Chapter 16: Dungeon Interrogation

## Fire Persimmon Immortal Mountain

Mountain Peak, deep within the cloudscape.

The City Lord of Fire Persimmon Immortal City sat in the void, summoning his Golden Core subordinate, Chi Dun.

Chi Dun was a middle-aged man, blind in one eye, short in stature but robust, his muscles bulging, resembling a walking stone pillar.

"Chi Dun, I order you to fully investigate the Shadow Demonic Cultivator!" The City Lord sat on a prayer mat, surrounded by swirling white mist and black clouds, reflecting the anger and gloomy emotions in his heart.

Chi Dun wore a troubled expression. "My Lord, at your command, this subordinate would brave fire and water without hesitation. But my main cultivation technique is 'Stone Heart Delaying Tactics,' as you know. I fear I am unequal to this weighty task."

"It matters not." The City Lord slightly waved his hand, and a magical treasure flew from his sleeve.

This treasure was entirely tender yellow, small and exquisite, a bell.

The bell flew toward Chi Dun, who hastily reached out with both hands to receive it.

The City Lord commanded, "With this 'Alarming Heart Bell,' you will have the ability to track down the Demonic Cultivator. Go forth and exert yourself to the utmost!"

Chi Dun took his leave, carrying the Alarming Heart Bell. His first step was to go to the dungeon.

"Start with the easy and move to the difficult. These Ning family cultivators were involved in the incident. Interrogate them first. Otherwise, the Ning family will come and take them away, and it will be difficult to handle."

"That Shadow Demonic Cultivator previously used them as camouflage, attracting Zheng Shuang Gou's attention. Perhaps there are internal accomplices of the Demonic Cultivator among them?"

Though he thought this, Chi Dun knew that the possibility was actually quite small.

However, he could take this opportunity to use the magical treasure Alarming Heart Bell to familiarize himself with it as soon as possible.

Ning Zhuo and the others had originally been rescued by Zheng Shuang Gou and were not detained. But with the Immortal Palace's emergence and the resounding of the Transmission Bell throughout the city, the matter had escalated.

The City Lord personally ordered that all surviving cultivators, including them, be imprisoned.

On the one hand, it was for interrogation, to find clues. On the other hand, it was to use his authority to force them to strictly guard the secret of the Immortal Palace's emergence.

Now that things had come to this, the City Lord was doing his best to remedy the situation, exerting all his strength to conceal the secret of the Immortal Palace.

Chi Dun first selected the Ning family cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage. Soon after, it was the Qi Refining stage's turn.

Ning Zhuo, as one of them, was quickly led into a single room to face Chi Dun alone.

Chi Dun flipped through the records in his hand, not even looking up, his divine sense already enveloping Ning Zhuo's entire body. "You aren't from the Demon Hunting Society? How did you suddenly end up in the Crimson Flame Demon Melt Cave?"

Ning Zhuo swallowed, glancing at Chi Dun with reverence, and then immediately lowered his head, daring only to look at the ground.

He stammeringly explained, recounting how he had encountered Ning Chen and Ning Yong and been provoked by their words, and then said a great deal more.

Chi Dun frowned as he listened.

He had no interest in young cultivators like Ning Zhuo.

"This little fellow only has a cultivation of Qi Refining third layer. To encounter such a thing on his first time in the Melt Cave, his luck is truly terrible."

"No, he was lucky to survive such an ordeal. Most cultivators, stronger than him, lost their lives."

If Ning Zhuo was the only one alive, he would be quite conspicuous at this moment.

But the fact was that there were three Qi Refining rookie cultivators who had survived. Ning Chen and Ning Yong were among them.

"That Shadow Demonic Cultivator first used the corpses of demonic beasts, luring the Ning family members along the way, and then stirred up a demonic beast tide, all to conceal his own aura."

"He purely used the Ning family cultivators, using them as cannon fodder. The possibility of him having an internal accomplice in the Ning family is very small."

"If I were him, even if I were to find an accomplice, I wouldn't find this kind of Qi Refining third layer little fellow."

Of course, Chi Dun would not be so negligent.

In fact, he had been urging the Alarming Heart Bell and had also activated the Heart Questioning Array in the interrogation room.

The Alarming Heart Bell could keenly detect malice in the surroundings. If anyone in the Ning family harbored malice toward Chi Dun, the Alarming Heart Bell would emit a warning chime.

The Heart Questioning Array could discern whether a person was speaking insincerely.

As long as the words and intentions did not match, the Heart Questioning Array would emit red and yellow light.

Throughout the entire process of interrogating Ning Zhuo, the Alarming Heart Bell and the Heart Questioning Array remained still.

Originally, Chi Dun did not have much suspicion of a small figure like Ning Zhuo. Based on the Alarming Heart Bell and the Heart Questioning Array, he completely cleared his doubts.

"You may leave." Chi Dun instructed Ning Zhuo, "Hmm?"

He was slightly surprised.

Ning Zhuo was bleeding from both nostrils.

