Chapter 429: Ning Zhuo's New Divine Power

"Life Thread Hanging Precariously!" Zhu Xuanji's heart tightened.

If Ning Zhuo had mastered this Divine Ability, then he would certainly not spare him.

However, in the next moment, Shen Lingshu's tone shifted: "But the situation leading to Ning Jiufan's high position in destiny could also be due to his own reasons."

"Regarding destiny, there is a saying, 'Extreme sorrow is the precursor to joy.'"

"When a person's fortune hits rock bottom, enduring this low point will inevitably lead to an ascent."

Shen Lingshu continued: "There is also another reason, which is external assistance."

"Powerful external forces can also cause Ning Jiufan's destiny to surge and climb higher."

"For example, in Jade Steel Mountain, our respectful treatment of Ning Jiufan influenced the current Town Master of Jade Steel Mountain, making him enthusiastic towards Ning Jiufan and even the Ning Family."

"We also added an official technique to his official seal, allowing him to utilize national power to aid his cultivation."

"There is also an even more important factor, and that is Old Woman Yuan."

After Ning Jiufan was rescued, Zhu Xuanji proactively imparted the method of demon cultivation to Ning Jiufan.

Ning Jiufan immediately taught it to Old Woman Yuan, and during these days, had been assisting her in actively cultivating.

Old Woman Yuan was originally a demonic beast. Due to her ape-like lineage, her intelligence surpassed most demonic beasts, but was weaker than ordinary people, and she was still dominated by emotions and instinct.

The Meng Family hired assassins and prepared methods to target this weakness of the demonic beast with great intensity.

But as long as Old Woman Yuan began cultivating and transitioned from a demonic beast to a demonic cultivator, her intelligence would blossom and continuously increase, at the very least becoming no different from an ordinary person.

In this way, the methods targeting demonic beasts would no longer be effective, which would greatly enhance the strength of Ning Jiufan and the entire Ning Family.

From this perspective, it was also very reasonable for Ning Jiufan's destiny to be strong.

Zhu Xuanji was a little confused: "Saying it this way, doesn't it still fail to prove that Ning Zhuo has mastered the Divine Ability of Life Thread Hanging Precariously?"

Shen Lingshu nodded: "Do you think the Dao of Divination is so easy to determine results? The more special a target with strong destiny, the more significant the event concerning oneself, the harder it is to predict accurately. Even the results calculated might反而 prompt you to act wrongly, leading to more unfavorable consequences."

"The backlash of divination is precisely this."

"Moreover, we are calculating Ning Zhuo's true background, but the real target is not before us, we can only approach it indirectly. This undoubtedly increases the difficulty."

Zhu Xuanji was speechless for a moment.

He looked at the Profound Mechanism Qi Absorbing Pouch in Shen Lingshu's hand and asked: "When will the destiny here be returned to Ning Jiufan?"

"The time limit is approaching, Ning Jiufan is already preparing to leave and head to Fire Persimmon Immortal City to participate in the struggle for the Ten Thousand Year Fire Essence."

"The Meng Family's ambush this time failed, they will certainly target Ning Jiufan with new measures."

"In this situation, it is better to let him be able to go all out."

Ning Jiufan was crucial.

Even more crucial than Old Woman Yuan!

Without Old Woman Yuan, the Southern Bean Royal Family could still find other ways to support his combat power. Of course, this would not be without cost. The Ning Family would inevitably have to pay more in the contract for this.

The Ning Family was like a nail, hammered into Fire Persimmon Immortal City, helping the Royal Family resist Meng Kui and preventing the Meng Family from annexing this youngest built immortal city.

The profits involved in an immortal city are often enormous. Fire Persimmon Immortal City sits on Fire Persimmon Mountain, generating continuous benefits.

According to its potential, it could become the strongest artifact refining place in the entire Southern Bean Kingdom.

But currently, it has not been further developed.

This immortal city is in the midst of an intense game between the Zhu Family and the Meng Family.

The Zhou Family and Ning Family have become the feelers of the Royal Zhu Family. The Zhou Family is a local family and showed weakness in the previous struggle for the Lava Immortal Palace.

Therefore, the Zhu Family values the Ning Family more.

In Zhu Xuanji's view, Ning Jiufan himself possessed considerable combat power, especially with the deep impression Ning Zhuo had left on him.

