Chapter 323: Mother and Son Dependent on Each Other (Requesting Monthly Tickets)
One year, two years, three years.
The intervals at which Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin regained her consciousness grew longer and longer.
Before, she could meet Ning Zhuo several times a year. Gradually, it became only once every two or three years.
Ning Zhuo immersed himself in the study of puppet mechanisms, working day and night without rest. Ning Ze and others tried to dissuade him, and even the elders of the academy advised him to take a more balanced approach, but he brushed them off. What could be more important than his mother?
One deep night, Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin appeared.
After assessing Ning Zhuo's progress in puppet mechanisms, Meng Yaoyin smiled with relief, "My son has been diligent in his studies. His foundation in mechanisms is solid, and although his cultivation is low, it is sufficient to help his mother."
"Mother, what should I do?" Ning Zhuo asked excitedly.
Meng Yaoyin said, "I am already dead, with only my spiritual essence remaining. Now, my spiritual essence is gradually fading due to the Dao injury. Only by sealing myself can I prolong my existence."
"Ordinarily, you are only in the early stages of Qi Refining and have just started cultivating, so you shouldn't be able to control a Golden Core-level puppet."
"But my Buddha Heart Demon Seal can break this rule!"
"Using the Heart Seal, combined with the mechanism components I modified as a Buddhist doctor, and with the natural connection between my spirit and you, you can barely control the Buddhist Doctor."
Meng Yaoyin then taught Ning Zhuo how to control it.
Ning Zhuo learned it quickly, his eyes flashing with a dim light, capable of influencing the Buddhist Doctor's actions.
Meng Yaoyin was pleased and gave him her final instructions: "Zhuo’er, I have already modified the Buddhist Doctor mechanism so that it will not completely return to the Immortal Palace."
"After I seal myself, the Buddhist Doctor will act based on its own restrictions and my spiritual essence. It will wander in Huoshi Mountain, constantly slaying Scarlet Flame Beasts to protect the Immortal Palace."
"I will no longer be able to regain consciousness on my own. You will need to wake me from the outside. I have already thought of a solution for this."
"I come from the Feiyun Nation and have improved the sealing technique, making arrangements... Using the cultivators who explore Huoshi Mountain... selling an Upper and Lower Wish Cord... When the time comes, mix in special cloud silk…"
Ning Zhuo listened carefully, not daring to miss a single word.
When she finished, Ning Zhuo asked, "Mother, I recently re-read 'The Essentials of the Lava Immortal Palace.' Whether it's the Serpent Scythe or you, both have gone through the Golden Furnace. Why can the Golden Furnace extract spiritual essence? Is this related to a certain scripture? If I could obtain it, could it help restore your spiritual essence?"
Meng Yaoyin smiled slightly, "I have already considered that. It is indeed possible."
"In the future, when you enter the palace, you may try it."
"However, spiritual essence is one thing, and memory is another. Much of my memory is already lost, with only the most crucial part remaining."
"Although I have sealed my spiritual essence, the Dao injury still erodes my memories."
"Zhuo'er, mother..."
Meng Yaoyin choked up, her voice trembling slightly, "Mother might not remember you in the future. I will only act based on spiritual essence. Please don't be sad!"
Ning Zhuo's eyes immediately reddened, his voice hoarse, but his tone resolute, "Mother, I will definitely find a way! Don't worry, I will definitely seize the Immortal Palace and save you!"
Meng Yaoyin reached out, gently stroking Ning Zhuo's face, her gaze full of affection, "Mother believes in you, Zhuo’er. How lucky I am to have a child like you."
"After being with you for so many years, I am already satisfied."
"Seizing the Immortal Palace is not important."
"Nor am I."
"You will have your own life and your own path..."
Ning Zhuo interrupted her, "Mother! Stop saying that..."
He hugged his mother, and for the first time since growing up, tears fell.
...
At sixteen years old.
"Mother, something has changed! The Lava Immortal Palace has lowered the entry requirement to the Qi Refining stage… We may never have another chance!"
Ning Zhuo decided to blow up the Immortal Palace.
He "accidentally" encountered Ning Chen and Ning Yong.
Ning Chen provoked him, "If I were your uncle and aunt, seeing you struggling to make a living in some insignificant workshop, how would I feel?"
