< Chapter 24: Ning Zhuo Enters the Immortal Palace >
Ning Zhuo began to examine the items left by Chen Cha. First, there was a jade slip, white as snow. Pressing it against his forehead, Ning Zhuo immersed his spiritual sense into it and discovered that it contained a collection of formation arrays titled "Serpentine Flexure Formation Collection," authored by the hermit Bai Lin.
Ning Zhuo skimmed through it, revealing a hint of surprise. "This Bai Lin is not a human but a male snake demon," he deduced. "He was severely injured in his middle age, and unable to recover his snake body, he constructed mechanisms as substitutes, striving to keep his snake form intact."
"The jade slip records various formation arrays laid on both the mechanical and flesh snake bodies." Although Bai Lin had left little information, Ning Zhuo felt that this demon possessed the strength of at least the Nascent Soul stage.
"It was after obtaining this jade slip that Chen Cha delved into research, earning the title of ‘Active Array Master' and the ability to craft mechanical creations," Ning Zhuo surmised. "He's really handed over all his secrets to me."
The evidence for Ning Zhuo’s judgment was in the content of the jade slip, which included a vast amount of Chen Cha's personal annotations, insights, and records of experiments and experiences with designing mechanisms.
Knowledge is priceless. This was the foundation of Chen Cha's reputation, and he would likely have kept some secrets even from his disciples.
But unexpectedly, Chen Cha had gifted the jade slip directly to Ning Zhuo. "Old Chen…" Ning Zhuo sighed, then turned his attention to a bag.
Inside the bag were about twenty wooden balls, varying in size. The largest were the size of a baby's fist, while the smallest were the size of a little finger’s tip.
Each wooden bead was split into two sides: one side painted black with the character for "death," and the other white with the character for "life."
“Half-Dead Half-Alive Bead.” Having browsed the content of the jade slip, Ning Zhuo recognized these wooden beads at a glance.
These beads were an original creation by Chen Cha, based on the formation collection of Bai Lin, combined with his own experience and a moment of inspiration, to craft these mechanical wooden beads.
These beads were basic components in mechanical creations, used at the joints.
When the bead flipped to the white "life" side, the joint would move freely.
When it flipped to the black "death" side, the joint would lock into place.
The brilliance of it lay in the subtle connection between the beads; if formation patterns were carved onto the main parts of the mechanism, they could form one or multiple active formations.
Controlling these beads to switch between ‘dead' and ‘alive' allowed the mechanical creations to perform various precise movements.
“The application range of this Half-Dead Half-Alive Bead is vast.”
“It could be used in the Exclusive Monkey, and it seems it could also fit the Ruyi Rope. The performance should indeed surpass the previous models.”
Ning Zhuo’s face showed delight.
He really loved such mechanical creations.
To others, these wooden beads might seem of little value. But for Ning Zhuo, they were rare treasures that could significantly aid him.
Lastly, Ning Zhuo checked the heaviest bag.
Inside, he found 5118 spirit stones.
The count, mixed with both singular and bulk numbers, once again plunged Ning Zhuo into a moment of silence.
“This must be all of Old Chen's possessions, right?”
Ning Zhuo sighed, a trace of guilt stirring within him. He packed away his belongings and began to actively recuperate. The Warm Nurturing Pill was highly effective, quickly helping his body adapt to the newly acquired Five Elements Mana. Focused on his cultivation, Ning Zhuo strived to return to the Qi Refining third layer as soon as possible.
"When I reach the third layer, will the transmission bell continue to resonate throughout the city?" he wondered.
"I must race against time and give it my all!"
"My mother was right," he reflected. "I'm just an ordinary person, unlike others who have backgrounds and resources."
"I'm afraid I'm already far behind others in progress!"
Before his mother passed away, she had advised him to strive for a good ranking to become a seed of the Puppet Immortal City, which would ensure he received more resources. Lacking key information, Ning Zhuo decided to take a gamble without any hesitation and switched his practice to The Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.
