Immortal Creation.

Chapter 743 I Burn My Soul for the Righteous Path

Qingshi Cave.

"Young master, you're back." The old cook greeted him. "Sun Tongzi hasn't returned yet. Qingchi is practicing combat with your mechanical puppet in the martial arts formation."

The cook gave a brief report. In his view, Sun Lingtong was merely Ning Zhuo's page, and therefore he often called Sun Lingtong "boy".

Ning Zhuo nodded: "I'll trouble you, Master Chef, to prepare a spiritual dish for me. I want a dark cuisine. Have it delivered to the inner space of the array in half an hour."

Ning Zhuo, whose life hung by a thread, was very clear about Sun Lingtong's movements, who was returning from Qianzhao Peak.

But Qingchi...

"Her rehearsals with Xuecai Nu Hui have increased significantly recently."

Ning Zhuo arrived at the martial arts formation and entered the formation, where he saw Qing Chi and Xue Cai Nu Hui fighting back and forth.

Ning Zhuo watched the battle for a moment and nodded secretly.

Although Qingchi has lost his memory, his physical body remains intact and his temperament is the same. Therefore, in battle, he uses many techniques naturally and already displays much of the flair he had before losing his memory.

However, she still couldn't defeat Xue Cai Nu Hui.

The latter is made of materials at the Golden Core level, which far surpasses Qing Chi, who is at the Foundation Establishment stage, in terms of foundation.

"But if Qing Chi regains control of her talent and uses it in battle, the outcome may be unpredictable."

Ning Zhuo had witnessed Qing Chi's domineering nature many times, and it left a deep impression on him.

“If it were an ordinary mechanical puppet, even one made of materials at the Golden Core level, it would be difficult to withstand the Azure Flame. However, Xue Cai Nu Hui also possesses talent and might be able to put up a fight.”

In Ning Zhuo's view, both sides have enormous room for improvement.

"Young Master, you're back?" Seeing Ning Zhuo enter the formation, Qing Chi was overjoyed. He immediately abandoned his battle with Xue Cai Nu Hui, took a step back to create distance, and rushed to Ning Zhuo's side.

The ghost girl's upturned face was full of affection for Ning Zhuo.

Although she had lost her memory, her feelings for Ning Zhuo had become even purer. As time went by, these feelings grew stronger again.

Ning Zhuo nodded slightly to her and glanced at Xue Cai Nu Hui.

The latter crossed her arms, tilted her head slightly back, and looked down at Ning Zhuo with her nostrils, clearly maintaining her arrogance even towards a master like Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo waved to Qing Chi: "You may all leave now. I'll use this place."

"Yes, young master." Qing Chi obeyed Ning Zhuo's every word, but before leaving, he still looked at him expectantly and asked, "Young master, when will we continue learning talisman making? I have many questions to ask you."

The girl's enthusiasm for talisman making was excessively intense.

This question has been asked many times, but Ning Zhuo has been very busy since entering the main gate of the Myriad Manifestations Sect and has repeatedly refused.

This time is no exception.

"As for talisman making, you and Xue Cai Nu Hui can discuss and exchange ideas." Ning Zhuo waved his hand. Although he knew that entrusting Qing Chi to the mechanical puppet was unreliable, he did have more important things to do.

Once he was alone in the space within the formation, he sat cross-legged on the futon and took out the Merit Pagoda.

This small tower was given to me voluntarily by the old man surnamed Cang. It was an unclaimed item and not difficult to refine.

Ning Zhuo acted swiftly and decisively, employing a three-pronged approach!
He spread his five fingers wide with his left hand and pressed them against the exquisite pagoda floating in front of him. In an instant, five-colored light flowed from his fingertips, and the five elements flew in and instantly wrapped around the entire Pagoda of Merit.

The azure lotus petals at the base of the pagoda unfurled slightly, greedily absorbing the pure five elements' magical power. The jade-colored light on the petals circulated faster, emitting a soft hum. The illusory images of the eight hundred Arhats on the glazed pagoda seemed to become clearer in the golden glow, responding to the infusion of magical power.

This is a method of cultivation.

At the same time, Ning Zhuo's brow lit up slightly, and a condensed divine thought, as solid as a substance, crashed into the core of the Merit Pagoda!
Divine Refinement Initiated!

The complex and profound magical barriers and circuits inside the tower were clearly reflected in his sea of ​​consciousness.

