Chapter 139

The morning light illuminated Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

Smoke and mist swirled at the mountain peak, but it could not cover the increasingly frequent tremors.

The Molten Rock Immortal Palace had been blasted into the world for some time, and more and more people in the know began to realize: "Is that immortal palace restless again?"

Meng Kui looked down at the immortal palace, quietly watching the red-flame demonic beasts appear one after another, attacking the palace's defense line.

Ning family.

The Ning family ancestor stared at the mountain peak, and after a while, he received a report from the clan leader.

"The two Jin Dans of the Zhou family and the two Jin Dans of the Zheng family are gambling, and both have entered the array?"

"Such a coincidence?"

The Ning family ancestor shook his head slightly; regardless of whether this information was true or false, he decided to investigate it himself.

Since Meng Kui sealed the mountain peak and sat in command himself, the Ning family ancestor had not entered the immortal palace for a long time.

"Sun Lao did not reply to me?"

More than half the night had passed, and Ning Zhuo had not waited for Sun Lingtong's reply.

He frowned deeply; this situation was very unusual.

Ning Zhuo paced in the room with his hands behind his back.

After walking a few circles, he summoned a servant: "There is quite a commotion at the mountain peak; what is going on?"

"You go and inquire; if there is other important news, report it together."

Not long after, the servant brought explosive news from the market.

Ning Zhuo got what he wanted.

"Zhu Xuanji found Sun Lao?"

"Sun Lao deliberately spread his 'battle record' of forcing back Zhu Xuanji to tell me his current real situation!"

"Sun Lao comes from the Un-Empty Gate and has the Empty-Empty Seal. Even if Zhu Xuanji abandons his principles and face, and forcibly soul-searches without evidence, he won't be able to find anything."

"He still hasn't replied to me; what could have happened?"

Ning Zhuo frowned: "Let's wait and see first."

Trusting each other... this was the agreement between the two, and also a tacit understanding cultivated since more than a decade ago.

At that time, Ning Zhuo was only two years old.

One day, Sun Lingtong returned injured.

"What are you doing?" He found Ning Zhuo tidying up a small package, and his face darkened.

From this package, he saw the supplies for entering the Red Flame Demon Melting Cave.

Ning Zhuo called out in surprise: "Little Brother Sun, you're back! I was just about to look for you, ouch!"

Sun Lingtong couldn't help but give Ning Zhuo a flick on the forehead.

"I have the ability to explore the Red Flame Demon Melting Cave."

"What are you going there for? To feed the demonic beasts?"

"Don't know the height of the sky and the depth of the earth, nonsense!"

Ning Zhuo's chubby little hand covered his big forehead, and he said aggrievedly: "Bu, but Little Brother Sun, you have been gone for so long this time; you have been missing for seven full days."

Sun Lingtong couldn't help but sink his expression.

After his wounds healed, every once in a while, he would sneak into the Red Flame Demon Melting Cave to look for his master's traces.

There were no results.

This time, the middle section of the tunnel he entered collapsed.

Fortunately, Sun Lingtong was rushing back at the time and decisively used the Space-Piercing Technique repeatedly, which allowed him to luckily pass through the collapsed section and save his life.

It was just that from now on, it would not be easy for him to find the Molten Rock Immortal Palace; he would have to re-survey a correct path.

Of course, there was no need to confide these troubles to a two-year-old child.

Sun Lingtong patted his chest and smiled at Ning Zhuo: "You have to believe in me; brother is very strong!"

"How about this, from now on, we agree on ten days."

"Within ten days, I will definitely come back."

"So, as long as it doesn't exceed ten days, don't worry. I'll definitely be fine."

Ning Zhuo said "oh" weakly: "I know."

"Did you find your master when you went down the tunnel this time?"

Sun Lingtong: "Although I didn't see my master, I left some talismans in the passageway. If Master comes out of the palace, he should be able to sense them. Cough, cough."

Sun Lingtong's breath weakened: "I suffered internal injuries this time; please brew some medicine for me; this is the prescription, I am in urgent need of qi replenishment."

Ning Zhuo looked at the prescription and found that some medicinal herbs were missing, so he went out and bought some back.

After Sun Lingtong tested them, he found that many were fake medicines.

He asked Ning Zhuo about the whole process of buying the medicine and shook his head helplessly, pointing out: "You are a child, covering your face and buying from a street vendor; everyone knows you have a problem."

