: Beginning to Walk with Great Luck

Author: Gu Zhenren

2025-01-21

In Huoshi Mountain.

The battle to encircle and annihilate the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence had reached its most critical moment.

"Oh no, it's trying to escape, catch it quickly!" Zhou Nongying exclaimed in alarm.

The formation trapping the Fire Essence was riddled with cracks all around, having borne too much of the battle's residual impact.

After a prolonged and fierce fight, the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence had hit rock bottom, its will to fight plummeting sharply. No longer wishing to continue the battle, it chose to flee.

Zhou Nongying gave chase right behind it.

Ning Jiufan and the Zhou family's second Golden Core elder closed in from the left and right, attempting to flank it.

Just as it seemed they wouldn't make it in time and the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence would escape, a walnut suddenly shot down from high above.

The walnut emitted a greenish light, striking the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence squarely on the head.

Seeing this, Ning Jiufan's eye twitched, and he instinctively slowed his pace.

The other Zhou family Golden Core elder was the first to reach the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence's side.

The Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence remained motionless, collapsing into the magma, sinking and floating amidst it.

"Damn it," Ning Jiufan cursed inwardly. He remembered Ning Zhuo's instructions clearly—Ning Zhuo desperately needed this Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence.

Now it was about to fall into the hands of the Zhou family's Golden Core elder; if they had to buy it back, it would surely cost much more.

Just as Ning Jiufan was blaming himself, the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence suddenly opened its eyes and launched a desperate final attack.

Boom!

A terrifying explosion erupted, instantly churning the magma into towering waves.

In an instant, the Zhou family's Golden Core elder was completely engulfed in raging flames.

He let out a piercing, agonized scream.

In that brief moment, all the defensive measures he activated were burned away, his robes and armor turning to nothing.

His flesh vanished in the orange-red flames within moments, his exposed skeleton charred to cinders, crumbling piece by piece.

In just two breaths, a Golden Core cultivator had vanished into thin air.

After slaying its enemy, the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence dimmed considerably, shrinking to almost the size of a fist.

Ning Jiufan, full of caution, quickly moved in and used a talisman to successfully seal it away.

"I've got the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence!"

"That was close..."

Even after a long, intense battle and being inside a volcano, Ning Jiufan felt a chill running down his spine.

If he hadn't hesitated just moments before, he might have been the one meeting disaster.

From beginning to end, Meng Kui, seated on the throne in the Molten Immortal Palace, slowly closed his eyes, no longer observing the volcanic battlefield.

His expression was displeased, feeling a sense of regret.

To avoid suspicion, he had refrained from joining the fight personally, just to prevent the Zhu family from holding him accountable later.

Ning Jiufan was his main target. Meng Kui had thrown the walnut but held back subtly, so the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence wasn't severely injured.

Throughout this battle, Ning Jiufan had stood out remarkably, even with Lin Bufan, a Nascent Soul level cultivator, fighting alongside him.

"His demon pet, the Fire-Melting Demon Ape, seems to have started cultivating too..."

"Ah."

Meng Kui sighed inwardly.

At the critical moment, Ning Jiufan's moment of hesitation caused him to miss the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence's final counterattack, thwarting Meng Kui's scheme.

Of course, Meng Kui hadn't come away empty-handed—the Zhou family had lost a Golden Core cultivator.

"If I had successfully weakened Ning Jiufan's fate energy earlier, he would have surely met with disaster."

"What kind of treasure does he have on him that can shield his fate energy?"

"Did the Southern Bean Royal Family secretly give it to him?"

No wonder Meng Kui speculated this way.

Before this, he had used the Peach Fate Kernel beyond events to strike Ning Jiufan's head, and the effect had been very obvious.

At that time, Ning Jiufan clearly had no treasure protecting his fate energy.

Lin Bufan took a deep breath and cast another spell.

The churning magma quickly calmed under his magic.

The grand formation slowly opened.

Zhou Nongying, his face full of sorrow, flew over to join Ning Jiufan and Lin Bufan.

He had no time to mourn the fall of his clansman; his mind was already pondering the future situation in Huoshi Immortal City.

After the battle at the Molten Immortal Palace, the Zheng family was out of the picture. The Ning family occupied the Zheng family's territory, rising swiftly to become the leading force under the City Lord's Mansion.

Generally speaking, the Zhou family, as an established family in Huoshi Immortal City, would suppress upstarts like the Ning family.

However, the situation in Huoshi Immortal City was quite special.

The Meng family's intention to encroach upon this place was a more urgent and powerful enemy.

Previously, due to Zhu Xuanji's methods, the Zhou, Zheng, and Ning families had formed an alliance with the royal family, making it difficult for the Zhou family to change sides.

Under these circumstances, the Ning family received strong support from the Zhu family, making it hard for the Zhou family to take action against them.

Moreover, the Ning family produced an extraordinary member like Ning Zhuo, who displayed Golden Core level combat prowess during the struggle for the Molten Immortal Palace. Combined with Ning Jiufan's own formidable strength, it made it even more impossible for the Zhou family to move against them.

