Other forces targeting Ning Zhuo, plotting against him—this was music to Ning Xiaoren’s ears.

But now, the assassin had dragged him into the mess. His feelings were utterly wretched!

Being implicated by an enemy and facing a life-or-death crisis – Ning Xiaoren wanted no part of this experience.

He forced himself to calm down: “First, I must get rid of the Gu in my body!”

However, the moment this thought crossed his mind, the Gu worm flared up violently.

Ning Xiaoren once again rolled on the ground in agony, wailing and screaming hoarsely.

“If I openly call for help, I might just die of pain!”

He finally understood that the masked assassin could allow him to regain his freedom because he had extreme confidence in his Gu worm and had long anticipated his call for help.

“I need to find father and have him help me. Others likely don’t have the method to dispel the Gu, and they won’t genuinely help me.”

However, the Ning family patriarch was not in the Immortal Palace. He was still in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, overseeing the family’s affairs.

Ning Xiaoren couldn’t contact him for a while, nor did he dare to rashly leave the palace.

Left with no choice, Ning Xiaoren could only first act according to the assassin’s wishes, trying to stall for time.

After a brief rest, he walked out of his dwelling and headed towards Ning Zhuo’s current residence.

After a round of reconnaissance, Ning Xiaoren once again fell into despair.

Ning Zhuo and Ning Jiufan’s residence was heavily guarded. The Ning family cultivators had established a strong presence around the courtyard, enveloping it in layers upon layers of defense.

This included not only the main branch of the Ning family but also a large number of collateral branches and members from the black market.

“There’s no way for me to approach the center of the outpost. It’s extremely difficult even to meet Ning Zhuo! How can I cause him trouble?” Ning Xiaoren, huddled in a dark corner, felt increasingly despairing.

At this moment, a young cultivator strutted out with a swaggering gait, head held high.

Several cultivators surrounded him, fawning and flattering him.

It was none other than Ning Ji.

Everyone surrounded him, constantly complimenting and praising him.

Ning Ji was thoroughly pleased by the flattery, casually taking out elixirs or spirit stones to give as rewards.

Such actions made the surrounding flattery even more intense.

Ning Xiaoren’s eyes turned red with envy: “Isn’t this kid Ning Zhuo’s cousin? After Ning Zhuo became successful, he decisively resigned from his position in the Talisman Hall and went to depend on Ning Zhuo.”

“Spending so lavishly, hmph, a lowlife getting his way!”

Ning Xiaoren was filled with resentment and bitterness.

Once upon a time, he was the one surrounded by people. Times had changed; a once insignificant Qi Refinement cultivator from a collateral branch was now being highly esteemed, while he, Ning Xiaoren, could only cower in a dark corner!

Heaven is unjust!

Ning Xiaoren glared at Ning Ji, wishing he could break the bones and sinews of this arrogant youth.

“Wait!”

“I can’t approach Ning Zhuo, but I can target this little brat Ning Ji.”

“That assassin only wants me to cause trouble for Ning Zhuo. If I kidnap Ning Ji and send out a ransom note, isn’t that causing trouble?”

Ning Xiaoren suddenly had a flash of inspiration, thinking of a way to deal with the masked assassin.

He narrowed his eyes, a hint of sinister light gleaming within, and began to trail Ning Ji.

After following for a while, Ning Xiaoren found an opportunity and was about to make a move, but suddenly hesitated again.

“I shouldn’t do it myself. It’s too risky!”

“I need to find someone else to do it for me.”

But who could he find?

Ning Xiaoren was no longer the young master of the Ning family.

He had been expelled from the family and was a lone wolf.

Ning Xiaoren also possessed a cunning mind, and someone quickly came to mind – Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother!

Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother was becoming increasingly senile, and her normal rationality was dwindling.

Ning Xiaoren had retired to recuperate, and Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother, severely injured, also had to withdraw from the front lines for treatment.

Ning Xiaoren then saw Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother lying on a病床 in the rear medical outpost.

“Grandma Xiaohui, I know where Ning Xiaohui is.” Ning Xiaoren’s first sentence made Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother cry out loudly.

“Quiet down, quiet down!” Ning Xiaoren quickly warned, “If you’re so loud, the enemy will know and take Xiaohui away.”

“No, my Xiaohui!” Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother’s face was filled with terror, and she immediately lowered her voice.

