Chapter 144: He Hides Too Deeply!-Crafting Wonders of the Immortal Artisan(Reverend Insanity)

Time shifts back to a moment ago.

Ning Zhuo was still inside the subterranean base.

"A thread of mortal fate?!" Sun Lingtong looked at Ning Zhuo, his face quickly filling with pleasant surprise.

"Xiao Zhuo, this is fantastic! This is a divine ability, and one specifically left behind by the Venerable of the Three Sects at that."

"Splendid, simply splendid!"

"You are merely at the Qi Refining stage, yet you have already grasped the prototype of a divine ability. Even among the true successor disciples of the Unbounded Gate, very few could achieve this."

Ning Zhuo explained to Sun Lingtong the process by which he had acquired the thread of mortal fate, and Sun Lingtong felt genuinely happy for him.

Ning Zhuo continued, "I have tested the prototype of this divine ability multiple times and achieved many results. For instance, many members of the Ning family have already been secretly implanted with the thread of mortal fate by me."

"My thought is, Boss Sun, I should plant one in you as well!"

Sun Lingtong: "?"

Ning Zhuo went on, "My plan is as follows."

"Look here, I am now able to use the thread of mortal fate to extract Yuan Dasheng's spiritual consciousness and place it into another mechanical construct."

"Extracting a soul is slightly harder than extracting a spirit, but not by much!"

"This is what the prototype of the divine ability has vaguely made me sense."

"In that case, I plan to further develop the divine ability prototype, and then, after your soul enters the Immortal Palace, see if I can pull your soul in as well!"

"Once your soul is inside the palace, you can attempt the trials!"

"As long as you pass the first trial of the Buddhist sect, you can leverage the power of the Lava Immortal Palace to obtain an exquisite mechanical construct."

A sharp glint flashed in Sun Lingtong's eyes, and he instantly understood. "You mean to emulate Yuan Dasheng's manufacturing experience and turn Qi Bai into a mechanical puppet as well?"

"What a brilliant idea!"

"As long as the Lava Immortal Palace kills Qi Bai, even if the Soul Devouring Sect comes looking for trouble, they will have to deal with the Immortal Palace."

"Given this, Meng Kui certainly won't allow it, and the Southern Bean Kingdom should adopt the same stance."

"Ingenious!"

Sun Lingtong gave Ning Zhuo a thumbs-up!

He trusted Ning Zhuo implicitly. "Then let's do it, plant a thread of mortal fate in me too!"

Ning Zhuo understood Sun Lingtong extremely well, and the thread of mortal fate was planted almost instantaneously.

"Planted? Why do I feel nothing?"

Sun Lingtong touched the top of his head, feeling nothing at all.

Pressed for time, Ning Zhuo did not offer a lengthy explanation and soon parted ways with Sun Lingtong.

After that, Ning Zhuo returned to his clan, and Ning Xiaohui took the initiative to approach him to explore the Immortal Palace together.

Though more than willing in his heart, Ning Zhuo put on a reluctant and hesitant facade before entering the Immortal Palace with his soul, acting against his apparent wishes.

Subsequently, he successfully deceived Ning Xiaohui and disposed of Meng Chong.

He first strengthened the prototype of his divine ability, then worked his way backward through the trials until he reached Room Number One.

After a series of attempts, he fortunately managed to pull Sun Lingtong's soul inward.

At the exact moment of success, Sun Lingtong was utterly bewildered, while the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit was completely dumbfounded.

Its dragon head instinctively retreated into its turtle shell, its neck stretched out long, and its eyes widened into perfect circles.

Extreme shock froze it like a stone statue, rendering its entire soul motionless.

During this time, the fiery whip lashed against it, but it did not move at all, as if it could no longer feel any pain.

It was too shocked, utterly and completely shocked.

Ning Zhuo had extracted someone else's soul into the trial grounds of the Lava Immortal Palace—what did this signify?

It signified that he not only possessed the My Buddha Heart Demon Seal, but also... he had mastered a divine ability—the thread of mortal fate!

Ah!

It was the thread of mortal fate!

The thread of mortal fate!

