Chapter 608: Deputy City Lord Ning Zhuo

"What an exaggerated progress!" Even Ning Zhuo himself was secretly amazed at his soul cultivation speed.

"I previously consumed a large amount of spiritual food for over ten days, and only then did I reach a thousand-person soul."

"Now, using four treasures in succession, in just two rounds, it has soared to a ten-thousand-person soul!"

Such cultivation progress went against common sense, and it was rapid even toward the end.

But thinking about it carefully, it was quite reasonable.

The spiritual food Ning Zhuo consumed previously was all Foundation Establishment-level spiritual food. And the four treasures he was using now were all Nascent Soul-level!

Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul—this was the normal order.

Now Ning Zhuo was directly skipping the Golden Core level and using Nascent Soul-level resources on himself, while he was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator at this time.

This was absolutely using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and it was also quite extravagant.

In a super sect, this was quite rare. It was like an inner disciple consuming cultivation resources that only true disciples or even sect elders were qualified to enjoy.

Ning Zhuo continued his soul cultivation while also keeping an eye on the outside world.

After the six Golden Core ghost generals were defeated, no one came to offend this place again. And the ghosts that had slaughtered city residents in the city were gradually wiped out due to Wen Ruanyu's performance.

Ning Zhuo also observed the situation from the battlefield outside the city through the life-thread, observing the situation from Sun Lingtong.

"The immortal city's defense is truly thick!" Ning Zhuo's sigh was consistent with Sun Lingtong's.

The Yin army dispatched by the Wangchuan Underworld was absolutely elite, but after attacking the immortal city for a long time, not only did they suffer casualties, but they also achieved no results.

Not long after, the military flag swayed, and the retreat was sounded.

The Yin army retreated slowly, actively ending this siege.

They paid the price of thirty percent of their troops, but only exchanged it for the result of shaving a few layers of talisman paper off the city wall.

They retreated without chaos, with several Golden Core ghost generals personally suppressing the formation, and everything was in good order.

Sun Lingtong mingled among them and acted in unison with them.

This Yin army did not retreat directly to the Underworld but camped on the wasteland ten miles away from the White Paper Xiancheng, slowly setting up a camp.

Since they could not conquer it by force and heard that the internal chaos in the city was gradually subsiding, the Yin army main general had no choice but to retreat first, secretly hoping that the city guards in the White Paper Xiancheng would come out of the city for a field battle.

Field battle?

They wouldn't go even if they died!

Tie Guzheng knew clearly that his side's city guards could not employ military strategy, while the opposite side was a genuine army. If they really fought a field battle and left the thick geographical advantage of the White Paper Xiancheng, the city guards wouldn't be enough for this Yin army to eat in two bites.

Wen Ruanyu returned to the paper doll giant statue.

He slowly put away his self-portrait, looking at Ning Zhuo's soul cultivation, and could not help but feel envious.

These four soul cultivation treasures were all Nascent Soul-level, and Wen Ruanyu had been in the White Paper Xiancheng for so long without possessing so many items at once.

"The Cold Bone Moon Dew Wine combines the means of soul cultivation and Confucian cultivation, taking the Qi of the Nine Netherworlds, condensing the essence of moonlight, and using alcohol brewed for over a hundred years with spiritual grains and immortal fruits as a base, only then is it brewed."

"The Nine Springs Rest Incense is made by the Mourning Music Nether Spirit; only her main cultivation of the Nine Springs Sound Method gave her the ability to make this kind of incense. With her death, it has become a unique sound."

"The Hungry Ghost Counter-Devouring Cauldron was a great gift from the Soul-Devouring Sect to the City Lord. They carefully crafted it, referencing the Soul-Devouring Art, but without leaking the sect's main cultivation method, which is quite ingenious."

"The rarest is the 'Underworld Penal Code'. This is a national treasure of the Underworld, and I don't know from what channel the nth City Lord obtained it."