Therefore, after Ning Zhuo branched off, Zhou Nongying personally visited and showed goodwill, having Zhou family cultivators actively help Ning Zhuo set up formations.

All of this was when the Zhou family still had two Golden Core cultivators.

Now, with only Zhou Nongying left as a Golden Core cultivator, the Zhou family's situation had worsened significantly. Their strength greatly diminished, they were likely to become a subsidiary of the Ning family.

Outside Huoshi Mountain.

Shen Lingshu and Zhu Xuanji also learned the outcome of the battle.

"The Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Essence ultimately fell into Ning Jiufan's hands. Ning Zhuo truly lives up to being the Child of Tribulation; the strength of his fate energy is astonishing," Shen Lingshu sighed.

Zhu Xuanji pondered and said, "Meng Kui ultimately succeeded in part; the Zhou family lost a Golden Core cultivator. Our strength in Huoshi Immortal City has still diminished considerably."

"From now on, the Ning family will be the main force hindering Meng Kui."

"It seems we need to increase our support for the Ning family."

Shen Lingshu nodded in agreement, smiling slightly. "I just added to Ning Jiufan's fate energy, and now he's receiving our aid. It's only fitting."

Zhu Xuanji: "Not to mention other things, just regarding the Ten-Thousand Medicine Sect, the Ning family is our Zhu family's close ally. Ah, if only Ning Zhuo weren't the Child of Tribulation, it would be much more convenient for us to act."

After exchanging a few more words, the two concealed their forms and quietly approached Huoshi Immortal City.

Two-Pillar Kingdom.

Canglin Immortal City.

Three Generals Camp.

"Neigh!" The mount under Liu Er suddenly stumbled, its hoof stepping into a hidden pit in the ground.

Liu Er was fully focused on training troops and was caught off guard. As the horse fell, he was thrown to the ground.

Although Liu Er quickly got back on his feet, the commotion was considerable, and the soldiers gathered around to check on him.

"Big brother, are you alright?" Zhang Hei was the first to run over, asking with concern.

"I'm fine," Liu Er shook his head, frowning as he looked at the ground.

Guan Hong also rode over quickly. After inspecting the scene, he relaxed slightly. "There's a hidden pit in the ground, and the horse's hoof happened to step into it."

Liu Er had been training troops for a long time, coordinating with the soldiers and continuously drilling battle formations, which had exhausted the horse. When it stepped into the hidden pit, it fell.

Liu Er fell with it because he had concentrated almost all his mental energy on organizing the battle formation, so his reaction was a bit slow.

Liu Er patted his armor, helped the horse up, and remounted. "Continue training!"

At his command, the Three Generals Camp resumed their drills.

However, Liu Er remained frowning, feeling as if a large part of his heart was empty.

"What's with this terrible feeling?"

"Could it be that Mu Lan is using force, compelling Ning Zhuo to engage in dual cultivation?"

"And the strategist! He's away from camp all day, no sign of him."

"Ah, if I had agreed to give him a spot earlier, he'd probably be here now, drilling with his mechanical soldiers, right?"

Ning Zhuo had already entered the Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon.

He slowly raised his head, straightening his upper body, no longer leaning over the desk.

On the table in front of him were layers of blueprints, all depicting various mechanical structures.

Canglin Immortal City.

"Honored guest, please take care on your way." The shop assistant respectfully bid farewell to Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo walked out of the Complete Book Pavilion leisurely.

He had just entered the Complete Book Pavilion to select a cultivation method for Meng Yehu.

Meng Yehu's spiritual nature was even higher than Yuan Dasheng's, allowing him to practice cultivation techniques. On this trip, Ning Zhuo carefully selected and finally picked a method for Meng Yehu.

This technique was closely related to Meng Yehu's innate talent and was called the "Nightwalk Assassin's Back Diagram."

Returning to the Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon, Ning Zhuo buried himself in designing the mechanical body for Meng Yehu.

In all the design drafts, Meng Yehu had a tiger's head and a human body, trying to match his spiritual nature and restore his original appearance as much as possible.

Ning Zhuo focused mainly on designing the mechanical body around his innate talent, Nightshadow Yin Malevolence.

In terms of materials, Ghost Shadow Bamboo was the most suitable. After all, it was originally a companion material to Nightshadow Yin Malevolence.

But Ning Zhuo didn't have much Ghost Shadow Bamboo on hand, and this treasure material was relatively rare. He wouldn't use it now. Ning Zhuo had long decided to use other treasure materials first and consider it again when the time was ripe.

"My understanding of Nightshadow Yin Malevolence is limited, and Meng Yehu's chosen technique is the Nightwalk Assassin's Back Diagram, which isn't related to the five elements either."

Ning Zhuo pondered for a long time, his head starting to ache slightly from all the thinking.

One plan was to focus on Ghost Shadow Talismans. Whenever Meng Yehu used his innate talent Nightshadow Yin Malevolence, it would trigger the Ghost Shadow Talismans, forming countless dark ghostly shadows that instantly assemble into an army of several dozen, capable of ganging up on the enemy—no, executing righteous围攻.

