: The Demon Cultivator is Too Arrogant

Fei Si was still uncertain about the extent of Han Ming's connections within the Soul Devouring Sect. If they captured Han Ming and ended up provoking some old monster, the trouble would be immense.

More crucially, there was the Molten Immortal Palace. Currently, the City Lord's Manor and the other three major forces were fully focused on exploring the palace and had no desire for any complications.

Thus, Fei Si’s initial thought was: "After all, it's not us being harassed, but Sun Lie."

"Once Sun Lie can’t take the harassment anymore and voluntarily leaves Fire Persimmon City, won’t the problem resolve itself?"

The City Lord's Manor's lax attitude further fueled Han Ming's arrogance, until she was taken down by Ning Zhuo.

To some extent, Sun Lie's tolerance and the City Lord's Manor's half-heartedness both contributed to Ning Zhuo eventually capturing Han Ming alive.

"But this time is different."

"Han Ming actually clashed with Meng Chong. This time, we must go all out to capture her!"

"Hmm..."

"Better deal with Chuítiáo Kè first."

"Perhaps Han Ming will seize the chance to escape the city."

Mobilizing all forces to capture Han Ming was an attitude Fei Si had to show. But he personally had no desire to take any risks. If they actually caught Han Ming, he would be even more worried.

Compared to Han Ming, Chuítiáo Kè was a much easier target.

"This Chuítiáo Kè has always been quite close to Sun Lingtong."

"Sun Lingtong is a disciple of the Bukong Sect. This major evil sect is best at sneaky, underhanded tactics."

"Could the third demon cultivator be Sun Lingtong himself?"

Fei Si immediately considered this possibility, but he had not the slightest intention to investigate.

Sun Lingtong, like Han Ming, had the backing of a major sect. Sun Lingtong had lived in Fire Persimmon Immortal City for over a decade, putting down roots here; he was a genuine local power.

Moving against him would be even more troublesome than moving against Han Ming.

Fei Si thus ordered his subordinates to search the black market for Chuítiáo Kè and arrest him.

But where could they find Chuítiáo Kè?

There wasn't even a shadow!

After searching for most of the day, the subordinates returned empty-handed to report.

Fei Si gave them a thorough tongue-lashing, putting on a full show.

After delaying for a little while longer, he finally picked up the pill bottle and poured out a pill.

After swallowing it, his sense of smell immediately underwent a subtle change.

With a light sniff, he detected a faint, elusive medicinal fragrance in the air.

"Han Ming, I hope you know what's good for you and have already left Fire Persimmon Immortal City by now."

Fei Si took action personally, transforming into a long rainbow, flying high above Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

Following the medicinal fragrance, he sped through wind and clouds, quickly passing over the city walls and arriving at the mountain's foothills.

Fei Si felt something was more and more wrong, until he detected an extremely strong scent and saw with his own eyes a large bundle on the grass in the Fire Persimmon Grove.

Inside the bundle were the stolen pills, all packed together.

Hovering mid-air, Fei Si cursed inwardly: "Damn it!"

His face turned extremely gloomy: "They didn't even use a storage pouch. They just wrapped them in cloth and tossed them here in the Fire Persimmon Grove."

"Arrogant! They're really too arrogant!"

Fei Si felt severely provoked.

But he dared not enter the grove to retrieve the bundle of pills.

Because the shadowy demon cultivator from before was hiding within the Fire Persimmon Grove!

"This is likely bait, luring me into the grove."

"As expected, that shadowy demon cultivator has accomplices."

"If it were Chi Dun, he'd probably charge right in. But I'm not him; I'm no rash fool."

Holding this thought, Fei Si decisively turned and flew away, heading straight to the volcano peak to meet the Fire Persimmon City Lord.

He quickly reported everything.

The Fire Persimmon City Lord sat cross-legged high in the air, nodded slightly, and pondered: "It might not necessarily be an accomplice of that shadowy demon cultivator."

"Framing someone else or diverting trouble is also possible."

If that were the case, the situation was actually worse.

Because it essentially meant that the major forces in the city had already noticed something and had begun targeting the City Lord's Manor in secret.

Fei Si had previously proposed scheming against the geniuses of the Zhou and Zheng families, and the City Lord had agreed.

The plan was successfully implemented, but the City Lord also felt a sense of urgency.

He then assigned Sun Lie to help his grandson Meng Chong master the immortal talent "Galloping Thunder". Sun Lie reported the method to him in advance, and the City Lord nodded his approval.

He just hadn't expected a demon cultivator to attack during the process.

"They might not be real demon cultivators," the City Lord couldn't help but think.

After a moment's thought, the City Lord said to Fei Si, "You did well. Those pills are unimportant."

"Pursuing the demon cultivators isn't the priority either."

"Capture them slowly, no need to rush."

"As for Meng Chong, open the treasury fully and provide him with sufficient natural treasures. Using Galloping Thunder consumes his essence, energy, and spirit severely."

Precisely for this reason, the City Lord had always let Meng Chong develop naturally.

He knew his grandson's temperament well. Once he fully mastered the Galloping Thunder talent, he would certainly use it constantly.

Galloping Thunder was extremely effective, but it was easy to overuse it, leaving Meng Chong dangerously weak, damaging his foundation and future.

It was only recently, pressured by the other two forces catching up regarding the Molten Immortal Palace, that the City Lord changed his mind.

He used Sun Lie's help to enable Meng Chong to successfully master this excellent innate talent.

As for the attack on Meng Chong itself, it didn't make the City Lord nervous.

To protect his grandson, he had long ago placed talismans on Meng Chong's body. Once he faced a life-and-death crisis, the talismans would activate, unleashing tremendous power. Even if they couldn't kill the enemy, it would buy enough time for the City Lord himself to arrive and support.

In fact, he had more than one such measure. He also had things like Escape Talismans.

Midnight.

Ning Zhuo lay in bed, opening his eyes.

"Why hasn't my soul been drawn out yet?"

"I need to get into the Immortal Palace!"

The young man kicked his legs on the bed, growing increasingly anxious.

He gradually had a premonition that waiting like this would cause him to miss something important.

"Can I enter the Immortal Palace with my soul on my own initiative?"

Ning Zhuo thought of the mark planted on him in the preparation room.

He tried to mobilize the My Buddha Heart Demon Seal. After some摸索, the "Trial Disciple" mark once again appeared on his chest.

In the next moment, a thread of life force was drawn through space, striking directly into his soul.

Ning Zhuo's vision went black as his soul was extracted, entering the palace for the third time!

Main Hall of the Immortal Palace.

The fire spirit of the Dragon Turtle, which had been sleeping soundly with its head buried, suddenly shuddered, sensing Ning Zhuo's successful entry.

It let out a great burst of fiery breath, charged into the air again, and flew around the main hall, crashing its head and body directly into the pillars.

Roar... roar...

It issued continuous roars of fury.

The Molten Immortal Palace erupted into turmoil once more.

Thousands of treasure lights shot out in all directions, thick smoke billowed, and magma churned.

"Hmm? Another tremor!" The Fire Persimmon City Lord's eyes widened, and he quickly acted, driving the city's great formation to suppress the palace with full force.

"What in the world is going on?!" The City Lord's face was flushed red by the magma and firelight, his expression gloomy, his suspicions growing stronger.

(End of )