Ning Zhuo quickened his pace.

He was leading Yuan Dasheng to explore the Immortal Palace, and this came with inherent risks.

Because Meng Chong might break in at any moment.

Without Yuan Dasheng holding the line in Room Three, Meng Chong could easily cut through to the Preparation Chamber.

“Hopefully, Meng Chong’s current stupor is a deep one, granting me ample time for exploration!”

As this thought surfaced, Ning Zhuo felt a sudden stirring in his mind, recalling the theories of cosmic fortune. Instantly, a multitude of new insights flooded him.

“The Molten Lava Immortal Palace is akin to a dueling arena. Both Meng Chong and I are combatants within it, even without a face-to-face confrontation, there’s an entanglement, a attrition of our destinies.”

“My early lead, setting up traps and hindering Meng Chong at every turn, was me gaining the upper hand.”

“But he is one who grows stronger in adversity, initiating special training, and his strength has surged rapidly.”

“I faced a crisis, and had to change my name, devising the identity of Han Ming. As a result, Meng Chong suddenly burst forth from the Violet Sun Retreat and defeated Han Ming.”

“Had he been more decisive then, or relentlessly pursued me to eliminate Han Ming, I would have been cornered. The name change would have failed, and I would have been indirectly defeated by Meng Chong.”

“Not long ago, I narrowly and thoroughly eliminated Yuan Dasheng. According to Han Ming’s words, my cosmic fortune soared.”

“Therefore, I used Yuan Dasheng to defeat Meng Chong, even plunging him into a deathly stupor. Once again, I’ve gained the advantage.”

“I can only wonder, what kind of formidable figure will he become upon his return, and to what extent will he have progressed?”

Ning Zhuo’s comprehension deepened until he stood once more before the Three Gates.

“These Three Gates are also a vulnerability.”

“Zhu Xuanji witnessed Yuan Dasheng using the Demonic Taint Blood Tendon Art once. Though it might have been brief, the aura was leaked.”

“In the future, if someone cultivates this demonic art, Zhu Xuanji will inevitably discern the clues, leading to renewed suspicions surrounding Yuan Dasheng’s death.”

“New suspicions will trigger new investigations.”

“And such investigations are exceedingly dangerous to me.”

“Alas, if only I could conceal this demonic gate.”

Ning Zhuo had long attempted this, but regrettably, even his full-blown urging of the Myriad Buddha Heart Demon Seal could not make the stone wall rise again and conceal the demonic gate.

“The urgent task is to seize every moment and opportunity to explore with all my might.”

Ning Zhuo was not only racing against Meng Chong and Zheng Jian, but also against Zhu Xuanji.

“This time, I will first conquer the Buddhist Gate!” Ning Zhuo was resolved.

Primarily because Golden-Blood Battle Ape Dasheng was of such exceptional quality, and he possessed a clear advantage in venturing through the Buddhist Gate.

However, the first gate Ning Zhuo pushed open was the Demonic Gate.

He ventured into the Demonic Gate, experimented for a while, and then deliberately stopped. His main purpose was merely to acquire the blood essence within.

He transferred all the blood essence, without holding back, directly into Yuan Dasheng’s body.

In an instant, the crimson flesh on Yuan Dasheng’s body began to radiate a dark red glow, filled with a chilling demonic aura, exuding a sense of domineering power and ferocity.

The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit, which had been observing Ning Zhuo all along, was so enraged by this sight that flames shot from its nostrils.

Normal competitors, unable to backtrack, could only choose one out of three, bracing themselves to proceed to their doom.

But Ning Zhuo, relying on the Myriad Buddha Heart Demon Seal to cheat, was actually retreating!

This retreat brought extremely obvious enhancements to Yuan Dasheng!

It protected Ning Zhuo, slaughtering its way through the successive levels of the Buddhist Gate, virtually invincible.

“Just as I anticipated, Yuan Dasheng possessed profound pre-mortem Refinement Essence cultivation, and the Demonic Taint Blood Tendon Art he possessed was likely of a high level.”

