Chapter 534: Victory and Rest

At this moment, the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir felt utterly wronged.He was originally certain of victory, only to be blindslipped by Sun Lingtong’s clever maneuver, his grand prospects instantly shattered.The main culprit was the communal incense offerings.Had the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir acted with integrity, erecting a temple and absorbing incense, the devotees would have chanted his divine name before making offerings. This would have ensured the incense belonged to the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir.However, he had always kept his true form hidden; even the forest elder, Luo Chen, who guarded the Ten-Mile Burning Forest, was unaware of his existence.It was only when victory for the Three Generals’ Camp was clearly within sight, and Luo Chen’s intention to retreat became obvious, that the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Tree was forced to reveal himself.He understood full well: once the two states of Zhu took control of this place, they would conduct strict investigations, and he would be unable to conceal himself any longer!“My incense!”“Luo Chen, you must reclaim my incense, otherwise we shall both be defeated!”Luo Chen: “Pfft!”He vomited blood, immediately becoming dispirited, his aura and fighting spirit plummeting to the depths.His face was deathly pale, with a ghastly expression: “Where is the incense? Who stole it?”Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir: “I do not know!”Luo Chen: “Pfft!!”He spat out another mouthful of blood.The Scarlet Crown vanished, and the three generals, Liu, Guan, and Zhang, also fell to their knees, unable to launch an attack for a time, and had to adjust urgently.At this point, it was the ordinary soldiers who recovered more quickly.Ning Zhuo seized the opportune moment, urged forth his military strength, and empowered his own magical techniques.For a time, metal-element spells were unleashed, golden blades, golden spears, golden swords, and the like, creating a tempestuous onslaught.Gao Cuo stirred restlessly: “Elder Jian, should we make our move?”Elder Jian: “Wait a little longer! You, the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir, and Luo Chen are all allies. You bear a divine decree. If you rashly attack your own kind, you will not be able to remain in the Thousand Peaks Forest.Enduring for now is the wise course!”Gao Cuo nodded: “Understood. Only after the Three Generals’ Camp slays the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir will it be proper for us to seize the fire within the wood.”His primary objective in coming here had always been this precious fire seed.However, while they were communicating, Ning Zhuo was also communicating with Lin Bufan.“Sect Master Lin, next, it will be up to you to make your move and seize the fire within the wood!” Ning Zhuo transmitted a divine sense message, communicating with Lin Bufan through a token.Since the Ning family, the Ten Thousand Medicine Sect, and the Zhu royal family of the Southern Bean State had secretly formed an alliance regarding the Linglong Reflection Wall, their main members all possessed tokens that allowed for short-distance communication.Lin Bufan saw that he had been recognized by Ning Zhuo but was not surprised.This was because when he had previously found Ning Zhuo, he had cast the technique of Concealing the Leaf from the Eye, which had been seen through by Sun Lingtong using the Square-Mile Roaming Dragon.“Alright, I will cooperate with you.” Lin Bufan was quite straightforward.The next moment, Ning Zhuo intensified his fierce assault, seeking to create an opportunity.The three generals were all Golden Core cultivators and recovered faster than Luo Chen.Zhang Hei was the first to attack, directly throwing his black serpent spear.Spear Technique — Serpent Fang Throw!The black serpent spear was powerful and heavy, piercing the air, and in the blink of an eye, it arrived before Luo Chen.Luo Chen wanted to dodge, but Guan Hong also followed up with an attack.Innate Talent — Violet Whiskers Startle the Swan!Although it was not a divine ability level technique, Guan Hong had invested great effort into developing this innate talent, and its power was sufficient to contend with Luo Chen, whose state had plummeted.Although it only froze him for a moment, it was already enough.The black serpent spear directly pierced through Luo Chen’s chest, creating a massive hole the size of a washbasin.Luo Chen’s heart, lungs, spine, ribs, and more were all destroyed!With his physical body dead, Luo Chen sighed, and his Nascent Soul quickly escaped.Liu Er followed closely, brandishing the Xuanhuang Sword, striking towards the Nascent Soul.Shuttling through the Void!Luo Chen’s Nascent Soul hesitated not at all, immediately fleeing into the void, directly escaping the battlefield.“No!Luo Chen, you cannot flee!!”The Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir roared in despair.Without Luo Chen, and without the communal incense, even a deity was like a bow without arrows, a cannon without ammunition, or a martial artist without strength.He could only be left to others' mercy!The Three Generals’ Camp surrounded the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir, bringing the tree the darkest despair.Various attacks fell upon the fir tree, but relying on its inherent resilience, it was still able to hold on for a short while.Ning Zhuo had already finished communicating with the three generals, Liu, Guan, and Zhang.The offensive suddenly became ferocious, causing the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir to sway precariously.The next moment, Lin Bufan, who had been prepared for a long time, suddenly made his move, cleaving open the trunk of the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir and taking the fire within the wood.The three generals, Liu, Guan, and Zhang, roared in feigned anger. Guan and Zhang were about to pursue Lin Bufan, but they were stopped by Liu Er and Ning Zhuo simultaneously.