. You really can’t hear it?”
Ning Zhuo subconsciously touched the mechanical ring on his finger, but it showed no reaction.
Still, he did not lower his guard. His brows slightly furrowed.
“Boss, we barely understand the void. My mechanical ring only inherited a portion of a talent.”
“To be safe, we should return to the mortal world first.”
“There’s no need to risk it.”
Sun Lingtong nodded. “You’re right, Little Zhuo. Let’s slip out first.”
Thus, Wanli Dragon left the void and returned to the present world.
It was morning in the real world.
A light snowfall had just ended.
The deserted mountains were draped in a layer of elegant white gauze. In the distance, the peaks were coated in silver, their outlines clear and crisp, like a beautiful painting frozen in time—quiet and profound.
The pine trees stood tall, icicles hanging from their branches. Sunlight filtered through the clouds, casting mottled shadows beneath the trees.
The wilderness was silent. Occasionally, birds called out, their voices echoing through the empty valleys like clear notes, making the winter stillness even more apparent.
Seeing such scenery, Sun Lingtong and Ning Zhuo exchanged glances before leaving Wanli Dragon and stepping outside.
Although the interior space of Wanli Dragon was not cramped, it was still enclosed. Staying inside for too long could make one feel stifled.
As the brothers stepped outside, they both took a deep breath, feeling refreshed.
“Judging by our route, this should be the border of the Northern Wind Kingdom,” Sun Lingtong said.
Ning Zhuo nodded. “It should be.”
Wanli Dragon had originated from the Lava Immortal Palace and contained no travel records. Although Ning Zhuo had collected maps during the Liangzhu Kingdom campaign, maps often differed from reality.
The more detailed a map was, the more valuable it became, and the less it circulated in markets.
Moreover, Liangzhu Kingdom and Northern Wind Kingdom were two separate cultivation nations. On top of that, the two of them had been traveling through the void most of the time, giving them far fewer references from the real world.
Thus, they could only estimate their position based on climate and terrain.
This awkward situation mainly stemmed from the fact that they had only just begun traveling the world. Once they had visited more places and recorded them accurately in Wanli Dragon, they would eventually be able to infer the positions of many unfamiliar locations.
“Northern Wind Kingdom…” Sun Lingtong gazed at the snow-covered peaks in the distance. “Little Zhuo, your Ning Family originally came from this country, right?”
Ning Zhuo nodded. “It’s our homeland. Many elders in the family often reminisce about their lives in Northern Wind Kingdom.”
“But for me, I was born during the migration and grew up in Huoshi Immortal City. I can’t truly share their homesickness.”
“Come to think of it, we’ve already been traveling for several months.”
“But it feels like we just left Huoshi Immortal City yesterday.” Ning Zhuo sighed.
The snowy scenery stirred a faint trace of homesickness for Huoshi Immortal City in his heart.
They did not stay long.
Two hours later, they set off again, boarding Wanli Dragon and entering the void once more.
“The sound is gone.” Sun Lingtong listened carefully, gradually relaxing. “Maybe it was just my imagination.”
Ning Zhuo frowned slightly and shook his head.
“Boss, don’t forget—you absorbed the marrow of the Void Evil God. The reason you can hear sounds that I can’t might be because of that.”
“In any case, we must remain cautious.”
Sun Lingtong nodded. “Alright! If any sound appears again, I won’t notify you first. I’ll immediately control Wanli Dragon and return to the real world.”
“Good.” Ning Zhuo nodded, and the two reached an agreement.
After this incident, their division of duties changed again.
Previously, they had split time evenly—one would watch while the other cultivated.
Now Sun Lingtong mainly stayed in the Dragon Head Cabin, while Ning Zhuo focused primarily on cultivation.
The new bodies of Yuan Dasheng and Meng Yahu were still under consideration, while the upper half of the Hundred-Armed Arhat Armor had already been fully repaired.
Previously, during the Liangzhu Kingdom campaign, Ning Zhuo had mainly relied on the Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel to strengthen his physical foundation.
Now, his cultivation focus shifted to the Three Sect Supreme Techniques.
With the help of the Three Constellations Treasure Exchange Talisman, treasure medicines grew extremely quickly within his three dantians.
“At this rate, the treasure-medicine growth phase will soon come to an end.”
