Chapter 327: "I Must Be Persistent!!!" (Explosive 20,000 Words, Please Vote!)
Ning Zhuo slowly shook his head, "Why should I seize the Immortal Palace? For my mother, even the gravest sins will be borne by me alone!"
"You can't bear it!" Zhu Xuanji roared in fury, entangled by the mechanical serpent, "For selfish desires, to slaughter millions, what kind of demonic conduct is this! If you go through with it, I will never forgive you!!"
"Xiao Zhuo..." Sun Lingtong's face was full of worry.
He knew Ning Zhuo's nature very well.
If it ultimately led to the entire city's residents being overwhelmed by beasts, Ning Zhuo's future would be bleak and irrelevant. He himself would be endlessly guilt-ridden.
This was because Ning Zhuo, from beginning to end, had always believed he was a righteous person!
The throne was half-melted, and the flames quickly weakened.
Noticing this scene, Zhu Xuanji and Sun Lingtong both relaxed slightly.
However, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit laughed loudly, staring at the space above Ning Zhuo's head, "Ning Zhuo, you can't do it, you can't do it!"
"Although you are the city lord, you are just one of the three authorities."
"You are endangering the Lava Immortal Palace, going against the original intent of the Three Sect Lords in placing it here. The Immortal Palace’s Life-Hanging Threads are stopping you!"
"Stop now! This is the arrangement of the Three Sect Lords. You and I are nothing more than ants, how can we compare to the Three Sect Lords?"
Ning Zhuo's seven orifices bled as he widened his eyes in sudden rage.
"Why not!?"
He roared firmly, looking up at the sky.
"I refuse to be a puppet on the stage."
"Do you know how much I utterly loathe this stage, the Lava Immortal Palace, and this puppet show?!"
"Even if it has brought me great accomplishments, I would rather be without them, just to exchange for even one more day of life for my mother..."
Ning Zhuo’s voice became hoarse, and his eyes were filled with intense hatred.
He suddenly reached out, and with a loud snap, he actually grabbed the Life-Hanging Thread above his head!
He pulled with all his might, causing the thick Life-Hanging Thread to distort violently.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit gasped, but soon noticed that although the thread was severely misshapen, it remained incredibly tough.
In its shock and anger, it mocked, "Ning Zhuo! You are too naive. How could the Life-Hanging Thread be something you can easily break?!"
Ning Zhuo remained stubborn, pulling with all his strength.
Within his spiritual sea and dantian, the white lotus root shone like jade, pure and translucent; green leaves gleamed like emeralds, fresh and dripping; the pink lotus glowed like rosy clouds, beautiful and enchanting.
The lotus of the Life-Hanging Thread Divine Ability trembled slightly, releasing profound light.
The profound light surged upwards, rushing beyond the nine heavens, piercing through Ning Zhuo’s body, and eroding the Immortal Palace’s thread above his head!
In that instant, Ning Zhuo was enlightened.
With disheveled hair, his face covered in blood, he let out a sinister laugh and began to chant!
"Five energies connect the soul, the bloodline surges, Three sects unite, and the foundation is built."
"Sixteen years of hardship, endurance in the heart, A thousand tribulations, yet the will grows deeper."
"Emotions and reason intertwine, with threads pulling, All living beings bow their heads, for generations to come."
"The heart demon is deeply rooted, no need to resolve, A thousand autumns of persistence, to reach the pinnacle of glory!"
I have never given up.
I must be persistent!
Who can control me? Not even the Three Sect Lords!!
I should be the one to manipulate emotions and reason, making all living beings bow before me!!!
"Ahhhhh——!"
Ning Zhuo let out a deafening roar, looking deranged.
He gripped the Life-Hanging Thread tightly, using all his strength, mana, spirit, and willpower!
Snap.
Even Zhu Xuanji and Sun Lingtong, who couldn’t see the thread, heard the faint sound.
In the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit’s vision, however, the thread had snapped into two pieces!
