On the White Bone Altar, Tian Shuang and Di Gui were speechless for a moment as they faced each other.

Di Gui immediately began calculating their losses.

They relied on the sect to issue missions, and the mission rewards themselves were not small. This time, all their fellow cultivators were wiped out. The bulk of the compensation would have to be sought from the person who issued the mission.

“Five Golden Core cultivators died! Among the other two Foundation Establishment cultivators, one even possessed low-grade talent!”

This team was very strong and well-known within the Soul Devouring Sect. It consisted of experienced veteran cultivators and young people with extraordinary potential.

They never expected to suffer such a thorough defeat, with not a single person escaping!

Di Gui calculated the answer, his face turning somewhat pale.

Half of his personal wealth was lost because of this.

Tian Shuang frowned deeply: “In that case, I’m afraid we won’t be able to do anything to the Ning family for a while.”

Both of them were Nascent Soul stage powerhouses, and their reputations preceded them. If they were to act personally, it would undoubtedly challenge the sensibilities of the Nandou Kingdom and create conflicts between super-势力.

The involvement of Tian Di Shuang Gui in the Qianfeng Lin war was a special and uncommon circumstance.

Therefore, they issued a mission for Golden Core cultivators to go and cause trouble for the Ning family.

This level of action would not alarm a cultivation nation. From the perspective of a nation, Golden Core cultivators are countless, and usually, they are not paid special attention, except for a few individuals.

The Soul Devouring Sect was unaware of the secret alliance between the Ning family and the royal Zhu family of the Nandou Kingdom. If Tian Di Shuang Gui had known this, they would never have allowed that team of cultivators to accept their mission and go to the Nandou Kingdom.

“Where did that little thief Ning Zhuo run off to? Damn it, if we can’t get a handle on the Ning family, what should we do?”

“Not to mention our compensation costs, even if we had enough resources, Golden Core cultivators within the sect probably wouldn’t dare to accept a mission against the Ning family for a while.”

While Tian Di Shuang Gui were in a predicament, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator suddenly descended from the sky.

“Fellow Daoists, the sect has an urgent mission!”

Tian Shuang instinctively shook his head: “We have matters to attend to!”

The two of them were the leading figures of the sect at the Nascent Soul stage, holding extraordinary positions, and they wouldn’t accept just any mission.

Tian Shuang utterly hated Ning Zhuo. It wasn’t just that Ning Zhuo had taken almost all his wealth; more importantly, Ning Zhuo had made him lose face completely. To this day,

Di Gui would make fun of him about it.

Just thinking about it made him furious!

“I must redeem myself!” Tian Shuang wished he could stand before Ning Zhuo right now, strike him fiercely, tear him limb from limb, extract his bones and peel his skin,

and torture him a hundred times over.

He, a dignified Nascent Soul stage powerhouse, was actually trampled underfoot by a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator.

If he didn’t vent this anger, his thoughts would truly be obstructed!

The fellow Nascent Soul cultivator, seeing Tian Shuang’s refusal, sighed: “Fellow Daoists, the sect has specifically sent me this time to convey a message because of a special situation.”

“This mission, the sect has specifically named you two to carry out.”

Tian Shuang snorted: “Which senior is so inconsiderate of their subordinates? You should know, we also have our connections.”

The fellow Nascent Soul cultivator spoke a name: “It’s Yin Jiao-xian Sheng.”

Tian Shuang and Di Gui’s expressions changed slightly at the same time.

Yin Jiao-xian Sheng was skilled in divination, possessed a Soul Transformation cultivation, and presided over a sect-suppressing magical artifact within the Soul Devouring Sect. He rarely spoke, but when he did, his predictions were almost always accurate.

Di Gui immediately asked: “What major event could have moved Yin Jiao-xian Sheng to speak personally?”

The fellow Nascent Soul cultivator then said: “It concerns the White Paper Immortal City.”