“After that stage, I’ll enter the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.”
Ning Zhuo calculated the progress calmly.
The early, middle, and late stages of Foundation Establishment did not bring qualitative change, so Ning Zhuo did not feel much anticipation.
Yet cultivation itself was a process of accumulation over time—without gathering small steps, one could never reach great distances.
Without traversing these stages and accumulating power, how could one eventually condense their own Golden Core?
Aside from advancing the Three Sect Supreme Techniques, Ning Zhuo also did not neglect strengthening his physical foundation.
He still mainly relied on the Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel.
After experiencing the Liangzhu Kingdom war, Ning Zhuo had gained a much deeper understanding of physical cultivation. A strong physical body was extremely important—it provided a higher lower limit, greatly increasing survival chances on the battlefield.
Powerful figures like Grandfather Long and Xiang Yue, who could easily stir the tides of war, all possessed extremely powerful physical foundations.
But for Ning Zhuo to reach their level was extraordinarily difficult.
It would require opportunities and treasures such as the Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel—and far greater costs than what Grandfather Long or Xiang Yue needed.
That was because their cultivation techniques themselves emphasized physical training, focusing on the lower dantian’s essence sea.
Ning Zhuo’s Three Sect Supreme Techniques cultivated the three seas simultaneously, while the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique excelled more in control. In terms of building physical foundation, it could not match the techniques of Grandfather Long and Xiang Yue.
“Although the current effects of physical cultivation are still impressive, the Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel cannot continue forever. One day its effect will decline, until it eventually reaches zero.”
Using cultivation techniques to train the body was cheaper and more stable than relying on treasures or magical artifacts.
Still, the Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel had helped Ning Zhuo tremendously.
During the second grand battle, Ning Zhuo had managed to leverage his combat strength to astonishing heights largely thanks to it.
After the battle ended, Ning Zhuo had not even treated his injuries. His body simply healed on its own within a few days.
Aside from advancing his techniques and physical cultivation, Ning Zhuo also began his third area of cultivation—soul cultivation.
The battle against the Heaven and Earth Ghosts had made him keenly aware that his weak soul foundation was a major flaw. If someone targeted it, his situation would become extremely dangerous.
Previously in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, Ning Zhuo had briefly strengthened his soul foundation.
He had first relied on the Soul-Devouring Art, and later personally cultivated a spell called the Ghost Warrior Divine Weapon Forging Method. This spell consumed soul power, slicing off portions of the soul to forge ghostly divine weapons.
Thus, when Ning Zhuo left Fire Persimmon Immortal City, his soul foundation had reached nearly two hundred times that of an ordinary person, and he had forged a door-sized ghost axe as his companion soul weapon.
Such a soul foundation was already impressive among cultivators of the same age or within the Foundation Establishment stage.
But among Golden Core cultivators, it was utterly insufficient.
When facing the Heaven and Earth Ghosts, it was practically the same as having none at all.
Inside Heavenly Ghost’s storage bag were the main cultivation techniques of both him and Earth Ghost. They came from the Soul-Devouring Sect, one of the holy lands of soul and ghost cultivators. Naturally, their techniques were extremely excellent.
During breaks from his arduous cultivation, Ning Zhuo spent his spare time studying and comprehending those techniques.
Actually cultivating them was impossible.
The Three Sect Supreme Techniques already occupied all three dantians. Practicing additional techniques would be equivalent to courting suffering—or even self-destruction.
Instead, Ning Zhuo studied the key principles and secrets of soul cultivation. This would greatly help him in the future when using treasures and materials to strengthen his soul.
“Come to think of it, White Paper City of Black Water Mountain is a city of soul cultivators.”
“When we get there, besides seeking the prophecy of the Funeral Music Nether Performer, I can also trade for some soul-cultivation materials or treasures to make up for my weakness in soul cultivation.” Ning Zhuo silently planned.
The Heavenly Ghost’s wealth was simply too high-level. Ning Zhuo was still only at the Foundation Establishment stage and needed many foundational soul materials.
One day later.
Sun Lingtong and Ning Zhuo voluntarily exited the void, returning to the real world. After searching the nearby area, they successfully found their target.
Frost Roar Valley!
Like the Star-Burning Pit, it was also one of the wonders of the world.