“It is merely a small fire seed, let it go if it is lost.”“We must stabilize this place.”“Our success in taking the Ten-Mile Burning Forest is a great merit. Do not create unnecessary complications!”“Precisely, we must guard against trickery!”Gao Cuo, Elder Jian: ??!!“No, are all four of you useless? The spoils of war were right before your eyes, and the fire seed was stolen by someone.”“Since it was stolen, why aren’t you chasing after him?”Gao Cuo and Elder Jian both felt that there was still some time before they needed to make their move. They were patiently waiting, when the three generals suddenly launched a fierce assault, recuperating for a short time, allowing Lin Bufan to “seize” the opportune moment and steal the fire within the wood in front of everyone.“Let’s hurry and chase! If we delay any longer, this fellow will get far away!” Elder Jian shouted in Gao Cuo’s mind, clearly growing impatient.The two of them stealthily crept away, closely pursuing Lin Bufan, who was flying rapidly through the sky.Gao Cuo cultivated the Book of Separating Forms and Mistaken Shadows and was extremely skilled in disguise and concealment. Lin Bufan was tracked all the way but did not detect the slightest hint.“This fire within the wood truly lives up to its name as one of the Three Essences; it indeed possesses profound mysteries.”As a sect master for many years, this was the first time Lin Bufan had come into contact with such an excellent fire seed.“The Samadhi True Fire corresponds to the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Man. The fire within the wood is the fire of firewood, which is the fire of man.”“Using the fire of man as a fire seed in the Ten-Mile Burning Forest, ostensibly to refine various magical artifacts, is actually to refine the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir through the accumulation of communal incense.This must be the scheme of the Root-Bearded Dragon King, truly profound. Unfortunately, it could not withstand the army of the two states of Zhu in a frontal confrontation, and this strategy was abandoned halfway.”Lin Bufan possessed his own perspective and vision. Even by observing the battle today, gaining a glimpse through a crack, he caught sight of some of the Root-Bearded Dragon King’s plans.“The fire within the wood was refined by the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir, so that divine fir tree will surely be imprisoned first and not lose its life. Therefore,this fire seed has always been a possessed object. Although I have seized it, I still need to refine it before it can be handed over to Ning Zhuo.”Lin Bufan pondered secretly.According to the agreement he had just made with Ning Zhuo on the battlefield through divine sense,Lin Bufan would help Ning Zhuo seize the fire within the wood, and afterward, Ning Zhuo would compensate Lin Bufan in other areas of cooperation.In accordance with the alliance between the Ten Thousand Medicine Sect and the Ning family, although it was not involved in the battlefield conspiracy, Lin Bufan also took the initiative to help Ning Zhuo refine the fire seed.Command after command was rapidly issued by Liu Er.Luo Chen fled in defeat, only his Nascent Soul surviving.Grand Craftsman Yan Jin was captured, and the other deputy, Immortal Liu Yan, was killed in battle. The grand formation protecting the forest also fell into the hands of the Three Generals’ Camp.The Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir was heavily sealed and strictly guarded.Thus, the battle concluded. The Three Generals’ Camp emerged victorious, paying the price of over three hundred soldiers killed or wounded, and completely took over the Ten-Mile Burning Forest.Letters reporting the victory were also sent out immediately.Work has begun!Ning Zhuo entered his tent and immediately entered the Ten Thousand Mile Roaming Dragon, activating the three large mechanism platforms to quickly replenish the automaton puppets.In this battle, his automaton army also suffered heavy losses. Had he not replenished them midway, they would have been completely annihilated long ago.One automaton puppet after another was rapidly crafted.By now, Ning Zhuo was becoming increasingly skilled at this task, and his output and efficiency had slightly improved as a result.The increase in efficiency was not significant.What could truly bring about a significant increase in efficiency were the mechanism platforms.“There should be other mechanism platforms in that storage bag. Unfortunately, I cannot open it yet.” Ning Zhuo thought of the military supplies of the Skillful Princess Shuang Ling.With soldiers in hand, there is no fear in the heart.As more and more automaton puppets were replenished, Ning Zhuo became more and more composed.During his rest time, he reviewed this expedition.“Nascent Souls can flee through the void, making it very difficult to completely kill a Nascent Soul cultivator. Mu Lan’s case is ultimately a minority.”“In the end, my limit has still not been tested. Let it be.”“The Ten-Mile Burning Forest, the Cloud Shoulder Petitioning Dragon Terrace, the Hundred Root Grass Cave, the Thousand Vine Talisman Heavenly Corridor, and so on, are resource strongholds built around the Dragon King’s Great Wood Mountain.”“According to the information, these strongholds are Dragon King Temples, built and funded jointly by the other major forces in the Thousand Peaks Forest. Each one is extremely costly!”“I never expected the Root-Bearded Dragon King to pull off such a move in secret, secretly supporting the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir to become a deity. He not only used the Ten-Mile Burning Forest to forge a deity but also used the deity to secretly erode this stronghold in turn. It was indeed a good scheme.”