Chapter 290

Hearing the renovation team members saying increasingly excessive things, Zheng Hua shouted coldly: "Enough!"

"Keep such groundless speculations to yourselves."

"I know you are filled with grief and anger at this moment. But do not let these emotions cloud your judgment. Remember! You carry the surname Zheng and bear the honor of our Zheng family."

"Do not let outsiders laugh at us. Invite that Ning Zhuo in."

Ning Zhuo walked into the hall.

Looking around, he saw a sea of mourning white.

The Zheng family cultivators were lined up on both sides. Some held their heads high, eyes tightly shut, silently shedding tears. Others covered their faces while kneeling, burning paper money. Most, however, turned their heads to glare at Ning Zhuo with hostility.

Zheng Jian had enjoyed high prestige while alive, and his death had united the Zheng family's renovation team in a shared hatred, creating a strong sense of a mourning army.

Ning Zhuo could not help but recall how, previously, this group had dared to fight and charge even when facing the Jin Dan-level Yang Chanyu.

At the time, Ning Zhuo had been filled with emotion—Zheng Jian had actually won the hearts of the people to this extent! The courage of the Zheng family's blood was evident!

The air was thick with the hostility the Zheng family members held toward Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo wore a look of sorrow as he walked to the coffin.

He first bowed to Zheng Hua, then stood before Zheng Jian's corpse, saying nothing.

His expression was solemn, his eyelids lowered, as if he were silently feeling the lingering warmth of the departed hero.

A gentle breeze blew against the hem of his robes, and Ning Zhuo slowly widened his eyes.

At this moment, his eyes were red, and his gaze revealed endless sorrow.

"Brother Zheng Jian!" Ning Zhuo cried out in grief, breaking the deathly silence in the hall.

"I, your younger brother, continue to survive in this world, yet you, my brother, have departed!"

"From now on, we look toward the sun and moon from different worlds, separated by life and death forever."

"My heart feels as if it is being twisted by knives, and my liver and intestines are broken with pain!"

Ning Zhuo wailed, fell to his knees, and began to weep bitterly.

"Alas, Brother Zheng! I recall how we once refined mechanical monkeys together; you had far-reaching strategies, and my craftsmanship complemented yours. Our cooperation was seamless, and exquisite mechanisms were born from it. Your talent was peerless, and I admired you deeply. To have had you as a friend was truly the fortune of three lifetimes."

"Painful, Brother Zheng! I recall the trial levels, where we fought enemies side by side and broke through barriers together. Although the enemy's forces were dangerous, our hearts were one, and we were invincible. It is a pity that because of Ning Xiaohui, we fell short of success, yet I was comforted by your words, valuing the spirit of heroes over gain or loss, which finally eased my heart."

"Sorrowful, Brother Zheng! Though we worked for our respective families, our hearts were in tune, and we had an agreement: I was willing to concede the medical clinic, and you were to compensate me with a large sum. Now that you are gone, our promise has come to nothing, and my heart burns with pain."

"It burns!"

Ning Zhuo tore at the clothes on his chest, tears streaming down his face, his voice hoarse and exhausted, his heart aching to the core.

Seeing Ning Zhuo's genuine and heartfelt display, everyone in the hall was moved.

Many people's hostility greatly diminished, and they began to cry. Even the few who remained suspicious of Ning Zhuo were infected by the immense grief and sorrow, silently shedding tears.

The sound of weeping merged into one, gradually growing louder.

Ning Zhuo suddenly raised his voice: "My brother's death shall not be taken lightly! I, your younger brother, will surely avenge you!"

"All my Zheng family brothers in this hall, we will surely avenge you!!!"

The grieving crowd was stirred by this shout, igniting the hatred and fury in their hearts.

They began to roar one after another.

"Revenge, revenge!"

"In my lifetime, I will kill Yang Chanyu!!"

"I swear to slaughter the entire Unempty Gate!"

Zheng Hua's eyelids twitched violently as he listened.

The Zheng family disciples were saying increasingly extreme things, their emotions completely stirred up by Ning Zhuo.

The reason Zheng Hua had been urgently dispatched was, on one hand, to protect the renovation team, and on the other, to stabilize the situation and the people's hearts.