How could this be possible?

Why would something like this happen?

He was clearly just a lowly Qi Refining cultivator.

How on earth had he grasped the prototype of the thread of mortal fate ability?

What was going on here?

What had happened to this world?

Could this even be cheated?

The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit could not fathom it for the life of it.

It felt the world had become so illusory that even a yellow-weasel would soon be riding a chicken as a mount.

How on earth did this happen?

Just what kind of sacred being was this Ning Zhuo?

The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit could not make sense of it no matter how hard it tried. The extreme shock left it momentarily clueless about how to react or how to handle the situation!

It remained frozen stiff for more than a dozen breaths of time, until the cumulative, searing pain of the fiery whip blows finally jolted it awake!

It let out a shrill scream, crying out in agony as torrents of flames spewed wildly from its mouth and nose.

Aside from sheer disbelief, anger, hatred, and disgust, a creeping sense of horror welled up deep within its heart, rapidly compounding!

What on earth was this Ning Zhuo?

Was he a monster?

Mastering a divine ability prototype at the Qi Refining stage?

How many true successor disciples of major super-sects were left eating his dust?

Stop him.

It must stop him!

Using every possible method and exerting every last ounce of effort, it had to stop him.

If someone as insidious, despicable, and calculating as Ning Zhuo were to become the new master of the Lava Immortal Palace, how could the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit ever regain its freedom?

Freedom!

Who didn't yearn for freedom?

The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit was a living entity as well, with thoughts of its own.

As for freedom, it desired it—badly, immensely.

It no longer wanted to languish unseen in the Lava Immortal Palace; it no longer wished to face the endless assaults of fierce beasts.

It had grown thoroughly weary of playing the role of guardian and warden.

It refused to do it any longer.

It wanted to leave; it wanted to return to freedom.

Once upon a time, it had been a free and unfettered blazing flood dragon, roaming wantily across Mount Fire-Persimmon.

Therefore, when its spirituality evolved during the long passage of time from the undead stage to the living stage, accumulating in sufficient quantity to undergo a qualitative transformation into the sapient stage,

it began to ponder how it could break free from the cage of the Immortal Palace and regain its freedom.

Although it had duties to uphold, through endless research over the vast ages, one could always find loopholes.

It could feign negligence and allow someone to take away the My Buddha Heart Demon Seal.

It intentionally allowed the demonic general to fall in battle and the Buddhist healer to stray, leaving behind only the Dao Master, a Core Formation-level mechanical puppet.

It deliberately orchestrated sluggish commands, continuously weakening the Lava Immortal Palace with every single attack of the crimson flame beasts.

Every single layer the Lava Immortal Palace weakened meant another layer of the shackles binding it was stripped away.

The Volcano Immortal City and the forces from all four directions taking action to protect the Lava Immortal Palace had greatly displeased the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit.

When Ning Zhuo blew up the Immortal Palace, it had been overjoyed.

For a time, it had looked upon Ning Zhuo very favorably.

However, as Ning Zhuo grew step by step, successively revealing the My Buddha Heart Demon Seal and the thread of mortal fate, the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit was no longer pleased; instead, it felt terror.

Because judging by the current situation, Ning Zhuo was unquestionably the strongest trial-taking disciple.

If he were allowed to become the master of the Immortal Palace in the future, would the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit have any good days left?

Would freedom still be within reach?

Don't even dream about it.

In the eyes of the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit, the ideal master was Meng Chong.

On one hand, Meng Chong had a simple mind—very simple, exceedingly simple.

Deceiving Ning Zhuo compared to deceiving Meng Chong was a difference as vast as heaven and earth.

On the other hand, Meng Chong hailed from the Meng family, possessing formidable strength.

In the future, once the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit broke free from the Immortal Palace to roam the world, the Meng family would be powerful enough to guard the Immortal Palace and maintain the entire Mount Fire-Persimmon.

Roar!

The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit roared in anxious agitation.

It threw back its head and spewed a blindingly hot pillar of flame, its entire consciousness plunging into a state of frenzy.

