: The Seal of Buddha's Heart Demon

"It should be Ning Zhuo begging me to handle this matter."

"Not me rushing to arrange things for him."

"I am his uncle, his elder!"

"If I really do this, won't it make him even more arrogant, looking down on me from now on?"

"How will I discipline him in the future?"

But the situation was beyond his control.

Young Clan Leader Ning Xiaoren had backed Ning Ze into a corner, and Ning Ze had no intention of giving up his steward position.

What should he do?

Ning Ze pondered for a long time but couldn't find a good solution.

In the afternoon, Ning Zhuo returned.

In the main hall, Ning Zhuo paid his respects to Ning Ze and Wang Lan again, stating his purpose: "My main reason for coming this time is to take my daily living supplies."

Previously, during his studies at the academy, Ning Zhuo had often stayed here. He only went back to live alone on weekends.

Ning Ze feigned concern and inquired about his recent situation.

Ning Zhuo secretly activated the power of the treasure seal in his sea of consciousness while telling the couple that he had found a job at a mechanical workshop with good待遇.

After a brief conversation, Ning Zhuo took his leave.

Wang Lan watched his retreating back and snorted coldly: "What 'Flying Disc Workshop'? I've never heard of it. What future can a small workshop like that have?"

Ning Ze remained expressionless: "He's young, full of spirit. He needs to experience some hardships to understand how difficult life can be."

Seeing Ning Zhuo's stubborn attitude, Ning Ze felt even more averse to the idea of spending money and pulling strings for him.

"Wait, perhaps I can use his personality to my advantage." Ning Ze suddenly thought of a good idea.

He sneered: "Xiao Zhuo is too bookish, and being young, he likes adventure and excitement."

"I remember many clan cultivators have joined the Demon Hunting Society, entering and exiting the Crimson Flame Demon Cavern to hunt volcanic demons."

"I can ask someone to provoke Xiao Zhuo into going demon hunting!"

Auntie grew worried: "Wouldn't that be too dangerous?"

She was stingy with money, but she didn't want to see Ning Zhuo injured or killed either.

Uncle shook his head slightly: "There are already quite a few Ning clansmen in the Demon Hunting Society."

"Besides, this time the Young Clan Leader asked me to purchase a full 80 Flexible Ropes, clearly indicating our clan is planning a large-scale exploration of the Crimson Flame Demon Cavern."

"By then, with the protection of the clan's strength, Xiao Zhuo's safety shouldn't be a problem."

"Xiao Zhuo is young and impulsive, hot-blooded, likes stimulation and adventure, and wants to succeed on his own. He's stubborn, resists my arrangements, and is determined to join the Demon Hunting Society! How about that explanation? Hahaha."

"The beauty of it is – exploring the Crimson Flame Demon Cavern is also important clan business. Ning Zhuo would be contributing to the clan. Arguably, this is also clan work. The Young Clan Leader would find it hard to use this against me."

"Of course, money still needs to be sent."

"However, the cost of arranging for Xiao Zhuo to join the Demon Hunting Society is much smaller than getting him into a clan enterprise!"

Auntie blinked, thought for a moment, and said: "That's a good idea."

"But, dear."

"Since the clan is planning a big operation in the Crimson Flame Demon Cavern, there must be many opportunities to gain merit. What do you think about our Ji'er…"

Uncle immediately glared and scolded: "Are you crazy? On the battlefield, weapons have no eyes. If Ji'er goes up there and something happens, an accident occurs, what then? Do you want us, white-haired, to send off our black-haired son?"

"Ah?" Auntie panicked and hurriedly said, "I was mistaken, overthought it. Ji'er is safest staying home making talismans!"

Neither of them noticed that just as Ning Zhuo turned to leave, two streams of blood had flowed from his nostrils.

Ning Ze thought this was his own idea and secretly felt pleased.

He didn't know it was actually the result of Ning Zhuo's active influence.

The sun set, and night enveloped the Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

Ning Zhuo took a deep breath and, with a slightly nervous and apprehensive mood, opened the alchemy furnace.

"Good, it passed!"

