Of course, perhaps they should have realized it earlier.

They merely refused to believe it. The aura from the Jungle Tree-man that emerged earlier was similar to that of the legendary King.

Now that I think about it, it seems this Ancient King of Embers has directly absorbed the Jungle Tree-man Demon God, transforming it into one of his Five Elements Spirit Roots.

"They have already tried their best."

Ning Zheng let out a long sigh, "You are also trying your best to stand before me."

This was the truth.

The blacksmiths have been trying hard, but what could they really do?

Two performances of self-sacrifice, one went up to fight directly and was blown away in ten seconds, the next attempted self-destruction and got cut down.

One meticulously prepared boss battle after another, they died in truly spectacular ways.

The gap is too big! It's not that they are incapable; they've reached their limits, yet the time for growth is still insufficient.

Hope they will grow in the future.

In the future, although they may only be moving their mouths, with their bodies on auto-pilot, as their blacksmithing skills soar and with Free Will, their combat abilities will still be worth watching!

To have possessed several Ancestors at the Self-Transformation Realm was already immensely profitable, adding suppression-level combat power to their manor.

Expecting them to win against these monsters would be sheer greed.

As Ning Zheng pondered, he looked towards Xin Xichen in front of him, "Very impressive, I even lack the confidence to defeat you."

Ning Zheng's powers are as follows.

Flash (Earth), Dharma Aspect quickly arrives at a piece of earth, an earthen body forms in place, consciousness quickly enters it, and the original body flashes away to become an earthen avatar.

Water Deer (Water), Eye of Water.

Buried Mine (Fire), creates explosions.

Golden Mud (Gold), absorbs destiny, a human-shaped calamity.

Heart of Rebirth (Wood), a medium, switching rebirth.

... 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The above constitutes Ning Zheng's Five Elements Spirit Roots. By using a little bit of Qi Fortune Value and Su Yuniang's strategic Sun Moon ability, attribute switching is possible.

It can't be considered flashy; these are the best spirit roots that can be acquired in the short term, as Sword Casting Manor ultimately lacks depth.

However, it might not seem much stronger than the Giant Shell Ancestor Demon God, but in reality, it's far more powerful.

Ning Zheng isn't a big oaf failing to utilize his power. He has spent 30 million Qi Fortune Value repeatedly on enlightenment, comprehending various Divine Techniques suited to his One Heart Realm.

It's not impossible to fight.

Though with the current Xin Xichen, Ning Zheng instead finds him, this exam master with a super technique library, disgusting and does not wish to fight.

"You're disgusting."

Xin Xichen burned the aura emitted by his opponent in the air, looking at this Ancient King, "The money clan symbolizes auspiciousness, yet who would have thought that after the death of the ancient king, it would symbolize a calamity. This power that has devoured the mystical force of destiny is quite exaggerated."

He continued to analyze, "Even though it's temporary... the level of disgust is such that I really don't want to fight you, this ancient king."

Clearly.

Both sides find the other disgusting.

"Is this my ancestor?"

The Ancient Bronze Statue beside, hiding behind the Cursed one, looked at his ancient ancestor's appearance and commented, "This is an incredibly disgusting world, a world destinated in its obscurity that the stronger you are, the more disgusting you become... Among the supreme cultivation techniques of the Nine-State powerhouses, there's not one that isn't disgusting."

If people find you not disgusting, it means you're insignificant.

Xin Xichen coldly asked, "May I know the name of the Ancient King?"

How would Ning Zheng know what his name is, he was merely an impostor.

Ning Zheng let out a light chuckle, his eyes softening, "An ancient name is just a code, everything has become history... Are you stalling for time, looking for a flaw?"

"Can't stall for time." Xin Xichen nodded, turning his head, "I can't beat him alone."

Upon hearing this, Cursed and Phoenix Yi looked even more serious.

Xin Xichen's abilities were too strong, and he was too insidious. They both even suspected that this old trickster secretly burned their aura, already knowing their true capabilities and trump cards.

Moreover, he's able to switch out weapons that would restrain them, cutting them down in just a few moves!

But such a monstrous figure claims that he can't defeat this ancient and oldest black hand alone?

Xin Xichen shook his divine weapon in his hand, "As you can see, my Sun Moon Divine Weapon has already been used to seal his teleportation ability, leaving me no room to spare, unless I could get a second Sun Moon."

Phoenix Yi couldn't help but roll her eyes, "You want to get a second one?"

But if that's the case, it could make sense.

"Use the Protective Shield to isolate the outside." Cursed's face turned cold, "We don't want the outside world to see our Divine Techniques, for the enemy may not just be him alone."

"Of course." Xin Xichen kept retreating, and the entire Protective Shield instantly enveloped the sky, isolating everyone outside, coldly saying, "His ability is to absorb temporary Destiny, lasting about one day. The Auspicious King who once led the world to battle has now turned into the Disaster King. Perhaps after dying and being reborn, the auspiciousness was defiled."

"His other abilities are..." After Xin Xichen finished, he continued to analyze, "I suspect they also have powers similar to the Star-Forming River, capable of altering the Spirit Root Attribute."

