Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

At this point, the Golden Core cultivators from the three families fully understood the deeper meaning behind Zhu Xuanji’s every action.

Zhu Xuanji had done this deliberately. He wanted the City Lord’s Mansion to know that Ning Zhuo had been exposed!

By seizing this clue, Zhu Xuanji essentially caught hold of the City Lord’s Mansion’s weakness, forcing them to eliminate Ning Zhuo, thereby exposing a larger flaw.

“I have a question,” Zheng Shuanggou said. “If I were Fei Si and the first attack on Ning Zhuo failed, I would certainly attempt a second one.”

“Why leave Ning Zhuo alive until now?”

Zhu Xuanji explained, “Based on my current investigation, after Ning Zhuo was attacked, his residence was destroyed, and he took the opportunity to move into the Ning family’s ancestral grounds.”

Zhou Nongying chimed in, “Our three families’ genius cultivators were all attacked. I remember that we proactively invited Lord Zhu to conduct this investigation.”

“It must have been at that time that the City Lord’s Mansion feared Lord Zhu’s abilities and thought the situation was too dangerous, so they temporarily withdrew. This is quite normal.”

Zhu Xuanji continued, “Indeed, I collected various clues, but they were all similar to the situation when I investigated the Mechanical Explosive Monkeys. They were all meant to confuse my perception and distract my attention.”

“Therefore, after that, I didn’t continue following these clues but instead devised a list of people to investigate, checking each one.”

“Ning Zhuo gradually emerged as a more outstanding figure. The City Lord’s Mansion found it more difficult to move against him than before. Also, hiding their true purpose, they couldn’t only assassinate him. Otherwise, it would be too easy for me to trace it back to them.”

“However, looking back now, there may be another reason.”

“Ning Zhuo is adept at maneuvering and has been actively approaching Fei Si. He has demonstrated his talents, but his position is unfavorable, as he’s ostracized by the main branch of the Ning family. His status is actually quite valuable for being pulled in.”

“Perhaps Fei Si from the City Lord’s Mansion saw this in him.”

“He might have also thought that since my focus was on investigating the list, I had strayed far from their vital area, so there was no rush to act. Instead, they probably viewed Ning Zhuo as a pawn they could cultivate.”

“Ning Zhuo is just a minor figure. He is not the main target; he is merely being used.”

“The key now is that I’ve discovered the suspicion surrounding him and have grasped the City Lord’s Mansion’s tail. If the City Lord’s Mansion insists on assassinating Ning Zhuo, they will reveal a flaw, and for us, that will be a perfect opportunity.”

“That’s also why I called you all together.”

“The last time, we explored the royal court of the Fire Fusion Demon Ape beneath Mount Huoshi together.”

“This time, let us deal with the City Lord’s Mansion together!”

The Golden Core cultivators of the three families all had a gleam in their eyes, feeling a surge of excitement.

“Indeed, this is a great opportunity!” Zheng Jianlian nodded first.

Zheng Shuanggou clenched his fists and said, “Yes, yes.”

He was the most excited among everyone present.

“Once the Meng family makes a grave mistake, Lord Zhu will have a legitimate reason to request the power of the Southern Dou royal family to suppress the situation.”

“We might not even need to mobilize the royal family’s power. Meng Kui himself, with irrefutable evidence, will surrender unless he wants to rebel!”

The real crime of the Meng family was not killing Yuan Dasheng or taking the Demonic Sect’s True Scripture, but using Ning Zhuo to blow up the Immortal Palace!

For the sake of their own interests, the Meng family put the tens of thousands of citizens of Huoshi Immortal City in danger.

At the same time, they fabricated a Shadow Demon Cultivator to attack the Lava Immortal Palace. Their ambitions were too great, intending to raise enemies to enhance their power.

Such crimes utterly crossed the line.

Zheng Shuanggou then declared that he would follow Lord Zhu and take action against the City Lord’s Mansion.

Zheng Shuanggou was extremely angry.

He realized he had been kept in the dark. His battle against the Shadow Demon Cultivators had been entirely part of the City Lord’s Mansion’s plot.

