: Can't Hold It Anymore

2025-01-16 Author: Gu Zhenren

: Can't Hold It Anymore

The intense pain forced the old demon cultivator to bend over.

"Why?" The old man's eyes widened in disbelief.

This was just too much of a coincidence!

Just as he was about to strike, Ning Zhuo's fortune suddenly surged, surpassing his own by a narrow margin.

The Minor Fortune-Breaking Curse operates based on the comparative levels of fortune between the two parties.

With Ning Zhuo becoming the stronger one, the curse rebounded and took effect on the old demon cultivator instead.

To put it simply, it was as if the old demon cultivator had raised a hammer to smash Ning Zhuo's fortune, but Ning Zhuo's fortune suddenly strengthened, causing the hammer to fly back and strike his own head.

"Fortunately, I hold an official position in the imperial court, which provides some protection in this regard. A minor curse like this isn't enough to shatter my fortune."

However, the backlash from casting the spell was very real.

Yet, the old demon cultivator could not tend to his injuries.

This was because he was in the midst of performing the Life-Draining Fortune Seizure Curse ritual. He could only proceed with this curse and not perform any other actions; otherwise, it would count as him voluntarily interrupting the ritual, leading to terrifying backlash and heavy consequences.

Gasping for breath, the old demon cultivator straightened his upper body and began preparing the curse once more.

"Ning Zhuo's fortune hasn't changed again!"

"It must have just been a coincidence earlier."

"Next, witness my Second-Level Minor Fortune-Breaking Curse!"

A moment earlier.

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong were observing the Ten-Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon.

The mana pool within the Ten-Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon was spewing vast amounts of mana, channeling it into the dragon body's formation.

This formation was constructed from countless interconnected talismans.

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong, the creators of these talismans, stood by watching intently, their expressions full of tension.

They had expended a massive amount of precious materials at great cost. To attempt this again, they would at least need to return to Jin Li to purchase more.

Fortunately, the formation operated continuously without any mishaps.

As the formation gradually weakened and finally came to a complete stop, the Ten-Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon's body was fully restored.

Where there had been damage before, there were now layers upon layers of dense cloud clusters.

These cloud clusters, stacked thick and tight, replaced the previous dragon scales, providing严密 protection for the dragon's body.

Upon closer inspection, one could see the cloud-scale clusters slowly rotating, much like real clouds. Deep within them, faint strands of azure lightning could be glimpsed.

This was because Thunder Dragon Horns were used as material, imparting a lightning attribute.

"This is just too extravagant," Sun Lingtong couldn't help but sigh.

It was the first time he had seen someone pile on materials with such lavishness.

"Only you, Little Zhuo."

"Hehehe."

"I still remember back in the day when you first started crafting contraptions. I brought you almost every mechanism available on the market. You heavily criticized many for their crude design and lack of efficiency."

"So, how do you feel about that now?" Sun Lingtong teased.

Ning Zhuo let out a sigh, smiling wryly: "Boss, my heart still aches thinking about it. But thankfully, the Mechanism Ring has stopped contracting."

"Based on past experience, even though we used materials lavishly this time, it should still count as making the correct choice, right?"

"Let's move on to the next step."

Of course, the Ten-Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon couldn't be completed in one go.

The dragon's surface was now covered with cloud-scale clusters, serving as external and internal armor. However, many weak points still remained.

These weak spots usually wouldn't cause any issues.

But once it came to traversing the void, that would be disastrous.

Even Nascent Soul stage cultivators can only traverse the void using their Nascent Soul; their physical bodies typically cannot withstand it.

The pressure of void traversal is immense. The previous Ten-Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon was a seamless whole. Now, after repairs, there are bound to be weaker sections.

These weak points are like the thinnest link in a chain, often unable to withstand the pressure and most likely to snap. And once one breaks, it triggers a chain reaction, causing the entire chain to fail.

Ning Zhuo needed to detect these weak points and then reinforce them!

Once again, he faced a choice.