His divine sense spread rapidly, penetrating at breakneck speed, carrying an unquestionable will to control.

The speed of his divine sense probing and penetrating slowed down, as Ning Zhuo's understanding of Buddhism and the demonic sects was not high. But at this moment, the Buddha Heart Demon Seal suddenly emitted a radiant light. Golden Sanskrit characters and profound demonic intent appeared on the seal, and it followed his divine sense into the Merit Pagoda.

In an instant, the faint rejection and resistance from Ningzhuo Divine Refinement Pagoda vanished, and some of it even turned into a force welcoming him.

The obstacles to the divine refinement were greatly reduced instantly, and the divine sense imprint spread across the core magical restriction at a speed far exceeding common sense, quickly stabilizing itself.

The divine refinement progressed rapidly. With a solemn expression, he joined his right hand like a sword, forcing out a drop of his life essence blood from his fingertip.

Blood Refinement!
The essence and blood fell into the prayer beads at the top of the pagoda and were quickly absorbed by them.

Demon-stained blood muscle skill!

A crimson glow shimmered, forming blood-red veins on the pagoda's surface. Like living, demonic vines, they spread wildly from the Dharani beads, extending both inside and outside the pagoda!
Crimson veins, like a fine spiderweb, instantly covered the crystal-clear glass tower. They domineeringly covered the emerging phantoms of the eight hundred Arhats, but the refining process was slow.

The golden glow and the blood-red light intertwined and entangled, creating a contradictory yet awe-inspiring effect.

However, when the blood tendons reached a certain level within the tower, their speed was incredibly rapid and brutal, even more efficient than divine refining.

The three supreme methods are simultaneously activated!
Divine refinement, Dharma refinement, blood refinement, and also the contribution after the Buddha Heart Demon Seal was triggered.

Ordinary cultivators will only choose one method to refine a treasure. After all, most people's cultivation techniques only focus on cultivating one dantian. Of the three methods of refining treasures, they only have one that is the most powerful, while the other two are almost negligible.

But Ning Zhuo is not like that.

He cultivates all three dantians simultaneously, allowing him to use three different methods of refining treasures at the same time, which complement each other, resulting in astonishingly high efficiency.

The pagoda hummed and trembled continuously. In just a moment, the trembling reached its peak, emitting a clear, long, and melodious hum that seemed to cleanse the soul!

The five elements of light surrounding the tower suddenly contracted inward and disappeared. The spreading blood vessels changed from violent to docile, like exquisite dark red patterns, deeply imprinted within the glazed tiles and on the lotus platform, merging with the tower's body. Meanwhile, the divine consciousness penetrating the core silently completed the imprinting and complete control over the core magical restrictions.

The buzzing sound disappeared, and the Pagoda of Merit became completely quiet, its entire body radiating a layer of warm and restrained light that was perfectly integrated with Ning Zhuo's aura.

Ning Zhuo mobilized his divine sense, and it transformed into a stream of light, disappearing into Ning Zhuo's upper dantian between his eyebrows—incomparably docile, as easy to use as an arm!

Upon entering the Floating Pagoda of Merit in the upper dantian, golden light immediately dissipated. Intending to stretch out his body, he was suddenly trembled by the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, and the golden light spreading across the pagoda instantly receded, disappearing entirely into the pagoda and being suppressed without a doubt.

Ning Zhuo was not surprised by this scene: "Although both the Buddha Heart Demon Seal and the Merit Pagoda are magic treasures and have the function of suppressing fortune, there are still huge differences between magic treasures."

"The main materials in the Pagoda of Merit are at most at the Golden Core level. But my Buddha Heart Demon Seal is a perfect whole, and I can't even confirm the level of the main materials."

"The Pagoda of Merit suppresses fortune, but it is limited to the individual and cannot benefit relatives and friends. However, the Demon Seal of the Buddha's Heart should be comparable to the real Pagoda of Merit, and can suppress the fortune of an organization."

Since the Floating Pagoda of Merit was "living a stifled life" in the upper dantian of the divine sea, Ning Zhuo used his divine sense to move it from the upper dantian to the middle dantian.

Within the middle dantian, the Floating Pagoda of Merit seemed to emanate from the air, its body trembling slightly as it once again emitted bursts of golden light.

It wanted to occupy the center, but the center of the middle dantian was always a tornado of five elements' magical power.

