Chapter 379: Vajra Spiritual Sense
“Fall for me.” Hua Guzi’s entire magic power was being rapidly consumed.
Wood Element — Sea of Blossoms Tide!
Waves formed from converging petals surged across the battlefield, rushing toward Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo maintained a solemn expression and pushed his palms forward.
Wood Element — Pine Waves and Verdant Tide.
Wood-elemental power surged forth, forming a massive wave of green light that crashed back against the pink tide of blossoms.
Rumble rumble rumble...
The two massive waves collided, each surge following another in an endless torrent, their force astonishing as they shook the entire battlefield and the hearts of the onlookers.
However, the deadlock between them did not last long. The pink tide of blossoms quickly overwhelmed the verdant wave, wave after wave pushing the frontlines toward Ning Zhuo’s position.
The situation on the battlefield became clear.
The spectators began murmuring.
“Ning Zhuo is being suppressed!”
“He’s cultivating some Five Elements spell, but only using Wood Element for offense. He’s not unleashing his full strength.”
“His technique is quite mysterious. He can freely switch among the Five Elements, and when the elements support each other, the enhancement can double. With such a technique, he should be switching to Fire or Metal elements to battle!”
“Well, he’s young. Hot-blooded. Trying to use Wood against Hua Guzi’s Wood Element to test who's better—it’s understandable, haha.”
Ning Zhuo’s expression remained composed.
His Wood Element abilities amounted to just a few basic moves, hastily mastered with the help of the Comprehension Diagram.
Yet, his choice of tactics was not meant to compete with Hua Guzi in the Wood Element, but to verify his true standing through actual combat.
Hua Guzi specialized in Wood-elemental techniques and was among the top ten fighters on Lesser Strife Peak.
Ning Zhuo knew very well that he had invested far less time and effort into Wood Element techniques than Hua Guzi. It would be extremely difficult to defeat her on this front alone.
He had never underestimated the heroes of the world. He simply wanted to test himself—see how his weight measured up against a seasoned Wood Element cultivator like Hua Guzi.
“Hua Guzi crafted a strategy specifically for me.”
“She used delayed strikes to counter my aggressive tactics.”
“Much of my Wood-elemental power has been corroded, absorbed, and transformed to fuel her strength.”
“I’ve learned something.”
“Her realm in Wood-elemental spells completely surpasses mine. That’s how she’s using Wood to suppress Wood.”
“And this reactive strategy of hers—comes with preconditions.”
Ning Zhuo remained calm.
As the sea of blossoms advanced to within five steps of him, he finally deployed his mechanical limbs.
These mechanical limbs were made from Foundation Establishment-grade materials. Their very composition was resistant to the sea of blossoms.
Moreover, they were reinforced with defensive formations and talismans, making each one incredibly solid and sturdy.
They circled around Ning Zhuo for a moment, then launched into attack.
Various martial arts strikes exploded forth, blasting numerous gaps in the sea of blossoms.
Ning Zhuo pressed the advantage, commanding twenty mechanical limbs to completely shatter the red-pink waves of light.
“Puppet Arts!” gasped the crowd.
They had assumed Ning Zhuo would continue using Five Elements spells.
Instead, he suddenly pulled out Puppet Arts and used them with astonishing proficiency.
“Go.” After using the mechanical limbs to clear his surroundings, Ning Zhuo rapidly moved his fingers, manipulating the suspension strings, and directed the limbs to surge straight toward Hua Guzi.
Hua Guzi’s face twisted into a cruel smile. She took a deep breath and activated another Wood-elemental spell.
Thorn Blossom Wall!
Thorns spread rapidly, and within a few breaths, several walls of blossoms formed before her.
Ning Zhuo stepped forward and simultaneously directed the mechanical limbs to unleash martial arts.
Martial Art — Suffering Body!
Martial Art — Frost Fist!
Martial Art — Old Cold Legs!
The mechanical limbs charged headlong, their combat style highly reminiscent of Han Zhou—completely disregarding defense. One after another, they crashed into the Thorn Blossom Walls.
If these had been living bodies, such reckless charges would have torn flesh and spilled blood.
The Thorn Blossom Walls were integrated offense and defense and could have been quite effective.
But these were mechanical constructs, neither flesh nor cultivator. Ning Zhuo had no reservations in sending them forward.
The bitter cold surged wildly. The blooming thorned walls were broken through one after another. The thorns and flowers alike were frozen and annihilated in the icy cold.
Furthermore, because the limbs were imbued with Suffering Body, damage only made them faster, more ferocious, and sturdier in defense.
Hua Guzi’s expression shifted slightly. She leapt backward while casting a new spell.
Wood Element — Violet Flame Blossoms!
Wood-elemental force surged into the air, condensing into several violet flowers the size of millstones.
The blossoms bloomed. The petals spun like pinwheels, and from their centers sprayed flames.
The flames were tinged with purple and red. When they landed on Wood-elemental plants and flowers, they caused no harm. But when they touched the mechanical constructs, they clung and burned fiercely.
Martial Art — Pouring Bitter Water!
After sparring many days with Han Zhou, and having absorbed the bitter-cold energy used to forge Bitter Water, Ning Zhuo had attained strong mastery over these martial arts.
He quickly directed a mechanical fist to shift hand forms, adopting the pose of Drunken Fist, and cast a martial art toward the surrounding limbs.
