: A Troubled Heart (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"You all get to enter the Immortal Palace via soul projection every day, excluding me, forcing me to take the physical entry route."

"But then again, I should thank you all, especially Ning Zhuo. Hehe, you've opened up a whole new world for me."

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never underestimate a poor young woman!"

"When I achieve something great in the future and stand before you, looking down on you, I can't wait to see the shock on your faces!"

Ning Xiaohui grew more excited the more she thought about it, feeling that her life was full of promise and beauty.

Especially since, not long ago, she had received a direct order from Zhu Xuanji himself—to do everything in her power to secure a position related to the Shiji Pavilion.

Ning Xiaohui accepted the mission gladly!

"As long as I accomplish this task, I’ll gain the favor of the Golden Core Elders and catch their attention."

However, including Zhu Xuanji, the Golden Core Elders currently had their eyes fixed on Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo’s earlier guess was correct.

Before leaving, Zhu Xuanji had secretly placed surveillance measures on him and around his residence.

After discussing with the three families’ Golden Core Elders, the Golden Core cultivators from these families also moved covertly, gradually hiding around Ning Zhuo.

One by one, they employed their methods, setting up surveillance on Ning Zhuo and his surroundings, keeping a constant watch.

They were hunters lying in wait, concealed and hidden around Ning Zhuo, quietly waiting for the City Lord’s Manor to make a mistake.

Ning Zhuo’s residence.

Under the silent gaze of the six Golden Core Elders, Ning Zhuo took out a pill and swallowed it to heal his injuries.

After resting, he looked around.

In full view of the Golden Core Elders, he cast multiple detection spells, used magical instruments for surveillance, and activated formations to check for anything unusual.

Yet, he found nothing suspicious.

Ning Zhuo was only at the Qi Refining stage. Even with high-quality magical instruments and a Foundation Establishment-level formation, he couldn’t detect the presence of the Golden Core Elders.

His actions, in the eyes of the Golden Core Elders, were quite amusing and laughable.

Ning Zhuo then summoned the guards outside his house.

These were all former Ning family stewards, with Foundation Establishment-level cultivation.

Ning Zhuo instructed them to guard the surroundings carefully and asked if they had noticed any suspicious individuals.

The guards all replied: There were no suspicious situations or individuals.

Alone in the underground cultivation room, Ning Zhuo sighed and took out a book on mechanical arts to study, his brows furrowed.

After reading for only a short while, he couldn’t continue. He set the book aside and went to the workbench, tinkering with various mechanical parts.

After fiddling for a while, Ning Zhuo sighed deeply again and swept all the mechanical parts off the table.

Many parts scattered across the floor.

Ning Zhuo grabbed his hair, banging his forehead repeatedly against the table, letting out painful cries.

"The little guy’s heart is troubled."

The six Golden Core Elders watching this scene felt that Ning Zhuo was restless and impatient, unable to focus on reading or studying mechanical arts. The pressure on him was too great!

Ning Zhuo’s broad forehead turned red from the impact. He released his grip and slumped onto the table, eyes closed, as if dead.

He remained like this for a long time before suddenly opening his eyes and straightening up.

He grabbed his hair again, letting out another agonized howl.

But this time, after a short while, he stood up and began pacing back and forth in the underground room, hands clasped behind his back.

His brows were tightly knit, his face solemn.

He paced back and forth, occasionally stopping to sigh deeply, sometimes howling in pain as if venting. At times, his eyes reddened, and he walked to the corner, pressing his head against the wall, not using any spiritual power, just his forehead against the wall.

The Golden Core Elders watched silently, some frowning slightly.

Zhu Xuanji’s eyes flickered, his expression solemn, but he felt a sense of empathy.

Ning Zhuo’s pressure was far greater than what he outwardly showed!

Though his detection spells yielded no results, his intelligence told him that he was undoubtedly under heavy surveillance.

Especially with a famous imperial detective among them!

Every move he made, every word he spoke, had to be flawless, without the slightest hint of a flaw.

Otherwise, the consequences would be dire!

Fei Si’s letter arrived in the evening.

Ning Zhuo looked at the jade slip letter, hesitating for a long time, his expression shifting constantly.

There was gravity, fear, and a hint of resentment. It seemed he blamed Fei Si—if not for him, Ning Zhuo wouldn’t be in this predicament!

Ning Zhuo finally sighed, gritted his teeth, and reached out to pick up the jade slip.

He pressed it against his forehead, continuously channeling his divine sense into it.

After reading the contents, he sighed deeply again, his face full of worry, and placed the jade slip on the table.

He began pacing back and forth in front of the table, hands behind his back again.

After a while, Ning Zhuo took out a blank jade slip and began writing a letter using his spiritual power.

He wrote to Ning Jiufan again, informing him that Fei Si had sent a letter asking for details about the day’s events.

Ning Zhuo didn’t know what to do and specifically wrote to seek advice.

Ning Jiufan received the letter quickly.

To be precise, he had already seen Ning Zhuo writing the letter and guessed its contents.

After receiving the letter, he channeled his divine sense into it and confirmed his guess was correct.

