Chapter 574: Am I the Male Consort?
After returning to the mechanical ship cabin, Ning Zhuo took out both his own and Sun Lingtong’s Cang Tie Han Armor and began repairing them.
Because they had been used to the extreme, both suits of Cang Tie Han Armor had suffered damage to varying degrees.
Just repairing these damaged sections alone gave Ning Zhuo considerable insight. The weaker points of the entire Mechanical Battle Armor were now obvious at a glance.
The weakest part was undoubtedly the Golden Swallow Wings.
Because of the triple-fold design, the overall strength of the wings had dropped by an entire grade. During high-speed flight in the air, every time he changed direction, tremendous pressure was exerted on the entire wing structure.
“The material of the wings must be further improved!”
Of course, his gains were not limited to that.
“My flying skills are far inferior to Boss’s. I’ll need to practice diligently.”
“My spiritual sense is also weaker than Boss’s. But if I use the Divided Mind Mirror, I can surpass him in that aspect. I should modify the Mechanical Golden Swallows so they can carry small mirror artifacts and help extend my spiritual sense.”
Relying only on eyesight was far too limited in aerial combat.
Compared to ground battles, aerial battles required a much broader field of observation.
Under such circumstances, spiritual sense capable of scanning in all directions became the best option.
The Mirror Platform Spirit Technique that Ning Zhuo cultivated had a special characteristic. His own spiritual sense range was not high, but if he relied on external objects, it could leverage immense power.
“Also, high-speed flight places extremely strict requirements on the strength of the physical body.”
“If not for the improvements to my physique gained from the Fetal-Breath Spirit Vessel, I wouldn’t have been able to endure such intense flight.”
“And the Divine Spirit Art of the Five Viscera Temple transformed my internal organs, reducing much of the burden.”
Even so, after removing the Cang Tie Han Armor, Ning Zhuo discovered numerous new bruises and internal bleeding all over his body.
Although his five viscera had been altered, the human body contained more than just those. Among the commonly mentioned five viscera and six bowels, there were still the six bowels to consider.
Ning Zhuo immersed himself in improving his mechanical creations.
Two days later, after receiving a reminder from Sun Lingtong, he paused his cultivation and came to the Dragon Head Cabin.
They had arrived at the Yin Soul Black Marsh!
The Wanli Dragon emerged from the void, shrinking to its smallest size as it flew high in the sky.
Looking down from above, the Yin Soul Black Marsh resembled the torn organs of an ancient god giant—rotting pieces scattered randomly across the pitch-black swamp.
A thin layer of green mist lingered over the entire marsh.
Hundreds upon thousands of floating islands drifted upon the water, some stationary and others slowly moving.
These floating islands were almost entirely formed from decaying plants and pale bones.
Their surfaces were often covered in thick corpse moss. The moss emitted a ghostly green phosphorescence. These lights were not random; when connected together, they formed a network resembling glowing meridians.
Between the floating islands floated enormous Soul-Ferrying Lotuses.
Most of these lotuses had been modified, forming unique Soul-Ferrying Lamps specific to the Yin Soul Black Marsh. Their light glowed a ghostly blue, illuminating the deep black water into something like a blue star river.
Within the endless glow of the lamps, faint clusters of soul light could be seen.
The Wanli Dragon flew silently.
From their high vantage point, the two of them could easily see the marsh’s main river channel—the Nether Flood Dragon River.
The river resembled a suddenly rising blue-black centipede stretching from southeast to northwest, cutting directly through the entire marsh.
The river was deep, but its surface remained calm. The soil along the banks was pale white, and in some places, bare bones even protruded from it.
According to legend, this river had once been a Nether Flood Dragon God that transformed into the river itself.
Floating on the calm surface were numerous bone spikes.
In truth, these were the exposed backs of Spine-Piercing Crocodiles.
These crocodiles lived in groups within the Nether Flood Dragon River and were undoubtedly the dominant species. They dug into the riverbanks, burrowing deep until they reached the buried bones within the soil, hollowing out cavities within the bones to serve as their nests.
“Look over there,” Sun Lingtong signaled.
Following his direction, Ning Zhuo’s eyes brightened slightly—he had spotted a village.
The village was hidden beneath the shadow of a corpse-moss floating island. Its structures were built from ship planks, masts, and gigantic ribs like those of a giant.
The village walls absorbed light. Upon closer inspection, a thin oily membrane rippled across the surface of the walls, clearly forged using a special technique.
At the base of the walls lay piles of corpses, while along the top of the walls hung numerous skulls from different creatures.
The village gate opened, and several redwood boats rushed out.
Of the cultivators controlling the boats, a small portion were human, while the majority were Ghostfolk.
Ghostfolk were an intelligent race that was half human and half ghost. The males were usually ferocious and frightening, while the females were stunningly beautiful. Their skin colors varied widely—red, green, blue, black, white, yellow, and more.