Under Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother’s questioning, Ning Xiaoren told her: Ning Xiaohui was secretly imprisoned by Ning Zhuo, and only a few people knew this secret. If you want to rescue your granddaughter, you must use his own tactics against him. Kidnap Ning Zhuo’s family members as well, and then negotiate with Ning Zhuo for a hostage exchange!

Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother’s eyes widened: “That’s a good idea!”

A scheme targeting Ning Zhuo was taking shape.

The two conspirators did not know that this situation had already been detected by the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was hesitant at first; it didn’t really want to contact Ning Zhuo.

From a subjective emotional standpoint, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit wanted to see Ning Zhuo suffer misfortune.

But now, Zhu Xuanji’s threat was imminent, and the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had to rely on Ning Zhuo’s power to have any hope of eliminating all clues.

Ning Zhuo had even explicitly requested it to scout for him and inform him in advance of anything unfavorable to him.

If this plot were to be put into action later, and Ning Zhuo didn’t receive a reminder from the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, he probably wouldn’t be as cooperative with the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit when they contacted him in the future.

Thinking of this, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit coughed a few times. Although unwilling in its heart, it still contacted Ning Zhuo again.

In a weak tone, it told Ning Zhuo about Ning Xiaoren and Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother’s plan to kidnap Ning Ji.

Ning Zhuo’s heart stirred slightly: “That’s it?”

From childhood to adulthood, his relationship with Ning Ji had not been good.

Allowing Ning Ji to depend on him and indulging him was mostly for the sake of his own reputation and image in the righteous path.

If the enemy were to truly use Ning Ji to threaten Ning Zhuo, it would be a completely laughable misstep.

“What’s going on with Ning Xiaoren? He’s the mastermind, and he clearly knows that my relationship with my uncle’s family isn’t good. Why would he come up with such a terrible idea?”

Ning Zhuo felt it was strange and asked the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit.

However, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit did not know about Ning Xiaoren’s previous encounter.

It was also the word “Ning Zhuo” from Ning Xiaoren’s mouth that attracted its attention, and then it discovered their conspiracy.

Therefore, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was unaware that Ning Xiaoren had been poisoned by the masked assassin’s Gu.

Unless it checked the records in the History Pavilion.

However, unfortunately, the History Pavilion was gone!

This was the result of the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit’s main efforts.

“Little master, I’ve done a good deed this time. You just need to restrain that Ning Ji or strengthen his guard.” The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit didn’t forget to boast about its achievements.

“No, no, no.” Ning Zhuo’s eyes, however, gleamed with a sharp light.

From this plot targeting him, he sensed an extremely important opportunity.

“Let them act, don’t stop them at all. Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, from now on, you must closely monitor the movements of these two. You need to report to me at least once a day.” Ning Zhuo instructed.

He decided to turn the tables on their plan!

Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother acted extremely quickly.

Taking advantage of Ning Ji being alone, she easily succeeded.

Ning Ji himself was only a small cultivator at the Qi Refinement stage, while Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother was an experienced cultivator at the Foundation Establishment level.

Capturing a small Ning Ji was completely effortless.

“I know you are Ning Zhuo’s cousin. Write a letter to your good cousin. Also write a letter of appeal to your parents!” Ning Xiaoren disguised his appearance and deliberately changed his voice.

Ning Ji was scared pale: “Two good sirs, please don’t kill me. I’ll do as you say, I’ll do anything you want, just don’t kill me!”

“Wuwuwu…”

“My cousin is Ning Zhuo, he is the master of the black market, and he has great talent. If you let me go, he will pay you enough ransom!”

Ning Xiaoren didn’t need to search; his actions had already been detected by the masked group.

The masked man had acted without much thought, but unexpectedly, he seemed to have achieved something.

They had already investigated Ning Zhuo’s situation.

They knew that Ning Zhuo’s relationship with his uncle Ning Ze’s family was not close.

Despite this, after Ning Zhuo’s rise, he still took good care of Ning Ze’s family. His cousin Ning Ji, after leaving the Ning family’s Talisman Hall, had a very comfortable life in the black market. Relying on his relationship with Ning Zhuo, he acted arrogantly, embezzled, and broke laws, yet remained safe and sound, and became increasingly arrogant and unrestrained.

