Chapter 133

"The Wind-Rising Bell!"

In an instant, Zhu Zhu Xuanji was horrified.

Once the fate undergoes a drastic change, winds will rise and clouds will surge, the heavens and earth will change color, forming a vast momentum that affects countless people and various factions. If the momentum expands, wars will break out frequently, and the situation will be turbulent.

This Wind-Rising Bell was bestowed by the monarch, specifically used to detect drastic changes in fate and the influence of momentum.

"The Wind-Rising Bell has rung—is it a natural eruption of momentum, or is someone performing a ritual?"

Zhu Xuanji subconsciously looked up toward the peak of Mount Huoshi.

He had long known about Lord Meng Kui's divine ability, Sit-on-the-Mountain Watching!

With Sun Lingtong acting so unreasonably, Zhu Zhu Xuanji would not retreat; he had many ways to punish such a suspect.

But now, he did not want to do so.

Before this trip, the monarch had specifically instructed him to be careful of changes in fate and to be careful of Lord Meng Kui.

Zhu Zhu Xuanji kept this in mind, knowing full well he had no object to suppress fate. Now that the Wind-Rising Bell had rung, if he continued to be trapped in this situation, he would definitely be affected. Even if he locked his doors, with fate entangled and momentum changing, disaster would still come from the heavens while he sat at home!

Zhu Zhu Xuanji himself had no means to interfere with fate; the only plan now was to withdraw as early as possible. If one is outside the situation, one will not be affected or interfered with.

"I'll spare you for today; I will come looking for you." Zhu Zhu Xuanji released his magic power, shaking Sun Lingtong away.

He vanished from the spot and left the city at high speed.

Only after moving hundreds of miles away from Mount Huoshi did the Wind-Rising Bell stop ringing.

"With such small-scale fluctuations in momentum and such drastic changes in fate, Lord Meng Kui's suspicion has grown even greater."

"If the momentum field does not expand afterward, it is eight or nine parts likely to be Lord Meng Kui's Sit-on-the-Mountain Watching divine ability!"

Zhu Zhu Xuanji's expression was gloomy; he immediately decided to rely on the Wind-Rising Bell's detection range to verify it.

As soon as Zhu Zhu Xuanji left, Sun Lingtong stood up.

Sun Lingtong found it hard to believe, thinking to himself: "I sent Zhu Zhu Xuanji away just like that?"

On the surface, he spat, wiped his little face, looked at the dumbfounded street vendor, and clamored: "Did you see that? Learn from this!"

He looked at his subordinates again and asked eagerly: "Did you record it?"

The subordinate nodded: "It's all in the jade slip."

Sun Lingtong threw his head back and laughed three times: "Awesome! This is the best battle record of my life."

"Come, spread the word, say that I, Sun Lingtong, with Foundation Establishment cultivation, forced back the Jin Dan Zhu Zhu Xuanji!"

"Hahaha, I'm going to be famous, I'm going to be famous!"

"Whoever has doubts, just throw the jade slip in their face."

"Right, quickly make a dozen copies of the jade slip—no, hundreds—and keep them in separate places to prevent them from being seized!"

Sun Lingtong's methods were seasoned; he was going to establish a reputation first, then use that reputation to pressure Zhu Zhu Xuanji to deal with the situation if he came looking again in the future.

Zhu Zhu Xuanji left the city, and Ning Zhuo entered the city.

Unlike when he left the city, Yuan Er was now in Ning Zhuo's team.

Yuan Er sat in a carriage with Ning Zhuo, his eyes glancing from time to time at the Tree Martial Fighting Ape, Yuan Dasheng, sitting beside Ning Zhuo.

Their conversation came to an end.

"So that's how it is." Ning Zhuo sighed softly.

He had figured out the ins and outs of the matter.

It turned out that in a few days it would be Yuan Yi's death anniversary, and Yuan Er, as his son, had to sweep his grave.

There were over a dozen locations where Yuan Yi was buried; the real grave was the desolate wilderness where Yuan Yuan Dasheng had lost control, been dominated by emotions, and rushed to.

The other fake graves were all intentionally set up by Yuan Yi. On one hand, it was to prevent others from robbing the grave to vent their anger; on the other hand, it served as bait to attract enemies hiding in the dark.

After all, there were many methods in the Cultivation World to use corpses to curse others.

Yuan Er originally did not want to leave the Monkey Head Gang's base, but since this was to sacrifice to his ancestor, who was also the founder of the Monkey Head Gang, he had to take action.

The sect elders were also urging him to do it. If he didn't, he would inevitably be rumored by malicious people to be cowardly and unfilial. This would be a fatal blow to Yuan Er's already miserable reputation!

Yuan Er had no choice but to comply. He originally wanted to contact Ning Zhuo to urge the completion of Yuan Yuan Dasheng's mechanical creation. As a result, the messengers he sent out all lost contact.

Yuan Er did his best to hide his tracks, specifically setting off a few days early to go to the sacrifice in secret.

Unsurprisingly, an accident occurred while he was on his way.

He was ambushed, his attendants were all killed, and only he remained.

He subconsciously fled toward his father's burial place, only to find a way out of a desperate situation and encounter the Tree Martial Fighting Ape, Yuan Dasheng.

Afterward, it was Yuan Yuan Dasheng, under Ning Zhuo's orders, who stepped in to save him.

"Mr. Ning, this must be the Monkey Uncle mechanical puppet you made for me, right? It must be!" Yuan Er couldn't hold back, his eyes fixed on Yuan Yuan Dasheng, his face full of urgency and longing.