Ning Zhuo was surprised for a moment, then wiped the blood from under his nostrils with the back of his hand, seeing the bloodstains on the back of his hand.

He hastily waved his hand. "My Lord, it's alright, it's alright! It may be a hidden injury left in the Melt Cave, I'm fine. I feel very good right now!"

Chi Dun hmm'd and stopped speaking, simply waving his hand.

Ning Zhuo bowed to Chi Dun, quickly left, gently opened the door, and then gently closed it.

Chi Dun was about to interrogate the next person, paused, his divine sense spreading, communicating with the guards outside the door. "Go tell them to treat the Ning family cultivators well. Have they been neglecting their duties? How can someone still have hidden injuries? Heal them all for me!"

The Ning family was one of the three great families of Fire Persimmon Immortal City, and Chi Dun did not want to offend them.

Of course, if any Ning family cultivator was found to be colluding with the Shadow Demonic Cultivator, that would be another matter entirely.

Ning Zhuo was taken away and immediately received a new round of treatment.

His nosebleed was naturally due to the secret activation of the Myriad Buddha Heart Demon Seal.

This treasure seal could imprint the heart, externally affecting their thoughts, and internally protecting oneself, suppressing and clearing various thoughts and emotions.

It was precisely converting others into demons, and converting oneself into a Buddha.

Ning Zhuo was led back to the prison cell.

Before even entering, he could hear the sound of argument in the prison cell.

The Ning family cultivators were engaged in a heated discussion about the content of the bell's Transmission of Teachings.

Ning Zhuo walked into the prison cell. Many Ning family cultivators turned to look at him. Seeing that Ning Zhuo was unharmed, some of them nodded to him and then turned back to participate in the discussion and argument.

This trip to the Melt Cave had brought Ning Zhuo and them closer, sharing life and death together.

Ning Chen and Ning Yong even got up and took the initiative to come to Ning Zhuo's side, inquiring with concern.

They were originally classmates, with a basic relationship.

Although the two of them were also under Ning Zhanji's orders, Ning Zhuo had indeed almost lost his life, so they felt guilty about it.

It wasn't just guilt.

In the Melt Cave, Ning Zhuo, though frightened, still burst forth with courage. At the critical moment of death, he also inspired Ning Yong and Ning Chen's courage.

Such a performance made Ning Chen and Ning Yong feel both intimacy and admiration.

All kinds of emotions and feelings had caused a qualitative change in the relationship between the two and Ning Zhuo.

"How is it? Are you alright?"

"We are Ning family cultivators, and the Old Ancestor is also a Golden Core. If someone uses soul-searching techniques on us, the family will definitely support us!"

Ning Chen and Ning Yong spoke one after another.

Ning Zhuo nodded. "I was a little nervous when I first went in."

"But from beginning to end, I was not treated unfairly."

"I think it's quite simple, just tell the truth."

He turned around and comforted Ning Chen and Ning Yong.

"Good (good)." Ning Yong and Ning Chen responded at the same time.

The next moment, the guards summoned them and called both of them away.

Ning Zhuo walked into the prison cell and found his place in the corner.

He had a small stool and a small table in front of him. On the table were fruits, nuts, and hot tea.

The treatment of other Ning family cultivators was also the same.

This was certainly abnormal, all thanks to the identity of the Ning family members.

Ning Zhuo's location was in the corner of the dungeon.

Not far away, in the corner of the wall, was a pile of stinky, tattered thatch. There were large patches of dried blood on the brick wall, and the surface of the prison bars had finger marks that had been forcibly scratched out. Being in it, it seemed as if one could hear the wails and pleas of the prisoners.

Ning Zhuo was clear in his heart: once things were exposed, his experience would be even more miserable and terrible than these prisoners. The first to not let him off would probably not be the City Lord's side, but the Ning family! At that time, these friendly Ning family cultivators around him would turn out hateful faces and chase him down with all their strength.

Ning Zhuo had no regrets.

Blowing up the Immortal Palace was a decision he had made long ago. What did it matter to take a risk with his own life?

He slowly sat down and reached out to take a roasted chestnut.

The shell of the chestnut was easily crushed between his two fingers, making a crisp snapping sound.

The kernel was taken away by him, chewed, and swallowed into his stomach.

The current Magma Immortal Palace was like this tough nut. The outer shell had already been smashed by Ning Zhuo's fierce attack, and the standard had been lowered.

But how to eat the kernel inside still required careful consideration and extreme caution.

The matter had become too big. Ning Zhuo, a mere Qi Refining third layer cultivator, was walking on thin ice. If he wasn't careful, he would expose a flaw, like stepping on a broken ice layer and falling into an ice lake, his life swallowed by the undercurrent.

Back then, Ning Zhuo's mother was just like this.

Ning Zhuo quietly chewed the kernel, carefully savoring the deliciousness on the tip of his tongue, as if savoring his own dangerous situation.

No one would have expected that this unremarkable teenager was the real culprit who blew up the Immortal Palace!