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The black market encountering trouble was one of the situations Ning Zhuo had already anticipated.

He felt no surprise at all.

“If it truly becomes impossible, I’ll completely abandon the black market and lay low.”

Compared to the Lava Immortal Palace, the black market was a minor detail. If Ning Zhuo were to be distracted and invest time and effort into this area, it would mean the enemy’s schemes had succeeded.

Of course, complete withdrawal was only a last resort. At this stage, it wasn’t necessary yet.

Ning Zhuo immediately wrote back, instructing the black market side to seek help from the two former clan elders, Ning Youfu and Ning Houjun.

Ning Zhuo had a long-term strategy and had already anticipated many difficulties he would encounter during the Palace Examination. He had therefore made arrangements in advance, one of which was to persuade these two former clan elders.

These two had played a significant role in Ning Zhuo’s downfall of Ning Xiaoren.

Being from branch families themselves, they were both optimistic about Ning Zhuo and willing to support him.

Only such influential figures could stabilize the situation and provide the leaderless black market with authoritative high-level personnel, preventing panic and confusion.

In the letter, he also requested that the black market side dispatch a group of personnel to enter the Lava Immortal Palace.

This group would be led by the two former deacons, Ning Xiangguo and Ning Xiangqian, and would lead a large number of Ning family cultivators. They would also forcibly recruit members from the Monkey Head Gang, Turtle Breath Gang, and Crane Beak Gang, totaling over a hundred people.

“A force is meant to be used by me, not for me to invest too much into it.”

Ning Zhuo had a profound understanding of this point.

The force he had painstakingly built up – if not used now, then when?

Second Round of the Palace Examination.

Eleventh Subject.

Sun Lingtong’s complete victory made others itch with annoyance, yet they were powerless against him.

Ning Zhuo won many and lost few. Although he tried his best to keep a low profile, he could no longer do so.

Whether on the arena or standing in the square, the cultivators’ gazes towards him had changed. Even cultivators at the Golden Core stage treated him seriously as a formidable enemy.

“I didn’t expect a Qi Refinement junior to emerge.”

“Ning Zhuo indeed has some skills.”

“Every time Ning Zhuo faces Zhu Xuanji and Ning Jiufan, he voluntarily concedes. If he were to really fight them, perhaps his record would be even higher!”

Many praised him publicly, while secretly exchanging glances, realizing that they couldn’t let Ning Zhuo keep winning like this.

However, Ning Zhuo was extremely cautious, staying cooped up in his residence all day, with Ning Jiufan, the Ning family ancestor, living next door.

This left many with the desire but not the means, constantly sighing in frustration.

Deep in the night, the Lava Immortal Palace was ablaze with firelight, bright as day.

Since the volcanic eruption and the surging beast tide, heavy clouds and smoke had always hung over the Lava Immortal Palace, obscuring the sky.

Ning Xiaoren had been fighting here for some time and had gradually lost track of whether it was day or night.

He had been fighting continuously for over a dozen hours. His face was haggard, his eyes bloodshot. The continuous high-intensity combat made him wish he could just collapse and fall into a deep sleep.

But he couldn’t, and could only force himself to endure the drowsiness and fatigue.

“They’ve appeared, there’s a group of demonic beasts in the southeast corner,” a cultivator suddenly shouted.

After a few breaths, the cultivator responsible for reconnaissance spoke again: “Be careful, this group of demonic beasts are all Flame-Treading Lizards. We must strike preemptively and not let them disrupt our formation.”

Ning Xiaoren and others formed a small team of cultivators, stationed at the street corner, setting up a formation to defend from a strategic position.

They were mainly cultivators from the main branch of the Ning family.

Although Ning Xiaoren had been expelled from the family, cooperating at this time did not violate any family rules.

Hearing the warning, Ning Xiaoren gritted his teeth, urging the nearly depleted magical power in his body to coordinate the formation.

Casting spells through a formation was much faster and more powerful than individual casting.

Giant log-like ice spears condensed in an instant and were launched consecutively.

The ice spears killed several Flame-Treading Lizards, also enraging the remaining half.

