Ning Zhuo, having analyzed to this extent, dared not slack off.

Yuan Dasheng possessed immortal talent, a treasure beyond measure, its value immeasurable!

Its inherent spirituality allowed for growth, and when combined with the “Life on a Thread” technique, it could freely transform its mechanical body.

In this way, if Yuan Dasheng were utilized and nurtured well, it could accompany Ning Zhuo throughout his entire cultivation journey!

Leaving aside the future, even now, Ning Zhuo heavily relied on it to provide some challenges and amusement for other Immortal Palace contenders.

To put it bluntly, without Yuan Dasheng, Meng Chong would have likely breached all of Ning Zhuo’s own contraptions and traps long ago.

While not a complete slaughter, Meng Chong’s progress would certainly not have stopped at the third chamber.

Ning Zhuo pondered for a moment, recalling the time Yuan Dasheng lost control, venturing out of the city alone and remaining motionless in a desolate wilderness.

“Since Yuan Dasheng desired to go there, it must hold some significant meaning for it!”

“I shall simply take it there and see what happens.”

As for how to get out?

Ning Zhuo’s eyes gleamed with cunning as he concocted a reason to leave.

He summoned the Ning family guards and informed them that he and Zheng Jian had collaborated to create a new mechanical ape.

He intended to venture into the wilds to seek out wild beasts, using actual combat to hone his skills in the art of mechanisms.

The guards hesitated, remembering the recent assassination attempt. Ning Zhuo’s departure from the city posed a considerable risk.

Ning Zhuo did not press them, instructing them to report to higher authorities.

Upon hearing the report, Ning Xiaoren contemplated the matter. He dispatched two Foundation Establishment cultivators and retrieved several life-saving artifacts from the family treasury, delivering them to Ning Zhuo.

The collaborative creation of the mechanical ape by Ning Zhuo and Zheng Jian was already known to all three families.

Afterward, Zheng Jian showered the mechanical ape with praises, extolling Ning Zhuo’s mastery of mechanism arts.

Ning Xiaoren, on one hand, was eager to assess the combat prowess of this novel mechanical ape. On the other, he hoped for Ning Zhuo’s continued improvement in the art of mechanisms.

This would benefit the entire Ning family.

Ning Xiaoren’s reaction was precisely what Ning Zhuo had anticipated.

He was also pleased with the life-saving treasures that were delivered, especially the “Directional Void Escape Talisman,” which was already locked onto the Ning family’s ancestral manor.

In the event of imminent danger, the talisman would ignite automatically, teleporting Ning Zhuo back to the family’s sanctuary in an instant, without requiring his activation.

“The Ning family is a great clan of cultivators. When they truly mobilize their foundation, their strength becomes apparent!”

With this sentiment, Ning Zhuo, along with a contingent of Ning family guards, departed from the city in a grand fashion.

He did not follow Yuan Dasheng’s previous route precisely. Instead, he opted for a slightly longer path, ultimately settling near the desolate wilderness.

He ordered the team to establish a camp there, while he, manipulating the Tree-Wielding Battle Ape Dasheng, actively sought out some wild beasts to practice with.

With everyone watching, Ning Zhuo couldn’t blatantly allow the Tree-Wielding Battle Ape Dasheng to act on its own.

To do so would cause a sensation, not only among the three families, but throughout the entire city.

Ning Zhuo’s fingertips were each connected to a strand of mana thread. These ten threads formed a web of puppetry, linked to the Tree-Wielding Battle Ape Dasheng.

The mana threads extended for a distance of thirty to forty feet, some curved, others straight, forming a bridge of communication between Ning Zhuo and Yuan Dasheng.

Yuan Dasheng engaged in combat with the wild beasts.

Initially, it was a chaotic scramble, as Ning Zhuo was still adjusting to the controls.

Despite his considerable skill in the art of mechanisms, the Tree-Wielding Battle Ape Dasheng was a new creation, requiring familiarization.

