Chapter 543: Victory and rest

At this moment, the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar is quite aggrieved.

It originally had victory in its grasp, but was successfully chicken-stolen by Sun Lingtong, and the good situation was directly buried.

The main reason is public incense.

If the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar were open and aboveboard, building temples, and absorbing incense, before the believers offered incense, they would inevitably chant its divine name. In this way, the incense would belong to the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar.

But all along, it has been hiding its true body, even the Forest Warden Luo Chen, who guards the Ten-Mile Burning Forest, does not know its existence.

It wasn't until the Three Generals Camp was about to win, and Luo Chen's intention to retreat was very obvious, that the Fire-Crowned Divine Tree had to appear.

It knows very clearly: once the Two-Note Kingdom controls this place, it will inevitably strictly investigate, and it won't be able to hide!

"My incense!"

"Luo Chen, you must take back my incense, otherwise we will all be defeated!"

Luo Chen: "Pfft!"

He vomits blood, directly withered and listless, his momentum and fighting spirit falling to the bottom.

His face is pale, with a dead face: "Where is the incense? Who stole it?"

Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar: "I don't know!"

Luo Chen: "Pfft!!"

He vomits blood again.

The fire crown is canceled, and the three generals Liu, Generals Guan, and Zhang also stagger, unable to attack for a while, so they have to adjust urgently.

At this time, the recovery of ordinary soldiers is faster.

Ning Zhuo finds the opportunity, urges military strength, and adds support to his own spells.

For a time, five-element spells are used, and golden knives, golden spears, golden swords, etc., set off a storm-like offensive.

Gao Cuo is eager to move: "Sword Elder, should we strike?"

Sword Elder: "Wait a little longer! You and the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar and Luo Chen are friendly forces, with divine decrees on you. If you strike at your own people rashly, you won't be able to stay in the current Thousand Peaks Forest."

"Forbearance for now is the best policy!"

Gao Cuo nods: "Understood, let the Three Generals Camp kill the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar, then it will be good for us to strike and snatch the Wood-Core Fire."

His main purpose for coming here has always been this rare fire seed.

However, while they were communicating, Ning Zhuo was also communicating with Lin Bufan.

"Sect Master Lin, next, I have to rely on you to strike and snatch the Wood-Core Fire!" Ning Zhuo transmits via spiritual sense, communicating with Lin Bufan through a token.

Ever since the Ning family, the Ten Thousand Medicines Sect, and the Zhu family of the Nandou Kingdom Royal Family reached an alliance secretly, these main members have had tokens of each other, which can communicate within a short distance.

Lin Bufan sees that he was seen through by Ning Zhuo, but is not surprised.

Because when he found Ning Zhuo before, he used the "One Leaf Blinds the Eyes" technique, which was seen through by Sun Lingtong using the Ten-Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon at that time.

"Good, I will cooperate with you." Lin Bufan is quite straightforward.

The next moment, Ning Zhuo intensifies his fierce attack, trying to create an opportunity.

The three generals are all at the Jin Dan cultivation level, recovering faster than Luo Chen.

Zhang Hei strikes first, directly throwing the black snake spear.

Spear Art—Snake Tooth Throw!

The black snake spear is powerful, shooting out, arriving in front of Luo Chen in the blink of an eye.

Luo Chen wants to dodge, but Generals Guan Hong also strikes immediately after.

Talent—Purple Beard Startled Goose!

Although it is not at the supernatural ability level, Generals Guan Hong has spent a lot of effort in developing this talent, and its power is enough to check the state-collapsed Luo Chen.

Although it only fixed him for an instant, it was enough.

The black snake spear directly pierced Luo Chen's chest, creating a giant hole the size of a face.

Luo Chen's heart, lungs, spine, ribs, etc., were all destroyed!

The physical body died, Luo Chen sighed, and quickly escaped his Soul Transformation.

Liu Er follows closely, wielding the Profound Yellow Sword, killing toward the Soul Transformation.

Shuttle through the void!

Luo Chen's Soul Transformation doesn't hesitate at all, immediately escapes into the void, and directly leaves the battlefield.

"No——!"

"Luo Chen, you cannot flee!!"

The Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar roars in despair.

Without Luo Chen, and without public incense, even if it is a deity, it is equivalent to a bow without arrows, a fire cannon without ammunition, and a martial artist without strength.

It can only be slaughtered!

The Three Generals Camp surrounds the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar, bringing the darkest despair to the Divine Cedar.

Various attacks fall on the cedar tree, and it can still support for a little while relying on its own cultivation.

Ning Zhuo has already finished communicating with the three generals Liu, Generals Guan, and Zhang.

The offensive suddenly becomes violent, making the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar sway and fall.

The next moment, Lin Bufan, who had been prepared for a long time, suddenly struck, splitting the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar's trunk and taking away the Wood-Core Fire.

The three generals Liu, Generals Guan, and Zhang all roared in

"It's just a mere fire seed; forget it if it's lost."

"We must stabilize this place."

"Capturing the Ten-Mile Burning Forest is a great achievement. Do not create extra complications!"

