Chapter 17: Commoners Fall for the Trap

Ning Chen and Ning Yong sat by the window on the second floor of the restaurant, keeping a constant watch on the street.

"Look, Ning Zhuo has appeared."

"Let's go!"

The two moved with swift footsteps, arriving at the intersection ahead of time and pretending to run into Ning Zhuo by chance.

"Ning Zhuo?" Ning Yong called out.

Ning Zhuo looked at the two, paused for a moment, and a smile appeared on his face: "It’s you two, Ning Yong, Ning Chen."

These two were Ning Zhuo's classmates.

Ning Chen feigned a sigh: "We haven't seen each other since the Grand Exam; it feels like such a long time has passed."

Ning Zhuo’s heart stirred slightly: "Although the time is short, if many things have happened, it naturally creates the illusion that time has been long."

Ning Yong: "I’ve heard about your situation. After the Grand Exam, you had a falling out with your uncle and aunt and refused their help."

"Are you finding it difficult living on your own now?"

"What are you doing to earn spirit stones to sustain your cultivation?"

Ning Zhuo hesitated for a moment: "I’m currently working odd jobs at a mechanism workshop. What about you two?"

Ning Yong chuckled, sounding somewhat proud: "We’ve already joined the Demon Hunting Association!"

"We’re currently buying supplies to leave the city. Tonight, we’ll be entering the demon cave with the seniors of the Demon Hunting Association to hunt demon beasts."

"How about that? Exciting, right?"

Ning Zhuo opened his mouth slightly in surprise: "You’re going into the Scarlet Flame Demon Melting Cave? Isn't that too dangerous?"

"What’s there to fear? What can you accomplish if you’re afraid of death?" Ning Yong puffed out his chest with a look of disdain. "When we’re young, we should be out exploring. Without taking risks, where would extraordinary gains come from? Without money to accelerate my cultivation, when would I ever reach Foundation Establishment?"

Ning Chen then said: "Don't listen to his bragging. There are cultivators from our Ning family in the Demon Hunting Association. You’ve heard of the name Commandant Ning Zhanji, right?"

"We’ll be entering the cave under his leadership, and tonight happens to be the low tide of the earth flames, so it’s perfectly safe."

Ning Chen tried his best to dispel Ning Zhuo’s concerns.

Ning Zhuo revealed a look of envy.

Seeing this, Ning Yong extended an invitation directly: "In my opinion, Ning Zhuo, you should stop working at that workshop. Just come down into the cave with us."

"There are so many treasures hidden in the Demon Melting Cave."

"How much can you earn in a week? Who knows, if you harvest a single spirit plant in the Scarlet Flame Demon Melting Cave, it might be enough to cover your weekly wages!"

Ning Zhuo shook his head and waved his hands, refusing: "My grades in the swordsmanship subject have always hovered between average and poor. Fighting demon beasts is too dangerous; I can’t do it."

"Coward!" Ning Yong glared, about to speak.

Ning Chen stopped him with a look and smiled at Ning Zhuo: "If I were you, Ning Zhuo, I would go back and apologize to my uncle and aunt, and let them use their connections to get me into a family business. The benefits would definitely be far better than working outside!"

Ning Zhuo immediately shook his head, showing the spirit of a young man, and said firmly: "Since it has already reached this point, it is absolutely impossible for me to bow my head like this."

Ning Chen chuckled: "Then if I were your uncle and aunt, seeing you reduced to making a living in an obscure little workshop, what would they think?"

"Perhaps they’d be thinking: 'Look, this Ning Zhuo doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth; without our help, he can only live in hardship and gradually become the lowest of the low among cultivators!'"

Ning Zhuo frowned immediately, his expression turning gloomy, as if his mental defenses had been broken.

Ning Chen smiled inwardly and pressed on...

A moment later.

Watching Ning Zhuo’s departing back, Ning Yong said: "Ning Zhuo’s grades are better than ours, but what’s the use? He still easily fell for our provocation and agreed to act with us tonight."

Ning Chen sighed: "Ning Zhuo is just like us—an ordinary person."

"Put yourself in his shoes; if I were him and being calculated against by someone with intent, I would fall for the trap just the same."

"Sigh..."

Seeing his companion in low spirits, Ning Yong consoled him: "Although Ning Zhuo is our classmate, we have already pledged our allegiance to Commandant Ning Zhanji. This time, it was an order given to us personally by Commandant Ning Zhanji. What is this little bit of classmate sentiment compared to our future? We weren't even close to him on a daily basis!"

Ning Chen shook his head slightly: "Forget it. At least this way, we can finally give Commandant Ning Zhanji an answer."

"Let’s go."

At dusk, Ning Zhuo arrived at the meeting point alone.

Ning Yong smiled and led him inside.

Ning Chen brought him before Ning Zhanji.

Ning Zhanji was a burly middle-aged man with slender eyebrows. He looked Ning Zhuo up and down, expressionless: "Since we are all clansmen of the Ning family, I will take care of you this time and arrange for you to join the team."

"But remember, in all actions, you must obey my orders and arrangements."

"This junior understands!" Ning Zhuo said quickly.

In Ning Zhuo’s mind, information regarding Ning Zhanji flashed by rapidly.

Many years ago, the Ning family began consciously sending cultivators out into various organizations inside and outside the Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

Ning Zhanji was one of them.

He possessed great combat strength and acted decisively, known for his swift and vigorous style. He was able to seize fleeting opportunities on the battlefield, thus making a name for himself; he was a general-type figure.

This time, Ning Zhanji had been requested by Ning Ze and had accepted the latter’s money, which was why he had sent Ning Chen and Ning Yong to provoke Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhanji glanced at Ning Zhuo twice, then withdrew his gaze, evaluating internally: "Qi Refining third layer, nothing special."

Soon, the personnel were gathered, totaling over fifty people.

The vast majority of these people were surnamed Ning. The few outsiders were also closely linked to the Ning family.

Ning Zhanji led the group and began to advance toward the Scarlet Flame Demon Melting Cave.

Fire Persimmon Immortal City was a typical mountain city.

The vast majority of the buildings in the city were concentrated on the mountainside. The closer to the city center, the higher the terrain, with the crater at the summit being the very center. The further out, the lower the terrain, extending toward the foothills.

Ning Zhuo’s group climbed upward from the mountainside. Along the way, they passed through several checkpoints, where the inspections were quite loose, and finally reached the summit.

At the summit, the spiritual energy became noticeably denser and hotter.

The air was filled with the smell of sulfur, which was quite pungent.

Although it was night, the crater constantly scattered bright firelight. With the help of the light, Ning Zhuo saw bursts of white smoke drifting above the crater.

Within this white smoke, many Smoke-Cloud Sparrows were flying about, darting in and out.

Ning Zhuo and the others arrived at the edge of the volcano.

Looking down, one could see a wide, flat rocky area inside the crater.

The crimson rocks constantly emitted scorching heat. Some red rocks were tightly connected, while others had gaps between the slabs, with bright orange-red magma flowing beneath them. There were also various cave entrances opening up on the rocks.

Some cave entrances spat out flames from time to time, some had magma flowing out, and others were bottomless, serving as paths leading deeper underground.

The mountain walls and the rocky ground were almost at a vertical angle, and the entire circle of mountain walls appeared glazed and exceptionally smooth. This clearly showed signs of human intervention; the entire crater looked like a huge open cup.

As he looked toward the center, Ning Zhuo discovered that the number of cave entrances on the red rock surface was increasing, and the size of the entrances was also growing larger.

Finally, his gaze fixed on the very center of the rocky ground.

There, lay a lake of magma.