Chapter 535: Three Enclosures Exchange Treasure Talisman

Amidst the dense mountains and forests,Lin Bufan, like an arrow loosed from the string, swiftly weaved through the woods.His toes lightly brushed the branches, his green robe trailing emerald afterimages in the morning mist.Suddenly, the branches before his eyes transformed into a swarm of snakes, myriad-colored and venomous, all opening their jaws to bite Lin Bufan.This abrupt transformation was as if Lin Bufan had thrown himself into a net.Lin Bufan's eyes blazed with cold light, showing not the slightest hint of surprise.He extended a finger, and the flying sword,翠尖 (Cuì Jiān), shot forth like lightning, piercing into the "serpent's nest."The next moment, countless emerald sword lights, like tender sprouts emerging from grass, surged forth, piercing and annihilating hundreds upon thousands of spotted venomous snakes.The severed limbs and shattered bodies of the venomous snakes fell to the ground, transforming back into broken branches and scattered leaves.Gao Cuo's resonant voice echoed from all directions: "Daoist friend, you labor hard, treating each of my illusions with solemnity."However, by doing so, your magical power is consumed far more greatly than mine. How long can you sustain this?"His voice was filled with mockery and derision.Lin Bufan snorted coldly.It was not that he was too naive, but rather that previous skirmishes had made him understand that these illusions were not purely false; if ignored and allowed to develop, they would cause greater harm."I can sustain this for seven days and seven nights."But does esteemed sir have the leisure to continue pursuing me?"Lin Bufan countered with a retort.Gao Cuo's expression froze.He held a duty. The situation at the front line encampment of the Thousand Peaks Forest Alliance was already different from before. Lord Long had returned and reorganized the entire camp.If he did not return for an extended period, he would likely be judged a deserter.In that case, things would become exceedingly troublesome.Old Sword chuckled: "Little Gao, have you learned your lesson?"Gao Cuo nodded slightly: "I made a misstep. After failing in my first attempt to ambush this fellow, I conveniently concealed the battlefield.""It was precisely this step that allowed Lin Bufan to guess my intentions. Now he is fleeing with all his might, truly vexing.""Old Sword, when will you regain the strength for a single strike?"Old Sword sighed: "It will still take two days."And even if I could, given the target's disposition and talent, I fear an ambush would not have the same effect as before.""Time is your greatest weakness.""If this battle drags on for too long, not only will you have difficulty explaining your absence upon return, but it will also be prone to complications. Your battle with him is likely to attract other cultivators.""Perhaps, it is time to retreat."Gao Cuo gritted his teeth, unwilling to yield.He remained silent for a moment before replying: "Last time, the Evil God's Bone from Bi Kong Mountain was already taken."This 'Fire in Wood' is equally important to me this time. Must I lose it again?""Old Sword, next, I will launch a full-scale attack!"Old Sword chuckled: "This is your cultivation, naturally you are the primary actor. Since you have decided, then let loose your hands and feet and engage in a grand battle!""Good!" Gao Cuo responded loudly.The next moment, he exerted his full power, his sleeves billowing as he dispersed seven illusionary avatars.The illusions pursued Lin Bufan from different directions, each burning with purplish-black flames, their might astonishing.Lin Bufan's heart tightened, and he commanded his flying sword to circle him.The flying sword,翠尖 (Cuì Jiān), was incredibly fast, carving a circle in mid-air, shattering all the illusionary avatars along the way.But when it flew back to Lin Bufan's side, his heart sank. He saw that the flying sword was heavily corroded with purplish-black patterns, and his connection to the flying sword had plummeted by more than half.Gao Cuo continued his attack.His true form spread out like ink, and within a few breaths, transformed into a rolling purplish-black mist, enveloping an area of ten li.Lin Bufan, caught off guard, was covered by the purple mist. He hastily activated his magical treasures, fully dedicated to defense.The next moment, the world suddenly became clear, and the purplish-black mist abruptly vanished.However, cold sweat dripped from Lin Bufan's forehead: "Such a potent illusion! This is exactly like the mountain forest before the confrontation just now."He tried to retreat, but found himself moving forward.He tried moving to the left, but ended up moving to the right."Is it an illusion, or has my sense of direction been severely disoriented?" While Lin Bufan was contemplating, Gao Cuo's attack suddenly struck him.Boom, boom, boom—A series of earth-shattering roars erupted, and Lin Bufan was enveloped in dust.But in his field of vision, the world was still clear, and the distant mountains and nearby trees showed no damage or change whatsoever.