The Pagoda of Merit tried its hand at the competition, but finding it couldn't compete, it settled for a quiet corner.

Upon seeing this, Ning Zhuo then directed the Merit Pagoda to the lower dantian.

Even in the heart of the Sea of ​​Essence, the Blood Pool still occupies the space, leaving no room for the Pagoda of Merit.

As Ning Zhuo stayed at the Gongye Pagoda, the golden light and Buddha's glow were quite different from the environment of the Jinghai, and he immediately felt awkward.

After three attempts, Ning Zhuo finally transferred the Pagoda of Merit back to his dantian in his dantian. "I used three methods of refining treasures, and all of them were successful, so the treasure can be stored in the upper, middle, and lower dantians."

"But clearly, this magic weapon is most suitable for the middle dantian. The Five Elements Qi Regulation Technique is ultimately neutral and balanced, while the Divine Sea and Essence Sea are clearly biased towards Buddha and Demon respectively!"

"Besides that, there is another reason—this merit pagoda has something special about it—it is a combination of treasures."

Ning Zhuo had already successfully refined the magic weapon and completely mastered it, having a clear understanding of its internal structure.

The pagoda has three stories.

The first floor resembled a prison cell. In the center stood a crimson crystal furnace. The furnace walls emitted a murky, dark light, and within it burned a wisp of embers.

The second floor resembled a study. A purple aura supported a jade table, on which lay a thread-bound book. The words "A Treatise on Evaluation and Discussion of Merit and Achievements" were prominently displayed on the cover.

The third level resembled a temple. In the center stood a large, black stone throne, upon which rested a wooden statue of a judge. Divine energy flowed from the wooden statue, clearly indicating that the divine invocation had been successful.

"The Blazing Fire, the Sinful Flame, the Vengeful Poisonous Pyro, the Bloodstained Blaze, and the Crimson Filth Spirit Burn are all lower-level fire varieties of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire. They possess certain characteristics of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, but their power and effectiveness are much smaller than that of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire at the same scale."

"The true essence of the Merit Pagoda must be the Red Lotus Karmic Fire. However, the pagoda given to the top scholar uses a lower-level fire instead."

Even though it was just a fire, Ning Zhuo was delighted.

After all, this is a spark.

Throughout his travels, he has only obtained the Fire of Wood once, and he has already used it up.

Of course, in terms of value for alchemy and weapon crafting, the fire from the wood is far inferior to the fire from the wood.

"The Book of Evaluation and Discussion of Merits and Achievements..." Ning Zhuo was also very familiar with this method.

This method originated from Confucianism, but it has spread so widely that it is now widely used in the cultivation world!

The creator of the "Book of Merit Evaluation and Performance" was Ding Ming, a great Confucian scholar. It draws on the righteous energy of heaven and earth and applies the principles of humanity and law, thus enabling it to measure merits and punish crimes, and evaluate the achievements of individuals. It serves as the standard for governing the country and selecting civil and military officials in the cultivation world.

"It is said that Ding Ming, the Duke of Dingwen, was well-versed in the classics of Confucianism. He used the Book of Documents to establish the 'Nine Bestowments for Rewarding Merit,' the Rites of Zhou to transform the 'Six Methods of Performance Evaluation,' the Classic of Filial Piety to clarify loyalty, integrity, filial piety, and righteousness, and the Spring and Autumn Annals to distinguish between people and their affairs. In the process of creating the Book of Evaluation of Merit and Deeds, he experienced several natural disasters and calamities, which almost exhausted the vast cultural heritage of the Jixia Academy before finally succeeding with great difficulty."

The statue of the judge on the third floor of the pagoda is also essential.

"A simple 'Merit Evaluation and Deeds Record' is merely a human means. Successfully invoking the gods and relying on their supernatural powers allows one to draw upon the power of heaven and earth."

"The combination of these two aspects is the cornerstone of the Merit Pagoda's power to distinguish between merit and sin."

"The true essence of the pagoda, its merits and achievements, consists of only six components."

"The base of the pagoda is a lotus platform with auspicious leaves, the body of the pagoda is made of formless glazed glass, and the top of the pagoda is a dharani bead of cause and effect. In addition, there is the first layer of red lotus karmic fire, the second layer of the 'Book of Merit Evaluation and Karma Discussion,' and the third layer of the statue of the judge of the underworld."