The two Golden Core cultivators from the Zhou family exchanged secret sound transmissions, discussing for a while.

They both agreed that this was indeed an excellent opportunity. If they could bring down the Meng family, Zhu Xuanji could draw on royal power to settle the situation and immediately become the ruler of the Lava Immortal Palace.

“The Meng family broke the rules for their own expansion. Fortunately, Lord Zhu saw through everything and gathered enough evidence to expose the truth to the world.”

“At that time, we will have the moral high ground and gain widespread support throughout the Southern Dou Kingdom. Even other families will join forces with the royal family to deal with the Meng family. And even if they don’t, they will stand aside.”

Public opinion is a great force.

Once the Meng family’s crimes are exposed, the royal family can raise a great force.

Under the pressure of such a force, the Meng family will be unable to resist!

“If this happens, the massive Meng family will be severely weakened by us.” Zhu Xuanji was filled with anticipation.

Weakening and attacking these powerful cultivation families had always been his political ambition!

This filled him with great motivation for the coming actions.

Seeing the Zhou and Zheng families express their stance, Ning Jiufan finally spoke slowly.

“Many of my Ning family members, including Ning Zhanji, were killed by the Shadow Demon Cultivators.”

“And the Shadow Demon Cultivators are from the City Lord’s Mansion. My Ning family and the City Lord’s Mansion have long been enemies!”

“Fei Si secretly attempted to win over Ning Zhuo, trying to undermine my Ning family. This is utterly intolerable.”

“I am willing to fully assist Lord Zhu.”

Ning Jiufan harbored deep hostility toward Meng Kui.

Meng Kui’s incident with the outer-core peach pits had once shattered his head, leaving him with a scar that he would lick for life.

Just after Ning Jiufan expressed his stance, a subordinate reported from outside that Ning Zhuo had sent a jade slip with a letter.

Ning Zhuo was the most critical person at the moment, so Ning Jiufan immediately had the jade slip brought in.

He infused his spiritual sense into the jade slip and immediately discovered it was a confession.

In the letter, Ning Zhuo vaguely stated that he had always maintained close, secret contact with Fei Si, with considerable interest exchange between them.

Ning Zhuo also confessed that he had long been worried about the hidden dangers of his actions.

Recently, when Lord Zhu Xuanji suddenly came to investigate, it made him fully realize the severity of the situation.

But many things he couldn’t say directly, so he sought advice from the Ning family’s Golden Core Ancestor on how to proceed.

Besides, Ning Zhuo also inquired about the Demonic True Scripture.

Lord Zhu Xuanji had specifically asked about the Demonic True Scripture, indicating its great importance. Ning Zhuo brought it up, hoping it might help Ning Jiufan in some way.

At the end of the letter, Ning Zhuo pleaded desperately, hoping the Ning family’s Golden Core Ancestor would come to his aid and save him.

“Rather than a confession letter, this is more like a plea for help!”

“Hmph, this brat, why didn’t he come sooner?”

“On ordinary days, he is bold and reckless, always doing unlawful things. Now that things have gone wrong, he can’t handle it on his own and comes looking for his elders.”

After reading the contents of the jade slip, Ning Jiufan cursed a few times before handing it over to Zhu Xuanji.

Zhu Xuanji glanced at it briefly before tossing it back.

Ning Jiufan then passed the jade slip to the others for them to review.

Taking the opportunity, Ning Jiufan said, “Ning Zhuo is one of my Ning family members and one of the most outstanding among the younger generation.”

“Although his talent has not been tested yet, even if he has the lowest talent, it can’t negate his genius.”

Ning Jiufan’s words drew no disagreement.

All the Golden Core cultivators present acknowledged Ning Zhuo’s abilities, believing that this young man had limitless potential, was highly capable, ambitious, and proactive. What he currently lacked was just cultivation.

Ning Jiufan continued, “This time, we will use Ning Zhuo as bait, luring the City Lord’s Mansion into taking a desperate risk. In the face of the City Lord’s Mansion’s assassination attempts, Ning Zhuo’s situation is extremely dangerous.”

“I ask you all not to be stingy with your treasures, to support and protect his life.”