The precious materials he had on hand allowed for two different plans.

The final outcome of both plans was roughly the same. However, one was faster but consumed more materials, while the other was slower but used fewer materials.

"My time isn't particularly tight; being a bit slower is fine."

Just as Ning Zhuo thought this, the Mechanism Ring on his finger contracted again, issuing a warning!

"Huh?"

"So, I should choose the faster reinforcement plan?"

Ning Zhuo didn't hesitate and immediately adjusted his approach.

Back to the present.

In the mountain forest.

The old demon cultivator shouted in his heart: "Second-Level Minor Fortune-Breaking Curse, break!"

But Ning Zhuo's fortune suddenly surged once more, precisely surpassing the old demon cultivator's own fortune by a small margin.

Pfft!

The old demon cultivator vomited blood again, dropping to one knee, clutching his chest. The intense pain contorted his face into a fearsome grimace.

Besides the pain, there was also intense fury.

"Again?!"

The old demon cultivator was both shocked and utterly exasperated.

"Is this still just a coincidence?"

"No, two consecutive coincidences are no longer coincidences."

"Could it be that Ning Zhuo has already detected that I am cursing him and is countering me?"

"Or does he possess some unique means of protecting his own fortune?"

The old demon cultivator fell into hesitation.

He suddenly realized that choosing the Life-Draining Fortune Seizure Curse might have been too rash.

"I cast the great curse without investigating thoroughly enough!"

"Now, two unexpected situations have occurred in a row. This is highly unreasonable."

"At the time, I was also too enraged."

The old demon cultivator felt regret.

Of course, it wasn't solely due to his anger.

At that moment, his main consideration was: to drain Ning Zhuo's fortune and return it to its proper course, causing the royal destiny to flourish, ultimately leading Mu Lan to follow this shift in fortune and become Liu Er's wife.

"There's something very fishy about Ning Zhuo!"

"Next is the Third-Level Minor Fortune-Breaking Curse. If this fails again, the entire great curse will end up benefiting Ning Zhuo."

The old demon cultivator felt as if a huge rock were pressing on his heart.

Once the great curse is activated, it cannot be stopped midway.

The fortunes of Ning Zhuo and Liu Er would become tightly intertwined through this curse, similar to a life-or-death struggle. The loser loses everything, while the winner takes all!

The old demon cultivator's eyes bulged, cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and a terrifying conjecture arose in his heart.

"Could it be that by observing their fortunes, I too have become entangled? Leading me to act rashly in anger, and ultimately even implicating Little Six, paving the way for Ning Zhuo's success?!"

Observing fortune is no easy task.

For the old demon cultivator, each time he observes fortune, he not only needs to rely on heavy treasures but also pay a significant price.

And after observing, it also means that he has been detected by Ning Zhuo's fortune. Every action the old demon cultivator takes will also face countermeasures from Ning Zhuo's fortune.

"No, absolutely not!"

"I came to help Little Six, not to add to his difficulties."

The old demon cultivator took a deep breath, his expression turning resolute.

The third minor curse was extremely critical.

There was absolutely no room for failure!

With a strong sense of determination, the old demon cultivator successively took out various precious materials from his storage belt. Materials of Nascent Soul grade, and even Soul Transformation grade!

He utilized these materials to begin a new setup.

This was his true, all-out posture when performing the great curse!

Formations, talismans... these were inscribed on nearby rocks, trees, and even floated in mid-air.

If Sun Lingtong were to see this scene, he would surely be drooling.

These materials were excessively rare and precious, with extremely high market prices. For a Nascent Soul cultivator, stealing just thirty percent of them would make one wealthy enough to be a local magnate.

Without a doubt, this was an astonishing fortune!

"Huh?" The old demon cultivator's fingers suddenly paused slightly, sensing that Ning Zhuo's arm's fortune had surged yet another notch.