"Perhaps I'd think: Look at this Ning Zhuo, clueless and arrogant. Without our help, he can only live in hardship, gradually sinking to the bottom of the cultivators."
Ning Zhuo's heart grew alert, "Something's off about Ning Chen!"
On the surface, he furrowed his brows and darkened his expression, as though his emotional defenses had been broken.
Ning Chen smirked internally and pressed on, unaware that Ning Zhuo was simply playing along.
Ning Zhuo then met with Ning Zhanji, and together with the Ning Family's cultivators, they ventured deep into Huoshi Mountain.
Ning Zhanji advised him, "You are still young. Don't just focus on chasing after money. Investing in yourself is the best way to succeed."
"Once you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, you will have a completely different future."
At this point, Ning Zhuo confirmed, "It’s Ning Zhanji who's plotting against me. Even though there are others behind him... Hmph, they want to scheme against me? I might as well take this opportunity to get rid of him first."
After entering the depths of Huoshi Mountain, Ning Zhuo used the Heart Seal to contact the Buddhist Doctor mechanism.
His eyes gleamed dimly as he remotely controlled the Buddhist Doctor, slaughtering the Scarlet Flame Beasts while quickly setting up a simple formation as bait.
The Ning family cultivators soon fell into the trap—
"There's a Fire Fusion Demon Ape ahead!" Suddenly, one of the scouts in the group shouted a warning.
The Ning family team ventured deeper, besieged by demonic beasts, forming a defensive formation to protect themselves.
The Buddhist Doctor, meanwhile, approached the Lava Immortal Palace, provoking an attack from Zheng Shuanggou.
"Scoundrel, how dare you covet the Immortal Palace! Leave your life behind!" Zheng Shuanggou roared.
The shadowy demon-cultivating Buddhist Doctor, under Ning Zhuo's control, let out a sinister laugh, "The treasures of the cultivation world belong to the fated. You Huoshi Immortal City's major families want to monopolize the Lava Immortal Palace? Dream on!"
In the midst of the battle, the shadowy demon-cultivator casually struck and killed Ning Zhanji.
"Lord Ning Zhanji!" the Ning family cultivators shouted. But Ning Zhanji, eyes wide open, collapsed to the ground, dead, with no peace in death.
...
The explosion of the Immortal Palace's emergence, accompanied by the tolling of the transmission bell, resounded throughout the city, completely beyond Ning Zhuo's expectations.
He and the other Ning family cultivators were all taken back to prison for questioning.
For safety, Ning Zhuo continued to remotely control the Buddhist Doctor. If his identity were exposed, he planned to use the Buddhist Doctor for rescue.
Ning Zhuo passed the interrogation smoothly, but an unexpected situation occurred when leaving the dungeon.
Chi Dun's Alert Bell sensed something, leading him to the Buddhist Doctor.
Two Golden Core cultivators clashed.
The Ning family cultivators panicked and fled in all directions, fearing being caught in the crossfire.
Ning Chen and Ning Yong also tried to pull Ning Zhuo away.
But Ning Zhuo said, "Why run? Let’s go back to the dungeon. It’s the safest place here!"
The two were stunned.
Ning Zhuo grabbed their hands directly, "Trust me, it's the right move."
The three of them returned to the dungeon.
Ning Chen and Ning Yong were restless.
Ning Zhuo pretended to be calm, eating fruit and drinking tea, while secretly focusing his mind, remotely controlling the Buddhist Doctor in a retreating battle.
In a critical moment, he thought of Fei Si and boldly commanded the Buddhist Doctor to flee into Huoshi Forest.
Fei Si's reaction was just as Ning Zhuo had anticipated; he turned around and blocked Chi Dun.
...
Under the alias of Chuitaoke, Ning Zhuo, along with Sun Lingtong and Han Ming, successfully robbed the Ziyang Courtyard of its pills.
Ning Zhuo succeeded in plotting against Han Ming.
Sun Lingtong suggested they test the pills and keep them.
Ning Zhuo shook his head, "I strongly advise against that."
"This time, we ran into Meng Chong by chance. He’s the grandson of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Our actions could easily be seen as an attempt to frame Meng Chong."
Ning Zhuo snorted coldly, "Isn’t it simple? Just throw them into Huoshi Forest."
Sun Lingtong was startled, but his eyes quickly lit up, clapping his hands in praise, "Brilliant, truly brilliant!"