“A genius like him, in any family, would be a treasure and the future of the family.”

“As the Ning family’s Golden Core Ancestor, I don’t want Ning Zhuo to lose his life because of our plan.”

The Golden Core cultivators exchanged glances and then turned their gaze to Zhu Xuanji.

Zhu Xuanji remained silent.

Zhou Nongying suddenly said, “Brother Ning, we all have treasures, but using them to protect Ning Zhuo might be inappropriate.”

“Our biggest advantage right now is that the City Lord’s Mansion doesn’t know how much evidence we have against them.”

“This is a deception tactic to force them into a desperate move.”

“Ning Zhuo is unaware of our plan. The more anxious, paranoid, and desperate

he behaves, even reaching out to Fei Si for help, the better for our actions.”

“If we were to heavily protect him and let him know the details, a young man like him, only sixteen years old, would inevitably show many flaws.”

“Chi Dun can be dealt with, but Fei Si is extremely cunning. He could detect the trap we set just by observing the smallest flaw in Ning Zhuo’s behavior.”

“Facing an opponent like this, we must go all out, so…”

Before Zhou Nongying could finish, Ning Jiufan interrupted with a cold laugh.

“Ning Zhuo is not from your Zhou family. Sacrificing a genius from another family benefits you all.”

Zhou Nongying quickly retorted, “Even if it were someone from my Zhou family with better talent than Ning Zhuo, I would make the same arrangements.”

“In the end, this kid has committed crimes!”

“If it weren’t for him inventing the Mechanical Explosive Monkeys and actively cooperating with the City Lord’s Mansion, would the Immortal Palace have been blown up? Would things have escalated to this point?”

Ning Jiufan shouted coldly, “Even without Ning Zhuo, wouldn’t the City Lord’s Mansion find other means to blow up the Immortal Palace?”

“Ning Zhuo is simply too young, a branch member, a marginal figure who has no choice but to scheme and seize resources to boost his cultivation and become stronger.”

“This doesn’t make him morally corrupt, nor is it a crime. He just wants to improve too much.”

“At our age, weren’t we the same? The only difference is that Ning Zhuo was used by bad people, making him innocent.”

Zhou Nongying sneered, pointing at the jade slip Ning Zhuo had just sent, “In this letter, Ning Zhuo has already confessed his guilt, admitting that he long anticipated things would turn out badly and has been under immense psychological pressure.”

“He should have reported this to you, the Ning family’s Golden Core Ancestor, long ago, but he didn’t.”

“He harbored a strong sense of luck.”

“He knew very well he might be aiding the villains, might be an accomplice, but he still wanted to hide it.”

“Isn’t that guilty behavior?”

Ning Jiufan was about to respond when a subordinate arrived with another jade slip.

This jade slip, however, was not from Ning Zhuo but from Ning Xiaohui.

In fact, Ning Xiaohui was reporting good news to her grandmother. Her grandmother, being part of the main branch, immediately reported the situation to the Ning family patriarch.

During this time, the main branch of the Ning family had been completely suppressed by Ning Zhuo, feeling extremely stifled.

Ning Xiaohui obtaining the position of a doctor and achieving such significant progress and accomplishments was a victory and good news eagerly awaited by the entire main branch of the Ning family.

When the Ning family patriarch received this news, he laughed heartily, sweeping away the usual gloom.

After pacing a few circles in his study, he immediately decided to record the information in a jade slip and hand it over to the Ning family’s Golden Core Ancestor, hoping to earn some favor for the main branch in his eyes.

The intricacies of these matters were not of interest to the Ning family’s Golden Core Ancestor.

He infused his spiritual sense into the jade slip, examined it, and his brows lifted slightly, revealing a hint of joy.

“Ning Xiaohui is a good child,” Ning Jiufan stroked his beard and said.

He handed the jade slip to Zhu Xuanji: “Lord Zhu, this time, it’s completely good news.”

After infusing his spiritual sense, Zhu Xuanji’s eyes gleamed with excitement, and he said, “Good, good, good!”

“Today is truly a day of double blessings.”

“Ning Xiaohui holds the identity of a trial disciple, an advantage none of us have.”

