The searing pain caused the demonic cultivator elder to bend over.
“Why?” The elder’s eyes bulged.
This was simply too much of a coincidence!
Just as he was about to strike, Ning Zhuo’s fate suddenly surged, surpassing his own by a thread.
And the One Thread Shattering Fate minor spell relied on the level of fate of both parties.
With Ning Zhuo becoming the stronger one, the One Thread Shattering Fate minor spell was cast upon the demonic cultivator elder.
To draw an analogy, it was as if the demonic cultivator elder raised a hammer, intending to scatter Ning Zhuo’s fate. But Ning Zhuo’s fate suddenly grew stronger, and the hammer he struck out flew back, hitting him on the head.
“Fortunately, I hold an imperial official position, which provides protection in this regard. A minor spell is not enough to shatter my fate.”
But the backlash after casting the spell was real.
However, the demonic cultivator elder could not heal his injuries.
This was because he was currently in the process of the Greater Spell of Seizing Fate and Returning Mandate. He could only continue this curse ritual and could not perform any other actions. Otherwise, even if he were to interrupt it himself, he would suffer a terrifying backlash and pay a heavy price.
The demonic cultivator elder panted, straightened his upper body, and once again began to prepare the curse.
“Ning Zhuo’s fate has not changed again!
“Just now must have been a coincidence.”
“Next, behold my Two Threads Shattering Fate minor spell!”
A moment prior.
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong looked at the Ten Thousand Mile Soaring Dragon.
The magic power pool within the Ten Thousand Mile Soaring Dragon was spewing out a vast amount of magic power, channeling it into the magic formations on the dragon’s body.
This layer of magic formation was formed by countless talismans linked together.
And Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong, who created these talismans, were currently standing by, watching with full concentration, their expressions a little tense.
This was because they had consumed a large amount of precious materials and paid a high price. To do it again, they would at least have to go back to Jin Li to procure them.
Fortunately, the magic formation operated continuously without any mishaps.
As the magic formation gradually weakened and eventually came to a complete stop, the dragon body of the Ten Thousand Mile Soaring Dragon had been thoroughly repaired.
In the place of the original damage, there were now layers of cloud clusters.
These dense and overlapping cloud clusters served as the previous dragon scales, providing the dragon body with tight protection.
Looking closely, one would also find the cloud cluster dragon scales slowly rotating, like clouds, and deep within the cloud cluster dragon scales, one could even see strands of azure electric light.
This was because Lightning Dragon Horns were used as materials, thus giving it the lightning attribute.
“This is truly extravagant,” Sun Lingtong exclaimed with emotion.
It was his first time seeing someone pile on materials with such extravagance.
“As expected of you, Xiao Zhuo.”
“Hehehe.”
“I still remember when you first started refining mechanical constructs back then, I brought you almost all the mechanisms on the market. You loudly criticized many of the designs as crude and not economical at all.”
“How do you feel now?” Sun Lingtong teased.
Ning Zhuo sighed and smiled wryly: “Boss, I’m still feeling the pinch right now. But fortunately, the mechanical ring is no longer constricting.”
“Based on past experience, although the materials used this time were extravagant, it should be the correct choice.”
“Let’s proceed to the next step.”
The Ten Thousand Mile Soaring Dragon could not be completed in one go, of course.
The surface of the dragon body was covered with cloud cluster dragon scales, serving as both outer and inner armor. However, there were still many weak points remaining.
These weak points would normally not have any impact.
But once traversing through the void, it would be troublesome.
Even Nascent Soul stage cultivators could only use their Nascent Souls to traverse the void; their physical bodies usually could not.
The pressure of traversing the void is extremely immense. The previous Ten Thousand Mile Soaring Dragon was a unified whole, but after the repairs, there would always be weak links.
These weak points are like the weakest link in an iron chain, often unable to bear the pressure and most likely to break. And once it breaks, it will cause a chain reaction, leading to the entire chain breaking.
Ning Zhuo needed to detect these weak points and then strengthen them!
Once again, he faced a choice.
