: Lifelong Magical Tool, Spirit Mirror

"Potency-enhancing divine medicine?" Ning Zhuo was slightly taken aback.

He looked at the burly, bearded Yang Weida before him and recalled two things.

One was Yang Weida's identity as a merchant from the Feiyun Kingdom, making the sale of such potency-enhancing medicine not out of place.

The second was what Qing Yan, the Golden Core ghost cultivator, had told him: Jiao Ma cultivated the Jiao family's signature technique, the "Triple Burner True Sun Scripture." It was this very technique that made Jiao Ma brim with yang energy, leading Qing Yan to conclude that Jiao Ma would inevitably stand out among the male consorts.

Considering these points, Ning Zhuo nodded slightly and transmitted a thought to Yang Weida: "Then I'll buy a little to test its effects."

Yang Weida immediately broke into a smile.

But soon, his smile froze on his face.

Because the "little" Ning Zhuo mentioned truly meant just a tiny amount of the medicine!

"Jiao Ma, with this amount, how am I supposed to sell it?" Yang Weida complained. "It's not like you're short on money."

Ning Zhuo shook his head, firm in his stance. "You call it divine medicine, so of course I need to try it myself to judge. What if I buy a lot and it turns out ineffective?"

"Even though you're an outsider, here, in the eyes of others, we're from the same village."

"We're like family!" Ning Zhuo patted Yang Weida's shoulder. "So, cut me some slack."

Yang Weida gritted his teeth. "Family should look out for family. Fine!"

He glanced around, then took out a medicine box.

Opening it revealed a medicinal paste inside.

Using his spiritual sense to manipulate objects, Yang Weida scooped out a fingertip-sized amount of the paste, transferred it to a small vial, and handed it to Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo, in turn, gave Yang Weida over a dozen spirit stones.

They exchanged goods and payment simultaneously.

Before parting, Yang Weida advised, "If it works well, contact me. We're from the same village; I'll give you the best deal!"

Ning Zhuo nodded without further discussion and promptly left the scene.

Yang Weida then targeted other male consorts, stating bluntly during interactions, "You saw it—someone just bought my potency-enhancing divine medicine. If others buy it and you don't, you're at a disadvantage! Remember, the admission slots for the Sun Palace are limited..."

This scene was observed by Sun Lingtong.

Returning to the top-grade room number one, Sun Lingtong reported the situation to Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo had anticipated it and was instead pleased. "Perfect, let him spread the word."

He took out the vial, used a wooden stick to extract a small amount of the medicine, and tested it with other herbs, roughly confirming the result.

The paste did indeed enhance potency, and quite effectively at that.

Yang Weida hadn't lied about that aspect.

However, when Ning Zhuo attempted to apply the paste to himself, his mechanism ring contracted slightly.

A cold glint flashed in Ning Zhuo's eyes. After informing Sun Lingtong, he stored the paste away.

Sun Lingtong sighed. "That thick-browed, big-eyed Yang Weida actually uses this method to scheme against others. It seems he's quite confident in his divine medicine, or perhaps he has other backing that gives him real底气."

"Regardless, let's act unaware. And if we run into him later, we should still buy some more paste," Ning Zhuo said.

Sun Lingtong nodded in agreement.

They weren't short on money!

If Yang Weida had his schemes, then Ning Zhuo would play along.

"Find a way to meet with Sang Yue You Ling, get the divination results, and then we'll leave this place," Ning Zhuo instructed Sun Lingtong.

Sun Lingtong nodded. If not for the matter with Meng Yaoyin, he'd be more inclined to stay and seek adventure and excitement.

"Xiao Zhuo, you keep playing the part of Jiao Ma. I'll go out and scout for a way," Sun Lingtong volunteered.

"Boss, of course, I trust you to handle things. But..." Ning Zhuo's tone shifted, "wait half a day. Let me test out a new method first."

The new method Ning Zhuo wanted to test was none other than his innate spell—the Spirit Mirror!

His cultivation had reached the stage of anomalous phenomena and symbol seeding, and the "Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art" had inexplicously formed a complete spell symbol.

The "Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art" helped Ning Zhuo communicate with spiritual entities.

The innate spell, Spirit Mirror, went a step further, allowing him to summon spiritual entities from the mirror's surface, possessing a degree of summoning power.

"According to the Foundation Establishment section of the 'Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art,' to fully utilize the power of this innate spell, I first need to create a lifelong magical tool. Boss, I'll need your help!" Ning Zhuo actively invited.

Sun Lingtong readily agreed.

Normally, matters concerning one's primary cultivation technique should be kept secret.

But what was the relationship between Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong? With their closeness, such taboos didn't exist.

Ning Zhuo immediately shared the contents with Sun Lingtong to review.

After reading, Sun Lingtong carefully comprehended it, keeping it in mind.

The two entered the Ten Thousand Miles Wandering Dragon and came before the mechanism platform.

Ning Zhuo took out the Wood Core Fire and infused it with magical power.

The fire wasn't fierce, but within moments, it melted various precious materials into liquid.

Cold Iron, Flowing Cloud Sand, Great White Gold Essence, Heaven Crystal, Thick Earth, etc., merged together, forming a stream of silvery liquid.

Sun Lingtong controlled the mechanism platform, pulling the silvery liquid from the groove to form the rudimentary shape of a round mirror.