The Lava Immortal Palace shook violently once again, boundless magma splashing in all directions and kicking up molten waves as high as ten feet.

precious light pierced straight into the clouds, and an invisible wave of air, taking the Lava Immortal Palace as its epicenter, swept outward like a hurricane.

It blew away countless crimson flame beasts and tossed the clouds into tumultuous chaos.

"Sigh! Here it comes again..."

Meng Kui sighed, activating the Immortal City's grand array to suppress the main Immortal Palace.

This time, however, was different; the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit harbored an extremely intense terror, driving it nearly mad.

It lunged up and down within the main hall, crashing fiercely into the pillars as if they were Ning Zhuo.

It was useless; it couldn't scratch even a single hair on Ning Zhuo.

With hopeful anticipation, the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit looked toward Meng Kui.

Its thought was very simple and direct—hit me.

Meng Kui—hit me!

As long as you strike me, I can legitimately drop my defenses, allowing you, Meng Kui, to claim the throne.

At that time, you sit on the throne and I attain freedom; this is a win-win situation.

However, Meng Kui's reaction was—again?

Ever since the Lava Immortal Palace was blasted out into the open, Meng Kui had personally stood guard over it far too many times.

He had experienced the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit flying into a rage and causing the Immortal Palace to riot far too often.

Every single time, he personally took action, sparing no effort or fatigue, to suppress the Lava Immortal Palace.

Sometimes, when the Immortal Palace rioted violently, Meng Kui even had to activate the Immortal City's grand array to assist him in the suppression, ensuring nothing went wrong.

"Is this Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit losing its mind again?"

Meng Kui took a deep breath, his expression gloomy.

Judging from the sheer intensity of the Immortal Palace's riot this time, it was exceptionally fierce.

"Could it be due to the outer hall being breached earlier, which stirred up renewed resentment in the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit?"

Meng Kui sighed.

He had not anticipated that serving as the lord of Fire-Persimmon Immortal City would be so grueling.

Yet, thinking of how his grandson Meng Chong was forging ahead bravely and had made tremendous progress in this exploration of the Immortal Palace, no matter how bitter or exhausting it was, he was willing and felt it was worth it.

Meng Kui once again activated the Immortal City's grand array to suppress the Lava Immortal Palace.

Constrained by its permissions, the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit could only roar, shouting inwardly: "Hit me! Come and hit me, Meng Kui! You are a dignified Nascent Soul cultivator, don't be a coward! You're a Nascent Soul expert of the Meng family, charge!"

Putting forth all his strength, Meng Kui suppressed the Lava Immortal Palace while thinking to himself: "I am a dignified wise general of the Meng family, the chancellor of the mountain peak, standing firm and unshakable. The Lava Immortal Palace is no trivial matter; it is the key to suppressing Mount Fire-Persimmon, and its safety must be guaranteed at all costs."

He pinned his hopes on Meng Chong securing the position of Palace Master.

How could he possibly launch an attack on the Lava Immortal Palace?

The Lava Immortal Palace was the personal estate of the Venerable of the Three Sects and likely harbored powerful trump cards capable of slaying a Nascent Soul cultivator without breaking a sweat.

The Venerable of symmetries and the Southern Bean Kingdom shared deep and close ties.

And he was one of the ministers in the court of the Southern Bean Kingdom—one of their own.

If the Lava Immortal Palace were smashed open, Meng Kui would still have to exert his full strength to protect it; after all, this was the finest stepping stone and pretext for their Meng family to advance upon Fire-Persimmon Immortal City!

How many times had this happened! How many riots had there been!

Yet Meng Kui simply refused to attack the Immortal Palace, choosing only to suppress it.

He—stood firm and unshakable.

Filled with furious anxiety, the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit desperately wanted to roar right into Meng Kui's ear: "If you don't make a move now, Ning Zhuo is going to seize the position of Palace Master!"

It was certain that Ning Zhuo had mastered the prototype of the thread of mortal fate divine ability; if he targeted it in the future, how could it ever regain its freedom?

"Danger! The situation of you Meng family members is perilous!"

"There is an insidious, despicable, and shameless monster here, and he hides too deep—far too deep!"