The entire Lava Immortal Palace was shaking violently!
Ning Zhuo pressed his palms against the five stone pillars, his soul power being consumed at an alarming rate.
His soul had separated from his body.
His physical form remained in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, while his soul was drawn into the Lava Immortal Palace.
The two were linked by the Life-Hanging Thread divine ability.
Ning Zhuo was only a qi refining stage cultivator, yet the Buddha Heart Demon Seal was of the magical artifact level.
Under normal circumstances, it was already extremely difficult for him to channel the power of the seal.
Now, with his soul and body separated and connected only by the Life-Hanging Thread, sensing and drawing out the Buddha Heart Demon Seal’s power had become several times harder!
Ning Zhuo's spiritual power and soul power drained rapidly, like a flood bursting from a dam.
He looked up at the leaderboard, his heart filled with joy.
He saw that his name was slowly sinking.
If this trend continued, once his engraved name was flush with the stone tablet's surface, he would finally be able to hide his identity!
However, midway through, his name’s descent abruptly halted.
The puppet Ning Zhuo collapsed onto his knees, slumping before the stone pillar.
His soul power was almost entirely depleted, his soul so weakened that it was nearly on the brink of dispersing.
Ning Zhuo could hold on no longer.
Pulling on the seal’s power had been like a child wielding a giant hammer, his frail body unable to withstand it.
The next moment, his soul couldn’t remain within the puppet and quickly ascended, following the Life-Hanging Thread, piercing through space, and instantly returning to his physical form.
With a thud, his puppet body, now devoid of a soul, fell to the ground, motionless.
Once again, Ning Zhuo slipped into unconsciousness.
In the main hall of the Lava Immortal Palace.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was leaping about in mid-air, stirring up surging waves of fire wherever it went, its presence terrifying!
Suddenly, it froze, sensing Ning Zhuo’s soul leaving.
It opened its mouth and roared loudly!
The sound waves spread outward through the Lava Immortal Palace, clearing clouds of smoke and pushing back rolling magma.
"It’s that Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit roaring! What on earth has driven it mad?"
The City Lord of Fire Persimmon City had no choice but to exert all his power, urgently activating the Fire Persimmon Immortal City Grand Formation once again.
Countless green array patterns outlined the sky and earth, interwoven like a net, forming a powerful barrier.
The City Lord of Fire Persimmon City huffed, his clothes billowing as he fought against the volatile Lava Immortal Palace.
It took him half an incense stick’s time to finally stabilize the situation.
"Last time, the Immortal Palace was attacked by a golden core stage demon cultivator and nearly ascended."
"What’s going on this time?"
"Could it be under attack again?"
He squinted, his face darkening.
Since the appearance of the Immortal Palace, he had taken his position at the mountain peak, never leaving for a moment.
As a nascent soul stage cultivator and the lord of this region, who would dare attempt to enter the Lava Immortal Palace under his watch?
He was certain that ever since he’d stationed himself atop the mountain, no one else had entered the Immortal Palace.
"Even if someone tried tunneling through the mountain, they’d still have to face the formation’s barrier and detection, not to mention the ongoing eruptions of unbearable geothermal heat and fiery fiend energy."
"Could it be that the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit has grown impatient?"
Ning Zhuo slowly regained consciousness.
It took a long moment for his blurry vision to clear.
His eyelids felt extremely heavy.
"The damage to my soul this time is far worse than before."
Resisting the urge to fall asleep, Ning Zhuo struggled to sit up.
Even moving slowly, he was met with blackouts and dizziness.
Barely managing to sit upright, he found himself drenched in cold sweat, and the furniture around him seemed to sway and spin.
He closed his eyes. In the darkness, the pounding of his accelerated heartbeat transformed into a fierce drumbeat in his ears.
After a while, he slowly reopened his eyes, feeling slightly better.
"My body and soul are naturally a matched pair."
His body could nourish his soul.
It was this trait that allowed Ning Zhuo to feel slightly better.
But recovery was far too slow for his needs.
Ning Zhuo needed medicine to hasten the process.
He slowly stood up, left his bed, and activated the mechanism to open the basement.
Supporting himself on anything he could, he moved forward at a snail’s pace. He couldn’t move too quickly, lest he faint again.
Halfway down the stairs, he could go no further and sat down.
Curling up, he leaned his head against the stair railing.
Nauseous, dizzy, weak, overwhelmingly tired—his head felt like it was swelling to several times its normal size, while his spine felt as fragile as a withered branch.
Once again, he closed his eyes, listening to the pounding of his heart echo like battle drums in his ears.
He hunched over, as if an invisible weight pressed down upon him, trying to crush him.
"Heh."
Instead, Ning Zhuo let out a soft chuckle.
The more intricate the mechanical construct, the more he wanted to understand it thoroughly.
The more difficult his predicament, the more it ignited the deep-seated fighting spirit buried within him!
His face was as pale as paper, sweat pouring from his brow, yet a faint, almost crazed smile played at the corners of his lips.
Soon, his smile faded.
He opened his eyes again, a cold, resolute glint in his gaze.
"It can be done!"
"By using the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, I can continue hiding my identity."
"This is the gift my mother left me, my one and only chance."
"If I can’t grasp it, I would be failing her completely!"
With great effort, Ning Zhuo rose to his feet once more, every tiny movement requiring all his strength.
He descended the stairs, leaning against the wall, until he finally reached the cabinet.
Suppressing his dizziness, he used his trembling hands to open the cabinet door, took out the pill bottle, and struggled to remove the stopper.
When he tried to pour out the pills, his hands were so weak and his vision so blurred that many fell to the floor.
But he managed to swallow one.
Successful in taking his medicine, Ning Zhuo leaned against the wall and slowly slid to the floor, his head falling as he instantly slipped into a deep sleep.
When he awoke, it was already late at night.
His condition had improved drastically.
Before, everything he saw was doubled, and any movement sent his world spinning.
Now, his vision was only a bit blurry, and turning his head too quickly only created a slight afterimage.
Using the pill’s effects was far more efficient than sleep alone.
After all, why else was alchemy considered the highest of the cultivation arts?
Ning Zhuo gathered up the pills he had spilled, cleaning them and placing them back in the bottle.
There weren’t many pills left, so he needed to be frugal.
"I should stock up on a large supply."
"The entire process of drawing the soul into the palace constantly drains soul power. Therefore, I’ll need an increasing amount of soul-nourishing pills."
"For me, the situation is even more severe."
"Even if I bought plenty of soul-nourishing pills, I can’t bring them into the Lava Immortal Palace to use inside."
"I must directly elevate my soul's strength, at least doubling it. Only then will I be able to sustain myself long enough to hide my name on the leaderboard."