He continued manipulating, using the platform to quickly set up arrays within the mirror blank.

Finally, a three-hundred-jin quenching copper weight rose from the mechanism platform.

"Clang!"

The quenching copper weight pressed down heavily, instantly fixing both the arrays and the mirror blank in place.

Ning Zhuo bit his right index finger, drawing a drop of blood.

Using his essence blood, he inscribed the relevant magical restrictions onto the mirror blank.

The Wood Core Fire was handed over to Sun Lingtong to use.

He held the fire seed in his palm and gently blew on it.

The flame flew onto the mirror blank, immediately enveloping it in a fireball.

As the fireball dissipated, Ning Zhuo used Cold Moon Dew for cooling.

Amidst hissing sounds from the rapid cooling, a seven-colored mist rose.

Once the mist cleared, the mirror blank floated in mid-air, trembling slightly.

Ning Zhuo took a deep breath and without hesitation performed the final step—extracting the spell symbol of the Spirit Mirror from his divine sea and directly imprinting it onto the core of the array within the mirror blank.

With a soft chime, the magical tool, Spirit Mirror, was successfully completed!

Ning Zhuo tested it out.

"Meng Yehu." He took out the Shadow Blade - Night Tiger.

Ning Zhuo raised the Spirit Mirror, aiming it at Meng Yehu.

The mirror surface emitted a beam of light, enveloping Meng Yehu.

The latter, closely linked with Ning Zhuo, offered no resistance and even cooperated actively. Thus, in an instant, Meng Yehu disappeared, absorbed into the mirror's internal space.

Ning Zhuo shook the mirror again, shooting out a beam of mirror light.

The light shone in the distance, and almost instantly, Meng Yehu was deployed there.

"Not bad." Ning Zhuo nodded, quickly conceiving many combat applications in his mind.

He stored Meng Yehu in his storage belt.

Then, he activated the Spirit Mirror again, emitting mirror light.

This time, it was ten times more difficult than before, but he still easily summoned Meng Yehu to the spot illuminated by the mirror light.

"Excellent!" This time, Ning Zhuo's joy showed on his face.

The storage belt was a separate space, quite different from the outside.

Yet, Ning Zhuo could use the Spirit Mirror to directly summon Meng Yehu from within the storage belt. While it might seem only slightly more convenient for retrieval, it actually represented a significant qualitative transformation!

Of course, this was also related to the internal connection of the life-thread bond between Ning Zhuo and Meng Yehu.

However, Ning Zhuo soon noticed many cracks appearing on the Shadow Blade - Night Tiger.

The act of spirit communication across a layer of space had inflicted considerable damage on Meng Yehu itself.

"This means Meng Yehu needs its material upgraded. Reaching treasure-grade would allow it to withstand more damage from spirit transfers."

"But once it reaches treasure-grade, my Spirit Mirror also needs to be upgraded to treasure-grade; otherwise, it'd be like a small horse pulling a big cart."

"Interesting, I can actually do more." For a moment, Ning Zhuo's eyes gleamed with intense thought.

He looked intently at Sun Lingtong.

Sun Lingtong sensed it, felt a jolt, and turned to Ning Zhuo. "Xiao Zhuo, why are you looking at me like that?"

Not long after, Sun Lingtong left the top-grade room number one feeling slightly dizzy.

The Hidden Sun Residence had a set of management regulations. While male consorts weren't forbidden from coming and going freely, they had to report and get approval.

In contrast, as a servant, the ghost iron hammer only needed to inform the guards when entering or exiting.

Sun Lingtong made his way through, passing the central courtyard.

There, he saw over a dozen cultivators gathered around a certain notice, discussing animatedly.

Curious, Sun Lingtong moved closer to take a look.

"Ghost tribe? Whose servant? Scram, don't bother us!" A human male cultivator clustered under the notice, upon seeing Sun Lingtong, immediately waved him away disdainfully.

A sharp glint flashed in Sun Lingtong's eyes, but on the surface, he nodded and bowed, stopping immediately and only observing from a distance.

He could vaguely make out that it was some kind of ranking list, a magical tool, with rankings changing from time to time.

Just as he was about to use a spell for a closer look, a male cultivator strode proudly into the area.

This person had a robust build, with a well-developed upper body resembling an inverted triangle, and slender waist and legs. His eyes were piercing golden double pupils, and his hair was dark gold.

He was dressed opulently, with red fire-washed cloth as the base, covered by a golden-threaded soft armor that gleamed like the sun, a thousand-year Li Fire Jade pendant at his waist, and Thunder Cloud Treading Flame Boots on his feet, his expression arrogant.

Seeing the crowd of cultivators ahead, he flicked his sleeve, releasing a wave of energy that swept aside the gathered male consorts.

Caught off guard, some stumbled, nearly falling, others turned around in disarray, about to curse.

But the next moment, recognizing the one who had acted, they froze, the curses stuck in their throats, unable to emerge.

This male cultivator, who had acted willfully and looked contemptuous, lifted his head, snorted disdainfully, and walked under the notice to examine it closely.

Seeing his name, "Jin Yangzi," at the top of the list, he snorted again. "A bunch of trash."

Even though they were mocked and belittled, the surrounding male consorts dared not speak up. Though their faces showed anger, they restrained themselves and did not act out.

(End of )