Their eyes were particularly distinctive. Their irises were black, while their pupils were white, allowing them to easily observe ghostly beings.
The redwood boats were engraved with magical restrictions and built in the form of warships. Each had twenty long oars. Both the prow and stern were raised high, forming the shape of a flood dragon’s head and tail.
The human cultivators mostly remained silent, their expressions anxious. The Ghostfolk, on the other hand, were bare-bodied, with disheveled hair and horns on their heads, shouting loudly.
Three warships sped along the river in the same direction.
Seeing this scene, both Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong felt curious. Why were these local cultivators in such a hurry?
Originally, their plan had been to avoid rushing to White Paper City. Instead, they intended to enter a village first, disguise themselves, and attempt to pass as local cultivators.
But after seeing this situation, the two discussed briefly and immediately accelerated the Wanli Dragon through the sky, following the direction of the warships.
Flying ahead with their superior speed and vantage point, they soon discovered something.
This section of the river was littered with wrecked ships and numerous corpses of Spine-Piercing Crocodiles.
Many of these crocodiles were as large as war elephants, emitting Foundation Establishment–level auras.
The most eye-catching sight was one floating belly-up on the river surface—or rather, its corpse.
The crocodile’s body was covered in wounds, and its blood had long since flowed into the river. It was enormous—two to three times larger than the warships dispatched from the Ghostfolk village.
Clearly, a fierce battle between humans and beasts had taken place here.
Judging by the aftermath, the result seemed to be mutual destruction.
Ning Zhuo saw several surviving cultivators resting on the nearby riverbank, trying to rescue companions who had fallen into the water. Meanwhile, many Spine-Piercing Crocodiles were devouring corpses in the river, friend and foe alike.
“Little Zhuo, this is a great opportunity!” Sun Lingtong suddenly said.
“Boss, you mean…” Ning Zhuo immediately understood.
The two slipped ahead of the arriving reinforcements and descended into the river.
The Wanli Dragon was extremely miniature, and since no Golden Core cultivators were present, no one noticed them.
Many corpses floated in the water. The two selected bodies with less obvious injuries and relatively ordinary clothing, storing them inside the Puppet Dragon.
Inside the cabin, Sun Lingtong immediately began working. Using the two corpses as models, he performed his Theft Technique and applied it to himself and Ning Zhuo.
Moments later, Ning Zhuo became a pockmarked yellow-faced human youth, while Sun Lingtong transformed into a short, stout Ghostfolk.
The two exited the Wanli Dragon. Ning Zhuo pretended to be unconscious, while Sun Lingtong held his waist, pretending to struggle as a survivor. They were quickly discovered.
“There’s a Ghostfolk over there!”
“That boy is Jiao Ma, the third son of the Jiao family!”
The survivors worked together to pull Jiao Ma (Ning Zhuo) and the Ghostfolk (Sun Lingtong) onto the shore.
Ning Zhuo kept his eyes closed, pretending to remain unconscious, while Sun Lingtong lay on the ground retching, spitting out large mouthfuls of river water.
A kind cultivator examined them and patted Sun Lingtong’s back.
“You two are only lightly injured. Lucky you—your lives were spared!”
Someone slapped Ning Zhuo’s face to wake him.
“Pockface, Pockface! Wake up!”
His face hurt from the slaps, so Ning Zhuo slowly opened his eyes, acting dazed. His gaze was unfocused, his lips trembled slightly, yet he failed to speak.
“Not bad acting,” Sun Lingtong observed from the corner of his eye, praising him internally.
Indeed.
Since childhood, Ning Zhuo had been trained by Sun Lingtong in disguise techniques. He had put immense effort into concealing himself. Even Meng Kui and others had been fooled by him—deceiving these rural cultivators was naturally effortless.
Moreover, Sun Lingtong’s Theft Technique had grown far stronger after obtaining the Evil God Bone Marrow. With all these factors combined, the two easily passed unnoticed.
Many people recognized the identity Ning Zhuo had assumed—Jiao Ma—and greeted him warmly.
Meanwhile, the short Ghostfolk played by Sun Lingtong received little attention.
In short, the surrounding cultivators quickly accepted them without suspicion.
Not long afterward, three reinforcement warships arrived and rescued them.
The leader was a Golden Core–level Ghostfolk with an ugly expression.
“This stretch of the river has always been safe. How could such a large group of Spine-Piercing Crocodiles suddenly appear?”
He sent people to investigate but found nothing.
The Golden Core Ghostfolk then personally questioned the survivors, including Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong, yet still found no useful clues.
However, when questioning Ning Zhuo, the leader personally cast a healing spell on him and offered a few comforting words.
