Xue Shu-yu Xie was sensible and took the initiative to greet.

In contrast, Xue Cai-nü Hui remained motionless, staring blankly at Ning Zhuo.

To be safe, Ning Zhuo’s thread of life was hanging over the heads of the two automatons.

He checked them and confirmed that both their spiritualities were in the spiritual growth phase.

Ning Zhuo mused, “Is it because the bodies of the Floating Ice White Jade Hands and the Ice Crystal Snow Weather Orb are too small, making it difficult for spirituality to grow?”

Ning Zhuo secretly speculated.

Most of his understanding of spirituality came from *A Treatise on Sentience*.

Although this book was extremely valuable, its content was limited, focusing only on the classification of spirituality.

“Perhaps I should start with the Wanxiang Sect and see if there are any methods for nourishing spirituality?”

Ning Zhuo mentally noted this.

This was the advantage of joining a super sect. Many things unavailable on the market could be found here.

Of course, knowledge about spirituality should also be available in the Full Book Tower. But Ning Zhuo was not an insider, and as a customer, purchasing jade slips of that level would be far more costly.

Besides, he was currently in the Wanxiang Sect, not the Full Book Tower.

A moment later.

Inside the cultivation chamber, Xue Cai-nü Hui and Xue Shu-yu Xie stood opposite each other, with a giant ice block placed between the two automatons.

Inside the ice block was an ape-like automaton, the Heavy-Armored Blood Ape Da Sheng.

“Begin,” Ning Zhuo said, standing further away with his arms crossed, observing.

Xue Shu-yu Xie moved first.

The ice beast head on her shoulder armor gleamed with cold light, shooting directly at the ice block in the center.

Innumerable azure light filaments rapidly emerged within the ice block, spreading everywhere and forming hexagonal structures within the ice.

The hexagons connected, forming a three-dimensional grid.

Ning Zhuo understood: the more grids there were, the deeper Xue Shu-yu Xie’s control over the ice block.

The hexagonal grid was merely a superficial manifestation; the true source of power was Xue Shu-yu Xie’s innate talent—Ice Soul Ice Spirit!

This talent would make the owner’s soul different from ordinary people. Even without soul cultivation, they could detach their soul from their body and command a certain degree of ice and cold power.

If the soul were injured, they could also use ice and snow to accelerate its self-healing.

The drawback was that the soul’s foundation would grow stronger and stronger, thereby压迫ing the physical body. In the early stages, this could lead to chronic frostbite. This disparity between soul and body would grow larger as the cultivator’s cultivation increased.

By the middle to late stages, the cultivator’s physical body would be frozen to death, leaving only the soul in existence.

Once this talent of Ice Soul Ice Spirit was acquired, cultivators would eventually become ghost cultivators.

This was a low-grade talent.

More than half of the ice block encasing the Heavy-Armored Blood Ape Da Sheng was permeated by the hexagonal grid.

But soon, Xue Shu-yu Xie’s power reached its limit—the hexagonal grid stopped abruptly just as it was about to approach the Heavy-Armored Blood Ape Da Sheng. No matter how much she urged her talent, she couldn’t touch Da Sheng’s automaton body.

Xue Shu-yu Xie began her next move.

The azure three-dimensional grid brightened as spiritual power was poured into it.

*Crack, crack…*

Amidst a series of crisp sounds, the ice block covered by the grid began to crack. Then, countless ice shards, like billions of tiny diamonds, scattered and flew out.

The ice block encasing the Heavy-Armored Blood Ape Da Sheng rapidly diminished at a visible speed.

When Xue Shu-yu Xie exerted her full strength, only a thin layer of ice remained on Da Sheng.

However, this layer proved incredibly difficult. No matter how Xue Shu-yu Xie tried, it remained completely still, not diminishing in the slightest.

Seeing this, Ning Zhuo decisively ordered Xue Cai-nü Hui to also take action.

