Chapter 32: Exposed?

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit gradually discerned the situation.

It disdainfully exhaled a puff of reddish-brown smoke, certain that Ning Zhuo's efforts were completely futile.

However, just as it was about to raise a finger to stop Ning Zhuo, it changed its mind.

It suddenly found this spectacle quite amusing.

It was like toying with a small ant, repeatedly raising a palm to block its path. When the ant saw no way forward, it would have to turn and take another route. By constantly obstructing its way, the ant would be forced to change paths again and again.

Wasn't this entertaining?

Unaware that he had become a mere ant, Ning Zhuo felt immense pressure.

"I must succeed."

"I absolutely must destroy my name!"

Ning Zhuo was keenly aware of the gravity of the situation.

The success or failure of this endeavor could determine his very life!

Even if he survived, his fate would surely be dire.

Seeking refuge with the Ning family, confessing to his clan?

Ning Zhuo barely considered this option.

Given the Ning family's traditions, his voluntary confession would likely be met with superficial support but covert suppression.

Support? They would simply use him as a tool.

His life would undoubtedly be stifled, and any gains from the Immortal Palace would be seized by the family.

Freedom? That would be out of the question!

"What about seeking shelter with the other three factions?"

Ning Zhuo inwardly shook his head.

It was not a good time to defect now. With Meng Chong, Zhou Zhu, and others having been secretly harmed, as an outsider with such outstanding achievements, he would surely become the target of concentrated attacks from the other major forces.

His frail frame couldn't withstand it, absolutely couldn't!

"My greatest advantage has always been hiding my talents, remaining in the shadows. But now, a simple ranking list has shattered my concealment, nullifying over a decade of effort."

"I am unwilling!"

Fueled by such pressure and emotion, Ning Zhuo quickly assembled a crude trebuchet.

He adjusted the angle, calculated the distance, and then swiftly severed the rope.

In the next moment, the thousand-catty hammer from the trebuchet was launched.

Bang.

With a muffled thud, the thousand-catty hammer struck the stone pillar heavily, landing precisely on the location of Ning Zhuo's name.

Then, another loud crash.

The thousand-catty hammer fell to the floor tiles, shattering them in the vicinity.

However, on the stone pillar ranking list, Ning Zhuo's name remained unscathed, still just as prominent, just as outstanding!

Seeing this, Ning Zhuo's heart sank heavily.

He clenched his fists, gazing up at his name.

He never expected to encounter a life-or-death crisis during his second exploration of the Lava Immortal Palace!

If he weren't in a puppet body, he would undoubtedly be drenched in sweat.

Various negative emotions inevitably arose and rapidly spread within his heart.

Ning Zhuo couldn't help but recall his mother's dying words.

"Your mother wants you to stay safe. If your life is at risk, you can abandon the Immortal Palace entirely."

"Life is still the most important thing!"

"Perhaps, I shouldn't have been so greedy as to explore the Lava Immortal Palace."

Ning Zhuo abruptly shook his head, his eyes gleaming with a cold light.

"Heh, what's wrong with me?"

"Even if I had another chance, I would still choose to do this!"

"With such an opportunity before me, to not seize it, to live so timidly, would be worse than death."

"Stay calm!"

"Even if I am ultimately exposed, I accept that worst-case scenario."

"Because this is all my own choice!"

Ning Zhuo adjusted himself quickly, returning to a state of calmness and composure.

Once calm, he quickly had other ideas.

"The stone pillar ranking list may be difficult to destroy, but perhaps the Lava Immortal Palace itself provides the function to change or disguise names?"

"There are still many places in the Preparation Chamber that I haven't explored."

Ning Zhuo began to explore.

He quickly glanced over the workbenches, mechanism creation tools, and various types of mechanism platforms. He recognized some, but most were unfamiliar.

He came to the exit of the room, touched the doorway, but there was no response.

"It seems the Preparation Chamber doesn't offer any rewards."

Finally, he focused his attention on the five stone pillars in the center of the room.

He had touched the stone pillars earlier in an attempt to erase his name, but there was no reaction.

But after thinking about it, Ning Zhuo felt that the stone pillars couldn't be that simple.

He tried to channel spiritual power into the stone pillars. The next moment, the stone pillars emitted a thin beam of light that struck Ning Zhuo's chest.

The thin beam of light imprinted a seal on Ning Zhuo's chest.

Within a few breaths, the seal vanished.

"Trial Disciple?" Ning Zhuo saw the seal clearly, feeling a sense of familiarity.

Suddenly, he realized: the style of the seal's font was consistent with his Buddha-Heart Devil Imprint.

"This is not surprising, my Buddha-Heart Devil Imprint was taken from the Lava Immortal Palace by my mother."

The Lava Immortal Palace's seal did not dissipate, but only concealed its form.

Then, subsequent messages were transmitted to Ning Zhuo's heart.

"So, having a name on the ranking list provides weekly rewards. And these rewards are related to the specific ranking. The higher the rank, the more generous the rewards."

"One week's time... from when does it begin?"

"The specific rewards are not specified."

Ning Zhuo leaned against the stone pillar, looking up at his ranking, sighing inwardly.

"That's not the issue here."

"I would rather forfeit these rewards and remove my name from the list."

For Ning Zhuo, the rewards were just icing on the cake. But having his name exposed was almost certainly a disaster!

"I want to get off the list, get off the list!"

"What should I do?"

"I don't want my name on it!"

Ning Zhuo racked his brains, but couldn't think of a good solution.

However, because of his exhaustive search and frantic thinking, he gradually developed a vague yet familiar sense.

"This feeling..."

"It's like my Buddha-Heart Devil Imprint?!"

In an instant, Ning Zhuo felt as if a drowning man had grasped the only lifeline. Whether it was useful or not, it was his only hope at the moment.

Immediately, he concentrated his mind, abandoned distracting thoughts, and fully intensified his perception of the Buddha-Heart Devil Imprint.

Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

Ning Zhuo's physical body lay in bed, indistinguishable from normal sleep.

But in his upper dantian spirit sea, the majestic, mountain-like treasure seal began to glow slowly.

Its radiance continued to increase, emanating from his physical body, following the threads of fate, and transmitted to Ning Zhuo's soul.

Ning Zhuo's soul resided in the puppet, and the puppet had been in contact with the five stone pillars.

After this transmission, the influence of the Buddha-Heart Devil Imprint covered the five stone pillars.

Ning Zhuo: "It's working, it's really working!!!"

In Ning Zhuo's strong desire, his name actually began to sink slowly.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had been paying attention to Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo's desperate attempts to erase his name, failing repeatedly, and then sinking into frantic thought, were quite amusing to it.

It lay on the throne, its gaze piercing through space, enjoying the spectacle.

The next moment, its movements froze, and its eyes suddenly burst out with dazzling red light.

It sensed the Buddha-Heart Devil Imprint!

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was incredibly excited, suddenly getting up, leaping up, and flying into the air.

Roar!

It opened its mouth and roared, its exquisite and small body emitting an astonishing roar. The entire Lava Immortal Palace erupted with dazzling treasure light again!

At the top of Fire Persimmon Mountain, the treasure light was like a giant pillar, hundreds and thousands of beams shooting straight into the sky.

The Fire Persimmon City Lord, who had been stationed there, was awakened and immediately took action to suppress it, preventing Fire Persimmon Mountain from erupting.

"What happened?!" He was full of doubts.