: Discovering the Spy?

Author: Gu Zhenren

Date: 2024-07-31

: Discovering the Spy?

Ning Zhuo quickly finished reading "The Record of Clouds Falling to the Ends of the Earth," which he had obtained through exchange.

The book, told from the perspective of Luo Yunzi, narrated his story of encountering misfortune, drifting from place to place, and wandering the world. The tale was quite interesting, and Ning Zhuo gained a sense of many distant lands and their local customs from it.

However, when it came to topics like fate and fortune-altering techniques, the book only touched the surface without any deep exploration. Yet, this was already the best text on the subject Ning Zhuo could currently exchange for in the library. The other books related to fate, judging by their brief introductions, were even worse than "The Record of Clouds Falling to the Ends of the Earth."

"Content about fate isn't mainstream knowledge; it only circulates within a small circle," Ning Zhuo mused. "Currently, the Tian Gui Fu likely holds the most secrets regarding this. Although the Tian Gui Fu is a super sect, it has few members and is extremely mysterious. According to Luo Yunzi's own account, he once studied there, but the book makes no mention of the Tian Gui Fu."

"However, Luo Yunzi could alter others' luck for a period of time and within a certain scope—granting them wealth luck, official career luck, romance luck, and so on. But these spells had drawbacks; once specific taboos were triggered, the results could be even worse."

Ning Zhuo sighed inwardly. His initial plan had failed; he hadn't managed to use "The Record of Clouds Falling to the Ends of the Earth" to achieve a qualitative transformation in his nascent Life-Threatening Thread divine ability. Still, it wasn't a complete loss. At the very least, he understood that altering others' fortune came with many downsides.

"So, Meng Kui, what are the drawbacks of your Sitting-Mountain-Viewing divine ability, which can create different fortune fields?" Ning Zhuo pondered this question.

To him, Meng Kui was also a competitor vying for the Lava Immortal Palace. Reality was harsh. The fact that Meng Kui was at the Nascent Soul stage while Ning Zhuo was only at the Qi Refining stage didn't mean they weren't competitors. When the final moment arrived, Ning Zhuo would inevitably have to face the Nascent Soul stage Meng Kui.

"But if I can find a weakness in his divine ability before then, it would undoubtedly increase my chances of success."

Ning Zhuo continued his arduous cultivation. His Divine Sea cultivation had reached its limit, with no room for further advancement. His Qi Sea cultivation had also hit its ceiling, but his magic power needed purification. His Essence Sea cultivation still had potential for growth. By consuming large amounts of spirit food and pills, Ning Zhuo achieved a considerable cultivation speed.

"However, even if my Essence Sea cultivation reaches the peak of the sixth layer, it still won't break through the current bottleneck." Ning Zhuo was almost certain that the difficulty behind the second demon gate was consistent with that of the Buddhist and Daoist gates. Barring any surprises, he would likely be stuck again.

"Behind the second gate is a special trial that distributes the Five Elements Spirit Conversion Plates. The more proficient I am in the art of the Five Elements' mutual generation and restraint, the higher the quality of the Spirit Conversion Plate I can obtain. Considering the first Buddhist gate's coffin room, I might only get one choice, so I must be extremely cautious."

"I need to push my proficiency in the Five Elements' mutual generation and restraint art as high as possible. I won't choose the Five Elements Spirit Conversion Plate until then."

Mastering the Five Elements' mutual generation and restraint art required diligent practice, and the same went for the Cremation Prajna Liberation Sutra. In Ning Zhuo's assessment, this cultivation method was the key to breaking his current deadlock! After all, compared to the Daoist and demon paths, the Buddhist path was his forte.

Thus, Ning Zhuo focused primarily on the Cremation Prajna Liberation Sutra, followed by the Five Elements' mutual generation and restraint art, and lastly, the Demonic Blood Sinew Technique. He meticulously scheduled every moment of his day, down to the time needed for eating, drinking, relieving himself, and sleeping.

Ning Zhuo's intense dedication astonished those around him. "I always thought I was hardworking, but compared to Brother Zhuo, I'm nothing!" "To be so diligent and tireless, no wonder Brother Zhuo has achieved what he has today. I'm completely convinced." "Brother Zhuo is so outstanding yet still pushes himself this hard. What right do we have to be so lax?"

Inspired, Ning Yong, Ning Chen, and others took Ning Zhuo as their role model and embarked on their own frenzied cultivation sessions. As Ning Zhuo's status continued to rise and his successes accumulated, his influence soared. Without needing to deliberately act, he directly altered the physical and mental states of those around him.

After noticing Ning Chen and Ning Yong emulating him, Ning Zhuo decisively told them, "We're all at the peak of the third layer of Qi Refining. To explore deeper into the Immortal Palace, we must fully enhance our mastery of mechanics. Here's an idea: I can introduce you to the mechanics workshop. There, you can forge various mechanical constructs and gain hands-on experience, which will be very beneficial for you."

Ning Yong, Ning Chen, and the others had no objections. Since Ning Zhuo said so, he must have his reasons. All the young cultivators chose to follow his advice without refusal. Thus, Ning Zhuo introduced them to Chen Cha.

Ning Zhuo also gave Chen Cha new blueprints for mechanical constructs: "This is a new model of the mechanical Blazing Monkey I've modified. It's primarily for combat."