Three pairs of jade arms unfolded. The graceful female automaton slowly floated up, and the talent of Ice Fat Jade Hand began to manifest. The three-colored enamel armor radiated brilliant light.

The two automatons working together immediately achieved a breakthrough.

The thin layer of ice around Da Sheng melted rapidly, like snow under a scorching sun.

The dark *yin* energy dispersed everywhere, and Ning Zhuo moved to collect it all, preventing it from interfering with the subsequent thawing and rescue work.

The interior of the Heavy-Armored Blood Ape Da Sheng automaton was also frozen solid, filled with ice blocks.

These ice blocks were even darker in color, clearly containing more *yin*-attributed power.

Xue Shu-yu Xie and Xue Cai-nü Hui, despite their best efforts, only managed to dissolve a small portion, about thirty percent, of these ice blocks.

The remaining seventy percent still stubbornly held their ground, proving quite resilient.

Divine Ability—Thread of Life!

Ning Zhuo’s eyes lit up, and a trace of joy appeared on his face.

Unlike before, the Thread of Life could finally connect with Da Sheng’s spirituality.

His spirituality was curled into a ball, also frozen. No matter how Ning Zhuo called out, there was no response.

As for trying to extract it with the Thread of Life, that was out of the question.

Ning Zhuo sighed softly.

This was already the limit.

To achieve this extent was already quite commendable.

After all, both automatons were made with Golden Core-level materials and possessed Golden Core-level combat power. They were indeed insufficient to deal with the methods of a Nascent Soul-level powerhouse in a life-and-death battle.

Fortunately, this situation was also within Ning Zhuo’s expectations.

He then ordered Xue Cai-nü Hui to continue casting the Ice Fat Jade Hand.

But this time, the Ice Fat Jade Hand no longer thawed; instead, it increased the amount of ice.

New ice blocks froze the Heavy-Armored Blood Ape Da Sheng, almost restoring its previous state. But this time, these ice blocks subtly contained vitality, continuously bringing life and nourishment to Da Sheng’s spirituality.

Ning Zhuo observed carefully through the Thread of Life, confirming that Da Sheng’s spirituality could barely be maintained. Only then did he slightly ease his worry.

“Ice Fat Jade Hand and Ice Soul Ice Spirit are both innate talents, which means they are nascent forms of divine abilities.”

“Even these two talents working together cannot fully unfreeze it. I must find another way.”

Ning Zhuo had already thought of many related methods.

For example, using Nascent Soul-level materials to construct new automaton bodies would allow them to unleash Nascent Soul-level combat power. That should solve Da Sheng’s problem.

However, Ning Zhuo’s automaton crafting expertise had not reached that level.

The methods existed, but the lack of ability was Ning Zhuo’s pain point.

Ning Zhuo then took out the Shadow Edge Blade Ye Hu and had the two automatons try to resolve its issue.

The results of this attempt were much worse than with Da Sheng.

Mainly, the problem with the Shadow Edge Blade Ye Hu was different from that of the Heavy-Armored Blood Ape Da Sheng. The latter was frozen, while the former was covered in dust.

Even when Ning Zhuo’s Thread of Life fell upon the Shadow Edge Blade Ye Hu, it could not connect with its spirituality.

In the end, Ning Zhuo could only helplessly order Xue Cai-nü Hui to also freeze the Shadow Edge Blade Ye Hu in a block of ice.

“I hope this sealing will also provide support to Ye Hu’s spirituality!”

Ning Zhuo put away Da Sheng and Ye Hu and continued his cultivation.

Apart from his physical body, he continuously comprehended the Demonic Contamination Blood Sinew Art. Currently, among his three Dantian, the Jinghai Lower Dantian was lagging behind, progressing the slowest.

Controlling Xue Cai-nü Hui and Xue Shu-yu Xie also became one of Ning Zhuo’s cultivation tasks.

Ning Zhuo found that his control over these automatons helped their spiritualities more skillfully master their bodies.

