Chapter 616: When the Time Comes, All Sides Unite Their Efforts

For the first time, Qing Yan felt a tremor of doubt. Was it truly reliable to hand over the army's morale directly to Qing Chi in this manner?

Ning Zhuo's scalp tingled, and he was momentarily speechless.

Qing Chi, meanwhile, stared at him, a bright smile spreading across her lips.

A wave of guilt welled up in Ning Zhuo's heart.

It was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Previously in Liangzhuo, even though Mulan had designs on Ning Zhuo, her actions were primarily driven by the bigger picture and practical interests. The girl before him, however, was clearly acting out of strong emotion.

"Alas! It's wrong of me to deceive her by relying on Jiao Ma's identity."

"But this concerns the Nether River Governor's century-long conspiracy, my mother's dying wish, and the safety of the entire White Paper Immortal City. I cannot reveal my identity at this critical juncture, especially since Qing Chi's role is becoming increasingly vital!"

Ning Zhuo sighed inwardly: "I can only wrong Qing Chi for now. Once this ghost tide recedes, I will explain the truth to her and apologize."

Qing Chi was far less reliable and steady than Mulan; she was still too young. After some thought, Ning Zhuo decided to keep it a secret for the time being. He looked at Li Xiangshang and Qing Yan, carefully choosing his words, preparing to explain his decision to them.

Even though Qing Chi was utterly obedient to Jiao Ma (Ning Zhuo), gaining the support of Li Xiangshang and Qing Yan was still absolutely essential. Before the war in Liangzhuo, Ning Zhuo might have thought that controlling Qing Chi meant indirectly controlling the army. However, after the great war in Liangzhuo, Ning Zhuo's horizons and experience had expanded significantly. He had come to a profound personal understanding: generals were only one, albeit very prominent, component of an army. The true strength of an army lay in its vast number of soldiers. Only by winning over Qing Yan could he secure the approval of this nascent army. Winning over Li Xiangshang would allow him to continue assisting Qing Chi in forming this new army.

Ning Zhuo began, "Among the three military branches, the Paper Coin Underworld Soldiers are the most expensive. As the saying goes, 'you get what you pay for,' so their high cost must be justified. In my opinion, the greatest advantage of the Paper Coin Underworld Soldiers is their ability to traverse between the mortal and nether realms. And this ability should be extremely practical. The mortal and nether realms are separate. If the new army is besieged and in a desperate situation in the mortal realm, they can retreat into the nether realm to gain a chance at survival. Similarly, if they are pursuing ghosts in the nether realm and urgently need to rest and reorganize, they can return to the mortal realm to regroup at leisure. Once this direction is chosen, the new army will be able to advance and retreat freely, holding absolute initiative! Especially in the Yin Tide Black Mire, where the separation between the realms is not so vast, this would be practically the new army's home ground. Tell me, isn't that good enough?"

The others hesitated. Ning Zhuo's reasoning was not yet enough to convince them. Qing Yan was even more direct: "These are all just your conjectures, not definite answers. If the new army cannot quickly traverse between the mortal and nether realms, then this primary ability will be useless. Look, aren't those Yin Soldiers outside the city also attacking from the nether realm? They aren't Underworld Traversing Soldiers at all, yet they can still do this by crossing the Nether Dragon River."

His words were logical, but Ning Zhuo silenced him with a single sentence: "Even if traversing between the realms is very slow, as long as we choose this, the main force of the Qing family will at least not be trapped and perish within White Paper Immortal City. The ghost tide is growing increasingly fierce. It's possible this immortal city could ultimately be overthrown. Therefore, having such a military branch could at least preserve the Qing family's lineage."

Qing Chi's eyes sparkled: "Xiao Ma, you're so clever to think of that!"

Qing Yan retorted, "Have you forgotten? The Nether River Governor's power is immense, comparable to a cultivation kingdom. In the mortal realm, we only face a fraction of his army. In the nether realm, we might have to directly confront a Soul Transformation level being!"

Ning Zhuo shook his head: "The Nether River Governor is a dignified ruler of a realm; how easily could we encounter him? That's just one possibility. But if we choose the Paper Coin Underworld Soldiers, we'll at least have a trump card for escape, won't we?"

Qing Yan fell silent. Li Xiangshang, however, was already convinced: "That makes a lot of sense. I now also believe choosing this direction is the most correct path."

Qing Yan looked at Ning Zhuo: "So, young Jiao, you want your Jiao family to also join this new army, securing a fallback option for your family, is that right?"

Ning Zhuo's expression faltered slightly. Ning Zhuo's true intention in choosing the Paper Coin Underworld Soldiers was to have this force enter the nether realm at a critical moment, reach the altar, help him fulfill his mother's dying wish, and disrupt the Nether River Governor's century-long scheme. But he couldn't openly state this. In fact, he hadn't even told the White Paper City Lord this secret. Qing Yan's interpretation was entirely reasonable.