"The one I have in my hand doesn't have the Red Lotus Karmic Fire; I used the Blazing Fire instead. The materials used for the base, body, and top of the tower are only at the Golden Core level."

"The statue of the original deity and the 'Book of Merit Evaluation' must be of a higher level."

This is the art of combining tools.

Normal magical artifacts and implements are made by using and refining various precious materials to create a tightly unified whole. For example, even the Buddha Heart Demon Seal in Ning Zhuo's possession could not be identified by him as to what precious materials were used.

A pagoda of merit is like a basic framework that is built and then filled with precious materials or treasures.

The base of the pagoda is a lotus platform with auspicious leaves; the body is made of formless glazed glass; and the top is a dharani bead representing cause and effect, forming a basic framework. The first layer, made of red lotus karmic fire, is a precious material; the second and third layers can be customized and replaced according to individual needs.

This approach has both advantages and disadvantages. The most obvious advantage is that it allows you to combine magical artifacts and precious materials to create new and wonderful uses.

Following Ning Zhuo's instructions, the old cook brought the prepared spiritual food to activate the array. Sun Lingtong followed him into the array.

“These are the souls that Yu Heye and I bought together.” Sun Lingtong handed Ning Zhuo many gray pottery jars.

The old chef's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked if he could have some so he could make some culinary disasters.

Ning Zhu shook his head: "I can use all of these."

As he spoke, he took out the Pagoda of Merit and, in front of the two of them, activated this magical artifact.

For a Foundation Establishment cultivator like him to activate a magic weapon is naturally strenuous. The Five Elements Qi Regulation Technique is not known for its storage capacity either.

However, Ning Zhuo only chose to detect the souls of those in the Qi Refining stage. This was completely like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

Therefore, in just a few breaths, the Gongye Pagoda reacted.

The Floating Pagoda of Merit and Achievement was seen humming and trembling, and the Dharani Bead of Cause and Effect at the top of the pagoda was flashing in black and white, constantly changing.

The fire blazed fiercely.

The "Book of Merit Evaluation and Moral Assessment" on the second floor automatically turned its pages, and on the blank pages, blood-red characters grew wildly like a waterfall, revealing one crime after another.

He kicked over a beggar's bowl for amusement...

They falsely claimed that the Linggu harvest was reduced and deducted money from the tenants' wages...

Slaughtering mortal villages to forge the Hundred Soul Banner...

Lure fellow cultivators to explore ancient tombs and become their scapegoats...

Stealing Master's Foundation Establishment Pill and framing Junior Brother...

There are very few lines of gold text, for example:

I'll share half a piece of cake with my dying old dog...

The lost hairpin was returned to the weeping girl...

Finally, the industrial pagoda stopped trembling, and the prayer beads at its top turned completely black. Bloodstained words covered the inscription on the "Merit Evaluation Book." The aura emanating from the statue gradually dissipated.

Ning Zhuo nodded, confirming that the seller had not lied. At least these Qi Refining stage souls were all heinous criminals, whose crimes were too numerous to count.

The big-headed boy waved away the old cook, leaving Sun Lingtong behind, and began to use the Burning Boat Soul Transfer Technique.

Although he can draw upon the Soul Cloth for sustainable development, he still needs to use it to his full potential at least once to accumulate this valuable experience.

The soul was set ablaze, emitting a piercing wail amidst the flames.

Ning Zhuo escaped his soul and plunged into it. The ignited soul transformed into a soul boat, which continued to burn, carrying Ning Zhuo's soul.

A few breaths later, the soul boat dissipated, and Ning Zhuo's soul, which had become at least three ounces heavier, successfully returned to his physical body.

Ning Zhuo opened his eyes and said righteously, "Good! As the saying goes, evil must be eradicated completely. These criminals all deserve to die. Eliminating them can be considered as making a contribution to the righteous path of humanity."

Sun Lingtong looked around, puzzled. "There are no outsiders here, just the two of us. Why are you saying all this?"

"Cough cough." Ning Zhuo coughed twice.

Sun Lingtong rolled her eyes at him. She had watched Ning Zhuo grow up and knew him too well. She urged him directly, "Tell me quickly, what did you gain this time?"

Ning Zhuo explained the situation truthfully, leaving Sun Lingtong speechless.

After a long pause, Sun Lingtong finally reacted and shouted, "Little brother, are you trying to fly away?!"

(End of this chapter)