The Flame-Treading Lizards roared and charged towards Ning Xiaoren’s position.

Within the formation, cultivators immediately controlled the formation to deploy a large number of mechanical constructs.

These constructs were primarily battering rams, which charged forward. Although they were shattered by the Flame-Treading Lizards, they successfully stopped their charge, significantly slowing them down.

Ning Xiaoren panted heavily, feeling waves of nausea. His magical power was exhausted, so he could only temporarily withdraw.

A reserve cultivator immediately replaced him, taking the core position of the formation and controlling it.

After a barrage of powerful spells, one Flame-Treading Lizard still charged forward.

“Damn it, we haven’t recruited any body cultivators yet!” The cultivators’ faces turned pale.

Just then, a frenzied voice came: “Afraid! Who made my little Hui afraid? Watch this, Grandma will handle it! Little Hui, don’t be afraid!”

Saying that, Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother rushed out of the formation and directly charged towards the Flame-Treading Lizard.

She collided with the Flame-Treading Lizard, then was thrown back, crashing through two buildings before falling to the ground, unable to get up.

Her bones were almost all broken, she coughed up blood incessantly, and her protective artifact was directly destroyed.

“This madwoman!” Ning Xiaoren’s pupils contracted at this scene.

The cultivators from the main branch of the Ning family also had varying expressions.

Thanks to Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother’s desperate resistance, they finally seized the last opportunity, unleashing a round of spells that covered and killed the last Flame-Treading Lizard.

The formation was out of danger, but Ning Xiaoren’s heart felt heavy.

“Demonic beasts have tough skin and thick flesh, and these are just a group of Foundation Establishment level Crimson Flame demonic beasts.”

“If they were Golden Core level, could I safely retreat?”

Ning Xiaoren had no confidence whatsoever.

He looked at Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother again. At this time, Ning family cultivators had already run out of the formation,來到 her side, and started providing treatment.

“She’s gone mad.”

“Ning Xiaohui’s death hit her too hard.”

“I actually spent time with such a madwoman, in the same formation?”

Ning Xiaoren felt a wave of lingering fear.

“It’s all Ning Zhuo’s fault, that little bastard!”

“If it weren’t for him, how could I have become a prisoner? If it weren’t for him, would I have come here risking my life to earn merit with the status of being expelled from the family?”

“Ning Zhuo should die, should die!”

“Heaven has no eyes, to actually let this treacherous and sinister villain get better and better. His record in the second round of the Palace Examination is even at the top! What are those Golden Cores and geniuses doing?”

“Can’t they even deal with Ning Zhuo?!”

Ning Xiaoren’s situation was just a microcosm of what was happening in the Lava Immortal Palace.

The destruction of the Lava Immortal Palace had both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage was that Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment cultivators, even those with no skill in mechanical constructs, could now enter it.

Under the leadership of Meng Kui and Zhu Xuanji, Crimson Persimmon Immortal City dispatched a large number of Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment level cultivators to enter the Lava Immortal Palace.

This large group of cultivators was like a timely rain, filling all the front lines.

With their participation, the defense line within the inner circle of the Lava Immortal Palace was reinforced and very solid, firmly blocking the advance of the beast tide.

After all, among the Crimson Flame demonic beasts, Golden Core level individuals were not numerous. Once they appeared, they would be targeted with concentrated fire, and few survived.

As for the real threat to the Lava Immortal Palace, the two Nascent Soul level demonic beasts, they were also being held back and entangled by Meng Kui.

However, based on the battle situation, Meng Kui was often at a disadvantage fighting two opponents alone.

Nascent Soul level demonic beasts often achieved results, shattering the outer areas of the Lava Immortal Palace piece by piece.

The more the Lava Immortal Palace was shattered and damaged, the weaker the power of the restrictions became.

Now, Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment cultivators could exploit the gaps and enter the Immortal Palace directly. According to this trend, Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators would be able to enter the palace later.

“Ning Xiaoren, you are too tired. Go back and rest. Come back to battle after you have recuperated!” The Ning family’s main branch cultivators still showed Ning Xiaoren considerable care.

