: Three Merits Gathered

2025-05-25 Author: Gu Zhenren

Han Ming wolfed down the food, completely abandoning her previous refusal.

After finishing, she still wanted more: "Is there any left?"

Ning Zhuo: "Sorry, I'll bring more next time."

Han Ming nodded: "It'd be best if you bring some spirit food. These mortal dishes are tasty, but they aren't very helpful for cultivators like us."

Ning Zhuo grunted in agreement: "I'll consider it."

Han Ming added: "And my soul. I have to tell you, if you keep this up, I won't last much longer."

"If you keep draining it recklessly, my soul's foundation will be completely depleted."

By then, Han Ming would scatter to dust, not even having the chance to become a ghost cultivator.

Realizing this, Han Ming chose to temporarily yield and endure the humiliation.

Ning Zhuo nodded: "Do you have any good suggestions?"

Han Ming said: "Give me people! I just need to absorb souls to nourish myself. With a solid soul foundation, I can continuously supply you with soul essence."

Ning Zhuo smiled: "Actually, I've already prepared something for you."

"Oh?"

Ning Zhuo stood up, left the cell briefly, and returned holding three to five monkeys.

Han Ming's face darkened: "I said I want people. At best, I can only absorb thirty percent from these monkeys."

Ning Zhuo chuckled: "A thirty percent efficiency is acceptable to me."

"I'm not a demonic cultivator; I won't harm people. But beasts and monsters are fair game."

"There are plenty of monkeys around Huoshi Mountain. Killing some might even help Huoshi Mountain City."

Han Ming finally couldn't hold back, sneering sarcastically: "You? Not a demonic cultivator?"

"You're just unsure of my capabilities, worried that if I absorb human souls, I might secretly accumulate power."

"Plus, killing people and killing monkeys create completely different levels of attention. You're worried it would expose you faster!"

Ning Zhuo smiled: "You reminded me. Thank you, Han Ming."

"To be safe, I'll insert these mechanism needles again and monitor you strictly."

Seeing Ning Zhuo take out the mechanism needles again, Han Ming's pupils shrank to pinpoints, filled with rage.

But this time, she only glared at Ning Zhuo, never uttering a curse.

Lava Immortal Palace.

Meng Chong had lost count of how many times he had challenged.

To be precise, the number of failures meant nothing to him.

He just wanted to push through!

Among the clearance rewards, he chose the Upper Hanging Ring.

He slightly opened the door, creating a crack.

Meng Chong carefully extended the Upper Hanging Ring into the second room.

Ding, ding, ding...

He didn't hold back, shooting out all the colored diamonds.

Talent — Rushing Thunderbolt!

Spell — One Breath!

Mechanism Component — Upper Hanging Ring!

With the three forces combined, Meng Chong violently pushed open the door, shooting forward like a cannonball.

His speed broke through limits. The traps behind the door were triggered but couldn't stop him in time. The metal black net missed, and the heavy hammer platform only smashed the floor tiles.

"Hahaha!" Meng Chong laughed, his body enveloped in blue lightning as he raced toward the finish line.

The floor tiles retreated rapidly, but they were no match for Meng Chong's speed.

Yet, the next moment, Meng Chong disintegrated!

Just before his vision went completely dark, he saw it clearly. Transparent threads, extremely sharp, were stretched between the walls.

The faster Meng Chong rushed, the quicker he was sliced apart by these threads.

Countless puppet fragments scattered across the floor. The fierce blue lightning lingered in the air for a moment before dissipating unwillingly.

Returning to his body, Meng Chong pouted, sulking for a while.

Fei Si came to inquire and, after learning the details, sighed sincerely: "I never expected the difficulty of this mechanism inheritance to be so high!"

"Perhaps we should start by cracking the mechanism traps before moving forward."

"What? Have me learn mechanism arts?! I can't even handle alchemy or artifact refining!" Meng Chong clutched his head, feeling deeply troubled.

"I don't believe it!"

"I just couldn't control that speed."

"As long as I see clearly, I can pass through the thread net and reach the finish line!"

"Decided! Next, I'll undergo special training. Let's start with three days and three nights without rest!" Meng Chong announced loudly.

Fei Si immediately showed a troubled expression, hurriedly advising: "Young Master Meng Chong, that won't do."

"Lately, you've been using your Rushing Thunderbolt talent too frequently. You should look in a mirror."

Meng Chong looked into a mirror and saw deep dark circles under his eyes, a haggard face, and even his cheekbones seemed more prominent.

"I can still push on!" Meng Chong declared, without any hesitation.

Fei Si pleaded bitterly: "Young Master Meng Chong, take it easy. Although the City Lord's Manor provides you with unlimited resources, replenishing your essence, energy, and spirit takes time."

"Right now, your consumption rate far exceeds your recovery rate. This trend is very unhealthy."

Meng Chong blinked: "Then, is there a way to quickly replenish my essence, energy, and spirit?"

Fei Si said: "That would be cultivation techniques."

"Young Master, you practice the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art. This method can help you quickly replenish energy. But it only has three layers, so the effect isn't sufficient."

"As for essence and spirit, there are no techniques to rely on; you can only depend on your body's natural digestion."

Meng Chong shook his head: "Natural digestion is too slow! I'll go talk to Grandfather. He knows many techniques. Why don't I cultivate a few more to help quickly replenish essence and spirit?"

"Hahaha, I'm a genius! With Rushing Thunderbolt, my cultivation speed is extremely fast. At most six days, I can master two more techniques."

Fei Si smiled wryly: "If only it were that simple!"

"City Lord has already deduced that the Qi Refining Trial has strict entry standards. If you cultivate other techniques, you'll have other types of法力 (magic power) and won't be recognized. You must completely散功 (disperse your cultivation) to enter the palace."

Meng Chong: "Ah?"

Fei Si: "However, City Lord also deduced that the Lava Immortal Palace likely contains two other techniques that complement the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art, allowing one to cultivate three dantians simultaneously."

Meng Chong sighed: "That's useless talk. I can't even get past the second room."

Fei Si: ...

Lava Immortal Palace.

Under the indignant gaze of the Long Yuan Fire Spirit, Ning Zhuo cleared the ninth room.

Entering the preparation room, he pushed the door open again.

The puppet Ning Zhuo entered a central hall.

As he reached the center of the hall, mechanical sounds were heard as stone walls descended, revealing three doors.

The left door emitted a faint yellow auspicious aura with the character "Buddha" written on it.

The middle door shimmered with green light, bearing the character "Tao."

The right door exuded a strong bloody scent, with the character "Demon" written on it.

"This is different from before."

"Buddhist, Taoist, Demon paths..."

This was somewhat unexpected for Ning Zhuo, but he quickly recalled the life of Patriarch San Zong, who had practiced Taoist, Demon, and Buddhist techniques in succession, and accepted it.

He touched the Taoist door but had no reaction.

Then he touched the Buddhist door and obtained a technique — "Mirror Platform Soul Communication Sutra."

Finally, touching the Demon door, he also received a technique called "Demonic Tainted Blood Sinew Art"!

Like the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art, these two techniques only had the first three layers. But after studying them briefly, Ning Zhuo trembled with excitement, his wooden body shaking.

"These three techniques complement each other, allowing simultaneous cultivation of three dantians."

"Buddhist, Taoist, Demon techniques—simultaneous three-dantian Foundation Establishment?!"

"This... this method of Foundation Establishment is top-tier in the current world."

(End of )