Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Zhu Xuanji left Ning Zhuo's residence but did not withdraw his surveillance of Ning Zhuo.

Zhu Xuanji had left behind certain means on Ning Zhuo's body.

Zhu Xuanji silently observed Ning Zhuo.

Everything Ning Zhuo did after their parting fell into Zhu Xuanji’s eyes, flawless.

Zhu Xuanji slightly frowned, as the strange feeling that lingered in his heart had not dissipated.

Previously, when he pondered, he unexpectedly discovered that in every incident, Ning Zhuo seemed to be involved.

He couldn’t figure out exactly what was odd about it.

However, testing Ning Zhuo was just a minor thing he did casually, without much effort.

"My Celestial Golden Eyes, ever since mastering them, have only been deceived by a few Golden Core cultivators. Ning Zhuo is just in the Qi Refining stage, can he deceive me?"

"It's over, it's over!" The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit shouted.

In the Lava Immortal Palace, the main hall.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had been closely watching Ning Zhuo.

When Zhu Xuanji found Ning Zhuo, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was so shocked that it almost collapsed on the ground, shouting, "It’s finished, it’s finished!"

But what it hadn't expected was that Ning Zhuo actually managed to deceive Zhu Xuanji.

Even though Zhu Xuanji personally examined all three of Ning Zhuo's dantians, he found nothing unusual.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit fell into great excitement, jumping around the throne.

"He made it through, he actually passed Zhu Xuanji’s inspection!"

"Who would've thought, really who would've thought."

"He even had such a trick up his sleeve."

"Amazing, truly amazing."

"Hahaha..."

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit laughed, but suddenly stopped and froze like a statue.

It felt awkward!

"Why am I suddenly feeling so happy for Ning Zhuo?"

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit exhaled a breath of stale air and gradually relaxed.

"Anyway, Ning Zhuo has managed to get through this crisis."

"Next, he should deal with the matter of Ning Xiaohui, right?"

"He can handle it! If he can fool even Zhu Xuanji and survive such a life-threatening crisis, he’ll get through this too."

"He’s quite resourceful, and his mind is very sharp."

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have thought that someone at the mere Qi Refining stage could toy with Golden Core cultivators like this."

"If such a person grows stronger, how terrifying would that be?!"

When Ning Zhuo was setting up his plan with Sun Lingtong and the others, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had been watching the entire process.

However, even though the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit observed Ning Zhuo's entire plotting, it still couldn’t understand the reason behind Ning Zhuo's arrangement.

It wasn’t until everything had come to a conclusion that the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit finally realized, and it was completely in awe of Ning Zhuo’s strategy.

It was simply brilliant.

The more it had resisted Ning Zhuo before, the more fearful it had been. Now, it was equally as admiring of Ning Zhuo.

"Incredible!"

"Ning Zhuo will definitely be able to resolve the issue with Ning Xiaohui. Without the trouble from the Shiji Pavilion, I will have no leverage against me."

"By then, who can doubt me, who would dare suspect me?"

"I will surely gain my freedom!"

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit paced back and forth, holding its head high, as excited as Ning Zhuo had been.

It couldn’t resist the urge to contact Ning Zhuo and urge him to act quickly, but just as it opened its mouth, it slowly closed it again.

It didn’t dare!

"Ning Zhuo, this little guy, is really too cunning."

"He even managed to deceive Zhu Xuanji, truly terrifying."

"His preparations were thorough, and even though he's only in the Qi Refining stage, he was able to fool a Golden Core cultivator."

"The Buddha Heart Demon Seal wasn’t the greatest contributor in this. It was that flower left to him by his mother."

"What exactly is that flower?"

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was filled with curiosity.

Zhu Xuanji sat alone.

Once again, he wrote a letter to the royal family for assistance.

The situation now was very different from before.

The Zheng Family’s Golden Core had seized the demonic sect's secret scripture. This was not particularly important, but what truly impacted the situation was Zheng Jianlian killing a core disciple of the Taiching Palace.

Moreover, this incident was loudly proclaimed by Luo Shang.

Had it not been publicly announced, the situation would have been easier to handle.

Zhu Xuanji could have mediated on behalf of the Zheng Family and negotiated with Taiching Palace, compensating them in secret.

But now that it had been made public, the entire world knew that a core disciple of Taiching Palace had fallen at Zheng Jianlian’s hands.

As a super sect, Taiching Palace had to make a statement and uphold its prestigious reputation.

In this way, Zheng Jianlian would face immense pressure. If handled poorly, not only would his life be at stake, but the entire Zheng Family might be implicated.

So, should they protect the Zheng Family?

Zhu Xuanji personally wanted to protect them, but his ability alone was insufficient. To protect the Zheng Family, he had to rely on the power of the Southern Dou royal family.