At the same time, through this, Ning Zhuo also gained a deeper understanding of the automatons, laying a practical foundation for future improvements.

Ning Zhuo did not forget to make money.

Without sufficient spirit stone reserves, he felt a little panicked.

As for how to make money, Ning Zhuo naturally had many methods. He chose the fastest way—selling Ghost Dao Golden Cores en masse!

However, he did not choose to sell them in the Wanxiang Sect.

That would be too conspicuous! It would also easily expose Ning Zhuo’s strength and cause others to overestimate and pay too much attention to him.

After all, there were Soul Transformation-level existences presiding in the Wanxiang Sect.

Ning Zhuo chose his old friends as the recipients for the Ghost Dao Golden Cores.

For example, Zhu Xuan-ji of Nandou Kingdom and the Wan Yao Sect, and also General Mu’s Residence and the Three Generals Camp of Liangzhuo Kingdom. As for Baizhi Immortal City, it was not within the scope of transfer.

“Although the distance is far, the secrecy is a great advantage.”

“Although I cannot leave the Wanxiang Sect and am busy with other matters, I can ask Nandou Kingdom and Liangzhuo Kingdom to send people over for the transaction!”

For such large transactions, having old friends act as traveling merchants was perfectly fine!

“I’ll trade with the Nandou royal family and the Wan Yao Sect, and incidentally, bring the Spirit Concealing Willow.”

“So much time has passed; this spiritual plant should be well-nurtured by now, right?”

Nandou Kingdom.

Zhu Xuan-ji was hunched over his desk, handling official duties.

A knock sounded at the door.

“Enter,” Zhu Xuan-ji said, without lifting his eyelids, still writing something.

A subordinate knelt on the ground, his voice hoarse as grinding gravel from beneath his mask: “Reporting, my lord, the ambush was successful. Of the seven attackers, six are dead and one is injured. After interrogating the captive, it was confirmed they are cultivators from the Soul Devouring Sect.”

Saying this, the subordinate presented a waist token representing identification and a jade slip with both hands.

Only then did Zhu Xuan-ji slowly raise his head. He reached out, and a suction force appeared out of thin air, drawing the evidentiary waist token and jade slip onto his desk.

Zhu Xuan-ji did not look at the waist token but picked up the jade slip and poured a portion of his divine sense into it.

The jade slip recorded the ambush footage.

In an unnamed canyon, arrows rained down furiously, tearing through the night and catching the Soul Devouring Sect cultivators by surprise. After the first wave of attack, three were heavily wounded.

The Soul Devouring Sect cultivators’ black robes fluttered, and they retaliated like a swarm of bats.

Ning Jiufan led the cultivators of the Divine Arrest Department, disguised as ordinary folk, to bravely engage in battle. Due to thorough preparation, no one died, and the small team of Soul Devouring Sect cultivators was completely captured.

“Soul Devouring Sect…” Zhu Xuan-ji tapped his finger on the desk, still feeling doubts.

He had been closely monitoring the Ning family of Huoshi Immortal City.

On one hand, the Ning family and the Nandou Kingdom royal family and the Wan Yao Sect formed a secret alliance. On the other hand, if Zhu Xuan-ji did not want Huoshi Immortal City and Molten Rock Immortal Palace to fall into the Meng family’s hands, he had to rely on the Ning family to resist the Meng family’s aggressive stance.

It was precisely because of this close monitoring that Zhu Xuan-ji discovered earlier that someone had secretly infiltrated, gathering intelligence about the Ning family, Ning Zhuo, and other related matters.

Zhu Xuan-ji first held back from acting, then secretly investigated, finding that the force probing the Ning family and Ning Zhuo’s intelligence was the Soul Devouring Sect, one of the super forces.

“Han Ming and Qi Bai both lost to Ning Zhuo, but that alone isn’t enough for the Soul Devouring Sect to make such a big move, is it?”

“This time, the team of cultivators sent to harm the Ning family had five Golden Core cultivators.”

