With the groundwork of the conversation laid, Ning Zhuo then took the opportunity to inform Tao Liang about his plan to form a group to pete for Flowing Cloud Peak.
Tao Liang, upon hearing this, widened his eyes in disbelief, staring at Ning Zhuo: "Ning Zhuo, you, a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator, are going to pete for Flowing Cloud Peak? That’s one of the Eight Main Peaks of the Myriad Images Sect."
Ning Zhuo’s expression slightly darkened, forcing a smile, showing an expression of a young genius who was looked down upon: "Judging merely by cultivation level, that’s the view of the ordinary. Daoist Tao, do you take me for an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator? To be honest, I’ve even faced and defeated Golden Core Cultivators before."
Unlike his previous exchanges with Nascent Soul Cultivators, Ning Zhuo took an equal stance with Tao Liang from the start, directly addressing him as a fellow Daoist.
Tao Liang had already felt unfortable and was now frowning upon hearing Ning Zhuo’s arrogant proclamation.
Ning Zhuo observed the situation and lightly chuckled: "If Daoist Tao doesn’t believe me, it’s simple. We can head to the nearest Martial Arts Hall and have a direct sparring match, then you’ll see my words are not in vain."
Tao Liang was even more displeased in his heart.
To be so openly offended by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, not even at the Foundation Establishment Peak but only Mid-Stage, made his frown deepen and stirred anger within.
Yet he didn’t speak up, accepting the challenge.
"I am a dignified Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator, progressing through cultivation step by step and can reach the Golden Core Peak in just ten years."
"Sparring with a Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage Cultivator?"
"If I win, it’s only to be expected, and I might even be criticized as ’bullying the weak.’ If I don’t win, I instantly bee a joke, used by Ning Zhuo as a stepping stone to establish his reputation!"
"This is not good, not good at all."
Thinking of this, Tao Liang shook his head with a cold smile: "Young friend Ning Zhuo, how much do you know about my ’Embrace Pill and Bee Immortal Skill’?"
"Forget it. I won’t argue with you."
"Having confidence is a good thing. Even if you think you’re stronger, just keep thinking that."
Ning Zhuo immediately showed a look of regret, as if feeling sorry for losing a good opportunity to prove himself to Tao Liang’s refusal.
In fact, he was not surprised by Tao Liang’s choice at all.
During the small test at Nanming, he had already learned about other cultivators’ information. Furnace Immortal Tao Liang was no exception.
Ning Zhuo’s judgment was: "This man likes to practice in seclusion, staying in his Cave Mansion, no, in his Pill Furnace for years, pletely indifferent to the world, solely focused on improving his cultivation level, often choosing to let go of conflicts and doesn’t opt for fighting."
Ning Zhuo’s expertise in the Righteous Path was profound.
For each different cultivator, he had corresponding negotiation strategies.
Seeing Ning Zhuo’s expression, Tao Liang got even angrier and blurted out: "Young friend Ning Zhuo, your ambition to claim Flowing Cloud Peak is nothing short of a fantasy. Let me kindly remind you—although the Nanming Fire Furnace belongs to you now, it hasn’t been pletely repaired."
Tao Liang raised two fingers: "Twenty percent. There’s still a twenty percent gap in the plete restoration of the Nanming Fire Furnace, which, for you, is as insurmountable as a chasm."
Ning Zhuo laughed heartily, the confidence he exuded was like a blinding light stabbing into Tao Liang’s eyes.
"This is but a trivial matter! It would trouble mediocrity, but how could it trouble me?" Ning Zhuo expressed disdainfully.
He immediately said: "Just recently, the current Artifact Refining Hall Master, Tie Kuang, personally visited me, offering to use the resources of the Artifact Refining Hall to help me fully restore the Nanming Fire Furnace."
"I wouldn’t lie to you. If Daoist Tao doesn’t believe me, you can check with Master Tie Kuang after leaving the hall."
Tao Liang was momentarily stunned by this explosive information.
Afterwards, Ning Zhuo shook his head again, showing a disdainful expression: "But I refused. Master Tie Kuang asked for twenty percent of the ownership of the Pill Furnace, the price was too high, and he underestimated my ability."
"I plan to use the restoration of the Pill Furnace as a pretext to widely announce it and attract other cultivators, letting them advance funds and bee the new cycle of creditors."
"This way, I will have enough capital to pletely repair the Nanming Fire Furnace."
"If Daoist Tao doesn’t believe me, don’t you believe the allure of the Nanming Fire Furnace?"
Tao Liang’s frown deepened even further, feeling increasingly displeased.
If possible, he wished he were the sole creditor of Ning Zhuo, allowing him to have plete control. But now, the creditors were far more than just him. There were five Nascent Soul Level Cultivators involved, each of whom he couldn’t contend with.
Now, Ning Zhuo intended to introduce even more new creditors. This is simply... outrageous!
Tao Liang felt agitated.
Because he couldn’t say anything.
Clearly, bringing in more creditors would plicate matters further, but he was powerless and could only watch Ning Zhuo act like this.
"If the new creditors lend more than I do and have higher status than mine, wouldn’t I be pushed even further behind?"
"Perhaps... I should lend Ning Zhuo more resources myself?"
This thought just emerged and was immediately nipped in the bud.
Back during the small test at the Nanming Fire Furnace, Tao Liang was already reluctant to exhaust his resources. After contributing one round, he had the opportunity to get support that night, but he voluntarily gave it up.
Because he had seen the situation clearly and felt he couldn’t pete against those Nascent Soul Level Cultivators.
Continuing to participate left him very insecure.
"There is still a full twenty percent gap left in the Nanming Fire Furnace. Even if I emptied my resources, it wouldn’t be enough for half of it."