On the other hand, Zhu Xuanji also had to consider the royal family’s position and the broader situation of the Southern Dou Kingdom.

Compared to Taiching Palace, the Southern Dou royal family’s overall strength was undoubtedly much stronger.

This was because the Southern Dou royal family could unify the forces of great cultivation clans like the Meng Family and the Su Family, gathering an army of cultivators.

Sects were often better at nurturing elite disciples. They occupied more resources and focused on cultivating high-level combat power. In direct confrontation, even if all their disciples were gathered, they could hardly withstand the army of a cultivation kingdom.

This was different from ancient times.

In ancient times, when the cultivation arts hadn’t fully developed, cultivation level was the primary measure of individual and factional strength.

After all, each step in cultivation from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core to Nascent Soul brought a qualitative change.

As a result, high-level cultivators could often fight against many opponents on the battlefield.

But today, with the advancement of cultivation arts, there had been great progress! For example, puppet techniques could now use Golden Core-level materials to assemble puppets with Golden Core-level combat power.

Even if the one controlling the puppet was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they could use the puppet to bridge the gap and defeat higher-level cultivators.

This was the progress of the times!

This progress also upended the relationships between kingdoms, sects, and families.

Historically, for a long time, cultivation sects were the dominant power in the world and the most effective form of organization.

Even when kingdoms existed, they were often merely mortal kingdoms under the control of cultivation sects.

But now, with the development of the myriad cultivation arts, low-level cultivators could indeed use high-end materials to create a higher-tier fighting force.

This allowed the advantage of numbers to once again emerge among cultivators.

A large number of low-level cultivators, with enough resources and technology, could, to some extent, contend with higher-level cultivators.

However, no royal family of any cultivation kingdom would ever underestimate a super sect.

Because these sects often produced elite individuals with extremely high cultivation levels.

If these elites launched assassinations against members of the royal family, then clearly, no royal family could escape the headache.

Therefore, from the perspective of the royal family, they usually maintained good relations with these super sects.

After all, the talents cultivated by these super sects were also highly sought after by every cultivation kingdom.

Super sects continuously sent their disciples out to serve in various cultivation kingdoms, expanding their influence.

In short, if the Southern Dou royal family wanted to protect the Zheng Family, they most likely could.

Unless Taiching Palace gained support or resources from other powerful forces and decided to target the entire Southern Dou Kingdom, they would likely compromise with the Southern Dou royal family.

Zhu Xuanji was not the King of Southern Dou, so he couldn’t make such important decisions for the king.

Therefore, he could only write a letter reporting the matter, expressing his opinion and thoughts, but he wouldn’t interfere with the King’s judgment.

If the King of Southern Dou wanted to protect the Zheng Family, Zhu Xuanji would wholeheartedly support it.

If the King chose to abandon the Zheng Family, Zhu Xuanji would also be willing to carry out that order.

In his letter, Zhu Xuanji also requested access to the intelligence concerning the Night Rain Demon Soldiers.

City Lord’s Mansion.

Chi Dun stood in front of Fei Si, his face dark, shouting loudly, "The Zheng Family’s Golden Core took the demonic sect's scripture. This scripture is extremely important; I personally encountered it during the battle, and it’s called the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique."

"After analyzing it, although I didn’t get much of it, I can confirm that this Demonic Blood Tendon Technique is paired with the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art."

"We need to find the Zheng Family’s Golden Core as soon as possible and try to obtain this demonic sect scripture."

"It would be of great benefit to us."

"If they master it, Young Master Meng Chong’s lead might be in jeopardy."

Fei Si’s face was grim, "You brute! I ordered you to hold back, but you charged

ahead."

"The demonic sect scripture is important, but it’s certainly not the most important thing."

"The current situation is very dangerous, and you don’t understand at all."

"Don’t block my way, I’m going to see the City Lord."

Fei Si immediately flew to the top of Mount Huoshi to report to Meng Kui.

"City Lord, that Yang Chanyu first appeared near my City Lord’s Mansion, carrying the demonic sect’s scripture, clearly trying to flee."

"But halfway through, she was intercepted by a shadow demon cultivator, who revealed that what Yang Chanyu had stolen was the demonic sect’s scripture."

"This is clearly a setup against my City Lord’s Mansion, aiming to make the world believe that the demonic sect’s scripture is indeed in our mansion."

"And I have slightly uncovered the source of the rumors."

"The most critical third-level rumor is being secretly pushed by the Zheng, Zhou, and Ning families working together."

"If this trend continues, I’m deeply worried that this struggle over the Lava Immortal Palace will escalate, get out of control, and eventually harm countless innocent citizens."

(End of this chapter)

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