"It's really strong; its combat power far exceeds the peak of Foundation Establishment."

"Mr. Ning, you are a man of your word; I admire you immensely!"

Yuan Er praised him endlessly.

Ning Zhuo smiled slightly and patted the arm of the Tree Martial Fighting Ape, Yuan Dasheng: "This is just an initial product, just made. My trip outside the city was mainly to find wild spirit beasts to test the power of the Tree Martial Fighting Ape, Yuan Dasheng, through actual combat."

"Tree Martial Fighting Ape, Yuan Dasheng..." Yuan Er chewed on the name, his eyes shining, and he gave a thumbs up, "Mr. Ning's attainments in mechanism arts are profound, and your naming skills are also extraordinary. Fitting, extremely fitting."

"Can we hand it over now?"

Ning Zhuo shook his head: "No rush, no rush."

"Through actual combat with spirit beasts and cultivators, I found that the Tree Martial Fighting Ape, Yuan Dasheng, still has many areas that need improvement."

"I will only hand it over to you after I have finished the improvements."

"Anything produced by me, Ning Zhuo, must be a fine product. I wouldn't do a hasty delivery of a crudely made initial product."

Yuan Er's eyes widened, and he said anxiously: "But, Mr. Ning!"

"You see, I'm in danger right now, very dangerous."

"This time, if I hadn't been lucky enough to run into you, I would have died, died at the hands of those shameless, insidious, ruthless, and vicious assassins!"

"The, the key is, you even let a few assassins go. I, I..."

Speaking of this, Yuan Er was so excited that he stuttered and couldn't speak.

Ning Zhuo sighed, spread his hands, and gave a perfect explanation: "I couldn't see the specific scene at the time; I'm only at the Qi Refining Stage, not the Foundation Establishment Stage, and I don't have spiritual sense."

"The Tree Martial Fighting Ape, Yuan Dasheng, is controlled by my staff head. What's stored in the staff head is my spiritual thought, and the setting I applied to it is that it will engage in unlimited combat upon encountering any hostile target."

"So, when some assassins lost their murderous intent and fled in a sorry state, the Tree Martial Fighting Ape, Yuan Dasheng, wouldn't be triggered, and thus wouldn't pursue them."

"If I had been there at the time, I would definitely have eradicated the evil completely!"

Yuan Er blinked repeatedly, his mouth dry: "I also know about the staff head."

"To tell you the truth, Mr. Ning, ever since you promised to build me a Foundation Establishment-level mechanical battle puppet, I have scoured the sect's library, cramming relevant knowledge day and night, and practicing the control methods of various mechanical creations to death."

"If you hand the Tree Martial Fighting Ape, Yuan Dasheng, to me now, I will definitely be able to make good use of it! I..."

Ning Zhuo's face sank, and he said with displeasure: "Enough, Gang Leader Yuan Er, you don't need to persuade me anymore."

"This is my principle. I will not hand it over until I have finished improving the Tree Martial Fighting Ape, Yuan Dasheng."

"You must understand that inferior goods will lower my reputation."

"I am going to walk down the path of mechanism arts in the future, so I must cherish my reputation from the very beginning!"

Ning Zhuo spoke righteously, completely forgetting about the inferior mechanical explosive monkey he had once made.

If Chen Cha heard this, he would surely feel greatly relieved, thinking it a fortunate thing that Ning Zhuo had returned from his wayward path.

Yuan Er's breathing was heavy, his mouth slightly open, and he had many words he wanted to say, but under Ning Zhuo's serious expression, he ultimately didn't say them.

Although Ning Zhuo was only at the Qi Refining Stage, his status was no longer what it used to be.

The mechanical carriage he rode in, and the guards accompanying him around the carriage, all made Yuan Er feel the gap in status between them.

Ning Zhuo continued to soothe him: "Gang Leader Yuan Er, don't be too nervous, it's fine."

"You've entered the city now; I'll send you directly to the sect base in a moment."

"You have already sacrificed to your father; I can testify for you."

"You can take advantage of this connection with me to fiercely deter the turncoats in the sect. I assume they won't be so insane as to let assassins into the sect base."

Yuan Er's face turned pale: "Yes, they shouldn't be that impulsive."

"But the enemies left behind when my father and Uncle Yuan Dasheng rose to power are different!"

Ning Zhuo immediately retorted: "They can't get into the sect base either. If they could get in, they would have succeeded in the assassination long ago, wouldn't they?"

"After all, in the past, Yuan Yuan Dasheng wasn't always guarding your side, was he?"

A layer of fine cold sweat appeared on Yuan Er's forehead: "This, it seems to be the case... it should be like this."

"If Mr. Ning could deliver the goods now, that would be best."

Yuan Er was full of sorrow, his tone pleading.

Ning Zhuo shook his head ruthlessly, refusing again.

In the end, he sent Yuan Er directly back to the Monkey Head Gang base as agreed, attracting the attention of countless sect members.

Yuan Er didn't want to get out of the carriage.

Under Ning Zhuo's urging, he looked back at the Tree Martial Fighting Ape, Yuan Dasheng, with unwillingness before getting out of the carriage.

"Let's go back." Ning Zhuo waved his hand, and the team set off again.

Yuan Er was left standing there, watching the mechanical carriage disappear from his field of vision before he moved his lead-weighted feet.

Returning to the empty inner room, his longing for Yuan Yuan Dasheng intensified to the extreme, causing him to shed two lines of silent tears.