A chill ran down the old demon cultivator's spine: "Fortunately, I wasn't hasty and delayed the Third-Level Minor Fortune-Breaking Curse. Otherwise, at this rate, I'm afraid I would have repeated my past mistakes!"

As Liu Er's master, the old demon cultivator was highly vigilant.

After failing twice in a row, he decisively adjusted his strategy.

This adjustment proved quite effective, allowing him to narrowly avoid disaster.

"It's not over yet!"

"I've already seen through your tricks. This time, I'm going all out, spending most of my family's assets. I will definitely succeed in one move!"

On the other side.

Ning Zhuo's face was as dark as water, feeling the Mechanism Ring on his finger contracting and expanding rhythmically.

This was a continuous warning!

"The situation is a bit不妙, boss," Ning Zhuo said to Sun Lingtong.

Sun Lingtong stared at the Mechanism Ring on his finger: "Little Zhuo, could it be that your Mechanism Ring is malfunctioning? Is it really trustworthy?"

Ning Zhuo reached out with his other hand, touching the surface of the Mechanism Ring with his fingers. His gaze was firm, his tone resolute: "I trust it!"

His eyes sharp and cold, he pondered: "Earlier, I alleviated its warnings twice in a row, both times by using precious materials to repair the Ten-Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon."

"The Ten-Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon is a heavy treasure of mechanisms. Repairing it enhances my strength."

"That is to say, I converted precious materials into my own strength, which is why I turned danger into safety."

"The Ten-Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon is already repaired. I should find another method to achieve a significant boost in my strength. That should resolve the crisis."

Sun Lingtong didn't trust the Mechanism Ring, but he trusted Ning Zhuo implicitly.

"Since you put it that way, Little Zhuo, what are we waiting for?"

"Let's return to Canglin Immortal City, buy whatever we see, and convert our financial resources into strength!"

The two immediately sprang into action.

The Ten-Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon, heavily invested in and now repaired, traversed the void and carried Sun and Ning back to Canglin Immortal City.

Canglin Immortal City had a huge market. The market was extremely prosperous, selling magical instruments, treasures, talismans, elixirs... a wide variety, a dazzling array.

Under normal circumstances, there certainly wouldn't be this many.

This was because the Two-Pillar Kingdom had designated this place as a major rear base, mobilizing the nation's resources to set it up, creating this temporarily畸形 prosperous market.

Ning Zhuo passed by many shops in a row and finally entered one that sold mechanisms.

He entered the shop and saw many samples of mechanical contraptions.

To cope with the large-scale battles in the Thousand Peaks Forest, most of the items sold in mechanism shops were large-scale war machines. There were ballistae, war chariots, catapults, battering rams, and so on.

Ning Zhuo gave these a cursory glance without any lingering interest.

The shopkeeper hurried over, cupping his hands in salute to Ning Zhuo: "Greetings, Military Advisor Ning."

Ning Zhuo had once returned triumphantly with Generals Liu, Guan, and Zhang, so his appearance was known to many.

For mechanism shops like this one, they had long since gathered intelligence on every army and every important figure.

In these intelligence reports, Ning Zhuo was ranked near the top.

His recent becoming Mu Lan's husband was still confidential for the time being. But his identity as the Military Advisor Jijiu of the Three Generals Camp was already widely known. More crucially, Ning Zhuo was in charge of this army's logistics. Procurement of military supplies had always been handled by Ning Zhuo.

Therefore, seeing Ning Zhuo, the shopkeeper was very excited and began eagerly anticipating this business deal.

Ning Zhuo nodded slightly: "Your shop is the largest. You should have mechanical dolls, right?"

The shopkeeper was momentarily stunned, then somewhat disappointed.

Not buying large-scale war machines, but buying a few mechanical dolls as personal guards? How much profit could that bring?

Considering potential future business, the shopkeeper smiled: "Of course! Military Advisor Ning gracing our humble shop brings it great honor. A few mechanical dolls can be a small gift from me to you, Military Advisor."

Ning Zhuo chuckled, shaking his head: "If it were only a few mechanical dolls, I wouldn't have come to your shop. I could just make them myself."

