Chapter 3: Will

**Underground Workshop.**

The gentle light of the spirit lamp bathed the entire space in an even glow.

Ning Zhuo sat at the table, giving his storage pouches a final inspection.

These were the spoils he had acquired from the Three Ghosts of Huang in the black market.

Confirming their security, Ning Zhuo began to unravel the miniature formation on the first storage pouch. He then meticulously forged the aura and divine sense of the original owner, luring the pouch into a successful opening.

Within the first storage pouch, he found a small amount of spirit stones, a Green Blade Mantis spirit pet, and some materials suitable for ghost cultivators, such as Dark Essence, Soul Marrow, and Netherbloom.

The second storage pouch contained several hundred spirit stones, along with ghost cultivation materials: a wisp of Yin Wind and a jade scroll containing a ghost cultivation art, the *Yin Bone Sutra*, which could modify one's bones.

The third storage pouch belonged to the leader of the Three Ghosts of Huang, and its formation was twofold, significantly increasing Ning Zhuo's difficulty and time expenditure.

"Intriguing," the young man murmured, his eyes gleaming.

The higher the difficulty, the stronger the resistance, the more it fueled his fighting spirit.

He immersed himself completely, relishing the joy of challenging difficult problems.

After nearly half an hour, he finally succeeded in cracking the formation.

As soon as it opened, a small ghost head lunged towards Ning Zhuo's face.

Ning Zhuo snorted inwardly, having anticipated this. At the crucial moment, the Myriad Buddha Heart Demon Seal in his sea of consciousness flickered, restraining the ghost head. Subsequently, the defensive formation on the workbench activated, instantly obliterating the small ghost head, reducing it to nothing.

The small ghost head was like the last stubborn resistance of the Huang family's ghost leader.

From this point on, his storage pouch held no further defenses against Ning Zhuo.

There were over a thousand spirit stones, two jade scrolls containing the ghost cultivation art *Netherworld Heart Sutra* and a detailed explanation of the ghost cultivation technique *Soul Guiding Art*. There was also a mountain of cultivation materials, not all of which were suitable for ghost cultivators.

"Fire Essence?!" Ning Zhuo's pupils dilated slightly as he discovered about ten *jin* of Fire Essence.

A look of joy immediately spread across his face.

Suppressing his excitement, Ning Zhuo pulled out a drawer and grabbed a handful of Golden Silk Jade Dew Cakes from within.

With a surge of mana, he burned away the wrappers on the surface of the cakes, the scattered ashes resembling the ash from burning corpses in a pill furnace.

He opened his mouth and stuffed all the cakes into it.

Chewing.

Under the illumination of the spirit light, his lips were a vibrant red, occasionally revealing his pearly white teeth. The Golden Silk Jade Dew Cakes were crushed between his teeth and lips, their fillings flowing out and mixing together, resembling the numerous cultivators who had fallen into his hands, wailing in the grinder before their flesh and blood were pulverized, becoming nourishment for Ning Zhuo's growth.

The world of cultivators was cruel. Without gray market deals like the Up-and-Down Wish Ropes, without the contributions of these demonic cultivators, how could Ning Zhuo afford to eat so many Golden Silk Jade Dew Cakes?

As he ate the Golden Silk Jade Dew Cakes, Ning Zhuo cheerfully tallied the gains from the previous night's black market.

Selling the Up-and-Down Wish Ropes had earned him 24,000 spirit stones.

Among them, his grand-uncle Ning Ze had purchased 80 Up-and-Down Wish Ropes for the Ning family, contributing the lion's share.

In comparison, the spirit stones on the Three Ghosts of Huang were pitifully few.

"The Up-and-Down Wish Ropes I make are the best cave exploration ropes available on the market. Therefore, this business has always been good."

"So, the Ning family is making such large war preparations, which means they are planning something big?"

"Alas, in the cultivation world, it's all about the strong preying on the weak!"

"There are always those who harbor ill intentions, bullying ordinary youths like me."

"Since those three ghost cultivators were out robbing, they must have been poor. However, that ten *jin* of Fire Essence was unexpected, truly a pleasant surprise."

"In this case, the Fire Essence I've been preparing has reached over a thousand *jin*, enough!"

In recent years, Ning Zhuo had been secretly accumulating Fire Essence. For safety's sake, he only purchased a little at a time from the market, accumulating it gradually. At his pace, it would have taken him more than a month to gather ten *jin* of Fire Essence.

Now, this large batch of Fire Essence immediately filled his last gap.

After tallying his gains, Ning Zhuo calculated the losses from last night's black market.

He took out a silver-gray token from his chest.

The token had the character "Cang" on the front and a Chinese character on the back.

Ning Zhuo lightly tossed the token, and it disintegrated, extended, and expanded in mid-air, emitting a dazzling light. When the light dissipated, the mechanical armor, Azure Ironclad Han Armor, quietly floated in mid-air.

Ning Zhuo opened a section of the mechanical armor's spine, where a Foundation Establishment Pill was embedded.

"Only thirty percent of the Foundation Establishment Pill remains."

This pill was crucial, as it was one of the elements that allowed the Azure Ironclad Han Armor to unleash Foundation Establishment-level combat power. Ning Zhuo himself only possessed Qi Refining-stage cultivation.

"Once the Foundation Establishment Pill is used up, the Azure Ironclad Han Armor will no longer be usable."

"Alas, obtaining Foundation Establishment Pills is very difficult," Ning Zhuo frowned slightly.