Indeed, it was brilliant.
The pills were openly delivered into the hands of the Buddhist Doctor, which greatly reduced the connection between Chuitaoke, Sun Lingtong, and the shadowy demon-cultivator.
And with the purifying abilities of the Buddhist Doctor's mechanism, even if the
Phoenix Soul Fragrance Pill, Foundation Establishment Pill, or others had been marked with tracking techniques by Foundation Establishment cultivator Sun Lie, they would be thoroughly cleansed.
...
At the Huoshi Festival.
Chen Cha marveled at Yuan Dasheng's reliability.
Ning Zhuo remained silent, his eyes gleaming with a dim light.
He sneered internally, "Reliable?"
"I’ve plotted all this time, waiting for this very moment."
Suddenly, a dozen mechanical monkeys broke free from the cultivators' control and charged at Yuan Er.
The assassination attempt failed.
Yuan Dasheng turned back and continued picking persimmons.
On the mountainside, the dim light in Ning Zhuo's eyes reached its peak.
"Come, come," he whispered to himself.
The earlier assassination had already drawn the attention of the Golden Core cultivators. The subsequent explosion further diverted nearly everyone's focus.
Taking advantage of this, the Buddhist Doctor shrank its form and slipped into the storage formation of a Fiery Exploding Monkey.
When the mechanical monkeys had stored the maximum amount of Huoshi, the Foundation Establishment cultivators remotely controlled them to return.
They would stand within a large circle of a formation, spitting out the Huoshi stored in the formation, piling them up on the ground.
Whenever the pile reached a height of one zhang, the formation would activate, transporting the Huoshi directly to the granary of the City Lord's Mansion.
And thus, the shadowy demon-cultivator mysteriously disappeared!
A group of Golden Core cultivators stood with grim expressions.
The Zhou family patriarch questioned Zhu Xuanji's Celestial Golden Eyes.
Zhu Xuanji responded proudly, "I can only tell you that my mastery of the Celestial Golden Eyes is nearing a divine ability. In my ten-plus years with the Detective Division, I have encountered only three Golden Core cultivators who could resist the insight of my Celestial Golden Eyes. Below the Golden Core stage, no living being can escape my gaze!"
...
Ning Zhuo's soul entered the Immortal Palace, and during the reward session, he directly chose the "Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Resolving Sutra"!
The contents of the Buddhist scripture swiftly reached Ning Zhuo's heart.
"Just as I thought!" Ning Zhuo was first excited, then stunned.
The content of the Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Resolving Sutra moved him deeply!
In that moment, he almost cried with joy.
"Mother, the Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Resolving Sutra can refine spiritual essence and help increase your spiritual essence."
"It must be the restriction within the Golden Furnace."
"Mother, I’ve found it!"
...
The City Lord's Mansion dispatched assassins to attack three family genius cultivators.
Ning Zhuo was in a small cultivation chamber, surrounded by floating clouds, obscuring his vision.
He turned his head to stare in a certain direction, his brows furrowed, and the dim light in his eyes flickering.
The Buddhist Doctor remained hidden, constantly protecting Ning Zhuo’s safety.
Ning Zhuo used the Buddhist Doctor to instantly kill the assassins and thought to himself, "Isn't this the perfect opportunity to increase Mother's spiritual essence?"
The Buddhist Doctor collected the assassins' bodies and hid them inside a carriage.
Clip-clop, clip-clop!
A rapid series of hoofbeats echoed.
A carriage seemed to have lost control, charging toward the small courtyard.
Boom!
The carriage exploded, flames erupting.
Under the veil of Yun Yin’s concealment, the Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Resolving Sutra began refining the courtyard.
Bits of spiritual light were extracted and merged into the Buddhist Doctor.
The Buddhist Doctor regained its agility.
Its spiritual essence increased, allowing it to display its innate Immortal abilities and divine powers, with its strength further restored.
"Mother!" Ning Zhuo choked up, reuniting with his mother in the fiery sea.
"Who... are you?" But Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin asked.
Ning Zhuo froze in place.
Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin's voice was soft, "Why do you feel so familiar to me? You must be someone very important to me, right?"
Ning Zhuo's eyes reddened, his voice trembling, "Mother, I’m your child, I’m Ning Zhuo."
"Ning... Zhuo?" Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin looked confused.
She couldn't remember anymore.
(End of this chapter)