“Using its whole corpse and whole soul as the primary material, the resulting spirit bears a deep imprint of its pre-mortem actions.”

“Therefore, when using blood essence, it can even generate large swaths of blood tendons.”

Ning Zhuo annihilated the three levels of the Buddhist Gate, standing once more before the gate.

“What kind of reward awaits this time?” He sensed the reward would be of high value, because the second gate in the Buddhist Gate offered no reward for passing.

Sure enough.

The moment Ning Zhuo touched the gate, he immediately received a flood of information.

Dozens of options left him momentarily dazzled.

His first thought was: “Can I continually retreat and claim all these rewards?”

“Choose one first, then verify. What should I choose?”

After studying the options, Ning Zhuo found that most of them were spells or blueprint of mechanisms, the only unique one being a Phantom Truth Lotus Seed.

“What is a Phantom Truth Lotus Seed?” Ning Zhuo questioned in his heart.

The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit had been waiting for this, and eagerly explained: “The Phantom Truth Lotus Seed imprints the essence of a particular divine ability. Once planted, it can assist a cultivator in fully comprehending the divine ability. It is rare in the world, extremely precious, and its quantity is limited…”

*Pa pa pa.*

The fire whip cracked furiously.

But the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit stubbornly persisted, enduring the fire whip’s blows, refusing to continue.

Ning Zhuo, unable to hear the remaining information, subconsciously assumed that this was the entirety of the explanation.

“Limited quantity, extremely precious! Then I’ll choose it.”

After Ning Zhuo made his selection, a phantom image of a lotus seed immediately followed the gate, reaching the deepest depths of Ning Zhuo’s Upper Dantian Divine Sea.

“That’s it?”

“What next?”

Ning Zhuo stood there blankly for a moment, somewhat dumbfounded.

After being planted, the Phantom Truth Lotus Seed almost vanished, even Ning Zhuo himself struggled to locate it.

Ning Zhuo attempted various methods, but all failed.

“Perhaps, only when my soul returns to my body can I access it,” Ning Zhuo guessed, hoping.

Unknown to him, in the main hall of the Molten Lava Immortal Palace, the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit was laughing so hard that it lay prone, using its dragon claw to hammer its own tortoise shell, laughing with boundless joy!

Finally, finally, it had successfully tricked Ning Zhuo once.

The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit was in pain from the whip’s lashing, but in its heart was great joy!

The information it had concealed was that, while the Phantom Truth Lotus Seed was precious, the probability of a cultivator comprehending a divine ability from it was extremely low. Many Golden Core cultivators who planted Phantom Truth Lotus Seeds failed to gain any insights. This was because the essence of the divine abilities imprinted in these lotus seeds all originated from a single source – a thread of life hanging precariously!

In the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit’s view, for Ning Zhuo, merely in the Qi Refining stage, to try and comprehend it was utter fantasy!

Ning Zhuo pushed open the door and entered another hall, seeing a new set of Buddhist, Daoist, and Demonic gates.
He first attempted to use his Buddha-Heart Demon Seal to exit the trial, but was surprised to find the gateway stubbornly resistant to opening.

A sense of unease welled within him. “Could it be that as I explore further, the influence of my Buddha-Heart Demon Seal is no longer sufficient?”

The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit, witnessing this scene, grew even more tranquil.

It knew the true reason: not that the Buddha-Heart Demon Seal lacked influence, but that Ning Zhuo’s cultivation was merely at the Qi Refining stage, drawing upon only a fraction of the Seal’s power. Venturing this far, it was becoming insufficient to sway the gateway of the trial.

Unless Ning Zhuo’s cultivation underwent a substantial leap forward.

But that was not something achievable in a short time.

Ning Zhuo paid a heavy price to successfully exit the trial, returning to the place where he had stood before.

He touched the gateway once more and found that he could again choose a reward, selecting a technique.

Ning Zhuo pushed open the door again, entering the gateway hall, but this time refrained from exiting.