"!!!" The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit's mouth hung open, its eyes bulging, as if they were about to pop out of its head.
In the midst of extreme shock, it suddenly recalled the afternoon from hundreds of years ago.
That encounter with the Three Sect Lords.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had been compressed to a tiny size, looking up at the Three Sect Lords, like a mere mortal ant gazing at a towering pillar or Buddha.
The Three Sect Lords had slowly spoken: "Eight hundred years later, the calamity of heaven and earth will sweep across the universe, blood will flow, and corpses will cover the land..."
"You, the runaway Jiao serpent, are born with an enormous burden of sin."
"From now on, you will serve as the palace spirit, controlling the Immortal Palace and guarding Huoshi Mountain."
"As long as Huoshi Mountain enjoys peaceful weather and no more innocent lives are lost to slaughter, after seven hundred and twenty years, you will have paid off your innate sin, shed your tortoise shell, and truly possess the spirit of a Jiao dragon."
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had trembled violently, communicating in secret with the Three Sect Lords. It roared, "Seven hundred and twenty years?! Too long, too long! You might as well kill me."
The Three Sect Lords had replied through transmission: "Seven hundred and twenty years is not a fixed number."
"During this time, if you meet someone who can break their own Life-Hanging Thread, follow them."
"Because..."
"If they can sever their own thread, they can surely sever yours as well!"
Hundreds of years later.
At this very moment!
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit looked up at Ning Zhuo and actually felt a trace of the Three Sect Lords' majestic aura from him!
The flames surged violently, fiercer than before.
Only thirty percent of the throne remained.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit let out a low growl, then voluntarily plunged into the flames, letting its spiritual body be burned and consumed!
"Ning Zhuo, stop!!" Zhu Xuanji, no longer caring about anything else, temporarily gave up suppressing the Buddhist Doctor Meng Yaoyin, turning the mirror towards Ning Zhuo.
A white light rose from Ning Zhuo’s body, enveloping him.
It was the protective talisman bestowed by Ning Jiufan and the others!
In the next moment, the Buddha Heart Demon Seal suddenly flew out, hovering beside Ning Zhuo, then after a brief pause, it directly entered his spiritual sea.
The next moment, a layer of Buddha light emerged, blocking the mirror’s light for Ning Zhuo.
Now, it was Zhu Xuanji's turn to widen his eyes in shock.
"The Buddha Heart Demon Seal?!"
He had never forgotten the last words left by the Southern Dou Emperor in the capital.
"The Buddha Heart Demon Seal is no small matter, its karmic consequences are immense!"
"The Lava Immortal Palace is by no means just a casual placement by the Three Sect Lords..."
He always remembered the Southern Dou King's advice.
"In their later years, the Three Sect Lords placed the Lava Immortal Palace in Huoshi Mountain with deep and unfathomable intentions. On this journey, do not act recklessly; go with the flow and do not disturb the painstaking efforts of the Three Sect Lords."
Zhu Xuanji was shocked: "The Buddha Heart Demon Seal actively recognizes a master? Could it be that Ning Zhuo is the successor arranged and awaited by the Three Sect Lords?!"
He was able to use the Golden Phoenix Mirror because it originally came from the Southern Dou Emperor. Although he had offered it up before, the treasure mirror had not been re-refined and could still be used by him.
But what about the Buddha Heart Demon Seal?!
In Zhu Xuanji’s view, this was Ning Zhuo’s first time coming into contact with it.
Even if Ning Zhuo’s situation was the same as Zhu Xuanji's, just being able to obtain the Buddha Heart Demon Seal was an event of monumental significance!
At the top of Huoshi Mountain, hidden deep within the clouds.
Meng Kui's face was ashen, his tone sinister: "Finally, it has come to this moment."
He had painstakingly controlled the situation, using the power of three Nascent Soul-level beasts to constantly weaken the Lava Immortal Palace. Finally, now was the moment he could strike with full force!
