Devour

Chapter 372: Secret Meeting

Nie Ziqiong blushed and smiled awkwardly, "Misfortunes never come alone. All the unfortunate timings have come together."

Cheng Bai pretended to be strolling leisurely, pretending to be unaware of the situation. Jinlian folded her arms over her chest, turning a deaf ear to the situation, and just looked up at the sky as she strolled.

Ningxiang's beautiful eyes moved, and she smiled calmly as she said, "Tianning Village has just experienced a great disaster. How can I have the heart to have fun? Prince Nie does not need to worry about trivial matters."

Nie Ziqiong smiled and said, "The celebration banquet at Xiangmanlou will be ready immediately..."

The bald, round-faced elder poured cold water on the situation again, saying, "Your Highness, although Xiangmanlou hasn't been affected by the disaster, we're extremely short of fish, meat, wine, and food. I'll send someone to Adu City to stock up immediately. I'm afraid we won't be able to entertain our guests until tomorrow!"

Nie Ziqiong was stunned: "The Tumin Society is in such a dire situation now, and he revealed it all!"

Ningxiang softly consoled him, "The village is in such a mess that it needs to be rectified. I've been fighting all this time and am exhausted, so I'd better return to the palace and rest. It won't be too late to visit Xiangmanlou tomorrow."

Seeing that she had made up her mind, Nie Ziqiong didn't want to force her. He smiled bitterly and said goodbye, "The Emperor's daughter's arrangement couldn't be better! We will be waiting for your arrival tomorrow at 3:30 PM."

Ningxiang nodded lightly as a signal, and she and Cheng Bai and others quickened their pace to meet Zixuan and Qian Buduo.

Nie Ziqiong watched the beautiful woman walk away. After a long moment, he turned his head and pursed his lips at the bald, round-faced elder, asking, "This elder is unfamiliar. What's your name?"

"I am Diao Zha, ranked 49th in the Elders' Council. I have always put self-denial and dedication to public service first. Please feel free to give me your orders, Your Highness." Diao Zha bowed with a smile.

Nie Ziqiong felt a little dissatisfied with the repeated address of "Crown Prince". Since he hadn't yet inherited the throne of Beiwei Kingdom, he had never felt anything wrong in the past, but today, in front of Ningxiang, he felt as if he had lost his status.

He shook his head helplessly and said, "Does Elder Diao have a ranking on the Heavenly Ladder?"

Diao Zha chuckled and said, "I rarely leave the village and travel the world, so I'm not well-known in the world. I'm ranked 762nd on the Heavenly Ladder List."

Nie Ziqiong was quite disappointed and couldn't help but ask, "Are all the elders in the council dead? Only one dregs left?"

Diao Zha didn't understand and responded flatteringly, "There is indeed only one of me left in the Elders' Council, struggling to hold the whole situation together. I hope the prince will make use of me more!"

Nie Ziqiong said earnestly, "Elder Diao must train more elite talents. Perhaps with their outstanding achievements, they can soon be promoted to the Elder Council."

Diao Zha took this as praise and said happily, "I'm grateful for your promotion, Your Highness! I will definitely live up to your trust."

Nie Ziqiong swept off his feet, leaving behind a message: "When Grand Elder Tu He recovers from his injuries and comes out of retreat, you should ask him and Village Chief Min to come to Xiang Man Lou to see me. This is an urgent matter, and we'll discuss this at the beginning of the evening hour."

Although Cheng Bai walked away, he didn't dare to relax. He used his Phoenix Force to capture the slightest movement behind him and kept a close eye on him: "What are they going to discuss tonight? Are they discussing how to deal with the army led by Sister Yingying?"

Zi Xuan saw everyone and said with a look of as if she was on the edge of an abyss: "Just now when the situation in the room was mysterious, an aura suddenly surged in that made me tremble with fear. The aura of a noble rank was so powerful that I didn't dare to move at all."

Cheng Bai speculated, "Is it because the underworld suddenly appeared in the strange space? Senior, your perception is sharp, and I, who was there myself, was unable to discern the clues."

Zixuan waved her claws back and forth in denial, "No! It definitely didn't come from inside the house, but from somewhere outside. Even I can't tell where it went. I'm afraid it's a hidden master who happened to be passing by or was spying on me on purpose."

Jin Lian thought for a moment and said, "Can you make Elder Zi Xuan feel terrified and have difficulty distinguishing his location? There are very few people like you in the Five Continents. Even I can't do it."

She pondered privately, "Could it be that the teacher himself came and saw the dire situation and nearly took action? If that's the case, then letting the Sun Chaser fall into the underworld is a relief for him."

Cheng Bai summoned the Black Blade Flying Armor from his sea of ​​consciousness. It became larger to accommodate everyone entering one after another, rising into the sky and flying faster and faster.

Ningxiang made sure there were no outsiders around before she whispered, "I really want to get away from this place as soon as possible. I'm getting a little scared if I don't leave quickly."

