Chapter 556

The flames burned quietly.

The tongues of fire danced in silence, their movements elegant, radiating a compassionate Buddhist aura.

Cremation Prajna Soul-Resolving Sutra!

Ning Zhuo stood before the mass of fire, the flames reflected in his eyes, revealing a look of lingering attachment.

Within the flames, the materials and components of the original Cang Tie Han Jia melted rapidly, and from time to time, spiritual essence was parsed out.

The spiritual essence, in fine specks, drifted in the air, and then, guided by Ning Zhuo's spiritual sense, most of it fell onto the body of a mechanical puppet.

This mechanical puppet resembled an ascetic bhiksuni; linen-colored robes wrapped around its joint mechanisms, bronze palms were exposed at the cuffs, and a cinnabar mark between its brows swirled with Buddhist light.

Its face wore a smile that was not quite a smile, and its half-lowered eyelids contained a hint of compassion.

Bronze pivot joints were exposed at the knees, and its feet were a pair of straw sandals woven from hemp, containing hidden arrays that were not clearly distinguishable.

It was none other than the Buddhist Healer, Meng Meng Yaoyin.

A large portion of the spiritual essence was infused into the Buddhist Healer.

The remaining part was still collected by Ning Zhuo into the Soul-Storing Box.

Ning Zhuo had improved and upgraded the Cang Tie Han Jia, and the replaced materials were directly cremated, nourishing the spiritual essence of the Buddhist Healer, Meng Meng Yaoyin.

"In this way, the item I had in hand as a fallback has been used up."

A faint sense of crisis arose in Ning Zhuo's heart.

The Cang Tie Han Jia had always been his safeguard, preventing any mishaps with the Buddhist Healer, Meng Meng Yaoyin. If her spiritual essence were to drop to a very dangerous level, then the Cang Tie Han Jia would have been his life-saving item.

Burning the Cang Tie Han Jia in advance did not provide a way to completely heal the Buddhist Healer, Meng Meng Yaoyin.

Keeping this trump card as a life-saving measure was the superior strategy.

"I hope to acquire that mechanical carriage."

"Other than that, the more the better!"

If it were just a mechanical carriage, Ning Zhuo would not have cremated it immediately; instead, he would have used it to replace the Cang Tie Han Jia as his final insurance policy.

The flames continued to burn, with no more spiritual essence being extracted.

After Ning Zhuo removed the residue and waste, he tossed in a pile of relics.

These relics were obtained from Tian Shuang and originated from Qi Bai. It was precisely through these relics that Tian Shuang conducted calculations to infer Ning Zhuo's location.

Tian Shuang's grand giveaway had, by a stroke of luck, allowed Ning Zhuo to obtain Qi Bai's relics.

There was nothing more to say about this—cremate them directly!

The flames burned, the spiritual essence danced, and it gathered into the body of the Nether Envoy, Qi Bai.

The main body of the mechanical puppet Qi Bai was black, with a gray-white color scheme.

It stood six feet five inches tall with a lean build. It wore a conical pitch-black bamboo hat, and its gray-white skull closely resembled a human bone.

The eye area was a black strip, and within the strip was a gray-white horizontal line that emitted soul light.

Because Ning Zhuo had previously used the Nether Envoy, Qi Bai, in battle within the Fire Persimmon Immortal City, its spiritual essence was insufficient. Since then, Ning Zhuo had rarely used this item.

In the battle of the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts, Ning Zhuo had not brought it out to use either.

On one hand, bringing it out would not solve the problem. On the other hand, it might expose himself, provoke the wrath of the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts, and cause the situation to deteriorate further.

Qi Bai's spiritual essence continued to rise.

But the expectation in Ning Zhuo's eyes gradually dimmed.

This was because Qi Bai's spiritual essence rose more and more slowly, eventually stopping at the stage of ninety-two percent, where it remained fixed.

"Sigh, without reaching ten percent spiritual essence, there is no qualitative change."

"This Golden Core-level puppet still cannot be used freely."

Ning Zhuo thought of Di Hui.

According to what Tian Shuang said, Di Hui also had a portion of Qi Bai's relics in his hands.

