Molten Lava Immortal Palace.
Main Hall.
“Ah!” The Lava Tortoise Spirit screamed suddenly, waking from a nightmare.
It instinctively reached out and touched its head.
“Still here!”
It relaxed, realizing that it hadn’t been destroyed.
It had survived!
Beings like spirits inherently have no fatal injuries. Therefore, being beheaded is virtually the same as losing all four limbs.
The difference lies in the extent of the damage.
If too much spirituality is lost, reaching the limit, the remaining spirituality will also collapse and dissipate. This is unless, at the brink of death, spirituality can be replenished from external sources.
At this moment, the Lava Tortoise Spirit’s body had shrunk by a third compared to before, leaving only about sixty to seventy percent of its original size.
Moreover, its entire body glowed with firelight, much brighter than before. This, however, only proved its weakness.
Before, with its profound foundation, the firelight was restrained and intense, giving a sense of sturdiness and weight. Now, although its body emitted light and was quite bright, there was a hint of being ethereal and light.
At this moment, a calling sound, like distant, wispy smoke, ethereal and scattered, drifted into the heart of the Lava Tortoise Spirit.
“Lava Tortoise Spirit of the Immortal Palace, my heart’s desire, only you can ignite it.”
“The fierce flame of the Fire Dragon, the essence condensed from heaven and earth, burning all things to ashes, turning into spiritual light.”
“With a heart of piety and a solemn mind, I call upon you. Respond, respond…”
“Any requests you have can be discussed. I am a member of the Meng family, please answer my call, respond to my voice…”
These were the cultivators of the Meng family, who had been actively and continuously contacting the Lava Tortoise Spirit.
At the same time.
Ning Zhuo’s voice also subtly transmitted, his approach much more direct: “Lava Tortoise Spirit, Lava Tortoise Spirit, Lava Tortoise Spirit…”
“Ah!” The Lava Tortoise Spirit cried out, shaking its head violently. “So annoying! So annoying!”
It retracted its dragon head into its tortoise shell on the armrest of the throne.
It roared in its heart.
“I don’t care about any Meng family. The only one I care about is Meng Chong!”
“Ning Zhuo? A Young Master? Bah!”
“The History Pavilion could be destroyed, and it was thanks to me. What use were you?”
“All you do is act!”
“As soon as Zhu Xuanji targeted you, you became weak, useless!”
“I see it now, all of you—you’re all worthless!”
“It still has to be me. I have to rely on myself!”
Ning Zhuo couldn’t summon the Lava Tortoise Spirit no matter how he tried.
He followed Ning Jiufan step for step, sticking close.
Ning Jiufan, being followed so closely, was a little unaccustomed to it. He stopped and turned to look at him. “Brat, why are you following me so closely?”
Ning Zhuo cupped his hands, his face pale. “Ancestor, Ancestor, I’m scared.”
It turned out that after he confessed his crimes to the Golden Core cultivators earlier, he had received a stern reprimand from Ning Jiufan.
But it was just a reprimand.
After all, even Zhu Xuanji had understood and accepted Ning Zhuo, allowing him to atone for his crimes. The Golden Core cultivators of the three families couldn’t say much.
The only exception was Ning Jiufan.
According to the rules of the righteous path, as the head of the Ning family, Ning Jiufan naturally had the authority to deal with Ning Zhuo, a member of the Ning family.
But Ning Jiufan only reprimanded him, without even hitting him once. Although his tone sounded extremely stern, any slightly experienced practitioner of the righteous path could understand the protective intent in Ning Jiufan’s words.
After Zhu Xuanji left, the Golden Core cultivators discussed for a while and decided to split up.
Ning Zhuo followed behind Ning Jiufan.
Ning Zhuo said, “Ancestor, I’m too dangerous.”
“Ning Xiaohui’s death is still vivid. She was a direct descendant of the family, working secretly for Sir Zhu Xuanji, and under the protection of many Golden Core cultivators…”
“With such protection, she still died!”
“This Unbounded Gate is too terrifying, too wicked.”
“I’ve now abandoned darkness and embraced the light, they must have found out. I don’t want to die, please show mercy, save me, save me!”
Ning Jiufan snorted coldly. “You don’t understand the situation then.”
