: Primus Perfection and Action

Author: Gu Zhenren

Date: 2024-07-31

: Primus Perfection and Action

Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

The Ning family's carriage moved along the street at a steady pace.

Pedestrians along the way voluntarily stepped aside.

The reason was simple: the carriage and its flags bore the large character "Ning." The carriage itself exuded the aura of multiple magical artifacts, indicating a high status often reserved for important figures.

Even if one failed to recognize these details, the entourage was unmistakable—eight cultivator guards, four at Qi Refinement stage and four at Foundation Establishment stage, accompanied the carriage front and back.

With such a display, even a fool could tell that someone significant from the Ning family was inside.

Yet, seated within was Ning Zhuo.

The Qi Refinement stage prodigies of the four major forces in Fire Persimmon Immortal City had recently been targeted by assassinations in quick succession.

The four forces were deeply shaken, not only strengthening their cooperation but also enhancing the protection of their respective talents.

Ning Zhuo benefited from this, now able to ride in such a high-standard carriage during his travels.

At this moment, he sat cross-legged inside the carriage, surrounded by swirling clouds.

The Foundation Establishment stage cultivators from the Ning family, sensing this with their spiritual awareness, inwardly praised Ning Zhuo's diligence.

Those who had guarded him for longer periods gradually realized how hardworking Ning Zhuo was in his daily cultivation—pushing himself to the extreme, with almost no time for leisure or relaxation.

It was as if some terrifying beast were chasing him, ready to devour him if he slowed down even slightly!

The floating clouds concealed the fluctuations of his breathing, though even if they leaked out, it wouldn’t matter.

After all, once a cultivation technique reached its limit, daily breathing exercises were still needed to refine new spiritual power for use.

Using floating clouds to cover up each cultivation session was entirely reasonable.

Given his past hardships, lonely upbringing, and the recent assassination attempts, it was natural for him to lack a sense of security. Such actions helped fill that void, making perfect sense.

But in reality, Ning Zhuo was remotely controlling Yuan Dasheng!

Ning Zhuo first retrieved the Golden Blood War Ape—Dasheng and secretly placed it in Ning Ze’s residence.

After leaving the family compound and boarding the carriage, where his every move attracted attention, he quietly activated Yuan Dasheng from a distance, initiating actions on the other side.

With the Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art, Ning Zhuo could continuously observe Yuan Dasheng’s surroundings.

Thanks to the Heart Seal planted by the My Buddha Heart Demon Seal, Ning Zhuo could control Yuan Dasheng even without spiritual awareness or physical strings.

Coupled with Yuan Dasheng’s inherent intelligence, capable of understanding complex commands… this gave Ning Zhuo a high chance of success in his current operation.

Yuan Dasheng donned the Cangtie Han Armor, which had disguise capabilities, this time masquerading as an ordinary cultivator.

While Ning Zhuo rode in the carriage, Yuan Dasheng walked along a nearby street, blending seamlessly with the passersby.

Upon reaching the vicinity of Ning Zhuo’s courtyard, Yuan Dasheng quickly ducked into an alley and, taking advantage of the lack of people, entered the sewer.

At a certain point in the sewer, it touched a specific brick, activating a hidden teleportation formation.

The next moment, Ning Zhuo felt his control weaken—Yuan Dasheng had been teleported to the underground base.

This was where Han Ming was imprisoned, serving as Ning Zhuo’s transit point for his trips to the black market and where he had previously stored fire essence.

Yuan Dasheng approached the furnace.

It opened a storage pouch and tossed everything inside into the furnace.

Then, it closed the furnace door, channeled spiritual power, and gradually increased the furnace’s intensity.

The air temperature rose, and a red glow gradually dispelled the surrounding darkness.

The Cangtie Han Armor still covered Yuan Dasheng.

It sat cross-legged before the furnace and, with Ning Zhuo’s assistance, began activating the Cremation Prajna Spirit Liberation Sutra!

Spiritual power flowed according to the sutra’s method, gradually revealing its mysteries.

Inside the furnace, crimson flames burned, swiftly melting all of Yuan Dasheng’s related items.

From the flames, specks of pink light rose.

Like dancing snowflakes, they fluttered at the tips of the flames.

After the cremation ended, Yuan Dasheng opened the furnace door. The pink light, having no host, instinctively surged into Yuan Dasheng’s embrace, filling its spirit like swallows returning to their nest, without Ning Zhuo needing to exert any effort.

Its spirit, originally at 79%, rapidly climbed.

After a few breaths, some pink light particles hovered around Yuan Dasheng’s body, unable to enter, and regretfully dissipated.

Because Yuan Dasheng’s spirit had reached perfection!

100% spirit!

Self-sufficient spirit!

This was an absolute qualitative change. From now on, Yuan Dasheng’s spirit could recover on its own, no longer relying solely on external supplementation.

"Excellent, excellent!" Inside the carriage, Ning Zhuo smiled faintly, though he looked exhausted.

After all, this was his first time fully utilizing the Cremation Prajna Spirit Liberation Sutra, and doing so remotely.

Fortunately, his soul foundation was profound, and his spirit was vigorous. His Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art had already reached the sixth layer, far surpassing his progress in the other two techniques.

"Return along the original path," Ning Zhuo issued the command, but the next moment, his smile froze.

