: Mother and Son Together (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

One year, two years, three years.

The intervals between Foyi·Meng Yaoyin regaining consciousness grew longer and longer.

Before, she could see Ning Zhuo several times a year. Gradually, it became only once every two or three years.

Ning Zhuo immersed himself in machinery arts, forgetting to eat and sleep. Ning Ze and others tried to dissuade him; the academy elders urged him to maintain a balanced approach, but he brushed it all aside, offering only superficial compliance and disguise—what could compare to the importance of his mother?

Late one night, Foyi·Meng Yaoyin appeared.

After testing Ning Zhuo's foundation in machinery arts, Meng Yaoyin smiled with relief: "My son, your diligent study has given you an exceptionally solid foundation in machinery arts. Though your cultivation is low, it is already sufficient to help your mother."

"Mother, what must I do?" Ning Zhuo asked eagerly, overjoyed.

Meng Yaoyin: "Your mother has already died; only my spirit remains. Now, my spirit is fading due to the Dao injury. Only by sealing myself can I last a little longer."

"Normally, with your early Qi Refining stage and recent entry into cultivation, you would be unable to control a Golden Core level puppet."

"But my Foxin Moyin can break this convention!"

"By using the Heart Seal, along with the machinery components I modified for Foyi, and combined with the natural affinity my spirit has for you, you can勉强操控 Foyi."

Meng Yaoyin taught Ning Zhuo the control method.

Ning Zhuo learned it instantly, his eyes glowing faintly, able to influence Foyi's actions.

Meng Yaoyin was relieved and finally advised: "Zhuo'er, I have already modified the Foyi machinery, ensuring it won't completely return to the Immortal Palace."

"After I seal myself, Foyi will act based on its own restrictions and my lingering spirit. It will wander within Huoshi Mountain, constantly slaying Chi Yan demons to protect the Immortal Palace."

"I can no longer regain consciousness on my own; I'll need you to awaken me from the outside. For this, I've already thought of a solution."

"I am from Feiyun Country and have improved upon the sealing technique, making preparations... using the cultivators exploring Huoshi Mountain... selling the Upper Lower Ruyi Rope... when my strength is needed, mix in special cloud threads..."

Ning Zhuo listened carefully, not daring to miss a single word.

Finally, Ning Zhuo asked in return: "Mother, I recently reread 'The Essentials of the Molten Rock Immortal Palace.' Both the Great Serpent Scythe and you passed through the Golden Furnace. Why can the Golden Furnace refine out spirit? Are the related restrictions derived from some scripture? If I obtain it, can it help restore your spirit?"

Meng Yaoyin smiled slightly: "I've long considered this point; indeed, it's possible."

"You might try it after entering the palace in the future."

"However, spirit is spirit, memory is memory. I've already lost much of my memory,只剩下最关键的一部分残留着."

"Although the spirit is sealed, it cannot stop the Dao injury from eroding the memory."

"Zhuo'er, I..."

Meng Yaoyin choked up, her voice trembling slightly: "I... might not remember you in the future. I will only act on spirit alone. Please, do not grieve!"

Ning Zhuo's eyes instantly reddened, his voice hoarse but firm: "Mother, I will definitely find a way! Don't worry, I will surely seize the Immortal Palace, I can definitely save you!"

Meng Yaoyin reached out, stroking Ning Zhuo's face, her eyes full of maternal love: "Of course I believe you, Zhuo'er. How fortunate I am to have a good child like you."

"Having accompanied you all these years, I am actually already content."

"Seizing the Immortal Palace is not the important thing."

"Nor am I."

"You must have your own life, your own path..."

Ning Zhuo interrupted: "Mother! Don't say anymore..."

He hugged his mother, shedding tears—a rare occurrence since he had grown up.

Age sixteen.

"Mother, the situation has changed! The Molten Rock Immortal Palace has lowered its standard to the Qi Refining stage... perhaps I'll never get another chance in this lifetime!"