Ning Zhuo immediately realized that his assumed identity seemed to have a rather close relationship with this Golden Core Ghostfolk.
He took the initiative to ask a question and suggested returning to the village before deciding what to do.
The Golden Core Ghostfolk glanced at him. Though he noticed Ning Zhuo’s tone was somewhat different from usual, he did not suspect much and instead shook his head solemnly.
He stepped onto a rock, looked around, and announced:
“You were originally traveling to White Paper City to deliver a marriage envoy, yet you were intercepted halfway.”
“Although we found no clues, such incidents have already occurred repeatedly among several villages recently.”
“We cannot turn back. We must reach White Paper City.”
“This time, I will personally lead the escort and continue the journey with you!”
His authority was high, and he was the only Golden Core cultivator present. No one dared oppose his command.
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong exchanged subtle glances, both somewhat disappointed.
They had hoped to return to the village and stay for a while to strengthen their disguise. Instead, this identity had backfired, forcing them to head straight to White Paper City.
“Marriage envoy? What marriage?” Ning Zhuo wondered. “Is this village forming a marriage alliance with another faction? Is that why they were attacked?”
Sun Lingtong was also puzzled.
“I didn’t see any bride either.”
“This has nothing to do with us. Maybe we should slip away later?” Ning Zhuo suggested.
Sun Lingtong nodded slightly. “That works.”
While secretly communicating through spiritual sense, they outwardly followed the others onto the warship.
“Jiao Ma’er, come here,” the Golden Core Ghostfolk leader suddenly called out to Ning Zhuo.
Curious, Ning Zhuo approached him.
The leader took out a treasure material and handed it to him.
“You risked your life to pick a Ghost-Faced Banyan fruit for my daughter. Unfortunately, you were chosen to become the Male Consort of the White Paper City Lord.”
“Sigh… our village is too small. How could we possibly defy the orders of White Paper City?”
“You and my daughter were destined to miss each other. Let it end here.”
“This is the stomach pouch of a Spine-Piercing Crocodile. It’s Golden Core–level. I’ve already refined it for you.”
“Later, you only need to separate your soul, enter it, endure the corrosion, and recover again. This will greatly strengthen the toughness of your soul.”
Ning Zhuo was stunned. He hadn’t expected that he himself was the marriage envoy.
For a moment, he was speechless.
“Uh… this…”
The Golden Core leader patted his shoulder.
“Don’t think about returning to the village, and don’t think about running away halfway.”
“You’ll sit beside me from now on. I’ll guide you in using the crocodile pouch for cultivation.”
Ning Zhuo felt extremely helpless. Just like that, he was placed under the leader’s watch.
With his abilities, he could not slip away secretly anymore—he would need Sun Lingtong’s Theft Technique.
But Sun Lingtong had already found the situation hilarious and was laughing internally.
“Little Zhuo, your luck is amazing. Let’s just go along with this. There’s no need to create another fake identity in another village.”
Since Sun Lingtong refused to cooperate, Ning Zhuo could forcibly leave—this Golden Core cultivator couldn’t stop him.
But Sun Lingtong understood him very well and immediately tried to persuade him.
“This identity came unexpectedly, but it should be quite valuable.”
“Look—you didn’t even do anything, and you already got a Golden Core–level crocodile pouch.”
“And the White Paper City Lord is a Nascent Soul–level existence. Surely she wouldn’t mistreat her Male Consort.”
“Little Zhuo, your cultivation method doesn’t prohibit the loss of Yuan Yang. Dual cultivation alone would greatly benefit your cultivation.”
“Just imagine—dual cultivation with a Nascent Soul–level female cultivator.”
This made Ning Zhuo hesitate.
“Well… that’s true…”
Sun Lingtong continued:
“Of course, it depends on how the dual cultivation is performed. If it harms us, we can just leave.”
“After all, we still have the Wanli Dragon.”
“And even if we don’t dual cultivate, just this identity alone should allow us to obtain quite a few benefits.”
Gradually, Ning Zhuo was persuaded.
Sun Lingtong chuckled through spiritual sense.
“Don’t you think this is exciting?”
If it were the old Ning Zhuo, he might have disagreed.
But after the great war in Liangzhu Kingdom, after witnessing Grandfather Long’s sacrifice and countless people shedding blood on the battlefield, courage and boldness had grown within his heart.
In the end, Ning Zhuo secretly nodded.
“This indeed could become a wonderful adventure.”
“According to the Golden Core leader, many others have been intercepted halfway. That means a certain force is targeting the White Paper City Lord.”
“And it also means the City Lord is gathering many Male Consorts. I’m just one of them.”
“And that actually makes it easier for me to fish in troubled waters.”
Sun Lingtong said eagerly:
“I wonder if we might be able to use this identity to sneak into the treasury of the City Lord’s Mansion? Hehe.”