: Giving the Treasure to Ning Zhuo (Two-in-One)

2025-01-14 Author: Gu Zhenren

Ning Zhuo practiced cultivation across all three dantians, which meant his training time was at least three times longer than that of an ordinary cultivator.

But in reality, it was far more than that.

Because the three supreme methods were exceptionally advanced, each required significantly more cultivation time compared to ordinary techniques.

Ning Zhuo showed no pride: "Although I saved nine years of grinding effort overnight, it really doesn't count for much."

"Foundation Establishment has six stages: Opening the Dantian Unhindered, Nurturing Precious Medicine, Dantian Radiating Light, Imprinting Symbols with Unusual Phenomena, Inner Golden Light Illumination, Transforming Void into Substance... I've only just entered the second stage."

"The journey is long and the burden heavy."

Ning Zhuo contemplated his cultivation situation.

"I cultivate the three supreme methods."

"Among them, the Demon-Stained Blood Tendon Technique can be accelerated by extracting blood from clan members and combining it with the Heavy-Armed Blood Ape's Great Victory. It can also be boosted using the 'Heaven-Born, Earth-Nourished Fetal Breathing Great Method' and the Fetal Breathing Spirit Boat to enhance the physical body. Though it's a different path, it leads to the same destination."

"As for the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art, I possess deep understanding of the five elements realms and have improved it into the Five Viscera Temple Spirit Technique. I've already cultivated the Earth Element Spleen Temple, greatly increasing my cultivation speed. But I still need ten-thousand-year Fire Essence, Wood Essence, Water Essence, and Metal Essence to refine the other four viscera temples."

"Regarding the Mirror Platform Spirit Awakening Art, while I haven't found a shortcut, my progress in this area has always been good, and I haven't encountered any bottlenecks so far. It shows that my nature is kind, benevolent, and adept at calmly thinking through problems, which suits this Buddhist scripture quite well."

"But all these pale in comparison to the National Power Bricks!"

"From the current perspective, cultivating with National Power Bricks is the true way."

"Using national power to increase cultivation has no risks and no side effects."

"No wonder in the cultivation world, nations are the most superior form of organization."

After using up the four National Power Bricks, Ning Zhuo deeply experienced the allure of national power!

A sharp glint flickered deep in Ning Zhuo's eyes.

Having traveled the world, he deeply felt the hardship of insufficient cultivation. Being weak made many things very inconvenient for him.

"If only I could obtain more National Power Bricks," he thought.

With this thought, he felt an increasingly strong anticipation for the upcoming great battle.

"By making contributions in the great battle, I might harvest more National Power Bricks."

"And I can also use the armies of the Two Pillar Kingdom to seize the opportunity to obtain my mother's legacy."

It could be said he was attending to both cultivation and rescuing his mother simultaneously.

Therefore, he couldn't afford to let go of the Stone Elder identity.

The previous ambush battle had fully verified the great advantage of this identity. Ning Zhuo was formerly the Military Advisor of the Three Generals Camp, and now he was Mu Lan's husband, making many actions increasingly inconvenient. Once he assumed the Stone Elder identity, some of the problems troubling him could be resolved from another angle!

"Perhaps I can use the Stone Elder identity to obtain my mother's legacy from the Six Caves Sect ahead of time, who knows?"

Of course, Ning Zhuo also knew this action required extreme caution.

The Stone Elder identity had no connection whatsoever to the Ning Family; suddenly creating a link would arouse much suspicion.

Especially since the Great Cave Master of the Six Caves Sect, Lu Hongtu, was very strategic, had a sharp eye, and was quite familiar with the Stone Elder. If Ning Zhuo acted too hastily, it could easily provoke his suspicion and investigation.

It was even possible that during one of his impersonations as the Stone Elder, he might fall into an ambush set by Lu Hongtu.

Upon reaching the Precious Medicine Nurturing stage, Ning Zhuo needed to continuously circulate his essence, energy, and spirit, merging the three to form the precious medicine.

This was the main task of cultivation at this stage!

Ning Zhuo had an extremely strong advantage here: cultivating all three dantians simultaneously.

This meant each of his dantians was individually trained and had a solid foundation, allowing him to easily draw upon the cultivation of the other two dantians for fusion.

If one primarily cultivated only one dantian, the other two would be very shallow. Not only would it be difficult to mobilize their power, but even if successful, the amount would be meager, resulting in a very sparse precious medicine after fusion.

Ning Zhuo stopped cultivating, slowly rose, put away his meditation mat and the mist, lifted the tent flap, and stepped outside.

The sky was clear, without a single cloud.

Ning Zhuo slightly narrowed his eyes, then slowly opened them.

A gentle breeze brushed his face as he looked up at the sky.

In just one night, his cultivation had broken through the Opening the Dantian Unhindered stage, saving nine years of arduous grinding, and entered the Precious Medicine Nurturing stage.

Yet, this great breakthrough instead made him feel insignificant.

