Chapter 572: Burning Star Pit

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"Speaking of which, should I sneak near the Two Rivulet Country's grand army, or within the Azure Forest Immortal City, to secretly meet and bid farewell to the three generals, Liu, Guan, and Zhang, and General Mulan?"

Ning Zhuo, within the dragon's head cabin, hesitated for a moment.

Resolving the matter of divorce was out of the question. This required going through official channels, which would surely be time-consuming and lead to self-exposure.

For Ning Zhuo, it was harmful and without benefit, the risk too high.

Aside from a formal farewell, Ning Zhuo primarily wanted to leverage the three generals' camps and the Red Flower Camp to exchange a portion of his battle merits, making it easier for him to take them away.

One must know that his performance in the second great battle was quite brilliant, his battle achievements outstanding. According to regulations, he was due immense rewards for these.

"The Three Star Enclosure Treasure Talisman I exchanged with battle merits last time was truly effective."

"Even if Two Rivulet Country is small, it is still a nation of cultivation. To me personally, or even to the entire Ning family, it is a colossal entity, possessing resources as vast as mountains and seas. I can surely use my battle merits to exchange for treasures suitable for my use."

"Acquiring this portion of cultivation resources before departing will certainly bring great benefit to my future cultivation."

As Ning Zhuo had just conceived this thought, the mechanical ring on his hand suddenly tightened, and with considerable force.

One must know that Ning Zhuo's physical body level was no longer what it used to be, yet this contraction of the mechanical ring still caused him to grimace in pain.

"To linger here, is it not tantamount to seeking death?" Ning Zhuo's eyes suddenly narrowed.

"Are the Twin Heaven and Earth Ghosts searching back?"

"Or has Du Tiechuan been waiting to ambush me all along?"

"Or perhaps this time the Ginseng Whisker Dragon King captured a fake Stone-in-the-Old-Monster, indirectly finding a clue and coming knocking?"

For a time, various conjectures lingered in Ning Zhuo's heart.

What need was there for a secret meeting then?

Flee!

"I am but a mere Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, with small arms and legs. There is no need to jump around recklessly under the eyes of these Soul Transformation stage and Nascent Soul stage powerhouses."

"Although I performed somewhat in the great battlefield before, it was actually during the gaps when they were fighting each other desperately, unable to attend to themselves."

In any case, Lin You and Wu Hen, these two captives, had already been directly handed over to Ning Zhuo by Mulan.

The most important objective had already been achieved, and Ning Zhuo chose to retreat while the going was good.

"As General Mulan's son-in-law, the battle merits I accumulated in the Two Rivulet Country's campaign should also be taken care of."

"Firstly, for the sake of national system and reputation. Secondly, General Mulan's mansion is closely connected to me. If they don't even assist their own son-in-law, how can they talk of revitalization?"

Ning Zhuo once again perceived the benefits of this spousal relationship with Mulan.

"When I return to Two Rivulet Country in the future, I will receive the battle results and deal with this relationship."

Thinking this, Ning Zhuo had no more reluctance. He activated the mechanical wandering dragon and headed straight forward.

The Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon traversing the void was an excellent means of transportation for long journeys.

Three or four days later, ripples appeared in the space, and a small mechanical dragon emerged from thin air.

It was precisely the Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon.

The Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon deliberately stopped here. Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong gathered in the dragon's head cabin, observing a magnificent scene outside.

This was a colossal ring-shaped mountain, with a diameter reaching as much as eight hundred miles!

Looking down from high altitude, the mountains were arranged in a circle, and within the mountain range was a massive deep pit.

The pit wall had been completely vitrified, covered with a web of cracks. From time to time, the cracks emitted a blue-silver radiance, the rhythm of the shimmering light resembling the natural breathing of a giant.

Suddenly, earth power surged, and a large plume of blue-silver fire erupted from the cracks everywhere. In an instant, it formed raging flames within the entire ring-shaped mountain.

The flames reached a height of over a hundred zhang, tongues of fire shot straight into the sky, the temperature climbed furiously, creating deadly intense heat in the surroundings.

Sun and Ning were prepared long ago, positioning the Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon very far away. But when the blue-silver flames soared into the sky, they still manipulated the Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon, hastily retreating.

The Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon showed signs of being burnt and melted all over its body. Fortunately, it retreated quickly, so it was only slightly damaged.

A layer of fine cold sweat beaded on Sun Lingtong's forehead: "This is the Star Burning Pit! Even though the books recorded it long ago, I still underestimated the power of this World Purifying Heavenly Fire."

Ning Zhuo's eyes reflected the soaring blue flames, remaining silent for a long time.

This was one of the wonders of the cultivation world.

According to legend, a star fell from the sky and struck deep within this mountain range, creating a huge meteor crater.

The erupted World Purifying Heavenly Fire penetrated deep into the earth脉 and intertwined with this region, burning from ancient times until today.

There are many legends surrounding this place.