In an instant, bitter cold energy condensed and compressed into handfuls of Bitter Water, dousing the surrounding limbs and extinguishing the violet flames.
The mechanical limbs supported one another. Not only did they eliminate the burning flames, but the Bitter Water enhanced the power of the Suffering Body technique.
Boom boom boom!
The mechanical limbs surged in speed. Previously like flying birds, now they were like cannonballs.
They shot toward Hua Guzi.
Wood Element — Fragrant Blossom Evasion.
Hua Guzi realized her speed was no match. She couldn’t dodge in time, so she cast a spell, vanishing on the spot, leaving behind only lingering fragrance and faint traces.
Bang bang bang!
The mechanical limbs smashed the spot where she vanished, shattering the ground into countless fragments, sending debris flying and dust rolling. The earth trembled continuously.
The spectators fell silent.
No one had expected the tide of battle to turn so swiftly.
The moment Ning Zhuo deployed his mechanical limbs, the advantage reversed. Now he was on the offensive, driving Hua Guzi into retreat.
“Wasn’t he a Five Elements cultivator?”
“How is he this skilled at Puppet Arts?!”
“No—his control over mechanisms seems even more refined than his Wood Element spells!”
All eyes turned to Ning Zhuo. Many wore complicated expressions.
Ning Zhuo was only sixteen years old.
To have already mastered Tree World Descent and other Wood-elemental spells at his age was rare enough.
Everyone had assumed those were the core of his strength. Yet in this battle, Ning Zhuo unveiled his mechanical limbs and a shockingly adept control...
People began to realize—perhaps they didn’t truly understand Ning Zhuo.
They started to suspect that Ning Zhuo was hiding something. He might be far deeper than he appeared.
Hua Guzi was being forced to flee in all directions!
The martial arena was only so large, and with the limbs moving so quickly, even if she could teleport short distances, they would often catch up in no time.
“Ning Zhuo! Don’t get too arrogant!!” Hua Guzi shrieked.
She knew the tide had turned against her. If she didn’t unleash her trump card now, she would truly lose.
Wood Element — Floral Illusion World!
In the next instant, Ning Zhuo’s vision shifted drastically. The martial arena vanished, replaced by a world composed entirely of blooming flowers.
“Illusion technique!” Ning Zhuo immediately understood.
Inside the Puppet Dragon, Sun Lingtong also tensed. His eyes lit with spiritual brilliance, piercing through the illusion to see Hua Guzi charging at Ning Zhuo.
“Little Zhuo…” Sun Lingtong felt a trace of concern and prepared to act. If Ning Zhuo was in danger, he would activate the Puppet Dragon to protect him.
But just then, the mechanical limbs suddenly radiated Buddhist light.
One by one, the golden radiance burst forth like giant hands, effortlessly tearing apart the entire Floral Illusion World.
Hua Guzi’s face turned pale with shock. She felt terrifying spiritual force, as if a barrage of vajra staffs smashed into her sea of consciousness.
“How could his spiritual sense be this strong?! Ahh—” Just as she neared Ning Zhuo, her seven orifices spurted blood—she suffered a severe internal blow.
Her illusion spell, Floral Illusion World, required her full spiritual involvement. Through spiritual sense projection, she could obscure a target’s five senses and perception.
However, Ning Zhuo’s spiritual sense had suddenly grown immensely stronger. Like pouring water on fire—but when the fire is a raging inferno, a mere cup of water not only fails to extinguish it but is itself evaporated.
“Hm?!” At that moment, Sun Lingtong’s eyes widened in joyous surprise.
He hadn’t expected Ning Zhuo to possess such a technique.
“What happened?”
Using the Wanli Dragon for reconnaissance, he quickly discovered that all twenty mechanical limbs Ning Zhuo controlled were unleashing strong waves of spiritual force.
“Oh! Vajra Mirror!!” Sun Lingtong realized.
Back in the mountain village of Misty Hidden Mountain, he had once tested spiritual senses with Ning Zhuo and learned that the Mirror Platform Spirit Technique’s spiritual sense underwent qualitative change when combined with certain items.
Later, after leaving Misty Hidden Mountain and arriving at Myriad Medicines Valley, he knew that Ning Zhuo had forged Vajra Mirror artifacts.
“So, these mechanical limbs contain Vajra Mirrors.”
Sun Lingtong found it ingenious.
These Vajra Mirrors could receive Ning Zhuo’s spiritual sense, then relay and amplify it.
Ning Zhuo’s Mirror Platform Spirit Technique, after being transmitted through these mirrors, had become overwhelmingly forceful—crushing Hua Guzi’s Floral Illusion World through sheer might!
Hua Guzi’s spiritual sense suffered heavy damage. Her sea of consciousness churned violently, her head spinning and dizzy—she nearly fainted on the spot.
With her rich combat experience, she swiftly switched from offense to defense and retreated in panic.
Ning Zhuo failed to capitalize on the moment, missing the opportunity. Vines lashed out but caught only air.
Hua Guzi retrieved a series of dumplings from her storage bracelet, swallowing them one by one whole. Her condition rapidly recovered.
This reminded Ning Zhuo of related intelligence—Hua Guzi was not only a skilled fighter, but also a Spirit Chef, well-versed in the culinary arts of cultivation.