Chapter 270: The Subtlety of the Righteous Path
Lava Immortal Palace.
Main Hall.
"Ah!" The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit suddenly screamed and woke up from a nightmare.
It instinctively reached out and touched its head.
"It's still there!"
It relaxed, realizing it hadn't been destroyed.
It survived!
A being like a spirit has no fatal weakness. So, beheading and dismemberment are almost the same.
The difference lies in the amount.
If too much spirit is lost and reaches its limit, the remaining spirit will collapse and dissipate unless more spirit is supplemented from the outside in time.
At this moment, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit's body had shrunk by a third, leaving only sixty to seventy percent of its previous size.
Moreover, its entire body was glowing with flames, much brighter than before. This actually proved its weakness.
Previously, it had deep reserves, and its flames were intense yet restrained, giving it a solid and heavy feeling. Now, although its body was shining and quite bright, it felt somewhat light and flimsy.
At this time, a voice, like distant smoke, ethereal and dispersed, floated into the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit's heart.
"Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit of the Immortal Palace, only you can ignite the fire in my heart."
"Walk the flames of the Fire Jiao Dragon, condense the essence of heaven and earth, burn everything to ashes, and transform into spiritual light."
"I call upon you with a sincere heart and solemn thoughts. Respond to me, respond to me..."
"Whatever your demands, they can all be negotiated. I am a member of the Meng family, please answer my call, respond to my voice..."
These were the cultivators of the Meng family, constantly trying to communicate with the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit.
At the same time.
Ning Zhuo's voice also quietly came through, much simpler: "Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit..."
"Ah!" The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit screamed, shaking its head violently, "So annoying! So annoying!"
It withdrew its dragon head into its turtle shell, resting on the armrest of its throne.
It roared inwardly.
"Who cares about the Meng family? The only one I like is Meng Chong!"
"Who cares about Ning Zhuo, calling himself the young master? Bah!"
"The destruction of the Shiji Pavilion was all because of me. What use are you?"
"All you do is put on a show!"
"As soon as Zhu Xuanji targeted you, you shriveled up, became useless!"
"I see it clearly now, all of you—are useless!"
"It still comes down to me. I can only rely on myself!"
Ning Zhuo couldn't summon the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit no matter how hard he tried.
He followed closely behind Ning Jiufan.
Ning Jiufan, not used to being followed so closely, stopped in his tracks, turned, and looked at him: "Boy, why are you sticking to me so tightly?"
Ning Zhuo cupped his hands, his face pale: "Ancestor, Ancestor, I’m scared."
It turned out that after he confessed his crimes to the Golden Core cultivators earlier, Ning Jiufan had harshly scolded him.
But it was just a scolding.
After all, even Zhu Xuanji had forgiven and accepted Ning Zhuo, allowing him to make amends for his mistakes. The three Golden Core cultivators had no choice but to follow suit.
The only exception was Ning Jiufan.
According to the rules of the righteous path, as the head of the Ning family, Ning Jiufan naturally had the authority to deal with Ning Zhuo, one of the family members.
But Ning Jiufan only scolded him, not even hitting him. Although his tone was extremely stern, any slightly experienced righteous cultivator could hear the protective undertone in Ning Jiufan's words.
After Zhu Xuanji left, the Golden Core cultivators discussed for a while and decided to split up.
Ning Zhuo followed closely behind Ning Jiufan.
Ning Zhuo said, "Ancestor, I'm in great danger."
"Ning Xiaohui's death is still fresh in my mind. She was part of the main family line, secretly working for Lord Zhu Xuanji, and even under the protection of so many Golden Core cultivators..."
"Even with such protection, she still died!"
"This No-Void Sect is too terrifying, too sinister."
"Now that I've abandoned the dark for the light, they must have found out. I don’t want to die, I beg you, show mercy, save me!"
Ning Jiufan snorted coldly: "You don't understand the situation back then."
"The Shiji Pavilion was the primary target. The demonic beasts surged in waves, and it was difficult to defend in such haste."
"But if it weren’t for the bombardment from the Five Elements Tower, we would have succeeded!"
Ning Zhuo spread his hands: "The Shiji Pavilion is in ruins now, my weak little body can’t handle it."
Ning Jiufan, infuriated, bent his knuckles and gave Ning Zhuo a flick on the forehead.
"Ouch." Ning Zhuo covered his head and cried out in pain.
"When did the Ning family produce such a coward afraid of death? Where is the northern country's backbone of our Ning family?" Ning Jiufan scolded him angrily.
Ning Zhuo looked at Ning Jiufan with wide, pleading eyes: "Ancestor, how can you say that! If I weren't afraid of death, I would’ve been killed by the No-Void Sect’s evil demons long ago."
"As for the northern country's backbone, what's that? By the time I was born, our Ning family had already migrated to Southern Dou Country. Weren’t we driven out of North Wind Country?"
Ning Jiufan immediately glared, his beard bristling, and repeatedly knocked on Ning Zhuo’s forehead, muttering: "It was a voluntary withdrawal, a voluntary withdrawal!"
Ning Zhuo retreated, dodging Ning Jiufan’s flicks: "Ancestor, Ancestor, stop hitting me. If you keep doing it, I’ll become stupid."
Ning Jiufan chuckled coldly: "Stupid? You’re too cunning. You hid your crimes, and as soon as Zhu Xuanji made a slight trick, you were so scared you went limp and surrendered immediately."
"You should be a little dumber, it’d be good for you."
"You’re called Ning Zhuo, where’s your clumsiness?"
Ning Zhuo let out a sound of realization: "Ancestor, are you saying that Zhu Xuanji was tricking me? He was only suspicious of me, but didn’t actually have any evidence?"
Ning Jiufan sneered: "What do you think? Did you see him present any evidence?"
