Chapter 135: The Serendipitous Core

Ning Zhuo seized the opportunity, swiftly retreating and successfully putting distance between himself and the One-Horned Ghost General.

“A Ghost General at the peak Foundation Establishment stage, that massive ghostly blade is no ordinary weapon!” Ning Zhuo’s expression grew grave.

He glanced at the silver shield talisman on his left arm; after just one strike, a crack appeared on its surface.

The One-Horned Ghost General vanished without a trace.

A chill ran through Ning Zhuo’s heart. He frantically activated his Ironclad Han Armor but could not detect the slightest clue of the enemy’s whereabouts.

At this critical moment, Sun Lingtong warned sharply, “Jump backward!”

Without hesitation, Ning Zhuo leapt back fiercely.

The next instant, a ghostly figure flashed and solidified rapidly. The Ghost General, wielding a battle axe, swung at empty air.

The second Ghost General.

Ning Zhuo’s heart sank.

“Jump again, southeast!” Sun Lingtong shouted urgently.

His spiritual awareness shone brightly.

Ning Zhuo dodged once more, discovering the attacker was a Ghost General armed with a spear.

All three Ghost Generals were at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. Their elusive attacks came one after another, forcing Ning Zhuo into a desperate retreat without any chance to strike back.

Sun Lingtong rested on the shoulder of the Pendanted Guest, exerting all his effort to activate his innate talent. If not for his barely adequate ability to sense the nearby Ghost Generals, Ning Zhuo’s situation would have been even more dire.

“小Zhuo, Qi Bai’s fighting style is quite similar to yours. You control mechanical creations; he commands shadow spirits and ghost generals!” Sun Lingtong transmitted hastily.

“Don’t get entangled too much with these Ghost Generals. Since there’s no escape, strike straight at the source and kill him face to face.”

Sun Lingtong, a disciple of the Non-Empty Sect, was decisive and resolute in battle.

At this juncture, he no longer advised Ning Zhuo to flee.

Together they faced the enemy as the best strategy.

Ning Zhuo slapped his storage belt, releasing hundreds of mechanical devices.

Though all common models, their sheer number far exceeded the usual standard.

Qi Bai, a Golden Core cultivator, frowned deeply.

“The Pendanted Guest, only at the Foundation Establishment stage, can actually control so many mechanical beasts simultaneously?”

What he did not know was that Ning Zhuo’s true cultivation level was only mid Qi Refining.

The ability to control so many mechanical creations came not just from the staffs attached to them, but crucially from the imprint of the Buddha’s Heart Demon Seal.

All these machines bore the heart imprint, imposing little burden on Ning Zhuo but responding with great sensitivity.

The mechanical creations surged forward toward Qi Bai.

Qi Bai raised both hands, unleashing a mighty gust of shadowy wind that blew away thirty percent of the machines.

He shouted loudly, summoning an umbrella-shaped treasure. The magical umbrella soared high, unfurled, and cast a vast shadow.

The creations caught under the shadow were like trapped in a swamp, frozen in place, their movements sluggish to the extreme.

This move eliminated another fifty percent of the machines.

Only twenty percent remained, charging toward him.

Qi Bai had no choice but to retreat.

This withdrawal immediately alerted Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong.

Both exclaimed simultaneously, “Dark and eerie specters.”

This spell shaped a special battlefield, greatly enhancing the combat strength of shadow spirits and ghosts, while making them elusive and unpredictable.

Ning Zhuo frowned deeply. “Ordinarily, this spell emits dense ghostly energy and alters the sky and earth. Qi Bai’s use is restrained to the extreme, almost imperceptible.”

Sun Lingtong responded, “He possesses the innate talent ‘Communicating with the Nether Death Eye,’ naturally attuned to techniques and paths related to shadow spirits and ghosts, with extraordinary comprehension.”

“For him to cast such a spell and reach a level few achieve is perfectly normal!”

The spell—Ghost Flame Scorching World.

Qi Bai retreated while casting it.

The ghastly green ghost flames burned silently, extinguishing the last twenty percent of mechanical creations, which then disconnected from Ning Zhuo and collapsed on their own.

Too powerful!

Qi Bai’s strength was unquestionably top-tier among Golden Core cultivators.

Ning Zhuo’s group found it difficult even to face the weakest Golden Core cultivators, let alone confront Qi Bai directly.

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong soon plunged into a fierce battle.

