Chapter 116: The Tree Warrior Battles the Ape—A Decisive Victory

With the final soft thud, the Buddhist gate before Ning Zhuo had vanished entirely, replaced by a seamless wall that was indistinguishable from its surroundings.

"I succeeded!" Ning Zhuo was so overjoyed he wanted to burst into laughter.

The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit: ??!!

It was stunned. It stood frozen in place, as motionless as a sculpture. After a long while, its gaping maw twitched, closing just a fraction. Then, in the next moment, it reared its head and roared madly, spewing a gargantuan pillar of fire from its throat.

Ning Zhuo struck while the iron was hot and resealed the Demon gate as well. From the surface, not a single trace of the tampering remained.

The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit went berserk. It rampaged through the main hall, slamming its head against pillars and floor tiles until the entire Lava Immortal Palace trembled as if it might leap from its foundations. At the summit of Fire Persimmon Mountain, flames and lava erupted in tandem, violent and overwhelming.

Meng Kui sighed in lament, having no choice but to intervene. He activated the grand formation, exerting all his strength to suppress the rioting Lava Immortal Palace. This was the most violent eruption in the history of the palace. Meng Kui stood guard for a full day and night before the Lava Immortal Palace finally calmed.

It was exhausting. Even with his Nascent Soul cultivation, Meng Kui could hardly withstand the repeated tantrums of the Lava Immortal Palace. After this grueling effort, Meng Kui’s face was etched with fatigue; deep bags had formed under his eyes, and his complexion had paled significantly. Before long, thick smoke drifted over, shielding his face and figure from view.

After his soul returned to his physical body, Ning Zhuo consumed a Phoenix Soul Blood Incense Pill and closed his eyes to sleep. While Meng Kui was struggling to suppress the Immortal Palace, he had been sleeping soundly.

A day and night later, Ning Zhuo opened his eyes, feeling refreshed and having recovered most of his soul power. The Phoenix Soul Blood Incense Pill truly lived up to its reputation.

Ning Xiaoren came to offer his condolences. As Ning Zhuo lay in bed and made to rise, he was held back by Ning Xiaoren. Ning Zhuo wore a look of shame: "Uncle Xiaoren, I have failed to live up to expectations. I am truly ashamed."

Ning Xiaoren comforted him gently: "The situation was sudden; who could have known the Immortal Palace possessed such a mechanism? This is not your fault."

Ning Zhuo nodded: "After this incident, I deeply feel my own shortcomings. I wish to read more books, especially those concerning spirituality. Uncle Xiaoren, you are a close friend of my father; you will surely help me, won't you?"

"Uh!" Ning Xiaoren was taken aback. While he cursed inwardly, he maintained a warm, cordial smile on the surface. "I will look for some for you."

"For these next few days, just lie in bed and rest. Do not overexert yourself and hinder your recovery!"

"Yes, Uncle Xiaoren!"

Ning Zhuo bowed his hands and asked, "When will the books be delivered?"

Ning Xiaoren coughed twice and had no choice but to say: "I will handle it with urgency. I will select them as soon as possible and have someone send them over."

Lying in bed, Ning Zhuo subsequently met with Ning Chen, Ning Yong, and others, expressing his gratitude for their condolences and gifts. Because of his previous efforts to promote them, Ning Zhuo enjoyed high popularity within the Reform Squad, especially among his peers. This, of course, was by Ning Zhuo’s design.

Taking advantage of the moment while they stood by his bed to converse with him, Ning Zhuo secretly activated his budding divine ability, connecting a "Life-Thread" to each of them. This exploration of the Immortal Palace had caused his "Life-Thread" ability to surge significantly. He had absorbed nine Phantom Truth Lotus Seeds, and the lotus root had grown two new segments. Furthermore, at the very tip of the lotus root, a leaf the size of a fingernail had sprouted.

The moment Ning Zhuo sensed the budding divine ability, he realized much.

