Chapter 112: A Narrow Escape

"Brother Ning!" Zheng Jian personally greeted Ning Zhuo at the main entrance of the Zheng family estate.

This was Ning Zhuo’s first formal visit to the Zheng household.

The Zheng family had prepared a grand reception, throwing the main gates wide open. This was no small gesture, especially considering Ning Zhuo was merely at the Qi Refining stage. Furthermore, the family had specifically sent Zheng Jian to receive him.

"Brother Zheng, I am truly touched that you would go to such lengths to welcome me." As Ning Zhuo stepped down from his carriage and saw Zheng Jian, he looked genuinely surprised, his expression quickly shifting to one of profound gratitude, as if overwhelmed by such high esteem.

Zheng Jian’s injuries had not yet fully healed; his body was wrapped in bandages made of feathers.

He let out a hearty laugh. "Don't mind my appearance; the wounds have already stabilized. How could a son of the Zheng family neglect a friend over such minor injuries?"

"Come, let me take you to the artifact forging room!"

Following the deepening of the tripartite cooperation, the three families had opened up certain facilities to one another. This included the Ning family’s talisman-making chambers, the Zhou family’s various spell arrays, and the Zheng family’s artifact forging rooms.

The most popular, naturally, was the Zhou family’s "Flowing Spirit Tide Array." Everyone who used it sang its praises, and it was currently so overbooked that cultivators had to be placed in a queue. The second most sought-after facility was the Zheng family’s forging room.

Many of the facilities belonging to the Zheng and Zhou families were even superior to those of the City Lord’s Mansion. When Fire Persimmon Immortal City was first constructed, the Nandou Dynasty provided the bulk of the funding, but the Zhou and Zheng families had also made significant contributions. Consequently, once the city was complete, they were granted two of the best plots of land, placed in charge of two of the array pillars, and granted the most advantageous conditions in their respective fields.

The Zhou family possessed the most spacious area for array deployment, allowing for greater creative freedom. The Zheng family, meanwhile, had the most abundant and high-quality earth flames, which facilitated their artifact forging. From a broader perspective, this was a game of chess between local powers and the central imperial court.

On the streets, the crowds flowed incessantly. Yuan Dasheng walked with heavy, difficult steps, head bowed. Even when it collided with pedestrians, it remained unmoved. Some who were knocked to the ground, unwilling to stir up trouble, would merely mutter a few words and walk away in frustration. After all, with Yuan Dasheng wearing the Iron-Han armor, it was a towering figure emanating the aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Furthermore, its expressionless face and the intense, soul-crushing air of despair it exuded made it clear that it was not to be trifled with.

Under Zheng Jian’s guidance, Ning Zhuo arrived at an artifact forging chamber. Ning Zhuo looked around and praised the room repeatedly. The chamber was equipped with advanced and comprehensive tools, many of which Ning Zhuo was seeing for the first time; he had only ever read about them in books.

As the hundred arts of cultivation had developed, each trade had become highly specialized. Unlike in ancient times, when the barrier to entry for these arts was low and a single cultivator could use one furnace to both forge medicine and craft artifacts, modern furnaces were finely segmented for specific purposes.

Zheng Jian handed over a jade slip. "Our Zheng family has a vast reserve of materials. To say we have everything would be an exaggeration, but it is certainly far beyond what is available on the market. Anything listed in this jade slip, Brother Ning, feel free to use. According to our tripartite contract, the consumed materials will be calculated at market value and tallied against each family’s quota."

Having said this, Zheng Jian produced another jade slip. "The materials here are my personal quota from the family; Brother Ning may use these as well."

This was a clear gesture of goodwill.

Ning Zhuo smiled and accepted it graciously. "Thank you, Brother Zheng."

"If you are not too busy, Brother Zheng, why not stay? I intend to craft some puppet components while using your family's forging room," Ning Zhuo said. "This is the blueprint I designed; I would appreciate your correction."

Ning Zhuo handed over a jade slip. Zheng Jian was pleasantly surprised; realizing that Ning Zhuo had accepted his goodwill, he immediately reciprocated.

"Since you were able to design the Fire-Exploding Monkey, my own meager knowledge of puppet arts is best left unsaid! Brother Ning, your magnanimity is noted—let me have the pleasure of admiring your new creation!"

Zheng Jian immediately took the jade slip. He had little interest in puppet arts himself, but given the stakes involved in the struggle for the Lava Immortal Palace, and the astonishing talent Ning Zhuo had previously displayed, he felt compelled to examine these new designs.

Upon unfolding the slip, he saw four mechanical monkeys! Looking closer, he realized these were no longer designed for harvesting persimmons, but were clearly intended for combat. The more Zheng Jian looked, the more his eyes lit up. He became completely immersed in the diagrams, silent.