The vast sky, the silent earth—he felt like a mere speck of dust within them.

Ning Zhuo stood in the Three Generals Camp, hearing the sounds of training soldiers, occasionally the cold shouts of Guan Hong and the loud scolding of Zhang Hei.

A sixteen-year-old at the Precious Medicine Nurturing stage was quite rare, and Ning Zhuo cultivated all three dantians!

But compared to the three Golden Core level figures Liu, Guan, and Zhang, no matter how rare he was, he was still only in the early Foundation Establishment stage.

Everyone believed that given time, he would surely achieve great things.

But the cruelty and contradiction of reality lay in the fact that it wouldn't treat you gently just because your future was bright.

It's not the world that revolves around me, but I who must adapt to the wind.

It has never been the world accommodating the individual, but the individual who must actively adapt to the external, cold, and hard world.

Currently, Ning Zhuo had to adapt and endure traveling the world with weak cultivation, facing a cultivation world filled with Golden Core and Nascent Soul experts.

"Fortunately, the Hundred Crafts of cultivation have developed to the point where there are countless means to fight above one's level!"

Cultivation is the pursuit, development, utilization, and innovation of the principles of heaven and earth.

The process of cultivation involves continuously excavating and refining the cultivator's essence, energy, and spirit. During this process, the cultivator's application of power also gradually climbs and undergoes qualitative changes. For example, starting with just true energy, then liquefying true energy, finally solidifying true energy, condensing it into a Golden Core!

In the early days of the cultivation world, cultivators focused on excavating their own potential, constantly exploring the limits and boundaries of each cultivation stage, causing a qualitative change in strength with each realm.

As development continued, and the space for self-excavation became less and less, approaching zero, cultivators had to turn their attention outward, leading to the rapid advancement of the Hundred Crafts of cultivation, culminating in the unprecedented prosperity seen today.

Elixirs, magical instruments, formations, talismans...

The ways and methods for cultivators to utilize resources became increasingly diverse.

National power is an artificial resource refined through a novel cultivation method, harnessing the strength of a nation.

National power is hard to come by!

Actually, opportunities for a nation to distribute National Power Bricks are very rare.

Both the Upper and Lower Pillars of the Two Pillar Kingdom are powerful states, located in a land surrounded by conflicts. Many armies must remain stationed locally and cannot move.

Under these circumstances, only by recruiting and expanding, forming new armies, is there power to conquer the Thousand Peaks Forest.

And to attract more cultivators to serve, using National Power Bricks as rewards is a very enticing promotional method.

"Right now, I need National Power Bricks for my cultivation to grow by leaps and bounds. Before that, I can only rely on the Hundred Crafts to shorten or even bridge the combat power gap!"

"And among the Hundred Crafts, only the Art of Mechanisms integrates all crafts without distinction between primary and secondary, achieving great synthesis."

Ning Zhuo had long since gained a clear understanding of his path forward.

He left a flying message to report his departure and left the camp.

Next, he needed to repair the Thousand-Mile Roaming Dragon.

Ever since Ning Zhuo suspected that Liu Er had detection methods hidden within the Three Generals Camp, he had become increasingly cautious.

A major task like repairing the Thousand-Mile Roaming Dragon naturally couldn't be taken lightly; it required great care.

Although Liu Er was training troops, he had also been using his innate ability, Spirit Sound Vein Detection, to scout the entire camp, paying particular attention to Ning Zhuo's tent.

When Ning Zhuo left his tent, Liu Er was secretly scouting.

He didn't need Ning Zhuo's flying message to reach his hands; he already knew Ning Zhuo had left the camp.

"Second Brother, Third Brother, continue the training. I have other matters to attend to," Liu Er instructed, then ended the training session.

He intercepted Ning Zhuo's flying message on the way, scanned it with his spiritual sense, and found the content unremarkable—just a notification.

"The Military Advisor's attitude towards me is casual, not like before."

Liu Er felt a sense of neglect, and anger rose in his heart again.

But the next moment, he suppressed this resentment, feeling he should be more broad-minded.

"The Military Advisor has contributed greatly to the Three Generals Camp. No matter how poor his attitude, I should endure it."

Liu Er tried to persuade himself.

"What exactly is the Military Advisor going to do?"

"Could he be sneaking off to the Red Flower Camp?"

"Logically, as the Military Advisor, he should report his destination to me when leaving camp."

"Wait, could he really be going to the Red Flower Camp and that's why he doesn't want to tell me?"

The thought of Mu Lan having a secret rendezvous with Ning Zhuo made Liu Er increasingly irritable and disgusted.

Even Liu Er himself found it baffling why he had such intense emotions.

He employed his techniques to conceal his presence and also left the camp, secretly following Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo didn't head towards the Red Flower Camp but instead ventured deep into the mountain forests.

"Does he plan to take a detour to the Red Flower Camp?"

"Strange!"