It wasn’t that no one reported him, but in the end, Ning Zhuo didn’t react.

The masked group analyzed: Whether it was Ning Zhuo cherishing old feelings or being concerned about his reputation in the righteous path, Ning Ze’s family was indeed Ning Zhuo’s weakness.

With no progress in other areas, this small weakness became the only breakthrough point.

Immediately, the masked man reappeared, helping Ning Xiaoren deliver the letter and appeasing Ning Xiaoren.

Ning Xiaoren’s heart secretly trembled.

With the beast horde surrounding them, it was very difficult to contact the outside world. This group’s power was immense; he didn’t know which faction they belonged to.

It didn’t really matter which faction they belonged to. Because Ning Xiaoren was a complete nobody and couldn’t resist at all. To survive, he could only go with the flow.

“My son has been kidnapped!” Ning Ze’s face changed dramatically after receiving the letter.

“Oh my heavens, my child, nothing must happen to you. How can I live without you?” Wang Lan was panicked and cried out loudly.

“Shut up! Do you want the whole clan to know?” Ning Ze shouted.

This time, in her anxiety, Wang Lan retorted Ning Ze: “Husband, isn’t this all your fault? You sent Ji’er to a dangerous place like the Lava Immortal Palace. Now look, he’s been kidnapped!”

Ning Ze snorted coldly: “Do you think the black market is safe? Ning Zhuo participated in the second round of the palace exam, and all the cultivators in the palace exam were targeted. If he stayed in the black market, do you think Ji’er wouldn’t be kidnapped? On the contrary, in the Lava Immortal Palace, he is more likely to gain merit.”

“This good-for-nothing, relying on his relationship with Ning Zhuo, is becoming increasingly unreasonable. Without merit to protect him, something will happen sooner or later!”

Wang Lan’s expression froze, and she suddenly realized: “So, our Ji’er was implicated by this kid Ning Zhuo?!”

“I said it, he’s a troublemaker. From childhood to adulthood, I could tell.”

“Oh dear, how can I live without Ji’er!”

“I don’t want to live, I don’t want to live!”

Ning Ze slammed the table angrily and stood up: “Ji’er isn’t dead yet, are you already weeping for him?!”

“As of now, we can only find Ning Zhuo. Pack your things, and we’ll immediately take the next transport to the Lava Immortal Palace to find Ning Zhuo.”

“Hmph!”

“We are Ning Zhuo’s closest relatives in this world. He cannot just sit by and do nothing.”

Every once in a while, Fire Persimmon Immortal City would organize a group of people. With the internal and external cooperation of cultivators like Meng Kui and Zhu Xuanji, they would use temporarily erected short-distance teleportation arrays to transfer personnel.

On one hand, they would replenish the workforce at the front lines of the Lava Immortal Palace. On the other hand, they would also replace cultivators who were severely injured and difficult to treat, or those who had to leave the palace.

Ning Ze and Wang Lan used this channel to successfully enter the Lava Immortal Palace.

Relying on their identities, they were granted an audience with Ning Zhuo.

“What? My cousin has been captured? How did I not know?!” Ning Zhuo “expressed great surprise.”

Wang Lan wept: “Xiao Zhuo, Ji’er grew up with you. You can’t just abandon him! If you don’t care about him, he’ll lose his life.”

Ning Zhuo immediately stated: “Uncle, Aunt, please calm down.”

“Looking at this letter, the kidnappers want a ransom.”

“For the sake of cousin’s safety, we should first redeem him. No amount of money matters; cousin’s life is the most important!”

Ning Ze and Wang Lan’s expressions softened slightly.

Regardless, Ning Zhuo’s statement was very proper and reassuring.

Having gained his uncle and aunt’s approval, Ning Zhuo immediately summoned his subordinate Ning Xiangguo, ordering him to take the ransom and redeem the hostage from the kidnappers.

The masked group didn’t care about the ransom.

Upon seeing Ning Xiangguo, they were quite excited.

“That little brat Ning Zhuo took the bait!”

“Keep him on the hook and consume his energy. It will also make for a good report to our superiors.”

The masked man immediately raised the ransom, sending Ning Xiangguo back empty-handed.

Ning Ze and Wang Lan’s hopes were dashed, and they immediately went back to find Ning Zhuo.