Ning Jiufan didn’t dare to decide alone and passed the letter to Zhu Xuanji and the other Golden Core Elders.

Ning Zhuo was merely a Qi Refining junior, yet his letter was scrutinized by six Golden Core cultivators as soon as it arrived. Such attention was unprecedented.

After everyone read the letter, they all turned their eyes to Zhu Xuanji.

Zhu Xuanji smiled slightly. "Ning Zhuo is a pitiful little guy, utterly lost."

"Let him reply, just as he normally would."

"Since Fei Si is suspicious and wants to dig deeper into my purpose in visiting Ning Zhuo today, let Ning Zhuo tell the truth. This can continue to stir the pot!"

Zhu Xuanji needed the City Lord’s Manor to make a mistake, preferably by sending an assassin to kill Ning Zhuo, so he could catch them red-handed.

Fei Si’s initiative to write made Zhu Xuanji somewhat worried.

He feared Ning Zhuo might slip up. Facing an old fox like Fei Si, it would be easy to be exposed!

So, he decided to let Ning Zhuo tell the truth. After all, his earlier conversation with Ning Zhuo had been deliberately designed.

At the time, Zhu Xuanji had already set his goal on the way—to make the City Lord’s Manor feel the pressure from him.

In the bedroom, Ning Zhuo had already lain down. He tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

Suddenly, he received a secret transmission from Ning Jiufan.

Ning Zhuo’s eyes snapped open, unable to hide his excitement, but he was immediately warned by Ning Jiufan to act normally.

Ning Zhuo went to the study, sat at the desk, held the jade slip, and began writing.

Following Ning Jiufan’s instructions, he truthfully recounted his detailed conversation with Zhu Xuanji.

Overall, the letter had two key points: Yuan Dasheng and the Demonic Path True Scripture.

At the end of the letter, Ning Zhuo deliberately asked Fei Si: What did he know about the Demonic Path True Scripture?

Early in the morning, Fei Si sat at his desk, handling various matters throughout the Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

He barely left his seat.

It wasn’t until the waning moon rose that he finally finished dealing with most of the affairs.

Of course, new matters would arise tomorrow, even tonight.

With the recruitment order issued, too many outsiders had flooded into Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

This placed immense pressure on the City Lord’s Manor’s management of the city.

If not for Fei Si and Chi Dun working tirelessly, the city would have already descended into chaos.

Fei Si was particularly concerned about Zhu Xuanji’s actions!

On one hand, Zhu Xuanji was from the royal family. And it was now confirmed that he was the City Lord’s Manor’s biggest competitor in the struggle for the Lava Immortal Palace.

On the other hand, Zhu Xuanji’s high-profile visit to Ning Zhuo was clearly driven by something urgent.

Almost everyone in Fire Persimmon Immortal City was talking about it. As the acting city lord, Fei Si naturally wanted to know the real details.

Considering his close private relationship with Ning Zhuo, he simply wrote a jade slip letter to ask Ning Zhuo directly.

"Finally, a reply." Fei Si took the jade slip written by Ning Zhuo and channeled his divine sense into it.

After reading it, Fei Si’s expression shifted slightly.

"Demonic Path True Scripture?"

"What kind of scripture is that?"

"Why would I know anything about it? And why are you asking me?"

Fei Si put down the jade slip, frowning slightly, his mind racing.

"Is the Demonic Path True Scripture related to the Three Ancestors’ techniques?"

Fei Si thought of the Three Ancestors’ methods, his past conversations with Meng Kui, and the City Lord’s Manor’s speculation about the three-dantian Foundation Establishment technique.

"If this Demonic Path True Scripture is one of the techniques related to three-dantian Foundation Establishment, paired with the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art…"

"Then obtaining this scripture would indeed be a huge help in exploring the Immortal Palace and seizing control of it."

"No wonder Zhu Xuanji rushed over so urgently. His demeanor was clearly meant to pressure Ning Zhuo into handing over the Demonic Path True Scripture!"

"But how did Zhu Xuanji find out? Where did he get the线索 about the Demonic Path True Scripture?"

Since Zhu Xuanji entered Fire Persimmon Immortal City, Fei Si had been closely monitoring his every move.

After all, Fei Si was the strategist for the City Lord’s Manor, while Zhu Xuanji was an envoy from the Southern Bean Royal Family.

Because Fei Si had been secretly monitoring him all along, he was very curious about where Zhu Xuanji obtained the线索.

"Recently, Zhu Xuanji led the Golden Core cultivators from the three families to openly explore the depths of the volcano."

"Could it be that they found clues about the true scripture at the bottom of Fire Persimmon Mountain?"

With this question in mind, Fei Si went to the top of the volcano to seek an audience with Meng Kui.

He asked Meng Kui, since Meng Kui had been stationed at the summit of Fire Persimmon Mountain and should have a clearer understanding of Zhu Xuanji’s movements.

Meng Kui knew a bit and immediately told Fei Si about the mechanical demon general incident.

Fei Si thought to himself, "This time, the Ning family elder has made a great sacrifice!"

(End of )