"That's right, beware of tricks!"

Gao Cuo, Sword Elder:??!!

"No, are you four all useless? The spoils were right in front of you, and you let someone steal the fire seed."

"Since it was stolen, why aren't you chasing after them?"

Both Gao Cuo and Sword Elder felt that there was still some time before they needed to act. They were waiting patiently, but then the three generals launched a fierce attack simultaneously, briefly recovering their strength, which allowed Lin Bufan to "seize" the opportunity and steal the Wood-in-Fire in public.

"We must hurry and chase! If we are a little late, this guy will run far away!" Sword Elder shouted in Gao Cuo's mind, clearly becoming impatient.

The two sneaked out and pursued Lin Bufan, who was flying rapidly in the high sky.

Gao Cuo specialized in the "Leaving Form and Misplacing Shadow Book" and was extremely skilled at disguising and hiding himself. Lin Bufan was followed the whole way without the slightest awareness.

"This Wood-in-Fire is worthy of being one of the Three Essences; it truly has mysteries."

Lin Bufan, having been a Sect Master for many years, was also coming into contact with such an excellent fire seed for the first time.

"The Three Essence True Fires correspond to the Three Talents of Heaven, Earth, and Man; the Wood-in-Fire is the fire of firewood, which is the fire of Man."

"The Ten-Mile Burning Forest uses the fire of Man as a fire seed; on the surface, it refines various magic tools, but in reality, it is gathering the incense of the masses to refine the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar itself."

"This must be the layout of the Ginseng-Beard Dragon King; it is indeed profound. Unfortunately, failing to defeat the armies of the two kingdoms head-on, such a strategy has been abandoned halfway."

Lin Bufan had his own perspective and vision; even watching the battle today, he caught a glimpse of some of the Ginseng-Beard Dragon King's plans.

"The Wood-in-Fire was refined by the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar; that divine cedar will definitely be imprisoned first and will not lose its life. Therefore, this fire seed will always be an object with an owner. Although I have snatched it, I still need to refine it before I can hand it over to Ning Zhuo."

Lin Bufan pondered secretly.

According to the agreement reached through a secret discussion via spiritual sense with Ning Zhuo before the formation.

Lin Bufan helped Ning Zhuo snatch the Wood-in-Fire, while Ning Zhuo would provide Lin Bufan with rewards in other areas of cooperation afterward.

Following the alliance relationship between the Ten Thousand Medicines Gate and the Ning family, although it was not involved in the secret discussion before the formation, Lin Bufan still took the initiative to help Ning Zhuo refine the fire seed. Orders were quickly issued by Liu Er.

Luo Chen was defeated and fled, with only his Nascent Soul surviving.

Master Craftsman Yan Jin was captured, another deputy, Fairy Liuyan, was killed in battle, and the forest-protecting grand formation fell into the hands of the Three-General Camp.

The Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar was heavily sealed and strictly guarded.

With this, the battle concluded; the Three-General Camp became the winning side, paying the price of over three hundred soldiers killed or wounded, and took full control of the Ten-Mile Burning Forest.

The letter reporting the victory was also sent out at the first opportunity.

Time to work!

Ning Zhuo burrowed into his own camp tent and entered the Ten-Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon, starting the three major mechanical pedestals to rapidly replenish mechanical puppets.

In this battle, his mechanical army also suffered heavy losses. If it hadn't been for a replenishment halfway through, the entire army would have been wiped out long ago.

Mechanical puppets were rapidly manufactured one by one.

By now, Ning Zhuo was becoming increasingly proficient at this, and his production and efficiency had improved slightly as a result.

!

The extent of the improvement was not large.

What could truly bring about a huge improvement in efficiency was the mechanical pedestal.

"In that storage bag, there should be other mechanical pedestals. It's a pity I still can't open it." Ning Zhuo thought of the military supplies of the Mechanical Princess Shuang Ling.

With troops in hand, there is no panic in the heart.

As more and more mechanical puppets were replenished, Ning Zhuo became increasingly composed.

During his rest time, he reviewed this expedition.

"A Nascent Soul can escape through the void; it is very difficult to completely kill a Nascent Soul cultivator. Mu Lan's example is, after all, a minority."

"In the end, my limit was still not tested. Forget it."

"The Ten-Mile Burning Forest, the Cloud-Shoulder Audience Dragon Platform, the Curly-Root Hundred-Grass Cave, the Thousand-Vine Talisman Sky Corridor, etc., are resource strongholds built around the Dragon King Giant Wood Mountain."

"According to the intelligence, these strongholds were built and constructed by the Dragon King Temple and other major forces of the Thousand Peaks Forest, pooling their funds together. Each one cost a fortune!"

"I didn't expect the Ginseng-Beard Dragon King to secretly pull this off, secretly supporting the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar to become a god. He not only used the Ten-Mile Burning Forest to forge a god, but also used the god to secretly erode this stronghold in return. What a good plan."

"However, precisely because of this, there was public incense, and there was this fatal flaw!"