"So, the new creditor is definitely going to climb over my head. Damn it..."
"Actually, even if I had that wealth, I wouldn’t throw it at Ning Zhuo. Wouldn’t I just be a sucker then?"
Tao Liyong fell silent for a moment.
Seeing him silent, a sharp gleam flashed in Ning Zhuo’s eyes.
"Tao Liyong isn’t good at artifact refining, so I managed to bluff him. He doesn’t realize that the difficulty of fixing the last twenty percent gap is extremely high."
Ning Zhuo also deduced this point from the information provided by Tao Liyong.
Tao Liyong spends most of his time cultivating his ’Embrace Pill and Bee Immortal Skill.’
The profound foundation of his Elixir Qi and outstanding alchemy skills are mostly due to this main cultivation method.
As for other cultivation techniques, Tao Liyong hasn’t dabbled in them.
The main reason is that ’Embrace Pill and Bee Immortal Skill’ is quite exceptional. Although it only cultivates a single Dantian, its special method allows Tao Liyong to have no weaknesses in his body, soul, or other aspects.
But precisely because everything needs to be balanced and accumulated, the progress of his cultivation technique has always been very slow.
The higher the quality of the Pill Furnace, the more it can mitigate the negative effects of this slow cultivation approach.
This is exactly why Tao Liyong is pursuing the Nanming Fire Furnace.
Seeing Tao Liyong silent, Ning Zhuo reiterated, "So, Daoist Tao, the method I just suggested is actually very good."
"As long as you join us, once the Pill Furnace is successfully restored. You can use the furnace to assist your cultivation before anyone else. Isn’t repaying my debt in this way a win-win?"
"Even those Nascent Soul level Great Cultivators wouldn’t have much to say."
"Because, by joining us, the stronger we bee and the more territory we occupy at the Flowing Cloud Peak, the more resources we can acquire."
"And these resources can be used to repay debts, which is beneficial for all creditors."
Tao Liyong snorted coldly, "Ning Zhuo, you’re so young yet so cunning. Not only are you plotting against my assets, but also against me! How could I fall for your treacherous plan?"
Ning Zhuo’s expression immediately turned cold, "Tao Liyong! You’re really judging a gentleman with a petty person’s heart. What assets am I plotting against? If I really were, I’d simply deny your debt. What could you do to me?"
"Plotting against you? Hmph, you think too highly of yourself."
"First of all, you can’t even beat me. Secondly, I’m genuinely offering you a way to prosper together. I admit, I want to cleverly clear the debt on your side. But this is a beneficial way for both of us."
"To tell you the truth, a Nascent Soul level Great Cultivator has already approved of my plan and will join us to establish a foundation on Flowing Cloud Peak together!"
Tao Liyong was just about to refute Ning Zhuo about the "you can’t even beat me" part when he was hit by this heavyweight news, leaving him dizzy.
Tao Liyong first felt chaotic, then instinctively began to speculate.
"A total of five Nascent Soul Cultivators, who could they be?"
"Zhong Limei? No, that’s impossible. He’s an elder of Danxia Peak, the former Hall Master of the Alchemy Hall."
"Chun Yangzi? How is that possible? He is the current leader of Pure Yang Palace, how could he join forces with a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?"
"Cang Yazi? Even more impossible! He is also an elder of one of the main peaks, Ten Thousand Beasts Peak. With such a peculiar temperament, always with beasts, how would he suddenly change character and fight alongside Ning Zhuo at Flowing Cloud Peak?"
"Red Robe Guest? This Demon Cultivator kills without blinking. He seems reformed, but actually not. Collaborating with him is like colluding with a tiger, aren’t you afraid of being killed?"
"The last one is Nine Fire Dragon Lord. This Demon Cultivator has a dragon’s body, proud and aloof. Would he really lower himself to team up with a Foundation Establishment?"
Tao Liyong speculated around but found it unlikely, so he instinctively asked, "Who is this Nascent Soul Great Cultivator?"
Ning Zhuo shook his head, smiling in a way that made Tao Liyong want to hit him, "I can’t say yet. You know, Nascent Soul level Cultivators are significant figures. Every move they make has a broad impact. Things need to be kept under wraps until the necessary moment to reveal."
"We have a Nascent Soul Cultivator as our leader, and with my Nanming Fire Furnace as a signboard, recruiting won’t be a problem!"
"By then, even if we only occupy part of Flowing Cloud Peak, we’ll have extremely rich resources. We’ll first use these to expand; the larger the territory we expand into, the more resources we obtain. By snowballing like this, the massive debt I owe will be quickly paid off!"
When Ning Zhuo said this, his eyes were full of anticipation for the future.
Listening to him, and seeing his expression, Tao Liyong felt a chilling cold in his heart.
"Damn it!"
"Is Ning Zhuo really so naive? Could it be that Nascent Soul Cultivator played him like a fool?"
"From another perspective, even if the Nascent Soul Cultivator didn’t win the Nanming Fire Furnace, he’s got Ning Zhuo tied to his war chariot, making it convenient to seize opportunities! Truly cunning."
"I can’t let this happen."
Tao Liyong has little faith in Ning Zhuo’s plan. Even as a Loose Cultivator, he knows Flowing Cloud Peak within Myriad Images Sect is the place with the most disputes, intense rivalries, and chaotic situations.
Ning Zhuo jumping in headfirst doesn’t concern Tao Liyong at all.
But Ning Zhuo dragging the Nanming Fire Furnace into this whirlpool makes Tao Liyong quite anxious and uneasy.
"e on, you’re just a little Foundation Establishment, and you want to meddle in one of the Eight Main Peaks?"
"Don’t mess around like this!"
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