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Underground workshop.
The gentle light from the Spirit Lamp filled the entire space evenly.
Ning Zhuo sat at the table, checking the storage bag in his hand one last time.
These were spoils he had obtained from the Huang Family's Three Ghosts at the black market before.
After confirming its safety, Ning Zhuo began to break the micro-formation on the first storage bag, then forged the original owner's aura and Divine Sense, finally deceiving the storage bag into successfully opening.
Inside the first storage bag were some Spirit Stones, a Spirit Pet, the Green Knife Mantis, and some materials suitable for Ghost Cultivators, such as Dark Essence, Soul Pulp, and Netherworld Flowers.
The second storage bag contained hundreds of Spirit Stones, with Ghost Cultivator materials comprising only a mass of Yin Wind and a Jade Slip containing the Ghost Cultivation Technique "Yin Bone Technique," which could modify one's skeleton.
The third storage bag belonged to the leader of the Huang Family's Three Ghosts, possessing a double-layered formation, which significantly increased the difficulty and time required for Ning Zhuo to break it.
"Interesting," the young man's eyes sparkled.
The higher the difficulty and resistance, the more it fueled his fighting spirit.
He threw himself into it, enjoying the pleasure of challenging the difficult problem.
After spending almost half a two-hour period, he finally succeeded in breaking it.
As soon as he opened it, a little ghost head lunged at Ning Zhuo's face.
*Ning Zhuo snorted coldly, already prepared. At the critical moment, the Buddha Heart Demon Seal in his Sea of Consciousness flashed with light, capturing the ghost head. Then, the defensive formation on his worktable activated, instantly obliterating the ghost head into nothingness.*
The ghost head seemed to be the final stubbornness of the Huang Family's ghost leader.
Now, his storage bag had no more defenses against Ning Zhuo.
There were over a thousand Spirit Stones, two Jade Slips, containing the Ghost Cultivation Technique "Netherworld Heart Sutra" and the Ghost Cultivation Spell "Detailed Explanation of Soul Attraction Technique." There was also a large pile of Cultivation Materials, not just items for Ghost Cultivators.
"Fire Essence?!" Ning Zhuo's pupils widened, discovering about ten pounds of Fire Essence.
His face immediately lit up with joy.
*Suppressing his excitement, Ning Zhuo pulled open a drawer and took out a handful of Golden Silk Jade Dew Cake.*
He stimulated his Mana, burning away the wrapping paper on the Cake's surface. A bit of ash floated away, like the ashes from burning a corpse in a Pill Furnace.
He opened his mouth and stuffed all the Cake into it.
Chewing.
In the light of the Spirit Light Lamp, his lips were bright red, occasionally revealing white teeth. The Golden Silk Jade Dew Cake was crushed between his teeth and lips, its filling flowing out and mingling together. *It was as if those numerous cultivators who fell at his hands wailed mournfully in the grinding, their flesh and blood shattered, becoming the nourishment for Ning Zhuo's growth.*
*The world of cultivators was cruel; without gray businesses like the upper and lower wishful cords, without the contributions of these Demon Path cultivators, how could Ning Zhuo afford so many Golden Silk Jade Dew Cakes?*
*While eating the Golden Silk Jade Dew Cakes, Ning Zhuo happily counted the profits from yesterday's black market.*
The sale of the upper and lower wishful cords had earned him 24,000 Spirit Stones.
Among them, his uncle Ning Ze had purchased 80 upper and lower wishful cords for the Ning Family, contributing the most.
Compared to that, the Spirit Stones on the Huang Family's Three Ghosts were pitifully few.
"My upper and lower wishful cords are the best cave ropes available on the market. Therefore, this business has always been good."
"It seems, then, that the Ning Family is making such a large-scale preparation for a big move?"
"Alas, the cultivation world is a place where people prey on each other!"
"*There are always those with ulterior motives, bullying a common young man like me.*"
"*Since those three Ghost Cultivators came out to rob, they must have been poor. However, finding ten pounds of Fire Essence was an unexpected surprise for me.*"
"*With this, the Fire Essence I have been preparing now reaches over a thousand pounds, more than enough!*"
*Over the past few years, Ning Zhuo had been secretly accumulating Fire Essence. For safety reasons, he had only purchased a small amount from the market each time, gradually accumulating enough. At his rate, preparing ten pounds of Fire Essence would likely take more than a month.*
*But now, this large batch of Fire Essence immediately filled his final gap.*
*After tallying the harvest, Ning Zhuo also calculated the losses from last night's black market.*
He took out a silver-gray token from his chest.
The front of the token had the character "Cang," and the back had the character "Han."
Ning Zhuo gently tossed it, and the token disintegrated, elongated, expanded, and emitted a dazzling light. When the brilliance dissipated, the Mechanical Battle Armor, Iron Han Armor, quietly floated in mid-air.
Ning Zhuo opened the spine section of the Mechanical Battle Armor, where a Foundation Establishment Pill was embedded.
"*The Foundation Establishment Pill is only thirty percent remaining.*"
*This pill was crucial, being one of the factors that allowed the Iron Han Armor to exert the power of the Foundation Establishment. Ning Zhuo himself only had cultivation at the Qi Refinement stage.*
"*Once the Foundation Establishment Pill is used up, the Iron Han Armor can't be used anymore.*"
"*Alas, obtaining the Foundation Establishment Pill is very difficult.*" Ning Zhuo's brows furrowed slightly.