Among the precious materials he had, there were two sets of plans.
The final effect of both plans was similar, but one was faster and consumed more materials. The other was slower and consumed fewer materials.
“My time is not pressing, so being a little slower is fine.”
As Ning Zhuo was thinking this, the mechanical ring on his finger suddenly constricted again, warning him!
“Hmm?”
“In other words, I should choose the faster strengthening plan?”
Ning Zhuo did not hesitate and immediately made the adjustment.
Returning to the present.
In the forest.
The demonic cultivator elder roared in his heart: “Two Threads Shattering Fate minor spell, shatter for me!”
Ning Zhuo’s fate, however, suddenly surged upwards, precisely a little stronger than the demonic cultivator elder’s own fate.
The demonic cultivator elder vomited blood again, directly half-kneeling, clutching his chest, the intense pain twisting his face into a terrifying grimace.
Besides the pain, there was also intense anger.
“Again?!”
The demonic cultivator elder was both shocked and speechless.
“Isn’t this too much of a coincidence?”
“No, two consecutive coincidences are no longer coincidences.”
“Could it be that Ning Zhuo has detected that I am cursing him and is counteracting me?”
“Or does he have some unique means of protecting his fate?”
The demonic cultivator elder fell into hesitation.
He suddenly realized that his choice of the Greater Spell of Seizing Fate and Returning Mandate was a bit too reckless.
“I didn’t investigate clearly and rashly cast the greater spell!”
“Now, there have been two consecutive unexpected situations, which is quite unreasonable.”
“At that time, I was also overly angry.”
The demonic cultivator elder felt regret.
Of course, it wasn’t just because he was overly angry.
At that time, his main consideration was: to seize Ning Zhuo’s fate and return the king’s mandate to the right track, allowing fate to flourish, ultimately leading to Mu Lan, following this change in fate, becoming Liu Er’s wife.
“There’s a lot of hidden strangeness in Ning Zhuo!”
“Next is the Three Threads Shattering Fate minor spell. If this fails again, the entire greater spell will benefit Ning Zhuo.”
A huge stone seemed to be weighing on the demonic cultivator elder’s heart.
Once the greater spell is cast, it cannot be stopped halfway.
Ning Zhuo and Liu Er’s fate will be tightly linked by this greater spell, similar to a life-and-death struggle, where the loser loses everything, and the winner takes all!
The demonic cultivator elder’s eyes bulged, cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and a terrifying conjecture arose in his heart.
“Could it be that my observation of fate has also implicated me, leading me to act rashly in anger, and ultimately also implicating Xiao Liu and benefiting Ning Zhuo instead?!”
Observing fate is not that easy.
Taking the demonic cultivator elder as an example, every time he observed, he not only had to rely on powerful treasures but also paid a heavy price.
And after observing, it meant that he was also detected by Ning Zhuo’s fate. Every action of the demonic cultivator elder would also be subject to the counteraction of Ning Zhuo’s fate.
“No, absolutely not!”
“I am here to help Xiao Liu, not to add difficulty to him.”
The demonic cultivator elder took a deep breath, his face showing determination.
The third minor spell was extremely crucial.
There must be no failure!
With strong resolve, the demonic cultivator elder successively took out various precious materials from his storage belt. Nascent Soul level, even Divine Transformation level!
He used these precious materials to begin a new arrangement.
This was his posture when casting the greater spell, going all out!
Magic formations, talismans—these were etched onto the nearby rocks, trees, and even floated in mid-air.
If Sun Lingtong were to see this scene, he would surely drool.
These precious materials were too rare and valuable, their market price extremely high. For Nascent Soul cultivators, stealing 30% of them would make them rich.
Undoubtedly, this was an astonishing fortune!
“Hmm?” The demonic cultivator elder’s finger suddenly paused slightly, detecting that Ning Zhuo’s arm fate had surged again by a section.
A chill ran through the demonic cultivator elder’s heart: “Fortunately, I wasn’t in a hurry and delayed the Three Threads Shattering Fate minor spell. Otherwise, at this rate,
I’m afraid I would repeat the same mistake!”