Ning Zhuo immediately nodded, acknowledging the point: "That's right. This ghost tide is truly different from usual; the Yin Soldier army is growing larger and larger. We have to consider our friends and family, don't we?"

Qing Yan nodded: "If the Jiao family joins the army and recognizes Qing Chi's continued leadership as a general, then I agree! If we keep a life-saving trump card, we will inevitably not share the fate of White Paper Immortal City at the last moment. In that case, it will be even less possible to seek funding from the White Paper City Lord. The biggest difficulty now lies here—where will we get so much funding?"

Ning Zhuo smiled faintly, took out a storage bag, and handed it to Qing Yan: "Commander Qing, please take a careful look."

Qing Yan took the storage bag, opened its mouth, and as his spiritual sense probed inside, an expression of shock immediately appeared on his face. There was an immense amount of wealth inside! How could there not be? This was almost the entire fortune of the renowned powerful expert, Heavenly Ghost. Li Xiangshang and Qing Chi also saw the contents and were both pleasantly surprised.

Qing Yan frowned: "There's a lot of wealth, but much of it isn't suitable." To forge the Paper Coin Underworld Soldiers, one required 100,000 jin of century-old Green Sandalwood pulp, mixed with Chenzhou cinnabar to create talismans and form the Qing-Zi coins. While burning the Qing-Zi coins, 900 jin of Nanhai agarwood also had to be burned to refine the divine sea. Finally, an immense amount of Yin Qi was needed to saturate the body, a process that had to last for twenty-seven days.

Ning Zhuo had anticipated this and replied directly: "Even if the White Paper City Lord provided funding, she wouldn't immediately produce suitable materials. We can absolutely trade with other forces. Within the Immortal City, it's not just the City Lord's Mansion; there are also super-sects like the Myriad Forms Sect and the Soul Devouring Sect."

Qing Chi nodded: "Yes, yes, we can approach them! Lately, the ghost tide has grown stronger and stronger, and many cultivators in the Immortal City have sacrificed themselves. The ghost tide shows no sign of ending, so the City Lord's Mansion has already sought external assistance. Soon, the Myriad Forms Sect, Soul Devouring Sect, and others will dispatch reinforcements. White Paper Immortal City is the sole overlord of the Yin Tide Black Mire, controlling the output of cultivation resources here. These super-sects have long been eagerly awaiting the Immortal City's call for help."

"However—" Qing Chi looked at him intently, "Xiao Ma, how are you so rich? Did you bring out your family's foundation? Did you get your father's support?"

Ning Zhuo coughed twice: "On one hand, I have my father's approval. On the other hand, I've also received support from another force. As for the latter, it's not very convenient to discuss."

Qing Yan looked at the storage bag in his hand and chuckled softly: "Is it the Soul Devouring Sect?"

Ning Zhuo's expression shifted slightly, then he gave a wry smile and nodded: "I knew I couldn't hide it from Commander Qing!" Heavenly Ghost's fortune was bound to bear the mark of the Soul Devouring Sect, and Ning Zhuo couldn't avoid this fact. He had already prepared this explanation to counter any potential doubts. He deliberately remained ambiguous, allowing Qing Yan to 'guess' the answer, which further convinced Qing Yan that Ning Zhuo had indeed received support from the Soul Devouring Sect.

Li Xiangshang also showed an expression of sudden realization. At that moment, many thoughts connected in his mind. 'On the surface, it's White Paper Immortal City against the Nether River Underworld, which is leveraging the ghost tide. But in reality, the situation is complex. The Soul Devouring Sect is a super-sect, incredibly eager for the cultivation resources here! However, White Paper Immortal City's power structure places the City Lord's Mansion as the greatest, followed by the Myriad Forms Sect. The Soul Devouring Sect couldn't compete, having tried many times, but this time they want to bet on the new army. They truly are a super-sect; not only have they uncovered this intelligence, but they also know Jiao Ma's terrifying influence over Qing Chi. Therefore, using Jiao Ma to achieve their ambitions is a truly brilliant maneuver!'

Before Ning Zhuo came to the Yin Tide Black Mire, he had always been quite wary of the Soul Devouring Sect. He never expected that at this moment, he would have to act under their name.

"Since my Jiao family will also be involved, then I must serve as the second commander of this army." Seeing the timing was right, Ning Zhuo immediately put forward a new demand.

Just as Qing Yan frowned in thought, Qing Chi immediately nodded, brimming with joy: "Xiao Ma, you're going to fight alongside me? That's wonderful! I welcome you!"

Qing Yan sighed bitterly and nodded in agreement.

