Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Ning Zhuo only brought ten people to explore the Lava Immortal Palace together.

They opened Door No. 1, Door No. 2, and Door No. 3, and everything went smoothly along the way.

Soon, the group arrived at the preparation room.

Many people's gazes focused on the leaderboard on the five stone pillars.

On the leaderboard were the names of people from the City Lord's Mansion.

Meng Chong firmly occupied the second place.

The first place was the immovable "Entry Standard."

"Meng Chong is still the first. No wonder he's a celestial talent!" Ning Yong exclaimed.

Ning Chen sighed, "With Meng Chong around, the renovation team of the City Lord's Mansion always dominates the leaderboard. I really want to know what kind of rewards they receive from the Immortal Palace each time."

Someone else said, "If it weren't for Meng Chong, we would definitely be on the leaderboard. In this case, Brother Zhuo would surely be ranked first!"

Ning Zhuo smiled slightly, "I already am, and have always been, the first."

"And the real second place is not Meng Chong, but Boss Sun. It's just that he didn't appear on the list."

In this regard, Ning Zhuo hid it quite well.

So far, no one had discovered the trick behind the "Entry Standard."

Next, the Ning family cultivators discussed the entry standard. Everyone marveled at how high the vision of the Three Sect Lords was, being great cultivators of the Void Refining stage. Despite undergoing trials for so long, they still hadn’t reached the entry standard. Even a celestial talent like Meng Chong was no exception.

Some speculated about Meng Chong's actual progress. They wondered how far he had reached, being able to firmly hold the second place.

With the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, acting as an insider, Ning Zhuo was naturally clear about Meng Chong's true progress—he was stuck at the first Dao Gate level.

This was the result of Ning Zhuo deliberately going easy on him.

The Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, hadn’t appeared frequently to intercept Meng Chong.

Although every time Meng Chong entered, he would shout and make a fuss, constantly calling for the Mechanical Ape. He desperately wanted to fight Yuan Dasheng again to regain his honor.

Ning Zhuo needed Meng Chong to make some achievements.

Ning Zhuo also needed his cultivation to "progress." His publicly declared cultivation of the third layer of Qi Refining was indeed too low. He needed a suitable reason to display a stronger Qi Refining cultivation. Ɽ

To become stronger, he had to let the fourth to sixth layers of the *Five Elements Qi Regulation Art* be revealed.

Ning Zhuo's plan was to first let Meng Chong achieve such a result, and then he would follow, reaching the checkpoint where the subsequent techniques could be obtained.

Meng Chong had to do it first.

On one hand, for the sake of the leaderboard. On the other hand, Ning Zhuo needed to maintain a secret cooperative relationship with the City Lord’s Mansion.

Once Ning Zhuo’s achievements surpassed Meng Chong's, the City Lord's Mansion would likely take action to suppress him. By then, no matter how much Fei Si appreciated Ning Zhuo, he wouldn't be able to go against the will of Meng Chong and Meng Kui. They would target Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo had regained control of the black market, and he didn’t want Fei Si to drive him away so soon.

"Anyway, I’ve already closed off the Demon Sect and the Buddhist Sect."

"The difficulty of the subsequent Dao Gate levels has increased sharply, and it won’t be easy for Meng Chong to surpass me with his strength."

"Based on the current investigation, the possibility of Meng Chong surpassing me is extremely slim."

"Judging by the style of the Three Sect Lords' layout, it’s highly likely that there is a third Dao Gate, which requires mastering the *Five Elements Qi Regulation Art* to the peak of the ninth layer to open."

To say nothing of other aspects, Meng Chong’s cultivation was truly at the third layer of Qi Refining.

For him to open the second Dao Gate, he would need to cultivate to the peak of the sixth layer of Qi Refining. But up until now, he still hadn’t mastered the fourth to sixth layers of the Qi Refining technique.