For example, during the Middle Ages, excellent spiritual roots emerged endlessly. The seven major super sects at that time jointly explored, investing a full thirty thousand cultivators, and only seven remained at the end.

These seven greatly benefited from the exploration and were collectively known as the Seven Sons of Sky Patrol.

And in the Near Ancient times, spiritual energy was abundant and talents emerged. The Star Burning Pit also benefited from this, the accumulated spirituality over the long years undergoing a qualitative change from a quantitative change, forming an immensely powerful fire spirit, able to cultivate itself, calling itself the World Purifying Celestial Maiden.

The World Purifying Celestial Maiden left the Star Burning Pit, bringing a catastrophe to the entire cultivation world, burning all living beings, and most forces perished because of Her.

The blue-silver flame was too vast, simply a gigantic mountain!

Centered on the flame, a mysterious force spread outwards. Wherever it reached, it immediately transformed the surroundings, forming a strange space of a vast blue cosmos.

The space was completely open, allowing free entry and exit. Countless stars shone brightly, and lines of starlight drew intertwined straight lines and curves in the vast blue cosmos.

Rumble rumble rumble...

The clouds broke, and three meteors and meteorites fell from the sky, attracted into the space of the vast blue cosmos.

Then, the three meteors plunged into the Star Burning Pit, creating three consecutive explosions.

The massive mountain-like flames shook three times for the first time, then stabilized and continued to burn, occasionally releasing some impurity star dust from the flames.

"Star Burning Powder!" Sun Lingtong's eyes lit up. He manipulated the mechanical wandering dragon, cautiously approached, and collected some impurity star dust.

This Star Burning Powder was an excellent combustion-supporting substance, which could greatly lower the melting point of things.

Sun Lingtong only collected a small portion, actively abandoning most of the Star Burning Powder.

The reason was simple: this collecting task was too dangerous. If the Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon were to truly enter the flames, it would be burnt to ashes in just one breath.

A mechanical creation of the Nascent Soul level was completely insignificant in a world-class wonder.

When the flaming mountain was burning, the spreading vast blue cosmos was an ownerless dojo.

Its original owner was the World Purifying Celestial Maiden from the Near Ancient times.

During the Forbidden Dynasty period, there was a time when the cultivation world universally acknowledged that controlling this dojo could control this Star Burning Pit!

This was a resource point of the world wonder level, with immense benefits.

Coupled with the emergence of deities and Buddhas, endlessly appearing, a large number of ambitious individuals ventured deep into the Star Burning Pit, attempting to control this ownerless dojo.

People die for wealth, birds die for food. A large number of renowned powerhouses and organizations paid the heavy price of losing their lives or being annihilated because of this.

The most famous in historical records is Layman Nebula. This Buddhist cultivator was an existence of the Mahayana stage, but he fell during the process of controlling it.

He prepared many methods to deal with the threat of the World Purifying Heavenly Fire, but he did not expect that a Star Core Ghost Skeleton still existed in the Star Burning Pit. The latter devoured Layman Nebula, causing him to once transform into a Star Fire Ghost Demon, raging in the Star Burning Pit for a time, slaughtering countless successors.

Ultimately, the numerous attempts at the Star Burning Pit prompted the Forbidden Dynasty at that time to mobilize its power.

An entire dynasty exerted its strength, wanting to conquer the Star Burning Pit!

The result was still a crushing defeat, and the survivors were all tight-lipped afterwards. The official statement to the outside world was simply: there is great horror deep within the Star Burning Pit!

Even a majestic dynasty failed. Since then, no one has attempted to conquer the Star Burning Pit. The Star Burning Pit has also been recognized as one of the wonders of this world because of this.

Although no force could conquer it, a large number of cultivators still risked their lives to live around it.

They were mainly adventuring to collect many unique cultivation resources from the Star Burning Pit.

Star Burning Powder was just one of them, and it could even be said to be insignificant.

The larvae of Starlight Worms were as large as elephants and could live freely around the Star Burning Pit.

Every time a star was captured and burned by the ownerless dojo, star marrow would be produced. This rare treasure could restrain the fire tribulation among the three disasters and nine calamities, and was extremely precious.

Sometimes, on the mountain walls of the Star Burning Pit, by chance, fire pattern diagrams would form, recording the principles of fire. There were also star trace diagrams, containing the principles of stars.

The seed of the World Purifying Heavenly Fire was one of the most valuable treasures, but seeking the fire seed involved too great a risk and required delving deep into the Star Burning Pit.

Don't look at the Star Burning Pit appearing clear at a glance, with flat terrain and a vast empty space. As long as a cultivator sets foot within it, they will surely fall into the dojo, and the result of a long journey will be less than a small step in reality.

Furthermore, there is a spatial labyrinth constructed from star gap殘空 (residual space), and after each flame eruption, the structure changes greatly.

When Sun Lingtong manipulated the mechanical wandering dragon to collect Star Burning Powder, he found that many cultivators were also engaged in collection.