Mere Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stage, yet daring to plot for the Lava Immortal Palace, scheming for over a decade for his mother, enduring, skilled in planning, and at the last moment, standing out resolutely, disregarding life and death. Such loyalty and filial piety, such wisdom and courage, show what kind of family style the Ning Clan possesses!

Zhu Xuanji's perception was also the Zhu Family's perception.

The Southern Bean Royal Family generally believed that the Ning Family had a righteous spirit, making them the best choice to resist and block the Meng Family's encroachment on Fire Persimmon Immortal City!

"Did that Ten Thousand Year Fire Essence really emerge on its own? Could it be that Meng Kui orchestrated it in secret?"

"Even if it was a coincidence, he will certainly design a scheme to target Ning Jiufan."

"Ning Zhuo is outside and his cultivation is weak, one can only say his future is promising. Ning Jiufan is in the Golden Core stage, he is the crucial figure at present."

Zhu Xuanji elaborated on Ning Jiufan's importance to Shen Lingshu.

Shen Lingshu nodded: "Rest assured, Xuanji."

"How could I not know the value of Ning Jiufan."

"But his destiny, I will still hold it in my hand for now."

"On one hand, I can further ascertain the details of his destiny and whether Ning Zhuo has mastered the Divine Ability of Life Thread Hanging Precariously. On the other hand, this is actually a strategy targeting Meng Kui."

"Meng Kui is also skilled in divination and will certainly divine Ning Jiufan before the battle."

"When Ning Jiufan's destiny is calculated by him, it will inevitably make him underestimate the enemy."

"At the critical moment, I will suddenly release the destiny, cooperating with my magical technique, which will cause Ning Jiufan's destiny to surge more than tenfold!"

"At that time, it will surely catch Meng Kui by surprise."

Upon hearing this calculation, Zhu Xuanji immediately understood that Shen Lingshu had planned ahead and was relieved.

Two Rivulet Kingdom, Azure Forest Immortal City.

The blazing flames gradually extinguished.

Jin Li wore a look of fatigue.

He had been sitting cross-legged before the artifact refining furnace for several days. During this time, he neither slept nor rested, occasionally forming hand seals, casting magical techniques, and his mind was preoccupied.

Ning Zhuo, Sun Lingtong, and Zhang Zhongyi stood behind Jin Li.

Jin Li shouted: "Open for me!"

The furnace door slowly opened, and a large amount of heat immediately surged out, turning into steam and mist that filled the entire room.

Jin Li lifted his little finger and lightly waved it. A gust of wind appeared out of nowhere, sweeping away all the water vapor.

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong had already sensed the Ten Thousand Mile Roaming Dragon.

In the next moment, the miniature mechanical roaming dragon was slowly pulled out by an invisible force.

Sun Lingtong activated his innate talent, spiritual light shone from his eyes, and he observed carefully.

Ning Zhuo could see with his naked eyes that the Ten Thousand Mile Roaming Dragon was even more dilapidated than before.

Before entering the refining furnace, the mechanical roaming dragon already had thirty percent damage and had not been repaired. Now, the damage had increased again, reaching at least fifty percent!

Especially the latter half of the mechanical dragon's body, there were cracks everywhere, and some dragon scales had disappeared, exposing the outer shell layer.

But since they wanted to race against time and wear away the Bloodstain Tracing Technique, paying these costs was a choice made by Sun and Ning themselves.

Sun Lingtong took the roaming dragon with both hands, looked at it for a moment, and slowly nodded at Ning Zhuo.

Only then did Ning Zhuo take out the treasures and hand them to Jin Li.

These treasures naturally came from Old Monster in Stone, reaching the Nascent Soul level.

Jin Li smiled satisfactorily and nodded at Ning Zhuo: "Little Friend Ning, your mechanical roaming dragon needs repair, I can also help."

Ning Zhuo smiled bitterly, stating that he was tight on funds and that resolving the Bloodstain Tracing Technique was already a violation of the family's trade mission.

He would find Jin Li in the future when his funds were more abundant and ask for the master's assistance.

Jin Li tossed the treasures in his hand: "Little Friend Ning Zhuo, no need to be restrained, you can repair the Ten Thousand Mile Roaming Dragon now. You only need to sign a contract between us, and you can pay me a little more for these treasures in the future."