Ten Li Burning Forest, Three Generals' Camp.Ning Zhuo infused his divine sense into the jade slip, reading Zhao Xi's letter.In the letter, Zhao Xi praised the Three Generals' Camp greatly and briefly described the situation of the main army.It turned out that after the Three Generals' Camp departed, a small team of cultivators, all at the Nascent Soul level, had infiltrated the battlefield to steal important treasures from within the battlefield.The main army naturally would not allow the enemy to steal their spoils of war right under their noses.Therefore, various generals were dispatched and fought several rounds against the enemy led by the Heavenly and Earthly Twin Ghosts.However, in the end, the ghost cultivators still managed to take away two valuable spoils of war.The Heavenly and Earthly Twin Ghosts demonstrated extremely powerful comprehensive strength in this round of confrontation, suppressing the numerous Nascent Soul cultivators of the main army.The two of them were exceedingly arrogant. Even after being discovered, they still intended to destroy the dragon-shaped giant talisman deep underground.Zhao Xi intervened at a critical moment, using the National Artifact Scepter, consuming National Strength Bricks, and unleashing National Arts to repel the Heavenly and Earthly Twin Ghosts."After this battle, the main army lost face significantly, while Zhao Xi, on the contrary, turned the tide and earned merit.""Everyone else is losing face, which forms a stark contrast with the victory report sent by my Three Generals' Camp.""Zhao Xi seized the opportunity to suppress others and took control of more power—no wonder he was so happy, delivering the items exchanged for military merithere in advance."Ning Zhuo understood the reason and looked at the Three Luminaries Treasure Exchange Talisman before him.This talisman was not the usual rectangular shape but a leaf.The front of the leaf was white, the back was black, and along the leaf veins, a streak of orange-yellow flowing light flickered from time to time.If it were daytime, holding the leaf up to the sunlight would reveal countless golden speckles on the front. If it were nighttime with the moon, the back would show layers of lunar halos.Before Ning Zhuo even infused his magical power, merely by permeating and observing with his divine sense, he could feel the vigorous vitality of this talisman.He had communicated with Zhao Xi before, and Zhao Xi had introduced him to the Three Luminaries Treasure Exchange Talisman at that time.This talisman was crafted by the royal family of the Three Suns Kingdom and gifted to the Two Waters Kingdom, considered a national-level gift.The royal family of the Three Suns Kingdom primarily cultivated the 《Three Suns Grand Origin Art》. Using this treasure talisman was equivalent to possessing the advantage of the 《Three Suns Grand Origin Art》 during the treasure elixir nurturing stage!"I didn't expect Zhao Xi to deliver this talisman to me so quickly.""It's likely that he started working on this after our last communication.""Although this person is a bit greedy, when given a bribe, he truly gets things done! No wonder he has endured for so long, standing firm in the court of the Two Waters Kingdom despite being reported multiple times!"Ning Zhuo inspected it for a moment and confirmed there was no trickery.He then had Sun Lingtong use her Heavenly Talent to examine it, and still found no problems."The mechanism ring also has no reaction."Ning Zhuo no longer hesitated, activating this treasure talisman and beginning its first use.The Three Luminaries Treasure Exchange Talisman emitted light, then disintegrated, transforming into three streaks of orange light, which shot into Ning Zhuo's Divine Sea Dantian, Qi Sea Dantian, and Essence Sea Dantian respectively.Without needing Ning Zhuo to activate the Three Sects' Supreme Arts, his divine power, magical power, and vital energy began to operate autonomously according to the path of the 《Three Suns Grand Origin Art》.Within Ning Zhuo's three Dantians, three suns appeared respectively.The suns hung high in the air, continuously absorbing divine power, magical power, and vital energy, and then releasing them.For a time, sunlight shone brightly in the three Dantians, and countless precious herbs grew in profusion.Ning Zhuo was speechless."This efficiency is more than a hundred times greater than before.""The 《Three Suns Grand Origin Art》 is truly worthy of being the primary cultivation technique of a kingdom's royal family, it is incredibly formidable!"Ning Zhuo stood up and tried some other activities. He was pleasantly surprised to find that even when he was fighting, releasing spells, or making intense physical movements, it did not interfere with the autonomous operation of the Three Luminaries Treasure Exchange Talisman."The only drawback is that the Three Luminaries Treasure Exchange Talisman consumes a lot of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.""If a battle truly begins, it's impossible to let it continuously drain my strength."Ning Zhuo experienced it for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, then immediately terminated the operation of this treasure talisman.With a thought, he shot out three streaks of orange light from his three Dantians. The orange light converged in the air, restoring the talisman to its previous form.The talisman floated down lightly like a falling leaf, landing in Ning Zhuo's outstretched palm.Ning Zhuo carefully observed the talisman, keenly noticing that the leaf veins on the talisman were slightly blurred."It seems the talisman's material is excellent; I can use it for a long time."This treasure talisman was a gift between cultivator kingdoms, so the talisman material was naturally of the highest quality, the best that could be made."Zhao Xi has truly helped me a great deal this time!""In this way, my efficiency has increased by a