This was Ning Zhuo's biggest loss yesterday.

He also gained a new wound last night.

It was the stab wound left by the Huang family's ghost leader in his dying struggle, which Ning Zhuo was helpless to remedy.

Upon closer inspection, one would find that the surface of this mechanical armor was already covered in scars.

Some were old wounds, and others were marks left by Ning Zhuo while wearing and fighting in the armor.

"Mother..." Ning Zhuo stroked the old scars, his gaze turning sorrowful.

Fourteen years ago, when he was only two years old, his mother had instructed him before her death.

He learned that there was a Lava Immortal Palace in Fire Persimmon Mountain, which was a mechanical immortal city, and the city spirit was secretly selecting cultivators to inherit the city. His mother was one of the Foundation Establishment-stage cultivators selected. The immortal city had many trials, which were extremely difficult. Because of her outstanding strength, his mother was jointly targeted by other competitors, ultimately suffering serious injuries that could not be cured.

"The immortal city is constantly deteriorating, and the selection criteria are decreasing accordingly. Zhuo'er, when you reach the age of fourteen, the selection criteria for the mechanical immortal city will be lowered to the Qi Refining stage. This will be your greatest opportunity!"

"Zhuo'er, you must study the art of mechanics diligently, and do not let others know of your investment in this area."

"You must design mechanical creations yourself, assemble them yourself, and control them yourself. These are all part of the mechanical immortal city's assessment."

"If you are among the top few among the other candidates, you will be recognized as a mechanical seed and will receive key cultivation from the mechanical city. This is especially important to you, because you need the cultivation resources of the mechanical immortal palace more than others with backgrounds."

"Never use the Ning family's cultivation methods to reach the Foundation Establishment stage! Your mother was a mechanical seed in the Foundation Establishment stage, but unfortunately my dantian is set and I cannot change cultivation methods. Many of the tests in the Lava Palace were twice as difficult because I didn't cultivate the techniques left by the three sects' supreme elders, and ultimately I had no choice but to stop."

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Two-year-old Ning Zhuo cried in horror, "Mother, don't say any more, you're spitting blood!"

Ning Zhuo's mother reached out and stroked Ning Zhuo's little head, her eyes filled with reluctance and worry, "Zhuo'er, mother is sorry for you, not protecting you. You have no father or mother, from now on you are alone and can only rely on yourself."

"Don't be too loyal to the family. Your father made this mistake!"

"Before your father died, he asked the young patriarch Ning Xiaoren to take care of you. But I have seen through this person, he is two-faced and cannot be relied on."

"Your grand-uncle and grand-aunt are both stubborn and stingy, not generous people, so you should also be careful."

"Sometimes, the relatives and friends around you are often more dangerous than enemies!"

"Don't be too outstanding, your parents are gone, and no one is your real support. You have to hide yourself well, don't perform too badly, just be mediocre. You have to grow up ordinary, accumulate quietly, and don't attract attention."

"Mother has seen too much, how many geniuses die young..."

"Mother's Azure Ironclad Han Armor is left for you to protect yourself, it has the power of the Foundation Establishment stage."

"And this magic weapon – the Myriad Buddha Heart Demon Seal! This is what mother luckily obtained from the Lava Immortal Palace, and it must never be exposed."

When Ning Zhuo's mother said this, her voice had weakened to the limit.

She kept tearing up, staring at the two-year-old Ning Zhuo with all her might, wanting to keep looking at him, but her vision gradually dimmed.

At the last moment of her life, she hesitated: "Mother doesn't even know if it's right to teach you like this."

"Zhuo'er, you have to take care of yourself. If it really doesn't work, give up on the Lava Immortal Palace."

"Life is the first priority, mother hopes you live, live well!"

"If you live, mother will be happy."

The two-year-old Ning Zhuo clutched his mother's bloody clothes tightly: "Mother, mother, don't say any more. I don't want you to die, don't die, waah..."

Ning Zhuo's mother finally said: "Good Zhuo'er, don't be afraid, don't be afraid... mother is here, mother, mother will protect you underground..."

The next moment, his mother's heart stopped beating, and her hand slowly slid from the top of Ning Zhuo's head.

The two-year-old Ning Zhuo's body trembled violently as if struck by lightning, and he suddenly looked up - already sixteen years old.

The once extremely tender face of a child, full of tears and snot, was now replaced by the resolute look of a grown-up youth.

He had grown up, shouldering his mother's dying entrustment and expectations.

"Mother, the situation has changed!"

"The city lord and the Zhou and Zheng families have joined forces to increase the cleanup of the Crimson Flame Demon Lava Cave, which has greatly reduced the defense pressure of the Lava Immortal Palace and reduced losses a lot. With no external pressure on the Lava Immortal Palace and the damage situation maintained well, the city spirit has not actively reduced the selection standards."

"This year, the Ning family also discovered the secret of the Lava Immortal Palace. If they also participate in the defense, then when will I be able to wait for the standards to be lowered?"

"Perhaps I will never wait for it in this lifetime!"

"The major forces of Fire Persimmon Immortal City are trying their best to cover up the Lava Immortal Palace, wanting to digest this opportunity internally, how can that be allowed?"

"So, I must do it myself!"

"Now, I have accumulated enough Fire Essence, absolutely enough, enough to bombard the Immortal Palace to cause damage and reduce the standards."

"All that's missing is the Fireblast Monkey."