Chapter 281: Soul-Searching Ning Zhuo

"These characters... why are they so small?"

Zhu Xuanji's brows were tightly furrowed.

He tried his utmost, but his vision remained a blur. After all, at that time, the raging flames had obstructed much, and his line of sight had been severely distorted.

Ning Xiaohui's handwriting was already so small, and it was on the inner layer of the ice block; it was perfectly normal that he couldn't see it clearly.

This was a difficult situation.

For Zhu Xuanji, if the physical object were right before his eyes, he could use his spiritual sense to scan it and easily obtain the truth.

But everything he saw was the result of combining his innate talent with spells.

He could not do any better!

"Couldn't she have written it a bit larger?"

"Ning Xiaohui knew she was doomed, so before she died, she used all her strength to create the ice brick, attempting to leave it behind."

"That is indeed possible."

"After all, the Ice-Fat Jade Hand is best at finding a way to survive from a desperate situation."

"But in the end, the ice brick was still not left behind."

"An innate talent is, after all, not a divine ability..."

Thinking of this, a sharp glint flashed in Zhu Xuanji's eyes.

"Ning Xiaohui seems to have been a bit too cautious."

"Also, since she wanted to leave a clue, why didn't she just tell the truth when facing Zheng Shuanggou's magic power clone earlier?"

"There is a possibility that Ning Xiaohui only discovered certain keys, or suddenly realized something, after saying goodbye to Zheng Shuanggou's magic power clone."

"There is also another possibility: that before Ning Xiaohui died, her mind was twisted by the desire for revenge, and she wanted to frame her enemies so they wouldn't get off easily."

"And there is yet another possibility..."

"In Ning Xiaohui's view, Zheng Shuanggou was not worthy of trust!"

"Or, she preferred to report it to me personally rather than informing a Jin Dan cultivator first."

Zhu Xuanji's thoughts moved like lightning, various ideas surfacing one after another.

There were too many possibilities; after thinking for a while, he put away his cluttered thoughts.

"It can be confirmed that Sun Lingtong is the murderer who killed Ning Xiaohui."

"Furthermore, he also possesses the Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Releasing Scripture!"

What Zhu Xuanji saw in the second scene was precisely this.

"The Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Releasing Scripture! It is indeed as recorded in the royal family's secrets; this kind of Buddhist scripture can be used to release life and extract spirituality."

"Sun Lingtong mastering this Buddhist scripture is the perfect proof that the Non-Empty Sect has deeply infiltrated the Lava Immortal Palace!"

"The Non-Empty Sect..."

Zhu Xuanji gritted his teeth secretly; because of today's encounter, he felt unprecedented hatred for the Non-Empty Sect.

"Calm down, calm down."

"Anger is useless; the wisest decision right now is to go find Meng Kui!"

Zhu Xuanji barely steadied his state of mind, stretched out his arm, and waved it, collecting all the silver furnace fragments in the area.

Although he couldn't see Ning Xiaohui's dying testimony clearly, it didn't matter; he had other ways!

"You all clean up the battlefield and try your best to collect clues."

"I am going out of the palace to talk with Meng Kui!"

Before leaving, Zhu Xuanji saw Ning Zhuo looking at him expectantly: "Oh, right. Protect him well!"

"He was a pawn arranged by the Non-Empty Sect, but now he has repented and turned over a new leaf."

The three Jin Dan ancestors:?!

Zhu Xuanji: "Ning Zhuo is a very important witness; you must protect his life, no mistakes allowed!"

The three Jin Dan cultivators nodded hurriedly, indicating they understood.

The next moment, Zhu Xuanji soared into the sky and left.

Leaving Ning Zhuo alone to face the intense stares of the Jin Dan cultivators.

Ning Zhuo was also clever; he immediately ran to Ning Jiu-fan's side: "Ancestor, Ancestor!"

Ning Jiu-fan snorted coldly: "Tell us everything you know."

Although his expression was stern, he still reached out his arm and pulled Ning Zhuo to his side.

Ning Zhuo had long prepared his explanation; he had carefully crafted this story, originally intended for the second line of defense.

Now, he changed the content slightly to tell the three Jin Dan cultivators.

The Jin Dan ancestors all pricked up their ears, listening with rapt attention.

