: Soul Searching Ning Zhuo

2024-09-09 Author: Gu Zhenren

: Soul Searching Ning Zhuo

"Why... are these characters so small?" Zhu Xuanji frowned deeply.

Even with his utmost effort, his vision remained blurry. After all, flames had been raging at the time, obscuring much and distorting the view.

Ning Xiaohui's handwriting was tiny, located on the inner layer of the ice block, making it quite normal not to see clearly.

This was troublesome.

For Zhu Xuanji, if the actual object were before him, a simple sweep with his divine sense would easily reveal the truth.

But everything he saw was the result of combining his innate talent with a spell.

He couldn't do any better!

"Couldn't she have written it bigger?"

"Ning Xiaohui knew she was doomed. Before death, she exerted all her effort to create the ice brick, hoping it would be left behind."

"That seems plausible."

"After all, the Ice Fat Jade Hand technique excels at seeking life in the face of death."

"But in the end, the ice brick still didn't remain."

"Innate talent, after all, is not a divine ability..."

Thinking of this, a sharp glint flashed in Zhu Xuanji's eyes.

"Ning Xiaohui seems a bit overly cautious."

"Also, since she wanted to leave clues, why didn't she just speak the truth earlier when facing Zheng Shuang gou's magical clone?"

"One possibility is that after bidding farewell to Zheng Shuang gou's clone, Ning Xiaohui discovered something critical, or suddenly understood something."

"Another possibility is that before death, her mind was twisted by a desire for revenge, wanting to frame her enemies so they wouldn't fare well."

"There's also another possibility..."

"In Ning Xiaohui's view, Zheng Shuang gou wasn't trustworthy!"

"Or perhaps, she preferred to report directly to me rather than first informing a Golden Core cultivator."

Zhu Xuanji's thoughts raced, various ideas rising and falling.

There were too many possibilities. After pondering for a while, he set aside his chaotic thoughts.

"It can be confirmed that Sun Lingtong is the murderer of Ning Xiaohui."

"Moreover, he has mastered the Cremation Prajna Liberation Sutra!"

This was precisely the scene Zhu Xuanji witnessed in the second vision.

"The Cremation Prajna Liberation Sutra! Indeed, as recorded in the royal secrets, this Buddhist sutra can be used to liberate life and extract spiritual essence."

"Sun Lingtong mastering this sutra is excellent proof of the Empty Gate's deep infiltration into the Molten Rock Immortal Palace!"

"The Empty Gate..."

Zhu Xuanji gritted his teeth secretly. Due to today's events, he felt unprecedented hatred towards the Empty Gate.

"Calm down, stay calm."

"Anger is useless. The wisest decision now is to find Meng Kui!"

Zhu Xuanji barely stabilized his mind, waved his arm, and collected all the silver furnace fragments from the scene.

Although he couldn't clearly see Ning Xiaohui's final accusation, it didn't matter; he had other methods!

"You, clean up the battlefield, gather as many clues as possible."

"I'm leaving the palace to speak with Meng Kui!"

Before leaving, Zhu Xuanji saw Ning Zhuo watching him eagerly: "Ah, right. Protect him!"

"He was a pawn arranged by the Empty Gate but has now repented and turned to the light."

The three families' Golden Core ancestors: ?!

Zhu Xuanji: "Ning Zhuo is a very important witness. Protect his life at all costs; no mistakes are allowed!"

The Golden Core cultivators of the three families quickly nodded in acknowledgment.

The next moment, Zhu Xuanji soared into the sky and left.

Leaving Ning Zhuo alone under the intense scrutiny of the Golden Core cultivators.

Ning Zhuo was clever; he immediately ran to Ning Jiufan's side: "Ancestor! Ancestor!"

Ning Jiufan snorted coldly: "Tell us everything you know."

Though his expression was stern, he still reached out and pulled Ning Zhuo closer.

Ning Zhuo had already prepared his story, carefully crafted originally for use at the second line of defense.

Now, with some minor adjustments, he told it to the Golden Core cultivators of the three families.

