: Fleecing the Golden Core Elders

2024-09-03 Author: Gu Zhenren

: Fleecing the Golden Core Elders

Ning Zhuo walked out of the medical center.

On the way, three Golden Core cultivators descended from the sky: Zhu Xuanji, Ning Jiufan, and Zhou Nongying.

Ning Zhuo had long anticipated the arrival of the Golden Core cultivators and quickly bowed in greeting.

Zhou Nongying asked, "Young man, what just happened inside the medical center?"

Ning Jiufan added, "My sensing of you was temporarily cut off. Tell us about your experience in the medical center."

Zhu Xuanji, however, silently watched Ning Zhuo without speaking.

Ning Zhuo let out an "Ah!" and then earnestly told the three Golden Core cultivators: he had just accepted a high-reward task at the medical center and entered the critical care treatment room.

"It's probably because that room is special, isolating the inside from the outside," Ning Zhuo said.

The three Golden Core cultivators quickly exchanged glances. Ning Zhuo's answer aligned perfectly with their earlier speculation and discussion.

Ning Zhuo then looked worried and added, "Did entering the critical care room weaken your ability to sense me, elders? Um... could you add a few more [monitoring methods] for me?"

Ning Zhuo actively requested that the Golden Core cultivators add more surveillance measures on him.

This display made Zhu Xuanji's eyes flicker slightly.

Seeing Ning Zhuo's apparent fear of death, the Ning family elder, Ning Jiufan, snorted lightly. "Look at you, so spineless."

Ning Zhuo quickly complained, "Ancestor, your junior only has the measly cultivation of the Qi Refining stage. If I had strength like yours, I would certainly come and go freely, filled with heroic spirit."

"I am of the Ning family bloodline, surely you should provide me with more protective measures?"

"How could your junior not understand the current situation?"

"That villain who controlled the Five Elements Turret to bombard Huoshi Mountain is truly ruthless and vicious!"

"Even more frightening is that we still haven't found out who he really is."

"We members of the modification team, because of our status as trial disciples, have extreme convenience in competing for various positions."

"By earning merits on such a large scale like we are now, we are surely thorns in the true culprit's side, a pain in his flesh. He will definitely try to eliminate us."

"It's only because of the protection you Golden Core elders have provided that he hasn't had an opportunity yet."

"This trip to the medical center, your junior entered the treatment room alone, which meant being isolated. It could be considered 'knowing there are tigers in the mountains, yet deliberately going into the mountains.'"

"How can this be called being afraid of death? This is clearly the courage to face death unflinchingly!"

His words left the three Golden Core cultivators momentarily speechless.

Ning Jiufan snorted again. "Brat, quite the smooth talker."

"Why don't you mention that key places like the medical center can only be competed for by trial disciples?"

"That true culprit, even if he has Golden Core cultivation like us, cannot get close to the medical center."

"You are very safe inside there."

"It was precisely considering this point that we didn't act immediately after losing our sense of you."

"How can you call this 'facing death unflinchingly'?"

Ning Zhuo adopted a serious expression, carefully choosing his words. "Reporting to the elders, this is how your junior sees it."

"Currently, we've discovered that the positions in the medical center can only be taken by trial disciples."

"But is that the definitive answer? No one can be certain."

"It's just that currently, all the evidence points to this answer."

"Perhaps it's also possible that even an outsider could join the medical center through some channel or method."

"I think the Lava Immortal Palace is, after all, a palace left behind by the Three Sects Sage. The Three Sects Sage was compassionate and merciful. With his magnanimity, he probably wouldn't only benefit his own people without leaving a path for others, right?"

"Perhaps it's possible that the true culprit has a channel or secret way to sneak into the medical center and attack me."

Ning Zhuo said all this specifically to cover up the flaw that had appeared regarding himself.

Using his identity as the Five Elements Turret Chief, he had fully activated the turret to bombard Huoshi Mountain.

This action was a flaw.

Because up to now, no one else had been able to join the Five Elements Turret.

Similarly, no one had been able to join the Point Assignment Platform and take up related positions.

It's just that Zhu Xuanji and the others hadn't yet confirmed the fact that "only trial disciples are qualified to work in the Five Elements Turret."

Once they confirmed this, they would most likely narrow the true culprit's identity down to the group of trial disciples!

This was extremely unfavorable for Ning Zhuo!

Therefore, before that happened, Ning Zhuo needed to use his own speculation to mislead Zhu Xuanji and the others regarding any future suspicions they might have.

This was preparing for the future.

