: Racing Against Time

2025-01-15 Author: Gu Zhenren

Four guards accompanied Ning Zhuo.

Among them were two at the Qi Refining stage and two at the Foundation Establishment stage, all dispatched by the Ning family to serve by Ning Zhuo's side.

Ning Zhuo was now of great importance, providing significant assistance to the Ning family's exploration of the Lava Fairy Palace. The level of importance the Ning family placed on him was evident from the presence of these four guards.

Leaving the family's residence, Ning Zhuo did not immediately return to his own home.

Instead, he visited several shops, purchasing many special bricks, formation disks, and other materials needed for setting up formations.

The four guards observed this and communicated silently among themselves.

"Ning Zhuo is planning to build his own cultivation chamber."

"Such a chamber offers good protection and can block spiritual sense. How will we monitor him in the future? Using magical tools would be too conspicuous."

"Let’s report this to the young clan leader."

"Still, you have to admit, this kid is quite wealthy."

"He’s currently the young clan leader’s favorite and receives resources from the three families’ alliance. Naturally, he has ample funds."

After completing his purchases, Ning Zhuo spared no expense and hired a formation master to set up the chamber.

He left the residence in the morning, and by the afternoon, a newly constructed small partition had been set up in his bedroom.

The partition was entirely built of stone bricks, with a stone door that could slide open and closed through the infusion of magical power and spiritual sense control.

However, the formation had not yet been fully laid, so the small partition offered little defensive capability.

The two Qi Refining stage guards patrolled the outer areas, continuously circling the courtyard and its surroundings.

The two Foundation Establishment cultivators, one concealed and the other stationed at the back door of Ning Zhuo’s room, rested with their eyes closed.

As night deepened, Ning Zhuo opened his eyes, quietly got up, activated the switch, and entered the underground workshop.

"He’s still young, after all," one of the Foundation Establishment cultivators slowly opened his eyes, revealing a knowing smile.

Ning Zhuo scanned the workshop, his expression tense. He first checked several spots to see if anything had changed.

These were detection measures he had set up; if anyone else had entered, changes would likely have occurred.

None of them showed any alterations.

Under the spiritual sense surveillance of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, Ning Zhuo let out a sigh of relief, his brows relaxing as he visibly relaxed.

He wandered around the room, touching one thing and then another, as if he had returned to his own nest, exuding a sense of safety and comfort from within.

He sat down in a chair, stretched, and let out a big yawn.

After resting for a short while, he slowly stood up.

He took out a meditation mat from his storage bag and placed it in the center of the room.

After sitting cross-legged, he pulled out several bottles of elixirs and arranged them in front of him.

Both the meditation mat and the elixirs aroused envy in the two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Ning Zhuo was only at the Qi Refining stage, but as the top performer in the three families’ joint cultivation team, he received a massive allocation of resources!

Before starting his cultivation, Ning Zhuo thought for a moment and took out a handkerchief from his chest.

The handkerchief was as white as snow, soft in texture, and bore no patterns.

Ning Zhuo infused it with magical power.

Wisps of white clouds gradually emerged from the handkerchief, swirling around Ning Zhuo.

The clouds piled up, gradually enveloping him completely.

The two Foundation Establishment cultivators frowned simultaneously.

They communicated silently: "Isn’t that the Floating Cloud Handkerchief?"

"Exactly, this magical tool is commonly produced in the Feiyun Kingdom."

"How does Ning Zhuo have it?"

"Hmm, it might be an heirloom from his mother. Remember? The records say Ning Zhuo’s mother, Meng Yaoyin, was from the Feiyun Kingdom."

"Oh, I remember now! That must be it. But what do we do now? We can’t monitor his cultivation."

"Floating clouds obscure the view—the Floating Cloud Handkerchief’s concealment ability is strong. If it weren’t, it wouldn’t be so renowned."

"It doesn’t matter. Our main task is to ensure Ning Zhuo’s safety; surveillance isn’t the priority. Still, we’ll report this tomorrow morning."

Ning Zhuo had planned this in advance, considering various scenarios.

As the two Foundation Establishment cultivators guessed, the Floating Cloud Handkerchief was indeed an heirloom from his mother.

Using this magical tool, the floating clouds it produced would provide excellent concealment.

With these clouds shielding him, the details of his cultivation would be difficult to detect.

Even if someone with special sight tried to spy, it would cause the clouds to dissipate rapidly, giving Ning Zhuo ample warning and time to adjust.

Of course, risks still remained.

The world of cultivation was full of endless methods, talents, and spells—it was possible that some technique could pierce through the clouds and observe Ning Zhuo’s true situation without triggering any changes in the clouds.

Ning Zhuo had considered this possibility.

But as the saying went—he had no other choice. He had already done his best.

The four major forces were well-established, and the overall progress of the cultivation team was rapid. Ning Zhuo’s previous obstruction measures were bound to fail.

Zhu Xuanji’s continuous investigations also added immense pressure.

Ning Zhuo had to race against time!

A long defense would inevitably fail.

Even the anti-investigation防线 he had carefully built over more than a decade would eventually collapse.

He had to seize the Lava Fairy Palace before anyone else!

Therefore, taking risks in such areas was necessary.

The Demon Blood Tendon Technique refined his essence blood.

The Five Elements Rhythm Art circulated his magical power.

The Mirror Platform Spirit Forging Art tempered his spiritual sense.