The Golden Core ancestors pricked up their ears, listening intently.

They were learning this before Zhu Xuanji even heard it.

Meanwhile, Zhu Xuanji flew out of the Immortal Palace once again.

Outside, the crimson flame beasts were frenzied, their attacks growing wilder. But with Meng Kui's assistance, Zhu Xuanji managed to leave smoothly.

Zhu Xuanji flew straight to Meng Kui.

"City Lord Meng Kui, regarding the incident at the Molten Rock Immortal Palace, I have important information to share," Zhu Xuanji stated directly.

Meng Kui: "Lord Zhu, please enlighten me."

Although he was a Nascent Soul-level expert, Zhu Xuanji represented the royal family, so they spoke as equals.

Zhu Xuanji then informed Meng Kui how Ning Zhuo had confessed and his speculation that the Empty Gate was the mastermind behind the scenes.

Meng Kui was inwardly shaken. After a long silence, he said, "What an Empty Gate! Infiltrating the Molten Rock Immortal Palace right under my nose, with sinister intentions, inciting conflict among Golden Core cultivators. Now, killing Ning Xiaohui and destroying the Historiography Pavilion to eliminate evidence."

"If they could bombard the Historiography Pavilion, then the previous unexplained assault by the Five Elements Artillery Towers on Fire Persimmon Mountain, which triggered the beast tide, was probably their doing too!"

"To disregard the lives of thousands in the city like this—truly, evil demonic cultivators!"

Zhu Xuanji: "This is merely my speculation; there's no solid evidence."

"I naturally trust Lord Zhu's deductions," Meng Kui smiled.

Zhu Xuanji looked deeply at Meng Kui and stated his purpose: "Since the Empty Gate is the third party behind the scenes and has acted so outrageously, our two sides should fully cooperate to eliminate them first!"

Meng Kui nodded: "Indeed. What plan does Lord Zhu propose?"

Zhu Xuanji spoke eloquently.

Meng Kui smiled: "Lord Zhu's words are reasonable."

"If the Empty Gate truly steals the palace lord position, both the royal family and my Meng family would lose face."

"I also reaffirm my sincerity—I am willing to promise that regardless of which side—ours, yours, or the other three families—ultimately becomes the palace lord, all our current positions within the Molten Rock Immortal Palace will remain unchanged! Once the matter of the Immortal Palace is settled, any changes in positions will follow the court's regulations. What do you think?"

Zhu Xuanji's pupils contracted sharply; his heart jolted!

"What a Meng Kui! This is a blatant open scheme."

"No, perhaps someone from the three families has already secretly contacted Meng Kui..."

If Zhu Xuanji could poach and win over the Zhou, Zheng, and Ning families, then Meng Kui, as city lord backed by the Meng family, naturally had similar means.

It was simply a case of you doing it on the first day, I do it on the fifteenth.

Under the current circumstances, Zhu Xuanji could only agree and go with the flow.

Soon, they reached a cooperation agreement.

Both Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui belonged to the Southern Bean Kingdom, part of the same faction.

Previously, although both sides viewed each other as the main opponent, they maintained a level of competition, always keeping the struggle from breaking into open conflict.

Therefore, forming an alliance now faced no obstacles.

Both Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui hoped to eliminate the Empty Gate as the third party, ensuring the palace lord position would be decided between their two sides.

If the Empty Gate succeeded, both the Southern Bean royal Zhu family and the influential minister Meng family would become laughingstocks, bringing shame upon them...

This was unacceptable to both of them!

After signing the agreement, Zhu Xuanji took out a jade slip and gave it to Meng Kui.

The jade slip contained various pieces of evidence, clues, and conjectures he had gathered.

Most crucially, it included the three scenes Zhu Xuanji had "seen" at the silver furnace ruins.

Meng Kui held the jade slip, slowly closed his eyes, and his Nascent Soul-level aura suddenly expanded as he fully activated his calculation technique.

For a moment, mysterious energies overflowed, and mist rolled.

A few strands of Meng Kui's hair instantly turned white. He opened his eyes, unable to hide his fatigue.