Ning Zhuo continued: "We also need to inform White Paper Immortal City about this matter. Although we don't need their funding, our successful army formation will be very helpful for the Immortal City in holding off this ghost tide. This provides room for cooperation. Even if the new army is established and causes the City Lord to be suspicious, given her current state, she'll likely have no choice but to tolerate it."

Upon hearing this, Qing Chi's face lit up with delight: "Xiao Ma, I knew you wouldn't like an old woman!"

Li Xiangshang and Qing Yan, however, both looked worried.

Qing Yan said: "This needs to be reported carefully. I'm very concerned about the City Lord's reaction."

Li Xiangshang also nodded: "Indeed, there's a possibility of rejection. In fact, White Paper Immortal City has always been solely under the City Lord's authority. Even the Myriad Forms Sect cannot influence her control over the Immortal City. Before I came, Lord Dragon Monarch cautioned me. He told me that the White Paper City Lord herself is a cultivator full of ambition and desire for control, and warned me to be very careful."

Ning Zhuo nodded slightly: "The City Lord already knows we are forming an army. With a major enemy at hand, it's more likely she will temper her concerns and give her approval. Regardless, since we've made our decision, we must report it immediately. This is also for the good of the overall situation."

Everyone nodded.

Through these negotiations, Ning Zhuo sacrificed most of his fortune, in exchange for his deep involvement in the new army, thereby achieving his existing goals.

Returning to the Paper Figure Colossus, Ning Zhuo informed Sun Lingtong of the progress using the Interweaving Lamp.

Sun Lingtong sighed: "Xiao Zhuo, this was a grand gesture from you. Almost all the war profits we made have been invested in forming this army. And even this isn't enough."

Ning Zhuo said: "So, Boss, could you see if you can get some resources from Luo Si?"

Ning Zhuo hadn't truly received support from the Soul Devouring Sect. The resource requirements for forming the army were too immense; even with nearly all of his investment, there was still a significant shortfall.

Sun Lingtong said: "Alright, I'll give it a try." After a long journey, he had already located Luo Si. As a leading general, Luo Si's precise whereabouts were easy to ascertain.

Ning Zhuo nodded: "I'll also take this opportunity to send a flying letter to the City Lord's clone, to see if we can get some support from her."

"Haha," Sun Lingtong chuckled, "that depends on how important your 'savior' reputation is in the City Lord's mind."

Over the next two days, good news arrived one after another. Sun Lingtong successfully met Luo Si. He claimed they had already met the Old Man of Gray Bones and were seeking help from Luo Si on his advice. The Old Man of Gray Bones was already under a form of house arrest, making it much harder for Luo Si to contact him than before. For a time, a reply was difficult to obtain. Sun Lingtong also indicated that he was in a hurry to leave. Luo Si's first impression of Sun Lingtong, back by the Nether River, had been quite high. After some thought, he didn't wait for a reply, and instead directly took out a considerable amount of resources, handing them over to Sun Lingtong. He also gave Sun Lingtong a new authorization slip, as requested. With this authorization slip, Sun Lingtong could openly lead the Ox Cavalry along the Nether Dragon River, use the Nether River Underworld's military road, and return to the mortal realm.

Another piece of good news was that the White Paper City Lord not only agreed to the formation of the new army but was also quite generous, proactively tripling the resources beyond what Ning Zhuo had requested. As a result, even accounting for Li Xiangshang's 30% reduced talent share, Ning Zhuo was able to very smoothly gather all the necessary resources for the military branch. Furthermore, the White Paper City Lord even opened up her cultivation secret chamber. This chamber was equipped with a magic formation that could accelerate the flow of time.

"Is this a blessing from Heaven?" Both Sun and Ning, who had "met" the Old Man of Gray Bones and knew the inside story, marveled at the profound subtlety of this destiny.

Ning Zhuo said: "I'm starting to understand the Old Man of Gray Bones's Dao now. If you align with Heaven and Earth, things almost always go smoothly. Major problems that would normally be difficult are easily solved."

Sun Lingtong, meanwhile, pondered and fantasized: "How do you steal destiny? How wonderful would it be if I could steal it?"

With the military branch matter settled, Ning Zhuo contacted the Jiao family again.

"What? Form a new army?"

"What? It's already reached the stage of choosing a military branch?"

"What? Paper Coin Underworld Soldiers?"

Jiao Ma's father was surprised three times in a row, but finally, under Ning Zhuo's persuasion, he decisively nodded in agreement: "It is indeed time to leave a fallback option for the family. I'll go back now and select a group of elites to serve as your subordinates. Ma'er, you've done very well, you've made your father proud!"

Before leaving, Jiao Ma's father patted Ning Zhuo on the shoulder. This gesture, however, made Ning Zhuo's mind briefly waver, and he couldn't help but wonder: "If my own father were alive, would he also pat my shoulder like this, encouraging me?"

The lack of childhood often leaves people burdened for life.