hundredfold. I should be able to break through the second stage of treasure elixir nurturing and advance to the third stage soon."Ning Zhuo's eyes held a lot of anticipation.He himself cultivated the Three Sects' Supreme Arts, and in this cultivation stage, he already possessed a huge advantage that most cultivators could not match.Now, with the Three Luminaries Treasure Exchange Talisman, a double blessing, it is like adding wings to a tiger!"I must also thank Liu, Guan, and Zhang—"This time, exchanging for the treasure talisman consumed a large portion of the military merit. The gains of Liu, Guan, and Zhang could not compare to Ning Zhuo's.This was their voluntary and proactive proposal to help Ning Zhuo."Little Zhuo, after investing in the Three Generals' Camp until now, we are finally starting to see gratifying returns." Within the Mechanical Soaring Dragon, Sun Lingtong also felt quite relieved.But next, their mood soured.Ning Zhuo, unable to wait for Lin Bufan to find him, realized something was amiss and began searching near the Ten Li Burning Forest.Gao Cuo had concealed the battlefield. As a result, even with Sun Lingtong's Heavenly Talent and the Mechanical Soaring Dragon's considerable detection capabilities, they still found no clues or hints."Something must have happened to Lin Bufan.""May he handle it properly and overcome the difficulty."Ning Zhuo did not continue searching.The main reason was that he had no way to contact Lin Bufan. In these vast mountains, finding Lin Bufan was an extremely difficult task.With Lin Bufan missing, the 'Fire in Wood' naturally had to be postponed.Ning Zhuo quickly adjusted his mindset and returned to the Three Generals' Camp, diligently cultivating once again.The Three Luminaries Treasure Exchange Talisman was very convenient to use. Ning Zhuo carried it with him almost all day and night, using it continuously.He devoted most of his time to the Nascent Breathing Spirit.The battle at the Ten Li Burning Forest had already given Ning Zhuo a taste of success.Now, the stronger his physical foundation, the greater the combat power he could unleash by leveraging the military arts!

Two days later, a team arrived at the Ten Li Burning Forest to take over while also bringing Zhao Xi's troop deployment order.The order was—the Three Generals' Camp is to attack the Thousand Vine Talisman Sky Corridor!Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Ning were not surprised; this target of conquest was precisely what they had actively proposed to Zhao Xi earlier.Having someone in a high position was convenient.Zhao Xi successfully delivered this military order into the hands of the Three Generals' Camp.The Three Generals' Camp had already prepared everything. They immediately broke camp and rapidly marched towards the Thousand Vine Talisman Sky Corridor.The Thousand Vine Talisman Sky Corridor was a corridor built between mountain peaks. Through careful construction, it allowed heaven and earth spiritual energy to pass through the corridor, forming an artificial spiritual脉 (mài).And the planted talisman leaves and vines, influenced by the corridor itself during their growth, eventually produced specific vine leaf talismans.Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Ning had already strategized and led the army to launch a full-scale attack on the middle section of the corridor.The previously silent vine wall suddenly awakened. Hundreds of vines suddenly shed their emerald green color and turned into a dark iron hue.The talismans on the vine leaves were activated, shooting out thousands of sharp arrows, enveloping the Three Generals' Camp.The battle formation—the Iron Bucket Formation!The Three Generals' Camp had already been on high alert, defending flawlessly.A large section of the vine leaves was consumed, and a segment of the vine wall on the left turned crimson.For a time, the vine leaf talismans transformed into countless fiery streams, shooting towards the Three Generals' Camp.Liu Er applied military arts, enhancing defenses.Guan Hong drew his saber, cleaving open the sky-covering fiery streams and striking the corridor at the mountainside, immediately breaking through the surface and revealing the interior.Some enemy cultivators fled from the breached opening in panic, shrinking into the depths of the corridors on both sides.Soon, because the vine leaf talismans on this section of the corridor were depleted, the resistance plummeted to rock bottom.After abandoning more than a dozen bodies, the defending cultivators all retreated.The start of the battle was smooth, but the difficulty lay ahead.The Three Generals' Camp could not simply replicate their earlier success and push through, firstly because it would take too long and consume too much military force, and secondly because it would exhaust the talisman vines here, resulting in too great a loss. Furthermore, these losses were directly related to their military merit."Attacking from within will not trigger the defense of the vine leaves.""But in this case, there is no space to deploy a battle formation. Forming a formation with only one squad of soldiers will significantly reduce its power.""Let my mechanical army try first."Ning Zhuo proactively suggested.With his three mechanical platforms, manufacturing mechanical puppets was quite fast. This kind of attrition warfare was precisely suited for his mechanical army!The Three Generals' Camp quickly adopted a new course of action. The main force remained stationed at the original location, while the mechanical army launched a full-scale attack on both sides.The Heavenly and Earthly Twin Ghosts were hidden in the shadows, witnessing this scene."The main force of the Three Generals' Camp is still in formation, which is somewhat troublesome.""Ning Zhuo has left the army and is acting alone. As soon as he is slightly further from Liu, Guan, and Zhang, we two will launch an ambush!"