Chapter 282: The Subtlety of the Righteous Path

Lava Immortal Palace.

Main Hall.

"Ah!" The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit screamed suddenly, waking up from a nightmare.

It subconsciously reached out and touched its own head.

"Still there!"

It relaxed, realizing it hadn't been destroyed.

It had survived!

An existence like a spirit has no fatal wounds to begin with. Therefore, being decapitated and having its limbs cut off are almost the same.

The difference lies in the quantity.

If too much spirituality is lost and it reaches the limit, the remaining spirituality will also collapse and dissipate. Unless, at the moment of the life countdown, it can continue to supplement its spirituality from the outside.

At this very moment, the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit's body had shrunk by a third compared to before, leaving only about sixty or seventy percent.

Furthermore, its entire body was flashing with firelight, much brighter than before. This actually proved its weakness.

Previously, it had a deep foundation, its firelight flourishing yet restrained, giving people a sense of solidity and weight. Now, although its body was scattering light and quite bright, it had a suspicion of being flighty and light.

At this time, the sound of calling, like wisps of smoke in the distance, ethereal and scattered, drifted into the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit's heart.

"Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit of the Immortal Palace, the direction of my heart, only you can ignite."

"The flames of the Fire Flood Dragon, the essence condensed by heaven and earth, burning everything, turning into spiritual light."

"I call upon you with a pious heart and a solemn mind. Respond, respond..."

"Whatever demands you have can be negotiated. I am a scholar of the Meng family; please respond to my call, respond to my voice..."

These were the cultivators of the Meng family, who had been actively and constantly contacting the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit.

At the same time.

Ning Zhuo's voice also came secretly, and he was much more straightforward: "Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit, Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit, Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit..."

"Ah!" The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit yelled, shaking its head violently, "So annoying! So annoying!"

It retracted its dragon head into its turtle shell on the armrest of the throne.

It roared in its heart.

"What Meng family, I don't look up to them at all. The only one I look up to is Meng Chong!"

"What Ning Zhuo, still Young Master? I spit on that!"

"The History Pavilion was destroyed because of me. What use are you?"

"You only know how to act!"

"As soon as you were targeted by Zhu Xuanji, you wilted; you were useless!"

"I've seen it now, all of you—none of you are any good!"

"It still has to be me. I still have to rely on myself!"

No matter how Ning Zhuo called, he couldn't reach the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit.

He followed closely behind Ning Jiu-fan, step by step.

Ning Jiu-fan was not quite used to being followed so closely by him; he stopped his steps, turned around, and looked at him: "You brat, why are you following me so closely?"

Ning Zhuo bowed, his face pale: "Ancestor, Ancestor, I'm scared."

It turned out that after he confessed his crimes to the Jin Dan cultivators earlier, it had drawn a sharp reprimand from Ning Jiu-fan.

But it was only a reprimand.

After all, Zhu Xuanji had already forgiven and accepted Ning Zhuo, allowing him to make amends for his crimes. The three Jin Dan cultivators couldn't say anything more.

The only exception was Ning Jiu-fan.

According to the rules of the Righteous Path, as the master of the Ning family, Ning Jiu-fan naturally had the right to dispose of Ning Zhuo, one of the Ning family members.

But Ning Jiu-fan only reprimanded him, not even hitting him once. The tone sounded extremely stern, but any slightly senior member of the Righteous Path could understand Ning Jiu-fan's intent to protect him.

After Zhu Xuanji left, the Jin Dan cultivators discussed for a while and decided to act separately.

Ning Zhuo followed behind Ning Jiu-fan.

Ning Zhuo said: "Ancestor, I am in too much danger."

"Ning Xiaohui's death is right before our eyes; she was a dignified member of the main family line, secretly working for Lord Zhu Xuanji, and was under the care of many Jin Dan cultivators..."

"With such protection, she still died!"

"This Non-Empty Sect is too terrifying, too evil."

"I have now turned over a new leaf, and they must have discovered it. I don't want to die; I beg you to have mercy and save me, save me!"

Ning Jiu-fan snorted coldly: "You don't understand the situation at that time."

