Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

The Ning family’s carriage moved along the street, neither too fast nor too slow.

Passersby along the way actively gave way to the side.

All because the carriage and its banner bore the large character “Ning.” The carriage itself radiated the aura of multiple magical artifacts, its specifications quite high, and it was often occupied by important figures.

Even if they didn’t recognize these details, the passersby could see the impressive retinue—eight cultivator guards in front and behind the carriage, four in the Qi Refining stage and four in the Foundation Establishment stage.

Judging from such a display, even a fool would know that the carriage must contain an important member of the Ning family.

Sitting inside the carriage, however, was Ning Zhuo.

The Qi Refining stage geniuses of the Fire Persimmon Immortal City’s four major factions had been successively assassinated in a short period.

The four factions were severely provoked, not only strengthening their three-way cooperation but also increasing the protection for their respective geniuses.

Ning Zhuo benefited from this, traveling in a carriage of this caliber.

At this moment, he sat cross-legged inside the carriage, his body surrounded by floating clouds.

Foundation Establishment stage Ning family cultivators sensed this scene with their divine sense, and all praised Ning Zhuo’s diligence.

Some who had been guarding him for a longer time had gradually discovered how diligent Ning Zhuo was in his cultivation, working extremely hard.

He had almost no recreational or relaxing activities.

It was as if some terrifying beast was chasing after him, and if he slowed down even slightly, he would be devoured by the beast.

The floating clouds could shield the fluctuations of his breathing exercises.

In truth, even if they leaked out, it wouldn’t matter.

After all, even if the cultivation technique had reached its limit, one still needed daily breathing exercises to refine new spiritual power for use.

Concealing each cultivation session with floating clouds was also quite reasonable.

Whether it was his past hardships and lonely growth or the recent assassinations, all of these would cause a severe lack of security.

Using such actions to slightly fill the sense of security in his heart was justifiable.

But in reality, Ning Zhuo was remotely controlling Yuan Dasheng.

Ning Zhuo had first taken out the Golden Blood War Ape, Dasheng, and secretly placed it in Ning Ze’s residence.

Waiting until he left the family’s ancestral land and boarded the carriage, drawing all attention to himself with every move,

He then quietly remotely controlled Yuan Dasheng, inciting it to begin its actions on the other side.

With the Mirror Stage Spiritual Communication Technique, Ning Zhuo could constantly observe the environment around Yuan Dasheng.

With the Heart Seal planted by the Buddhist Heart Demon Imprint, Ning Zhuo could control Yuan Dasheng even without divine sense or puppet strings.

In addition, Yuan Dasheng itself had spirituality and could understand relatively complex instructions.

This gave Ning Zhuo’s current actions a high probability of success.

Yuan Dasheng donned the Azure Iron Heavy Armor, which possessed the ability to disguise.

This time, it was disguised as an ordinary cultivator.

Ning Zhuo rode in the carriage, while Yuan Dasheng walked on another street not far away, brushing past passersby in a brazen manner.

Reaching the vicinity of Ning Zhuo’s small courtyard, Yuan Dasheng quickly darted into the alley and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, slipped into the sewer.

In a certain part of the sewer, it touched a certain wall tile, activating a hidden teleportation array.

In the next moment, Ning Zhuo felt the control weaken greatly; Yuan Dasheng had been teleported to the underground base.

This was where Han Ming was being held, the transfer point for Ning Zhuo’s every foray into the black market, and where he had once stored fire essence.

Yuan Dasheng arrived beside the furnace. It opened its storage pouch and threw all the items inside into the furnace.

Afterward, it closed the furnace door, infused spiritual power, and gradually increased the furnace’s power.

The temperature of the air rose, and a crimson light gradually dispelled the surrounding dimness.

The Azure Iron Heavy Armor still covered Yuan Dasheng.

It sat cross-legged in front of the furnace and, with Ning Zhuo’s help, began to activate the Cremation Prajna Liberation Sutra.

Spiritual power, following the methods of the Buddhist scriptures, gradually revealed its profound and wondrous abilities.

Crimson flames burned within the furnace, rapidly melting all of Yuan Dasheng’s related items.

Specks of pink light rose from the flames.

The pink light, like snow, danced on the tips of the flames.

When the cremation ended, Yuan Dasheng opened the furnace door. These pink light spirits, like swallows returning to their nests, needed no urging from Ning Zhuo’s side and, because they had no object to inhabit, consciously plunged into Yuan Dasheng’s embrace, filling its spirituality.

The original 79% spirituality rapidly climbed.

After a few breaths, some pink light spots hovered outside Yuan Dasheng’s body, unable to enter it, and could only dissipate regretfully.

Because Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality was complete.

Ten percent spirituality, self-sufficient.

This was definitely a qualitative leap. From now on, Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality could recover on its own, and not only through external supplementation.

“Very good, very good!”

Inside the carriage, Ning Zhuo smiled, his expression weary.

After all, it was his first time fully using the Cremation Prajna Liberation Sutra, and remotely at that.

Fortunately, he had a deep soul foundation and strong spirit.

The current Mirror Stage Spiritual Communication Technique had already entered the sixth level.

Such cultivation was a standout among the Three Three Gates techniques.

“Return by the same route,” Ning Zhuo issued this command, but in the next moment, the smile on his face froze.

From the Golden Blood War Ape, Dasheng, came a clear refusal.

Ning Zhuo: “?”

