A violent explosion echoed in the distance.

Ning Xiaohui looked up, instinctively gazing towards the western sky.

As expected, cracks appeared in the light barrier in the west, and three Fire Walking Snakes infiltrated, falling to the ground one after another.

The battle on the ground immediately erupted.

Ning Xiaohui quickly turned back to look at the calabash-shaped furnace before her.

During this time, she had been driven to madness by Ning Zhuo, constantly striving to earn merit points.

At this moment, Ning Xiaohui was noticeably thinner, her eye sockets sunken, with large dark circles under her eyes. One look was enough to tell that she was in a state of extreme physical and mental exhaustion.

But Ning Xiaohui’s eyes were shining, bloodshot and filled with a hint of madness in her every movement.

A wave of dizziness suddenly hit her.

Ning Xiaohui sat cross-legged on the ground, her upper body swaying for a moment before stabilizing.

“This is a critical moment in refining; I cannot slacken!” She quickly took out a medicinal pill, pulled out the stopper of the bottle, and poured it into her mouth.

She swallowed five or six pills in one gulp.

The pills entered her stomach, and Ning Xiaohui’s spirits were greatly uplifted. She felt as if she was a deflated ball, and the medicinal power was filling her exhausted body again.

“Hold on, melt this furnace of materials, and I’ll have another five merit points!”

Ning Xiaohui knew well that her early advantage would continuously diminish over time, so she acted with frantic intensity.

She used her Ice Jade Hand talent to its fullest extent, repairing large and small mechanical structures.

Such tasks often rewarded substantial merit points.

However, the frequent use of her talent also took a toll on Ning Xiaohui.

So, during the intervals, she would come to the forest of calabash furnaces and accept some refining tasks.

There were many furnaces in the Molten Immortal Palace, categorized into four grades: Copper, Iron, Silver, and Gold.

The calabash-shaped furnaces were arranged in an orderly manner, spaced apart from each other. From a distance, they looked like a massive forest of calabashes.

Furnaces were different from important places like the Medical Hall, the Five Elements Artillery Tower, and the Commander’s Platform.

Furnaces were open to the public; even outsiders who were not trial disciples could easily accept refining tasks here.

Ning Xiaohui sat cross-legged before the furnace, waves of intense heat rushing towards her, blowing her hair tips dry and yellow.

She stared intently at the furnace in front of her, not relaxing for a moment.

“My merit points are already at one hundred and twenty-seven.”

“Just thirty more merit points, and I can obtain the position at the Historical Records Pavilion.”

“Ning Xiaohui, fight with all your might! Let Ning Zhuo and his ilk see and truly appreciate the power of the Ning family’s main lineage.”

“This time, I can only win, never lose!”

Ning Xiaohui roared in her heart.

Ning Xiaohui was ostracized and driven out by everyone, forced to enter the Immortal Palace.

Her current situation made her feel as if she had been pushed to the edge of a cliff, and this time, there was no retreat.

The past humiliation, the pressure of Ning Zhuo chasing behind her, the expectations of the Golden Core Patriarch – all these factors piled upon her, igniting Ning Xiaohui’s most intense fighting spirit she had ever experienced!

Molten Immortal Palace, Main Hall.

On the throne, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit paced anxiously.

Its gaze penetrated the vast sky, observing Ning Xiaohui and also observing Ning Zhuo.

Seeing Ning Zhuo sound asleep on the bed, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit complained, “Stop sleeping, the situation is dire, and you still have the heart to sleep?”

“Look at Ning Xiaohui, how hardworking and desperate she is!”

Of course, it wouldn’t dare say these words directly to Ning Zhuo.

It just talked to itself, venting its emotions.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was truly getting desperate!

It might have been better off not knowing Ning Xiaohui’s true progress, but the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had been constantly watching her.

Every time it saw Ning Xiaohui’s progress, getting closer and closer to the position in the Historical Records Pavilion, it suffered immensely.

“Zhu Xuanji, that old fellow, is also doing things that are not human. He is secretly using Ning Zhuo to stimulate Ning Xiaohui.”

After pacing in circles more than a dozen times, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit finally couldn’t bear it. It took a deep breath and proactively contacted Ning Zhuo.

“Young Master, Young Master…” The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit tried its best to lower its voice, calling out weakly and affectionately.

Ning Zhuo had not been asleep for long before he was awakened.

He opened his tired eyes and said weakly, “Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, have you recovered a bit?”

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit smiled bitterly, “No, Young Master, my condition is deteriorating every moment, but the situation is too urgent now.”

“I had to use all my strength to warn you about that Ning Xiaohui! She is a huge threat.”

“Her merit points are only about thirty away from obtaining the lowest position in the Historical Records Pavilion!”

“Young Master, you must deal with her as soon as possible!!”

Ning Zhuo sighed and immediately expressed his own distress and difficulty.

“Ning Xiaohui must be stopped.”

“But I have no opportunity!”

“The Golden Core Patriarchs are nearby, and that Zhu Xuanji is always watching me, he is suspicious of me.”

Ning Zhuo appeased the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, “There are still over thirty merit points to go, Ning Xiaohui is still some distance from success.”

“We still have a little time, it’s not the last moment yet.”

“At this time, we must be calm and find the appropriate opportunity!”

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit jumped up and down on the throne in anxiety, “Calm down, how can you tell me to calm down! Oh dear, you’re driving me to death.”

Of course, it didn’t dare to say these words to Ning Zhuo, only vent them secretly.

Ning Zhuo took the opportunity to instruct the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit to keep a close eye on Ning Xiaohui.

At the same time, he asked the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit about the question that the latter hadn’t had time to answer last time.