"The History Pavilion was the primary target, the demon beasts were like a tide, and defense was difficult in the haste."

"But if it weren't for the bombardment of the Five Elements Cannon Tower, we would have surely succeeded!"

Ning Zhuo spread his hands: "The History Pavilion is already in ruins, and my small body is too weak; I can't hold up."

Ning Jiu-fan was so angry that he bent his finger joints and gave Ning Zhuo a rap on his big head.

"Ouch." Ning Zhuo clutched his head and cried out in pain.

"When did my Ning family produce a coward like you who fears death? Where is the backbone of our Ning family from the North?" Ning Jiu-fan reprimanded him, hating that he couldn't turn him into steel.

Ning Zhuo looked at Ning Jiu-fan expectantly: "Ancestor, look at what you're saying! If I didn't fear death, I might have been killed by the demons of the Non-Empty Sect long ago."

"As for the backbone of the North, what is that? When I was born, our Ning family had already migrated to the Southern Bean Kingdom. Wasn't our clan driven out of the North Wind Kingdom by others?"

Ning Jiu-fan immediately puffed his beard and glared, constantly rapping Ning Zhuo's big head, muttering: "It was our clan that voluntarily withdrew, voluntarily withdrew!"

Ning Zhuo retreated, dodging Ning Jiu-fan's raps: "Ancestor, Ancestor, stop rapping, if you rap any more, I'll become stupid."

Ning Jiu-fan sneered: "You're still stupid? You're too cunning, hiding your own crimes, and when Zhu Xuanji bluffed you slightly, you were so scared that you went limp and voluntarily surrendered."

"You should become a bit stupider; that would be good for you."

"Your name is Ning Zhuo, where did your 'clumsiness' go?"

Ning Zhuo said 'ah', looking as if he had just realized: "Ancestor, are you saying that Zhu Xuanji was bluffing me? He only suspected me and didn't have any evidence of mine at all?"

Ning Jiu-fan sneered: "What do you think? Did you see him take out any evidence?"

Ning Zhuo widened his eyes, with an expression of disbelief, and whispered: "That, this... Lord Zhu is too cunning!"

Ning Jiu-fan snorted coldly again.

Ning Zhuo blinked repeatedly, looking at Ning Jiu-fan, rubbing his hands and saying: "Actually, I was mainly worried that it wouldn't matter if I were exposed, but I was most afraid of smearing the Ning family and causing trouble for you, Ancestor."

"Heh." Ning Jiu-fan's mouth twitched.

He still couldn't help but be amused by Ning Zhuo's shameless appearance.

Ning Zhuo colluding with the demonic cultivators of the Non-Empty Sect didn't really count for much in Ning Jiu-fan's heart.

You must know that a common trick of the Righteous Path is to hire demonic cultivators to act as black gloves. Sometimes, they even act as demonic cultivators themselves.

Ning Zhuo's situation was just that he was young and weak, and was secretly controlled by cultivators of the demonic path.

Even if he participated in part of the conspiracy to bomb the Immortal Palace, isn't the Lava Immortal Palace still there?

It's no big deal!

Now that Ning Zhuo is exposed and has escaped the control of the Non-Empty Sect, this is a great thing.

Ning Zhuo surrendering to Zhu Xuanji was beyond Ning Jiu-fan's expectations and did indeed put him in a passive position.

But how should I put it, one still has to protect one's own child.

Even if they make a mistake, young people, who doesn't make a few mistakes?

Just educate him behind closed doors; once educated, when he opens the door and is released, Ning Zhuo will still be a Ning family disciple, a pillar of the Ning family in the future.

Ning Xiaohui is already dead; now, the only genius among the Ning family's Qi Refining stage is Ning Zhuo.

If Ning Zhuo also dies, or defects to the evil path, then the Ning family will have a gap in this generation.

This is disadvantageous to the Ning family.

Regarding Ning Xiaohui's death, Ning Jiu-fan is deeply heartbroken. The Ice-Fat Jade Hand... this heartbreak further prompts Ning Jiu-fan to protect Ning Zhuo.

Zhu Xuanji returned earlier than everyone thought.

