: Triple Constellation Treasure Talisman

In the dense forests of the mountains.

Lin Bufan, swift as an arrow shot from a bow, darted rapidly through the woods.

His toes lightly tapped on the branches, his green robe trailing a verdant afterimage in the morning mist.

Suddenly, the branches before him transformed into a swarm of snakes, colorful and vibrant, all opening their mouths to bite him.

This bizarre change was so abrupt, it was as if Lin Bufan had walked right into a trap.

A cold light gleamed in Lin Bufan's eyes, yet he showed no sign of surprise.

With a pointed finger, his flying sword, Emerald Tip, shot out like lightning into the "snake nest."

In the next moment, countless emerald sword rays sprouted like blades of grass, swarming forth to pierce and annihilate thousands of venomous snakes.

The dismembered remains of the snakes fell to the ground, reverting to broken twigs and scattered leaves.

Gao Cuo's voice echoed from all directions: "You've worked hard, fellow cultivator, taking every illusion of mine so seriously."

"But this way, your mana consumption far exceeds mine. How long can you keep this up?"

His tone was full of mockery and scorn.

Lin Bufan snorted coldly.

It wasn't that he was too naive; previous encounters had taught him that these illusions weren't entirely false. If left unchecked, they could cause even greater harm.

"I can hold out for seven days and seven nights."

"But do you have the time to keep chasing me?"

Lin Bufan retorted.

Gao Cuo's expression stiffened.

He had duties to attend to. The situation at the frontline camp of the Thousand Peaks Forest Alliance had changed since before.

Lord Long had returned and reorganized the entire camp.

If he stayed away too long, he risked being labeled a deserter.

That would be disastrous.

The Sword Elder chuckled. "Xiao Gao, learned your lesson now?"

Gao Cuo nodded slightly. "I made a misstep. After failing to ambush him the first time, I covered up the battlefield."

"That very move allowed Lin Bufan to guess my intentions. Now he's focused solely on fleeing—it's really annoying."

"Sword Elder, when will you be able to strike again?"

The Sword Elder sighed. "It will take two more days."

"Even then, given the target's temperament and abilities, another ambush like before might not work as well."

"Time is your biggest weakness."

"If this fight drags on, not only will you struggle to explain your absence, but it could also lead to complications. Your battle with him might attract other cultivators."

"Perhaps it's time to retreat."

Gao Cuo gritted his teeth, unwilling to give up.

After a moment of silence, he replied, "Last time, the Evil God Bone from Bikong Mountain was taken."

"This time, the Wood-Within-Fire is just as important to me. Must I miss out on it too?"

"Sword Elder, I'm going all out from now on!"

The Sword Elder chuckled. "This is your cultivation path, so the decision is yours. Since you've made up your mind, go all out and give it your best!"

"Good!" Gao Cuo responded loudly.

In the next moment, he exerted his full power, his sleeves fluttering as he split into seven illusory clones.

The clones chased Lin Bufan from different directions, each burning with purple-black flames, their aura intimidating.

Lin Bufan's heart tightened. He directed his flying sword to circle around him.

Emerald Tip moved at extreme speed, tracing a circle in the air and shattering all the clones in its path.

But when the sword returned to his side, Lin Bufan's heart sank. He saw the sword now marred with purple-black patterns, and his connection to it had weakened by more than half.

Gao Cuo pressed the attack.

His true form blurred like ink, spreading out in moments to form a rolling purple-black mist that enveloped the area within ten miles.

Caught off guard, Lin Bufan was trapped in the purple smoke and hurriedly activated his magical treasures to defend himself.

Suddenly, the world cleared, and the purple-black mist vanished.

Yet cold sweat dripped from Lin Bufan's forehead. "Such a powerful illusion! It's exactly the same as the forest before the fight."

He tried to retreat but found himself moving forward.

Attempting to go left, he instead moved right.

"Is it an illusion, or has my sense of direction been severely disrupted?" As Lin Bufan pondered, Gao Cuo's attack suddenly struck.

Boom, boom, boom...

A series of deafening explosions shook the earth, and Lin Bufan was buried in dust and smoke.

But in his vision, the world remained clear, with the distant mountains and nearby trees showing no damage or change.

***

Ten-Mile Blazing Forest, Three Generals Camp.

Ning Zhuo channeled his spiritual sense into the jade slip to read Zhao Xi's letter.

In it, Zhao Xi lavished praise on the Three Generals Camp and briefly outlined the situation with the main forces.

It turned out that after the Three Generals Camp departed, a squad of Nascent Soul-stage cultivators had infiltrated the battlefield to seize important treasures.