Zhu Xuanji hadn't heard it yet, but they had already learned of it.

As for Zhu Xuanji, he flew all the way, leaving the Immortal Palace once again.

Outside the Immortal Palace, the red-flame demon beasts were seething, their offensive becoming increasingly frantic, but with Meng Kui's help, Zhu Xuanji left smoothly.

Zhu Xuanji flew straight toward Meng Kui's location.

"City Lord Meng Kui, regarding this change in the Lava Immortal Palace, I have important intelligence to inform you of," Zhu Xuanji said bluntly.

Meng Kui: "Lord Zhu, please enlighten me."

Although he was a Nascent Soul level expert, Zhu Xuanji represented the royal family, so they communicated as peers.

Zhu Xuanji then told Meng Kui about how Ning Zhuo had confessed and the speculation that the Non-Empty Sect was the mastermind behind the scenes.

Meng Kui's heart was shaken; he was silent for a long time before saying: "A fine Non-Empty Sect! To infiltrate the Lava Immortal Palace right under my nose, with such sinister intentions, stirring up a Jin Dan melee. Now, killing Ning Xiaohui and destroying the History Pavilion was just to eliminate the evidence."

"Since they were able to bombard the History Pavilion, I fear that the Five Elements Cannon Tower's inexplicable assault on Fire Persimmon Mountain earlier, which triggered the demon beast tide, was also their handiwork!"

"To disregard the lives of thousands in the city like this, they are indeed evil demonic cultivators!"

Zhu Xuanji: "This is just my speculation; there is no concrete evidence."

"I naturally trust Lord Zhu's deduction," Meng Kui smiled.

Zhu Xuanji looked deeply at Meng Kui and stated his purpose: "Since the Non-Empty Sect is the third-party force behind the scenes and has acted so outrageously, our two sides should cooperate fully to eliminate them first!"

Meng Kui nodded: "That should be the case. What plan does Lord Zhu have?"

Zhu Xuanji spoke eloquently.

Meng Kui smiled: "What Lord Zhu says makes sense."

"If we really let the Non-Empty Sect steal the position of Palace Master, neither the royal family nor my Meng family would have any face left."

"I will also state my sincerity again—I am willing to promise that no matter whether our two sides or the other three families end up becoming the Palace Master, all of our existing positions in the Lava Immortal Palace will remain unchanged! Once the affairs of the Lava Immortal Palace are settled, all positions will be changed according to the rules of the imperial court. What do you think?"

Zhu Xuanji's pupils shrank, his heart jolting violently!

"A fine Meng Kui! This is a naked, open conspiracy."

"No, perhaps someone among the three families has already secretly contacted Meng Kui..."

Zhu Xuanji could poach people and win over the Zhou, Zheng, and Ning families. As City Lord and backed by the Meng family, Meng Kui naturally had such means as well.

It was just a matter of you doing it first, and me doing it later.

In the current situation, Zhu Xuanji could only accept it and go with the flow.

Soon, they reached a cooperation agreement.

Whether it was Zhu Xuanji or Meng Kui, both belonged to the Southern Bean Kingdom and were part of the same force.

Previously, although both sides regarded each other as the main opponent, they had maintained a level of competition, always keeping a state of fighting without breaking.

Therefore, joining forces at this moment was not an obstacle.

Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui both hoped to eliminate the Non-Empty Sect, this third party, and let the position of Palace Master be decided between their two sides.

If the Non-Empty Sect really succeeded, the Southern Bean Kingdom's royal Zhu family and the high official Meng family would both become laughingstocks and thus be shamed...

This was something neither of them could accept!

After signing the contract, Zhu Xuanji took out a jade slip and handed it to Meng Kui.

The content in the jade slip was precisely the various pieces of evidence, clues, and conjectures he had collected.

The most critical part was the three scenes Zhu Xuanji "saw" at the ruins of the silver furnace.

Meng Kui held the jade slip, slowly closed his eyes, and his Nascent Soul level aura suddenly expanded as he began to perform his calculation technique with all his might.

For a time, mysterious energy overflowed, and smoke and clouds rolled.

A few strands of Meng Kui's hair turned frost-white instantly; he opened his eyes, unable to hide his look of exhaustion.

