The sky was already bright.
But in one of the courtyards of the Zheng Family, darkness still shrouded.
Night Star Silken Sky Formation!
Once this formation was set up, it created an area where night appeared to reign.
This was deliberately restrained; if the formation's true power was unleashed, it wouldn't just cover this courtyard, but an area of several dozen miles.
The night sky over the courtyard fluctuated, gradually transforming into a stretch of silk.
From the soft light of the night silk, four figures gradually appeared, growing larger as they flew out.
All four were Golden Core Cultivators.
They were the ancestors of the Zhou and Zheng Families.
Earlier, the four Golden Core Cultivators had engaged in a bet.
Two Golden Core cultivators from the Zhou Family set up a formation, while two from the Zheng Family tried to break through it.
The stakes were the Zheng Family's Nine Yang Golden Ox Balm and the Zhou Family's Southern Vermilion Bird Constellation Array Map.
The four Golden Core Cultivators landed on the ground.
The two from the Zheng Family stood tall, the corners of their mouths slightly curved up. In contrast, the two from the Zhou Family looked calm but somewhat gloomy, with Zhou Nongying's face still showing a bit of disbelief.
Seeing the two Golden Core cultivators from the Zheng Family looking over, Zhou Nongying sighed: "Brothers from the Zheng Family, you have won."
Zheng Danlian, one of the Golden Core cultivators from the Zheng Family, responded: "We are humbled. Succeeding in breaking the formation was merely due to our weapon's superiority."
These words immediately reminded the two Golden Core cultivators from the Zhou Family of the previous battle, making their expressions change once again.
Zhou Nongying sighed again: "I didn't expect that your noble family had secretly accumulated such a treasure over these years."
"We have lost without grievance."
"A bet is a bet. When we return to our clan, I will personally deliver the Southern Vermilion Bird Constellation Array Map to your residence."
"Ha ha ha, good!" Zheng Shuanggou laughed heartily and took out a bottle of elixir pills, immediately tossing it to Zhou Nongying.
Zheng Shuanggou: "This is Nine Yang Golden Ox Balm! The future of our families lies in the hands of the younger generation."
"Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zeshen are both excellent talents. Treating their ailments is urgent; their foundations must not be overlooked."
The two Golden Core cultivators from the Zhou Family exchanged a glance. Zhou Nongying feigned hesitation and asked: "This is..."
Zheng Shuanggou cupped his hands: "We have a request."
"The Zhou Family excels with formations; Zhou Nongying is especially skilled in deploying them. In our previous encounters, my clan brother and I were deeply impressed."
"Could we trouble you, Brother Zhou, to personally set up formations for our weapon?"
"Oh? This matter..." Zhou Nongying showed a troubled expression, "Setting up formations is something I can certainly do."
"But to do so, I would need to refer to the weapon's diagram."
"What's the difficulty? Just take a look as you need!" Zheng Shuanggou appeared quite straightforward.
Zheng Danlian added: "Years ago, we obtained this mechanical diagram from the Magma Fairy Palace."
Despite this, the demeanor of the two Golden Core cultivators from the Zheng Family still moved the two from the Zhou Family deeply.
In the recent bet, they lost to a mechanical weapon.
The weapon possessed immense power and could change its form through mechanical means, exhibiting entirely different offensive capabilities after transformation.
Allowing the Zhou Family to see the mechanical diagram would greatly reduce the threat posed by this weapon to the Zhou Family.
This was advantageous to the Zhou Family, so the two Golden Core cultivators nodded in agreement immediately and inquired about the specific timing for the formation setup.
Zheng Danlian said: "The weapon is not yet completely forged. The final parts need to be added, requiring immense flame power to melt the critical materials."
Only when the weapon was fully forged would it be suitable for incorporating formations.
Zheng Shuanggou: "Additionally, the final refining stage requires extreme cold power, which is something our clan lacks."
Zhou Nongying said: "The Ning Family, originating from North Wind Country, specializes in ice-based cultivation techniques, and should be able to resolve this issue."
Zheng Shuanggou nodded: "We thought the same."
After a round of discussions, the Zheng Family clan leader knocked on the door, entered, and greeted them respectfully: "Two elders, our ancestors, there has been a major event in the city these past few days."
He took out an invitation: "This is an invitation sent by Zhu Xuanji, the Divine Hunter. He wishes to invite the Golden Core Cultivators in the city to explore the Magma Fairy Palace together."
Upon hearing the report from the Zheng Family clan leader, the four Golden Core cultivators showed changed expressions.
"Meng Kui! Mountain Gaze, Peach Fate Core... Hmph, our city lord truly shows no regard for civilian lives."
Knowing they had been schemed against by Meng Kui, the four Golden Core cultivators were in no mood for pleasantries.
"As I said before, Meng Kui is one of the Meng Family's four generals. For him, bringing the Magma Fairy Palace and Fire Persimmon Immortal City under Meng Family's control is the best result."
"He's indeed at the Nascent Soul level; a single move shifted the entire situation."