After hearing his analysis, the three Golden Core cultivators were momentarily unable to refute it.

Before getting confirmation from the Long Yuan Fire Spirit, they indeed couldn't be completely certain.

Speaking of which, Zhu Xuanji had entered the immortal palace many times and had tried repeatedly to contact the Long Yuan Fire Spirit without success.

Under these circumstances, if Ning Zhuo insisted that he was risking his life, facing potential death, it was somewhat acceptable.

Zhou Nongying suddenly laughed and said to Ning Jiufan beside him, "Brother Ning, your Ning family后代 has indeed produced a talent. It's truly enviable."

Ning Jiufan hurriedly modestly replied, "Not at all, not at all. Compared to your clan's Zhou Zeshen and Zhou Zhu, this kid Ning Zhuo still falls short."

"He has some insight into the situation, but don't be fooled by his seemingly reasoned arguments and apparent courage; he's actually inherently greedy and just wants to get rewards."

Ning Zhuo's eyes lit up, and he immediately showed an ingratiating smile. "Hehehe, Ancestor, it's not just for myself."

"I'm doing this for the family's contribution."

"Look, my situation is so dangerous now. Won't you bestow upon me some more life-preserving methods?"

"Can you bear to see a junior of the family fall victim to that vicious criminal?"

Ning Jiufan pointed at Ning Zhuo, laughing and scolding, "Look, just look, this is the fine后代 of my Ning family. I wasn't wrong about him."

Zhou Nongying and Zhu Xuanji also laughed upon hearing this, and the atmosphere immediately relaxed.

Ning Jiufan continued, "Last time, I already bestowed upon you many talismans for protection, and I haven't taken them back."

"This time, what else do you want?"

"You are indeed contributing to the family, but later the family will certainly reward you based on your merits; your share won't be less!"

Ning Zhuo quickly spoke up, "I actually want to split from the main family, Ancestor. Can I split from the family?"

"As for that 'reward based on merits,' I don't have much hope for that! If the main lineage rewards me based on merit, it would be good if they didn't falsely accuse me of some crime."

Ning Jiufan's face immediately showed anger. "How dare you!"

Just as he was about to say something to reprimand Ning Zhuo, Zhou Nongying beside him suddenly burst into loud laughter, interrupting him.

Zhou Nongying's worry turned to joy.

Earlier, seeing Ning Zhuo's excellence had made him feel apprehensive.

Although the Ning family's strength wasn't as great as the Zhou family's, this junior Ning Zhuo had been making a name for himself frequently lately and was indeed quite outstanding, surpassing both Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zeshen.

This made Zhou Nongying feel a slight threat and discomfort.

But now, seeing Ning Zhuo expose the Ning family's shortcomings himself, speaking without restraint about the conflict between the branch and main lineages, made Zhou Nongying start to look forward to the scene of Ning Zhuo clashing with the main lineage in the future.

After laughing heartily a few times, Zhou Nongying took out a magical instrument from his storage belt and directly tossed it to Ning Zhuo.

It was a handkerchief.

The handkerchief was embroidered with countless disordered, patternless array lines.

But in fact, it only appeared patternless.

Zhou Nongying introduced it, "This is the Four Directions Reversal Array Disk. In a moment of crisis, you just need to throw it out to activate it. It might help you seize a critical chance for survival."

Ning Zhuo took it, his face showing great joy, and he quickly expressed his thanks.

A glint flashed in Ning Jiufan's eyes; he knew Zhou Nongying was subtly causing trouble for him, but on the surface, he still had to speak up and thank Zhou Nongying.

Zhu Xuanji, with a smile on his face, descended to the ground, walked a few steps to Ning Zhuo's side.

"You are indeed a meritorious subject."

"Recently, the modification team members have made great progress, thanks to you unsparingly sharing your experiences with them."

"Alright then, let me examine you."

Ning Zhuo snorted coldly inwardly, well aware of Zhu Xuanji's suspicion. But on the surface, he showed a very happy expression and cooperated actively with Zhu Xuanji.

Zhu Xuanji then placed his palm on Ning Zhuo's back, activated a technique, and a faint golden light flickered in his eyes.

After an examination, Zhu Xuanji confirmed that his own monitoring method had not undergone any changes.

Only then did he feel relieved.

Ning Zhuo looked at Zhu Xuanji with eager eyes. "Lord Zhu, investigating the truth, searching for any clues about the true culprit, is our duty; we must spare no effort and disregard our own safety."