“The Yin Chao Hei Shi Zhao Di is an excellent blessed land for our Soul Devouring Sect, but unfortunately, it was already occupied.”

Tian Di Shuang Gui nodded slightly. Of course, they knew about this place and also knew that the sect had always coveted this treasure land.

The fellow Nascent Soul cultivator continued: “Previously, White Paper Immortal City suffered an unprecedented ghost tide attack, with the Forgetfulness Underworld exerting its power behind it.”

“Our sect discovered this secret and wanted to leverage it. First, we let the Forgetfulness Underworld overthrow White Paper Immortal City, and then we would dispatch heavy troops to clean up the aftermath, placing the entire immortal city and even the Yin Chao Hei Shi Zhao Di under our sect’s control.”

“This mission failed.”

“Bone Tomb Daoist, who was responsible for this mission, has not returned to this day.”

“He’s missing.”

“However, his soul lamp is still burning quietly.”

The fellow Nascent Soul cultivator paused, then continued: “To investigate the inside story of this matter and to retrieve the Nascent Soul cultivator within the sect, the sect made inquiries through various channels.”

“The results were very poor.”

“After this great battle, the White Paper City Lord, on the contrary, seized the opportunity to vigorously eliminate dissidents.”

“The leaders of the former Fucheng Alliance all lost their lives.”

“The sect had no choice but to ask a cultivator to perform a divination. Unexpectedly, this matter touched Yin Jiao-xian Sheng, who personally took action and divined it.”

Tian Shuang and Di Gui listened quietly.

The fellow Nascent Soul cultivator spoke again: “Yin Jiao-xian Sheng divined that Bone Tomb Daoist has been captured, and the sect needs to ransom him with a hefty sum.”

“This matter, while seemingly small, is of great importance to the Soul Devouring Sect.”

“Yin Jiao-xian Sheng also divined that the two of you are the most suitable candidates in the entire sect to ransom the captive.”

“Therefore, he hopes that you two will make a trip. You must treat the cultivator who captured Bone Tomb Daoist with a friendly and polite attitude, and absolutely must not act arrogantly or get angry.”

“If this matter is not handled properly, it could very likely affect the overall situation of the entire sect!”

Upon hearing this, Tian Di Shuang Gui understood the seriousness of the matter. Both wore solemn expressions and stated that they would certainly follow Yin Jiao-xian Sheng’s instructions,

and negotiate with the other party in a good-natured manner, striving to ransom Bone Tomb Daoist.

The fellow Nascent Soul cultivator: “You two must remember, in handling this matter, try your best to win over the other party, or at least avoid creating further animosity.”

“You two should consider the sect’s larger interests and not lose sight of the big picture for minor reasons.”

Di Gui nodded silently.

Tian Shuang patted his chest: “Please rest assured, Sect! What kind of person am I, Tian Shuang? How many times have I done missions like this? Don’t I know what’s important?”

“When Di Gui and I travel outside, since we represent the sect, we will certainly prioritize the overall situation. Please put your minds completely at ease!”

Tian Shuang was quite straightforward and immediately gave his guarantee.

Seeing their determined expressions, the fellow Nascent Soul cultivator then took out a jade slip: “These are the mission details. If you two have any doubts, please feel free to express them.”

Tian Di Shuang Gui imbued their divine sense to view the contents.

Di Gui raised an eyebrow: “Feiyun Kingdom, Longqiu Mountain?”

Tian Shuang: “If you want us to leave the country, are the travel permits ready? After all, both of us are famous Nascent Soul stage cultivators.”

Di Gui nodded, supporting him: “Without travel permits, it might arouse the vigilance and reaction of the Feiyun Kingdom.”

The fellow Nascent Soul cultivator shook his head: “Fellow Daoists, you are representing the sect to secretly redeem someone. How can you use travel permits or openly enter and exit the country?”

Di Gui nodded again: “I understand.”

Tian Shuang chuckled: “Don’t worry, we’ll definitely get this done!”

…

Liang Zhu Kingdom.