Once familiar, Yuan Dasheng’s combat became methodical, with well-coordinated advances and retreats.

The guards also watched Yuan Dasheng’s performance intently.

They exchanged fervent whispers among themselves.

“This mechanical ape is powerful!”

“It definitely possesses the combat strength of a Foundation Establishment cultivator!”

“I don’t understand the art of mechanisms, but I know a thing or two about artifact refinement. The materials used to forge this mechanical ape are of high quality. Even the most basic components are at the Foundation Establishment level, and some are even crafted from top-grade Golden Core materials!”

Seeing that the time was right, Ning Zhuo used the Mirror Platform Spiritual Connection Technique to allow Yuan Dasheng to unleash its full potential.

Yuan Dasheng had been impatient for quite some time, but the master had issued strict orders, leaving it no choice but to let Ning Zhuo manipulate its body.

Many opportunities had been missed due to Ning Zhuo’s rigid control, making Yuan Dasheng increasingly frustrated.

When Ning Zhuo granted it freedom, it immediately roared skyward, startling the guards and the beast before them.

With a sweeping step, Yuan Dasheng covered a distance of over ten feet, closing in on the beast.

Sideways turn, raising arm, driving elbow.

The beast was sent flying, crashing through several trees in its trajectory.

The Ning family guards were dumbfounded.

In that instant, they felt as if the Tree-Wielding Battle Ape Dasheng had come to life.

The beast, enraged, rose to its feet and charged again.

“Take it easy, hold back your strength.”

“Play with it, no rush to kill it!”

Ning Zhuo communicated with Yuan Dasheng through mental commands.

Yuan Dasheng, for now, remained obedient and followed instructions immediately.

What followed was a spectacle of a mechanical ape toying with a wild beast.

Each of them was dumbstruck.

“This mechanical ape is so agile, it’s terrifying! It’s stronger than me!”

“Don’t even mention you. Even if we joined forces, we probably couldn’t defeat it!”

“Is it really the mechanical ape that’s strong? It’s Ning Zhuo!”

“Ah, yes, yes, yes!”

The guards exchanged whispers, their gazes towards Ning Zhuo undergoing a dramatic change.

Previously, they were assigned to protect Ning Zhuo due to Ning Xiaoren’s orders. They were also aware of Ning Zhuo’s critical importance in the Ning family’s plan to seize the Magma Immortal Palace.

Now, they held Ning Zhuo in genuine respect.

The combat power displayed by Ning Zhuo in controlling the Tree-Wielding Battle Ape Dasheng had exceeded their expectations.

It was stronger than three or four of them combined.

Everyone marveled inwardly, “To think the mechanical ape seems alive, Ning Zhuo’s control is actually this strong?”

“He’s clearly just at the Qi Refining stage, and even at the early Qi Refining stage, but by controlling a mechanical ape with such excellent materials, he has combat power that surpasses us.”

“Isn’t this the specialty of mechanism cultivators, beast tamers, corpse manipulators, and ghost summoners? There’s nothing strange about it. Historically, there have been cases far more exaggerated than this!”

The Tree-Wielding Battle Ape Dasheng fought with demeaning grace, driving the wild boar to the brink of collapse.
Exhausted and riddled with injuries, the creature finally collapsed onto the ground, seemingly surrendering to its fate.

Ning Zhuo chuckled, deciding against killing it and granting it a chance to live.

He recalled the victorious Tree Martial Fighting Ape, Great Victory, dismissed the Threads of Magic, and retrieved over a dozen mechanical needles.

These needles varied in thickness, each one a “single-character cane head.”

Ning Zhuo instructed the guards beside him, “Next, I will change my method of control to test the limits of Great Victory’s long-distance return capability!”

“If anything unexpected occurs, I ask you all to do your utmost to bring this mechanical ape back.”

The guard captain nodded immediately, assuring Ning Zhuo that he would, his attitude far more proactive than before.

The slightest hint of arrogance stemming from his superior cultivation had vanished.

