The warmth in Ning Zhuo’s left arm lingered briefly before gradually fading.
“What exactly is this innate talent? I’ll have to explore it in the future.”
Putting it aside for now, Ning Zhuo examined himself and confirmed that his soul essence had surged by threefold!
The gains were substantial.
“Han Ming still has much value. This was only the first time.”
The youth held a brighter outlook for the future in his heart.
He returned to check the cell, feeding a pill to the unconscious Han Ming.
Then, he entered the teleportation room and returned through the portal to his underground workshop at home.
He began his daily review.
This risky maneuver was undeniably successful.
Han Ming had been captured, his soul essence had tripled, and he was already seeing the dawn of success in changing his name on the leaderboard.
Additionally, Ning Zhuo had obtained some valuable information.
And that was—the fact that Meng Chong was still in the middle of dispersing his cultivation!
This explained why only his own name appeared on the leaderboard.
Of course, Ning Zhuo had paid a considerable price.
Inviting Sun Lingtong’s assistance wasn’t free; it had cost him nearly half his assets.
Within his Azure Iron Armor, only a tenth of his Foundation Establishment Pills remained.
This operation had consumed seven portions, leaving only three.
Moreover, his identity as the Mysterious Puppet Master was now compromised and would certainly lead to a city-wide manhunt.
“All of this was worth it.”
In fact, even if he had to abandon the entire Azure Iron Armor and deplete his wealth, Ning Zhuo wouldn’t hesitate for a moment.
He understood clearly that in his current situation, preserving his life took precedence over all else.
“The matter of the Foundation Establishment Pill has become even more urgent.”
“Should I procure it through Sun Lingtong? He has Black Market connections, which would be far more convenient.”
Ning Zhuo hesitated.
“If the rewards in the Immortal Palace include Foundation Establishment Pills, that would be ideal.”
“But for now, all the rewards seem related to the mechanical arts.”
Ning Zhuo couldn’t make a decision immediately.
It wasn’t a matter of whether he trusted Sun Lingtong; rather, Foundation Establishment Pills were of great importance and significance, always tightly controlled by various factions.
Most cultivators lacked innate talent or exceptional techniques, and reaching the Foundation Establishment stage often depended on these pills.
By controlling the distribution of Foundation Establishment Pills, each faction could aid its own cultivators in advancing, thus maintaining and expanding its influence.
The competition for Foundation Establishment Pills had even extended to the herbal market.
The main and essential herbs for these pills were heavily regulated.
By controlling the trade of these herbs, one could hinder the production of Foundation Establishment Pills by rival factions, thereby indirectly suppressing them.
Conversely, one’s own Foundation Establishment Pills could be used to attract outside talent to join.
In most cases, these pills were consumed internally and rarely circulated.
Those found in the market were traceable and accounted for.
At auctions, Foundation Establishment Pills often served as grand finale items, igniting bidding frenzies.
Any Foundation Establishment Pills that made it to the Black Market were exceedingly rare.
And even when they appeared, they were likely bait from certain factions.
Ning Zhuo had collected intelligence for over a decade and had witnessed such occurrences multiple times.
“If my identity is exposed, relying on the Foundation Establishment stage power of the Azure Iron Armor wouldn’t suffice against Golden Core or Nascent Soul stage cultivators.”
“Not to mention, there’s also the Immortal City Grand Formation here.”
“Exploring the Lava Immortal Palace won’t allow me to use the Azure Iron Armor.”
“With the Mysterious Puppet Master’s identity compromised, the armor won’t be of any use temporarily.”
After some thought, Ning Zhuo decided to defer the matter for the time being.
“I’m currently ranked first on the leaderboard!”
Only at this moment did Ning Zhuo feel a trace of joy and satisfaction about this fact.
For so long, he had been pushing himself to explore the Lava Immortal Palace as though he were always chasing after someone.
He had given his all, determined not to be left behind by Meng Chong and the others, and as it turned out, he was actually in the lead!
“Stay calm.”
“There’s nothing to be proud of.”
“Meng Chong had been too powerful before, so his cultivation dispersal takes longer.”
“He was also sabotaged, which delayed him.”
“Not just him, but also Zhou Zhu and Zheng Jian.”
Ning Zhuo analyzed the situation and concluded that his current lead was due to an information advantage, the power of the Buddha Heart Demon Seal’s energy transfer, and his own restraint and ability to conceal his true strength.
“These are all gifts from Mother.”
“What do I have?”
“Only a bit of low-grade innate talent. I’m only barely ahead after giving my all.”
“Without the seal and intelligence, could I have achieved this?” Ning Zhuo shook his head silently.
“Meng Chong and the others will catch up to and surpass me soon enough.” He displayed a cautious expression.
He counseled himself, striving to maintain an optimal mindset.
“One must always remain humble.”
“Just look at Han Ming. Proudly arrogant as a disciple of the Demonic Gate, and look where she ended up now?”
“This is a lesson written in blood, one to remember and learn from!”
Ning Zhuo continued to remind himself, quickly erasing the faint joy and pride he had felt.
“Next, I’ll wait for the Lava Immortal Palace to pull me in again.”
His soul essence was in its prime, a full threefold beyond his previous peak.
He eagerly anticipated the third entry.
However, no matter how long he waited, it did not come.
“That’s odd. What’s going on?”
“The second time, my soul essence wasn’t even fully recovered, and I was pulled in.”
“Why is it so slow now?”
Ning Zhuo felt puzzled.
Meanwhile.
In the main hall of the Lava Immortal Palace.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit lay sprawled across the throne, its dragon head slightly raised, its gaze piercing through space to observe Ning Zhuo.
Seeing Ning Zhuo’s expectant expression, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit snorted, blowing out two small flames from its nostrils.
Then, it closed its eyes, turned its head to the side, and stopped looking at him.
Fei Si personally escorted Meng Chong back to the City Lord’s mansion.
After seeing Meng Chong secured under layers of protection, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Shortly after, a subordinate reported, bringing him a jade slip.
Fei Si infused his spiritual sense into the jade slip and saw the investigation results regarding the assault on the Purple Sun Courtyard.
The mechanical constructs left behind by the demonic cultivators were all mass-produced, offering no valuable clues.
According to testimonies and evidence from the scene, it was speculated that three demonic cultivators carried out the raid.
Two of them were exposed, while the third remained well-hidden, disappearing after stealing all the pills from the storage room without ever revealing their presence.
Fei Si focused on the two demonic cultivators who had been exposed.
The jade slip contained lifelike portraits of the two.
One was the cold female cultivator, Han Ming, and the other was an old man hunched over with a cane.
“Han Ming… alas.” Fei Si sighed.
Han Ming had previously caused trouble for Sun Lie on several occasions.
Although Sun Lie reported it, Fei Si’s implicit instructions led his subordinates to act perfunctorily, merely going through the motions.
The reason was that Han Ming hailed from a prominent demonic sect—the Soul Devouring Sect!