Since the Immortal Palace had been blasted out of hiding, Meng Kui had been stationed atop the clouds.
He had sat for several months.
This was the moment he had been waiting for far too long!
He stood up and drifted downward.
He took out a seal and aimed it straight at the Flaming Lizard’s head.
Boom!
With a loud bang, the Flaming Lizard’s head was smashed open, brain matter splattering, yet it remained alive and retreated in panic.
In the sleeve, there is a universe.
His sleeve erupted with terrifying suction, drawing in the Nascent Soul-level Fire Serpent, temporarily suppressing it.
Mastery in his palm!
Meng Kui struck with full power, a massive palm of mana viciously slapping, sending the Nascent Soul Demon Ape flying to the ground.
Just as he was about to land a killing blow, Ning Jiufan took the risk, seizing the Demon Ape before Meng Kui could finish it off.
Meng Kui already knew that the palace master position had fallen into the hands of someone who barely met the entry requirements, and given the time constraints, he decided not to quarrel with Ning Jiufan for now.
He cast a powerful palm of mana, tearing off the main hall’s roof.
"This farce should come to an end!" Meng Kui's face was as cold as iron as he floated down.
The throne had been completely burned away, and all the absorbed spirit energy had been transferred into the Buddhist Doctor.
Meng Kui snorted coldly, using his spiritual sense to command the powerful palm of mana to seize Ning Zhuo.
In the next moment, Zhu Xuanji, as if compelled by some unseen force, turned the mirror and aimed it at the massive palm of mana.
"Hmm?!" Meng Kui glared at Zhu Xuanji, his face chilling with fury.
Sun Lingtong grabbed Ning Zhuo's hand, preparing to use the Void-Traveling Technique to flee with him. Though he was fully aware that using such a small trick in front of a Nascent Soul-level cultivator offered almost no hope of escape.
However, Ning Zhuo gently patted Sun Lingtong’s hand, smiling: "Boss, calm down."
"Don’t forget, I am a righteous cultivator."
As he said this, he brushed off his sleeve, bowed deeply to Meng Kui, and solemnly saluted: "City Lord, I, Ning Zhuo, am willing to relinquish the position of palace master!"
Zhu Xuanji turned his head sharply, looking at Ning Zhuo.
Sun Lingtong’s eyes widened as he too turned to look at Ning Zhuo.
Meng Kui halted, staring intensely at Ning Zhuo.
The entire scene fell into dead silence.
Ning Zhuo broke the silence: "My cultivation is shallow, my abilities weak. In this current crisis, only you, City Lord, have the ability to turn the tide and save the collapsing structure!"
"This position of Lava Immortal Palace Master could not be more suitable for you, City Lord."
Sun Lingtong looked at the calm-faced Ning Zhuo, then at the throne, which was now nothing but a pit. Finally, he looked toward Meng Kui.
Meng Kui looked at Ning Zhuo, then at the physical body of Meng Chong in Ning Zhuo’s hands, and then at the Nether Messenger Qi Bai, who held Meng Chong’s soul in a seal. In the end, he looked toward Zhu Xuanji.
Zhu Xuanji, as if waking from a dream, put on a solemn expression: "Ning Zhuo, responding to the call of the recruitment decree and voluntarily abdicating, is a hero of Southern Dou."
"In the current situation, even I cannot manage it. Only you, Lord Meng Kui, as a Nascent Soul cultivator, can suppress the beast tide and protect the city’s citizens."
"In fact, this is exactly your duty as the city lord of Lava Immortal City!"
Finally, the corner of Meng Kui's eye began to twitch.
At this moment, he thought of the prophetic poem he had deduced—Good and evil are but a single thought, the new master settles the people, filling the old pit.
So this is what "good and evil are but a single thought" means!
This is what "the new master settles the people, filling the old pit" means!!
Damn it!!!
(End of Volume One)
(End of Chapter)