Chapter 225: Rumors
Fei Si suddenly understood: "Then everything makes sense."
He proceeded to report the details to Meng Kui.
Meng Kui pondered, "The Foundation Establishment method of the Three Dantian will surely be of great help to my grandson, Meng Chong."
"This Demonic Dao True Scripture should be kept under strict watch by our City Lord's Mansion. If it falls into the hands of Demonic Dao thieves, who knows how many lives will suffer."
"Fei Si, do everything you can to find this scripture!"
Meng Kui directly issued the order.
Fei Si, carrying the new orders, returned to the City Lord's Mansion once again.
He sat at his desk, lost in thought.
"Where could the Demonic Dao True Scripture be?"
The first person he suspected was Ning Zhuo!
"This young Ning Zhuo is ambitious. Back then, he was the one who took the lead in wiping out Yuan Dasheng."
"At that time, he was so aggressive in dealing with Yuan Dasheng and the Monkey Head Gang. Was it really just for the business of the Mechanical Explosive Monkey?"
"Or did he already, through some channel, accidentally learn the secret that Yuan Dasheng possessed the True Scripture?"
"During the Huoshi Festival, he actively asked me for an identity token... Was there some intent to use me?"
"However, if Yuan Dasheng had the True Scripture, after his death, it should have leaked out and transferred to the most suitable nearby vessel."
"At Yuan Dasheng’s death, both Ning Zhuo and Yuan Er were present. If the True Scripture leaked, these two must know about it and would be the ones who benefited."
"They could have secretly reached some kind of agreement!"
"Wait a moment."
Fei Si's expression changed slightly at this thought.
Because he remembered that shortly afterward, Yuan Er was assassinated.
And the Monkey Head Gang, which his father had painstakingly built, was recently swallowed up by Ning Zhuo.
"Could this have been a case where Ning Zhuo and Yuan Er, after failing to divide the spoils, resulted in the former killing to silence the latter?"
"Ning Zhuo is indeed suspicious, but at the same time... not so much."
Fei Si thought deeply.
The reason for his thinking was that Zhu Xuanji had a fairly powerful ability to discern lies.
"Ning Zhuo, with his mere Qi Refining third-layer cultivation, could not have deceived Zhu Xuanji."
"Oh, but now he has acquired the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art from the fourth to the sixth layer, so he might have already reached the fourth layer."
"But that doesn't make much difference, it's still Qi Refining stage!"
"Unless he has some rare treasure that could resist Zhu Xuanji's scrutiny."
Fei Si shook his head slightly at the thought.
The possibility was too small.
"With Ning Zhuo's ambitious nature, if he had such a rare treasure, he would have been more active by now."
"It doesn't make sense for him to have remained ordinary for over a decade, only to rise to prominence at sixteen because of the Lava Immortal Palace."
"He and I share the same nature; we're the same kind of people. Heh."
"He couldn't have endured for more than ten years!"
Fei Si racked his brain but couldn’t figure it out.
Since he couldn’t think of anything, Fei Si directly issued orders to the City Lord's Mansion personnel to investigate the matter.
One thing puzzled Fei Si.
That was the fact that Zhu Xuanji, when leaving, had given Ning Zhuo three days to explain.
"Explain what? Why not explain it on the spot?"
"Or, did Zhu Xuanji consider other influences?"
"After all, Ning Zhuo is no longer the same. He is now a renowned genius cultivator of the Ning family."
"You should still respect the owner when beating a dog. During the trip to Mount Huoshi’s depths, Ning Jiufan contributed a lot, being the greatest contributor to Zhu Xuanji's mission."
"Wait."
"Could Ning Zhuo's repeated successes in exploring the Immortal Palace be because of this Demonic Art?"
"From this point, maybe he has already mastered considerable Soul Sea cultivation."
Fei Si let his thoughts wander. He wasn't a detective, so he guessed freely, without any mental burden or concern for evidence.
"In any case, enhancing the investigation is necessary."
Fei Si realized that he lacked key clues; the intelligence he had was too limited to support a proper judgment.
Soon, the power of the City Lord's Mansion was mobilized by Fei Si.
On one hand, Fei Si sent City Lord's Mansion officers to conduct visits everywhere. On the other hand, he activated covert agents to spy on Ning Zhuo's true situation.
A night passed.
The Golden Core ancestors communicated with one another.
"This young Ning Zhuo has many spies around him."
"It’s normal for other factions' spies to be lurking around him, considering how recently he has risen to power."
"Some aren't even true spies, just people selling information externally."
...
The subordinates gathered around Ning Zhuo were only loyal to a limited degree.
Especially those former deacons, who had been dismissed by the main branch because their hands weren't clean, many were guilty of corruption.
Everyone was curious about what exactly happened between Ning Zhuo and Zhu Xuanji, and various forces, big and small, began investigating.
Many former deacons took the opportunity to engage in the business of selling intelligence.
Whether they sold intelligence for profit, were infiltrators sent by the Ning family patriarch, or simply people with discontent, they all worked secretly, making efforts in full swing.