“However, it is precisely because of this that there was communal incense, and this fatal flaw!”For over a decade, Ning Zhuo had been studying the situation and forces in the Fire Persimmon Immortal City, and his insights in this area were profound. Like Lin Bufan, he also saw through the Root-Bearded Dragon King’s plan.Thinking of this, he touched his chest.“I designed the Five Viscera Temple Spirit Divine Technique, and I never expected it could be used here.”Now, his fire-element heart temple was filled with a massive amount of incense.During the battle, Ning Zhuo secretly gave his heart to Sun Lingtong, who took it out to steal the incense.The existence of incense still required a deity to collect it.Moreover, the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir belonged to the fire element, which perfectly matched Ning Zhuo’s fire-element heart temple.Had it been someone else, without Ning Zhuo’s marvelous divine technique, even if they had discovered this major flaw of the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir, they would not have been able to exploit it.“Old Die, you should be able to use this incense too?” Ning Zhuo flicked his wrist, shaking off his prayer beads and summoning the Dice Bone Demon God.The Dice Bone Demon God immediately knelt on the ground: “Your humble servant pays respects to my master.”“Master, your divine eyes are unerring. This incense, being communal and thus masterless, is indeed suitable for me to use to repair myself.However—”Ning Zhuo: “However, what?”The Dice Bone Demon God continued: “However, my principles are quite different from refining artifacts. Although this communal incense can be absorbed by your humble servant and transformed into divine power, the loss rate is far higher than that of the Scarlet-Crowned Divine Fir.”Ning Zhuo waved his hand, magnanimously saying: “It does not matter.”The Dice Bone Demon God was immediately filled with gratitude, praising Ning Zhuo’s magnanimity and benevolence.Ning Zhuo watched from the side.This was the first time he had personally witnessed a deity using incense.Although he had read extensively, such secrets were not mentioned in the books.Ning Zhuo first released the fire-element heart temple, placing it in the ship cabin and shrinking it to the size of a shrine.The Dice Bone Demon God’s sitting posture was peculiar, not cross-legged, but half-squatting, leaning forward, with his palms pressed against the floor of the ship cabin.The small temple opened its gate, revealing the incense within.The incense was gathered into a single entity, and overall, it was a peculiar-looking flame.At the outermost edge of the flame were constantly drifting gray smoke. The flame itself had two layers: the outermost layer was reddish-brown, and the middle layer was golden amber.The Dice Bone Demon God inhaled deeply, drawing the incense into his mouth and nose.He quickly refined it, transforming it into new divine power.Streams of divine power were also quickly digested, forming divine techniques and healing himself.Ning Zhuo saw some clues: “Although deities are powerful, they need to consume incense and refine it into their own divine power.With divine power, everything else is based upon it, and many divine techniques can be performed.”“The Dice Bone Demon God is severely injured and needs a large amount of divine power to heal.”“His dojo has been destroyed, and although his devotees are still alive, they have been following me, so he has had no opportunity to collect the accumulated incense.”“This is why deities often need devotees, doctrines, and prefer to settle in a secluded place.”“Could it be that deities themselves have no means of increasing their own divine power?” Thinking of this, Ning Zhuo directly asked the Dice Bone Demon God.The Dice Bone Demon God replied: There are indeed such means, but compared to absorbing and transforming incense, their efficiency is far too low.For deities, transforming incense into divine power is the true path.Many deities still retain their physical bodies, such as some demon cultivators. Their efficiency and results in transforming demonic power and spiritual power into divine power are far inferior to incense.The Dice Bone Demon God also introduced incense to Ning Zhuo: “Master. Communal incense only has two layers, but most incense belongs to personal incense and has three layers.”“The outermost layer is the mundane shell, where the endless desires of devotees are deposited.”“The middle layer is the layer of vows, the power of prayer and supplication.”“The central core is the divine nature core, often inscribed with a deity’s divine name in divine script.”“Incense with a divine name is a possessed object. Other deities find it difficult to use, unless the original owner lends it out themselves.”Finally, the Dice Bone Demon God looked deeply at the fire-element heart temple: “Master, according to this marvelous technique of yours, perhaps you can also absorb incense and cultivate divine power.”“Oh?” Ning Zhuo immediately became interested.But the Dice Bone Demon God added: “However, there are also many disadvantages to walking the path of a deity.”“Master, your future is bright, and your humble servant does not recommend you take this path.”Ning Zhuo nodded, having also realized this point.Putting other things aside, if he cultivated divine power, he would be cultivating multiple paths. There are many disadvantages to cultivating multiple paths, and he was already cultivating three dantians simultaneously. This had already greatly slowed down his cultivation progress, and cultivating divine power would be completely thankless.The Dice Bone Demon God ultimately absorbed most of the incense, restoring himself to his original state.While continuing his physical cultivation, Ning Zhuo waited for Lin Bufan to return to him.He was quite looking forward to the fire within the wood.However, after waiting for three days, he did not wait for Lin Bufan, but instead received an envoy from Supervising General Zhao Xi and a reply.