Chapter 77: An Immortal Aptitude

After searching continuously for a full day and night, the numerous Golden Core cultivators still failed to unearth the shadowy demonic cultivator. Confronted with this outcome, the four great powers of Fire Persimmon Immortal City found themselves shamed. The lockdown on the city remained in place, yet no decree could contain the swelling rumors and turbulent undercurrents.

Zhu Xuanji requested some fragments of mechanical constructs from Fei Si. These fragments all came from the berserk, malfunctioning monkey automatons that had attacked Yuan Er. Since the shadowy demonic cultivator had not shown himself, these mechanical fragments became the only clue.

Zhu Xuanji tinkered with the pieces. He had also acquired the schematics for the Explosive Fire Monkey, and after glancing through them, committed them to memory. Spending the time it takes half a cup of tea to cool, he reconstructed as best he could three of the mechanical monkeys from the fragments.

The Explosive Fire Monkeys were battered and incomplete, barely able to stand before him. Zhu Xuanji took up the control wires, infused them with spiritual power, and manipulated the mechanical monkeys. Had Fei Si seen this, he would have been astonished: so Zhu Xuanji had this skill as well.

Zhu Xuanji indeed possessed some mastery in the art of mechanisms; it was one reason he had been chosen for this investigation. After a short while, he put away all the wires and sighed—he had found nothing of value.

“Let me reconstruct the events again.”

Zhu Xuanji closed his eyes and reviewed the path of his investigation. First the mechanical monkeys, then the thousand-weight Fire Essence, and finally the shadowy demonic cultivator.

“The use of self-destructing automatons was clearly a measure to thwart any origin-tracing arts. The Fire Essence left no trace in the market; if one of the four major powers were behind it, that would have been easy to arrange. The disappearance of the shadowy demonic cultivator most likely points to an insider—someone let him go in secret!”

All clues pointed to the same truth: one of the three great clans of Fire Persimmon Immortal City was likely the mastermind behind the Immortal Palace bombing, pulling strings from the shadows as the so-called demonic cultivator.

“But if the shadowy cultivator had already escaped, why trigger the monkey explosion during the Fire Persimmon Festival and frame the Monkeyhead Gang? Wasn’t that superfluous?”

Zhu Xuanji’s thoughts ran ever deeper.

“Perhaps the culprit wished to use this to disguise themselves, creating the illusion that the shadowy demonic cultivator was present at the scene. Moreover, eliminating the old ape was likely because his performance had become too conspicuous—disposing of him in public would undermine the city lord’s prestige. Finally, it seems the true intention was also to mislead me, to hinder the progress of my investigation.”

Bang!

Zhu Xuanji clenched his fist and struck the jade tabletop. He could feel the enemy’s provocation. The fragments of the mechanical monkeys seemed to mock his impotence, as if saying: Come, investigate—I’ve left you clues!

But Zhu Xuanji was no stranger to the pitfalls of such automatons. He knew that if the enemy acted in this fashion, there would surely be no trail to follow; it would only waste his precious time and energy.

“If the mechanical monkeys are a taunt, was the old ape’s failure truly an accident?” This thought had occurred to Zhu Xuanji, which was why, on the day of the Fire Persimmon Festival, he had doubled back mid-journey and used a rare elixir to test whether the old ape’s mind had been affected.

His test proved negative.

After long and fruitless rumination, he opened his eyes slowly, thinking, “The most suspicious thing remains that explosion!”

Night had deepened.

Zhu Xuanji concealed his presence and returned to the Monkeyhead Gang’s headquarters. He cast a spell, sending Yuan Er into a deathlike slumber. Then, carefully, he placed a drop of supreme elixir on Yuan Er—yet saw no effect.

Zhu Xuanji felt frustrated. “What am I thinking? The chance that Yuan Er’s mind was tampered with is minuscule!”

“Hmph, this little wretch cost me a drop of my best elixir for nothing.”

He gazed at the sleeping Yuan Er, his mood sour. As he turned to leave, he flicked his sleeve, sending a gust of air that struck Yuan Er’s cheek with a crisp snap.

Silently, Zhu Xuanji left the Monkeyhead Gang, traversed beneath the star-strewn sky, and climbed to the summit of Fire Persimmon Mountain to meet the city lord.

“Lord Meng Kui, I request access to all records, to thoroughly investigate everyone who has entered or exited the Molten Immortal Palace in recent years!”

...

Ning Zhuo returned home, rested briefly, and waited patiently for nightfall before donning his Steel-Blue Armor and once more disguising himself as the childlike Traveler.

He teleported to the dungeon and found Han Ming.

Pushing open the cell door, he saw Han Ming crouched on the ground, scratching her head and ears, looking most unseemly.

Han Ming jerked upright, waving her hands in alarm, terror in her eyes. “M-my lord, please, no more monkey souls! My soul needs time to digest and purify!”

“My soul has become warped, taking on many monkeyish traits. My behavior is changing without my realizing it!”

Ning Zhuo nodded, understanding he must not exhaust the well. In a gentle voice, he said, “You’ve worked hard these days. For now, just absorb this ape soul. Afterwards, you’ll have a break and rest.”

Ning Zhuo had been frantically acquiring wild monkeys for Han Ming to absorb, and from this, his soul’s foundation had grown more than eightyfold since their first meeting.

But Han Ming’s condition had declined sharply, and he saw it clearly.

Bang.

Yuan Dasheng’s corpse was withdrawn from a storage pouch and tossed onto the floor. Han Ming started, her hair standing on end. Her first impression was that this old ape was extraordinary!

“Devour his soul, and you’ll have your holiday,” said Ning Zhuo.

When handling the corpse, Ning Zhuo had carefully worn down Yuan Dasheng’s soul and confined it within the body. As Yuan Dasheng had never cultivated soul arts, he was powerless to resist Ning Zhuo’s manipulations. Nevertheless, there was still risk.

Ning Zhuo’s best choice was to let Han Ming absorb it, then extract it from her, maximizing the benefit from this spoil.

“Thank you for your generosity, my lord!” Han Ming swallowed nervously and began to perform the Soul-Devouring Art.

But in the next moment, a golden light flashed from Yuan Dasheng’s corpse.

Spurt.

Han Ming coughed up a mouthful of blood, her eyes rolling back as she fainted instantly.

Ning Zhuo was taken aback. While controlling several small puppets to administer aid, he also inspected Yuan Dasheng’s body with caution.

Han Ming soon regained consciousness, still shaken, and exclaimed, “Righteous Bone, Golden Resolve!”

“This—this is a supreme innate talent!”

Ning Zhuo’s eyebrows shot up in astonishment. “A supreme endowment? The old ape possesses immortal potential? Are you certain?”

Han Ming nodded, staring at the ape’s corpse with unwavering conviction. “Absolutely! I’ve studied the sect’s tomes thoroughly—these are the traits of Righteous Bone, Golden Resolve. The bearer is loyal by nature, unyielding in adversity. Their bones are as hard as diamond, their flesh equally resilient. With the soul anchored to such a skeleton, its will is unshakeable and nearly immune to outside influence. In my current state, I cannot absorb his soul; even at full strength, I might not succeed.”

At this moment, Han Ming also recognized the old ape’s identity and marveled, “Who would have thought the Monkeyhead Gang’s old ape, Yuan Yi’s pet, would possess such an immortal endowment!”

Suddenly, Han Ming froze.

She jerked her head up, looking at Ning Zhuo, her eyes shining with a sharp, determined light.