*This was Ning Zhuo's biggest loss from yesterday.*
*Last night, a new scar was added.*
*It was a stab wound left by the leader of the Huang Family's Three Ghosts in a death struggle, and it left Ning Zhuo helpless.*
*On closer inspection, one would notice that the surface of the Mechanical Battle Armor was actually full of scars.*
*Some were old scars, some were marks left by Ning Zhuo during battles after wearing it.*
"Mother…" Ning Zhuo whispered mournfully as he touched the old scars, his gaze filled with sadness.
*Fourteen years ago, when he was only two years old, his mother had given him her final instructions before passing away.*
*Through her, he learned: Within Fire Persimmon Mountain, there was a Lava Fairy Palace, known as the Mechanical Immortal City. The City Spirit secretly selected cultivators to inherit the Immortal City. His mother was one of the chosen cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage. The Immortal City's many challenges were extremely difficult, and his mother, being exceptionally talented, was targeted by other competitors working together, ultimately sustaining injuries that could not be healed.*
"The continuous decline of the Immortal City has led to the lowering of selection standards. Zhuo'er, when you turn fourteen, the selection standard at the Mechanical Immortal City will lower to the Qi Refinement stage. This will be your greatest opportunity!"
"Zhuo'er, you must learn the Mechanical Techniques well, and don't let anyone know about your efforts in this area."
"You must personally design mechanical artifacts, personally assemble them, personally operate them—these are the evaluation contents of the Mechanical Immortal City."
"If you rank among the top candidates, you'll be identified as a mechanical seed and will receive focused cultivation from the Mechanism City. This is particularly important for you because you need the cultivation resources of the Mechanical Immortal Palace more than those with some background."
"You must never cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage using the Ning Family's cultivation techniques! I, your mother, was a mechanical seed during the Foundation Establishment stage, but unfortunately, my Dantian was set and couldn't change cultivation techniques. Many trials within the Lava Palace became overly difficult due to not having practiced the techniques left by the Three Sects' Masters, and I could not proceed any further."
"Cough, cough, cough!"
The two-year-old Ning Zhuo wept in terror: "Mother, stop talking! You're spitting blood!"
Ning Zhuo's mother caressed Ning Zhuo's little head, her eyes full of reluctance and worry: "Zhuo'er, I'm sorry, I can't protect you. Without a father and mother, you'll be alone in the future and can only rely on yourself."
"Don't be too loyal to the clan. Your father made that mistake!"
"Before dying, your father entrusted you to the Young Clan Leader Ning Xiaoren, asking him to take care of you. But I've seen through this person, he's hypocritical and unreliable."
"*Your uncle and aunt are not generous people, one caring too much about face and the other extremely stingy; you must be cautious.*"
"*Sometimes your family and friends around you can often be more dangerous than enemies!*"
"*Don't excel too much; now that your father and mother are gone, no one is truly there for you. You must hide yourself well, don't stand out too poorly, be mediocre. You need to grow normally, quietly accumulate, and not attract attention.*"
"*I've seen too many talents meet an early death…*"
"*I'm leaving the Iron Han Armor with you for protection; it carries the might of the Foundation Establishment.*"
"*And this magic treasure—Buddha Heart Demon Seal! I obtained it by chance from the Lava Fairy Palace; you must never expose it.*"
When Ning Zhuo's mother spoke to this point, her voice had dropped to the lowest.
She couldn't stop crying, staring intently at the two-year-old Ning Zhuo, wanting to look at him, to keep looking, but alas, her vision gradually faded.
In her last moments, she fell into doubt: "I'm not sure if teaching you this way is right."
"Zhuo'er, you must take good care of yourself. If necessary, give up on Lava Fairy Palace."
"Life is the first priority; mom wants you to live, live well!"
"Your living brings happiness to mom."
The two-year-old Ning Zhuo held onto his mother's blood-soaked clothes tightly: "Mom, mom, stop talking. I don't want you to die. Don't die, sob sob…"
His mother finally said: "Dear Zhuo'er, don't be afraid, don't be afraid… Mom is with you, mom... will be protecting you from below…"
The next moment, his mother's heart stopped beating, and her hand slowly slipped from Ning Zhuo's head.
The two-year-old Ning Zhuo's body convulsed as if struck by lightning; he suddenly looked up—already in his sixteen-year-old form.
His once incredibly childish face full of tears and snot was now replaced by a resolute look of a grown teenager.
He had grown up, bearing his mother's dying instructions and expectations.
"Mom, the situation has changed!"
"The City Lord, together with the Zhou Family and Zheng Family, intensified the siege inside the Flame Demon Melting Cave, which greatly reduced the defensive pressure of the Lava Fairy Palace, significantly lowering its wear and tear. With no external pressure, the Lava Fairy Palace's damage was minimized, and the Palace Spirit no longer proactively lowered the selection standards."
"This year, the Ning Family also discovered the secret of the Lava Fairy Palace. If they join the defense, when will I ever see the lowered standards again?"
"Perhaps not in this lifetime!"
"The major forces of the Fire Persimmon Immortal City are all trying every means to conceal the Lava Fairy Palace, aiming to keep this opportunity within themselves—how can this be?"
"*Therefore, I must take action myself!*"
"*Now, I have accumulated enough Fire Essence, absolutely sufficient, to bomb the Immortal Palace into damage, thereby lowering the standards.*"
"*All that's left is the Explosive Flame Monkey.*"
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