"The Life-Thread divine ability has greatly improved. Connecting threads to my peers is effortless."

"The qualitative change is this—I can now attach Life-Threads to puppet constructs!"

"To be precise, to puppet constructs that possess full spirituality."

Everything possesses spirituality, but that spirituality is not always complete. The first thing Ning Zhuo thought of was Yuan Dasheng. It was now at the Spirit-Moving stage, where the standard for complete spirituality is ten parts.

Late that night, Ning Zhuo, having slept for the better part of the day, rose and went to his uncle Ning Ze’s meditation chamber to cultivate. The guards immediately adjusted their positions, surrounding him in the center. With layers of floating clouds drifting around him, Ning Zhuo summoned the Gold-Blood Battle Ape, Dasheng.

Within the clouds, he cast his budding divine ability upon Yuan Dasheng. After a long while, a nearly transparent Life-Thread appeared above the head of the Gold-Blood Battle Ape.

"Success!" Ning Zhuo was immensely excited. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him; he manipulated the Life-Thread and gave it a gentle tug.

The next moment, the Life-Thread swayed and lifted. At the end of the thread hung a spherical, crimson orb of spirituality. The crimson light shimmered brilliantly, at times forming a smooth, translucent sphere, and at other times taking the shape of a young ape’s head, cute and dazed, squeaking softly.

"I have pulled out Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality."

The culprit, Ning Zhuo, was shocked on the spot. Just as the Life-Thread had pulled his soul from his body to enter the Immortal Palace, he had now achieved something similar.

The Gold-Blood Battle Ape, Dasheng, possessed no soul; Ning Zhuo had extracted its spirituality entirely.

"Wait a moment!"

Ning Zhuo took another puppet ape from his storage bag. This puppet ape was one he had crafted with Zheng Jian, utilizing the Zheng family’s refining chamber. Compared to the Gold-Blood Battle Ape, the materials were far more sophisticated, generally two or three grades higher. After all, many items within the Lava Immortal Palace were restricted by thresholds.

Following his heart, Ning Zhuo adjusted the Life-Thread and connected it to the new puppet ape. The monkey-head spirituality hooked by the Life-Thread was then channeled into the new puppet.

The next moment, the puppet ape opened its eyes, revealing two points of green light.

Tree-Combat Yuan Dasheng.

The puppet ape was colored in yellow and green. Its primary materials were Steel-Vine Wood, Gale Wood, Xuanwu Star-Iron, and Gold-Emperor Quartz. The ape stood eight feet tall with a slender build, arms reaching past its knees, and a solemn, dignified expression. To ensure ample room for displaying combat martial arts, Ning Zhuo had specifically designed a segmented skeleton for this Tree-Combat Yuan. Using wood filled with vitality as its muscular structure, it could be repaired instantly via Wood-Grafting Arts even if damaged in battle.

Most importantly were its talisman inscription slots. Ning Zhuo had crafted six. Currently, they were inscribed with: Brute Force Talisman, Gale Talisman, Growth Talisman, Xuanwu Talisman, Vajra Talisman, and Sharp Blade Talisman!

Ning Zhuo had originally designed and built the Tree-Combat Yuan to train himself, attempting to use combat and other methods to gradually find a combat vessel closer to Yuan Dasheng. As it turned out, the situation developed even more smoothly than he had imagined—he had directly transferred Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality into the Tree-Combat Yuan.

Without needing an order from Ning Zhuo, the now-calmed Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality began to control its new body on its own. It moved continuously, its motions growing from small to large; from initially flexing its fingers, it gradually began to stride and dance, stirring the floating clouds violently. Before it could cause more of a commotion, Ning Zhuo stopped it in time.

"With this, I can bring Yuan Dasheng to my side and use it!"

For Ning Zhuo, this was truly a surprise. However, the surprises did not end there. In the classic texts that Ning Xiaoren had sent over, Ning Zhuo discovered the mysteries regarding the Spirit-Moving stage.