Room No. 4, Room No. 5, Room No. 6…

The wooden giant puppet formed by the group, under Ning Zhuo's control, charged forward with unstoppable force.

"Brother Zhuo, charge! Break through all the way!"

"Brother Zhuo, you’re even stronger than before!"

"Yeah, I feel the same way."

Ning Yong and the others were ecstatic, being swept along by Ning Zhuo, shouting and cheering all the way.

At this moment, their mindset toward Ning Zhuo was different from before.

Ning Zhuo now controlled the black market, commanding with ease. Especially when the Foundation Establishment cultivators, who were like uncles to them, went to work in the black market and became Ning Zhuo's subordinates, this left a deep impression on Ning Chen, Ning Yong, and the others, shaking them to the core.

If they had previously been wholeheartedly convinced of Ning Zhuo’s abilities,

Now, they worshipped Ning Zhuo with complete admiration.

Ning Zhuo keenly sensed their change in attitude, all thanks to his ability to see the threads of life.

The life threads of these people appeared more resilient and solid than ever before.

"We’ve passed the eighth checkpoint!"

"Brother Zhuo’s strength has clearly increased. He’s like a completely different person!"

"Use my thigh, Brother Zhuo!"

"No, use my arm to beat the enemies. Brother Zhuo, I’m too idle!"

"The ninth checkpoint, the ninth checkpoint! Wow, this is my first time here. So, this is what it looks like."

Amidst the cheers of the group, Ning Zhuo broke through the ninth checkpoint and reached the transit hall.

"Roar!"

At the right time and place, the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, appeared.

After a brutal battle, the gigantic puppet collapsed, leaving only Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo returned to his individual form, quickly leading Yuan Dasheng forward.

He pushed open the second Dao Gate and entered, pleasantly surprised to discover that the Dao Gate checkpoint was indeed special!

Ning Zhuo was imparted with a spell called the *Five Elements Mutual Generation and Mutual Conquest Technique*.

The principle of this technique was quite simple: the mutual generation of the five elements (Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, and Water generates Wood), and the mutual conquest of the five elements (Wood conquers Earth, Earth conquers Water, Water conquers Fire, Fire conquers Metal, and Metal conquers Wood).

But using it was very complicated.

At its simplest, the spell could be divided into ten small techniques, corresponding to both the mutual generation and mutual conquest.

On this foundation, the spells could be linked together. For example, after Wood generates Fire, Fire then generates Earth, resulting in the Wood elemental energy ultimately transforming into Earth elemental energy.

It wasn’t just about generation, but also about the chain of conquest.

These spells combined to form a highly complex network of relationships.

Ning Zhuo gave it a simple try and quickly realized that this *Five Elements Mutual Generation and Mutual Conquest Technique* held extraordinary significance for the *Five Elements Qi Regulation Art*.

"Previously, when I wanted to use the *Ice Embracing Technique*, I had to extract the Water element from the Five Elements Mana first."

"But now, I can convert the other four elements into Water element mana."

"In this way, I will have pure Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water elemental mana at my disposal. This not only makes casting the *Ice Embracing Technique* easier but also ensures ample mana, making the spell more powerful!"

After acquiring the *Five Elements Mutual Generation and Mutual Conquest Technique*, Ning Zhuo faced another selection.

On the walls of the room, numerous palm-sized discs were hanging. Some were perfectly round, others oval, resembling formation discs.

Each formation disc had symbols of the five elements and intricately engraved formation lines.

"These mechanisms are called *Five Elements Spirit Transformation Discs*. I need to use the Five Elements Mana to unravel the locks on the formation discs before I can take them for my own use."

Clearly, the more complex the puzzle on the *Five Elements Spirit Transformation Disc*, the higher its difficulty and quality.

This encounter wasn’t as advantageous as it had been at the Buddhist Sect.

In the first checkpoint of the Buddhist Sect, he had taken out Yuan Dasheng’s corpse and obtained the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, reaping a huge benefit of celestial talent.

