Chapter 143

Outside Mount Huoshi.

The monster was as large as a mountain, opening its blood-stained maw.

A powerful suction force immediately manifested, intending to swallow the cultivators ahead in one gulp.

At the critical moment, a ruler flashed with the brilliance of the sun, crashing down like a meteor.

Boom!

The monster died miserably on the spot.

Zhu Xuanji descended from the high sky.

The rescued cultivators recognized Zhu Xuanji’s identity and hurriedly kowtowed, expressing endless gratitude.

Zhu Xuanji swept a glance over them and looked toward the distant Mount Huoshi Immortal City: "For this period, it is best you stay far away from the Immortal City. Go."

Seeing Zhu Xuanji’s solemn expression, the cultivators dared not attempt to curry favor and retreated submissively.

Some of them followed Zhu Xuanji’s advice, while others had urgent matters and returned to the Immortal City regardless.

This movement was naturally seen clearly by Zhu Xuanji.

He did not try to persuade them again, his mood heavy.

Having probed for these past two days, he was certain that this was Meng Kui secretly performing techniques, casting the Mountain-Watching divine ability to form a field of fortune centered on Meng Kui himself.

The fortune field covered the entirety of Mount Huoshi, including the Magma Immortal Palace and the Mount Huoshi Immortal City.

Furthermore, the range of the fortune field was expanding, forcing Zhu Xuanji to move outward repeatedly. The monsters caught within it all became irritable and restless, their fighting intent rising, triggering countless bloody conflicts over various accidents or trivial matters.

The more Zhu Xuanji saw, the colder his heart became.

"Meng Kui..."

Meng Kui sat deep within the clouds and mist, coldly watching the turbulent winds and clouds of the outside world.

What he focused on most had always been the Magma Immortal Palace!

And the battle for the summit of Mount Huoshi had already lasted for several days.

All kinds of crimson flame monsters continuously assaulted the Immortal Palace, while various mechanical creations within the palace emerged one after another, forming a sturdy defensive line.

Meng Kui’s eyes suddenly flickered.

At the edge of the Immortal Palace’s defensive line, a figure suddenly appeared, moving with extreme speed, intending to enter the palace.

Nearby monsters discovered the mysterious person and attacked in a swarm.

The next moment, the mysterious person erupted with Jin Dan aura, unleashing biting cold frost that froze large swaths of monsters to death, successfully entering the Immortal Palace.

The various mechanical creations within the Immortal Palace had no intention of attacking the mysterious person.

"Oh, Ice Heart Art... it’s a Jin Dan of the Ning family," Meng Kui identified.

The four Jin Dan of the Zhou and Zheng families had already entered the formation to gamble, and the Ning family’s Jin Dan ancestor had seized the opportunity to enter the Immortal Palace.

Meng Kui smiled coldly: "The Ning family Jin Dan possesses mastery in mechanical arts, enabling him to enter the Immortal Palace. This is something never discovered before."

"According to the Ning family, they only discovered the Magma Immortal Palace this year."

"Is this statement true?"

It was possible the Ning family Jin Dan ancestor had improved his mechanical arts mastery this year, reaching the standard for entering the palace.

It was also possible he had secretly entered the Immortal Palace long ago, and the Ning family’s public statement was merely a smokescreen.

"Could he be that shadow demonic cultivator?" Meng Kui watched the Ning family ancestor quietly, continuously playing with two walnuts in his hand.

The walnuts rubbed and rotated against each other in his palm.

On their surface, complex runes flashed from time to time.

New intelligence was delivered into Ning Zhuo’s hands.

"Someone was hunted by monsters outside Mount Huoshi and was luckily saved by Zhu Xuanji?"

"Zhu Xuanji is outside the city?"

Ning Zhuo’s expression was solemn.

This intelligence greatly impacted his previous assumptions.

He had originally thought the person trapping Sun Lingtong was Zhu Xuanji. After all, Zhu Xuanji had previously questioned Sun Lingtong in public, only to be dismissed by the latter’s antics.

"In fact, this is indeed not Zhu Xuanji’s style of conduct."

"If it really isn't him, who else could cause such great trouble for Boss Sun?"

Ning Zhuo had lived here for sixteen years and could be said to know every important figure and faction in Mount Huoshi Immortal City like the back of his hand.

Sun Lingtong was at the peak of Foundation Establishment and had run the black market for many years; the people or factions capable of dealing with him in this way could be counted on one hand!

"Han Ming?"

Once his train of thought opened up, Ning Zhuo thought of the female demonic cultivator he had captured.

This possibility indeed existed!

Ever since Ning Zhuo revealed some of his strength in public, he was no longer as free to act as before.

Since the three-family test, he had not seen Han Ming again.

Even that time he replenished the spirit for Yuan Dasheng, he had done so remotely through the Golden Blood Battle Ape, Dasheng.

"At the time, I did indeed hear Han Ming’s calls in the dungeon..."

Ning Zhuo was currently also inconvenienced in his movements.

"Should I have Yuan Dasheng go take a look?"

Ning Zhuo immediately dismissed this thought.

Matters concerning Bao Chou had already spread far and wide. This group of people was about to make a move!

At this critical juncture, if Ning Zhuo were to pull Yuan Dasheng away and miss the golden opportunity to protect Yuan Er, what should he do?

"It seems like two choices, but in reality, there is only one."

Ning Zhuo analyzed calmly: "If it really was Han Ming who was rescued, leading to Boss Sun falling into a predicament, then they have likely made arrangements at the dungeon."

"If I send Yuan Dasheng over, I will surely alert the enemy!"

"This matter is not urgent to do."

