A Magic Artifact styled as an inner armor was thrown into the furnace by Sun Lingtong.
Cremation Prajna Spirit Liberation Sutra!
The artifact gradually melted away, turning into nothingness, but left behind a rich spiritual essence.
The essence rapidly infused into the Weather Balloon·Ice Crystal Snow, bringing its spiritual nature to ten full parts.
Ten full parts of spiritual essence, completely self-sufficient!
From now on, if the spiritual essence of the Weather Balloon·Ice Crystal Snow got damaged, it could self-recover.
The spiritual nature of the Weather Balloon·Ice Crystal Snow originated from the ghost cultivator Ning Xie.
When first refined by Ning Zhuo, it had only thirty-six percent spiritual essence.
However, enhancing spiritual essence was not particularly difficult.
You just needed to find corresponding relics.
Back then, when Ning Zhuo enhanced Yuan Dasheng's spiritual essence, it was done in one go as well.
When Qi Bai made it, its spiritual essence was drastically consumed, once dropping below ten percent. But after burning some personal belongings from his storage bag, its spiritual essence instantly surged to over ninety percent.
Ever since acquiring the Weather Balloon·Ice Crystal Snow, Ning Zhuo had been relentlessly using his subordinates, the black market, and the branch clan's channels to locate Ning Xie's belongings.
Through these, he continually accumulated its spiritual essence.
And after extorting the Ning Family Clan Leader for the second time, he obtained some magic artifacts for family use.
The inner armor artifact that was burned was Ning Xie's primary protective gear when he was alive.
After being burned, it immediately filled the last gap in its spiritual essence, reaching ten full parts.
What Ning Zhuo obtained from the Ning Family Clan Leader was, of course, not limited to this.
He got a promise from the Clan Leader—the Ning Family would use its full resources to help Ning Zhuo measure his talent.
Ning Zhuo had to show this strong demand!
For a talented young cultivator with an unknown potential who couldn't advance further, it didn't make sense not to explore his own talent's secrets.
"Thankfully, this matter was handed over to the main line of the Ning Family. They would definitely not let me easily measure my talent."
Concerning the main and branch line disputes, the Ning Family Clan Leader's side would undoubtedly make things difficult and use underhanded tactics.
"Don't disappoint me, main line," Ning Zhuo secretly cheered for the main line.
Ning Zhuo also secured a special permission from the Clan Leader.
He was authorized to collaborate with the Zhou Family and Zheng Family to jointly explore the Magma Fairy Palace.
This way, even if Ning Zhuo helped the Zhou Family and Zheng Family achieve good results, he wouldn't be blamed by his own clan members for betrayal.
He was permitted to vigorously develop "Substitute Puppets," which required him to intensify the collection of clan members' flesh and blood.
The Clan Leader's endorsement erased many intangible obstacles for Ning Zhuo.
Lastly, the Clan Leader extracted numerous Golden Core-level materials such as Redsun Copper from the clan's treasury.
Ning Zhuo's undertaking to refine a Golden Core-level mechanism began grandly and magnificently.
Dozens of Zheng Family artifact refiners spent their days in the refining lab, continuously hammering Wanji Xuan Iron.
To melt the exotic Golden Core materials, Zheng Hua was summoned, using his talented stone to solve the problem.
Zheng Family, Heaven-Ranked Refining Lab.
This was the highest-spec refining lab in the entire Zheng Family, nay, the entire Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
The blazing Earth Flame was condensed into a small lamp flame.
Magical Treasure—Heavenly Craft Lamp!
This was the Zheng Family's town treasure, capable of concentrating boundless firepower into a single point. Any refining technique used within the lamp's flame would have its power at least doubled.
At this moment, within the lamp's flame, a black snake was slithering.
The black snake was extremely fierce! Its body was flat, composed of numerous iron bars. As it moved, the iron bars collided, emitting a series of crisp clinks.
Zhu Xuanji and other Golden Cores intently watched the lamp flame, observing the mechanical black snake within.
Several Golden Cores each showcased their abilities, casting various spells for inspection.
After a moment, Zhu Xuanji, using his golden eyes, was the first to spot something unusual.
Following him, two Golden Cores from the Zheng Family and two from the Zhou Family gradually noticed the anomaly.
Zheng Shuanggou said: "This mechanical weapon's final component is at its seven-inch mark. This position is pivotal, being one of the central points for the mechanical weapon's transformation."
"Without this part, we can only control the weapon's three basic forms!"
"We need an extremely sturdy yet highly flexible material to compensate for this."
Everyone discussed it among themselves.
Zhou Nongying first proposed Jade Dark Steel, Zheng Danlian suggested Dragon Scale Green Iron, Zheng Shuanggou mentioned it could be Purple Mist Jade Gold, while Zhu Xuanji thought Moon Glint Cold Iron would work.
Finally, when the second Golden Core ancestor of the Zhou Family mentioned Night Wind Soft Iron, everyone's eyes lit up, unanimously agreeing it was the most suitable material!
Zheng Shuanggou stroked his chin: "If we use Night Wind Soft Iron, the fire refining method must be pure. Previously using Fire Fiend power for refining won't work."
Zheng Danlian added: "The key is the quenching process."
"Night Wind Soft Iron contains vitality, and an extremely cold quenching method would be inappropriate. Using such a method would severely damage the intrinsic properties of the Night Wind Soft Iron."
The Ning Family Golden Pill Ancestor pondered: "This is manageable."
"Within our family, there is a Qi Refinement junior possessing Ice-jade Hands. This talent allows for a thread of vitality under extreme cold conditions."
"Brilliant," praised Zheng Shuanggou immediately. "This way, we just need this junior to cooperate with us, and we won't have to modify our previous refining plan, saving a vast amount of time and effort."
With the plan settled, the Ning Family Golden Pill Ancestor issued a command at once.
Grandma Ning Xiaohui was ecstatic upon hearing the news.
She eagerly sought out Ning Xiaohui, grabbing her shoulders upon meeting: "Opportunity, Xiaohui, your opportunity has arrived!"
After explaining everything in detail, Ning Xiaohui remained incredulous.
Her grandma urged: "Xiaohui, when you meet the Golden Pill Ancestors, be extremely respectful. They are all big figures. Just a slight favor from their hands would benefit you for years."
Ning Xiaohui, initially very dejected, gradually shifted from a morose, disheartened state to one full of anticipation upon hearing the news.
Following her grandma's advice, she went to pay respects to Zhu Xuanji and the Golden Pill Ancestors of the three families, behaving very obediently.
The Ning Family Ancestor treated her kindly.
Zhu Xuanji gave her a slight nod, informing her of the current situation.
Upon hearing about the need for Night Wind Soft Iron, Ning Xiaohui recalled a recent rumor.
The rumor stated that Ning Zhuo had destroyed a hidden residence of a previous Black Market Master and looted many precious items. Among them was said to be a large quantity of Night Wind Soft Iron.
Ning Xiaohui spoke up: "Honored Ancestors, may I report something…"
She relayed the information about the black market, Ning Zhuo, and the Night Wind Soft Iron to the Golden Pill Ancestors.
The Ning Family Ancestor said, "Oh? Ning Zhuo has Golden Core-level treasure Night Wind Soft Iron, which suits our needs perfectly."
He immediately issued an order for Ning Zhuo to present the material.