“Since they were gathering information about Ning Zhuo, I’m afraid our Child of Tribulation has brought even greater losses to the Soul Devouring Sect!”

Thinking of Ning Zhuo, Zhu Xuan-ji couldn’t help but grumble: “That brat, he’s gone, but he still won’t be quiet, making me clean up his messes.”

“Fortunately, he has already reached Baizhi Immortal City, separated from our country by Beifeng Kingdom and Liangzhuo Kingdom.”

The intelligence channels of cultivation nations were naturally extremely extensive.

It was not at all strange for the Nandou Kingdom’s intelligence reach to extend to the Yinchao Black Wetland.

Otherwise, Zhu Xuan-ji would not have guided Ning Zhuo to find Sang Yue Youling in Baizhi Immortal City back then.

“That brat, you owe me a favor this time.” As Zhu Xuan-ji thought this, he suddenly sneezed.

A feeling of unease spontaneously arose in his heart.

“What am I thinking about him for? I shouldn’t think about him.”

“The Child of Tribulation—one should stay far away from him. The farther, the safer.”

“Someone in the Soul Devouring Sect must have gotten too close; aren’t they unlucky now!”

Soul Devouring Sect.

Around the White Bone Altar, soul mist swirled and churned incessantly.

Flying letters circled the periphery of the soul mist, not daring to go deeper.

On the altar, Tianshuang and Digui, sensing the flying letters, slowly ceased their activities. Both soul cultivators looked exhausted.

Tianshuang waved his sleeve, causing a clear path to open in the soul mist.

The flying letters followed this temporary passage, flying swiftly to the front of the Heavenly and Earthly Twin Ghosts.

Both of them used their divine sense to probe the letters, and their expressions immediately darkened.

“What? A team consisting of five Golden Core and two Foundation Establishment elites was completely wiped out?!”

“How is this possible?”

Both were shocked; this situation was entirely unexpected.

They had suffered a great loss at Ning Zhuo’s hands in the Qianfeng Forest battlefield in Liangzhuo Kingdom.

The Heavenly and Earthly Twin Ghosts had missed the second major battle. After regrouping, they began their revenge mission.

But Ning Zhuo had already left Liangzhuo Kingdom by then.

Because he used the Myriad Li Dragon to traverse space, the Heavenly and Earthly Twin Ghosts lost track of him just as they were about to begin.

For a period afterward, they actively searched for information, posting missions within the Soul Devouring Sect to involve others in the search.

Unfortunately, the Heavenly and Earthly Twin Ghosts never found Ning Zhuo.

This made Tianshuang anxious!

Tianshuang had suffered too great a loss in the previous battle. Not only had he given almost all his possessions to Ning Zhuo, but he had also lost face in front of his old partner, Digui.

What to do if Ning Zhuo couldn’t be found?

After discussing, the Heavenly and Earthly Twin Ghosts came up with a plan. They would return to the Soul Devouring Sect’s main mountain gate and use the White Bone Altar there to divine for the Tianshuang Ghost Mask.

Once Ning Zhuo used the Tianshuang Ghost Mask, the divination would take effect, thus revealing his exact location.

The Heavenly and Earthly Twin Ghosts guarded the White Bone Altar, taking turns to preside, maintaining it almost day and night, at great cost.

But there was no news from the Tianshuang Ghost Mask.

“This is impossible!”

“The Tianshuang Ghost Mask possesses Nascent Soul-level combat power; that brat Ning Zhuo can’t possibly never use it, right?”

Holding such thoughts, the two stubbornly maintained the divination for over a month, utterly exhausted.

Unable to hold on any longer, they decided to offer a heavy reward and post a mission, urging fellow cultivators to target the Ning family, forcing Ning Zhuo to show himself.

They did not know, however, that the Nandou Kingdom royal family stood behind the Ning family.

The team of cultivators they had placed great hopes on was completely wiped out!