Chapter 62: Did You Invent the Mechanical Monkey?

The next moment, Fei Si pushed open the door and entered.

Zhu Xuanji stared at Fei Si with a deep gaze, "You came quickly."

Fei Si forced a smile, but it was filled with bitterness.

Zhu Xuanji's identity was special, and every move was within Fei Si's attention. Although the City Lord had not specifically instructed him, how could Fei Si not know what to do?

Therefore, when Zhu Xuanji and his party of three left the volcano and headed straight for the Flying Disc Workshop, he received the first-hand news.

The Flying Disc Workshop and Chen Cha were closely related to Fei Si, especially regarding the Fire Persimmon Festival. Fei Si urgently needed Mechanical Fire Apes, and the more, the better.

This concerned the Fire Persimmon Festival he was responsible for, so Fei Si naturally dared not be careless.

Now that Zhu Xuanji and the others had gone to the Flying Disc Workshop, he immediately couldn't sit still and came straight over.

"First, I have nothing to do with the Immortal Palace's emergence," Fei Si said. "Second, this originated from a small mistake of mine."

Then, he explained in detail how, out of concern for the people's livelihood and fearing the destruction of Southern Bean Dynasty's property, he was eager to present a treasure to the City Lord, recommending the Mechanical Apes, and thus mistakenly believed that Chen Cha was the inventor.

When he discovered this, Chen Cha suggested that they cover up the matter.

Fei Si hesitated at first, but Chen Cha persuaded him earnestly, and he finally agreed.

Chen Cha then secretly approached Ning Zhuo, requesting that Ning Zhuo transfer the invention rights to him, and offered a generous reward.

Ning Zhuo agreed.

The two thus signed a contract, jointly guarding this secret. (In fact, this was Fei Si actively ordering Chen Cha to do, and then supplementing it afterward.)

"That sounds very nice!" Chi Dun sneered, staring at Fei Si. "But I know you're lying."

Zhu Xuanji's brow furrowed even deeper. He could use his cultivation technique to determine that many of Fei Si's words were false, but the general gist was true.

Considering that Fei Si was a Golden Core cultivator and held a high position, responsible for the daily affairs of the Fire Persimmon Immortal City, Zhu Xuanji didn't find it convenient to expose him.

Zheng Shuang Gou looked at Ning Zhuo, reevaluating the latter, "So, you are the inventor of the Mechanical Apes."

Ning Zhuo quickly bowed, thanking Zheng Shuang Gou for saving his life once again.

Zheng Shuang Gou was a Golden Core cultivator who had once saved the remaining members of the Ning family at the top of the volcano. Ning Zhuo, Ning Yong, and Ning Chen were among them.

Zheng Shuang Gou smiled, "Since you remember my life-saving grace, how will you repay it?" He had learned of Ning Zhuo's talent for mechanics and had some intention of recruiting him.

Ning Zhuo smiled bitterly, "As a member of the Ning family, this junior fears it will be difficult to fully repay you, but I will definitely do my best."

Zheng Shuang Gou waved his hand, "Forget it, forget it, why would I make things difficult for a junior like you."

Ning Zhuo was a member of the Ning family, and if Zheng Shuang Gou were to forcefully recruit him, it would inevitably lead to friction with the Ning family.

Previously, the three families were already discussing joining forces to resist the City Lord's Mansion. Since Ning Zhuo had changed his cultivation, it was insignificant whether he came to Zheng's house or not.

Zhu Xuanji heard this and looked at Ning Zhuo again, "You were at the scene when the Immortal Palace emerged?"

Ning Zhuo: "Yes, this junior was lucky enough to escape with his life."

"Haha. I know that," Chi Dun laughed. He had seized Fei Si's weakness and was very happy at this moment, saying carelessly, "After the incident, I interrogated many people. The Ning family's cultivators were the first batch."

"At that time, I not only used the Questioning Heart Formation but also carried the Warning Heart Bell personally bestowed by the City Lord."

"It was the Warning Heart Bell that alerted me to the lurking black-shadowed demonic cultivator! After that, I chased him all the way, and he escaped into the Fire Persimmon Forest."

Zhu Xuanji nodded, asking the key question, "When did you start producing Mechanical Fire Apes? Was your design leaked before? Are there any other insiders?"