Ning Zhuo paid him no mind; he walked to the corner, picked up his tools, and began to stoke the flames, igniting the furnace.

Yuan Dasheng had just passed through the west gate of Fire Persimmon Immortal City and was heading into the wilderness. The crowds around it thinned rapidly. It stepped into the wild, desolate forests to the west of Fire Persimmon Mountain. Its silhouette, while sturdy, gave off a profound sense of loneliness and sorrow. Finally, it stopped in a desolate area, sitting atop an inconspicuous hill, staring blankly at the surroundings—the sky, the clouds.

Ning Zhuo exhaled a breath of stale air and, with careful precision, tilted his wrist to pour the molten silver into the mold. Zheng Jian immediately intervened, using a spell to guide the silver, ensuring it spread evenly and filled every corner of the mold. Ning Zhuo pressed his palms against the model and activated the array. Instantly, a freezing current surged down from the ceiling, rapidly cooling the high-temperature model until it froze into a solid block of ice.

Zheng Jian waved his hand to disperse the chill and produced a strangely shaped mechanical component. This was the final piece. With the help of the Zheng family’s forging room and the assistance of Zheng Jian, a genius cultivator skilled in forging, Ning Zhuo had finished crafting all the mechanical parts. The time taken was far shorter than Ning Zhuo had planned.

The next step was to assemble them. Without a hitch, once assembled, an eight-foot-tall ape skeleton stood before them.

Zheng Jian clicked his tongue in admiration. "Looking at this skeleton alone, it has over a hundred moving joints. The finished puppet will certainly be incredibly agile. However, this will test the cultivator’s control capabilities; I fear many would be unable to unleash the full potential of this creation."

Ning Zhuo replied, "I designed this for myself. I intentionally crafted it this way to leave ample room for improvement in my own puppet-control skills."

"Now, we must set up the arrays and install the control discs. The outer body and skin will come later."

Zheng Jian nodded, his face bright with joy. "I shall follow your plan, Brother Ning. I will act as your assistant." Even with his injuries, he insisted on participating in the entire process. On one hand, it allowed him to observe Ning Zhuo’s puppet-making mastery firsthand; on the other, it provided excellent training, enhancing his own understanding of the craft.

Two days and one night later, the task was complete.

"Why not stay the night at my home? It’s not too late to leave tomorrow morning," Zheng Jian urged. He had participated in the entire process and gained much, experiencing the wonder and joy of puppet arts. "Brother Ning, I wish we could talk by candlelight through the night."

Ning Zhuo offered a wry smile and pointed to the bandages covering Zheng Jian’s body. The previously white feather-bandages were now stained with blood and covered in dark soot.

"Brother Zheng, you must properly tend to your wounds. I am immensely grateful for your assistance throughout this time. If I stay any longer, your family will surely have something to say about it! There will certainly be opportunities for us to chat to our heart's content in the future."

Zheng Jian laughed heartily. "Very well, very well."

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. In a few days, our three families will conduct a joint operation, and we need you to take the lead. Those of us who are injured will be unable to participate."

Although the geniuses of the three families could still project their souls into the Immortal Palace, their physical bodies required their souls to remain anchored during the recovery period. Otherwise, their newly regenerating bodies might grow improperly and fail to reach a perfect match with their souls. This would create many obstacles for future operations and reduce the efficiency of their cultivation. Over time, such losses would accumulate to an unacceptable degree.

Night fell. Ning Zhuo left the Zheng estate by carriage.

Fire Persimmon Immortal City had no curfew, and Yuan Dasheng had already entered the city. By the time Ning Zhuo arrived at the Ning family residence, it had already snuck into his quarters, quietly awaiting his return.

As Ning Zhuo had suspected, emotions would eventually dissipate. The more intense the emotion, the less sustainable it was. After sitting alone in the wilderness for two days and a night, the emotions had receded like the tide, and the exposed spiritual essence once again obeyed instructions, acting according to commands.

However, a lingering sense of sorrow remained, as if a heavy grey cloth had been draped over its spirit. Ning Zhuo controlled Yuan Dasheng, finding it less obedient than before.

"According to the records in 'On the Nature of Spirits,' after the 'Long-term Spirit' phase comes the 'Spirit-Motion' phase," Ning Zhuo mused. "With its spiritual essence now reaching self-sufficiency, Yuan Dasheng is no longer in the Long-term Spirit phase, but has entered the Spirit-Motion phase. Is this so-called 'Spirit-Motion' simply this kind of uncontrollable activity? If those emotions rise again, I will lose control over it once more."

Ning Zhuo did not want to experience such a disaster again.

"There must be a way. The Lava Immortal Palace must have a solution to this problem," Ning Zhuo thought. This issue had to be resolved as soon as possible. "I cannot project my soul into the Immortal Palace for no reason in my daily life; too many people are watching me. The best opportunity will be the joint operation in a few days."