The Golden Blood War Ape, Dasheng, controlled the Azure Iron Heavy Armor to slowly stand up.

It looked around blankly, then looked down at its hands, feet, and body. It felt extremely confused.

It didn’t know who it was, didn’t know where it was.

Ning Zhuo quickly sent the command again.

So Yuan Dasheng felt a voice in its mind, telling it what to do.

But Yuan Dasheng chose not to listen to this voice. It reached out and touched its heart. Deep within it, there was a strong sense of anger and hatred, like a flood released from its dam, surging and pouring out.

Yuan Dasheng was almost instantly buried by such intense emotions.

It roared, emitting a tragic ape cry.

The sound awakened Han Ming in the prison cell.

Han Ming had been resting and recuperating these past few days.

Before leaving, Ning Zhuo had loosened her restraints.

Although she was still chained, her range of movement already covered half of the cell.

At the same time, Ning Zhuo had also set up mechanisms here to feed Han Ming at fixed times.

Taking care of Han Ming’s excretion needs, Ning Zhuo had added a small wooden compartment in a corner of the cell, with a dung bucket inside.

Once the excrement in the bucket accumulated to a certain level, the floor tiles at the bottom of the bucket would open, and at the same time, clean water would spray out, flushing the excrement away.
To prevent Han Ming from feeling lonely, Ning Zhuo had also placed some books in the prison cell, covering a wide range of topics for Han Ming to pass the time.

Even so, Han Ming was reaching her limit.

She longed to see Chuibinke, even the sight of a cockroach would invigorate her spirits and bring her a sense of happiness.

So, when she heard the ape’s cries, she was instantly terrified, then ecstatic.

She hurriedly ran towards the prison door, but was yanked back by the iron chains.

Han Ming collapsed onto the cold stone floor, screaming towards the prison door, “I’m here, I’m here!”

“Master, is that you? Have you come?”

Yuan Dasheng heard Han Ming’s voice, but ignored it.

The intense resentment came and went quickly, like a layer of floating ice on the sea.

Beneath the floating ice lay the vast ocean, boundless sorrow.

The sorrowful emotion was so intense that it deeply immersed and buried Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality.

Yuan Dasheng’s eyes, once mechanically dull, now revealed an incomparably deep sadness and grief.

Its movements were slow and its steps heavy, like a walking corpse, as it left the underground base through the teleportation array.

Han Ming was left behind, still screaming miserably, as if trying to resist and struggle, not wanting the dungeon to return to silence.

“Please, Master, are you outside?”

“Please, I don’t want to be imprisoned anymore.”

“I’ll do anything, just let me out. I can’t take it anymore, I really can’t take it anymore, boo hoo.”

Han Ming broke down.

The underground base returned to silence, like a desperate life strangling its throat.

She cried for a long time, until she fainted.

Ning Zhuo sensed Han Ming’s movements through Yuan Dasheng. But he could no longer control it.

“Yuan Dasheng, stop, halt!”

“Return the way you came, return the way you came!”

Ning Zhuo communicated strongly with Yuan Dasheng through the Mirror Altar Spirit Communication Art, but it was useless.

Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality rejected the command.

“Full of spirituality, I didn’t expect such a drawback.”

Ning Zhuo in the carriage was extremely nervous. Once Yuan Dasheng was exposed, it would directly point to his fatal flaw.

My Buddha Heart Demon Seal.

Ning Zhuo closed his eyes tightly, fully resonating with the precious seal, to the point that two streams of nosebleeds quickly flowed down.

It was no use.

He only had Qi Refining stage cultivation, and could only draw out a trace of the precious seal’s power.

He was too far away from Yuan Dasheng, and because of Yuan Dasheng’s autonomous actions, the distance between Ning Zhuo and it was still increasing.

Even using the Mind Seal, it only made Yuan Dasheng’s movements a little stiffer and slower, without playing a decisive role.

Through the Mirror Altar Spirit Communication Art, Ning Zhuo saw that Yuan Dasheng had left the sewer, walked out of the alley, and arrived in a street with a constant flow of people.

For a moment, Ning Zhuo had an impulse to jump out of the carriage and run directly towards Yuan Dasheng.

But soon, he restrained this foolish idea.

“Calm down, calm down.”

Ning Zhuo’s breathing evened out, his eyes full of cold light.

He told himself to be calm, and he actually adjusted his state instantly.

The high efficiency made him feel a little surprised.

He quickly assessed the current situation.

Yuan Dasheng was wearing Cangtie heavy armor, not in ape form, but as an ordinary cultivator.

This was inconspicuous in Huoshi Immortal City.

“The situation is not the worst kind!”

“Emotions have a strong impact, but they are not lasting.”

“Wasn’t the previous rage and resentment replaced by sadness!”

“Once the emotion fades to a certain extent, my control over Yuan Dasheng will be restored.”

“On the contrary, my losing composure and jumping out of the carriage to run near Yuan Dasheng would be the biggest mistake.”

In the clouds, Ning Zhuo took a deep breath and completely calmed down.

With so many people guarding him, he needed to continue to the Zheng family.

“Even if Yuan Dasheng is exposed, I still have my last trump card!”

“The sudden change is nothing compared to the previous crisis of changing the name on the ranking list and plotting to kill Yuan Dasheng.”

Since bombing the Immortal Palace, Ning Zhuo had grown rapidly.

Not only his cultivation, but also his state of mind.

End of chapter.