General Mu’s Mansion.

Mu Lan had been in seclusion for over a month, and her cultivation had now reached the final critical moment.

The female general sat cross-legged, her mind sinking into her Dantian. Here, two military types confronted each other.

The Honghua military type was massive, like an overlord flower. The other, the Xuechao Liannu Bing military type, was condensed into a stubborn mass.

“The time has come.” Mu Lan immersed her entire mind into the Honghua military type.

In an instant, she arrived in a city. Ten thousand petals, like armor, layered upon each other, forming a city of flower-armor. Stems and veins, like halberds, pierced through the four cardinal directions. When Mu Lan ascended the city wall, the heart of the flower became like a crimson-gold military banner, fluttering in the wind.

And in another place, representing the Xuechao Liannu Bing military type, was a low-lying river embankment.

Behind the embankment, the sound of the tide roared like thunder. Teams of blood-armored crossbow guards were semi-hidden in the tide, their crossbow mechanisms glinting like fish scales, bowstrings trembling like raindrops, poised to fire, their aura as solid as iron.

Without a main general, there was no military banner displayed among the Xuechao Liannu Bing.

Mu Lan’s expression was utterly solemn as she slowly raised her hand.

Within her Dantian, the Honghua Dharma Aspect moved its massive body, rising from the ground and directly enveloping the Xuechao Liannu Bing military type.

Reflecting in Mu Lan’s eyes, the Honghua city and the blood embankment were brought to their closest proximity, and a fierce battle ensued between the two sides.

The front ranks of the Xuechao Liannu Bing knelt, the back ranks raised their crossbows, ten thousand arrows were drawn, and crossbow sounds erupted in unison. Countless crossbow arrows turned into a torrential downpour, countless cold arrow tips pierced through flowers and waves, riddling the flower-armored city wall like a beehive.

Even though Mu Lan had gained a deep understanding of the Xuechao Liannu Bing military type during her period of closed-door cultivation, she felt a slight tremor in her heart at the powerful offensive unleashed by this military type.

The military banner behind Mu Lan swayed fiercely, a new city wall rose up, and at the same time, numerous Honghua flower buds sprouted, spread, and covered the blood embankment.

Mu Lan commanded the Honghua Dharma Aspect, while the Xuechao Liannu Bing military type had no one to command it. There was a qualitative difference between the two!

After more than an hour.

The Honghua military type completely absorbed the Xuechao Liannu Bing military type. The fierce battle was also a process of attrition, refinement, and integration.

The newborn Honghua military type became even stronger. Its previous light red hue became deeper and more profound, as if it had undergone a baptism of blood and fire.

The tip of each petal became incredibly sharp, like an arrowhead.

“I succeeded!”

Mu Lan’s cross-legged body trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

At this moment, a flash of blood-red radiance flickered in the depths of her eyes.

Mu Lan immediately felt an intuition and subconsciously looked North.

In her perception, in the distant North, there were two small clusters of Honghua military strength, very faint, vaguely echoing her own military type.

This sensation quickly vanished without a trace, but Mu Lan had already reacted.

“This is the power of the Honghua Dharma Aspect. It should be those two miniature Dharma Aspects that I captured Lin You and Wu Hen and handed over to Young Master Ning Zhuo.”

“Strange, how could they last so long? Normally, half a month would be enough to exhaust them.”

Mu Lan immediately thought of the answer.

“That’s right.”

“During this seclusion, in order to successfully integrate the Xuechao Liannu Bing military type, I used National Power Bricks to strengthen the Honghua military type in advance.”

“As the origin strengthened, the power of the Dharma Aspects outside also increased and became more durable.”

“I wonder how Young Master Ning Zhuo is doing? Is his journey outside even more exciting than in Qianfeng Lin?”

“And have other women appeared by his side?”

Mu Lan indulged in some musing, then quickly gathered her thoughts.

