Chapter 27: Assassination

Ning Zhuo slowly opened his eyes, finding that his surroundings had drastically changed, returning to his underground workshop.

A strong sense of weakness welled up from the depths of his heart.

Ning Zhuo stood up and examined himself.

"There's nothing wrong with my physical body, but my soul has been weakened too much."

In Room Two, he suffered too many impacts from the giant trees.

"Although this was only my first exploration of the Lava Immortal Palace, and I didn't even enter Room Three, I've gained a lot!"

"Especially the spell reward from Room Two, which I managed to bring back by sheer luck."

Ning Zhuo didn't rush to study the spell he'd obtained. Instead, he first drank water and ate a meal.

His soul had been drawn away, leaving his physical body in a state of unconsciousness. While his heartbeat and breathing were maintained, prolonged inactivity wasn't ideal.

After all, Ning Zhuo was only a Qi Refining cultivator, and hadn't specifically cultivated any body-refining techniques. His physical body wasn't that strong.

While eating and drinking, replenishing his body's nutrients, Ning Zhuo calculated the time that had passed.

"My first exploration of the Lava Immortal Palace took about three shichen (six hours)."

"For Qi Refining cultivators who have practiced the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art, the method of entering the Lava Immortal Palace is different from before. Previously, it was the true body entering the palace; now, the soul is drawn in… This means that even if the City Lord guards the summit of Fire Persimmon Mountain, it's of little use."

"No, the City Lord will likely continue the blockade."

"On the one hand, he needs to prevent cultivators above the Qi Refining stage from entering the palace in their true forms. After all, the Lava Immortal Palace has already appeared in the world."

"On the other hand, doing so also benefits his own faction. His grandson, Meng Chong, is still in the Qi Refining stage and has been preparing to seize the Lava Immortal Palace for a long time. In this regard, the City Lord's side still has the greatest advantage."

"Meng Chong possesses supreme immortal aptitude - Raging Bolt! I can't compare to him at all."

"Alas, I wonder which stage he's passed? Room Two definitely won't be difficult for him."

Although Ning Zhuo's first exploration didn't even reach Room Three, his gains were immense.

The Lava Immortal Palace treated "outsiders" and "its own cultivators" completely differently.

This was very beneficial for Ning Zhuo.

According to the previous method, Ning Zhuo would have to face competitors from the Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and even Nascent Soul stages.

But now, under this examination method, his opponents were temporarily limited to Qi Refining cultivators.

Ning Zhuo recalled the intelligence he had gathered.

"Among the City Lord's Qi Refining cultivators, Meng Chong is definitely the leader."

"The Zhou family's Qi Refining cultivators include Zhou Zeshen and Zhou Zhu. These two specifically joined the Mudflow Sect, and their attainment in the art of mechanisms is difficult to estimate."

"Zheng Jian of the Zheng family is the face of the Qi Refining stage. He possesses superior immortal aptitude like Piercing Insight and is also formidable."

"As for the Ning family, among the Qi Refining cultivators of the same level, Ning Xiaohui is the best. However, she is unwilling to switch to practicing the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art."

"Alas, these are all geniuses of cultivation."

"Compared to them, I only have inferior Early Wisdom aptitude, utterly unremarkable."

"The key is that they have powerful backgrounds and can receive strong support from their families, even help from Nascent Soul stage cultivators. I can't do that; I'm too ordinary and can only fight alone. In this regard, I can only look up to them."

Ning Zhuo pondered the situation, his head throbbing painfully.

He found a bottle of pills for restoring the soul, poured out a few, and swallowed them with water.

Then, he hurriedly threw himself onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

While he was resting, a conflict was unfolding in the Zhou family.

"Why can't I use the Gathering and Scattering as Desired Spiritual Tide Formation here?" A Qi Refining cultivator shouted, his expression arrogant.

"Because I'm here," Zhou Zeshen said with a gloomy face as he stepped forward.

The Zhou family Qi Refining cultivator twitched his lips, about to retort mockingly, when he saw Zhou Zeshen take out a small flag.

He waved it at the Zhou family Qi Refining cultivator who had come to cause trouble. Suddenly, the soil beneath the Zhou family Qi Refining cultivator's feet churned, turning into a swamp that quickly swallowed him.

The Zhou family Qi Refining cultivator shouted, "Zhou Zeshen, you're too arrogant, actually fighting in the clan's territory! Ah..."

He couldn't speak anymore.

Almost his entire body had been swallowed by the muddy swamp. His chin and mouth were submerged in the mud, but his nostrils remained above, allowing him to breathe.

He struggled desperately, but couldn't move. He was furious, his face red, his eyes wide with anger.

Zhou Zeshen sneered, then looked around at the onlookers and said, "I know some people in the family are dissatisfied with me and Zhou Zhu."

"But using these petty tricks to disgust people is underestimating me."

Just then, a sharp alarm sounded from underground.

Zhou Zeshen's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly turned and ran into the basement.

The Gathering and Scattering as Desired Spiritual Tide Formation had slowly stopped. Zhou Zhu lay on the ground, his eyes closed, blood flowing from every pore of his body.

"Dazhu!" Zhou Zeshen cried out, rushing into the formation to check on Zhou Zhu and give him emergency treatment.

Soon after, a Zhou family elder arrived with a grim face. "Investigate! We must find the culprit and punish them severely!"

Zheng Family.

The smithy was bustling with activity.

A ten-foot-tall furnace stood open, the flames illuminating Zheng Jian's red face.

At this moment, he was bare-chested, his muscles bulging, sweat pouring down as he poured all his effort into forging.

He held tongs in one hand and a hammer in the other, constantly striking the weapon blank.

The weapon blank was quite small, only the size of an infant's palm.

Suddenly, the weapon blank shone brightly.

Zheng Jian's eyes gleamed. He hurriedly put down the hammer, scooped up a ladle of water, and poured it directly down.

The clear water landed on the weapon blank, making a sizzling sound and releasing large plumes of white vapor.

Zheng Jian immediately felt a hint of danger and quickly retreated.

But he had already inhaled a small amount of the white vapor, and couldn't help coughing twice, coughing up blood.

"Damn it, this water was poisoned!"

Zheng Jian's face turned pale as he rushed out of the smithy.

City Lord's Mansion.

A black-clad assassin scaled the courtyard wall, stepped onto the roof, and silently took out a blowgun-like magical artifact.

He secretly used a spell to melt a small hole in the roof, then slowly extended the blowgun down.

But the next moment, he heard a low roar, "Thief, meet your death!"

The blowgun was fiercely pushed, carrying terrifying lightning, directly piercing the black-clad assassin's mouth and shooting out from the back of his head, then disappearing into the high sky at an extremely fast speed.

In the blinding light, the assassin trembled violently a few times.

The next moment, he was reduced to charcoal, falling headfirst. He rolled down the roof all the way until he crashed to the ground.

"Hmph!" In the room, Meng Chong slowly closed his eyes and continued to dissipate his power.

Ning Family.

Ning Xiaohui stood before the clan leader, with her grandmother and the Talisman Hall elder by her side.

"It's not impossible for me to switch to practicing the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art. But I have some requirements!" Ning Xiaohui changed her tune.

Originally, the Ning family's main lineage had failed to produce any decent figures, and could only recommend Ning Xiaohui.

Ning Xiaohui's grandmother, and the Talisman Hall elder who supported her, were gradually unable to withstand the combined pressure from others, and could only choose to compromise.