They had no idea that six Golden Core cultivators were watching Ning Zhuo closely.
Their every action was being seen clearly by the six Golden Core cultivators.
The highest cultivation among these people was no more than the Foundation Establishment stage, so they couldn't detect the means of the Golden Core ancestors.
"That Ning Xiangguo is the most suspicious!" Zhu Xuanji said while communicating with the three Golden Core families.
Ning Xiangguo was the City Lord's Mansion's spy.
Back in the day, Fei Si had personally turned him, making him one of Fei Si's most effective agents for probing Ning family intelligence.
When Ning Zhuo launched an attack on Ning Xiaoren, he had sought Fei Si's help. Fei Si secretly ordered Ning Xiangguo to intervene and infiltrate Ning Zhuo's side.
During the downfall of the Ning family's young clan leader, Ning Xiangguo played a significant role.
After Ning Zhuo established the black market, Ning Xiangguo took up a key position and performed excellently in his duties.
However, Ning Zhuo had long since discovered his identity.
Ning Zhuo’s Divine Ability, Life Hanging by a Thread, could detect his subordinates’ loyalty to him to some extent.
Ning Zhuo held back, assigning Ning Xiangguo even heavier tasks to fully utilize his talents.
Ning Zhuo's arrangement, now, unexpectedly served a very clever purpose!
Zhu Xuanji and the others mistakenly thought, "Did the City Lord's Mansion send Ning Xiangguo to gather intelligence in preparation for an assassination?"
When the Golden Core ancestors of the three families learned about Ning Xiangguo, they inevitably speculated in this way.
Ning Xiangguo’s espionage made the six Golden Cores even more nervous.
They remained highly vigilant, but until the afternoon, there were no signs of an assassination, and everything was calm.
The Golden Core ancestors, instead of witnessing an assassination, heard a rumor.
The rumor spread through the entire city at an unbelievable speed.
The rumor's content was simple: the genius cultivator of the Ning family, Ning Zhuo, had secretly acquired a Demonic Dao True Scripture.
This Demonic Dao True Scripture was no small matter, originating from the Lava Immortal Palace and was personally created by the Three Sect Lords.
Ning Zhuo had used this Demonic Art to repeatedly achieve remarkable success in exploring the Lava Immortal Palace.
And it was because Zhu Xuanji discovered this clue that he visited Ning Zhuo in such a grand manner yesterday, asking about the scripture's whereabouts.
"How could such a rumor spread?"
"Who started it?"
"For it to spread so quickly across the entire city, the person behind this must be extraordinary."
The Golden Core ancestors sensed something was wrong and smelled a conspiracy.
None of them suspected Ning Zhuo.
Because since yesterday, Ning Zhuo had been under their constant surveillance, whether eating, drinking, or attending to personal needs.
The only letter he sent was a reply to Fei Si.
Moreover, the content of the rumor was clearly disadvantageous to Ning Zhuo and would arouse others' covetousness towards him.
As the victim of the rumor, how could he have spread it himself?
The rumor reached others’ ears.
"Ning Zhuo has a Demonic Dao True Scripture!" Ning Xiaohui, upon hearing the rumor, widened her eyes, showing joy and anticipation.
"If it’s true, then that’s great! A noble Ning family member, a righteous cultivator, secretly practicing Demonic Arts."
Meng Chong, on the other hand, was very interested in the rumor: "The Five Elements Qi Regulation Art doesn’t work without an aggressive charge!"
"Demonic Arts suit me better, strengthening the body and leading the charge on the front lines. It’s thrilling!"
Zhou Zhenshen and Zhou Zhu discussed it, both thinking part of the rumor was obviously fake, but some aspects had a ring of truth.
This left them in a dilemma, unsure what to believe.
Many people believed that Ning Zhuo really possessed a Demonic Dao True Scripture! Some even fabricated false evidence to convincingly prove it.
Yang Chanyu stood in a certain place, overlooking a vast stretch of rooft
ops.
Sun Lingtong’s small figure hid in the shadow behind her.
Yang Chanyu slowly opened her eyes. She had been casting a spell to eavesdrop on the surrounding sounds.
"Our rumor release was very successful!"
"But I’m a bit curious."
"What exactly did that Ning family genius, Ning Zhuo, do to provoke you, for you to frame him like this?"
Sun Lingtong was prepared and chuckled, "I've been watching Ning Zhuo for a long time. He’ll make a very useful pawn."
Sun Lingtong didn't want to reveal the true relationship between him and Ning Zhuo to Yang Chanyu.
After all, he had asked Yang Chanyu for help this time, but he didn’t have the strength to restrain her.
Even though they had a marriage contract, marriage only bound the two of them, and didn’t help Ning Zhuo much.
If Yang Chanyu knew Sun Lingtong acted this way just for Ning Zhuo, she would immediately see it as his greatest weakness.
Even if she didn’t act on it now, she would eventually harbor that dark thought.
Sun Lingtong changed the subject: "This level of rumor isn’t enough."
"Next, we can spread the second layer of rumors."
(End of Chapter)