Ning Zhuo laughed awkwardly and brushed it off.

The Nascent Soul level treasures taken from Old Monster in Stone were of such excellent quality that Jin Li was extremely eager for them.

He did not know that these treasures all had hidden dangers.

Having dealt with Ning several times, Jin Li had a good impression of Ning Zhuo. After this cooperation, with more trust, he could pay in advance and, to a certain extent, allow Ning Zhuo to incur debt.

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong discussed it, and ultimately still politely declined this rather tempting offer.

Having resolved the hidden danger of the tracking magical technique, Sun and Ning directly left the city, not returning to the Three Generals Camp, but instead sending a flying letter.

They left the immortal city and entered the Ten Thousand Mile Roaming Dragon.

Ning Zhuo came to the power furnace cabin and poured out a large amount of spirit stones, feeding them to the furnace in the mechanical roaming dragon.

"This time, it's a risky gamble," Ning Zhuo sighed.

The fire essence reserves were running low, and the mechanical roaming dragon could not return to the Thousand Peaks Forest at all.

Ning Zhuo could only use all the spirit stones in his possession and invest in this adventurous journey. And this was only barely enough to buy a one-way ticket, so...

He also embezzled public funds.

He was in charge of the accounts of the Three Generals Camp, took a batch of spirit stones from it, mixed them with his own, and sent them all into the furnace.

Sun Lingtong licked his lips and giggled: "This is exciting enough."

Ning Zhuo sighed again.

His financial pressure was too great.

Just look at the Ten Thousand Mile Roaming Dragon, fifty percent damaged, completely unable to repair it.

He was truly too difficult.

On the surface, he was radiant, everyone thought he was a young master from a wealthy family, with astonishing wealth, and could casually take out treasures of the Nascent Soul level.

But in reality, these treasures all had problems, it was just that the time limit for the "thunderstorm" had not yet arrived.

Ning Zhuo's foundation had always been very thin.

The branch family forces behind him were founded by him single-handedly, and they had just started, crying out for food, making it difficult to provide much support to Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo needed to deal with the Six Cave Sect and retrieve the mechanical carriage and other items. The best strategy was to join the Two Rivulet Kingdom side and use their strength to fight.

He was on the right path and had thus gained many results.

For example, he healed Sun Lingtong and removed the Bloodstain Tracing Technique. He relied on Zhang Zhongyi and Jin Li for these respectively. If Ning Zhuo had to fight alone, he would never be able to achieve such results.

But at this point, he had also reached his limit.

More than half of the treasures from Old Monster in Stone had been consumed, and spirit stones were severely insufficient. He could barely protect himself, but in the future, he might still need to subsidize the Three Generals Camp!

The Three Generals Camp needed to be maintained, allowing Ning Zhuo to search for opportunities on the front line and obtain the mechanical carriage.

Liu, Guan, and Zhang, the three generals, currently seemed worth investing in and maintaining.

Ning Zhuo knew in his heart that Liu Er also secretly held expectations for his investment!

But Ning Zhuo was almost out of money.

Without money, it would be difficult for him to participate in this stage with a higher status. Leaving the Three Generals Camp, even if he joined the Red Flower Camp, according to Mulan's strict military rules, he could not be the Army Advisor and Libationer.

Status level was very important, it concerned the division of spoils, and how much he could leverage power! And thus, it concerned whether he could achieve his goal and retrieve the mechanical carriage.

In a sense, Ning Zhuo was already cornered.

Old Monster in Stone became the life-saving straw within reach.

"This time, I must succeed!" Ning secretly encouraged himself.

He returned to the dragon head cabin and, together with Sun Lingtong, officially initiated space traversal.

The Ten Thousand Mile Roaming Dragon quickly disappeared from its original location.

In the dark curtain, countless silver lights drew lines, quickly passing by the mechanical dragon's body.

On the dragon's body, cracks slowly spread. From time to time, pieces of the outer shell split open, detached from the main body, fell into the dark curtain, and then dissolved in the void.

The void itself was extremely dangerous to tangible objects.

Even Nascent Soul cultivators found it difficult to traverse the void with their physical bodies.

Even Nascent Soul level physical bodies found it difficult to resist the erosion and wearing away of the void.

The Nascent Soul itself could barely do so.