“The History Pavilion was the primary target. With the tide of demon beasts, defense was difficult in haste.”
“But if it weren’t for the Five Elements Cannon Towers’ bombardment, we would have surely succeeded!”
Ning Zhuo spread his hands. “The History Pavilion is in ruins. My small body is too weak, I can’t withstand it.”
Ning Jiufan was so angry that he bent his knuckles and gave Ning Zhuo a flick on his big head.
“Ouch.” Ning Zhuo covered his head, crying out in pain.
“When did my Ning family produce such a coward who clings to life and fears death? Where is the backbone of my Ning family from the Northern Country?” Ning Jiufan reprimanded, hating that Ning Zhuo wasn’t living up to his expectations.
Ning Zhuo looked at Ning Jiufan eagerly. “Ancestor, listen to what you’re saying! If I didn’t cling to life and fear death, I might have been eliminated by the demons of the Unbounded Gate a long time ago.”
“As for the backbone of the Northern Country, what is that? When I was born, our Ning family had already migrated to the Southern Bean Country. Weren’t our clan driven out of the Northern Wind Country?”
Ning Jiufan immediately bristled, his eyes wide, continuously tapping Ning Zhuo’s big head, muttering incessantly, “Our clan voluntarily withdrew, voluntarily withdrew!”
Ning Zhuo backed away, avoiding Ning Jiufan’s flicks. “Ancestor, Ancestor, stop hitting, I’m going to become stupid if you keep hitting.”
Ning Jiufan chuckled coldly. “You? Stupid? You’re too cunning. You concealed your crimes, and with just a slight bluff from Zhu Xuanji, you were scared limp and surrendered willingly.”
“You should become a little stupider, it will be good for you.”
“Your name is Ning Zhuo, where has your ‘Zhuo’ [meaning dull/clumsy] gone?”
Ning Zhuo let out an “Ah,” as if suddenly realizing. “Ancestor, you mean, Zhu Xuanji was bluffing me? He was just suspecting me, he didn’t have any evidence at all?”
Ning Jiufan sneered. “What did you think? Did you see him take out any evidence?”
Ning Zhuo’s eyes widened, with a look of disbelief, he whispered, “Then, this… Sir Zhu is too cunning!”
Ning Jiufan snorted coldly again.
Ning Zhuo blinked repeatedly, looking at Ning Jiufan, rubbing his hands and saying, “Actually, my main worry is, it doesn’t matter if I’m exposed, I’m most afraid of tarnishing the Ning family’s reputation and causing trouble for you, Ancestor.”
“Heh.” The corner of Ning Jiufan’s mouth twitched.
He still couldn’t help but be amused by Ning Zhuo’s shamelessness.
Ning Zhuo colluding with the demonic cultivators of the Unbounded Gate actually didn’t mean much in Ning Jiufan’s eyes.
One must know that a common trick of the righteous path is to hire demonic cultivators to act as their dirty hands. Sometimes, they even actively pretend to be demonic cultivators themselves.
Ning Zhuo’s situation was merely due to his young age and weakness, being secretly controlled by cultivators of the demonic and evil sects.
Even if he participated in part of the conspiracy to bomb the Immortal Palace, the Molten Lava Immortal Palace is still there, isn’t it?
It’s not a big deal!
Now that Ning Zhuo is exposed and has escaped the control of the Unbounded Gate, this is a great thing.
Ning Zhuo surrendering to Zhu Xuanji was unexpected by Ning Jiufan, and it did put him in a passive position.
But how to put it, his own child still needed to be protected.
Even if they make mistakes, who among the young doesn’t make some mistakes?
Just educate them behind closed doors, educate them well, and after opening the doors, let them out, Ning Zhuo will still be a disciple of the Ning family, a future pillar of the Ning family.
Ning Xiaohui is already dead, and now the only genius in the Qi Refining stage of the Ning family is Ning Zhuo.
If Ning Zhuo also died, or defected to the evil sects, then the Ning family would have a generational gap.
This is detrimental to the Ning family.
Ning Jiufan was deeply pained by Ning Xiaohui’s death. An ice fat jade hand… This heartache further motivated Ning Jiufan to strongly protect Ning Zhuo.
