Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master - Chapter 1507

Chapter 1507: Chapter 619: Blood Ash Tinder! (Part 2)

The Blood Ash Tinder circled Ning Zhuo’s palm once before finally settling into the scarlet gray mark, lying dormant with only a trace of warmth lingering under the skin.

Ning Zhuo slowly opened his eyes.

His face was a bit pale, and a fine layer of sweat covered his forehead. Mana, Essence Blood, and Divine Sense were all severely depleted.

“What a pity.” Ning Zhuo gently sighed, “The incantations are too incomplete, this is as far as I could go. I can barely achieve medium refinement and temporarily borrow the fire, but it cannot be considered true mastery.”

The Red Robe Guest quietly sighed in relief.

If Ning Zhuo had achieved a deep refinement on his first comprehension, his years of expertise with the Blood Ash Tinder as a Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator would have been a little undermined, though he maintained his calm exterior. He withdrew the stone bowl with a flick of his sleeve, his tone richer with meaning: “Not satisfied with medium refinement? This fire has been with me for years. Many Golden Core Cultivators have tried, yet they couldn’t even utter the first line of the incantation fluently. In less than thirty minutes, you could bring the fire into your palm, and you say it’s merely a struggle?”

Ning Zhuo gave a wry smile: “I am not being modest. I did attempt the Demon Path, but it’s not quite suited for me. In terms of Demon Path talent, I am indeed limited.”

The Red Robe Guest snorted coldly, finally showing a hint of displeasure: “Saying that in front of me is perhaps too humble. If you think you lack talent, those so-called Demon Path prodigies out there might as well shut themselves in for thirty years to reconsider their lives.”

Ning Zhuo was speechless for a moment and could only bow his hands.

The Red Robe Guest looked at him, a fleeting glance of appreciation in his eyes, which quickly returned to the typical arrogance and composure of a Nascent Soul elder.

“I lend you this fire,” he said slowly, “but remember, the Blood Ash is no ordinary Fire Seed. It can counter the Flowing Gold Guest, but also harm you. Before using it, you must pave the way with incantations, bind it with mana, and use Essence Blood as a guide. If the sacrificial pattern in your palm heats up three times, stop immediately, do not become greedy.”

The Red Robe Guest continued: “You are the core of my Nanming Village. In the third battle, you must create glory again! If the Flowing Gold Guest manages to refine some Golden Blood Pill Pearl, this fire can counter it. The more potent the Golden Blood, the more pathways there are for the fire. But don’t assume that with a single Fire Seed you can secure victory. Those backing him, daring to push him forward again, must have new methods.”

Ning Zhuo nodded solemnly: “I understand.”

The Red Robe Guest looked at Ning Zhuo and suddenly smiled: “As for the matter of the Sun Raising Yang Locking Cloud Altar, I agreed.”

Ning Zhuo looked up.

Leaning back completely onto the Fire Bed, the Red Robe Guest spread out his red robe: “You’re right. If we let Chun Yangzi take this place alone, he will only become more of an eyesore. Better I also contribute, bringing this treasure land under Nanming Village. By then, if he wants to use it, I can make it less comfortable for him.”

He paused, his tone flat yet unquestionable: “The Red Sunset Residual Fire, Cloud Flame Dan Sand, I have a priority right to extract them. Since there is a Fire Vein here, I am not making this trip in vain.”

Ning Zhuo solemnly stated: “Understood. I will remember your help today, Senior.”

The Red Robe Guest waved his hand, his demeanor regaining some laziness: “Go on. Don’t talk too much flowery words here. If you completely settle the Flowing Gold Guest in the third battle, then come to thank me later.”

Ning Zhuo smiled wryly, bowed with respect, and took his leave.

Ning Zhuo returned to his Cave Mansion.

Inside the Martial Arts Array, Ning Zhuo, alone, took out a few old mechanical accessories and half-broken talisman boards.

He extended his hand, looking at his palm.

In his palm, the scarlet gray sacrificial pattern was hidden below the flesh, almost imperceptible at first glance. Only when he slightly circulated mana would the pattern reveal a dark red gleam, like an ancient lamp half-buried in ash and dust.

The Blood Ash Tinder hadn’t truly entered his Qi Sea but was temporarily residing within the sacrificial pattern, subtly tugging at his Blood Qi.

Ning Zhuo softly chanted the incomplete incantations. The ancient and tongue-twisting syllables rolled off his lips, causing the sacrificial pattern in his palm to emit a faint red light.

Immediately, a small flame stood erect at his fingertip.

The Blood Ash Tinder did not behave like ordinary flames, being wild and unruly. Its flame was fine and condensed, dark crimson like the glow emerging from blood jade.

Ning Zhuo guided it towards a broken mechanical bird wing bone. The flame lightly licked along the inner side of the wing bone’s old array patterns, incinerating the residual impurities into fine ash, which then settled into the bamboo patterns deeper within.

“Indeed suitable for artifact refining as well.” Ning Zhuo’s eyes brightened slightly.

The incineration by the Blood Ash could turn impurities into fine ash, and these fine ashes contained Ning Zhuo’s Essence Blood. When imprinted into the artifact embryo’s patterns, it was akin to another form of Blood Refining.