He gathered the Jin Dan cultivators together again.

"I have already reached an alliance with City Lord Meng Kui; I am informing you all of this good news."

Speaking of this, Zhu Xuanji couldn't help but fix his gaze on Ning Zhuo.

Everyone present was a Jin Dan cultivator; Ning Zhuo, at the Qi Refining stage, really seemed a bit out of place.

Seeing Zhu Xuanji looking at him, Ning Zhuo hurriedly bowed: "Greetings, Lord Zhu!"

His expression was respectful, his etiquette met the standard, and there were no mistakes.

Ning Jiu-fan spoke: "Now, Ning Zhuo has become the only genius seedling among our Ning family's juniors. During this time, let him stay by my side."

"He has committed such a major mistake; I will personally execute family law on him and punish him severely!"

Zhu Xuanji nodded slightly, tacitly allowing Ning Zhuo to remain in the venue.

The Divine Catcher sighed secretly in his heart.

From Ning Jiu-fan's response, he heard the dissatisfaction of this Ning family Jin Dan cultivator.

Ning Xiaohui is dead.

She was working for Zhu Xuanji and, to a certain extent, was used as bait by Zhu Xuanji and sacrificed.

It is human nature for Ning Jiu-fan to be heartbroken and protect Ning Zhuo.

At this moment, Zhu Xuanji became even more convinced that not soul-searching Ning Zhuo was the correct decision!

If he had soul-searched him and caused this genius, Ning Zhuo, to be crippled, wouldn't Ning Jiu-fan have exploded in anger?

"The Ning family is, after all, different from the Zhou and Zheng families."

"They wandered over from the North Wind Kingdom. It is said that the Ning family was dissatisfied with the government of the North Wind Kingdom and left on their own, decisively cutting off interests and connections. With such a fierce nature, they cannot be easily manipulated!"

As this thought flashed through his mind, Zhu Xuanji officially announced that the two sides would cooperate closely from now on, and no matter which family's cultivators obtained positions in the Immortal Palace, they would be retained!

This news made the three Jin Dan cultivators show joy.

Ning Zhuo felt surprised.

After reporting Sun Lingtong, Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui would definitely join forces. This was something Ning Zhuo could calculate.

He didn't expect that Zhu and Meng would cooperate to such an extent!

"No!" Suddenly, Ning Zhuo realized, "This wasn't proposed by Zhu Xuanji."

"He has already united the three families; there is no need to take out future chips to win them over."

"Since it wasn't him, then it must be Meng Kui."

"Why would Meng Kui propose this to win over the three families?"

"Interesting!"

A sharp glint flashed in Ning Zhuo's eyes: "It's quite possible that among the three Jin Dan cultivators present, someone has already secretly contacted Meng Kui."

"Then, who could it be?"

Ning Zhuo thought of the Zheng family first.

Previously, Zhu Xuanji winning over the three families and forming a close alliance could be considered a brilliant move.

But later, the demonic scripture scheme Ning Zhuo set up triggered a Jin Dan melee, and the Zheng family killed the true disciple of the Taiqing Palace, causing a rift between Zhu Xuanji and the Zheng family.

"The Zheng family is therefore facing immense pressure from the Taiqing Palace. And the royal family side has been slow to express their stance."

"The Zheng family is very likely to seek help frantically because of this pressure. Hooking up with the Meng family is also reasonable."

"Besides that, the Zhou family is also possible."

Previously, if the Meng family obtained the Lava Immortal Palace, the Zhou family's loss of interests would be the greatest.

Therefore, the Zhou family was the most firmly opposed to Meng Kui.

But what if Meng Kui took the initiative to compromise and privately indicated to the Zhou family that he was willing to coexist with them?

It wasn't possible before because Meng Kui didn't look up to a force like the Zhou family, which was merely at the Jin Dan level.

But after the three families united and gathered around Zhu Xuanji, posing a threat to Meng Kui, they then had the value of being divided and won over.

Zhu Xuanji used the three families, and the three families were also using him to increase their own value.

Vertical and horizontal alliances, maneuvering back and forth—this is the subtlety of the Righteous Path game.