In front of Sun Lingtong, a roaring fire burned fiercely, with thick smoke rising to the sky.
The sound of shouting and killing also arose.
Triangular Eyes and Hawk Nose were under siege.
These were many of Sun Lingtong's subordinates that Ning Zhuo had contacted before the attack.
"Lord Qi Bai!"
"He is a dignified Golden Core. How could such an explosion kill him? Let's worry more about ourselves."
"Where did Han Ming go?"
"Just now, our setup in the underground prison was triggered, so she sneaked over to investigate secretly."
"Damn! The timing can't be such a coincidence. This is the enemy's plan, using our setup to successfully divide our forces!"
Triangular Eyes and Hawk Nose communicated telepathically, seeing through Ning Zhuo's tactics, but it was already too late.
They were heavily surrounded and locked in a bitter struggle.
"Interesting, very interesting." From within the raging flames, Qi Bai sauntered out.
The recent violent explosion had not harmed him at all.
A faint golden glow enveloped him, protecting him completely.
Qi Bai's face was gloomy, his gaze locked onto the Youthful Guest: "You actually came to rescue him?"
"At your age, you should know the difference between Golden Core and Foundation Establishment."
"Heh heh, you're just at Foundation Establishment Peak. Are you here to rescue, or seek death?"
As he said this, Qi Bai's gaze fell on the unconscious Sun Lingtong, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
"However, I can somewhat understand you."
Qi Bai revealed a cruel smile, like a snake spitting out its tongue from the shadows: "This makes me look forward even more to the moment I destroy both of you."
"I will tear you to pieces right in front of him, ha ha ha!"
Qi Bai laughed wildly, his laughter rampant.
During his laughter, the surrounding crimson flames suddenly turned and morphed into a ghastly green cold flame.
Ghost Fire!
He pointed with his finger.
The Ghost Fire condensed into a pack of wolves, charging towards the Youthful Guest.
The Youthful Guest's long black hair split into several strands, tying up Sun Lingtong and carrying him in a swift retreat.
During the retreat, mechanical Silent Thunderbirds flew out from under the Youthful Guest's cloak one after another.
The Silent Thunderbirds crashed into the ghostly wolf pack, occasionally exploding in lightning, shattering the ghost wolves.
Qi Bai's figure soared, shooting towards the Youthful Guest.
But in the next moment, the Immortal City Great Array rose, condensing countless array patterns in mid-air like a cage, blocking Qi Bai's attack route.
"Golden Core of the Soul Devouring Sect, deal with the array first, then come find me." The Youthful Guest sneered, carrying Sun Lingtong into the shadows of the alley.
"Interesting!" Qi Bai looked at the surrounding array patterns intercepting him and showing a tendency to shrink but remained unhurried, his demeanor composed and calm without a hint of tension.
The Youthful Guest leaped several times, crossing two or three streets, and then dived into the sewers.
The teleportation formation activated, and they soon entered an underground base.
Of course, this was not the base where Han Ming was previously held.
After some urgent treatment, Sun Lingtong still did not wake up.
Not only that, but his life fire was gradually extinguishing.
His injuries were too severe!
Elixir Pills were sent into Sun Lingtong's mouth and swiftly digested with the help of Mana.
Late Autumn Life-saving Pill!
This elixir pill was originally given by Zhu Xuanji to Yuan Er, hoping to save Yuan Dasheng's life.
After it changed hands, it eventually ended up with Ning Zhuo.
What came from the Royal Family indeed had excellent efficacy.
With the use of the Late Autumn Life-saving Pill, Sun Lingtong's life fire stabilized.
But before Ning Zhuo could breathe a sigh of relief, an overwhelming pressure came crashing down.
Then the ground trembled, and a figure penetrated nearly ten feet through the ground, arriving at this underground base.
Blind Judge Qi Bai's Divine Sense swiftly enveloped them.
"Where do you think you are going?"
"Sun Lingtong has a unique mark planted by me..."
"Heh heh heh, Youthful Guest, unless you abandon him, you can't possibly survive. Otherwise, you are doomed!"
The Youthful Guest's voice was hoarse, filled with anger: "You talk too much!"
In the next moment, the array patterns reactivated, enveloping Qi Bai tightly.
"Again with this trick?" Qi Bai snorted coldly, his expression disdainful.
But in the next moment, the array patterns burst into brilliant light, pressing Qi Bai's nostrils, ears, and eyes to bleed.
The Youthful Guest sneered: "That base on the ground, to prevent exposure and entangle Elder Sun, we deliberately held back."
"But here, deep underground, even if discovered, it will not implicate Elder Sun, so we can give it our all."
"Enjoy it, Qi Bai!"
The array patterns radiated dazzling light, eroding Qi Bai's defenses like crazy.
"Damn it!" Qi Bai tightly closed his lips, sweeping aside his previous arrogance, fully resisting the Immortal City Great Array.
Time returned to several years ago.
In the underground base.