After getting so many treasures for free, it was inevitable that he would feel guilty staying in the village.

Jinlian winked at Qian Buduo and warned him carefully, "Try to take the weapons and armor as far away as possible and don't let them circulate in Adu City."

Qian Buduo understood and quietly responded, "Don't worry, Dragon Head. I'm good at handling this matter."

Cheng Bai put away the golden pagoda on his head and murmured, "I always feel that there are still mysterious things hidden in the village. When Sister Yingying leads the army to attack, I will think carefully about how to quell the war and unnecessary disputes."

Jinlian hesitated and asked, "Mysterious? Are you referring to the two people who appeared near Wucan Mountain and disappeared?"

Zixuan reminded them, "When you entered the hut at the foot of the mountain, the anomalous space blocked your divine senses, so you probably couldn't sense the changes outside. However, my divine sense detected a white-haired old man running out of Wucan Mountain, fleeing far north from the village."

Cheng Bai pressed on, "Have you confirmed who it is? A villager or an outsider?"

Zi Xuan said truthfully, "I think he's an outsider, far more capable than Hall Master Qian. I wanted to keep a closer eye on him, but he's very alert. To prevent being followed by others' spiritual sense or magical power, he used his concealing cloak to quickly escape. It's inconvenient to chase him."

Cheng Bai piloted the Black Blade Flying Armor and wandered around the Wobute Plain for a while, then found a suitable dense forest and landed silently in a clearing in the forest, disguising himself as a large rock to blend in with the surrounding environment.

"Let's take advantage of this rare opportunity to relax and prepare a large amount of materials for the elixir."

Cheng Bai walked out of the flying armor and set up a small chaotic five-element formation on the ground to make full preparations. He poured the water of life and death he had just obtained into the Four Symbols Cauldron in the formation, controlling the changes in the fire to quench the poison.

The purified water of life and death was translucent and as thick as honey. Cheng Bai then blended it with ingredients he had previously stored, such as the essence of the fat beast, red spider lily, and the flying taisui.

The flawless Nirvana Pills are carefully crafted by refining them with brilliant spiritual fire to fully integrate the medicinal power. Each one is as warm and smooth as a spiritual jade bead, shiny and bright, emitting auspicious spiritual energy, and contains powerful effects.

Looking at the perfect elixir rising from the cauldron's mouth, Cheng Bai smiled with satisfaction, "One hundred and fourteen. Using such an elixir is too extravagant for my current realm. It's more suitable for consumption after reaching the Unfettered Realm. However, it's still not enough to support the entire sect in the future."

Cheng Bai then began to refine two more Bingqing Zhenshen Pills, and said thoughtfully, "Raising the level to Saint Pill will significantly increase the difficulty. Not only will the materials be much more expensive, but the time required to refine the pill will also increase a hundredfold."

Li Tong praised, "You've already done an excellent job with the fourth-tier golden elixir, and I don't need to give you any further guidance! You must be very careful with the fifth-tier holy elixir. The slightest mistake will ruin the elixir."

The alchemy process required immense patience and exquisite skill. Cheng Bai was well aware of the key, concentrating on controlling the temperature and potency of the medicine within the cauldron.

Time passed quickly, and the elixir was successfully refined. The moment the Four Symbols Cauldron was opened, a rich aroma wafted through the air. Within the small chaotic Five Elements Formation, a vision of shimmering ice and snow suddenly appeared, framing the two holy elixirs like a bright moon and sparse stars, their radiance illuminating a clear and bright scene.

After collecting all the pills, Cheng Bai couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Thanks to Siye's constant pursuit of perfection, there has never been a record of a wasted pill! It would be unimaginable to use another alchemy furnace so comfortably."

Li Tong said with a smug look, "Your rapid progress is entirely due to my effective teaching. These two elixirs alone are enough to make a spiritual medicine master dominate the world, attracting numerous forces to willingly offer advice and work for him."

Cheng Bai asked curiously, "You've eaten so many books and magic weapons. When will they be upgraded to divine weapons?"

Li Tong grinned and said, "Haha, it's too early! With the weight of my supreme-grade immortal weapon, swallowing that little bit of knowledge and low-level treasures is far from enough to achieve a qualitative leap."

Cheng Bai felt a little helpless when he heard that the target was out of reach. He gathered up the spirit stones and dismantled the formation, then proceeded with his next plan: "Nie Ziqiong and the others are planning a secret meeting at 10:00 p.m., so don't delay too long or you'll miss it. Go figure out how to quietly get the information."

Everyone inside the Black Blade Flying Armor was busy with their own affairs, some meditating, some chatting. Only Bei Tingjun quietly waited for Cheng Bai to finish his business and leave the battle. He said softly, "Your Majesty, please excuse me for a moment."

"What's the important matter?" Cheng Bai followed Bei Tingjun to the observation deck. Seeing her take out the Corpse Bone Pill, he couldn't help but guess her intention and asked, "Sister Bei, what kind of treasure do you want me to help you refine?"