From the Golden Blood War Ape—Dasheng, came a clear refusal!

Ning Zhuo: ?!!

The Golden Blood War Ape—Dasheng, controlling the Cangtie Han Armor, slowly stood up.

It looked around blankly, then down at its own hands, feet, and body, feeling extremely confused.

It didn’t know who it was or where it was.

Ning Zhuo quickly conveyed the command again!

Thus, Yuan Dasheng felt a voice in its mind, telling it what to do.

But Yuan Dasheng chose not to obey. Instead, it placed a hand over its chest.

Deep in its heart, a surge of intense anger and hatred erupted like a floodgate opening, overwhelming and pouring out.

Yuan Dasheng was almost instantly buried by these powerful emotions.

It let out a low roar, a tragic ape cry.

The sound awakened Han Ming in her cell.

Han Ming had been recuperating these past days.

Before leaving, Ning Zhuo had loosened her restraints. Though still chained, her range of movement now covered half the cell.

He had also set up mechanisms to feed her at fixed times.

To accommodate her needs, Ning Zhuo added a small wooden partition in a corner of the cell with a waste bucket.

Once waste accumulated to a certain level, the floor tiles beneath the bucket would open, and water would spray down, washing the waste away.

To prevent Han Ming from feeling lonely, Ning Zhuo had placed various books in the cell for her to pass the time.

Even so, Han Ming was nearing her limit!

She longed to see the youth, Chuítiáo Kè. Even spotting a cockroach would lift her spirits and bring her happiness.

So, when she heard the ape cry, she was first startled, then overjoyed.

She rushed toward the cell door but was yanked back by the chains midway.

Han Ming fell onto the cold floor tiles, screaming toward the cell door, "I’m here, I’m here!"

"Master, is that you? Have you come?"

Yuan Dasheng heard Han Ming’s voice but ignored her.

The intense rage and hatred came quickly and faded just as fast, like a layer of ice on the ocean’s surface. Beneath it lay vast waters and boundless sorrow.

The sorrow was so profound it immersed and buried Yuan Dasheng’s spirit.

Yuan Dasheng’s eyes, originally mechanical and dull, now revealed deep grief and mourning.

Its movements were slow, its steps heavy, like a walking corpse, as it left the underground base via the teleportation formation.

Han Ming was left behind, still screaming shrilly, struggling as if fighting to keep the dungeon from returning to silence.

"Please, Master, are you out there?"

"Please, I can’t stand being locked up anymore!"

"I’ll do anything, just let me out! I can’t take it, I really can’t! Wuwuwu…"

Han Ming broke down.

The returning silence of the underground base felt like despair choking her.

She cried for a long time until she passed out.

Through Yuan Dasheng, Ning Zhuo sensed Han Ming’s distress, but he could no longer manage it!

"Yuan Dasheng, stop, halt!"

"Return along the original path, return!!"

Ning Zhuo communicated fiercely with Yuan Dasheng through the Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art.

But it was useless!

Yuan Dasheng’s spirit refused the command.

"Full spirit! I never expected such a drawback!"

Ning Zhuo in the carriage was extremely tense. If Yuan Dasheng were exposed, it would point directly to his fatal flaw.

Heart Seal!

My Buddha Heart Demon Seal!!

Ning Zhuo closed his eyes tightly, channeling all his energy to resonate with the treasure seal, until blood streamed from his nostrils.

It was useless.

At the Qi Refinement stage, he could only draw out a sliver of the seal’s power. The distance between him and Yuan Dasheng was too great, and Yuan Dasheng’s autonomous actions were widening the gap.

Even using the Heart Seal only made Yuan Dasheng’s movements slightly stiffer and slower, without decisive effect.

Through the Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art, Ning Zhuo saw that Yuan Dasheng had already left the sewer, emerged from the alley, and entered a bustling street.

For a moment, Ning Zhuo felt the urge to leap from the carriage and rush straight to Yuan Dasheng.

But he quickly suppressed this foolish thought.

"Calm down, stay calm."

Ning Zhuo’s breathing steadied, his eyes filled with cold light.

He told himself to remain calm and, astonishingly, adjusted his mindset almost instantly.

The efficiency surprised even him.

He quickly assessed the situation.

Yuan Dasheng was covered by the Cangtie Han Armor, not in its ape form but disguised as an ordinary cultivator, which wouldn’t stand out in Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

"The situation isn’t the worst-case scenario."

"Emotions have strong impact but aren’t lasting. The previous fury and hatred were replaced by sorrow, weren’ they?"

"Once the emotions fade to a certain extent, my control over Yuan Dasheng will recover."

"On the contrary, losing composure, jumping from the carriage, and rushing to Yuan Dasheng would be the biggest mistake."

Amid the floating clouds, Ning Zhuo took a deep breath and completely calmed down.

With so many guards escorting him, he needed to continue to the Zheng family.

"Even if Yuan Dasheng is exposed, I still have a final trump card."

"Though sudden, this变故 is nothing compared to the crises of changing the ranking name or scheming to kill Yuan Dasheng."

Since blowing up the immortal palace, Ning Zhuo had grown rapidly.

Not just in cultivation, but also in temperament.

The pressures of difficulty, challenge, and death had tempered him, shedding his mortal bones and granting him a trace of a strong individual’s bearing.

(End of )