< Chapter 47: Cultivation >
Ning Zhuo made his way back, claiming all the rewards he hadn’t chosen before.
Upon reaching Room No. 2, he found himself short on soul power.
Every time he opened a door, he had to sense the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, an action that consumed a significant amount of soul power.
Ning Zhuo decided to return to the first level and finally managed to obtain the spell in one go.
“Name change successful, and my soul power is nearly depleted. Perhaps this time, I should conduct more experiments in Room No. 1.”
He chose a corner, placed all his items into a small flying box, and finally climbed in himself, closing the lid.
He sensed the mark of the trial disciple, and the next moment, his soul smoothly returned to his body.
“Smooth return! Very good.” Ning Zhuo clenched his fists, genuinely exhilarated.
Previously, passive entries and exits depleted almost all his soul power. Each return required healing and rest, and while feeling terrible was one thing, it significantly hindered his affairs.
Now that he could return actively, it ensured his condition wouldn’t hit rock bottom.
“My soul power has dropped to a third, but I can still move freely.”
Ning Zhuo first took several medicinal pills, then disguised himself again as the young puppet master and left through the teleportation array.
Moments later, he opened the door to the underground prison and encountered Han Ming.
Hearing the noise, Han Ming abruptly looked up and upon seeing the young puppet master, began furiously cursing him, venting boundless anger and hatred.
Ning Zhuo noticed many tear stains on her face and couldn’t help but sigh, quietly listening for a while.
Exhausted from her tirade, Han Ming was panting, her face pale.
Seizing the brief respite, Ning Zhuo manipulated several mechanical puppets, carrying water and food, and climbed onto Han Ming’s body, prepared to feed her bite by bite.
Han Ming firmly closed her lips, refusing to eat.
Although she lacked the strength to curse, her eyes glared intensely at Ning Zhuo, as if spewing fire.
Ning Zhuo sighed lightly, “This won’t do; refusing to eat or drink will lead to death.”
Han Ming suddenly revealed a mocking, crazed laugh, “Death? Hahaha!”
“Death is better than having you steal my cultivation!”
“Young puppet master, are you even a man? If so, release me and let’s fight for three hundred rounds!”
“If I lose, I’ll let you do as you please, be it enslaving or servitude, and I won’t utter a word against it. Even if it means handing over the essence of my soul, I accept it.”
“Are you brave enough?!”
Ning Zhuo shook his head, “Why bother going through all this unnecessary trouble?”
Saying so, he took out a set of mechanical needles.
Han Ming’s pupils dilated sharply.
Moments later, her cell echoed once more with her miserable, piercing screams.
This time, the pain Han Ming endured was even greater than before because Ning Zhuo not only extracted the essence of her soul but also manipulated her to consume a lot of food and drink.
Unable to withstand the ordeal, Han Ming fainted again.
Ning Zhuo directed the mechanical puppets to remove the rods one by one and tend to her wounds, carefully applying medicine to each one.
Ning Zhuo’s soul foundation surged once again, reaching about six times its original limit.
Due to previous losses of soul power, he currently had only three times the reserve of soul power.
But this was already sufficient for him to explore the Lava Immortal Palace once again.
He returned to his residence and activated the “Trial Disciple” seal, only to find that he could not enter.
“As expected, there’s a time restriction?” Ning Zhuo had anticipated this and was quite calm about it.
Immediately, he decided to test the seal every tea time to figure out the exact interval.
During this time, he was not idle.
He began to practice spells.
This exploration of the immortal palace had yielded the most spells ever, securing three techniques directly.
Wood Connecting Technique, Fire Grasping Technique, and another unknown spell—it was time to diligently practice them.
In the city lord’s mansion.
In the cultivation room, the formation operated, and the spiritual energy was so dense that it formed thin wisps of mist.
Amid the ethereal mist, Meng Chong sat cross-legged, his body flickering with electric light.
After successfully dispersing his previous cultivation, he immediately began to practice The Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.
The spiritual energy was directly drawn from the grand formation of the Puppet Immortal City, purified from the robust fire spiritual energy of Mount Huoshi, and was incessant.
The pills were from the city lord’s treasury, all of high quality and in large quantities.
Also, the exceptional talent of Wild Sprint Thunderclap, when activated, always skyrocketed Meng Chong’s cultivation speed!
The electric light suddenly dispersed, and Meng Chong abruptly opened his eyes, his face showing excitement: “Qi Refining first layer!”
“The speed of cultivation is more than ten times faster than before.”
“So exhilarating.”
“Wild Sprint Thunderclap… So this is how useful it is! Why didn’t I think of using it earlier?”
“Sigh, if only Grandfather had reminded me.”
“Cough, cough.”
Meng Chong coughed a few times. Upon closer examination, one would notice his haggard appearance, accentuated by the faint bluish bags under his eyes. Meng Chong was well aware of his condition. Every time he activated the Wild Sprint Thunderclap, it simultaneously consumed his essence, energy, and spirit.
“Master Meng Chong, it is time for you to replenish your body,” came a servant’s voice from outside the cultivation room.
“Um!” Meng Chong decisively got up and, with a few strides, forcefully pushed open the door. Moments later, he arrived at the conditioning room and leapt directly into the medicinal bath.
The brownish-yellow medicinal water in the bath, made from precious herbs meticulously mixed together, emitted a strong, almost foul medicinal scent. Meng Chong jumped in and, while soaking himself, devoured various spiritual foods that the servant had brought him.
After stuffing his stomach with servings of spiritual food, he tilted his head back and guzzled down two jars of medicinal wine, followed by several bottles of pills, popping them like peanuts.
As he continued, blood began to seep from his seven orifices.
The servant nervously warned, “Master Meng Chong, that’s enough. You’ve replenished too much. Your body has reached its limit and can hardly bear it anymore.”
Meng Chong laughed heartily. “What’s there to fear? I am a man of talent, after all.”
“Wild Sprint Thunderclap!” he bellowed.
In the next instant, his entire body once again released countless flashes of lightning. His talent accelerated the digestion of the medicinal power at an alarming rate.
His swollen belly deflated visibly fast. The pool full of medicinal water also cleared up quickly, and soon the scent of the medicine was barely detectable.
Meng Chong leaped out, once again vigorous and full of energy, and quickly headed towards the cultivation room.
“I must strive every second and give it my all!” he declared.
“I will definitely be the first to enter the Lava Immortal Palace!”
“Grandfather, I will not disappoint you.”
Meng Chong fully unleashed his natural tenacity, moving with a tiger-like ferocity, and his desire to cultivate was almost frightening.
Ning Zhuo had preliminary test results—three hours! This was his fourth entry into the Lava Immortal Palace.
He specifically left behind the puppet body in room number one and items like the small flying box, all of which had been cleaned up and were nowhere to be seen, which slightly disappointed him.
However, upon touching the portal, he discovered that the rewards were selectable again.
Using the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, he collected all three rewards from each door.
Arriving in the preparation room, Ning Zhuo didn’t rush to challenge the next stage but instead stared at the various puppet-making tools and the numerous mechanical stands scattered around, falling into deep thought.