She was not a petty woman, so her thoughts turned to the main topic: “Although the Qianfeng Lin expedition failed, I managed to stabilize the situation of the General Mu’s Mansion by meritorious service.”

“The battle merits I gained were not many. However, Prince Qiming bestowed upon me the Xuechao Liannu Bing military type.”

Prince Qiming was very old and held a revered position in the Liang Zhu Kingdom, generally not participating in ordinary political affairs.

This time, his sudden bestowal of a military type upon Mu Lan truly astonished the entire Liang Zhu Kingdom political scene.

Mu Lan had barely managed to stabilize the situation of General Mu’s Mansion due to her meritorious service. Prince Qiming’s assistance, representing his favor towards General Mu’s Mansion, completely changed Mu Lan’s predicament.

Now, no matter which faction or high-ranking official, or even the monarch, dared not underestimate General Mu’s Mansion.

Mu Lan was very puzzled by Prince Qiming’s actions and immediately raised a question.

Prince Qiming explained to her: he had a sudden flash of insight, and through divination, he concluded that supporting General Mu’s Mansion would be beneficial to the Liang Zhu Kingdom.

Prince Qiming did not possess any inherited knowledge of divination or fate, but he had a peculiar talent called “Night’s End Blind Light.”

Prince Qiming was born blind, his vision a complete darkness. But whenever a flash of light appeared in the darkness, Prince Qiming would have certain premonitions, sensing that he was facing a critical choice at that moment. And this choice would have a huge impact on the future.

“In short, for now, this is a good thing for my General’s Mansion.”

“As for the price to pay in the future, we’ll deal with that later.”

Mu Lan pushed open the stone door of the cultivation chamber.

The foundation of the Honghua military type had greatly increased, and it had gained a brand-new type of soldier. She couldn’t wait to train soldiers now, to train Xuechao Liannu Bing and increase the strength of the entire Honghua camp.

…

Wanxiang Sect.

It was very lively today.

Because registration for the Feiyun Grand Assembly had officially begun.

Ning Zhuo arrived at the nearest registration point, gazing down from his cloud, and saw the queue stretching from the mountaintop to the foot of the mountain.

The registration area at the mountaintop was even more packed, with crowds surging and a cacophony of noise.

Service disciples, outer disciples, inner disciples, and so on, relying on their internal sect status, cut in line, causing this chaos.

The actual queue consisted of cultivators from outside the Wanxiang Sect.

Ning Zhuo did not queue, but waited for a moment.

“Brother Ning!” Shen Xi arrived on time and met up with Ning Zhuo.

Behind him was naturally his cousin, Su Lingkou.

“Come, I have someone here, we can register directly.” Shen Xi came from the Shen family of Jiugong Immortal City, so he had connections.

Ning Zhuo nodded, and together with Shen Xi, directly descended onto the mountaintop.

“Make way, everyone.” Shen Xi pushed through the crowd.

The cultivator responsible for registration saw Shen Xi and quickly stood up to greet him.

Shen Xi’s connections were clearly not ordinary. Seeing this, the cultivators who had been subtly complaining fell silent, tacitly making way for them.

Ning Zhuo, Shen Xi, and Su Lingkou arrived at the registration booth.

It was merely a makeshift straw hut.

The cultivator sat back down, took out a blank wooden token, and explained: “The sect has rules. All cultivators participating in the Feiyun Grand Assembly must register in person and have their identity token made on the spot.”

“Therefore, please forgive the three of you.”

Shen Xi replied politely.

The cultivator asked: “Name?”

Shen Xi, however, reached out in front of Ning Zhuo, deferring to him and motioning for the latter to go first.

Ning Zhuo then said: “Ning Zhuo.”

As he spoke, he condensed his spiritual energy and wrote his name in the air.

The cultivator looked up at the name formed by spiritual energy, then immediately carved the two characters “Ning Zhuo” onto the wooden token, then stood up, holding the token with both hands, and handed it to Ning Zhuo.

“Daoist Ning, the registration is complete. Please keep your token safe.”