< Chapter 58: Ning Zhuo vs Yuan Dasheng >
Yuan Yi said, “Don’t worry, I’m human; I naturally eat less and don’t get hungry easily.”
He then laughed, “You are my brother. Thank you for protecting me earlier. In the future, those beggars from the Beggar Sect might still bully me, so I can’t let you go hungry!”
The monkey opened its mouth, spit out the food, placed it in its palm, and offered it to Yuan Yi.
Yuan Yi waved his hand, “No need, no need.”
However, his Adam’s apple involuntarily moved.
The monkey was very persistent. It stepped forward, held its palm to Yuan Yi’s mouth, and let out a sound.
“Hehe, then I won’t be polite.” Yuan Yi’s eyes turned red as he held the monkey’s hand, lowered his head, and quickly ate the last handful of leftovers.
“Delicious, delicious!” Yuan Yi laughed. He was skinny, wearing clothes that belonged to someone else, very ill-fitting, and with his disheveled appearance, he looked like a monkey himself.
The monkey also laughed, chattering away.
Man and monkey immersed themselves in happiness.
“Dasheng Uncle, Dasheng Uncle…”
Finally, Yuan Er woke the monkey.
The moment it opened its eyes, the monkey almost mistook Yuan Er for its old master. After all, father and son looked so alike.
The monkey’s vision cleared, and suddenly its nose twitched, its eyebrows furrowing.
It smelled something very unpleasant.
Yuan Er swallowed hard and quickly explained.
The monkey listened halfway, then stood up and walked out of the tent.
It was over ten feet tall, burly and majestic like a battle elephant. The scars all over its body were its medals of honor, showcasing its countless battle achievements.
“Greetings, Lord Monkey!”
The elders all bowed.
The ape didn’t even look at them, only stared at the numerous monkey corpses on the ground. After a moment of silence, it suddenly raised its head and let out a roar.
The roar was deafening, and the sound waves it created directly blew many elders off their feet.
Yuan Dasheng’s eyes turned red, truly enraged!
The elders all broke out in a cold sweat.
Yuan Er intentionally lingered at the back, feeling especially satisfied seeing the elders’ submissive expressions.
He timely stepped forward and said, “Uncle Monkey, Uncle Monkey, such a big incident has occurred, we will definitely find the true culprit and severely punish the murderer!”
Yuan Dasheng gradually stopped roaring, lowered his head, and looked at Yuan Er. The familiar face of the latter slowly calmed him down.
He slowly extended a finger and lightly tapped Yuan Er’s chest.
Yuan Er’s heart raced. He took a small step back and hurriedly nodded, “Uncle Monkey, believe me, I won’t let you down!”
“But right now, the gang is facing a major crisis. We must perform our best at the Huoshi Festival.”
“Currently, we are severely understaffed and can only rely on you, Uncle Monkey.”
“Please conserve your strength during this period. You are our pillar of support!”
Yuan Dasheng remained silent, slowly walked back, and entered the tent, disappearing from everyone’s sight.
Yuan Er looked at the elders sprawled on the ground, showed a slight smile, and waved his sleeve, saying, “Get up.”
Next, all his various instructions were met with full compliance from the elders.
When he left, the elders began to communicate through sound transmission.
“Yuan Er relies on the monkey’s power; does he have any aura of a leader?” someone scoffed.
“Monkey Lord didn’t get angry and kill; its temper has lessened.”
“What? Do you want it to go berserk?”
“I mean, could it be that it’s getting old, its strength declining, just putting on a strong front?” an ambitious elder pondered.
The oldest elder, upon hearing this, let out a disdainful sneer and turned to leave.
The other elders hadn’t seen it, but during a gang operation exploring the Red Flame Demon Molten Cave, he had witnessed Yuan Dasheng’s battle firsthand.
“The combat strength of that Fire Serpent was comparable to a half-step Golden Core.”