Ning Zhuo chose to remain still, keeping a constant watch on Yuan Dasheng.

The assassination by Bao Chou’s group came much earlier than Ning Zhuo had expected.

Night fell, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

Through the lurking Yuan Dasheng, Ning Zhuo soon discovered Bao Chou’s group moving through the Monkey Head Gang’s base.

Yuan Er was huddled in the very center of the gang’s base.

However, the defensive lines and guards surrounding him were constantly being pulled away by elders who had harbored ulterior motives, forming many huge loopholes.

Guided by pointers, Bao Chou and the others successfully reached the outside of Yuan Er’s house without alerting any guards.

It was not until someone climbed through the window, triggered a talisman, and was assassinated by the activated spell, that Yuan Er finally reacted.

"Someone, come here! There are assassins, there are assassins!" Yuan Er shouted, while frantically driving the formation within the room.

The formation only lasted for a few breaths before it was destroyed by Bao Chou’s group.

Clearly, the ability of the mole had already affected the most core area.

"Father, Mother, your child has avenged you today!!" Seeing he had been discovered, Bao Chou roared to the sky and charged in first.

The group following behind him did not hesitate either, following closely.

Yuan Er still had several personal attendants and servants by his side, who formed a defensive line to block the assassins’ attack.

Bao Chou and the others were extremely well-prepared; after being blocked for only a short while, they broke through the defensive line and attacked to Yuan Er’s front.

Yuan Er resisted while fleeing outward.

"Trash," Ning Zhuo watched coldly from the sidelines.

Yuan Er was already panicked and had lost his composure; this flight completely disrupted his defensive layout and caused the attendants’ hearts to waver, their morale plummeting.

Yuan Dasheng had long been eager to move.

Ning Zhuo called out lightly in his heart: "Go."

The Tree Battle Ape, Dasheng, roared and jumped out, blocking Bao Chou.

Yuan Er was infinitely delighted: "Uncle Monkey!"

Yuan Dasheng’s combat power was extraordinary; after a few rounds, he had Bao Chou retreating steadily.

Several vengeful cultivators wanted to bypass Yuan Dasheng, but were pulled out and ruthlessly beheaded by Yuan Dasheng!

Finally, when the Monkey Head Gang members arrived, Yuan Dasheng had already ended the battle.

Most of the cultivators were killed in action, though Bao Chou survived, albeit with heavy injuries.

Yuan Er held his head high and walked to the front of Bao Chou.

Bao Chou’s arms were being forcibly held by gang members, and he could only kneel.

"Your father couldn't beat my father and was killed."

"Now, you can't beat me either, so it's normal to be killed."

"Hehe, who gave you the guts to have the illusion that you could kill me?"

Yuan Er felt he was capable again.

This confidence came from the Tree Battle Ape, Dasheng, standing behind him!

The eyes of most people in the field also drifted toward Yuan Dasheng from time to time.

In the assassination battle just now, Yuan Dasheng had fully demonstrated his power and bravery. Bao Chou and the others, armed to the teeth, couldn't gain any advantage and were routed by Yuan Dasheng.

Bao Chou looked up, his face full of blood and hatred.

"Bah!" He spat, but was blocked by a guard.

Yuan Er was very careful; he stood behind the guards, separated by at least four people, shouting excitedly at Bao Chou.

Ning Zhuo was also rejoicing.

In this battle, he felt that the connection between himself and Yuan Dasheng had become clear by at least half.

"One more assassination, and I should be able to completely eliminate this hidden danger."

However, Bao Chou suddenly froze, his expression becoming strange.

The next moment, he roared ferociously: "If not now, when?!"

Everyone else felt strange.

And the gang guard closest to Yuan Er suddenly made a move, drawing his blade and turning around, the blade light like snow, fast as a thunderbolt!

Yuan Er’s head flew off on the spot.

This scene stunned almost everyone.

Yuan Er’s head fell to the ground; before dying, he looked at the Tree Battle Ape, Dasheng.

Yuan Er was puzzled: why didn't Uncle Monkey save him?

He had forgotten: his Uncle Monkey was no longer a body of flesh and blood, but a mechanical creation, a mechanical creation without a soul.

This was not like before, when he faced a life-and-death crisis and Yuan Dasheng had sufficient reaction time to appear with a bang and fight.

Just now, the guard’s move was too fast.

Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality required a process of being stimulated; it hadn't reacted in time.

Ning Zhuo reacted: "There is still hope!"

This was the world of cultivation; even if one’s head was cut off, it was not impossible to save one’s life.

However, just as he wanted to control Yuan Dasheng with all his might to grab Yuan Er’s head and attempt to save his life, Yuan Dasheng looked up and roared, losing control again!

It roared like a lion or tiger, rushing toward the murderer in a fit of extreme rage.

The guard raised his blade to block, but was smashed down by Yuan Dasheng’s fist, killed on the spot along with his blade!

The surrounding gang members scattered in a panic.

Bao Chou regained his freedom and wanted to flee, but the next moment his head was grabbed by Yuan Dasheng.

"Don't, don't kill me!"

Bang.

A slight explosion sounded.

Yuan Dasheng directly crushed his head.

But this was not enough!

Then, Yuan Dasheng continued to beat the corpses of all the assassins.

After smashing them into a pulp, it slowly stopped.

"Not good!" Ning Zhuo had a very bad premonition.

The green light in the mechanical eyes dissipated rapidly, and Yuan Dasheng stood still, amidst the bone fragments and flesh, head drooping and shoulders slumped, motionless.

No matter how Ning Zhuo sensed, he could no longer sense its spirituality.

A dead silence.

More accurately, it was as if it had never existed.