Calculation often consumed the most precious resource in the world—lifespan.

This time, Meng Kui's calculation was no exception.

However, Zhu Xuanji had already promised that the lifespan consumed in this calculation would be compensated with longevity-supplementing spirit mushrooms from the royal treasury.

Zhu Xuanji: "Did you gain anything?"

Meng Kui nodded slightly: "I obtained four clues. They are: Ning Zhuo, Sun Lingtong, Zheng Danlian, and the Golden Furnace."

Zhu Xuanji immediately frowned tightly.

The appearance of Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong was completely understandable to him.

But why Zheng Danlian?

And why the Golden Furnace?

Zheng Danlian was one of the Zheng family's two Golden Core cultivators, while the Golden Furnace was the highest-grade artifact refining furnace in the Molten Rock Immortal Palace.

"Why would Ning Xiaohui mention these two clues before her death?"

Meng Kui interrupted Zhu Xuanji's thoughts: "Among the four clues, Ning Zhuo is the easiest to investigate. In my opinion, we should apprehend him directly and perform a soul search!"

Ning Zhuo was only at the Qi Refining stage, easy to handle. The only trouble was the opinion of the Ning family's Ning Jiufan.

Without hesitation, Zhu Xuanji directly refused: "Not appropriate."

"Ning Zhuo is indeed involved with the Empty Gate, but I've already made him confess and submit to the law voluntarily."

"He is under my protection and will be of great use in the future."

Meng Kui smiled, not angered by the refusal: "Lord Zhu, as a divine constable, is naturally more skilled than I in solving cases and pursuing criminals. I will wait and see."

Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui parted ways.

Watching Zhu Xuanji's departing figure, Meng Kui's gaze turned cold.

"Zhu Xuanji doesn't seem to have realized yet that the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit has developed ulterior motives."

"But judging by this, it won't be long!"

"The Empty Gate? Hmph!"

Meng Kui didn't pay it much heed.

After all, the Empty Gate had only deployed one Golden Core true disciple and one Foundation Establishment outer sect disciple.

If a Nascent Soul-level expert from the Empty Gate appeared, that would be an entirely different matter.

So, although Meng Kui discovered the Empty Gate was the third force that had been lurking, he wasn't in a hurry to take action personally.

"Maintain calm control."

"Let Zhu Xuanji investigate the Empty Gate. It's good if it occupies some of his time and energy."

Thinking this, Meng Kui sent orders to his followers in the Immortal Palace to go all out and strive to secure as many key positions as possible.

Simultaneously, he ordered his trusted aides to desperately contact the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit!

Zhu Xuanji flew back to the Molten Rock Immortal Palace.

Along the way, he frowned deeply, his gaze profound.

If Ning Zhuo hadn't confessed voluntarily, under these circumstances, he would be considering, hesitating—whether to search Ning Zhuo's soul.

But now, Ning Zhuo had just turned to the light; searching his soul immediately afterward?

Soul search had severe consequences, ranging from memory loss to痴呆.

Anyone with any political sense wouldn't do such a foolish thing, let alone Zhu Xuanji.

"Currently, I'm allied with the three families, but there's already a rift with the Zheng family. If I search Ning Zhuo's soul, my relationship with the Ning family will become strained in appearance only."

"Meng Kui wants me to search Ning Zhuo's soul... He's just a mere Qi Refining junior, a peripheral pawn recruited by the Empty Gate. What could he possibly know?"

"Moreover, Meng Kui is also acting strangely!"

Zhu Xuanji had calculated the timing.

When the hole appeared in the Molten Rock Immortal Palace, Meng Kui didn't act promptly.

The three families' Golden Core cultivators had sent distress messages, but without Meng Kui's protection, the messages would be attacked and destroyed by the ubiquitous crimson flame beasts as soon as they left the Immortal Palace.

"So, Meng Kui deliberately suppressed the dissemination of the messages, not escorting them immediately, which is why I received them so late."

"The Meng family's desire to seize the Molten Rock Immortal Palace is too strong."

(End of )