They displayed their respective abilities, their methods complex. Their cultivation levels varied, but the lowest was also at the Golden Core level.

Sun Lingtong observed three cultivators at the Soul Transformation level alone!

In a sense, the level of this world wonder was far higher than the Two Rivulet Country's campaign against the Thousand Peaks Forest.

"Fellow Daoist..." Not long after Sun and Ning made their move, a Nascent Soul level cultivator proactively flew over to strike up a conversation.

He introduced himself as a subordinate of a Soul Transformation level cultivator, and politely invited Sun and Ning to a gathering.

The Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon was of the Nascent Soul level, which led strangers to mistakenly believe that there was a cultivator of at least the Nascent Soul level within the mechanism.

Ning Zhuo did not hesitate, merely saying that he was passing by, purely browsing, and would leave shortly.

The inviting Nascent Soul cultivator proactively left a token of regard and departed, his attitude throughout the process was very enthusiastic.

Sun Lingtong sighed: "Where there are people, there is a jianghu. Although the Star Burning Pit is ownerless, the benefits are vast, and a fixed pattern has already formed among the cultivators around here, who have long divided the interests."

"Mm." Ning Zhuo nodded. "We are just passing by and will not participate in the complex games within. Let's go."

They came here more out of admiration, and after a visit, they would leave.

"Leaving here means we are out of the borders of Two Rivulet Country," Sun Lingtong sighed.

Ning Zhuo subconsciously looked back in the direction of the Thousand Peaks Forest, his expression slightly complex.

During this trip to Two Rivulet Country, he risked many dangers, his life hanging by a thread several times, but his gains were also extremely huge. Not only were his original objectives smoothly achieved, but he also became a great wealthy man. Both his own strength and his character underwent a qualitative change.

The Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon遁入虛空 (escaped into the void) and disappeared from its original spot.

"Indeed, they left." Many gazes were withdrawn.

The Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon was a classic mechanical creation. Because it had little combat power and was purely a tool for travel and escape, it was not standard equipment. In the eyes of most Nascent Soul cultivators, it was a luxury.

A cultivator who possessed a Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon was either of high cultivation or noble and wealthy.

This caused Sun and Ning to be severely overestimated. As soon as they appeared, they stirred the hearts of many cultivators. They could not have imagined that the two cultivators within the mechanical wandering dragon were only mere Foundation Establishment level.

Sun and Ning continued their journey, their destination pointing directly towards the Flying Cloud Country.

Traversing the void was far more convenient than flying.

Flying at high altitude could also encounter dangers such as demonic beasts and harsh weather. However, the process of traversing the void was relatively safer and much more solitary.

Of course, everything has its pros and cons.

Traveling this way was very costly.

Burning money every moment!

"If I could capture a Nascent Soul, I could save a lot of spirit stones. It's a pity that in the two great battles and the preceding small battles, I had no opportunity to capture a Nascent Soul alive."

Ning Zhuo regretted this.

Mainly because his ability was insufficient.

Nascent Souls can escape into the void and are skilled at fleeing.

During the Thousand Peaks Forest campaign and before, many Nascent Soul cultivators died in battle. Most of them had their Nascent Souls escape.

Like the Azure Vine Doctor, after reshaping his physical body, he could still continue to cultivate.

Upon reaching the Nascent Soul level, a cultivator's life-saving and survival abilities undergo a qualitative leap. Even if their physical body is destroyed, their path is not severed.

Mulan's divine ability, Red Heart Swan Arrow, was very powerful and could incinerate Nascent Souls. Such a method was extremely rare, and there were only a handful in the entire Two Rivulet Country.

And capturing a Nascent Soul alive was countless times more difficult than slaying one.

Therefore, the possibility of Ning Zhuo capturing a Nascent Soul alive was very low.

Although he did not have a Nascent Soul, Ning Zhuo had acquired many Golden Cores. He had previously exchanged three Golden Cores from Zhao Xi. After the second great battle, the number of Golden Cores in his possession had surged to eight!

Flying Cloud Country was quite far. Sun and Ning traveled while cultivating in turns.

Ning Zhuo first repaired his mechanical creations.

Heavy Armored Blood Ape · Great Victory and Shadow Edge Blade · Night Tiger had both suffered severe damage on the battlefield and were highly damaged.

As for the ordinary mechanical puppets, they were completely wiped out.

Only ten percent of the mechanical golden swallows remained.

"After I leave Two Rivulet Country, it is highly likely that my military rank and military formation will also be canceled subsequently. Without a personal military rank and military formation, I will be unable to form an army."

Subsequently, Ning Zhuo using these mechanical puppets would be similar to the Twin Heaven and Earth Ghosts controlling souls and ghosts, simply treating them as summoned pet beasts. Military tactics would also be difficult to use.

The two cultivators of the Beast Taming school, Lone Fang and Giant Handle, would also find it difficult to use military tactics.

The difficulty of an individual cultivating military tactics is not very great. The difficulty lies in forming an army.