Ning Zhuo widened his eyes, in disbelief, and murmured: "Then, this… Lord Zhu is too cunning!"
Ning Jiufan snorted again.
Ning Zhuo blinked rapidly, looking at Ning Jiufan while rubbing his hands together: "Actually, I was mainly worried that if I got exposed, it wouldn’t matter much, but I didn’t want to bring shame to the Ning family or trouble you, Ancestor."
"Hah." Ning Jiufan's lips twitched.
He couldn’t help but be amused by Ning Zhuo’s shamelessness.
Ning Zhuo's collusion with the evil demon cultivators of the No-Void Sect didn’t matter much to Ning Jiufan.
After all, the righteous path often employed demon cultivators as their henchmen, and sometimes they even played the role of demon cultivators themselves.
Ning Zhuo's case was just a young and weak person being secretly controlled by demonic cultivators.
Even if he had participated in some part of the plot to bomb the Immortal Palace, wasn’t the Lava Immortal Palace still standing?
It wasn't a big deal!
Now that Ning Zhuo had exposed himself and broken free from the No-Void Sect's control, it was actually a great thing.
Ning Zhuo’s surrender to Zhu Xuanji had caught Ning Jiufan off guard and put him in a passive position.
But in the end, this was still his own child, and he had to protect him.
Even if he made mistakes, who doesn’t when they're young?
Close the door and educate him, and once he’s learned his lesson, he would still be a promising descendant of the Ning family.
Ning Xiaohui was dead. Now, among the Ning family's Qi Refining geniuses, only Ning Zhuo remained.
If Ning Zhuo also died or defected to the demonic path, the Ning family’s line in this generation would be severed.
That would be a disaster for the Ning family.
Ning Jiufan was deeply pained by Ning Xiaohui’s death. Ice Jade Hand... This pain made him even more determined to protect Ning Zhuo.
Zhu Xuanji returned sooner than expected.
He once again gathered the Golden Core cultivators.
"I’ve reached an alliance with Lord Meng Kui, and I bring good news to you all."
As he spoke, Zhu Xuanji's gaze lingered on Ning Zhuo.
Everyone present was a Golden Core cultivator, making the Qi Refining-stage Ning Zhuo stand out awkwardly.
When Ning Zhuo noticed Zhu Xuanji looking at him, he quickly bowed: "Greetings, Lord Zhu!"
His expression was respectful, his manners impeccable, without any mistakes.
Ning Jiufan spoke up: "Now that Ning Zhuo is the only remaining genius among the younger generation of my Ning family, let him stay by my side for now."
"He’s committed a grave mistake, and I will personally enforce the family law on him, punishing him severely!"
Zhu Xuanji slightly nodded, allowing Ning Zhuo to remain.
The detective sighed inwardly.
From Ning Jiufan’s response, he sensed the Ning family's Golden Core cultivator's dissatisfaction.
Ning Xiaohui was dead.
She had been working for Zhu Xuanji and was, to some extent, used as bait, sacrificing herself.
It was only natural that Ning Jiufan, pained by her death, was now determined to protect Ning Zhuo.
At that moment, Zhu Xuanji became even more certain that not searching Ning Zhuo’s soul had been the right decision!
If he had searched his soul and ruined this genius, Ning Jiufan would have exploded in rage.
"The Ning family is different from the Zhou and Zheng families."
"They came from North Wind Country. It’s said that the Ning family was dissatisfied with the rulers of North Wind Country and chose to leave, cutting ties with their benefits and connections. Such a fiery nature cannot be easily trifled with!"
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Zhu Xuanji officially announced that the two sides would cooperate closely, and whichever family’s cultivator gained a position in the Immortal Palace would retain it!
This news brought joy to the faces of the three Golden Core cultivators.
Ning Zhuo was secretly astonished.
After exposing Sun Lingtong, he had predicted that Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui would join forces.
But he hadn’t expected Zhu and Meng to cooperate to this extent!
"No!" Suddenly, Ning Zhuo realized something. "This wasn’t initiated by Zhu Xuanji."
"He’s already united the three families; there’s no need to offer future bargaining chips for further alliances."
"If it wasn’t him, then it must have been Meng Kui."
"Why would Meng Kui propose such an alliance, drawing in the three families?"
"Interesting!"
A gleam flashed in Ning Zhuo’s eyes: "It’s possible that one of the three Golden Core cultivators present has already secretly made contact with Meng Kui."
"So, who could it be?"
Ning Zhuo’s first thought was the Zheng family.
Earlier, Zhu Xuanji’s alliance with the three families to form a close-knit group was a brilliant move.
But later, the demonic plot that Ning Zhuo set in motion sparked a Golden Core conflict, with the Zheng family killing a disciple of the Taiping Palace, creating a rift between Zhu Xuanji and the Zheng family.
"The Zheng family now faces enormous pressure from the Taiping Palace. Meanwhile, the royal family has remained silent."
"The Zheng family might desperately seek aid, and allying with the Meng family would make sense."
"Aside from them, the Zhou family is also a possibility."
Previously, if the Meng family had taken control of the Lava Immortal Palace, the Zhou family would have suffered the most loss.
So, the Zhou family was the most adamant in opposing Meng Kui.
But what if Meng Kui made a private concession, offering to coexist with them?
In the past, this wouldn’t have been possible because Meng Kui wouldn’t have bothered with the Zhou family, which was merely a Golden Core-level power.
But after the three families united around Zhu Xuanji, posing a threat to Meng Kui, they now had value as targets for division and recruitment.
Zhu Xuanji used the three families, and in turn, they used him to increase their own value.
This game of alliances and betrayals, shifting and maneuvering, was the subtlety of the righteous path.
(End of the chapter)