The true value of the Ten Thousand Mile Roaming Dragon was once again revealed!

The dark curtain dissipated, the view brightened sharply, and the Ten Thousand Mile Roaming Dragon arrived directly at the bottom of the cave, in front of the stone sphere.

The mechanical roaming dragon's large map was not precise, but it had records of everywhere it had traveled, with the most accurate waypoints.

With waypoints, one could traverse the void and directly reach the destination.

"We're back, hahaha, I, Sun Lingtong, am back!" Sun Lingtong put his hands on his hips, looking excited and arrogant.

Ning Zhuo also had a fiery gaze.

He had already mastered the method of healing wounds and had succeeded once, no longer fearing the "trap" here.

Before coming, he even found Zhang Zhongyi and had him prepare some medicinal herbs in advance.

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong smeared the medicinal herbs all over their bodies, instantly becoming two dark, herbal mud figures.

Through the Ten Thousand Mile Roaming Dragon's detection, there were only Sun and Ning in the cave, no other living creatures.

The two flew out of the mechanical roaming dragon, each carrying a pickaxe, and began to violently excavate the stone sphere at the bottom of the cave.

During the time they were away, the stone sphere had "grown" back to its original state.

The stone skin was still very fragile, easily chiseled through and damaged. After large areas of stone skin peeled off, the inner layer was once again exposed.

Treasure light overflowed!

All sorts of treasures, piled together, made Sun and Ning dizzy and their hearts pound.

With so many treasures, they would suddenly become rich, escape poverty, have ample funds, and their future would be bright!

The stone sphere trembled slightly, like something that had been stripped naked, and began to absorb the surrounding earth attribute spiritual energy.

Spiritual energy attached to its surface, continuously solidifying and turning into new stone skin, enveloping the inner stone sphere.

Of course, Sun and Ning would not let this happen. They immediately swung their pickaxes and shoveled away the stone skin.

But when they touched the inner layer of the stone sphere, neither the pickaxe nor the artifact, not even Sun Lingtong's dagger skills, could budge the inner stone sphere in the slightest.

Let alone chipping off these treasures.

Sun Lingtong was still full of interest.

They naturally came prepared this time.

"Little Zhuo, it's your turn now." Sun Lingtong slightly stepped back.

Ning Zhuo nodded and smiled: "Boss, just you watch."

He took out his staff heads.

More than twenty staff heads were placed on the stone sphere, fixed in place by the new stone skin.

Ning Zhuo began to draw talismans and design a magic formation around these staff heads.

Sun Lingtong cooperated from the side, preventing the earth attribute spiritual energy from condensing into new stone skin and preventing it from covering Ning Zhuo's magic formation.

A moment later, Ning Zhuo finished successfully.

After checking that everything was in order, he straightened his arms, spread his fingers, and Life Threads hung from his fingertips.

The Life Threads connected to the ten most crucial staff heads.

As Ning Zhuo slowly injected magic power, the staff heads activated one after another, serving as the core and heart of the formation, and then activated the surrounding talismans, before fully activating the entire magic formation.

The magic formation emitted the radiance of the five elements.

Thanks to Ning Zhuo's five-element realm, he was able to design such a magic formation in a short period of time.

Of course, the magic power cultivated by the Five Element Qi Rhythm Technique was also perfectly suitable.

Last time, his experience of understanding the principle of petrification through Zhang Zhongyi's silver needles was also quite important, bringing Ning Zhuo great inspiration.

Ning Zhuo tightly closed his eyes, fully sensing the principle within the inner layer of the stone sphere.

Divine Ability: Stone Cast Earth Treasures!

The reason why the stone sphere was difficult to excavate was precisely because the Divine Ability Stone Cast Earth Treasures was continuously releasing its power.

Ning Zhuo felt deeply and continuously comprehended.

Even with a Divine Ability, he had no understanding barriers.

There was nothing he could do.

His profound earth attribute realm allowed him to understand the Divine Ability without any obstacles.

He knew the principle, and Divine Abilities and magical techniques were all applications of principles, a certain exquisite combination of magic power and principles.

"I've learned it, I've learned it!"

The joy of learning made Ning Zhuo's lips curve slightly.

In his mind, the雏形 (chúxíng - initial form/prototype) of the Divine Ability related to Stone Cast Earth Treasures had already formed and was rapidly growing!