After asking, Zhu Xuanji discovered that the Fire Apes had been sold externally before the Immortal Palace's emergence.

On the same day that Ning Zhuo consulted Chen Cha, the two reached a cooperation and began to make Mechanical Fire Apes to sell externally.

According to Chen Cha, he needed to put them on the market to gauge market reaction before deciding how much to invest and how large a scale to produce.

Although Ning Zhuo said that his design drawings were not leaked, it would be difficult for him, a mere Qi Refining disciple, to detect if he were being spied upon.

In short, this clue was useless.

To find out the specific buyers of each Mechanical Fire Ape, the amount of work involved made Zhu Xuanji's scalp tingle just thinking about it.

This didn't even take into account the situation of resale.

In reality, a Mechanical Ape might have passed through the first hand, the second hand, the third hand...

After investigating to this point, Zhu Xuanji lost interest in the Flying Disc Workshop, Chen Cha, and Ning Zhuo.

As he left, Fei Si saw him off, "Actually, Master Zhu doesn't need to go to such lengths to investigate these things."

"The Fire Persimmon Festival is just around the corner. At that time, we can surround that black-shadowed demonic cultivator."

"If we can capture and interrogate him, with the methods of the Divine Arrest Division, the mastermind behind the scenes will surely surface, won't it?"

That's what Fei Si thought.

As the person who handled the most affairs, he had to carefully calculate his time every day and was very particular about efficiency.

Zhu Xuanji's investigation everywhere, in his view, was actually a very inefficient thing.

The culprit was hiding in the Fire Persimmon Forest. Wouldn't it be a one-step solution to capture the real culprit at that time?

Zhu Xuanji snorted coldly, looking at Fei Si, "I understand what you mean. Don't worry, I will also come to the Fire Persimmon Festival to oversee."

"I really want to personally meet that black-shadowed demonic cultivator!"

Fei Si smiled. He said this to attract reinforcements.

As a member of the Divine Arrest Division, Zhu Xuanji's combat power was extraordinary. Coupled with his identity as a member of the Royal Family, he must have many treasures on his person.

In this way, the probability of capturing the black-shadowed demonic cultivator would increase significantly.

Zhu Xuanji left the Flying Disc Workshop.

On the way, Zheng Shuang Gou bid farewell to Zhu Xuanji.

Only Chi Dun remained. His thoughts were actually close to Fei Si's, wanting to catch the black-shadowed demonic cultivator at the Fire Persimmon Festival and directly solve the core problem.

Zhu Xuanji sneered, "Do you really think that the black-shadowed demonic cultivator is the real culprit who bombed the Immortal Palace?"

Chi Dun was stunned, "Isn't he?"

Zhu Xuanji shook his head, "Don't let your own inner guesses obscure your vision."

"Based on the current clues, the Immortal Palace was bombed and damaged again before it emerged."

"It was the Mechanical Apes that caused the explosion. From this point of view, others can also command such mechanical creations."

Chi Dun stopped in place. Zhu Xuanji's words were indeed very reasonable.

"But if it wasn't the black-shadowed demonic cultivator, who else could it be?" He racked his brains, and suddenly his body shook, revealing an unbelievable expression, "Could it be... Zheng Shuang Gou?!"

Zhu Xuanji shook his head again, "Anything is possible."

"Imagine, if the black-shadowed demonic cultivator is not the real culprit, but we mistakenly believe that he is, thus delaying valuable investigation time, how would we clean up the mess?"

Chi Dun nodded, "Master Zhu is absolutely right. But hasn't the clue of the Mechanical Apes been cut off?"

Zhu Xuanji smiled slightly, looking up at the sky, "Chi Dun, you've forgotten that there is actually a more crucial clue."

"What truly bombed the Immortal Palace was not the Mechanical Apes, but the Thousand-Jin Fire Essence."

"Buying such a large sum of Fire Essence would definitely attract attention. The seller's impression would be very deep!"

Chi Dun excitedly clapped his hands, "Yes, yes. This is a good clue this time."

Zhu Xuanji turned to look at him, "So, next, I want you to lead me to investigate various markets in the Immortal City."

"Understood, Master!" Chi Dun's tone became excited as he saw that the investigation was promising.