The expenditure was simply too great!

Ning Zhuo attempted to interact with the Buddhist, Daoist, and Demonic paths.

He found the mechanisms of the three paths were largely the same as before.

He touched the facades and obtained the fourth to sixth layers of each sect’s cultivation methods, respectively.

“Finally, I can continue my cultivation.”

“These cultivation methods have arrived just in time!”

Ning Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had suspected as much, only now that his conjecture was confirmed by reality did he truly feel relieved.

After looking around and finding nothing else of interest, Ning Zhuo continued to exit the trial, chose another reward, and retraced his steps.

He returned to Room Three, leaving Yuan Dasheng behind.

Then he returned to Room Two, finding the others still trapped, oblivious to the outside world.

Ning Zhuo actively jumped into a pitfall, waiting silently.

After the others’ souls were exhausted and sent back to their bodies, he waited a short while longer before using the Trial Disciple Mark to easily return his soul to his body.

Two days later.

Ning Xiaoren led Ning Zhuo into his study.

Upon entering, he saw Ning Ze kneeling on the ground, his head bleeding from being struck with an inkstone.

Ning Xiaoren, wearing a look of deep sorrow, said to Ning Zhuo, “At first, I didn’t quite believe it, until the evidence was presented before my eyes, until I personally confirmed it with your Grand-Uncle.”

“Nephew Ning Zhuo, I never expected, I truly never expected, that your Grand-Uncle would be so unscrupulous!”

“He actually embezzled the cultivation resources I secretly provided for you each year!!”

Ning Zhuo’s pupils dilated, his face displaying disbelief and anger.

“Grand-Uncle, is this true?!” Ning Zhuo roared at Ning Ze.

Ning Ze’s body trembled. He slowly raised his head, looking at Ning Zhuo.

His gaze was clouded, his face extremely unpleasant, and his body bore multiple marks of severe torture.

Ning Ze stared at Ning Zhuo, then at Ning Xiaoren, whose gaze was exceedingly sharp.

Ning Ze’s heart was ashen. He took a deep breath, his tone incomparably heavy. “Yes, I did it.”

Ning Zhuo swayed slightly, involuntarily taking a step back, caught by Ning Xiaoren’s outstretched hand.

Ning Zhuo, unable to bear such a blow, tightly closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face.

His vision was momentarily plunged into darkness.

He thought of the past.

“Kneel!” Ning Ze shouted, brandishing a bamboo stick.

The young Ning Zhuo raised his head. “Why are you punishing me? I told you, I didn’t do it. I really didn’t!”

The bamboo stick struck down fiercely.

A distinct red mark instantly appeared on Ning Zhuo’s face, quickly swelling up.

Ning Zhuo still held his head high.

Ning Ze flew into a rage, swinging the bamboo stick again.

*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*

Ning Zhuo was beaten behind the knees, forced to kneel.

“Grand-Uncle, why don’t you believe me? I’m being framed. I didn’t do it. Waaah…” Ning Zhuo raised his arm, wiping away his tears.

“Still stubborn!” Ning Ze threw down the bamboo stick, turned, and walked away. “Today, you’ll kneel here until you admit your mistake. Only then can you get up and eat dinner!”

That time, Ning Zhuo knelt from dusk until dawn, eventually fainting.

The next morning, Wang Lan said to Ning Ze, “Husband, although Xiao Zhuo is a bit wild, he is truly honest. At least, he has never lied to us.”

“I feel that he might not have actually done this wrong thing.”

Ning Ze coldly snorted. “Of course, I know he’s being framed.”

“But what can I do?”

“The father of the child who made the mistake is a Clan Elder of the War Hall.”

“We can’t afford to offend him!”

“If Ning Zhuo admits the mistake, this matter will be resolved. Stubbornness will only invite greater trouble!”

Wang Lan exclaimed softly, “Ah, so that’s how it is.”

“Husband, you did the right thing.”

“What does it matter if a child suffers a little injustice?”