Only then did Ning Zhuo command Yuan Great Victory to journey to the desolate wilderness.

The single-character cane heads inserted into Yuan Great Victory slowly rotated with time.

As it reached its destination, Ning Zhuo felt a subtle shift in his mind, clearly sensing that the connection between him and Yuan Great Victory had become somewhat clearer.

It was as if several layers of parchment paper that had obscured the connection had been removed.

When Yuan Great Victory returned, Ning Zhuo examined the single-character cane heads.

He pulled some out to inspect, while he twisted others, imbuing them with his spiritual will.

He then sent Yuan Great Victory away again, back to the desolate wilderness.

Ning Zhuo’s control over Yuan Great Victory deepened slightly.

After repeating this process three times, Ning Zhuo frowned slightly, thinking to himself, “Not enough, not nearly enough.”

To illustrate, if there were a hundred layers of parchment paper obscuring the connection between him and Yuan Great Victory, each trip to the destination only peeled off three or four, or perhaps only two or three, with the effect diminishing noticeably.

The result was both pleasing and concerning.

The pleasing part was that Ning Zhuo’s speculation had been verified. By acting in accordance with the flow of spiritual energy, he could gain the spiritual acknowledgement of the living Yuan Great Victory, deepening his control.

The concerning part was that Ning Zhuo found that this behavior did not yield a significant effect.

It was like a water bottle, pouring out only a mouthful or two of water, far from enough to quench his thirst.

“What should I do?”

Just as Ning Zhuo was troubled, shouts of battle and cries for help rang out from the mountains.

The guards were on high alert, gathering around Ning Zhuo.

“Something’s not right!”

“Young Master Ning Zhuo, we should leave this place quickly!”

“It might be another assassination attempt! Stop anyone from approaching!”

Ning Zhuo, however, wore a peculiar expression, standing his ground and shaking his head slightly. “This is indeed an assassination attempt, but it is not directed at me.”

Through Yuan Great Victory’s eyes, Ning Zhuo saw Yuan Two.

Yuan Two was being pursued by several cultivators.

His expression was frantic, and he had multiple wounds. He was desperately fleeing for his life, leaving a trail of blood.

Yuan Great Victory spotted Yuan Two, its body trembling, and a torrent of intense emotion surged forth.

It threatened to overwhelm its spirituality.

In a moment of inspiration, Ning Zhuo decisively commanded, “Yuan Great Victory, go and save him.”

The instant the order was given, a dozen layers of parchment paper were peeled away from the connection between him and Yuan Great Victory.

Yuan Great Victory let out a roar and leaped high into the air, soaring over Yuan Two’s head and landing amidst the pursuers.

Yuan Two looked up and saw the Tree Martial Fighting Ape, Great Victory, and exclaimed in astonishment, “Uncle Great Victory?”

At the same time, in Fire Persimmon Immortal City…

The Black Market.

Sun Lingtong, leading a group of burly men, surrounded a stall.

Brandishing a dagger, he called out in a childish voice, “Hey, if you want to do business here, you have to pay protection fees! You haven’t paid yet, and it’s been so many days!”

The stall owner knelt on the ground, weeping, “Boss Sun, my elderly mother is seriously ill, and my income from the stall is meager. Can you please be lenient with the protection fees?”

“Bullshit! Do you think I’m a three-year-old kid? Trying to trick me!” Sun Lingtong kicked the stall owner to the ground, his tone disdainful and his expression fierce. “Do you think I don’t know your story?”

Just as he was about to continue speaking, the hairs on his body suddenly stood on end, and he leaped to the side.

Zhu Xuanji slowly revealed himself. “You’re interesting, Sun Lingtong. You sensed me as I approached. Those spiritual pupils of yours have excellent vision!”

“So it’s Master Zhu!”

Sun Lingtong quickly bowed.

Zhu Xuanji held out a list. “The reason I’m looking for you is simple. Tell me, where is My Drooping-Hair Patron?”