Under duress, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit could only tell Ning Zhuo that his guess was correct.

As the head of the Medical Hall, one could indeed get a share of the subordinates’ merit points.

However, similarly, if a subordinate messed up a task, the head of the Medical Hall would also be held accountable. In such cases, the head’s merit points would also be deducted. This result was slightly different from what Ning Zhuo had expected before.

Just as Ning Zhuo was about to continue questioning the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit proactively disconnected the connection again.

It buried its head in its arms and sighed on the armrest of the throne. Every time it communicated with Ning Zhuo, it was forced to give up information and suffered losses.

But it had to use Ning Zhuo to deal with Ning Xiaohui.

It couldn’t bear it anymore, this life was simply too difficult!

Ning Zhuo called out to the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit repeatedly, but there was no response. He sighed deeply and lay motionless on the bed.

He kept his eyes open, looking at the ceiling, his heart heavy.

Ning Zhuo wanted to stop Ning Xiaohui and also wanted to get information about the Historical Records Pavilion, but there was no opportunity.

The Golden Core cultivators were protecting them a bit too well.

Ning Zhuo also felt a lot of anxiety and unease.

Every day that passed, the pressure from Ning Xiaohui increased.

But Ning Zhuo knew that he had to be extremely cautious.

It was really not easy for him to get to this point. He was just a low-level Qi Refining cultivator, dealing with Golden Core cultivators. He had to be careful every moment, keep his nerves taut, and not make any mistakes!

And if he couldn’t stand the pressure and blindly attacked Ning Xiaohui, he would fall into Zhu Xuanji’s trap and expose himself.

Zhu Xuanji and the other Golden Cores were using the cultivation teams as bait to lure out the true culprit behind the bombardment of Fire Persimmon Mountain.

Similarly, Zhu Xuanji was also using Ning Xiaohui to fish.

If Ning Zhuo was anxious and took the bait, Zhu Xuanji would be the happiest.

“Wait!”

“Even if I have to endure, I will wait.”

“Wait for the right time.”

“What is Song Fuli doing? Hasn’t he realized he’s been robbed yet?”

The next day, City Lord’s Mansion.

After getting permission, Song Fuli entered the study and paid his respects to Fei Si.

When Fei Si saw Song Fuli’s gloomy expression, his heart immediately tightened, but he still maintained a smile on his face and asked about Song Fuli’s purpose.

Song Fuli’s first words startled Fei Si.

“What?! All the auction items prepared by your side have been stolen?” Fei Si’s eyes widened.

Song Fuli nodded solemnly, “How could I joke with Lord Fei Si about such a major matter?”

“We just discovered it!”

“As soon as we discovered this, we immediately sealed off the scene, and I came to you immediately.”

“All along, when we have resided in Molten Immortal City, we have strictly abided by the rules. The materials, magical treasures, etc., we carry are all within the regulated scope.”

“We are fully capable of setting up higher-grade formations to protect our goods.”

“It is precisely because we are limited by your city’s rules and cannot exert our full power that the protection of the goods is less than sixty percent.”

“Now that such a thing has happened, I ask for Lord Fei Si’s assistance. After all, our goods were lost in Fire Persimmon Immortal City.”

Song Fuli said he was requesting help, but his tone was anxious, implicitly blaming the City Lord’s Mansion.

Fei Si dared not be negligent in the slightest. He immediately got up and returned with Song Fuli to survey the scene.

At the treasure vault, there were fake goods placed on the shelves.

If Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu were here, they would realize that all these fake goods were made by them, without exception.

Fei Si also checked the surrounding formations.

To protect the Cloud Merchant’s goods, the City Lord’s Mansion had also put in effort. They had specifically arranged for the city’s defensive formation to be connected to the temporary formation here.

Strictly speaking, the defensive strength here was not low.

However, the fact before Fei Si was that the Cloud Merchant’s goods had truly been stolen!

“Things are troublesome!”

Fei Si’s brows furrowed deeply.

This single incident itself was already very bad.

If not handled properly, Fire Persimmon Immortal City would severely lose credibility.

As a city, if it couldn’t even guarantee the safety of the wealth of the merchant teams that came to do business, what face would it have to ask the merchant teams to voluntarily limit their strength?

If this credibility could not be recovered, under a vicious cycle, fewer and fewer merchant teams would come to Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

This was extremely detrimental to the development of Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

And currently, the City Lord’s Mansion still wanted to use the Cloud Merchants to assist in defending Fire Persimmon Immortal City and Molten Immortal Palace.

“Which damn bastard stole the Cloud Merchant’s treasures at this critical juncture?”

“Damn, must be killed!”

Fei Si was extremely angry in his heart. He suppressed his anger and forced himself to calm down.

“Our side will definitely give Brother Song an explanation for this matter!” Fei Si immediately assured Song Fuli, doing his best to appease him.

After issuing the order to continue sealing off the scene, Fei Si left the Cloud Market. He first reported to Meng Kui, and then immediately contacted Zhu Xuanji.

“Lord Divine Constable, we need your help!” Fei Si pleaded for help, not caring about his own face at all.

Zhu Xuanji received his “plea for help” and sighed softly, his face full of worry.

Song Fuli and his group of Cloud Merchants were indeed a strong arm.

Especially the Cloud Whale beast, whose level was as high as the Nascent Soul stage.

In case several Nascent Soul stage Crimson Flame demonic beasts attacked together, Zhu Xuanji was still hoping that the Cloud Whale would be able to share some of the pressure for Meng Kui at that time.

“Looks like I have to go out.”

“Investigate the case with all my strength, capture the criminal, and do my best to recover the stolen treasures!”

“On this basis, try to win over the Cloud Merchant group…”

(End of Chapter)