442: Reforged Moon Wheel, Trouble Comes

Xiao Zhuo's steps seemed leisurely and slow, but Han Zhen, despite chasing with all his might for over ten miles, could only watch helplessly as the dark figure merged into the breeze, completely vanishing at the edge of his vision.

He finally ran out of strength, stopping dejectedly, and looked at the empty path ahead, feeling a sense of bewilderment in his heart.

At the same time, several hundred miles outside Nanfeng City, deep within a desolate wilderness where yellow winds howled and strange rocks jutted out.

A brilliant white streak of light plummeted from the sky, precisely shooting into a giant crack in the ground.

The streak of light swiftly traveled through the deep and winding rift valley, eventually disappearing into an inconspicuous dark cave on the rock wall.

Inside the cave, there was a hidden world—continuous rock structures built against the cave walls, forming a secret underground stronghold.

Countless thick, brilliant white light beams stood among them, emitting a cold glow that illuminated the entire giant cave as if it were daytime.

The streak of light flew directly to the deepest part of the cave, entering an ancient-looking triangular tower-shaped building, and was finally held firmly by a large, powerful hand covered in scales.

As the light dissipated, the object within was revealed—a communication jade talisman that was gradually shattering.

The owner of the large hand quickly read the remaining information in the jade talisman.

"Tai Zhao... is dead?" A low voice echoed in the empty hall, filled with unbelievable shock and anger.

After a brief silence, there was an eruption like a volcano!

"Useless! A good-for-nothing who can't accomplish anything but ruins everything!" The roar shook the dust from the tower ceiling, "I told him to bring back that item at all costs! This matter concerns that Lord's grand plan! He couldn't even handle such a small task!"

"Damn it! Damn it!"

The surging killing intent almost solidified, causing the temperature in the hall to plummet.

"Investigate! Go and investigate for me immediately!" The owner of the voice roared sharply, "I want to know who killed Tai Zhao! Most importantly, did that item... fall into someone else's hands!"

In the shadows, several powerful figures silently emerged, bowing to receive their orders:

"Yes, Sect Leader!"

On the other side, Xiao Zhuo had easily entered Nanfeng City.

As a commercial hub on the empire's border, Nanfeng City's defenses were not strict; one only needed to present a Xu State clearance document to enter, which was naturally not an issue for Xiao Zhuo.

He found a quiet inn in the city, settled in, casually set up a few Restrictions, and then began to inspect his gains from this trip.

Tai Zhao's storage ring had ample space; besides the guanting token and a pair of twin moon wheel Magic Treasures, there were mountains of Spirit Stones, sparkling brightly and exuding powerful Spiritual Qi.

Although the Nirvana Realm was filled with Immortal Qi, Spirit Stones were still an important resource for Cultivators below the Immortal Realm to Cultivate—they could not only quickly absorb Spiritual Qi but also incorporate a trace of Immortal Qi during the refining process, significantly purifying True Essence and accelerating the cultivation process.

Furthermore, the ring actually contained ten scaled-down military Magical Artifacts—Spirit Crystal Cannons—neatly arranged!

These were clearly large siege Sharp Weapons used in Sect wars.

The most striking item, however, was a jade box tightly sealed by layers of Restrictions.

It took Xiao Zhuo almost half an incense stick of time to break through the Restrictions; upon opening it, an ancient jade pendant lay quietly inside.

Within the jade pendant, a highly complex and profound grand array diagram was recorded.

"It's actually an Immortal Array-level array diagram..." Xiao Zhuo's fingertip brushed the cold jade pendant, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, "How could a mere Nascent Soul Cultivator possess such an item?"

This was definitely not something a Body Integration Sect like the Di Kun Sect could produce.

There must be something fishy about it.

But he immediately put away the jade pendant, his expression returning to indifference.

In any case, if the Di Kun Sect dared to come looking for trouble, he would simply destroy them.

It would also allow him to collect more types of Spiritual Roots for his research.

His interest in the Spiritual Root system grew stronger.

Preliminary speculation suggested that this cultivation path would eventually allow all Cultivators to entrust their Dao Fruit to the world they created, and allow that world to derive Dao tentacles, forming a complete world. If the world was strong enough, they could directly condense a saint position within their own world when stepping into the saint position, and then, using the Spiritual Root as a medium, completely fuse the world with their Physical Body!

At that time, the Physical Body would be a grand realm, every move carrying the power of a realm, an effect comparable to the blessing of a Great Saint, but without the worry of geographical Restrictions.

The Spiritual Root was precisely the key hub for achieving this perfect Fusion of Physical Body and world.

"The Saint who created this method is truly astonishingly talented!" Xiao Zhuo couldn't help but praise again in his heart.

He took out the Spiritual Root he had extracted from Tai Zhao—a pure and sharp single-attribute wind Spiritual Root, High Grade, which, like his previous ice spiritual root, was a mutated attribute, of comparable quality.