Ning Zhuo's shouts had left the hall in a state of agitation, and the situation seemed to be spiraling out of control.

This forced Zheng Hua to speak, shouting sternly: "Revenge is necessary! But look at you all now, every one of you is at the Qi Refining stage, not even at Foundation Establishment. How can you kill a Jin Dan cultivator?!"

"You want revenge now? Is it revenge, or is it suicide? Hmm?!"

Zheng Hua possessed significant authority, and at his words, the young cultivators in the hall fell silent.

In the silence, Ning Zhuo swayed as he stood up.

He faced Zheng Hua and bowed: "Senior Zheng Hua."

"Previously, Brother Zheng Jian and I had almost reached an agreement: my side would withdraw from most of the competition for medical clinic positions, retaining only a few spots, while your side would provide a large sum as compensation."

"Brother Zheng Jian was a man I respected. Although he has passed, I am still willing to do what I can."

"How to take revenge?"

At this point, Ning Zhuo stood straight, lowered his arms, and scanned his surroundings.

He continued: "Although we are only at the Qi Refining stage, we have our own unique way of taking revenge!"

He raised his fist and said firmly: "The enemy does not want us to obtain Immortal Palace positions, so we must succeed, making the enemy's schemes fall through!!"

"I am willing to assist the Zheng family, personally stepping in to help every member of the Zheng family renovation team, working together on repair tasks to raise the merit of the cultivators in this hall as quickly as possible, so that you can enter the medical clinic sooner and receive medical officer positions."

"Furthermore, I make a pact with you all here: from now on, the focus of the Ning family renovation team's pursuit of positions will absolutely not be the medical clinic!"

"Although we in the Ning family have obtained some positions in the medical clinic, I swear on the honor of my Ning family that we will not seek any further advancement in medical clinic positions!"

Once these words were spoken, the entire hall was moved!

Zheng Hua also looked at Ning Zhuo with newfound respect.

After Ning Zhuo left, the Zheng family cultivators exchanged words, their impressions of him having greatly changed.

"I didn't expect this Ning Zhuo to have such integrity!"

"Such noble character; I had misunderstood him."

"Hmph, even if he didn't do this, couldn't our Zheng family still defeat the Ning family and take the medical clinic?"

"Don't underestimate Ning Zhuo. Only Boss Zheng Jian could suppress him among us!"

"I think I misjudged Ning Zhuo before. He could have completely avoided doing this, but he did it anyway."

"He just mourned the Chief and wept bitterly; it seems that although he and the Chief came from different families, heroes cherish heroes, and they had already become confidants."

Ning Zhuo returned to his temporary residence to pay his respects to Ning Jiufan.

Before taking action, he had already reported to Ning Jiufan.

Ning Jiufan: "Looking at your expression, it's done. Do you really intend to help the Zheng family like this?"

Ning Zhuo said with a solemn face: "Ancestor, this is what I think."

"Firstly, Zheng Jian did indeed draw fire away from me. If Yang Chanyu had attacked me first, how many blades could my treasure talisman have withstood? I survived by luck, and he contributed to that!"

"Secondly, the conflict between my Ning family and the Zheng family over the medical clinic remains unresolved."

"Thirdly, by accomplishing this, I can gain a lot of prestige on the righteous path. If I don't do this, given the strength of the Zheng family and their mourning spirit, they would still force my Ning family to retreat."

"Fourthly, letting the Zheng family cultivators occupy the medical clinic positions first is also not bad. Don't forget, the Taiqing Palace and the Unempty Gate are both enemies of the Zheng family. Perhaps in the future, there will be a turning point."

After hearing this analysis, Ning Jiufan finally revealed a look of joy, stroking his beard and saying: "Good, good, good. At such a young age, your thoughts are quite thorough."

"What the Unempty Gate wants to do is to comprehensively curb your actions. The reason Yang Chanyu killed Zheng Jian first must be because she sensed the treasure talisman on you."

"After all, she is a disciple of the Unempty Gate and is very skilled at sensing treasures. And since this treasure talisman was not refined by you, it cannot be stored in your body, so its aura is always leaking; it is quite normal for it to have been discovered."