He practiced these three techniques in rotation, consuming various expensive and rare elixirs one after another. Even the meditation mat he sat on was an auxiliary cultivation tool provided by the three families’ alliance, boosting his cultivation speed.

Progress in all three techniques was visibly rapid.

"The cultivation techniques are fine."

"But I can’t practice spells here, and the same goes for the newly acquired embryonic supernatural power."

The thought of the Lifeline Thread embryonic supernatural power made Ning Zhuo itch to try it out, but under the circumstances, he could only restrain himself.

At the summit of Huoshi Mountain, amidst the rolling clouds, Meng Chong was also cultivating.

He hovered in the air, eyes closed, still unconscious.

Meng Kui, the current city lord of Huoshi Immortal City, floated above Meng Chong, placing a hand over his grandson’s head.

He channeled his magical power and essence, transferring them into Meng Chong.

As Meng Chong was his biological grandson, sharing the same bloodline, a portion of Meng Kui’s essence blood could be naturally absorbed by Meng Chong.

Meng Chong benefited visibly—his sunken eye sockets and protruding cheekbones gradually returned to normal at a noticeable pace.

Meng Kui, however, clearly weakened.

Although he was at the Nascent Soul stage, he was a spell cultivator and had not focused much on physical cultivation.

Of course, even without specializing in physical training, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator’s physical foundation surpassed that of most Golden Core stage body cultivators.

The key issue was the excessive loss.

The essence blood Meng Kui provided underwent multiple purifications, with only a tiny portion being absorbed by Meng Chong. Although the loss was staggering, the benefit was that Meng Chong’s essence blood remained pure, free from any foreign impurities.

Meng Kui had not wanted to do this, but he had no choice.

He knew that the three families’ alliance had made significant progress in exploring the Lava Fairy Palace.

Meanwhile, Meng Chong was still stuck in the third room and remained unconscious.

Thus, he had to intervene.

"Meng Chong, my grandson, you are destined to be the new master of the Lava Fairy Palace. Awaken quickly!" Meng Kui transmitted his voice.

Meng Chong slowly opened his eyes: "Grandfather, I…"

Meng Kui transmitted his voice again, instructing him to rest and recover actively.

Cultivators had three treasures: essence, energy, and spirit.

Meng Kui continued until he had fully replenished Meng Chong’s essence before stopping.

His face had turned slightly pale, and his eyes dimmed somewhat.

Once free, Meng Chong recounted his experience in the third room.

Meng Kui, who had no reason to suspect that the Golden Blood War Ape·Dasheng was a setup by a competitor, stroked his beard in thought before saying, "Your martial skills are far inferior to those of the mechanical ape. Even with special training, it would take too much time."

"Your time is precious; you must seize the initiative!"

"I have a method to quickly close the gap, but it will be painful."

Meng Chong was overjoyed and quickly said, "Grandfather, your grandson doesn’t know the meaning of pain! What method is it?"

"Lightning strikes," Meng Kui said.

Meng Chong blinked: "What am I striking?"

Meng Kui shook his head: "You will be struck."

"Ah?"

Before Meng Chong could say more, a thunderclap echoed, and a flash of blue light lit up within the clouds.

Meng Chong was struck hard, frozen in place. His entire body was charred black, his hair standing on end, with wisps of black smoke rising from him.

Boom...

Claps of thunder reverberated continuously through the clouds.

Meng Chong gritted his teeth, enduring the strikes, his mind replaying the image of the Golden Blood War Ape·Dasheng: "I will succeed! I will reclaim my dignity!"

Ning Residence.

Ning Xiaohui was also undergoing special training.

She stretched out her hands and plunged them into a basin of ice.

Instantly, an extreme cold pierced her to the core, leaving her face pale and her body shivering uncontrollably.

"Hold on, Xiaohui," Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother said sternly, encouraging her from the side.

"Your innate talent, the Ice Jade Hands, is the best way to suppress that Ning Zhuo."

"Ning Zhuo’s talent hasn’t been tested yet, and even if it is, there may not be mature methods to further develop it."

"You are different. Your Ice Jade Hands have appeared multiple times in our family."

"This is the advantage of a family."

"We share the same bloodline, cultivate similar techniques, and consume similar resources."

"There are many cultivation methods for the Ice Jade Hands, all gradually developed by our ancestors over generations."

Ning Xiaohui said with determination, "I understand, Grandmother. The Ice Jade Hands have always been my greatest advantage."

"Once this special training is complete, what does that insignificant Ning Zhuo matter?"

Zhou Family.

Zhou Zeshen had several tubes inserted into his body, through which medicinal fluids continuously flowed.

He cultivated with all his might.

Zheng Family.

Zheng Jian tirelessly practiced with mechanical puppets, fully absorbed and lost in his training.

The competition for the Lava Fairy Palace had moved past the opening stage and entered a more intense phase.

The night had grown deep.

Yuan Er tossed and turned, unable to sleep soundly.

Ever since Yuan Dasheng’s passing, he had felt this way every night—empty inside, without a sense of security.

"Why isn’t Uncle Dasheng’s mechanism ready yet?"

"Tomorrow, I’ll go find that Ning Zhuo!"

Inside the Lava Fairy Palace.

The Golden Blood War Ape·Dasheng silently guarded the third room. When deactivated, it was no different from bricks and stones.

(End of )