Naturally, the main forces wouldn't allow enemies to steal their spoils right under their noses.

So, various commanders took action, clashing several times with the enemies led by the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts.

However, in the end, the ghost cultivators still managed to take two significant trophies.

During this confrontation, the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts displayed overwhelmingly powerful overall strength, suppressing the main forces' Nascent Soul cultivators.

They were so brazen that even after being discovered, they still attempted to destroy the giant dragon-shaped talisman deep underground.

At the critical moment, Zhao Xi intervened, using the national scepter and expending national power bricks to cast a national technique, driving back the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts.

"After this battle, the main forces were humiliated, while Zhao Xi turned the tide and earned merit."

"While others lost face, our victory report from the Three Generals Camp stood in stark contrast."

"Zhao Xi seized the opportunity to suppress rivals and consolidate more power... No wonder he's so pleased and sent the rewards for our military achievements here ahead of time."

Understanding the situation, Ning Zhuo turned his attention to the Triple Constellation Treasure Talisman before him.

This talisman wasn't the usual long strip but rather a leaf.

The leaf was white on the front and black on the back, with orange-yellow streams of light occasionally flashing along its veins.

If held up to sunlight during the day, countless golden spots would appear on the front. If under moonlight at night, multiple lunar halos would appear on the back.

Even without channeling any法力, just by infusing his spiritual sense and observing, Ning Zhuo could feel the vibrant vitality of this talisman.

He had previously discussed with Zhao Xi, who had introduced him to the Triple Constellation Treasure Talisman.

This talisman was crafted by the royal family of the Three Suns Kingdom and gifted to the Two Notes Kingdom as a national-level present.

The royal family of the Three Suns Kingdom primarily cultivated the "Three Suns Primordial Qi Art." By using this treasure talisman, Ning Zhuo would gain the advantages of the "Three Suns Primordial Qi Art" during the Precious Medicine Germination stage!

"I didn't expect Zhao Xi to deliver this talisman to me so quickly."

"Most likely, he started arranging this right after our last communication."

"Though he's a bit greedy, once bribed, he really gets things done! No wonder he's lasted so long, remaining firm in the Two Notes Kingdom's court despite numerous reports against him!"

After inspecting it for a while, Ning Zhuo confirmed there were no hidden tricks.

He also had Sun Lingtong use her innate talent to examine it and found no issues.

"The Mechanical Ring shows no reaction either."

Ning Zhuo hesitated no longer. He activated the treasure talisman for the first time.

The Triple Constellation Treasure Talisman glowed and then disintegrated, transforming into three streams of orange light that shot into Ning Zhuo's Spirit Sea Dantian, Qi Sea Dantian, and Essence Sea Dantian.

Without Ning Zhuo needing to activate his Three Supreme Methods, his divine power, mana, and essence began circulating automatically along the pathways of the "Three Suns Primordial Qi Art."

Three suns appeared in each of Ning Zhuo's three Dantians.

The suns hung high, continuously drawing in divine power, mana, and essence, then exhaling them back.

For a time, sunlight filled the three Dantians, and countless precious medicines competed to grow.

Ning Zhuo was astonished.

"This efficiency is over a hundred times greater than before."

"The 'Three Suns Primordial Qi Art' truly lives up to being a royal family's primary cultivation method—incredibly powerful!"

Ning Zhuo stood up and tried some other activities.

To his delight, he found that even when fighting, casting spells, or performing intense physical movements, the Triple Constellation Treasure Talisman's automatic operation wasn't disrupted.

"The only drawback is that the Triple Constellation Treasure Talisman consumes a lot of essence, qi, and spirit."

"In a real battle, I can't let it continuously drain my strength."

After experiencing it for half the time it takes to drink tea, Ning Zhuo immediately halted the talisman's operation.

With a thought, three streams of orange light shot out from his three Dantians. The lights converged in the air, reforming into the original treasure talisman.

The talisman drifted down like a falling leaf into Ning Zhuo's waiting palm.

Ning Zhuo examined it closely and noticed that the leaf veins on the talisman had blurred slightly.

"It seems the talisman's material is quite good, allowing me to use it for a long time."

This talisman was a gift between cultivation nations, so naturally, the materials used were of the highest quality.

"Zhao Xi has really helped me out this time!"

"With efficiency increased a hundredfold, I can break through to the second stage, Precious Medicine Germination, and advance to the third stage soon."

Ning Zhuo's eyes shone with anticipation.

He already cultivated the Three Supreme Methods, giving him a significant advantage at this stage that most cultivators couldn't match.