Seeing Wen Ruanyu return, Ning Zhuo stopped his cultivation slowly.

Wen Ruanyu smiled, first congratulating Ning Zhuo for his great merit this time, and the White Paper City Lord gave him a great reward.

Ning Zhuo curiously asked what the reward was.

Wen Ruanyu took out a seal with many complex and unspeakable colors and handed it to Ning Zhuo: "Jiao Ma, from this moment on, you are the Deputy City Lord of our White Paper Xiancheng."

Even though Ning Zhuo had many guesses, he was extremely surprised to see such a reward at this time.

He knew that the White Paper Xiancheng rarely set up a Deputy City Lord; there was only one leader here, and that was the City Lord herself.

He did not expect the White Paper City Lord to be so generous, directly handing the Deputy City Lord's seal to Ning Zhuo.

"Is the White Paper City Lord so trusting of me?"

"Or is she certain that I am the savior of this crisis? This is too courteous to me."

"Or is she confident in the methods she planted in me?"

The White Paper City Lord planted a talisman in each of Ning Zhuo's three dantian.

Sun Lingtong had suggested trying to steal them for Ning Zhuo. But later, Ning Zhuo discovered the past between his mother and the White Paper Xiancheng and changed his decision to leave.

Under these circumstances, he could not rashly take out these three talismans.

From a certain perspective, this was the basis of trust between Ning Zhuo and the White Paper City Lord. Once taken out, it would be counterproductive.

Now was not the time to take out these talismans!

Ning Zhuo thought for a moment, then took the Deputy City Lord's seal, refining it while asking Wen Ruanyu about the disposal of the Silent Ghost General.

Wen Ruanyu replied that the five captured Golden Core ghost generals were all locked up and were to be interrogated.

"Speaking of which, there is one person you should see." Wen Ruanyu thought of something and took out a token directly.

He shook the token.

The next moment, a ghost flew out of the token.

This ghost quickly condensed into a physical form, lean and thin, with three mouths on his face; it was the old acquaintance—the Talkative Ghost General.

Unlike before, the Talkative Ghost General was already wearing a layer of paper armor, and there were many clean white characters on his skin. These characters were very small, but they linked together to form chain-like shapes, draped over the ghost general's whole body.

"The little one pays respects to Young Master Jiao Ma." The Talkative Ghost General took the initiative to salute; clearly, he had been instructed beforehand.

Even without being instructed, Ning Zhuo's astonishing performance on the battlefield earlier had terrified the Talkative Ghost General.

Therefore, the Talkative Ghost General was fearful and timid in front of Ning Zhuo, with no Golden Core-level momentum at all.

Ning Zhuo glanced at him and then looked at Wen Ruanyu intently: "Is such surrender really reliable?"

"Reliable, reliable, reliable!" The Talkative Ghost General hurriedly expressed his loyalty.

"Shut up." Ning Zhuo glanced at him lightly.

The Talkative Ghost General's body trembled, and he hurriedly lowered his head: "Yes, yes, yes."

Wen Ruanyu showed a bitter smile: "Jiao Ma, do you know how much combat strength our city lost in this internal and external chaos?"

Wen Ruanyu reported the battle damage, which also moved Ning Zhuo.

Wen Ruanyu said: "This ghost tide is different from before."

"In the previous ghost tides, although the Wangchuan Prefecture Lord intervened, he acted secretly. But this time, he dispatched a Yin soldier army, revealing his determination to win."

"The Wangchuan Underworld is analogous to a cultivation kingdom. Although the Wangchuan Prefecture Lord cannot reach the mortal world, his subordinates are like clouds and rain."

"Therefore, this is likely a protracted war! We must maintain the scale of combat-capable soldiers to have more hope of finally surviving this calamity!"

Wen Ruanyu first explained the necessity of recruiting enemy generals, then introduced: "The Talkative Ghost General is already worthy of much trust."

