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This was a world of orange-red.

The temperature in the air was high. Even without moving, standing still would cause one to naturally sweat.

Ning Zhuo tidied his bed.

He scanned the room and, after setting up a few talismans, pushed open the door and left his temporary dwelling.

He and the members of the three family reform teams had entered the Lava Immortal Palace together, bringing ample supplies. They were prepared for a long stay.

Ning Zhuo walked out of the house assigned to him.

In the small courtyard, several cultivators from the Ning family were cleaning.

Seeing Ning Zhuo appear, they all bowed, their faces filled with respect and admiration.

After half a year of hard work and various actions, Ning Zhuo’s prestige within the Ning family reform team had reached its peak.

Ning Zhuo smiled at them, nodded, and then, with steps that appeared slow but were actually swift, left the station.

According to the order he had just received, he needed to immediately go to a side hall to meet Zhu Xuanji.

Walking along, he slightly raised his head, gazing into the high sky.

The sky was enveloped by a massive spherical light barrier, which was a faint gold color.

From Ning Zhuo’s perspective, he could vaguely see: outside the light barrier, a densely packed, endless tide of demonic beasts.

Different types of demonic beasts, large and small, were furiously attacking the formation barrier of the Lava Immortal Palace.

The barrier was not absolutely safe. Some areas, after enduring attacks that reached their limit, would develop cracks. And from these obvious cracks, a plume of flame would seep in.

Immediately, the flame would recondense in mid-air, forming a Foundation Establishment level Fiery Serpent.

The Fiery Serpent hissed as it fell, but before it reached the ground, it was met by a large group of automaton puppets, and a fierce battle unfolded in mid-air.

By the time the Fiery Serpent landed, it had already sustained a large amount of damage, with only half a life remaining. Then, it was swarmed by more automaton puppets on the ground and completely overwhelmed.

Such a scene did not bring Ning Zhuo peace of mind.

On the contrary, he had already sensed the trend of the Lava Immortal Palace’s defenses continuously declining.

This round of bombardment, which he had orchestrated, had provoked an extremely massive tide of demonic beasts!

The Lava Immortal Palace was at a disadvantage, and the situation was deteriorating over time.

“The risk of Boss Sun entering the Immortal Palace was very high. I wonder how he actually got in.”

“Did he rely on Yang Chanyu, the Core Disciple of the Boundless Gate, again this time?”

Thinking of Yang Chanyu, Ning Zhuo’s heart couldn’t help but fill with more worry.

Previously, when Sun Lingtong went to steal goods from the Cloud Merchants, he had indeed joined forces with Yang Chanyu again.

The fact that Yang Chanyu repeatedly provided assistance was quite troubling in Ning Zhuo’s eyes.

Ning Zhuo once again raised his estimation of the price Sun Lingtong would have to pay.

“Next, I need to find an opportunity to secretly meet up with Boss Sun and the others and hand over the Supreme Goodness is Like Water!”

“Then I’ll see if I can subtly inquire from Yang Chanyu about the specific price Boss Sun has to pay for this cooperation.”

“That Seven-Colored Auspicious Cloud, Boss Sun is unwilling to give it to Yang Chanyu. I’ll take it as a见面礼 (first meeting gift) and see if I can get some information out of Yang Chanyu’s mouth, and then secretly help Boss Sun bear some of the pressure.”

Ning Zhuo walked along the streets of the Lava Immortal Palace. He was gradually drawn in by the sights along the way and couldn’t help but put away his thoughts.

This was the first time he had truly walked within the Lava Immortal Palace.

How many times had he imagined this scene in his plans… and today it was finally realized!

Within the Lava Immortal Palace, everywhere one looked were golden pillars and red bricks. Under the fiery light reflected by the surrounding magma, the golden pillars and red bricks shimmered with a slightly dazzling radiance, like immortal light that burned without extinguishing.

There were towering pavilions, majestic main halls, and exquisite side halls. The various buildings were arranged clearly and logically. The thick architectural structure gave the Lava Immortal Palace a strong foundation, making it simple and imposing. And the statues of fire dragons, fire phoenixes, and other creatures were exquisitely carved, lifelike, giving a sense of magnificence.

Although the two architectural styles were contrasting, here they appeared to be seamlessly blended, perfectly harmonious.

In front of Ning Zhuo, a wall gradually appeared.

The wall was quite thick, and at intervals along the wall, a large talisman was depicted, like painted windows.

“This is the Spirit Concealing Wall,” Ning Zhuo thought.

He reached out his hand and, while walking, stroked the uneven wall.

The tangible touch conveyed by his fingertips was so clear.

This was a profound feeling he had not experienced when his soul entered the Immortal Palace!

His eyes gradually turned red, and he couldn’t help but think of his deceased mother.

“Mother, I have finally arrived at the Lava Immortal Palace at this moment.”

Ning Zhuo had yearned for this for over a decade, and had also planned for over a decade.

When he decided to bomb the Immortal Palace and put it into action, there was no turning back.

It had not been easy for him to reach this point.