"As long as I burn those, Qi Bai's spiritual essence will very likely reach ten percent. Once there is a qualitative change, the spiritual essence will be able to recover on its own."

"Before that, it is better to use it sparingly."

Although the Nether Envoy, Qi Bai, was at the Golden Core level, without a qualitative change in its spiritual essence, it was a consumable with limited usage.

Moreover, it involved the Soul Dao, its Demonic Dao characteristics were obvious, and its Evil Faction aura was heavy, making it unsuitable for Ning Zhuo to use in public.

"Once exposed, if the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts perceive its spiritual essence, they might realize the importance of Qi Bai's relics."

"To facilitate future success, it is better to endure for now, keep this card in hand, and not be in a hurry to play it!"

The Nether Envoy, Qi Bai, and the Buddhist Healer, Meng Meng Yaoyin, were both produced from the Lava Immortal Palace and carried the Three Sects' Shangren's understanding of mechanism arts. They both shared a common characteristic: they were integrated.

Because the divisions between the components were not very obvious, these two puppets were as if molded in one piece, which brought great difficulty to Ning Zhuo in parsing their structures.

Although Ning Zhuo had the heart to study them in depth, he had always lacked the time and energy, and could be said to have the will but not the strength.

Putting these two mechanical puppets away, Ning Zhuo took out the Cang Tie Han Jia again to test and practice with it.

At present, he did not have a Golden Core in hand, so he could only use spirit stones, polished into spheres, and embedded in the Five Elements Golden Core Wheel to barely substitute for one.

He put on the brand-new Cang Tie Han Jia, vibrated the wings on his back, and flew into the air.

When gliding, the wings were fixed, the shoulder armor drooped, and the buckles on both sides of the helmet, combined with the pointed head, formed a triangular shape for the shoulder and head sections.

His arms were pressed tightly against the sides of his body, and his legs were closed, without a single gap.

At the back of the legs and heels, there was a pair of fin-like baffles that could adjust direction.

When gliding, the consumption of spiritual power was significantly lower.

When truly bursting with speed, the Golden Swallow wings would fold up completely, pressed against his back. Jet ports would be revealed all over the Cang Tie Han Jia, spraying out Li Fire to carry out powerful propulsion!

Once Ning Zhuo accelerated like this, his entire person was like an arrow released from a bow, piercing through the long sky, breaking through the air, and leaving behind a long, straight trail of Li Fire.

Exhilarating!

The only flaw was that under these circumstances, the spirit stone spheres simply could not support it and were quickly consumed.

"A Golden Core, only a Golden Core can support the current Cang Tie Han Jia!"

Ning Zhuo had already contacted the Three Generals Camp and also sent a letter to Zhao Xi. While waiting for a reply and waiting for a Golden Core, and possibly a Nascent Soul, he was using the Fetal Breath Spirit Boat to cultivate his physical body.

The higher the physical body strength, the greater the military strategy bonus he could obtain.

The benefits were obvious, and Ning Zhuo could not stop.

Besides this, he also improved and designed Five Elements spells and practiced them many times.

Li Fire Filth-Burning Art!

This spell ignited wounds and could burn away filthy objects, providing many restraints against Soul Dao and Poison Cultivator methods.

Prairie-Fire Healing Flame!

Once this spell was cast, it could ignite a patch of fire within the Spirit Sea. The fire would target various harmful thoughts for burning, preserving the useful ones.

This was a countermeasure Ning Zhuo conceived after suffering from the harm of Buddhist thoughts.

Bedrock Soul-Suppressing Curse!

After casting it, a cultivator could transform a portion of their flesh and blood into rock to resist pain, and also suppress the soul to resist damage in terms of the soul.

This method was a supplement Ning Zhuo made to his shortcomings in soul defense after suffering from Tian Shuang's Frost Soul Gaze supernatural power.

He designed this spell focusing on power, which led to significant drawbacks.

After casting this method, his own speed would plummet.

Pure Land Gap-Filling Art!

This spell required the use of the treasure material, Western Pure Land.

Ning Zhuo still had some reserves in hand.

Using this spell, Ning Zhuo could achieve severed limb regeneration, and it also carried the profound power of purification. The regenerated limb was pure and free of filth.

