Advent of Immortal Truth

Ning Jiufan proactively suggested, "Fellow Daoists, why not come to my place for a cup of tea first?"

"That sounds good, that sounds good," Zheng Jianlian nodded.

Ning Jiufan looked at Zhu Xuanji, "Lord Detective, I did rush into making the alliance before. Why don't we discuss it over tea?"

Zhu Xuanji smiled slightly, "Then I will have to trouble you."

…

Ning Zhuo sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, surrounded by layers of floating clouds.

The magical artifact, Tornado Windmill, was closely attached to his chest, slowly rotating.

Under the influence of the artifact, a tornado formed within Ning Zhuo’s lower dantian, where his Qi Sea resided.

The tornado swept up the surrounding mana, absorbing and grinding it down in the whirlwind.

A large amount of impurities was eliminated, the chaotic parts were cleared away, and what remained was more refined.

Ning Zhuo was currently at the peak of the eighth layer of the Qi Refining Stage, with a vast Qi Sea and too much mana.

He continued to activate the magical artifact for quite some time before he felt his lower dantian lighten slightly.

Out of his original ten parts of mana, only six parts remained after the refinement.

Of course, these six parts of mana were still impure, but to a lesser extent than before and could be further refined.

"But I will need to find another method. Relying solely on the Tornado Windmill artifact can only achieve this much," Ning Zhuo understood clearly.

The growth and refinement of mana correspond to quantity and quality, a problem that cultivators must confront and resolve throughout their lives.

Ning Zhuo cultivated all three of his Essence, Qi, and Spirit Seas simultaneously, and the condition of his Qi Sea was the best, thanks to the Tornado Windmill.

As for his Essence and Spirit Seas, he could only purify them by continuously depleting his blood energy and spiritual sense, then circulating his cultivation techniques to generate new blood energy and spiritual sense, a slow and clumsy method.

"I should purchase some Pure One Pills," Ning Zhuo thought.

This type of pill was the most classic and popular one for refining cultivation.

It was effective for all three treasures: Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

No matter which of the three dantian it was, the pill could work to refine and purify it accordingly.

Ning Zhuo had been cultivating diligently for a while, and after practicing for so long, he began to feel a bit irritated, so he stopped the three sects' techniques.

He took out the Five Elements Scale, separating his mana into five different elements and continuously practiced the Five Elements Cycle Technique.

Ever since he obtained this technique, he had been practicing it tirelessly. It was the spell he practiced the most.

Ning Zhuo's progress in this area was also visible to the naked eye.

After practicing spells for a while, Ning Zhuo went back to cultivating the three sects' techniques.

Going back and forth like this, Ning Zhuo felt his body reach the limit for circulating the techniques, and only then did he truly stop his practice.

He also ceased practicing the Five Elements Cycle Technique, put away the floating cloud cloth, and concealed his true cultivation at the third layer.

He left his residence, accompanied by four Foundation Establishment deacons, and headed towards the Ning Family grounds.

"I need to consult some records," Ning Zhuo said as he arrived at the Secretary's Pavilion.

The Ning Family's library was open to the public, but the Secretary's Pavilion was a higher level, accessible only to the family's elite.

At this moment, Ning Zhuo was certainly qualified.

He entered the Secretary's Pavilion and began searching around, while the four Foundation Establishment deacons accompanying him all had peculiar expressions on their faces.

It was because Ning Zhuo was browsing through texts on dual cultivation techniques.

"Hahaha, after all, Young Master Ning Zhuo is already sixteen."

"Yes, it's time for him to grow from a boy into a man."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Although, back in the day, I started reading these when I was eleven."

The four Foundation Establishment cultivators secretly transmitted their thoughts to each other.

Ning Zhuo studied the texts for several hours before frowning, deep in thought as he left the Secretary's Pavilion.

On the way back home, sitting in the carriage, he was lost in thought.

After this round of research, Ning Zhuo had gained a deeper understanding of dual cultivation.

"The most common method of dual cultivation is the union of Yin and Yang."

"Men represent Yang, women represent Yin, and when Yin and Yang merge, they give birth to the power of the Two Elements, which can shape the body and enhance one's cultivation."

"But this method has significant drawbacks."

"Just as Elder Sun mentioned, using someone else's Qi in cultivation leads to an impurity in one's own aura."

"If you don't want to affect your foundation and future, you must refine and remove the foreign Qi."

"As a result, after dual cultivation, you need to purify and refine the energy. Without proper techniques, if the results of dual cultivation are not significant, it may be less effective than solitary cultivation."

Ning Zhuo also learned that the convergence of Pure Yang and Pure Yin would yield the best results in dual cultivation.

However, in this case, the foreign Qi would penetrate deep into one's bones, making it impossible to completely remove. The best way forward would be to dedicate oneself to becoming Dao Companions with the other party.

"No wonder so many people become Dao Companions!"

"However, if one Dao Companion dies, the other will suffer a huge negative impact on their cultivation."

"The risk is too great!"

"It's not worth it at all."

Ning Zhuo would rather cultivate alone than exchange his Pure Yang energy for temporary rapid progress, only to bury a massive hidden danger for the future.

"My previous dual cultivation only involved a shallow exchange of Yin and Yang energy, so there’s no issue."

"The foreign Qi I acquired can be completely eliminated with proper effort."

"Moreover, dual cultivation with nature and communion with Heaven and Earth is also a method with relatively few foreign Qi."

Cultivators absorb the Qi of Heaven and Earth, taking in the Yang energy of the sun and the Yin energy of the moon, which falls under this category.

"Even with communion with Heaven and Earth, one still needs to purify oneself."

"Is there a method that allows me to dual cultivate with myself? This way, there would be no need for any purification afterward."