There were fourteen original runes making up this wind Spiritual Root, nine of which Xiao Zhuo had not collected before.

"It seems that to deduce the prototype of a perfect Spiritual Root, I must collect more High Grade Spiritual Root samples," Xiao Zhuo mused to himself.

He grew increasingly curious and expectant about the secrets hidden in the Nirvana Realm.

There was likely only one Saint in this realm, and he was in a dormant state; otherwise, his Split Soul would never have been able to safely sneak in with his memories, and it would have been impossible for his memories to awaken and Breakthrough to the Spirit Transformation Realm without attracting any attention.

Putting away the Spiritual Root, he then took out the pair of twin moon wheel Magic Treasures.

He slightly bent his middle finger and gently flicked the cold, sharp moon blade.

"Ding—!"

A clear, lingering vibration echoed in the room, demonstrating the extraordinary quality of its Material.

"It's actually refined from Earth-Grade Material 'Shattered Star Cold Iron,' but unfortunately, the refining technique is crude and unrefined, the Impurities are not purged, and the Restrictions are mediocre, completely wasting good Materials, resulting in this Medium Grade Profound-Grade appearance," Xiao Zhuo shook his head, feeling quite regretful.

He joined his fingers like a sword and pointed into the air.

The pair of moon wheels suddenly floated up, and wisps of milky white flames surged from Xiao Zhuo's fingertips, instantly enveloping the moon wheels—this was the Free and Natural Pill Fire born during the first stage of the Free and Natural Heavenly Art.

Hiss, hiss, hiss!

The flames licked the moon wheels, emitting faint scorching sounds.

The Restriction runes on the surface melted and peeled away rapidly like ice and snow meeting spring, and many black-gray metallic droplets were forcibly refined out—these were Impurities deeply hidden within the Materials.

After about half an hour, the moon wheels' volume had visibly shrunk by a circle, but their entire bodies became increasingly crystal clear and gleaming with cold light, as if reborn.

Xiao Zhuo withdrew the Pill Fire, and his fingertips suddenly glowed with brilliant golden light, dancing in the air, carving out incredibly complex Restriction runes imbued with Dao rhyme.

Each golden rune, once formed, automatically integrated into the moon wheel's Main Body like swallows returning to their nest.

As the runes continuously integrated, the moon wheels' aura climbed steadily, undergoing a qualitative transformation!

The moment the thirty-sixth Restriction completely integrated, the pair of moon wheels suddenly vibrated, erupting with astonishing sharpness, their cold light surging, their power at least ten times stronger than when they were in Tai Zhao's hands!

"Hmm, my touch hasn't grown rusty," Xiao Zhuo looked at the pair of moon wheel Magic Treasures, now promoted to Earth-Grade High Grade, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes, "They'll suffice for now."

After completing all of this, he lay down on the bed, closing his eyes.

Although he no longer needed sleep, he still enjoyed the feeling of complete relaxation and consciousness drifting, which allowed him to temporarily detach himself from this cruel and tense cultivation world for a moment.

In the middle of the night, the bright moon hung high, its clear light spilling through the window lattice.

Xiao Zhuo's closed eyelids suddenly snapped open!

In the dark room, it was as if two streaks of purple lightning flashed and disappeared.

"As expected, I've attracted tails?" He murmured to himself, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate the walls, looking distantly towards the southern night sky.

Dozens of dark figures were flying through the air, their powerful auras undisguised, their target clear, heading straight for the inn where he was staying!

During the day, he had publicly slain Tai Zhao, and upon entering the city, he had not deliberately concealed his tracks, so it was not surprising that the Di Kun Sect had come knocking.

Xiao Zhuo's lips curved into a subtle arc; far from panicking, his figure blurred, and he vanished from the room like a ghost.

The next moment, he had silently appeared high above Nanfeng City, the night wind rustling his robes.

He had not left but simply floated quietly under the moonlight, as if he had been waiting for their arrival all along.

The dozens of dark figures rapidly approached; the lowest among them were Golden Core Realm Cultivators, with ten Nascent Soul Cultivators, and even three Soul Transformation Cultivators! And the leader, with a profound aura, was clearly a Void Refining expert!

A Soul Transformation Cultivator quickly approached the leader, pointing at Xiao Zhuo's figure and whispering, "Deputy Sect Leader Tan! It's him!"

Tan Hansha's gaze was like lightning, falling upon Xiao Zhuo's overly young face. Feeling the other party's undisguised Late Stage of Spirit Transformation aura, his heart was filled with apprehension and uncertainty.

"Such a young Late Stage of Spirit Transformation... Which major power's Prodigy is he?" Tan Hansha weighed his options, a hint of fear arising in his heart.

But that item was of great importance, involving that Lord from Wind Capital; if it couldn't be recovered, the entire Di Kun Sect would be in danger of annihilation!

Thinking of this, his hesitation vanished, replaced by cold resolve.