"Liu Er, Liu Er, you should be more magnanimous. Why are you so fixated on the Red Flower Camp?"

Liu Er's Spirit Sound Vein Detection ability covered an extremely wide range; even from a great distance, he didn't lose track.

Even Sun Lingtong, who was using the Thousand-Mile Roaming Dragon to scout the surroundings, detected no trace of Liu Er.

Deep in the mountains, the old demon cultivator saw this scene and felt quite pleased.

"Little Six's skills in illusion and stealth haven't fallen behind, worthy of my careful teaching and nurturing in the past."

The smile on the old demon cultivator's face quickly vanished, replaced by a serious expression.

He had already received the news.

This news truly shocked him—Liu Er had actually not become Mu Lan's husband; the final winner was Liu Er's subordinate, Ning Zhuo!

This contradicted his previous royal destiny prediction for Liu Er!

It was fatal.

Without becoming the son-in-law of the Upper General's estate, Liu Er's half-human, half-demon identity was extremely awkward. How could he rise to the upper echelons?

This step was truly crucial.

Missing this step would lead to widespread ripple effects, potentially causing drastic changes in the subsequent parts of the predicted destiny!

"I must find out exactly what happened!"

With this purpose, the old demon cultivator sent a spiritual sense message, actively contacting Liu Er.

Liu Er was both surprised and delighted, thinking, "Master hasn't left yet?"

He arrived at the agreed-upon spot in the mountains and paid his respects to the old demon cultivator again.

The elder grunted in acknowledgment, barely restraining his inner anxiety, and stroked his beard as he inquired.

Although he had received the news, he didn't know the details inside. He needed to ask someone like Liu Er, who had personally participated, to learn more.

Liu Er naturally wouldn't hide anything from his esteemed master and immediately recounted everything with mixed emotions.

After learning the details, the old demon cultivator fell into a long silence.

In Liu Er's memory, he had rarely seen his master act like this, making him even more apprehensive. He cautiously asked, "Master, did I mess this up?"

The old demon cultivator snapped out of his thoughts, looked at Liu Er shrinking his shoulders, reminiscent of his childhood self when caught causing trouble—outwardly cautious but inwardly clever, observing him and gauging the severity of the punishment.

The old demon cultivator forced a smile: "Little Six, you're overthinking it."

But Liu Er shook his head: "Master, I feel more and more that I messed this up!"

"You gave me the Yin-Yang Single Qi Gourd, clearly for me to use in pursuing Mu Lan."

"Now, Mu Lan hasn't become my wife. My impression and feelings towards Ning Zhuo have always been good, but recently I keep having malicious thoughts about him, feeling... feeling like he stole my lifetime treasure."

"Could this treasure be Mu Lan?"

Seeing that Liu Er had already guessed the truth, the old demon cultivator sighed lightly, reached out, and gently tapped Liu Er with his finger.

And it was this simple, affirmative action. After the old demon cultivator performed it, he suddenly felt weak and had to support himself on the tree trunk beside him.

Seeing this, Liu Er's heart sank too. Having studied under the elder, he naturally knew what this behavior meant.

"Master, be careful!" Liu Er quickly stepped forward to the old demon cultivator's side and supported him.

Liu Er helped the old demon cultivator to a nearby flat rock and slowly sat him down.

The old demon cultivator gasped for breath a few times, then sighed deeply: "Little Six, you aspire to establish a kingdom where humans and demons coexist. Even with a royal destiny, you face tremendous hardships. Your life... is bitter."

"But these sufferings will eventually temper you, making you stronger until you achieve your ideal!"

"This time, although things have reached this point, it's not a complete failure yet."

At this point, the elder felt weak again and had to pause speaking.

Liu Er, however, felt a surge of hope: "Master, I still have a chance?"

The elder nodded, caught his breath a few times, and continued: "Ning Zhuo will leave eventually. Moreover, he wants to preserve his primordial yang and won't engage in dual cultivation with Mu Lan. This point is especially crucial."

"Dual cultivation... once it occurs, the fortunes of both parties also merge, undergoing a certain qualitative change."

"This qualitative change can be good or bad... *cough*."

The old demon cultivator suddenly coughed up blood, his eyes rolled back, and he nearly fainted on the spot.

"Master! Master!" Liu Er was greatly alarmed and quickly employed his techniques to provide treatment.

But this kind of divination backlash was hard to counteract with ordinary means. It was only after the old demon cultivator regained his breath and used his own methods that he improved slightly.

He looked at Liu Er, struggled to extend his finger, and said extremely weakly: "Go, go lend the Yin-Yang Single Qi Gourd to Ning Zhuo."

"Absolutely must not let the two of them engage in dual cultivation."

"You must ensure that the one nourished by Mu Lan's primordial yin is you. This is extremely important for you."

After saying this, the old demon cultivator suddenly disintegrated on the spot, turning into a cloud of multicolored smoke that eventually dissipated.

(End of )