"From the current perspective, your junior risked himself to test the medical center – there should be no presence of the true culprit inside the medical center."

After a pause, Ning Zhuo changed his tone. "But I believe the medical center can only be considered temporarily safe."

"Right now, the demon beasts are running rampant. That vicious villain who wants to earn merit only needs to kill a large number of demon beasts; it's much more convenient and faster than before."

"If he really has mastered some shortcut or loophole to join the medical center, then we will be in trouble!"

"However, whenever I think about how important the Lava Immortal Palace is, and that I have this opportunity to contribute to the family, to shine for the Southern Bean Kingdom, my heart fills with motivation, my blood feels like it's boiling, I..."

"Alright, alright." Zhu Xuanji waved his hand, showing a hint of helplessness, interrupting Ning Zhuo.

"I know what you want to say, and I understand your meaning."

"Take this, consider it a reward for your recent good performance."

As he spoke, he tossed an object over.

Ning Zhuo hurriedly caught it and took a closer look. It was a crystal.

The crystal was completely transparent, relatively heavy, as if made of pure glass, without a trace of impurity.

Ning Zhuo was startled and exclaimed in a low voice, "This is a top-grade crystal!"

Zhu Xuanji said, "This crystal originally contained natural ice-attribute spiritual power, but I've used it all up."

"But it still holds great value!"

"Because any top-grade crystal will automatically absorb spiritual energy from the outside to replenish itself."

"However, an ice-attribute top-grade spirit stone can only be filled with ice-attribute spiritual power."

"You like creating mechanisms, don't you? This kind of top-grade crystal is a natural mana pool, very suitable for you."

"However, if you want to fill it with ice-attribute mana, in an environment like Huoshi Mountain or the Lava Immortal Palace, you'll need to put in a bit more effort."

Ning Zhuo repeatedly thanked him, holding the top-grade crystal in one hand and the array disk handkerchief in the other, looking eagerly at Ning Jiufan.

He didn't speak, but his eyes said it all.

Zhou Nongying and Zhu Xuanji also looked at Ning Jiufan.

Ning Jiufan coughed and said expressionlessly, "You're worried about the merit-based rewards? Then let me tell you. This time, the merit-based rewards will be personally overseen by me. Are you satisfied?"

Ning Zhuo quickly expressed his satisfaction and was about to continue speaking.

But Ning Jiufan had already flicked his sleeve, turned around, and flown away from the place.

Zhu Xuanji and Zhou Nongying each smiled wryly and also flew into the sky and left.

Only after the three Golden Core cultivators had flown out of Ning Zhuo's sight did he subtly let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He had long anticipated such a scene.

Sun Lingtong's reminder to him was very reasonable.

If he had used those three drops of 'Highest Goodness Like Water' back in the critical care room, it was possible that just now, the three Golden Core cultivators would have planted new monitoring methods on him.

Ning Zhuo stored both the handkerchief array disk and the top-grade crystal into his storage belt.

It seemed that every time, he managed to get some 'wool' from the Golden Core elders.

Ning Zhuo knew the reasons for this very well.

"The potential and ability I've demonstrated make the Golden Core elders believe that I will certainly have a place in the future Huoshi Immortal City."

"Whether they are thinking of making an investment, or want to suppress the Ning family or stir up internal conflict within the Ning family, they are inclined to win me over while I'm still in a lowly position."

"After all, at this stage, the cost of winning me over is the smallest. It will be different once I reach the Foundation Establishment stage."

Ning Zhuo returned to his residence.

He was surprised to find an additional jade slip on his bedside.

After checking it and browsing the contents, he discovered that this jade slip actually came from Ning Jiufan.

In the jade slip, Ning Jiufan had specially left a message for Ning Zhuo, telling him: this book of talisman annotations contained his own insights and experiences from studying the Ning family talismans. He told Ning Zhuo to read it secretly and not to say anything he shouldn't.

Ning Zhuo understood Ning Jiufan's meaning.

On one hand, he had just been saving face in front of Zhu Xuanji and Zhou Nongying and hadn't directly given Ning Zhuo any rewards. This jade slip was compensation.

On the other hand, he was also worried that Ning Zhuo would take advantage of the situation and publicize this jade slip everywhere to enhance his own prestige within the Ning family.

Ning Jiufan's worry was not unfounded.

If it weren't for the specific message Ning Jiufan had left, Ning Zhuo really had planned to do just that.

Ning Zhuo put away the jade slip.

It was a good thing, but currently, he had absolutely no time or energy to study it.

(End of )