"Besides cultivating The Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, I also need to find a way to get close to the Lava Immortal Palace."
After the palace had been bombed, the volcano's peak was completely under martial law, not a single non-essential person allowed.
"What would the family think?" he pondered.
"Organizing Qi Refining stage cultivators to collectively switch to The Five Elements Qi Regulation Art is a rightful action."
"With Chen Cha's connections, if I can utilize them well, it seems I could also enter the Lava Immortal Palace through the city lord's channel."
Ning Zhuo decided to wait and watch, to bide his time until the right opportunity emerged. His decision proved wise.
A few days later, a family member came to his cottage to inform him that he had been selected to be among those in the Ning family who were to switch to The Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.
Following orders, Ning Zhuo disguised himself and returned to his clan to participate in the first collective training session.
"Ah Zhuo, you're here too?" Ning Yong greeted him with enthusiasm.
Ning Chen also approached and nodded slightly at Ning Zhuo. After exchanging greetings, Ning Zhuo looked around and noticed that most participants were from the collateral branches, with few from the main lineage of the Ning family.
"I heard that an elder in the clan wanted Ning Xiaohui to join, but she decisively refused and even made a scene," Ning Yong whispered to Ning Zhuo.
Ning Xiaohui was a classmate of theirs and consistently ranked first in all their exams, without exception.
Ning Chen commented, "She has a talent we can't even dream of—the Ice Cream Jade Hands. Why should she risk switching techniques? I think her decision is right."
"Even I would rather practice the ‘Snow Region Talisman Atlas' than the three-layered Five Elements Qi Regulation Art!"
From Ning Chen's words, Ning Zhuo sensed a clear resentment. But what could they do? After all, they were merely small figures.
The collective training turned out to be much shorter than expected. It was simply announced that the selected members of the Ning family were to actively switch to the new cultivation method, with different resources awarded to the top ten performers. The session was then dismissed the same afternoon.
Observing his clansmen, Ning Zhuo noticed that the promise of rewards had generally motivated a strong interest in switching techniques. However, he certainly wouldn't claim the reward. No one knew he was already at the second layer of Qi Refining.
He intended to keep this secret and not reveal it prematurely.
Just as he was about to leave the clan's territory, his uncle Ning Ze stopped him halfway. "Cultivate well, little Zhuo. It was by spending money that I managed to get you into this program."
Ning Zhuo let out a sigh, his face flushing red with both shame and embarrassment. He bowed to Ning Ze and thanked him, "Uncle, I've troubled you and made you worry."
Ning Ze nodded slightly, "As long as you understand."
He had no choice. The young clan leader, Ning Xiaoren, pressed him hard, even threatening to include Ning Ji in the modification list.
Faced with such a threat, Ning Zhuo's great-aunt, Wang Lan, instantly compromised and agreed to let go.
Ning Ze had no choice but to present a substantial gift to the young clan leader.
The young clan leader had accepted the gift and immediately added Ning Zhuo to the modification list.
In the days that followed, Ning Zhuo secretly practiced diligently and took time to participate in family training sessions, gradually revealing his proficiency in The Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.
He cleverly concealed his true capabilities, maintaining an average progress in the modifications, nothing conspicuous.
However, in secret, he spared no spirit stones, furiously using them to accumulate mana rapidly, skyrocketing from the second to the third layer of Qi Refining.
Tonight, Ning Zhuo reached the pinnacle of the third layer.
"There's no further progress to be made. The transmission bell has also been silent." Ning Zhuo sighed, "Ah… when will the Ning family's modification team enter the Lava Immortal Palace?"
Unbeknownst to him, deep within the Lava Immortal Palace, a bronze stele was slowly revealing his name, Ning Zhuo.
Qi Refining List, first place, Ning Zhuo!
In the next moment, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit on the throne roared.
Divine Ability—Life Hanging by a Thread!
Invisible threads pierced through space, instantly catching Ning Zhuo.
Before he could react, his soul was pulled out by the threads, traversing through space, and directly entering the Lava Immortal Palace!