"Next time, go to a big pharmacy, go openly, and take out your Ning family waist token."

"If you pretend to buy medicine for an adult in your family, no one will make things difficult for you, and they will give you real medicinal herbs."

"Although you are very smart, you lack too much experience in doing things!"

Someone from the Ning family came.

The visitor was smiling and spoke softly to Ning Zhuo, but he was trying to coax him into signing a contract.

Sun Lingtong had long known about this matter and had told Ning Zhuo the solution.

Ning Zhuo followed the plan and brought his uncle Ning Ze.

Ning Ze's face was cold as frost; he came out personally, scolded him loudly, and ruined the visitor's plot.

But afterward, he couldn't restrain Wang Lan. The latter ran to the Ancestral Hall and made a big scene, making the relevant elders unable to step down on the spot, losing all face.

Ning Zhuo said to Sun Lingtong: "With such a big scene, I'm afraid I'll have to live with my uncle soon. Sigh, I don't want to do that at all."

Sun Lingtong patted his shoulder and comforted him: "Don't worry, this matter of transferring your household registration won't be handled."

"I'm afraid you'll have to stay here for a long time."

Ning Zhuo was curious: "Why?"

Sun Lingtong explained: "On the surface, the elder of the Ancestral Hall was removed from his position, but he is still an elder, coming from the main branch, with deep connections; he is just doing it for show, temporarily cold-storaged, and will surely rise again in the future."

"Your aunt made this scene, causing the Ancestral Hall's prestige to be greatly damaged. But the Ning family branch does not have powerful figures or factions to urge the Ancestral Hall to change its way of doing things."

"So, the Ancestral Hall will most likely not correct its mistakes and will be tough to the end to test the reaction of the Ning family branch."

"If the reaction is not intense, they will withhold your household registration as a warning to others. Although they will eventually transfer you to your uncle's house, they will definitely drag it out as long as they can."

"Your aunt did this matter poorly. However... she may not have been unintentional."

Ning Zhuo opened his mouth slightly, listening in a daze.

Sun Lingtong looked at his silly appearance and patted his shoulder: "This is the world of adults."

"You are too young, only two years old."

"Although you are very smart, adults are cunning."

"You still have a lot to learn."

"For example, do you know the difference between gangs, families, sects, and nations? Do you know how these forces operate?"

Ning Zhuo could only shake his head and ask in confusion: "Are these important?"

Sun Lingtong was serious: "Very important!"

He then smiled: "Come, I'll tell you properly."

Ning Zhuo sighed secretly.

Sun Lingtong popularizing the common sense of forces to him was still vivid in his mind, ringing in his ears, as if it happened yesterday.

"Gangs, the vast majority put profit first. The first-generation leader of the Monkey Head Gang possessed strong personal charm, but he is already dead. The second-generation leader, Yuan Er, is difficult to convince, especially after Yuan Dasheng lost his life."

"Externally, there are old enemies harboring hatred, waiting for an opportunity to take revenge in the dark. Internally, there are powerful elders who do not submit to Yuan Er and covet the leader's throne."

"Yuan Er has internal and external troubles!"

"There is still no response from Sun Lao's side; I will deploy my troops first."

While waiting for Sun Lingtong's reply, Ning Zhuo remotely controlled the Tree Martial Fighting Ape·Dasheng, attempting to infiltrate the Monkey Head Gang's residence.

He was already relatively familiar with the Monkey Head Gang's residence.

As a result, after a slight attempt, he succeeded.

He commanded the Tree Martial Fighting Ape·Dasheng to successfully enter the inner circle of the residence, very close to Yuan Er.

"I didn't expect the defense of the Monkey Head Gang's residence to be so lax!"

"The crushing defeat at the Fire Persimmon Festival and the death of Yuan Dasheng caused the entire Monkey Head Gang's prestige to decline greatly, and the morale of the gang members was gone."

"With people's hearts scattered like this, even the protection of the base camp is done so poorly."

"No, that's not quite right."

"Perhaps this is not purely lax; it is very likely that an elder has taken action and deliberately arranged it this way."

Ning Zhuo analyzed for a moment and thought of a possibility.

The more deeply he thought, the more he felt this possibility was quite high.

"If the gang elders collude with old enemies to assassinate Yuan Er, I don't need to trouble Sun Lao."

