Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

The messenger from the Ning Family Patriarch came looking for Ning Xiaohui.

Ning Xiaohui did not look pleased. She had been immersed in her cultivation, only to be interrupted by an outsider.

“You’d better have something important, or else…” Ning Xiaohui looked at the messenger with a dangerous gaze.

Her cultivation was stuck at the third layer of Qi Refining, but she possessed the innate talent of Ice Jade Hand. The latter was her primary focus in cultivation.

Not long ago, she had participated in the forging of the Zheng Family’s mechanical Black Snake weapon, gaining significant insights, especially in understanding the profound meaning of Ice Jade Hand.

The Zheng Family’s mechanical weapon was too vicious, full of killing intent.

Ning Xiaohui used her innate talent to help the weapon survive in a perilous situation.

This forging process had greatly impacted her, and on the night she returned, she discovered that her innate talent had advanced significantly, allowing her to repair items of Golden Core grade!

Before, when her soul entered the Immortal Palace, she could also use her innate talent to repair puppet bodies, but the grade of the items she could repair wasn’t high.

This time, she found that even Golden Core-level items could be somewhat repaired by her.

When Ning Xiaohui used her Ice Jade Hand, she could freeze damaged items into ice blocks.

After the ice melted, the damaged items would often mend the missing parts. For example, cracks would seal up, or wounds and defects would grow and heal like a tree.

The messenger waited for a long time before finally seeing Ning Xiaohui. He first brought her good news, then handed her a jade slip.

The jade slip contained the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, from the fourth to the sixth layers.

“Good, good, good! With this, I can finally advance to the mid-stage of Qi Refining.”

“I will have more mana and be able to use my innate talent more often.”

“Wait.” Suddenly, Ning Xiaohui’s expression changed slightly, realizing a certain possibility, and she asked, “How did you get this? After I left, did the joint action of the three families succeed in defeating the Mechanical Ape?”

The messenger knew the details and had initially wanted to hide them, but since Ning Xiaohui directly asked, he had no choice but to reveal the truth.

When Ning Xiaohui learned that Ning Zhuo was the one who passed the trial and obtained the subsequent cultivation technique, her brows furrowed deeply.

“Him?!”

Ning Xiaohui’s mouth twitched, still in disbelief. “How could it be Ning Zhuo? How could he have such strength?”

Messenger: “He truly does…”

“In this exploration of the Immortal Palace, Ning Zhuo led the charge on his own, displaying a multitude of spells.”

“He led his trusted followers, breaking through one after another.”

“The auxiliary team followed closely behind him, only playing a minor cannon-fodder role when it came to fighting the Mechanical Ape.”

“Ning Zhuo ultimately repelled the Mechanical Ape and reached the second Dao Gate, obtaining the subsequent cultivation technique.”

“You should know, just recently, the City Lord’s Mansion leaked information that Meng Chong and others had been cultivating the fourth to sixth layer techniques.”

“This means that our Ning Family’s auxiliary team has already caught up to the City Lord’s Mansion!”

“Uh…”

The messenger, brimming with family pride, spoke more and more excitedly, not noticing that the dark cloud on Ning Xiaohui’s face was growing heavier.

Sensing Ning Xiaohui’s cold gaze, the messenger immediately shut his mouth.

Ning Xiaohui’s fingers, clutching the jade slip of the cultivation technique, had turned white from the force of her grip.

“Good, good, good.” Ning Xiaohui gritted her teeth and spat out these three words.

For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

It was because of Ning Zhuo that she was forced to leave the auxiliary team and take the path of entering the Immortal Palace with her soul.

Since leaving, she had been progressing smoothly, developing at a great pace, even participating in the forging of Golden Core-level items.

But Ning Xiaohui was inherently proud, and as a member of the main family branch, being driven away by a side branch was something she could not accept.

She hated Ning Zhuo deeply, vowing revenge.

It was as if she had become a different person after leaving the auxiliary team, cutting off all distractions and leisure, focusing every second on cultivation.

Whenever she was exhausted to the point of collapse, she would think of Ning Zhuo’s image, instantly fueling her with an overwhelming drive.

Her cultivation was borderline insane, even her grandmother could no longer bear to watch and forcibly interrupted her multiple times, ordering Ning Xiaohui to rest.

Ning Xiaohui’s plan was simple: train her innate talent like crazy, preparing to reclaim her place in the future. But now, upon hearing of Ning Zhuo’s great success!

Ning Xiaohui was shocked.

She had never imagined that Ning Zhuo would one day catch up to Meng Chong. Meng Chong was someone with celestial talent!

But the facts were right in front of her.

“Perhaps, in this lifetime, I may never catch up to Ning Zhuo?”

Suddenly, she fully realized that in terms of mechanical techniques, there was a chasm between her and Ning Zhuo.

The gap was so large that no matter how hard she worked for the rest of her life, she might not be able to close it!

Ning Xiaohui had always been extremely proud, taking great pride in her identity as a member of the main branch. But now, she recognized that she might never surpass Ning Zhuo, a member of the side branch.

This realization brought her immense pain and frustration!

The jade slip holding the cultivation technique was cold, but Ning Xiaohui found it unbearably hot.

She wanted to throw it down, smash it to the ground, and shout proudly, “This was earned by Ning Zhuo, I don’t need it! When I cultivate the subsequent techniques in the future, I will earn them myself!”

But she couldn’t do that.

Since she had chosen the path of entering the Immortal Palace with her soul, she had discovered many new opportunities and realized that to obtain the subsequent techniques, she would likely have to start from the trial checkpoints.

She no longer had the face to enter the Immortal Palace with her soul again.

Once discovered, she would surely be ostracized, subjected to mocking ridicule.