Now, with the Triple Constellation Treasure Talisman, the dual enhancement was like adding wings to a tiger!

"I should also thank Liu, Guan, and Zhang..."

Exchanging for this treasure talisman used up most of their military merits. The rewards for Liu, Guan, and Zhang couldn't compare to Ning Zhuo's.

They had volunteered and insisted on helping Ning Zhuo.

"Xiao Zhuo, our investment in the Three Generals Camp is finally paying off gratifyingly," Sun Lingtong remarked from within the Mechanical Roaming Dragon, feeling quite pleased.

But soon, their mood soured.

When Lin Bufan didn't come to find him as expected, Ning Zhuo sensed something was wrong and began searching near the Ten-Mile Blazing Forest.

Gao Cuo had concealed the battlefield, so even with Sun Lingtong's innate talent and the Mechanical Roaming Dragon's considerable detection abilities, they found no clues or traces.

"Something must have happened to Lin Bufan."

"I hope he can handle it properly and overcome this challenge."

Ning Zhuo stopped searching.

Mainly, he had no way to contact Lin Bufan. Finding him in these vast mountains would be extremely difficult.

With Lin Bufan missing, the Wood-Within-Fire would have to wait.

Ning Zhuo quickly adjusted his mindset and returned to the Three Generals Camp to resume active cultivation.

The Triple Constellation Treasure Talisman was very convenient to use, and Ning Zhuo carried it with him almost day and night, using it continuously.

He devoted most of his time to the Fetal Breath Spiritual Barge.

The battle at the Ten-Mile Blazing Forest had already shown him the benefits.

Now, the stronger his physical foundation, the greater the combat power he could unleash through the leverage of military strategies!

Two days later, a team arrived at the Ten-Mile Blazing Forest. While taking over the area, they also brought Zhao Xi's mobilization order.

The order: Three Generals Camp to campaign against the Thousand Vine Talisman Sky Corridor!

Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Ning weren't surprised; this target was the one they had previously proposed to Zhao Xi.

Having connections upstairs certainly made things easier.

Zhao Xi had successfully delivered this military order to the Three Generals Camp.

The Three Generals Camp was already prepared. They immediately broke camp and swiftly marched toward the Thousand Vine Talisman Sky Corridor.

The Thousand Vine Talisman Sky Corridor was a passage built between mountain peaks, meticulously constructed to allow heaven and earth spiritual energy to flow through, forming an artificial spirit vein.

The cultivated Talisman Leaf Vines, influenced by the corridor itself during growth, eventually produced specific vine-leaf talismans.

Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Ning had already planned together. Leading their troops, they chose the middle section of the corridor for a full-scale attack.

The previously silent vine walls suddenly came to life, hundreds of vines shedding their green hue to turn metallic black.

Talismans on the vine leaves activated, shooting countless sharp arrows that rained down on the Three Generals Camp.

Battle Formation—Iron Bucket Formation!

The Three Generals Camp stood ready, defending imperviously.

After a large number of vine leaves were consumed, a section of the vine wall on the left turned crimson.

Instantly, the vine-leaf talismans transformed into numerous streams of fire, shooting toward the Three Generals Camp.

Liu Er applied military strategies to enhance defenses.

Guan Hong swung his blade, cleaving through the漫天 flames and fiery streams, striking the corridor on the mountainside and immediately breaking through the surface to reveal the interior.

Some enemy cultivators panicked and fled through the holes, retreating deeper into the corridor on both sides.

Soon, with the vine-leaf talismans on this section exhausted, its resistance plummeted.

After leaving behind over a dozen corpses, the defending cultivators all retreated.

The battle started smoothly, but the real challenge lay ahead.

The Three Generals Camp couldn't repeat this method along the entire corridor. It would take too long, consume too much military strength, and depleting all the talisman vine leaves here would mean significant losses. Moreover, these losses would affect their military merits.

"Attacking from the inside won't trigger the vine leaves' defense."

"But that way, there's no space to deploy battle formations. Using only a small squad to form a formation greatly reduces its power."

"Let my mechanical troops try first."

Ning Zhuo volunteered.

With his three mechanical platforms, he could produce mechanical puppets quite rapidly. This kind of war of attrition was perfect for his mechanical army!

The Three Generals Camp soon adopted a new approach: the main force remained stationed in place, while the mechanical army launched full-scale attacks to the left and right.

Hidden in the shadows, the Heaven and Earth Twin Ghosts watched everything.

"The Three Generals Camp's main force is still in formation—troublesome."

"Ning Zhuo has left the army and is acting alone. Once he's a bit farther from Liu, Guan, and Zhang, we'll ambush him!"

(End of )