Besides this, Ning Zhuo also optimized the Flame-Cloak Art and designed a three-layered Li Fire Shield.

He also designed the Earth-type Thick Earth Armor and Rock Plate Shield.

He had suffered quite a few losses in previous life-and-death battles, and this time he supplemented the shortcomings in defense and healing among the Five Elements spells.

With a profound Five Elements realm, one could do whatever one wanted!

It could be clearly seen from these spells that to save energy and time, Ning Zhuo only designed Earth-type and Fire-type spells.

The reason for making such a choice was that he currently only possessed the Earth-type Spleen Temple and the Fire-type Heart Temple. As long as he focused his spiritual sense on the temples, he could precisely control Earth-type and Fire-type spells; this was also an unexpected gain from his previous life-and-death battles.

Therefore, supplementing the remaining three types also became Ning Zhuo's cultivation goal.

When saying goodbye to Lin Bufan, Ning Zhuo had already negotiated with him, modifying the previous cooperation content, and letting Lin Bufan bring back his Ten-Thousand-Year Water Essence.

Besides practicing these spells, Ning Zhuo also raced against time, squeezing out a little time to design mechanical puppets capable of flight.

Because time was too tight, Ning Zhuo started from the actual situation and could only pick the most practical schemes to operate.

According to the biological structure of the Golden Swallow, he biomimicked a mechanical Golden Swallow. This undoubtedly avoided him wasting a large amount of energy and time on the design stage.

Subsequently, on this basis, he improved the mechanical Golden Swallow, making the control method closer to that of the Thunder-Silent Bird.

The mechanical Thunder-Silent Bird was considered a typical mechanism, which Ning Zhuo used frequently when he was in Fire Persimmon Immortal City. To be precise, when he was using the identity of the Young Guest, the Thunder-Silent Bird was one of his conventional offensive means.

Therefore, Ning Zhuo was very proficient in its operation.

The improved mechanical Golden Swallow naturally required less practice, allowing Ning Zhuo to get started very easily.

"With the mechanical pedestal, I can mass-produce mechanical Golden Swallows."

"However, to really let them play a role, they must be organized into a battle formation."

"If my military strategy realm could be as profound as my Five Elements realm, that would be great."

Ning Zhuo held the "Gao Sheng Testament" and the "Soldiers with Helmets," but he had not yet fully comprehended the military strategy of the "Warrior's Return Art." Therefore, he could not obtain the next military strategy insight through the combination of the two treasures.

However, after these few great battles, his understanding of this military strategy was also becoming deeper and deeper.

This was the normal cultivation speed.

Ning Zhuo's Five Elements realm was entirely a special case.

Ning Zhuo was racing against time.

The battle of the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts accelerated his growth and also accelerated the entire situation forward by a large margin.

"If my expectations are not wrong, a great battle is about to start."

"I hope this time, I can have the opportunity to take action against the Six Caves Faction!"

Ning Zhuo had quite a few worries in his heart.

Looking at the current situation, this was very likely his last opportunity on the Thousand Peaks Forest battlefield.

The longer time dragged on, the more likely the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts were to return.

It would be best if he could achieve his goal while the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts were returning, and then quickly relocate!

After all, any detection or tracking means had distance limitations.

According to the information left by Tian Shuang, the reason the Soul-Devouring Sect knew Ning Zhuo's location was also because Ning Zhuo had actively leaked his identity in the Two Beans Kingdom, and it was only after several twists and turns that they came to know.

It was only when Tian Shuang and Di Hui brought Qi Bai's relics and arrived within the range of the Thousand Peaks Forest that they conducted tracking.

Thousand Peaks Forest, a certain mountain peak.

Boom, boom, boom...

Tian Shuang flew in the high sky, continuously bombarding Di Hui, blowing ice chips everywhere and causing thunder to roar.

Di Hui felt extreme pain in his heart: "What kind of situation is this!"

He did not dare to burrow deep underground, preventing Tian Shuang from losing track of him and returning to Ning Zhuo's side, or doing other things, such as committing suicide out of a sense of heavy sin.

Therefore, Di Hui had to drag Tian Shuang along, pulling him to a remote area to prevent other cultivators from seeing them and harboring ulterior motives.