Qi Bai’s dark and eerie specter spell was cast again, silently and without any sign.

The three Ghost Generals at peak Foundation Establishment stage, enhanced by the spell, moved silently and invisibly, forcing Ning Zhuo to rely on Sun Lingtong’s warnings.

Realizing the danger, Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong sought to escape the battlefield.

Yet at every critical moment, Qi Bai intervened personally, casting spells to block their retreat.

Ning Zhuo constantly deployed mechanical creations to maintain the situation.

His painstakingly accumulated mechanical beasts of over a decade were being consumed frantically, with only his survival on the battlefield to show for it.

Lava Immortal Palace.

A fiery molten demon ape burst onto the scene, breaking through the third defensive line of the Immortal Palace.

Golden Core combat power!

Leading the charge, the demon ape destroyed all mechanical war puppets in its path.

Under the terrifying force of the demon ape, mechanical war puppets, regardless of material, were as fragile as paper.

Boom!

The palace shook as the demon ape smashed through a wall and stormed into a side chamber.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit roared furiously and quickly dispatched mechanical war puppets into the side chamber.

“There’s a turning point!”

The Ning family patriarch received the news and was summoned to assist in battle.

He hesitated at first but refused.

He continued holding the front line against the onslaught of red flame beasts.

The demon ape ravaged the side chamber, causing Meng Kui and Zhu Xuanji to frown deeply, both thinking, “The Lava Immortal Palace is surprisingly weak.”

The next moment, a special mechanical puppet descended gracefully.

It emitted Golden Core energy, casting the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Technique. With a wave of its feather fan, it manipulated the birth and death of five energies, striking the demon ape with various spells that forced it to howl in pain repeatedly.

Meng Kui’s gaze was filled with surprise and scrutiny.

“A Taoist Master!”

Zhu Xuanji silently named the Golden Core mechanical puppet.

According to royal intelligence, the Lava Immortal Palace had three great mechanical war generals: the Demon General, the Taoist Master, and the Buddhist Physician.

The Taoist Master’s arrival immediately halted the demon ape’s assault.

With the advantage of terrain, the Taoist Master mechanical puppet quickly drove the fiery demon ape out of the side chamber, pushing it into retreat.

“Opportunity!”

Seizing this delicate moment, the Ning family patriarch abandoned the front line and rushed toward the side chamber.

He had just obtained permission from the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit.

With flames still burning in the side chamber, even if he went to extinguish the fire, it would count as a contribution on the battlefield and not be judged as desertion.

Though the contribution was minor, the Ning patriarch valued the chance to explore the side chamber.

Meng Kui observed this scene with a soft sigh and threw out a Peach Kernel of the External Fate.

The peach kernel vanished instantly, descending from the sky, shooting directly toward the Ning patriarch’s head.

A jade-green spring thunder exploded, piercing through dense clouds.

The Ning patriarch struggled to resist, but all his defenses were shattered by the spring thunder.

The peach kernel smashed through multiple layers of protection, striking the Ning patriarch’s skull.

He cried out, a crater forming in his head.

The thunder’s power surged through his body, nearly paralyzing him completely.

He hastily cast a freezing spell to protect his vital organs and preserve his life temporarily.

Without looking back, he fled from the Immortal Palace.

Hanging Whisk Death Whip!

Ning Zhuo lashed his long whip wildly, dispersing the attacking shadow souls.

Yet he was trapped, surrounded densely by voracious ghosts.

Qi Bai’s tactics were endless, his shadow soul troops seemingly infinite.

Since the battle began, he had only retreated once voluntarily.

The rest of the time, he held a firm upper hand.

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong were in a perilous, life-threatening situation.

With no choice left, Ning Zhuo played a trump card on the seventh day.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions erupted continuously inside and outside the battlefield.

Qi Bai sneered, “What are you blowing up? I’m right here!”

Ning Zhuo replied, “I’m blowing up the Immortal City’s grand formation!”

Qi Bai’s face changed abruptly.

The next moment, vast array patterns appeared, crisscrossing and covering the entire battlefield.

The Immortal Formation was not grand or overwhelming but utterly impenetrable and unmatched.

Everyone and everything on the battlefield was targeted uniformly.

Only a few of Ning Zhuo’s mechanical creations remained, the loss of the rest hardly a concern.

Qi Bai’s shadow soul army, however, was truly numerous and mighty.

It was all over in an instant.