Ning Zhuo decided to blow up the Immortal Palace.

He "accidentally" encountered Ning Chen and Ning Yong.

Ning Chen provoked: "What if I were your uncle or aunt, seeing you reduced to scraping a living in some insignificant little workshop? What would they think?"

"Perhaps they'd think: Look, this Ning Zhuo doesn't know his limits. Without our help, he can only live in hardship, gradually sinking to the bottom among cultivators!"

Ning Zhuo felt a warning in his heart: "This Ning Chen is suspicious!"

Outwardly, he frowned, his face darkening as if his defenses were broken.

Ning Chen smiled inwardly, pressing his advantage, unaware that Ning Zhuo was merely playing along.

Ning Zhuo met Ning Zhanji. Ning Zhuo and the family cultivators ventured deep into Huoshi Mountain.

Ning Zhanji lectured him: "You're still young; don't just focus on money. Remember, investing in yourself is the best path to success."

"Once you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, you'll enter a completely different realm of life."

By now, Ning Zhuo was certain: "The one scheming against me is Ning Zhanji. Although there's someone behind him... Hmph, plotting against me? I might as well take this chance to deal with him first."

After entering deep into Huoshi Mountain, Ning Zhuo used the Heart Seal to contact the mechanical Foyi.

His eyes glowed faintly as he remotely controlled Foyi, slaughtering Chi Yan demons along the way while hastily setting up simple traps as bait.

The Ning family cultivators soon fell for it—

"There's a Huo Rong Mo Yuan ahead!" Suddenly, the scout in the team shouted a warning.

The Ning family team pressed deeper, surrounded by demon beasts, forming a defensive formation.

Meanwhile, Foyi approached the Molten Rock Immortal Palace, provoking an attack from Zheng Shuanggou.

"Vermin, how dare you covet the Immortal Palace? Your life ends here!" Zheng Shuanggou roared.

The shadowy demonic cultivator Foyi, under Ning Zhuo's control, laughed hoarsely with a sinister cackle: "Treasures in the cultivation world belong to those destined to have them. You clans of Huoshi Immortal City think you can monopolize the Molten Rock Immortal Palace? Dream on!"

During the fight, the shadowy demonic cultivator casually struck, killing Ning Zhanji.

"Elder Ning Zhanji!" the Ning family cultivators cried out. But Ning Zhanji lay on the ground, eyes wide open, dead with unseeing eyes.

The Immortal Palace was blasted into emergence, the transmission bell resonating throughout the city, greatly surprising Ning Zhuo.

He and the other Ning family cultivators were taken back for interrogation in the dungeon.

Playing it safe, Ning Zhuo remotely controlled Foyi to follow. If he were exposed, he would use Foyi for rescue.

Ning Zhuo passed the interrogation smoothly, but an unexpected event occurred upon leaving the dungeon.

Chi Dun's Alert Heart Bell sensed something, leading Chi Dun to Foyi.

The two Golden Core cultivators clashed.

The Ning family cultivators panicked, fearing collateral damage, and scattered in all directions.

Ning Chen and Ning Yong also tried to pull Ning Zhuo away to escape.

But Ning Zhuo said: "Run where? Let's go back to the dungeon; it's safer here!"

The two were stunned.

Ning Zhuo directly grabbed their hands: "Trust me, I'm right."

The three returned to the dungeon.

Ning Chen and Ning Yong were restless and uneasy.

Ning Zhuo pretended to be calm and composed, eating fruit and drinking tea, while secretly concentrating his efforts to remotely control Foyi, fighting while retreating.

At the critical moment, he thought of Fei Si and boldly directed Foyi to rush into the Huoshi Forest.

Fei Si acted just as Ning Zhuo predicted, stopping Chi Dun instead.

Posing as Chuitiao Ke, Ning Zhuo gathered Sun Lingtong and Han Ming and successfully raided the pill storage of Ziyang Bieyuan.