The exclusion would be one thing, but just the thought of being ridiculed and sneered at by the other trial disciples made Ning Xiaohui lose the courage to enter the Immortal Palace again—this feeling was worse than death for her!

She couldn’t bear it.

“So, to seek the subsequent techniques now, it seems I’ll have to rely on Ning Zhuo.”

“Damn it, damn it!”

Knowing shame, Ning Xiaohui was spurred on. She wanted to become stronger, desperately wanted to become stronger.

But to grow stronger, she would have to cultivate the subsequent techniques that Ning Zhuo had earned.

This made Ning Xiaohui feel as if she had swallowed a fly—extremely uncomfortable and awkward.

The messenger, observing her expression twist, quickly tried to soothe her, informing her that the subsequent cultivation technique had already been bought by the Ning Family Patriarch.

“What?!” Ning Xiaohui was stunned.

Suddenly, she felt much better!

She snorted coldly, dismissively, “That Ning Zhuo lacks any sense of the bigger picture, utterly selfish.”

“He’s a member of the Ning Family, sheltered by the family from a young age, yet the moment he achieves something, he holds the family hostage?”

“Where is his loyalty?”

“He dares to openly trade such things with the family?”

“What does he take the family for? A complete ingrate!”

In her whole life, Ning Xiaohui had never seen such behavior from a side branch of the family!

Ning Zhuo’s actions deeply disgusted and repulsed her.

The messenger, bracing himself, continued, “The jade slip with the cultivation technique has already been delivered. There’s also another important matter regarding the Flowing Cloud Talisman.”

“I have been ordered by the Patriarch to retrieve the talisman from you.”

Ning Xiaohui was stunned. “What?”

“This won’t do.” She instinctively opposed.

She had always kept the Flowing Cloud Talisman close to her, using her innate talent and mana daily to warm and refine it.

Suddenly being told the family wanted to take the Flowing Cloud Talisman back, Ning Xiaohui was completely unprepared.

She felt puzzled, “Why? I just received the subsequent technique, and I’m about to start intense practice—I need the Flowing Cloud Talisman.”

The messenger hesitated.

Ning Xiaohui, being clever, quickly guessed a possibility, her face showing a hint of anger. “What does this mean?”

“Could it be that you want to give the Flowing Cloud Talisman to Ning Zhuo?”

“Exactly!” The messenger sighed, his face full of bitterness, “This is part of the deal between Ning Zhuo and the Patriarch.”

“Insolent!”

“How dare a member of the side branch make such demands, outrageous!”

“And the Patriarch relented to this extent? So weak? Letting a mere side branch member trample all over him?”

Ning Xiaohui shrieked in fury.

“The Flowing Cloud Talisman is imbued with spirituality, it is a precious family treasure. How can it not be used by the main branch first, but instead given to the side branch?”

“This is a complete reversal of order!”

“Who is truly in charge of the Ning Family?”

Ning Xiaohui’s face turned ashen, shouting in anger.

The messenger

lowered his head, taking the scolding without resistance, as he had expected Ning Xiaohui’s reaction.

Ning Xiaohui cursed Ning Zhuo furiously for a long time, until she was exhausted and panting.

The messenger seized the opportunity to explain. He was just a minor figure, and this order was made by the Patriarch. He begged Ning Xiaohui not to make things difficult for him.

Ning Xiaohui snorted coldly, “Just wait, I’m going to find my grandmother and talk to her about this!”

In the end, when Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother heard about this matter, she instead advised Ning Xiaohui.

“Ning Zhuo is not someone to be trifled with.”

“He’s very capable, with experts from the side branch guiding him. Even Ning Xiaoren, the young family head, was pulled down by him.”

“Now, he controls the black market, with many Foundation Establishment elites under his command, and the entire side branch stands behind him.”

“He also has close ties with the Zhou and Zheng Families.”

“Most importantly, he has caught the eye of our family’s Golden Core Ancestor. The Ancestor has publicly stated that Ning Zhuo has contributed to the Ning Family!”

“Xiaohui, a gentleman takes revenge after ten years.”

“For now, Ning Zhuo is riding high—we must not confront him head-on. Wait until his momentum wanes, and then take your revenge. It won’t be too late.”

“To lose patience over something small would ruin the bigger plan. Just bear with it for now, it’s no big deal.”

Ning Xiaohui pouted, clinging to her grandmother’s arm, repeatedly acting spoiled.

But this time, her grandmother was determined. “Xiaohui, how do you compare to Ning Xiaoren?”

“If you deal with him at this juncture, it’s very likely you will end up imprisoned too!”

Ning Xiaohui’s face turned pale. “Grandmother, with you protecting me, how could I…”

Her grandmother interrupted her directly, “I’m just a family elder. Look at the Patriarch, his position is much higher and more important than mine. In the end, did he manage to protect his own son?”

Ning Xiaohui’s lips trembled, unable to respond for a long time.

In the end, with a pale face, she handed the Flowing Cloud Talisman to the messenger.

The messenger, having obtained the talisman, quickly took his leave, not daring to stay long.

Ning Xiaohui stared bitterly at the messenger’s departing figure, nearly grinding her teeth to pieces.

“Ning Zhuo!”

“The shame of today, I will repay a hundredfold!”

“Hmph, your good days won’t last long either.”

“I’ve already realized that entering the Immortal Palace is the key. Once I accumulate enough contributions, I’ll be able to exchange for a position in the Immortal Palace.”

“The highest position should be that of the Palace Lord.”

“I possess the innate talent of Ice Jade Hand, and I am close to accumulating enough to exchange for the position of Physician.”

“With the position of Physician, my accumulation of contributions will speed up by more than five times, and from then on, my progress will be rapid.”

“My future cultivation, contributions, and position will all crush you!”

“I’ve remembered every score between us.”

“One day, I will settle everything with you!”

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