The second plan involved using mechanical components to alter the form of Nightshadow Yin Malevolence, turning it into a sky-full of malevolent energy that corrodes powerful enemies, creating visual and mental illusions to confuse reality.

The third plan was to set up a blade array on Meng Yehu's body. Once triggered, it would form thousands of nightshadow sharp blades, cutting with extreme sharpness and slicing the enemy to death.

The fourth plan fully utilized the Nightwalk Assassin's Back Diagram, equipping Meng Yehu with a set of mechanical accessories that would multiply his speed in dark environments, allowing him to dodge like a ghost, making him elusive.

The fifth plan involved setting up a Netherworld Soul-Binding Array. With this array as the core, combined with Nightshadow Yin Malevolence, it would bind the enemy's soul. As the number of bound souls increased, Meng Yehu's combat power would rise accordingly.

The sixth plan...

The seventh...

The eighth...

Ning Zhuo came up with over twenty small plans, his mind swirling, making it hard to decide and choose for the moment.

"Trying them out one by one is really impractical."

"My funds can't withstand such extravagant experiments either."

"I need to choose the most suitable set of plans."

But the awkward part was right here.

Ning Zhuo didn't know what was the most suitable either.

His word didn't count; it had to be tested in real battlefield conditions to find the answer to this question.

"Ah!"

Ning Zhuo sighed deeply, stood up, and wanted to go out for some fresh air.

But this movement knocked over the desk, scattering the various design blueprints on the floor.

Ning Zhuo bent down to pick them up but suddenly froze, because he saw five or six drawings scattered on the floor, just happening to form a complete image of Meng Yehu's form.

More importantly, according to Ning Zhuo's mental calculations, this combination of plans was really good, with a high possibility of success.

"What luck!"

The more Ning Zhuo pondered, the more excellent this plan seemed. He immediately decided, "I'll go with this set of plans!"

Ning Zhuo acted decisively, immediately flying out on his mechanical wandering dragon, shopping around in the various markets and shops within Canglin Immortal City, spending large amounts of spirit stones to acquire the treasure materials he wanted.

"Gotta thank this big war!"

"Canglin Immortal City has been turned into a major rear base, which is why I can buy what I want here."

"If it were the usual Canglin Immortal City, the variety of treasure materials definitely wouldn't be this plentiful."

While Ning Zhuo was working hard for Meng Yehu, Sun Lingtong lay bored inside the Fetal Breath Spiritual Skiff.

"This cultivation method has a thousand good points, but there's one thing I'm extremely dissatisfied with!"

"It's just too boring!"

Sun Lingtong, bored and increasingly restless, began胡乱 circulating his essence blood, wanting to辅助 the Innate Heaven-Earth Fetal Breath Great Method.

As a result...

The essence blood ran wild inside his body, immediately causing him injury.

His internal organs were damaged, and he started bleeding heavily internally.

"糟糕,糟糕了."

"Little Zhuo, save me."

Internal blood rushed upward, immediately blocking Sun Lingtong's mouth and nose.

He gradually suffocated. At this critical moment, he suddenly had a stroke of inspiration, gaining a deeper understanding of the "Innate Heaven-Earth Fetal Breath Great Method."

"So that's how it is."

Sun Lingtong was overjoyed, feeling a sense of sudden realization, his heart filled with the joy of enlightenment.

The next moment, the scriptures of the Innate Heaven-Earth Fetal Breath Great Method shone with even more brilliance.

Sun Lingtong not only turned danger into safety but also doubled his efficiency.

After selecting the treasure materials, Ning Zhuo didn't refine them himself but went to find Jin Li again.

He wanted to ask Jin Li for help processing these materials and crafting some mechanical components.

Jin Li laughed heartily, "Young friend Ning, you've come at just the right time. The royal capital has sent several artifact-refining cultivators to assist me."

"They just arrived yesterday and were coming to my place today to refine artifacts."

"Tell them your requirements."

"With their abilities, though not as good as mine, they can certainly help you accomplish this."

Ning Zhuo clasped his hands in thanks and presented a portion of the treasure materials to Jin Li as a token of gratitude.

Jin Li laughed heartily, excitedly patting Ning Zhuo's shoulder. "Young friend Ning Zhuo, you're too kind, making you spend like this."

People who are willing to spend money are usually quite popular.

With the help of Jin Li's subordinates, Ning Zhuo received all the semi-finished products that very evening.

"Many hands make light work! If I had to rely on myself alone, it would take at least half a year to reach this stage."

Ning Zhuo felt that spending money and giving gifts were quite worthwhile.

He simply stayed up all night, assembling the various mechanical components.

Meng Yehu's body took on a vague, initial form.

When Ning Zhuo took out Meng Yehu's spiritual nature sphere and placed it inside, the mechanical Meng Yehu activated on its own shortly after.

He didn't look around or inspect his new shell. Instead, he bowed deeply to Ning Zhuo and spoke in a low voice, "Father God!"

(End of )