"I think his real target is the Magma Fairy Palace. By weakening the palace with the Red Flame Demon Beast, he acted with righteousness and beyond reproach."
"After all, even true disciples of the Soul Devouring Sect have shown up."
"Is Qi Bai the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator?"
"It's possible."
"A true disciple Golden Core of Qi Bai's caliber, captured in defeat, is rare."
"It was Sun Lingtong who did it. He's the Black Market Master and has been operating in Fire Persimmon City for many years. He possesses peak Foundation Establishment combat power, and most importantly, he comes from the Bukong Sect."
The Bukong Sect is a major evil faction that can rival the Soul Devouring Sect.
"Sun Lingtong didn't do much in this battle; the one who truly defeated Qi Bai was that Mechanism Cultivator called Youthful Guest."
"Does this mean that many years ago, the Bukong Sect had already been planning in Fire Persimmon City?"
Soul Devouring Sect, Bukong Sect...
The four Golden Core cultivators exchanged messages telepathically, their expressions growing increasingly solemn.
The Three Ancestral Masters were of great power at the Cultivating the Void level. The Magma Fairy Palace was their legacy and inheritance, attracting no small amount of powerful factions.
Compared to these two major evil sects, the Zhou and Zheng Families were merely minor forces confined to a small region.
"The winds and rain are unstable..." sighed one of the Golden Pill Ancestors.
"Our true support lies in the Southern Bean Country."
"Ha ha ha, Zhu Xuanji boldly pointed out Meng Kui's divine abilities and methods in his invitation; as expected of someone from the royal family, he truly understands strategic alliances."
"Currently, the peak of Fire Persimmon Mountain has been designated a forbidden zone by Meng Kui. Among us, two were initially allowed entry into the Immortal Palace but were directly blocked by Meng Kui."
"His reasons were impeccable, leaving us no choice but to comply."
"But this time, Zhu Xuanji's reason is equally justifiable—concern for the Magma Fairy Palace and a desire to assist with entry into the palace to ward off invaders!"
"Ha ha ha, how does Meng Kui feel now? He treated us this way, and Zhu Xuanji is treating him the same way."
The four Golden Core cultivators had a brief discussion and decided to accept the invitation.
The Golden Core cultivators of both families had not ventured into the Immortal Palace in a long time.
By leveraging Zhu Xuanji to counter Meng Kui, they could also strengthen their ties with the royal family, possibly relying on the royal family to support them against the expanding tentacles of the Soul Devouring Sect and the Bukong Sect in the future.
With Meng Kui's intervention and the recent clash between the Bukong Sect and the Soul Devouring Sect, the four Golden Core cultivators felt increased pressure and instinctively sought closer unity while leaning towards the South Bean Royal Family.
At this moment, within the Magma Fairy Palace.
The Golden Blooded War Ape - Dasheng was paving the way ahead for Ning Zhuo.
The two advanced without hindrance.
Yuan Dasheng had ascended to the first stage of Wisdom Spirit, greatly increasing his combat power despite his mechanism body's unchanged structure.
Ning Zhuo had not studied it carefully, but he had gained many insights while cooperating with the Golden Blooded War Ape - Dasheng.
Yuan Dasheng's spiritual wisdom still did not match that of an ordinary person. When communicating with Ning Zhuo, he was extremely terse, repeating the same phrases again and again. Ning Zhuo tried to engage him in conversation, purposefully finding topics, but Yuan Dasheng remained silent.
"Dasheng, you don't have to call me 'master' every time, do you? Could you change it?"
Yuan Dasheng immediately shook his head, firmly rejecting: "Master must be joking; how could I change the term for my master?"
This made Ning Zhuo thoughtful.
He suddenly understood that previously, in aligning with his spiritual nature, he had found a position in Yuan Dasheng's innate perception.
To Yuan Dasheng, Ning Zhuo had fortuitously risen to the top tier, being recognized as 'master' by Yuan Dasheng.
"If I hadn't reached the top tier, I might have been perceived as a peer or subordinate in Yuan Dasheng's spiritual nature, making it impossible to fully command him."
"Spiritual wisdom at the Wisdom Spirit stage has its own set of perceptions that guide all its behaviors."
Ning Zhuo once again passed the three barriers of the Buddhist Sect and received rewards.
There was nothing to say; they were all Illusion True Lotus Seeds.
He claimed seven in a row and then paused by himself.
The prototype of the divine skills originally resembled lotus roots with three segments, accompanied by a small shoot and leaf. After absorbing seven seeds, the shoot fully spread open, forming a lotus leaf the size of an adult's palm.
Having made significant progress again, Ning Zhuo exited the Buddhist Sect, proceeded to the command room, and finally retreated all the way to room number one.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit observed the whole process, its face full of confusion—what exactly did Ning Zhuo intend to do?!
The next moment, Ning Zhuo fully sensed the Buddha Heart Demon Seal while activating the Life Hanging Thread.
His soul power depleted rapidly as the Life Hanging Thread suddenly pulled, drawing Sun Lingtong's soul directly in.
Sun Lingtong:!!!
Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit:?!?!!!