"Little Zhuo, your mother was quite something as a Mechanism Cultivator," Sun Lingtong said, looking around the underground base in amazement.
When Ning Zhuo was cultivating Mechanical Techniques, he accidentally found a map hidden in the underground workshop.
Following the map, they navigated through a section of sewers and eventually arrived at the underground base.
"Your mother had good intentions."
"She hid this mechanism map here specifically, so you could only open it when your mechanical skills reached the required standard."
"This place isn't quite safe!" Sun Lingtong commented.
"I understand." Ning Zhuo nodded, "There is the Immortal City Great Array inside and outside Fire Persimmon Mountain. It is extremely difficult to carve out a secret space underground in the city."
"If we touch an array pattern, we will be discovered."
"The fact that this underground base has been hidden for so many years without being discovered is quite surprising."
Sun Lingtong laughed, "I get it now."
Ning Zhuo: "What?"
Sun Lingtong: "Under normal circumstances, the Immortal City Great Array is re-planned and set up every interval. Although extremely costly, it ensures the array's reliability and prevents long-term enemies from discovering its details and crippling it at a critical moment."
"The situation at Fire Persimmon Immortal City may be somewhat unique, perhaps related to Magma Fairy Palace, causing the Immortal Array to not be reconfigured."
"Or perhaps, one of the City Lords was corrupt and did not properly renovate the Immortal City Great Array."
"Besides, Fire Persimmon Immortal City is located deep in the Southern Bean Immortal Nation. Even if a war breaks out, it won't reach here immediately."
"Maybe the successive City Lords thought they had enough time to adjust the formation when the fires of war erupted."
Ning Zhuo's eyes suddenly lit up: "In that case, we can set up more of these underground bases."
"We just founded our gang; we need to maintain expenses by doing business."
"We can use the underground base for smuggling. It can also serve as our warehouse for stockpiles."
Sun Lingtong clapped in praise, "Brilliant! This way, we can raid other factions' warehouses, and they will never find ours!"
"However, if this place were found, it wouldn't hold out for long due to its weak defenses."
The underground base couldn't add defensive arrays.
Because any array's operation would interfere with the Immortal City Great Array. The City Lord's Mansion would catch a clue from this and trace it down to here.
Sun Lingtong touched his chin: "I'll place some Bukong Sect talismans later to minimize the presence here."
"When I reach Foundation Establishment Peak, I can barely use the Magical Treasures left by my master to set up some array patterns here."
"These patterns can connect weakly with the Immortal City Great Array. Even if discovered, they would mistake it for a part of the Immortal City Great Array."
Ning Zhuo widened his eyes in surprise: "So powerful?"
Sun Lingtong smiled proudly, "Our Bukong Sect's skill in arrays is profound. Most valuable treasures in this world are protected by layers of arrays."
"This technique is called stealing arrays and siphoning power."
"In the future, when we have our headquarters, I'll use this technique there to siphon a lot of spiritual power from the Immortal City Great Array while paying very little."
...
While ruling the black market and eliminating dissenters.
The two of them led their subordinates, surrounding the headquarters of the enemy faction.
"Little Zhuo, do you have confidence?" Sun Lingtong transmitted.
"Elder Sun, just watch." Ning Zhuo was confident.
With a wave of his hand, the mechanism car rammed forward. Each car was loaded with many explosives.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The enemy faction raised their defensive array, and the explosion didn't kill anyone.
The enemy members mocked.
Ning Zhuo observed with folded arms, clearly counting down: "Three, two, one!"
At the count of one, the enemy's defensive array suddenly collapsed, and the faction's high-ranking members suffered a backlash, either heavily injured or dead.
Sun Lingtong cheered loudly and curiously transmitted: "Little Zhuo, how did you do it?"
Ning Zhuo said: "It's simple. Elder Sun, didn't you teach me the technique of stealing arrays and siphoning power?"
Sun Lingtong was even more curious: "But I'm restricted by the sect's rules; I never taught you the related spells or talismans."
Ning Zhuo shrugged: "Simple. You explained the principles, and I achieved the same effect using other means."
"In practice, it works, right?"
Ning Zhuo looked at Sun Lingtong for approval.
Sun Lingtong remained calm and nodded slightly: "Hmm, not bad."
...
Finally, they became the rulers of the black market.
Sun Lingtong's face turned pale: "Little Zhuo, is it necessary to secretly bury so many explosives in my residence?"
Ning Zhuo shook his head: "Boss, it's necessary. We must be cautious, humble, and prevent any possible adverse situation."
"For instance, if a cultivator with a cultivation level far beyond ours came to cause trouble."
"Nascent Soul level and above is too wide a gap to calculate. But Golden Core cultivators, we can give it a shot."
"That Fei Si is sinister and vicious, not a good person. One day, he might personally come to eliminate our black market forces."
"We must be well-prepared!"
Sun Lingtong could only nod helplessly: "If a Golden Core comes, can't we run?"
"Never mind."
"Being well-prepared is always good."