"On one hand, the paper armor on his body is a restriction imposed by the City Lord; on the other hand, the Talkative Ghost General also has my Confucian cultivation's 'Recruitment and Harmony Outline'."

Ning Zhuo was curious: "Recruitment and Harmony Outline?"

Wen Ruanyu explained: "This is a Confucian cultivation spell that can influence and recruit enemies, with excellent results, and is stable and reliable."

Ning Zhuo then asked: "Was this personally cast by Senior Wen?"

Wen Ruanyu shook his head: "That is not the case, but the caster is absolutely reliable; it is an elder specially left behind by Senior Sister Meng Yaoyin."

"Back to the main topic."

"This time, the City Lord also ordered you and me to continue investigating the traitor."

Mentioning this, Ning Zhuo felt troubled and could not help but frown.

Wen Ruanyu had more confidence in him than Ning Zhuo had in himself: "With you, Jiao Ma, taking action, the traitor will surely not be able to hide for long."

Ning Zhuo shook his head: "I only collect clues and evidence, and conduct conception and deduction. If Senior Mourning Music Nether Spirit were still alive, then there would be certainty."

Mentioning the deceased colleague, Wen Ruanyu's face sank, and his expression became gloomy and sorrowful.

Ning Zhuo knew he was not good at investigating cases, but there was no way, he had to bite the bullet.

oo￠o

This matter was quite urgent, so Ning Zhuo interrupted his cultivation and went to busy himself with this task.

He thought for a moment and asked Wen Ruanyu where the source of the ghost internal chaos and the slaughter of city residents was.

Wen Ruanyu told him that it was in the depths of the Mo River, where someone had temporarily set up

a Ghost Gate Pass. Large numbers of ghosts emerged from the Ghost Gate Pass.

Ning Zhuo proposed: "Let's start investigating from the Mo River, how about that?"

Wen Ruanyu nodded immediately, without the slightest resistance: "Since the City Lord ordered me to act as your deputy, you arrange it."

On the surface, it was still Wen Ruanyu in charge, with Jiao Ma following by his side.

As for the position of Deputy City Lord, Ning Zhuo chose to suppress it and hide it. There was no need to show off at this juncture and attract assassination from the enemy army.

The Mo River was the river channel in the city.

The river water was pitch black, emitting the fragrance of ink.

Ning Zhuo arrived at the river section where the incident occurred and entered the river water with Wen Ruanyu, only to find a few traces, but no valuable clues.

"This traitor's hands and feet are quite clean!" Wen Ruanyu sighed, "We have already searched several times, and now we are checking all the Mo Rivers in the city."

Ning Zhuo went ashore again, pondered for a moment, and said to Wen Ruanyu: "The source of these Mo Rivers is the Ink Pool. Senior Wen, you mentioned before that this Ink Pool was left behind by Senior Meng Yaoyin?"

"Exactly." Wen Ruanyu replied.

Ning Zhuo was very interested in the Ink Pool itself: "Then let's go and see it first."

The Ink Pool was located underground in the White Paper Xiancheng. The pool water was as black as ink, but it was not turbid; instead, it revealed a calm and profound meaning, as if it could reflect the human heart. The water surface was waveless, like a piece of black jade embedded in the ground, occasionally rippling with subtle ripples, as if it had spirituality.

? ￠o

A stone tablet stood by the pool, with two characters written on it—"Wash Heart".

When Ning Zhuo and Wen Ruanyu approached, ink shadows appeared by the pool, immediately forming a hunched figure.

He was an old Confucian scholar as thin as a stick, with white hair and beard, and wrinkles as deep as gullies, his turbid eyes occasionally showing divine light.

He wore a washed-white blue-gray Confucian robe, with a simple wooden plaque hanging from his waist, with the two characters "Guard Ink" written on it.

Ning Zhuo was slightly stunned, discovering that he had already seen this old Confucian scholar. The other party

was the city gate official he saw when entering the city, responsible for recording the names of those entering the city.