Ning Zhuo could clearly feel the connection between himself and the broken mechanical bird wing bone deepening.

He brought out another broken talisman board, using a hint of his own Blood Qi as a guide, allowing the Blood Ash flame to slowly traverse from the cracked edge of the talisman board. Instead of simply scorching the crack, it seemed as though the crack was groomed by a fine needle, with the once chaotic spiritual path gradually becoming clear. Many originally blocked fine lines were exposed as connectable points by the Blood Ash’s touch.

Ning Zhuo silently praised: “This fire is excellent for repairs, and can perform delicately.”

Ning Zhuo then instructed Chef to provide the ingredients—a mountain wild boar.

The wild boar was not a demon beast, but its vitality was much more robust than mortal beasts, with bristles like needles and tusks protruding. It was bound by Chef with rough hemp rope, and even when thrown into the Martial Arts Array, it continued to struggle frantically, crashing into the ground with loud bangs.

Ning Zhuo flicked his finger.

A small dark red spark flew out, lazily landing on the wound on the wild boar’s front leg where the rope had rubbed it raw.

Hiss.

The sound was extremely light, like a hot needle falling into thin snow.

The wild boar continued to struggle, completely unaware.

Ning Zhuo patiently waited and sensed.

After a moment, a thin red line emerged beneath the wild boar’s skin.

The red line traveled along the blood vessels, spreading from the front leg to the shoulder and back, splitting into several thin branches, like a very thin, very bright fire net slowly unfurling beneath the skin.

The massive body of the boar suddenly arched, its four hooves pawing the ground simultaneously, while a series of shrill cries erupted from its throat.

The fire net continued to expand, causing the wild boar’s blood to boil and muscles to twitch, turning its originally savage struggles into disorder.

It wanted to ram, but its front and hind legs grew weak.

It wanted to roar, yet its breath was cut off halfway in its throat.

It wanted to flip and escape, but the muscles on its back spasmed, leaving it only able to tremble in place, its movements completely incoherent.

Ning Zhuo infused his Divine Sense into the boar’s body.

He discovered: the blood flow within the wild boar, originally surging like a stream, was now filled with countless tiny red ashes sinking into it.

These ashes were extremely light, traveling with the blood, like fine sand falling into gears, causing the blood vessels to stop and start, sometimes even chaotically surging.

After a dozen breaths, dark red fire patterns simultaneously appeared on the boar’s abdomen, neck, and back.

Its cries were no longer shrill, but instead turned hoarse and intermittent, with hot mist spraying from its nostrils, containing extremely fine red ash that fell on the ground and surprisingly scorched several needle-point-sized black dots into the limestone.

Ning Zhuo’s thoughts flickered slightly, he raised his hand and guided, making the sacrificial patterns in his palm glow faintly. The Blood Ash Tinder was restrained by the incantations, causing the fire to suddenly retract.

The wild boar lay prone on the ground, panting heavily, its body still trembling.

Its surface didn’t bear large scorch marks, the fur was even intact, but the Qi and blood within were already in complete disarray.

Ning Zhuo pondered.

“Ordinary Fire Techniques injure externally, destroying flesh, burning bones.”

“But the Blood Ash is different.”

“It follows the blood, burns the blood, finally disrupting the circulation of the blood vessels.”

If the enemy’s Qi and blood are not vigorous, the power may not be apparent. But if the enemy’s Qi and blood are strong, and recovery is robust, with the blood itself as the foundation of power, then this Tinder will have the best fuel.

“Flowing Gold Guest’s Golden Liquid Returning Pill Body is also like this.”

“Golden Blood as a source, Golden Blood as life.”

If the Blood Ash Tinder can enter his body, continually burning the blood, continually laying down layers of fine ash within his most relied upon blood circulation, over time, it will surely make him become increasingly sluggish, his battle power significantly decline.

“However, this fire is ultimately difficult to control, with limited time.”

Ning Zhuo’s palm sacrificial patterns began to heat up for the first time.

He immediately withdrew the Tinder.

Red lines flowed out from the wild boar’s body, converging back into the small fire at his fingertips. After losing the Tinder’s guidance, the wild boar continued to lie prone on the ground, its Qi and blood rawly surging, unable to calm for a long time.

Ning Zhuo attempted to take out an ordinary Healing Pill and fed it into the boar’s mouth.

After observing for a moment, Ning Zhuo’s eyes brightened further: “Even interfering with healing from elixirs, it shows elixirs can hardly affect the Blood Ash.”

Ning Zhuo looked one last time at the wild boar.

The wild boar was not dead, but appeared as if it had been seriously ill, lying on the ground no longer ferocious as before. Its internal Qi and blood still required time to sort themselves out, even with the aid of the medicinal power of the elixir, it was difficult to recover immediately.

“Blood Ash Tinder does not seek to kill in one hit, but to create internal chaos, taking time to manifest increasingly remarkable effects.”

Ning Zhuo sat silently for a while, waited for his palm sacrificial patterns to completely settle, then slowly opened his eyes.

“This is a card.”

“But it can’t be revealed early, nor used frequently.”

“The timing of its use in actual combat is very important.”