Ning Zhuo’s thought was this: Since dual cultivation with others results in foreign Qi as an aftereffect, dual cultivation with oneself could fundamentally eliminate this issue, making post-refinement methods like the Tornado Windmill or Pure One Pills unnecessary.

This idea was entirely feasible in theory.

Because regular individual cultivation is essentially "Yang moves to generate Yin, Yin calms to become Yang," achieving a harmony of Yin and Yang.

Men are primarily Yang, with more Yang energy than Yin energy, generating Yin from their Yang energy.

Women are primarily Yin, with more Yin energy than Yang energy, generating Yang from their Yin energy.

"Is there a way to extract my Yin energy and place it into a mechanical component, allowing it to circulate through a certain technique, increasing the Yin energy?"

"When I need to dual cultivate, I can extract this Yin energy."

"Since the Yin energy originates from my body and is part of me, there would be no need for post-refinement after dual cultivation!"

Ning Zhuo instinctively thought of mechanical creations.

It had to be said that his previous experience with dual cultivation had given Ning Zhuo great inspiration and enlightenment.

Before dual cultivation, he had intended to create a Golden Core-level mechanical body for Yuan Dasheng to help himself make breakthroughs in demonic techniques.

Now, Ning Zhuo had come up with an enticing mechanical design—a puppet that could assist cultivators in accelerating their cultivation!

"I’ve already figured out the path for Yuan Dasheng."

"By using the blood and flesh voluntarily offered by the clansmen, and with Yuan Dasheng able to practice the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique, I can obtain an endless supply of essence blood."

"After purification, this essence blood will become extra essence treasures for my cultivation!"

"As for Yin-Yang dual cultivation…"

Ning Zhuo continued pondering.

The biggest technical challenge lay in how to make the Yin energy grow on its own!

"What if I create a puppet, imbue it with spirituality, and let it practice the techniques it learned in life to increase its Yin energy?"

"If no suitable candidate is available to be made into a puppet, then I must seek out a true scripture, specifically to grow Yin energy."

"That won’t work."

"I practice the techniques of the three sects. If the puppet uses a different method to increase Yin energy, and the Yin energy doesn't grow naturally, it will have the nature of that other method."

"If I absorb too much of it, I will still need to purify it."

"Unless…"

"I create a fourth technique based on the three sects' methods, specifically for growing Yin energy!"

At this thought, Ning Zhuo immediately shook his head.

The method of cultivating all three dantians simultaneously was already extremely rare and precious. Based on his understanding of Yin and Yang and the three sects' methods, it was impossible for him to create a fourth technique.

"This path is not feasible," Ning Zhuo sighed, continuing to immerse himself in deep thought.

…

By now, Ning Jiufan and Zhu Xuanji had already reached the third round of tea.

Ning Jiufan held in his hand a Mechanical Demon General, using it as a major bargaining chip in negotiations, asking Zhu Xuanji to promise to protect the Ning family.

Even if they lost the competition for the Lava Immortal Palace in the future, they would need to arrange for the Ning family to relocate to another Immortal City

.

Furthermore, Ning Jiufan’s clever move was to rope in the Zhou and Zheng families. Without discussing their mutual interests, Ning Jiufan hoped that Zhu Xuanji would extend the same promise to these two families.

Zhu Xuanji pondered for a long time, calculating the cost multiple times, before reluctantly nodding and agreeing.

Thus, the three Golden Core families were overjoyed and immediately signed a higher-level alliance with Zhu Xuanji!

Though Zhu Xuanji had paid a high price, he finally obtained the Mechanical Demon General.

"Once I contribute this, my status within the Lava Immortal Palace will experience a qualitative leap, something akin to a breakthrough!"

"Ah, this was a gamble!"

Zhu Xuanji bet on himself.

In this way, at the crucial moment of competing for the Immortal Palace, he could gain the strong support of the three major families. After defeating the Meng family, there would be no need to arrange for the Zhou, Zheng, and Ning families to relocate.

The exterior of the Mechanical Demon General was ferocious and rough, but inside, the mechanisms were precise and intricate, resembling a human body.

Due to multiple serious injuries, the mechanism was inoperable.

Thus, Zhu Xuanji's next important task was to repair it.

After Zhu Xuanji had thoroughly examined the Mechanical Demon General, his face changed drastically, and his heart sank.

He stared at a piece of the mechanical iron plate in his hand.

A bloodline diagram plate!

"This mechanism's plate is smooth, yet it used to have a true scripture recorded on it."

"Where has the true scripture gone?"

A true scripture is written and infused with true meaning.

Unlike ordinary scriptures, it could perfectly convey the mysteries of the text and the exact meaning the author intended to pass on to others.

The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao.

Words and language often come across as vague and weak.

But not with a true scripture!

"Because it contains true meaning, a true scripture will move on its own if a more suitable host appears."

"Let me take a look…"

Zhu Xuanji activated his Celestial Golden Eyes and also used the Trace Back Art.

The next moment, he saw a scene from the past.

The battlefield was in chaos.

Under the control of the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, the Mechanical Demon General charged through hordes of demon beasts without hesitation.

In the end, it was caught in a moment of vulnerability and was struck down.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit quickly retreated.

The Mechanical Demon General became spoils of war, passing through many hands. But none of them could comprehend the true scripture.

Until one day, a young ape playing around accidentally touched the Mechanical Demon General.

The true scripture on the diagram plate was triggered and immediately transferred from the iron plate into the young ape's body!

"Wait."

"This little ape looks familiar!"

"Strange."

"Why do I have a vague sense of familiarity?"

Zhu Xuanji’s face showed a puzzled expression.