"Alter the Spirit Root Attribute?" The Cursed softly laughed, "That's quite something."

The Sun Moon Divine Weapon indeed possesses strong strategic significance.

Urging Virtue, seven empty bubbles, ready to fill with suitable Spirit Roots at any time.

Star-Forming River, capable of switching Spirit Root Attributes at will.

These two make a perfect combination.

In the old days, switching Spirit Root Attributes was not very useful.

But now, switching Spirit Roots is incredibly powerful. Often they obtained the desired powerful Water Spirit Root but still lacked a Fire Spirit Root in the Five Elements, causing much frustration.

But with this power, changing the Spirit Root Attribute changes everything.

The Cursed and Phoenix Yi took a deep breath, "Jiu Shui has truly paved a heavenly path. Holding such a National Guardian Divine Soldier, more strategically significant than the adjacent Hongmeng Immortal Artifact, eventually, many powerhouses will seek out the Human Race, begging them to help change the Spirit Root Attribute."

At this moment.

The two who had gathered the opponent's intelligence finally took action.

Phoenix Yi's initial strike was the absolute burning Phoenix True Flame, symbolizing destruction and rebirth, and in it, the Five Elements Gold Spirit Root, Ning Zheng discerned: it's the Spirit Root of the Ancient Bronze Statue.

It seems everyone's first choice for the Five Elements Gold Attribute is not the White Tiger Divine Beast but the Ancient Bronze Statue?

Everyone wants to become an Auspicious Beast.

However, the purity level of the contained bloodline is relatively low, as the Ancient Bronze Statue was originally just a remnant branch from ancient times.

"In the future, everyone wants to be an Auspicious Immortal Beast and integrate the Gold Spirit Root...it does seem fitting." Ning Zheng kept retreating, flashing in narrow escapes from attacks, and turned to look at the Cursed.

This guy truly has huge issues.

Because now he's starting to expose his cards, he seems to share an attribute with the Golden Mud—misfortune? Or something else.

No wonder he's called the Cursed.

Ning Zheng's first reaction upon seeing him was, if given the chance, merge this guy with the Golden Mud.

But now, after a few simple exchanges, Ning Zheng realized that his most proud Golden Mud, the Misfortune Attribute, negated the abilities of these two guys.

With abilities counteracting, his greatest reliance was removed, making the situation unfavorable for himself.

Ning Zheng kept sparring with them, sighing internally, "That's why I say, I don't want to fight them...are any of these guys simple? And they seem not to have revealed their full power yet."

And in the distance, there was still a commander, Xin Xichen, who was not making a move, but was crazily analyzing, like Wang Yuyan guiding the tactics.

Ning Zheng's powerful cultivation technique and moves were being neutralized by his guidance, revealing the flaws in his moves and ways to counter them.

Now, he was barely holding on against their siege, relying solely on his strong basic stats.

"Trouble, the power of the three combined is not 3 times but over 10 times..." Ning Zheng silently felt things were not going well.

With Xin Xichen's setup, the fight was an open-handed game, and all his cards were seen through, leaving no room for randomness or surprises. The outcomes of stats and abilities could be calculated, determining the final victory or defeat from the start.

"If Xin Xichen doesn't move, it means that I'm bound to lose. It seems I also have to rely on my own efforts to win." Ning Zheng sighed deeply, aware he didn't have many choices left.

His gaze fell on the Protective Shield controlled by Xin Xichen with the Celestial Extinction and Earth Slaughter Five Elements Array, absolute isolation, trapping himself here.

The strength of this array was undeniable!

The Seven Celestial Spirit Roots with Restriction and Isolation, forming a Seven Colors Spirit Root seal, could trap even the strongest monster here.

This was the powerful sealing force gained at the expense of Xin Xichen's attack power.

This problem-solving difficulty was even harder than the Hidden Sect Restriction of the Human God.

But...

[Celestial Extinction and Earth Slaughter Five Elements Array: Enlightenment to decipher, -150 million Qi Fortune Value]

It's such a loss.

But breaking through the siege, the gains should be worth far more.

Xin Xichen looked at the opponent's glance around the battlefield, feeling a slight heaviness in his heart, faintly sensing something wasn't right. "Why is he looking at me? His Flash has been sealed, his strongest Misfortune negated, now he should be..."

The next second, an unbelievable scene to Xin Xichen occurred, as the ancient Monarch pointed with his finger, revealing a flaw in the entire Defensive Array, and his whole Dharma Aspect flashed straight through.

"Not good!" Xin Xichen's face dramatically changed.

The opponent was actually not heading towards the Sacrificial Tomb but flew straight into the clouds, breaking into the Capital City's Imperial Palace.

This was precisely the ultimate objective of the blacksmiths and Ning Zheng, luring the Emperor away, and then breaking into the Imperial Palace. I am the Ancient King of Embers, here to reclaim my body, the Chronicles of Time—it's quite reasonable, right?

In almost an instant, Xin Xichen guessed what he wanted to do, "No good! That guy, his initial goal was the Chronicles of Time, to reclaim his ancient golden body!"

If he truly reclaims his ancient golden body and masters the Chronicles of Time, this world is truly doomed.