Zhu Xuanji returned earlier than everyone expected.
He reassembled all the Golden Core cultivators.
“I have reached an alliance with Lord Meng Kui, and I would like to inform you all of this good news.”
Speaking of this, Zhu Xuanji couldn’t help but fix his gaze on Ning Zhuo.
Everyone present was a Golden Core cultivator, the Qi Refining stage Ning Zhuo truly seemed out of place.
Ning Zhuo saw Zhu Xuanji looking at him and quickly bowed in salute. “Greetings, Sir Zhu!”
His expression was respectful, his etiquette was standard, without any mistakes.
Ning Jiufan spoke. “Currently, Ning Zhuo has become the sole outstanding genius among the junior generation of my Ning family. During this time, let him stay by my side.”
“He has committed such a serious mistake, I will enforce family law on him and punish him severely!”
Zhu Xuanji nodded slightly, tacitly allowing Ning Zhuo to remain present.
In his heart, the Divine Constable sighed inwardly.
From Ning Jiufan’s response, he heard the dissatisfaction of this Ning family Golden Core.
Ning Xiaohui died.
She was working for Zhu Xuanji, and to a certain extent, was used as bait by Zhu Xuanji and sacrificed.
It is only human nature for Ning Jiufan to strongly protect Ning Zhuo out of heartache.
At this moment, Zhu Xuanji was even more convinced that not soul-searching Ning Zhuo was the correct decision!
If he had soul-searched him and caused Ning Zhuo, this genius, to be crippled, wouldn’t Ning Jiufan explode in anger?
“After all, the Ning family is different from the Zhou and Zheng families.”
“They migrated from the Northern Wind Country. I heard that the Ning family was dissatisfied with the governance of the Northern Wind Country and left on their own, resolutely abandoning their interests and connections. Such a fiery temperament, they cannot be casually manipulated!”
A thought flashed through his mind, Zhu Xuanji officially announced that the two sides would cooperate closely in the future, and any immortal palace positions obtained by the cultivators of either family would be retained!
This news brought expressions of joy to the Golden Core cultivators of the three families.
Ning Zhuo felt secretly surprised.
After exposing Sun Lingtong, Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui would definitely join forces. This was something Ning Zhuo could deduce.
He hadn’t expected that Zhu and Meng would cooperate to such an extent!
“No!” Suddenly, Ning Zhuo understood. “This wasn’t proposed by Zhu Xuanji.”
“He has already allied with the three families, there’s no need to offer future chips to win them over.”
“Since it wasn’t him, it must be Meng Kui.”
“Why would Meng Kui make such a proposal to win over the three families?”
“Interesting!”
A sharp glint flashed in Ning Zhuo’s eyes. “It’s possible that someone among the three Golden Core cultivators present has secretly contacted Meng Kui.”
“So, who could it be?”
Ning Zhuo first thought of the Zheng family.
Before, Zhu Xuanji uniting the three families and forming a close alliance was a brilliant move.
But afterwards, Ning Zhuo’s scheme involving the demonic path true scripture triggered a Golden Core melee. The Zheng family killed a True Disciple of the Supreme Clarity Palace, causing a rift between Zhu Xuanji and the Zheng family.
“The Zheng family is therefore facing immense pressure from the Supreme Clarity Palace. And the royal family has been slow to express their stance.”
“The Zheng family is very likely to frantically seek help because of this pressure. Joining forces with the Meng family is also reasonable.”
“In addition, the Zhou family is also a possibility.”
Before, if the Meng family obtained the Molten Lava Immortal Palace, the Zhou family’s interests would suffer the most.
Therefore, the Zhou family was the most resolute opponent of Meng Kui.
But what if the Meng family, on their end, proactively compromised and privately told the Zhou family that they were willing to coexist with them?
It wasn’t possible before because Meng Kui looked down on forces like the Zhou family, who were merely at the Golden Core level.
But after the three families united and gathered around Zhu Xuanji, posing a threat to Meng Kui, then they had the value of being divided and won over.
Zhu Xuanji was using the three families, and at the same time, the three families were using him to increase their own value.
Forming alliances, maneuvering, this is the subtlety of the righteous path game.