Chen Cha took a look and nodded in satisfaction. "The materials used are much sturdier than last time."

Ning Zhuo smiled. "It's mainly for the Monkey Head Gang. When it comes to combat constructs, it's better to have something reliable, as lives are at stake."

Over ten days passed in a flash. One afternoon, as scheduled, Ning Zhuo特意 carved out a small portion of his time to listen to the reports from Ning Xiangguo and Ning Xiangqian.

Most of the stewards dismissed from the main branch had been recruited by Ning Zhuo, with Ning Xiangguo and Ning Xiangqian being the most outstanding. Ning Zhuo appointed them as leaders. After unifying the black market and establishing rules, Ning Zhuo had essentially become a hands-off manager. For over half a month, the Ning family's Foundation Establishment cultivators had been maintaining order.

The emergence of the Lava Immortal Palace, coupled with the recruitment decree, had attracted a continuous influx of outsiders into Fire Persimmon Immortal City. Consequently, the black market's business had become over ten times more bustling than before. While profits soared, so did the difficulty of management.

Fortunately, these Ning family cultivators were all at the Foundation Establishment stage, and not ordinary ones at that—those selected as stewards by the main branch naturally had their specialties. They were considered elites among Foundation Establishment cultivators. Their ice-based spells were also particularly suited for apprehending people, as those frozen often survived.

If it were solely Sun Lingtong's original arrangements and forces, they likely couldn't have managed the current black market. But these former Ning family stewards kept the black market orderly and well-run.

"You've all worked hard these days," Ning Zhuo said after hearing their reports, immediately proceeding with the distribution. He had already investigated the specific salaries these Foundation Establishment cultivators received when they were Ning family stewards. Ning Zhuo took eighty percent of the black market's profits to distribute as salaries, matching their previous monthly income standards.

"Since it's the end of the month, let's issue the payments now."

Ning Xiangguo said, "Young Master Zhuo, there seems to be a miscalculation. We've only served for half a month, but this is a full month's salary."

Ning Zhuo nodded. "Consider the extra part a welcoming gift from me. From now on, every clansman who joins us will receive a joining bonus equivalent to half their monthly salary in their first month."

Ning Xiangqian was delighted. "That's a great idea! Everyone will like it!"

Ning Zhuo continued, "Next, we'll calculate this month's bonuses based on individual evaluations and contributions. Follow the rules I established earlier for detailed calculations. Both the process and the results must be presented to the individual cultivator for verification. These bonuses will be distributed at the end of next month, along with next month's salary. In short, salaries are paid at the end of the current month; bonuses are paid at the end of the following month. This allows anyone with objections to the bonus calculation to report and request corrections."

Ning Xiangqian nodded repeatedly. "That's a good method. This way, everyone working in the black market will earn at least as much as they did in the family. Those who contribute more will earn more—it's fair!"

Ning Xiangguo, however, frowned slightly. "If we do this, there will be almost no profit left from the black market. Young Master Zhuo, you should keep some for yourself. Forgive my bluntness, but you're distributing too much."

Ning Xiangqian was taken aback for a moment, then thought about it and also nodded. "That does seem to be the case."

Ning Zhuo smiled and waved his hand. "It's only the first month. I believe we will do even better in the future. More outsiders will come to the black market. In fact, as long as the Lava Immortal Palace remains unclaimed, cultivators will keep coming from far and wide. Even if they aren't recognized by the palace spirit and can't enter, most will choose to stay in Fire Persimmon Immortal City for a while. These people will greatly enliven the city's business. The scale of the black market is growing larger and larger, isn't it?"

Ning Xiangqian grinned. "That's true!"

Ning Xiangguo, however, looked deeply at Ning Zhuo and said, "But Young Master Zhuo, do you truly intend to manage the black market indefinitely? Privately, I don't believe this is a sustainable long-term plan. We need legitimate businesses; the black market isn't exactly proper. Holding onto it for too long and becoming too entangled will harm our Ning family's reputation. For now, it's manageable. People will think the four major powers have reached a tacit agreement, allowing the Ning family to intervene in the black market to maintain overall stability in the Immortal City. But in the future, once the number of outsiders decreases and the Immortal Palace finds its owner, we won't be able to hold onto this territory and will have to abandon it."

Ning Xiangqian immediately frowned, puzzled. "Why can't we hold it? We were the ones who conquered the black market."

Clearly, Ning Xiangguo was more strategic, able to recognize the situation and see the long-term picture.

Ning Xiangguo continued, "Therefore, I sincerely advise you, Young Master Zhuo, not to be so generous. Instead, take advantage of this rare opportunity to accumulate as many resources as possible for yourself. That way, when we eventually withdraw from the black market, you'll at least have a material foundation to rely on."

Ning Zhuo looked deeply at Ning Xiangguo. During this period, although he kept a low profile, he had used碎片时间 to have one-on-one interactions with each of the Ning family's Foundation Establishment cultivators. In the process, he had also gathered more accurate intelligence about each of them through the Turtle Breath Gang. By now, most of the Ning family's Foundation Establishment cultivators had Life-Threatening Threads attached to them—including Ning Xiangguo and Ning Xiangqian.

(End of )