For over a decade, Ning Zhuo had been pondering the situation and forces in the Fire Persimmon Immortal City, and his insights in this area were also very profound.

Like Lin Bufan, he also caught a glimpse of the Ginseng-Beard Dragon King's plot.

Thinking of this, he stroked his chest.

"I designed the Five-Viscera Temple Spirit Divine Art; I didn't expect it to be used here."

Now, his Fire-Element Heart Temple was filled with a massive amount of incense.

During the battle, Ning Zhuo secretly handed his heart to Sun Lingtong, letting him take it out to steal the incense.

The existence of incense still relies on gods to be collected.

And the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar belongs to the Fire element, which perfectly matches Ning Zhuo's Fire-Element Heart Temple.

If it were someone else, without such a wonderful divine art as Ning Zhuo's, even if they discovered this major flaw of the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar, they would be unable to utilize it.

"Old Dice, you should be able to use this incense too, right?" Ning Zhuo flicked his wrist, shook off the bracelet, and summoned the Dice Bone Demon God.

The Dice Bone Demon God immediately knelt on one knee on the ground: "Old slave pays respects to Master."

"Master, your divine eyes are sharp; since this incense is all public, it is equivalent to having no owner, which is just right for me to use to repair myself."

"However..."

Ning Zhuo: "However what?"

The Dice Bone Demon God continued: "However, the principles of this old slave are quite different from weapon refining. Although this public incense can be absorbed by this old slave and converted into divine power, the loss rate is much higher than that of the Fire-Crowned Divine Cedar."

Ning Zhuo waved his hand and said generously: "No matter."

The Dice Bone Demon God was immediately moved to tears, praising Ning Zhuo's capacity and kindness.

Ning Zhuo watched from the side.

It was his first time seeing a god using incense with his own eyes.

Although he had read extensively, the books did not involve the secrets in this area.

Ning Zhuo first released the Fire-Element Heart Temple, which landed in the cabin and shrank to the size of a niche.

The Dice Bone Demon God's meditation posture was very peculiar; he did not sit cross-legged, but half-squatted, with his body leaning forward and both palms pressed against the cabin floor.

The small temple opened its doors, revealing the incense inside.

The incense gathered into one body; overall, it was a flame with a peculiar appearance.

On the outermost periphery of the flame was gray smoke constantly drifting away. The flame itself was divided into two layers: the outermost layer was bright red, and the middle layer was golden amber.

The Dice Bone Demon God inhaled deeply, sucking the incense into his own mouth and nose.

He quickly refined it, converting it into new divine power.

Strands of divine power were quickly digested, forming divine arts to heal himself.

Ning Zhuo saw some clues: "Although gods are powerful, they need to consume incense and refine it into their own divine power. Only with divine power is it the foundation of everything, and many divine arts can be performed."

"The Dice Bone Demon God is seriously injured and needs a large amount of divine power to heal."

"His dao field was destroyed; although the believers are still alive, they have been following me, so there is no opportunity to take the accumulated incense."

"This is why gods often need believers, need doctrines, and need to stay in one corner."

"Do gods themselves have no means to increase their divine power?" Ning Zhuo thought of this and asked the Dice Bone Demon God directly.

The Dice Bone Demon God replied: There are indeed, but compared to absorbing and converting incense, the efficiency is too poor.

For gods, converting incense into divine power is the royal road.

There are quite a few gods who still retain their physical bodies, such as some demon cultivators. They want to convert demon power and magic power into divine power, but the efficiency and results are far inferior to incense.

The Dice Bone Demon God introduced incense to Ning Zhuo again: "Master. Public incense only has two layers, but most incense belongs to personal incense and has three layers."

"The outermost red-dust shell precipitates the infinite desires of the believers."

"The middle is the wish-power layer, which is the power of prayer and supplication."

"The core center is the divinity nucleus, which is often engraved with the divine name of a certain god in the form of divine script."

"Incense with a divine name is an object with an owner. It is very difficult for other gods to use it, unless the original owner lends it out."

Finally, the Dice Bone Demon God looked deeply at the Fire-Element Heart Temple: "Master, according to this wonderful art of yours, perhaps you can also absorb incense and operate divine power."

"Oh?" Ning Zhuo immediately became interested.

But the Dice Bone Demon God added: "But if you walk the path of a god, there are also many drawbacks."

"Master, you have a bright future, and this old slave does not suggest that you walk this path."

Ning Zhuo nodded; he also realized this point.

Not to mention anything else, if he were to cultivate divine power, it would be dual cultivation. The disadvantages of dual cultivation are very many, and he is currently cultivating three dantian simultaneously. This has already greatly dragged down his cultivation progress; going to cultivate divine power again would be completely thankless.

The Dice Bone Demon God eventually absorbed most of the incense and restored himself to his original state.

Ning Zhuo continued his physical cultivation while waiting for Lin Bufan to come find him.

He was quite looking forward to the Wood-in-Fire.

As a result, he waited for three days without waiting for Lin Bufan, but instead waited for the messenger of the Army Supervisor Zhao Xi, as well as a reply.

(End of chapter)