As Liu Er’s mentor, the demonic cultivator elder was very vigilant.
After failing twice in a row, he decisively adjusted his strategy.
This adjustment was quite effective, allowing him to escape a disaster.
“Everything is not over yet!”
“I have seen through your trick. This time, I will go all out, consuming more than half of my fortune, and I will surely succeed in one fell swoop!”
On the other side.
Ning Zhuo’s face was like still water, feeling the mechanical ring constricting and expanding with regularity.
This was a continuous warning!
“The situation is a bit bad, boss,” Ning Zhuo said to Sun Lingtong.
Sun Lingtong stared at the mechanical ring on his finger: “Xiao Zhuo, could it be that your mechanical ring is malfunctioning? Is it truly trustworthy?”
Ning Zhuo extended his other hand and touched the surface of the mechanical ring with his finger, his gaze firm, his tone resolute: “I trust it!”
His gaze was sharp and cold, and he mused: “Before, I relieved its warnings twice in a row, both by using precious materials to repair the Ten Thousand Mile Soaring Dragon.”
“The Ten Thousand Mile Soaring Dragon is a vital mechanical treasure. If it can be repaired, it can increase my strength.”
“That is to say, I transformed precious materials into my own strength, and thus turned danger into safety.”
“The Ten Thousand Mile Soaring Dragon has been repaired, so I should find other ways to greatly enhance my strength. If so, it should resolve the crisis.”
Sun Lingtong did not trust the mechanical ring, but he trusted Ning Zhuo immensely.
“Since you say so, Xiao Zhuo, what are we waiting for?”
“Let’s go back to Canglin Immortal City, buy whatever we see, and convert our financial resources into our strength!”
The two immediately took action.
The Ten Thousand Mile Soaring Dragon, heavily invested and repaired, traversed through the void and carried Sun and Ning back to Canglin Immortal City.
There was a huge market in Canglin Immortal City. The market was extremely prosperous, selling magical artifacts, magical treasures, talismans, and elixirs of various kinds,
A dazzling array of goods.
Normally, there wouldn’t be so many.
This was because the two kingdoms had set up this place as a major rear base, investing the strength of the entire nation to create this temporary, abnormally prosperous large market.
Ning Zhuo walked through many shops in succession, finally entering a mechanical shop.
He entered the shop and saw many samples of mechanical constructs.
To cope with the great battle in Thousand Peaks Forest, most of the items sold in the mechanical shop were large-scale war machines, such as ballistas, chariots, catapults, battering rams, and so on.
Ning Zhuo casually glanced at these, without lingering.
The shopkeeper scurried over and bowed to Ning Zhuo: “Greetings, Military Advisor Ning.”
Ning Zhuo had previously returned in triumph with the three generals Liu, Guan, and Zhang, so his appearance was known to many.
As for this type of mechanical shop, they had long since gathered intelligence on every army and every important figure.
Among this intelligence, Ning Zhuo was ranked high.
His recent marriage to Mu Lan was still temporarily a secret. But his identity as the Military Advisor and Libationer of the Three Generals’ Camp was already widely spread. More crucially, Ning Zhuo was in charge of the logistics of this army. He had always been in charge of purchasing military supplies.
Therefore, upon seeing Ning Zhuo, the shopkeeper was very excited and began to strongly anticipate this business deal.
Ning Zhuo nodded slightly: “Your shop is the largest, so you should have mechanical puppets, right?”
The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, and immediately a little disappointed.
Not buying large-scale war mechanical constructs, but buying a few mechanical puppets to serve as personal guards, how much profit could that bring?
Considering some future possibilities, the shopkeeper smiled: “Of course we do! It is truly an honor for Military Advisor Ning to visit our shop. A few mechanical puppets will be a small gift from me to the Military Advisor.”
Ning Zhuo chuckled and shook his head: “If there were only a few mechanical puppets, I wouldn’t have come to your shop. I could just make them myself.”