Ning Xiaoren nodded, and after recovering a little magical power, he eagerly retreated from the front line.

On the way back, he saw a large group of people gathered together.

Out of curiosity, he approached and inquired, only to discover it was a murder. A Foundation Establishment cultivator had been ambushed and killed, his heart pierced, and his soul vanished without a trace.

“The Empty Gate has struck again! The deceased just participated in the Palace Examination during the day and lost his life at night. Alas…”

“These demonic practitioners will stop at nothing to obtain the Lava Immortal Palace!”

Ning Xiaoren learned the specific details and couldn’t help but grit his teeth: “Why don’t they assassinate Ning Zhuo? Good people don’t live long, but villains cause trouble for a thousand years. What a screwed-up world!”

This was already the third murder targeting Palace Examination participants recently.

Two attacks successfully killed the targets, and one resulted in serious injury.

Strictly speaking, serious injury also counted as a success. Because the injured cultivator was in extremely poor condition and lost all their arena matches.

Palace Examination participants could not attack each other, but they could use others to plot and suppress.

The competition for the Lava Immortal Palace was not just the Palace Examination during the day, but also the assassinations at night.

It was foreseeable that lone cultivators without deep roots or backing would be successively eliminated and lose their lives.

Ning Xiaoren returned to his residence and collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep.

The next moment, he was startled awake by the coldness of a dagger placed against his neck.

“Who is it?!” Ning Xiaoren was greatly alarmed.

The masked killer held the dagger, constantly threatening Ning Xiaoren’s life: “Tell me about Ning Zhuo.”

“You, you want to deal with him?” Ning Xiaoren reacted, his expression momentarily stunned, “No, I will not betray my clan members.”

The visitor sneered: “Stop pretending, who doesn’t know about the feud between you two?”

“Besides, you’ve been expelled from the family, all thanks to Ning Zhuo! He is no longer your clan member, the former young master of the Ning family.”

Ning Xiaoren’s face quickly darkened, and a glimmer of resentment flashed in his eyes: “What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” the masked person’s voice was calm.

Ning Xiaoren: “How do I know that if I tell you everything, you will let me go?”

The masked person shook his head: “You don’t know, and I can’t guarantee it either. You just need to know that you must satisfy me. If you don’t, I’ll just cut off your head.”

Ning Xiaoren quickly said: “Alright, alright, I’ll talk, I’ll talk.”

He spoke in considerable detail.

However, the masked killer was not satisfied: “I already know all this.”

He used the tip of the dagger to pry open Ning Xiaoren’s jaw and placed a蠱虫 into his mouth.

The 蠱虫 drilled down, entering Ning Xiaoren’s heart.

The masked killer gently activated it, and Ning Xiaoren immediately clutched his chest, writhing and rolling on the bed in pain, like a maggot being electrocuted.

The masked killer severely tormented him for a while before stopping: “Your answer is very unsatisfactory.”

“I am now giving you a task. Do your best to obstruct Ning Zhuo, and interfere with him with all your might.”

“Otherwise, I will make you die miserably under this heart-devouring pain.”

Ning Xiaoren quickly waved his hand, begging desperately for mercy: “Sir, this sir, don’t be impulsive, I will do as you say, I will definitely do as you say.”

“Ning Zhuo is my enemy anyway. We are on the same side, we are our own people!”

The masked killer sneered: “It’s good that you have this awareness. You have three days to achieve results, otherwise you will die.”

After saying that, the masked killer disappeared from Ning Xiaoren’s sight.

Coming and going without a trace.

Leaving Ning Xiaoren biting his lip, fiercely pounding the side of the bed with his fist: “Ning Zhuo! Ning Zhuo!! I almost died because of you, you damn thing!”

“I’m going to kill you, I’m going to kill you!”

However, after raging for a while, Ning Xiaoren gradually regained his composure.

“That dog Ning Zhuo, he has done too many unethical things in his life. Since the Palace Examination, he has been hiding, living next door to Ning Jiufan.”

“Under the protection of a Golden Core cultivator, how can I kill him?”

“This dog thief, he’s too much of a dog, too much of a dog!”