But in the special checkpoint of the second Dao Gate, he could only rely on his proficiency in the Five Elements spells to solve the puzzles and obtain a *Five Elements Spirit Transformation Disc*.

He was still too young and lacked time to practice spells. The reason he often shared insights on spellcasting with others was mostly due to the leaderboard rewards, which had allowed his spellcasting experience to accumulate unnaturally.

After a brief attempt, Ning Zhuo voluntarily exited the Dao Gate and entered the Buddhist Sect path, trying to pass the checkpoint.

His Qi Sea cultivation was elevated through his Divine Sea cultivation, having been directly boosted by the Ice Jade Wine.

Ning Zhuo was clear-headed, knowing that his greatest advantage still lay in his Divine Sea. Therefore, the Buddhist Sect path was the one most suitable for him to focus on.

However, the attempt still failed.

When his soul returned to his body, Ning Zhuo once again received the praise of the entire clan!

He broke through the ninth checkpoint

, entered the transit hall, and saw the Dao Gate. His achievements were the best in the Ning family, breaking his previous records.

Praises came from all directions, but Ning Zhuo remained calm.

On one hand, this was due to Sun Lingtong’s many years of teaching. On the other hand, Ning Zhuo was very clear about the situation.

With the recruitment order in place, the situation had become much more complicated than before!

Ning Zhuo needed to ensure that he maintained a dominant position in the soul-entering competition of the Immortal Palace, while also closely watching the competition of the body-entering route.

Zhu Xuanji was a standout in the latter competition.

This made Ning Zhuo feel pressured, but also fortunate that Zhu Xuanji had shifted his focus from investigating cases to the Immortal Palace.

In the arena of soul-entry into the Immortal Palace, Meng Chong, with his celestial talent, posed the greatest challenge to Ning Zhuo.

In his exploration of the Lava Immortal Palace, Ning Zhuo had also encountered a bottleneck, getting stuck at the first checkpoint of the second Buddhist Sect and Dao Gate.

What Ning Zhuo needed to do now was to advance his cultivation with all his might!

Based on his understanding of the Lava Immortal Palace, it was highly likely that a third Buddhist Sect, Dao Gate, and Demon Sect would appear next. When that time came, he would need the corresponding cultivation level to open the doors.

Ning Zhuo wasn’t like Meng Chong or Ning Xiaohui, who had their family backing them. They only needed to focus on one thing.

Ning Zhuo had to navigate between the major forces, seizing every opportunity to carve out space for his development, and do his utmost to absorb external resources.

For instance, the Ice Jade Wine was something Ning Zhuo urgently needed.

With it, Ning Zhuo saved himself several months of hard work, allowing his Qi Sea cultivation to soar directly to the peak of the sixth layer!

Ning Zhuo’s exploration of the Lava Immortal Palace once again bore fruit!

When Ning Xiaohui heard the news, her face turned somewhat pale.

Recently, Ning Zhuo had absolutely been the most prominent figure in the Ning family! He pulled down the young clan leader, Ning Xiaoren, and in no time, unified the black market, becoming its new master.

Then, Ning Zhuo rallied most of the renovation team members and once again succeeded in his exploration, reaching the transit hall.

Ning Xiaohui felt enormous pressure!

Every time Ning Zhuo made progress in the Immortal Palace, Ning Xiaohui felt like an invisible hand was slapping her face, filling her with shame and frustration.

Ning Xiaohui knew well that she bore the dignity of the main bloodline!

"I must explore the Immortal Palace and surpass Ning Zhuo's achievements to prove myself!"

"I’m exploring alone, so that Mechanical Ape shouldn’t find me so quickly, right?"

"Lava Immortal Palace, here I come!"

Ning Xiaohui opened her eyes and, in puppet form, pushed open the first door.

Yuan Dasheng had long been waiting, grinning menacingly at Ning Xiaohui.

Ning Xiaohui felt like she had fallen into an icy abyss.

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