The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up, and he quickly extended his hand: “Military Advisor, please come in. Our shop’s mechanical puppets are definitely the most numerous in the city, and the stock is ample.”
As the two walked towards the inner room, Ning Zhuo heard a conversation that sounded somewhat familiar, and couldn’t help but pause slightly.
Indeed, in the inner courtyard, he saw Mu Lan.
Mu Lan, accompanied by a female quartermaster, was bargaining with the deputy shopkeeper.
The troubles of the Red Flower Camp were over. They had previously received financial assistance from the Three Generals’ Camp and had successfully received their military pay this morning. Therefore, Mu Lan personally came with her people to purchase military supplies.
Upon seeing Ning Zhuo, Mu Lan was also slightly taken aback.
Ning Zhuo was the first to bow: “Ning Zhuo, Military Advisor of the Three Generals’ Camp, pays his respects to General Mu Lan.”
Mu Lan immediately realized that Ning Zhuo was in disguise and did not want to reveal their marital relationship. Her emotions couldn’t help but become complicated.
Mu Lan nodded slightly to Ning Zhuo, feigning unfamiliarity, and then looked at the shopkeeper: “We were halfway through negotiating, and you left in the middle. So it was to receive a major customer.”
The shopkeeper quickly apologized and begged for mercy.
Mu Lan smiled slightly: “Your attitude is good. In that case, lower the price a bit more.”
Recently, she had suffered enough from the lack of funds, so she was very careful about every penny.
The shopkeeper smiled wryly and had to agree.
He led Ning Zhuo to the side and showed him many mechanical puppets.
Although Mu Lan was discussing prices, a part of her attention was on Ning Zhuo.
Hearing that he wanted to buy mechanical puppets on a large scale, her curiosity grew.
The shopkeeper recommended many mechanical puppets.
Ning Zhuo paid attention to two things at once, listening to the shopkeeper’s recommendations while examining the relevant jade slips with his spiritual sense.
“This model is good.” Soon, Ning Zhuo selected a mechanical puppet model.
The shopkeeper saw that this model of mechanical puppet was quite expensive, and couldn’t help but smile broadly, praising Ning Zhuo for his good taste, and then asking Ning Zhuo how many he needed.
Ning Zhuo rubbed the mechanical ring on his index finger with his thumb, and seemingly inadvertently asked: “How many do you have?”
The shopkeeper reported a number, quite proud of his sufficient stock.
Unexpectedly, the next moment, Ning Zhuo said expressionlessly: “Good, I’ll buy all of them.”
The shopkeeper’s eyes widened.
Ning Zhuo: “This model, I want it too. Give me as many as you have.”
The shopkeeper opened his mouth.
Ning Zhuo felt the ring still constricting, and bought the third model of mechanical puppet.
The shopkeeper was so happy that he became incoherent: “Sir, we also offer installments here, please don’t worry.”
“Bring them all to me, I will pay the full amount now.” Ning Zhuo waved his hand, his expression determined.
The shopkeeper said “Good” three times in a row and quickly ordered several shop assistants to retrieve the goods. Soon, he handed several full storage bags to Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo also paid the full amount.
The mechanical ring finally stopped constricting, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Mu Lan, who witnessed the transaction firsthand, had a calm expression but complicated emotions.
“I’m leaving.” Ning Zhuo bid farewell.
Passing by Mu Lan, he instructed the shopkeeper: “The Red Flower Camp and my Three Generals’ Camp are close comrades in arms. Why not be more polite, shopkeeper?”
The shopkeeper quickly bowed, indicating that he would listen.
Immediately after, he said to Mu Lan: “General, since Lord Ning has personally spoken, then all the supplies you purchase this time will be a gift from our shop to you, and you will not be charged anything.”
This time, Mu Lan finally couldn’t maintain her composure, and her expression changed significantly.
She spoke with difficulty, expressing her gratitude to Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo walked out of the shop with his back to her, without turning his head, merely raising the back of his hand as he went.
“That was too handsome!” the female quartermaster beside her exclaimed.