"Therefore, you don't need to be so grateful to Zheng Jian. Blame it on his family's two Jin Dan ancestors for being so inattentive to their own genius cultivator, giving him too few protective items, or not giving him ones that were good enough."

Ning Zhuo suddenly realized, showing an expression of being taught: "So that's how it is!"

With this, he had settled both the Zheng family and Ning Jiufan, clearing the way to openly assist the Zheng family.

Ning Jiufan added: "Give me that Slick-as-Oil Talisman, and I will replenish your magic power."

"I will bestow upon you another talisman, called the Water-Flows-to-Fish-Travel Talisman. Although it has no spiritual nature, it can still be used reluctantly after being refined with essence blood."

"In the future, if you encounter a situation like today's and the Slick-as-Oil Talisman is triggered, you can use the Water-Flows-to-Fish-Travel Talisman; it will perfectly match the oily vapor, causing your speed to surge while also providing flexible turning—just right."

Without Ning Zhuo needing to remind him, Ning Jiufan had already taken the initiative to give him more means of self-preservation.

After all, the fall of the genius cultivator Zheng Jian was right before their eyes.

Over the next few days, Ning Zhuo fulfilled his promise, personally helping the Zheng family renovation team, boosting their merit, and allowing them to quickly enter the medical clinic and obtain medical officer positions.

During this time, Ning Zhuo went to the intensive care ward and retrieved a new spirit box.

Yang Chanyu had invaded Zheng Jian's soul. After the latter fell into Sun Lingtong's hands, it was refined by the Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Cleansing Scripture, purifying a strand of spirituality.

Because only the soul was available, the spirituality was only thirty percent.

Ning Zhuo successfully crafted a mechanical ring, stored Zheng Jian's spirituality in it, and wore it on the index finger of his left hand.

Ning Zhuo sought out items from Ning Xiaohui and Zheng Jian's lives while taking care of the Ning family, arranging for them to be stationed in the Five Elements Artillery Towers as much as possible.

He also reached an agreement with Zhou Zeshen, helping them quickly obtain positions at the General-Summoning Platform. Ning Zhuo received quite a bit of compensation as a result.

At the peak of Fire Persimmon Mountain, deep within the clouds and mist.

Meng Kui's eyes flashed with brilliance as he performed his divine ability once again—Sitting on the Mountain Watching the Clouds and Winds!

Great Wind Talisman!

Cloud-Raising Talisman!

The great wind rises and the clouds fly, sitting on the mountain, listening to the pines sigh.

Meng Kui's field of vision changed abruptly.

Roaring flames, a dragon-turtle like a mountain, carrying the Immortal City on its back, crushing stone slabs, raising its head to the sky and roaring.

The night sky was pitch black, and a huge mysterious bird emitted lightning, circling and dancing, almost ready to swoop down.

A giant tree, so massive it seemed to support the sky and tread on the earth, extended branches and roots that were deeply embedded in the dragon-turtle's body, even deeper than before!

The dragon-turtle was weak, and lava-like bright red blood and fire flowed from the wounds where the roots were embedded.

Its situation was precarious; the rock slabs were shattered, causing its lower body to fall into the scorching magma, with a violent tendency to be submerged.

Meng Kui tried hard to observe, his eyes streaming with blood and tears.

"How is this possible?"

"Why? Why can I not see the destiny of the Unempty Gate? Where did the destiny represented by Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu go?!"

This was already the second time Meng Kui had cast this divine ability.

The first time was after the Jin Dan melee.

But both times he cast the spell, he did not see the destiny of the Unempty Gate!

This made it difficult for him to understand.

Suddenly.

The magma erupted violently, forming a huge wave.

The scorching magma formed a vortex, fiercely sucking and dragging the dragon-turtle down.

The dragon-turtle let out a mournful cry, struggling to crawl out, but could only sink deeper and deeper!

Seeing this scene, Meng Kui immediately forgot his previous questions, his face full of solemnity.

"The terror of the Red Flame Beast Tide is beginning to manifest!"

At the same time, in the real Fire Persimmon Mountain, a Nascent Soul-level Fire-Walking Snake let out a long hiss, revealing itself, its flaming body crashing directly into the Molten Lava Immortal Palace!