"Master Zheng, this Young Master Jiao Ma is quite strategic and good at investigating cases. This time, he is acting as my deputy to investigate the traitor in the White Paper Xiancheng." Wen Ruanyu took the initiative to salute.

The Ink Pool old Confucian scholar was surnamed Zheng. After Meng Yaoyin appointed him, he changed his name to Shoumo, meaning the person guarding the Ink Pool.

The Ink Pool old Confucian scholar did not fail Meng Yaoyin's entrustment and had always been loyal and dedicated.

He had merit in guarding the Ink Pool, and his moral integrity was even more admirable, so even though Wen Ruanyu was a Golden Core true disciple of the Myriad Phenomena Sect, he was very respectful to him.

Ning Zhuo wanted to know more about his mother, so he took the initiative to ask under the pretext of investigating the case.

The Ink Pool old Confucian scholar introduced: "In the past, I survived with the help of my master, and since then, I have vowed to follow and offer a lifetime of loyalty."

"My master asked me to guard the Ink Pool, and over the years, I have not been the slightest bit slack!"

"The Ink Pool is a Confucian literary treasure, born from the inkstone among the four treasures of the study—brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. The water of the Ink Pool can educate the world, wash away the ferocity of the wild martial arts, and submit to the literary path."

"The cost of building the Ink Pool was extremely high. But my master had great benevolence in her heart and did not hesitate to build it with heavy capital, without receiving a single benefit from the White Paper Xiancheng."

"The White Paper Xiancheng can survive and reach the state of political harmony today; the literary education triggered by the Ink Pool can be said to have made great contributions!"

Like Wen Ruanyu, the Ink Pool old Confucian scholar also admired Meng Yaoyin very much.

Hearing this, Ning Zhuo smiled, feeling honored in his heart.

"Besides guarding the Ink Pool, does the old gentleman do other work? I once saw you serving as a city gate official." Ning Zhuo asked.

Wen Ruanyu smiled slightly.

The Ink Pool old Confucian scholar explained: "Maintaining the daily operation of the Ink Pool is not just simple safety guarding."

"The old man must observe the feelings of the people, so that I can—take action, aiming at education."

"Therefore, besides serving as a city gate official, I also often visit alleys and participate in many marketplace lives."

Ning Zhuo suddenly realized: "So that's it."

He asked many more questions, and the Ink Pool old Confucian scholar—answered, his speaking speed unhurried, giving people a sense of stability and reliability.

Ning Zhuo and Wen Ruanyu took action one after another to check the Ink Pool, but found no clues.

The Ink Pool old Confucian scholar took the initiative to say: "Perhaps there might be some clues that can help the two adults."

"Oh?" Ning Zhuo looked at the old Confucian scholar with expectation.

The old Confucian scholar said: "The old man has no other way, but recently I participated in the guarding and interrogation work of the prison, so I thought of the five Golden Core ghost generals that Senior Wen just captured."

"Perhaps they know something, and we can pry some clues from their mouths."

Wen Ruanyu nodded: "That is true... even if there are no clues, being able to torture out some enemy military intelligence can be considered our merit."

The Ink Pool old Confucian scholar smiled: "The old man is just about to go and sign in for work, might as well go together."

The three left the Ink Pool and arrived at the prison.

The Ink Pool old Confucian scholar led the two into an interrogation room.

The Ink Pool old Confucian scholar was the leader here. As soon as he entered, a subordinate reported diligently, saying that four of the Golden Core ghost generals had confessed, just more or less.

Only the Silent Ghost General was very tough, with an extremely firm attitude; no matter how severe the torture, he had not said a word to this day.

"Interesting."

"Then let the old man go and meet him." The Ink Pool old Confucian scholar rolled up his sleeves unhurriedly and took a branding iron from the charcoal stove. ===== CHAPTER 609 =====