Calculation often consumes one of the most precious resources in the world—lifespan.

This time, Meng Kui's calculation was the same.

However, Zhu Xuanji had already promised that the lifespan Meng Kui consumed in this calculation would be compensated for by the longevity-replenishing spirit mushrooms in the royal treasury.

Zhu Xuanji: "Did you gain anything?"

Meng Kui nodded slightly: "I obtained four clues. They are: Ning Zhuo, Sun Lingtong, Zheng Danlian, and the gold furnace."

For a moment, Zhu Xuanji's brows furrowed tightly.

He could fully understand the appearance of Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong.

But why was there Zheng Danlian?

And why was there a gold furnace?

Zheng Danlian was one of the two Jin Dan cultivators of the Zheng family, while the gold furnace was the highest-grade refining furnace in the Lava Immortal Palace.

"Why would these two clues be mentioned by Ning Xiaohui before she died?"

Meng Kui interrupted Zhu Xuanji's thoughts: "Among the four clues, Ning Zhuo is the easiest object to investigate. In my opinion, we should take him down directly and perform soul-searching!"

Ning Zhuo was only at the Qi Refining stage and was easy to handle. The only trouble was the thoughts of Ning Jiu-fan of the Ning family.

Zhu Xuanji did not hesitate and shook his head directly to refuse: "Not appropriate."

"Ning Zhuo does indeed have ties to the Non-Empty Sect; I have already made him voluntarily confess and submit to the law."

"He is my man and will be of great use in the future."

Meng Kui smiled slightly; he was not annoyed by the refusal: "Lord Zhu is a renowned Divine Catcher; naturally, you are more skilled at solving cases and pursuing criminals than I am. I will wait and see here."

Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui parted ways.

Watching Zhu Xuanji's departing back, Meng Kui's gaze turned cold.

"Zhu Xuanji seems not to have noticed yet that the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit has already developed ulterior motives."

"However, looking at it like this, it won't be long!"

"The Non-Empty Sect? Hmph!"

Meng Kui did not pay too much attention to it.

After all, the Non-Empty Sect had only dispatched one Jin Dan true disciple and one Qi Refining stage outer disciple.

If a Nascent Soul level cultivator from the Non-Empty Sect appeared, that would be an entirely different matter.

Therefore, although Meng Kui discovered that the Non-Empty Sect was a third-party force that had been lurking all along, he was still not in a hurry to take action himself.

"Just suppress it with stillness."

"Let Zhu Xuanji pursue the Non-Empty Sect. It's good to have him tied up with some of his time and energy."

Thinking of this, Meng Kui sent out a message, ordering his own cultivators in the Immortal Palace to go all out and try to win as many key positions as possible.

At the same time, he ordered his trusted aides to contact the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit at all costs!

Zhu Xuanji flew back to the Lava Immortal Palace.

Along the way, his brows were locked, his gaze deep and dark.

If Ning Zhuo hadn't voluntarily confessed, then in the current situation, he would be thinking and hesitating—whether to perform soul-searching on Ning Zhuo.

But now, Ning Zhuo had just turned over a new leaf, and he would be soul-searched the next moment?

The consequences of soul-searching are severe; at best, memory loss, at worst, becoming an idiot.

Anyone with a bit of political sense wouldn't do such a stupid thing. Let alone Zhu Xuanji.

"Now, I am allied with the three families and have already developed a rift with the Zheng family; if I soul-search Ning Zhuo, I will be at odds with the Ning family."

"Meng Kui asked me to soul-search Ning Zhuo... he is just a small Qi Refining stage cultivator, merely an outer pawn recruited by the Non-Empty Sect; what could he possibly know?"

"What's more, Meng Kui is also strange!"

Zhu Xuanji had calculated the time.

When the hole appeared in the Lava Immortal Palace, Meng Kui did not take action in time.

The three Jin Dan cultivators had all sent emergency flying letters, but without Meng Kui's protection, the letters would have been attacked and destroyed by the ubiquitous red-flame demon beasts the moment they flew out of the Lava Immortal Palace.

"So, Meng Kui also deliberately suppressed the spread of the flying letters and did not receive or escort them in the first instance, which is why I received them so late."

"The Meng family's desire to seize the Lava Immortal Palace is too intense."