"In this way, it can save me a lot of trouble."

Black Market.

Sun Lingtong's residence.

Inside the main room, it was gloomy and filled the entire hall.

The Investigating Judge was like a temple statue, his gaze like a sword and spear, piercing through Sun Lingtong's soul and scraping through his memories.

Ning Zhuo gradually grew up, reached the age, passed the test, had spiritual roots, and went to school.

He boarded at his uncle's house, and his days were oppressive.

Relying on the spells of the Un-Empty Gate, Sun Lingtong would secretly meet him every once in a while.

This was the brightest light in Ning Zhuo's dark life.

Sun Lingtong stared at Ning Zhuo's performance review, his gaze sharp: "Little Zhuo, why are your grades so good this time?"

"Did you forget what your mother told you before she passed away?"

"To hide your talent, to hide yourself!"

Ning Zhuo lowered his head: "But the school elder is a good person; he often encourages me and hopes I will do better."

"And those classmates, they always laugh at my poor grades, don't play with me, and think I'm stupid."

"But I am clearly much smarter than them!"

"I just wanted to reveal some strength to make them look at me with admiration!"

Sun Lingtong sighed secretly in his heart: "Little Zhuo is indeed smart enough, but as a child, he cannot hold back and is easily provoked."

"How should I persuade him?"

"No matter how I persuade him, it's not stable!"

Sun Lingtong thought for a while and decided to use intimidation: "Little Zhuo, you are not far from death."

Ning Zhuo was instantly frightened: "Ah?!"

Sun Lingtong had a gloomy face, listed many examples, and told him that many geniuses were killed by jealous people, refined into pills, or refined into tools.

"You are too abrupt in school; it is very likely to attract suspicion, thereby judging your talent and killing you!"

Ning Zhuo was frightened pale, his head full of cold sweat: "Bu, but Ning Xiaohui also has talent."

"Hmph, she is the main branch, you are the branch family. Her grandmother is an elder, what about you?"

"Did you forget that I taught you what a cultivation family is? Did you forget the current situation of the Ning family that I analyzed for you?"

Ning Zhuo shook his head repeatedly.

"Come, compare with me." Sun Lingtong thought for a while, still worried, and decided to give another dose of strong medicine.

According to the content of the school exam, Sun Lingtong did it all in front of Ning Zhuo.

The results were naturally excellent, leaving Ning Zhuo so far behind that he couldn't be seen.

Sun Lingtong said: "I am only one year older than you; look at how I scored; am I proud? Am I complacent?"

Ning Zhuo's face was pale, as if he had lost his soul, and he shook his head slowly.

Sun Lingtong patted Ning Zhuo's shoulder: "There are very few people in your Ning family; among the cultivation families in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, you only rank last."

"Compared to your classmates, you might be quite excellent. But compared to all the children in the entire immortal city?"

"Fire Persimmon Immortal City is only a corner of heaven and earth; it is a new city just built in the Nandou Immortal Kingdom in the last hundred years."

"Compared to the children in those old cities?"

"Think again, this is only the Nandou Kingdom. Besides this country, what about other countries?"

"Can you rank among these countries?"

Sun Lingtong raised his finger, shook it, and concluded: "No!"

"You can't even beat me, so don't be complacent."

"I tell you, in the Nandou Kingdom, I can only be considered this!" Sun Lingtong pinched the tip of his little finger, frantically self-deprecating.

Ning Zhuo's face was pale, his forehead full of cold sweat.

Seeing that the effect was achieved, Sun Lingtong patted Ning Zhuo's shoulder with satisfaction: "You must know that there are people beyond people, and heavens beyond heavens."

"People who are proud and arrogant are all fools!"

"You must always be humble, open-minded, and lower your mentality to recognize reality, to receive strange knowledge faster, and to grow up faster."

Speaking of this, Sun Lingtong had already made a decision: in the future, every once in a while, he would personally come down and "compete" with Ning Zhuo to let him stop being arrogant and impatient!

Ning Zhuo was silent for a long time, finally looked up at Sun Lingtong, his voice hoarse: "Little Brother Sun, I was wrong! My, my mother actually warned me before she passed away."

Sun Lingtong sighed: "These words just now were actually taught to me by my master."

The two looked at each other, and for a moment, both fell into silence.