Ning Zhuo successfully schemed against Han Ming.

Sun Lingtong suggested inspecting the pills and keeping them.

Ning Zhuo shook his head: "I strongly advise against that."

"This time, we unexpectedly encountered Meng Chong. He's the grandson of a Nascent Soul cultivator; our actions could easily be interpreted as a plot against him."

Ning Zhuo snorted coldly: "Isn't it simple? Just throw them into the Huoshi Forest."

Sun Lingtong was startled, then her eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands in praise: "Marvelous, truly marvelous!"

It was indeed clever.

Delivering the pills openly to Foyi actually greatly reduced the perceived connection between Chuitiao Ke, Sun Lingtong, and the shadowy demonic cultivator.

And with the purifying ability of Foyi's mechanical Buddhist light, even if Phoenix Soul Blood Incense Pills, Foundation Establishment Pills, etc., had tracking methods planted by Foundation Establishment cultivator Sun Lie, they would be thoroughly purified.

Huoshi Festival.

Chen Cha sighed with emotion about Yuan Dasheng's reliability.

Ning Zhuo remained silent, a faint glow brewing in his eyes.

He sneered inwardly: "Reliable?"

"Everything I've plotted has been for this moment."

Over a dozen mechanical monkeys suddenly broke free from the cultivators' control and attacked Yuan Er.

The assassination attempt failed.

Yuan Dasheng turned back and continued picking persimmons.

On the mountainside, the faint glow in Ning Zhuo's eyes reached its peak.

"Come on, come on," he whispered in his heart.

The earlier assassination had already drawn the attention of the Golden Core cultivators. The subsequent explosion shifted almost everyone's focus.

Foyi took the opportunity to shrink its form and hide inside the storage array of a Huo Bao Hou.

Once the mechanical monkeys reached their storage limit for Huoshi persimmons, the Foundation Establishment cultivators remotely called them back.

They would stand in the large circular formation, spit out the stored Huoshi persimmons, piling them up on the ground.

Whenever a pile reached one zhang high, the formation would activate, teleporting the Huoshi persimmons directly to the City Lord's Mansion granary.

Thus, the shadowy demonic cultivator mysteriously disappeared!

The Golden Core cultivators all looked grave.

The Zhou family ancestor questioned Zhu Xuanji's Golden Pupil innate talent.

Zhu Xuanji said arrogantly: "I can only tell you that I have mastered the Golden Eye talent, almost to the level of a supernatural power. In over ten years with the Divine Capture Division, I've only encountered three Golden Core cultivators who could withstand my Golden Eye scrutiny. Below Golden Core, no living being has ever escaped my sight!"

Ning Zhuo's soul entered the Immortal Palace. During the reward phase, he directly chose the "Cremation Prajna Spirit Liberation Sutra"!

The sutra's contents quickly transmitted into Ning Zhuo's mind.

"Indeed, just as I guessed!" Ning Zhuo was first exhilarated, then stunned.

The contents of the Cremation Prajna Spirit Liberation Sutra moved him deeply!

For a moment, he nearly wept for joy.

"Mother, the 'Cremation Prajna Spirit Liberation Sutra' can refine and create spirit; it can increase your spirit!"

"It must be the restriction from the Golden Furnace."

"Mother, I've found it!"

The City Lord's Mansion dispatched assassins to attack the talented cultivators of the three families.

Ning Zhuo was in a small cultivation chamber, surrounded by floating clouds that obscured vision.

He turned his head, staring in a certain direction, frowning deeply, a faint glow flickering in his eyes.

Foyi was hidden nearby, always guarding Ning Zhuo's safety.

Using Foyi, Ning Zhuo instantly killed the assassin. A thought struck him: "Isn't this the perfect opportunity to increase Mother's spirit?"

Foyi collected the assassin's corpse and hid in a carriage.

Clip-clop, clip-clop!

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