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he quickly gestured: "Military Advisor, please, this way. The mechanical dolls in our shop are definitely the most numerous in the city, and our stock is ample."

The two walked towards the inner rooms. Hearing voices talking, sounding somewhat familiar, Ning Zhuo paused slightly.

Sure enough, in the inner courtyard, he saw Mu Lan.

Mu Lan, accompanied by her military supply officers, was bargaining with the assistant shopkeeper.

The troubles of the Red Flower Camp had passed. Having previously received support from the Three Generals Camp and successfully receiving their military pay this morning, Mu Lan had brought her people to personally purchase military supplies.

Seeing Ning Zhuo, Mu Lan was also slightly taken aback.

Ning Zhuo saluted first: "Ning Zhuo, Military Advisor of the Three Generals Camp, pays respects to General Mu Lan."

Mu Lan immediately realized Ning Zhuo was maintaining their cover, unwilling to expose their husband-wife relationship. Her feelings became rather complicated.

Mu Lan nodded slightly at Ning Zhuo, acting as if they weren't familiar, then looked at the shopkeeper: "We were in the middle of negotiations, and you left halfway. So it was to receive a big customer."

The shopkeeper hurriedly apologized and begged for forgiveness.

Mu Lan smiled slightly: "Your attitude is not bad. In that case, how about lowering the price a bit more?"

Recently, she had suffered enough from lack of funds, hence she was counting every penny.

The shopkeeper smiled wryly and had to agree.

He led Ning Zhuo to another area, showing him various mechanical dolls.

Although Mu Lan was discussing prices, part of her attention remained on Ning Zhuo.

Hearing that he wanted to purchase mechanical dolls on a large scale increased her curiosity.

The shopkeeper recommended many mechanical dolls.

Ning Zhuo divided his attention, listening to the shopkeeper's recommendations while using his spiritual sense to check the relevant jade slips.

"This model is pretty good." Soon, Ning Zhuo selected one model of mechanical doll.

Seeing that this model had a fairly high price, the shopkeeper beamed, praising Ning Zhuo's good taste, and asked how many he needed.

Ning Zhuo rubbed the Mechanism Ring on his index finger with his thumb, as if casually asking: "How many do you have?"

The shopkeeper stated a number, quite proud of his ample stock.

But the next moment, Ning Zhuo said expressionlessly: "Good, I'll take them all."

The shopkeeper stared wide-eyed.

Ning Zhuo: "This model too. Give me all you have."

The shopkeeper's mouth fell open.

Ning Zhuo, feeling the ring still contracting, bought a third model of mechanical doll as well.

The shopkeeper was so overjoyed he became incoherent: "Sir, we can also offer installment plans here, please don't worry."

"Get them all for me. I'll pay in full now." Ning Zhuo waved his hand, his expression firm.

The shopkeeper said "good" three times in a row, quickly ordered several clerks to fetch the goods, and soon handed several bulging storage pouches to Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo also paid the full amount.

The Mechanism Ring finally stopped contracting, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Mu Lan, who had witnessed the entire transaction nearby, maintained a calm expression, but her feelings were quite complex.

"Let's go." Ning Zhuo bid farewell.

As he passed by Mu Lan, he said to the shopkeeper: "The Red Flower Camp and our Three Generals Camp are close comrades-in-arms. Shopkeeper, why not be more accommodating?"

The shopkeeper quickly cupped his hands, indicating he would comply.

Immediately after, he said to Mu Lan: "General, since Lord Ning has personally spoken, consider all the supplies you've purchased this time as gifts from our shop. We won't charge you anything."

This time, Mu Lan finally couldn't hold it in anymore; her expression changed noticeably.

With difficulty, she voiced her thanks to Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo didn't look back, walking out of the shop with his back to her, merely raising the back of his hand in a casual wave.

"That was just too帅!" a female supply officer nearby exclaimed in admiration.

(End of )