Along the way, he had exhausted himself, stumbled, and faced several life-and-death crises, only then able to reach here and walk this path.

He only had Qi Gathering stage cultivation, yet he had to maneuver among the four major forces of Fire Persimmon Immortal City, enduring the immense pressure brought by Zhu Xuanji.

During this time, he had used various means to overcome each crisis with difficulty.

Sometimes, he relied on his ample preparations over the past decade, and sometimes he had to rely on some luck.

In this process, if he had been even slightly careless, he would have died without a burial place!

Many people who explored the Immortal Palace only began to fight for their lives when battling the Crimson Flame Demonic Beasts now.

But Ning Zhuo had already entered the game with his life from the very beginning, placing his life on the table to gamble.

“If possible, I wouldn’t want to do this.”

Ning Zhuo once again looked up at the faint gold spherical light barrier in the sky.

He looked at the densely packed demonic beast tide outside the light barrier: “I have no choice. The situation is forcing me, and I can only reluctantly overturn the table.”

Of course, he controlled the force, and he didn’t completely overturn the table.

This time, he used the demonic beasts to create a situation where everyone had to go all out.

This way, he could alleviate much of the pressure on him.

When Ning Zhuo had taken this step, the entire situation was already irrecoverable.

This was true for both the Lava Immortal Palace and for him!

He was like a fledgling in a nest on the edge of a cliff, taking its first flight. Either it would soar into the sky, or it would fall to its death.

Walking along the wide street, Ning Zhuo finally arrived at a side hall.

“They’re here.” The people in the side hall heard the sound of knocking and turned to look at the hall door.

Zhu Xuanji said, “Come in.”

So, in the next moment, Ning Zhuo pushed open the door and walked in.

There were already several people in the side hall. Ning Zhuo was the last to arrive.

Besides Zhu Xuanji, there were Zheng Jian, Zhou Zeshen, and Zhou Zhu.

“Lord Divine Constable.” The white-clothed youth Ning Zhuo first bowed to Zhu Xuanji, and then apologized to the others, “Sorry, I’m late.”

The three talented cultivators from the Zhou and Zheng families smiled at him.

“We haven’t been here long.”

“It’s not late, the timing is just right.”

By now, Ning Zhuo had not only gained immense prestige within the Ning family. His various actions and achievements had also impressed the talented cultivators of the other two families.

Even the Core Formation level Zhu Xuanji looked at Ning Zhuo with new eyes.

Ning Zhuo subtly glanced at the tops of the heads of the three talented cultivators.

He noticed: they hadn’t met in a while, but the threads of human life above their heads were thicker and more solid than before.

“It seems their recognition of me is also deepening.”

Ning Zhuo looked at Zhu Xuanji and sighed in his heart: “If I could plant the thread of human life on his head, my advantage would be much greater.”

Unfortunately, with his current cultivation, even with the complete divine ability of the thread of human life, he couldn’t do it.

“Perhaps, only when I advance to the Foundation Establishment stage will it be possible to plant the thread of human life on the heads of Core Formation cultivators.” Ning Zhuo vaguely held this conjecture in his heart.

Zhu Xuanji was very direct: “Since everyone is here, let’s sign the contract first.”

He briefly explained the content of the contract.

Zheng Jian and Zhou Zhu didn’t feel anything, but Zhou Zeshen and Ning Zhuo frowned slightly at the same time.

Zhou Zeshen had doubts in his heart, but didn’t dare to question proactively, so he cast his gaze towards Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo indeed cupped his fists: “Lord Divine Constable, please wait a moment, I still have some doubts.”

“If it is only to restrain the members of the reform teams of our three families and the City Lord’s Mansion… this indeed achieves fairness and allows us to focus all our energy and time on competing for the various positions in the Lava Immortal Palace in a short period of time.”

“However, in addition to the members of our four reform teams, there are many other people who have entered the Immortal Palace with their souls, competing for the treasures of the Immortal Palace’s inheritance.”

“What about these people?”

“What if a hidden genius emerges among them, rapidly rises because of this inheritance, and ultimately surpasses our achievements? What should we do?”

“If the members of our four reform teams cannot enter the Immortal Palace with their souls now, wouldn’t that leave an opportunity for such people?”

“Therefore, I believe that at least we should leave some people to monitor the trial stages of the Lava Immortal Palace to prevent such dark horses from appearing.”

Zhu Xuanji nodded slightly: “We have already considered the situations you mentioned.”

As he spoke, he took out a scroll.

Clearly, this was a Dharma Decree scroll.

Zhu Xuanji first handed it to Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo unfolded it and saw that the Dharma Decree scroll contained a large amount of content.

These texts specifically and in detail described the various clauses of this four-party contract. The content within it perfectly addressed the concerns raised by Ning Zhuo.

Each of the four parties would send one member of their reform team to be stationed at the trial stages of the Lava Immortal Palace to record and monitor the exploration of the vast city residents in the Lava Immortal Palace.

If a dark horse appeared, the four forces would act in a timely manner.

The Dharma Decree scroll also stipulated the effective duration of the contract and how to deal with various unexpected situations that might arise during the process.