“She has obtained the position of doctor, which none of us outsiders could achieve, no matter how many merits we earn.”

“Wait.”

“This History Pavilion is of great importance. It should record all the major events since the construction of the Lava Immortal Palace.”

“A valuable thing!”

“Quickly encourage Ning Xiaohui to accumulate merits and strive to be promoted to the head of the History Pavilion as soon as possible!”

“The scene of the Lava Immortal Palace’s explosion must be recorded in the History Pavilion, serving as the most solid piece of evidence.”

Zhou Nongying frowned, “Even if the History Pavilion recorded the scene of the Shadow Demon Cultivator blowing up the Immortal Palace, we still can’t use this as evidence to bring down the Meng family.”

“Because, on the surface, the Meng family has no connection to the Shadow Demon Cultivators.”

Zhu Xuanji nodded, “That’s why we also need to work on the Ning Zhuo angle. Only by pursuing both leads can we achieve results.”

With that, Zhu Xuanji turned his gaze toward Ning Jiufan.

He sincerely said, “Brother Ning.”

“I’ve laid all my plans before you.”

“Ning Zhuo is a member of your Ning family, so, out of respect for you, I personally went to see him and refrained from using any harsh interrogation methods, let alone soul-searching techniques.”

“That’s my sincerity!”

“How could I, Zhu Xuanji, treat a hero unfairly?”

As a member of the Detective Division, Zhu Xuanji had countless interrogation methods at his disposal.

But as a member of the royal family, he knew very well that using such methods would be disastrous.

In the current situation, with Zhu Xuanji alone in Huoshi Immortal City, facing Meng Kui, the City Lord, he needed to unite the strength of the three families. Otherwise, he would be fighting alone, like clapping with one hand.

The previous battle with the Fire Fusion Demon Ape was a successful operation.

Zhu Xuanji had led by example, bravely taking responsibility, earning the trust and respect of the three Golden Core families.

If, because of the Demonic True Scripture, he disregarded their alliance and Ning Jiufan’s feelings and took harsh actions against Ning Zhuo, it would be akin to killing the donkey after the grinding is done, and he would quickly lose the loyalty of others.

Especially since Ning Jiufan had been the greatest contributor during the volcanic expedition!

If Zhu Xuanji praised Ning Jiufan one moment and acknowledged his contributions, only to turn around and attack his family members the next, who would believe his praise and promises?

Using soul-searching and torture right off the bat was not Zhu Xuanji’s style either.

Hearing Zhu Xuanji’s words, Ning Jiufan lowered his head slightly, pondering for a moment before finally saying, “Lord Zhu, I trust you.”

Zhu Xuanji said, “Let Ning Zhuo atone for his sins.”

“The situation has reached this point. He’s already a pawn crossing the river. Even if we don’t discover the clues related to the True Scripture, his current situation is still dangerous.”

“To be honest, I have high hopes for this young fellow.”

“As the saying goes, ‘A jade not polished won’t become a gem.’ Let him undergo some tempering—it will only do him good.”

“I can assure you that within three days, I will disguise myself and stay by Ning Zhuo’s side.”

“If the City Lord’s Mansion makes a move, even if the Shadow Demon Cultivator personally comes, I will do everything in my power to protect Ning Zhuo’s life.”

After finishing, Zhu Xuanji said no more and simply looked at Ning Jiufan.

The hall fell into silence.

The four Golden Core cultivators from the other two families also turned their gazes toward Ning Jiufan, silently applying pressure.

Ning Jiufan’s expression was heavy. He looked at the jade slip in his hand—Ning Zhuo’s confession letter.

Then, he looked at the jade slip in Zhu Xuanji’s hand—Ning Xiaohui’s victory news.

One was from the branch family, the other from the main family.

At that moment, Ning Jiufan’s heart was touched. In a daze, he realized that he seemed to be facing some kind of fateful decision.

He had never met Ning Zhuo, but he had met Ning Xiaohui.

And in his mind, the dying words of an old friend resurfaced—entrusting him to take care of his descendants.

Ning Jiufan sighed deeply and made his decision: “Very well, we will proceed as you say.”

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