Even Qi Bai himself was tightly bound aloft, crushed by the formation’s grinding force.

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong did not seize the chance to attack.

They too were trapped within the array, losing freedom and unable to move due to their status as city inhabitants.

Qi Bai was furious.

These shadow souls were the fruits of his years of accumulation; now vanished utterly, the loss pierced his heart.

What pained him even more was the loss of his three Ghost Generals, each carefully nurtured and at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

All gone.

The Immortal City’s grand formation was terrifyingly powerful, capable of protecting the entire city when fully activated.

This place was one of its strongest nodes.

Thus, the three peak Foundation Establishment Ghost Generals were utterly crushed, leaving only three soul fragments.

“Break it for me!” Qi Bai roared, face twisted with rage.

He had to fight back with all his might or be ground to dust by the formation.

Spells—Netherfire Fierce Prison.

Spells—Ghost Shadows of Senluo.

Spells—Underworld Ghost Wail.

The ghost flames changed from ghastly green to yellow-green, burning fiercely to a height of six zhang.

Ghostly shadows rose, towering like giants.

Their hands pressed against the heavens, as if to shatter the binding array.

The piercing wails of the ghosts tore through eardrums, drilled into human forms, shaking the entire battlefield.

Qi Bai cast three spells simultaneously, activating the innate talent “Communicating with the Nether Death Eye,” boosting the power of these spells severalfold.

For a moment, the array trembled and rapidly dissolved.

The bindings on Ning Zhuo loosened swiftly, granting him gradual freedom.

“So strong!” Sun Lingtong gasped, shocked.

This was the Immortal City’s grand formation.

Qi Bai alone could shake it so fiercely.

This was the true extent of Qi Bai’s full power.

In previous battles, he had never been forced to unleash his all.

The gap in strength between the two sides was simply too great.

Ning Zhuo did not waver in the slightest. Such a disparity was one of the possibilities he had anticipated.

He gazed toward the summit of Fire Persimmon Mountain, eyes full of expectation, softly murmuring, “Come, come, hurry up.”

At the mountain peak, the clouds parted.

Meng Kui turned his head slightly, brow furrowed, watching Qi Bai’s battlefield from afar.

Meanwhile, countless skirmishes erupted simultaneously throughout the Immortal City.

Many fights began from mere misunderstandings or minor conflicts.

Watching from a safe distance.

“The fate energy is boiling!”

“This ritual has reached its climax; the end is near!”

Meng Kui’s heart stirred with understanding.

His pupils reflected Qi Bai’s arrogant stance with crystal clarity: “You dare to shake the Immortal City’s grand formation. Even as a true disciple of the Soul Devouring Sect, you should not be so reckless!”

“Go!”

Meng Kui threw another Peach Kernel.

It descended from the heavens, trailing spring thunder.

The thunder exploded, striking Qi Bai, causing his eyes to roll back and his head to bleed.

“Ah!”

He screamed in agony, unable to maintain his spells, suffering backlash.

The fiercer his combat spells, the harsher the backlash.

In an instant, Qi Bai was grievously wounded.

“Now’s the moment!”

Ning Zhuo had been carefully plotting, waiting for this opportunity.

He had planted explosives solely to detonate the Immortal City’s guarding formation.

Triggering the grand formation was meant to provoke Meng Kui’s intervention.

“Every time I want to step out to check on Elder Sun or to rescue him, my Buddha Heart Demon Seal’s alert goes off!”

“This is no ordinary matter!”

“The most likely explanation is that Meng Kui has cast his divine technique, ‘Watching from the Mountain.’”

Ning Zhuo’s intelligence network was not as extensive as Zhu Xuanji’s, but he still knew of Meng Kui’s strongest methods.

“When Meng Kui uses ‘Watching from the Mountain,’ during the sustained divine technique, he can only use those Peach Kernels of External Fate.”

“This is a Nascent Soul level offensive technique. Qi Bai is only Golden Core at best!”

Meng Kui performs the ritual; Ning Zhuo sets the trap!

“Meng Kui, you sit lofty on the mountain peak.”

“But when a strong one tries to destroy the Immortal City’s grand formation, do you intervene or not?”

“If you can handle Qi Bai, I bet you’ll at least throw a Peach Kernel!”

To save Elder Sun, Ning Zhuo, despite the strange currents of fate, had to personally enter the fray.

But he never considered himself merely a pawn.

Even a Nascent Soul cultivator could be made use of.

End of chapter...