Di Hui had to admit that they had fallen this time. This was the most wretched encounter for the partner duo of the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts in the past ten years.

"Tian Shuang, you guy, you even used this move!" Di Hui cried out in pain, covered in frost and looking wretched.

Tian Shuang showed a look of sorrow: "My partner, do not be obsessed and refuse to wake up. Let me end you quickly; this is my redemption, and also your redemption."

"Our sins are too heavy; only by dying to apologize can we pay respect to the common people."

Di Hui was so angry that his eyelids twitched, and he gritted his teeth and shouted: "Tian Shuang, listen to what you are saying! I have recorded it all on a jade slip. When you recover, let's see how you face me!"

Tian Shuang turned a deaf ear and just kept bombarding.

Di Hui fled in a wretched state while shouting: "Record it, I'll record it all for you!"

Thousand Peaks Forest frontline camp.

"Have the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts not been found yet?" Long Ye frowned and questioned the other cultivators, "You are so many people, how exactly are you doing things!"

The remaining cultivators all showed bitter expressions, and one of them shook his head: "Long Ye, the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts are not ordinary; they are Nascent Soul-level experts. Coming from a major Demonic Dao sect like the Soul-Devouring Sect, even if they receive our flying letters, they won't pay attention to us if they don't want to."

Long Ye pondered in silence.

Lu Lu Hongtu on the side sighed: "The Heaven and Earth joint attack is indeed powerful; with one strike, they caused the Two Beans Kingdom to lose six or seven Nascent Soul cultivators."

"Now is the time when the Two Beans Kingdom's army is weak, and it is very likely the most suitable time for us to send troops in this war."

"If we can find the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts and spend heavy capital to get them to participate in the great battle, our side can at least increase our chances of victory by twenty percent!"

Then, Lu Lu Hongtu changed the subject: "It is a pity that we cannot find them."

"Time waits for no one!"

"If we drag it out any longer, this kind of peerless opportunity will be lost. The Two Beans Kingdom has a large foundation, and they are likely already working to supplement some Nascent Soul-level cultivators at this time."

Long Ye glanced at Lu Lu Hongtu, knowing that the latter's sigh was actually an exhortation to him.

After thinking for a while, Long Ye said: "We won't wait for the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts anymore. Gather everyone; we are going to launch a fierce attack on the Two Beans Kingdom's frontline camp!"

Two Beans Kingdom frontline camp.

Zhao Xi frowned and questioned Liu Er: "Where is Ning Zhuo? Why hasn't he returned yet?"

"A great battle is imminent; what if the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts come to attack..."

Liu Er had a helpless look on his face and spread his hands: "My lord, you know me; as a mere human-demon hybrid, how could I possibly command him, the dignified Young Master Ning?"

"In fact, my Three Generals Camp has always been funded by him. He is the financier of my army; how could I have the ability to really call him back?"

Zhao Xi snorted coldly: "Since he does not obey military orders, the battle merit rewards he seeks will not be so prompt."

Liu Er glanced at Zhao Xi and saw the latter's livid face. After hesitating for a moment, he still spoke: "My lord, Young Master Ning is a person from another country, and his family is not in the Two Beans Kingdom. The only connection is his marital relationship with Mu Lan, but even for this, he doesn't think much of it, and they have agreed to definitely divorce in the future."

"You say, will such a person be controlled by others because of battle merit rewards?"

Zhao Xi was silent for a long time, pointed his finger at Liu Er, and snorted coldly: "He didn't fund you wrongly."

"Fine."

"Send this reward to him as soon as possible."

"Hand it to him in person!"

"And tell him that in this great battle, if he can assist our army and deal with the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts, our country will definitely have a heavy reward!"

"No, I will write a letter myself; you must bring it to him in person."

Liu Er hurriedly bowed: "Subordinate obeys!"

Dismissing Liu Er, Zhao Xi was alone in the room and couldn't help but sigh deeply.

This high position was too hot to handle.

He couldn't sit still.

He regretted seizing power a bit.

He really didn't expect the second great battle to come so quickly.

According to Zhao Xi's plan, he intended to make a fortune in battle merit during this transition period.

He didn't expect the transition period to be so short!