Looking at the intact mechanical Blaze Monkey, Ning Zhuo relaxed, his heart leaping with joy.

Then, with a thought.

A seal hidden in his sea of consciousness faintly glowed.

It was the magic treasure his mother left him – the Seal of Buddha's Heart Demon!

The top of the seal was carved with a Buddha statue and a demon, standing back-to-back, forming a sharp contrast. The Buddha had a serene expression and compassionate eyes, while the demon appeared ferocious, its gaze like fire.

The main body of the seal was basin-shaped, with Sanskrit talismans appearing and disappearing around its edges.

The bottom of the seal bore ancient immortal script, just four large characters: "My Buddha, Heart Demon."

One thought becomes Buddha, one thought becomes Demon.

I am Buddha, I am also Demon.

When the seal reflects upon oneself, it is the compassion of my Buddha, saving others and oneself. When the seal reflects upon others, it can project a cultivator's thoughts and intentions into their sea of consciousness, influencing and altering their ideas. At this time, it becomes the heart demon of others.

To conceal this treasure, Ning Zhuo had suffered greatly and paid a heavy price. He bought large quantities of Golden Thread Dew Cakes mainly to expand his own sea of consciousness, increase his foundation, and barely manage to bear this magic treasure.

But he had also gained much because of it!

For example, previously, using the identity of the Youthful Guest, he mingled in the black market. When attacked by demonic cultivators, Ning Zhuo used this treasure to shock the enemy's mind, creating openings. Even if only for a moment, these openings often allowed him to win easily.

Another example was today. To influence Ning Ze, he forcefully activated the treasure's power in front of him, stirring a trace of its might. Only then did Ning Ze get "inspired" and think of the scheme to arrange for Ning Zhuo to join the Demon Hunting Society.

But because of this, Ning Zhuo's soul was weakened, his spirit frail, and his nose bled profusely for a time.

"Uncle is at the Foundation Establishment stage, I'm only at Qi Refinement level three. Influencing him is very difficult; it cost me something."

"It's not like when I operated in the black market, wearing the Cang Iron Han Armor, which gave me Foundation Establishment-level ability, allowing me to activate more of this seal's power and easily shake Foundation Establishment stage enemies."

"However, the true purpose of this seal isn't here, but in controlling mechanisms!"

Ning Zhuo activated the seal's power, forming a Heart Mark.

The Heart Mark, pale pink in color, shot into the mechanical monkey's body in an instant.

The next moment, the mechanical monkey opened its eyes, leaped out from inside the alchemy furnace on its own!

The mechanical Blaze Monkey was agile and lively, jumping around the underground workshop freely, up and down, without disturbing a single item. Its movements were controlled and precise.

If anyone else saw this, their jaws would drop in astonishment.

There are many ways to control mechanisms, the mainstream being spiritual sense control. But for a cultivator to possess spiritual sense, they normally need Foundation Establishment cultivation.

The device Ning Zhuo equipped the Blaze Monkey with was also a spiritual sense receiver. This meant that this mechanical creation was aimed at Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

However, even an experienced Foundation Establishment stage mechanist, using spiritual sense to control the Blaze Monkey, would find it hard to achieve such agility.

This was because the Blaze Monkey's spiritual sense reception component was three pellets Ning Zhuo ingeniously devised to save costs. Compared to a standard array disk, the control performance was significantly reduced. So, it wasn't that the mechanist's skill was lacking, but that the Blaze Monkey's control performance was inherently this low.

Yet, under Ning Zhuo's control, the Blaze Monkey was like a real monkey, remarkably lifelike!

It all relied on the Heart Mark.

As the saying goes, hearts beating in unison.

After using the Seal of Buddha's Heart Demon to plant a Heart Mark on the mechanical monkey, Ning Zhuo could directly command the monkey with his mind. This control method was more convenient and effective than spiritual sense.

Ning Zhuo controlled the monkey, making it leap and flip, and also tested storing fire essence. Everything went smoothly.

"After years of preparation, it's finally completely finished at this moment!" The young man sighed emotionally, gazing into the distance as if towards the Lava Immortal Palace, a flash of determination in his eyes.

(End of )