“But in the end, it was torn apart by Yuan Dasheng…”
“Although Yuan Dasheng has stepped into old age, his combat power is extremely terrifying. He certainly has talent, at least of a high level.”
“Not having a cultivation method is his greatest regret, but it is also our gang’s greatest fortune.”
Birdsong was close at hand.
Ning Zhuo was awakened from his slumber and opened his eyes.
What woke him was a mechanical parrot, with a staff head inserted into its back.
It was the staff head that controlled it, allowing it to call out at set times to wake Ning Zhuo.
“It’s about time.” Ning Zhuo immediately sensed the mark on his chest, letting his soul enter the Immortal Palace.
He quickly assembled a puppet body and continued breaking through the levels.
Along the way, he found traces of others attempting to break through. He retrieved surveillance parts and saw that Zhou Zhu and Zheng Jian had begun to cooperate.
“In the short term, they do not pose a threat.”
“The most crucial one is Yuan Dasheng; even Meng Chong is secondary.”
Ning Zhuo continued to pass through the levels.
He was now proficient in more than twenty kinds of spells, all of which he wielded with great skill. As long as his spiritual power was abundant, passing these checkpoints was quite easy.
After advancing as far as he could, Ning Zhuo retreated.
He retreated all the way to Room Eight, stopped moving, and began to wait patiently.
Soon after, the door was suddenly pushed open, and a large mechanical ape squeezed in.
“It’s here,” Ning Zhuo thought to himself as he slowly stood up, facing the ape.
As their gazes met, Yuan Dasheng immediately realized that this mechanical puppet before him was not ordinary.
After sizing up Ning Zhuo’s puppet, Yuan Dasheng scanned the entire room, considering not only the obvious mechanical traps but also speculating about potential hidden traps.
“It seems it mistook me for a guard puppet, like those Kung Fu puppets from before,” Ning Zhuo thought with a nod.
This was precisely the effect he wanted to create.
In this regard, the leaderboard and his pseudonym played a crucial role, making Yuan Dasheng believe that he was the only one daring to venture into the Immortal Palace!
After observing for a while, Yuan Dasheng began to attempt breaking through the level.
Ning Zhuo immediately took action.
Spell—Ice Embracing Technique.
Mechanical Part—Flying Hand.
Spell—Single Breath.
Mechanical Part—Gas Ring.
A mechanical arm swiftly flew toward Yuan Dasheng, with a burst of freezing cold air emanating from its palm.
The freezing air would typically only be harmful upon contact. But the Gas Ring spun ahead, and with the influence of the Single Breath spell, the freezing air was blown outward.
The fan-shaped burst of freezing air instantly swept over.
Yuan Dasheng immediately dodged, though most of it missed him, a section of his left leg was still covered in frost.
A fierce gleam appeared in Yuan Dasheng’s eyes!
It was the first time he had seen a guard puppet capable of casting spells.
Without any hesitation, Yuan Dasheng charged forward, his momentum fierce, quickly closing in on Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo leapt lightly, activating the Single Breath spell. Coupled with the pair of Gas Rings on his ankles, a propulsion current burst forth, pushing him backward.
Ning Zhuo quickly widened the distance.
As he retreated, he continued to attack.
Dozens of Flying Hands continuously launched attacks. Ice Embracing Technique, Fire Grasping Technique, Metal Attraction Technique, Wood Connecting Technique, and others, all augmented by Single Breath, turned into mid- to long-range attacks.
Yuan Dasheng tried his best to shrink his body, using his arms as shields to protect his face, smashing through all the spells, and charging straight at Ning Zhuo, ignoring everything else.
This tactical choice was absolutely correct!
But it couldn’t change his defeat.
Moments later, Yuan Dasheng’s puppet body collapsed, parts of it burned, parts frozen into ice blocks, and some wooden parts protruding, creating huge obstacles…
Before collapsing, Yuan Dasheng looked up and roared in anger, his roar filled with resentment, indignation, and helplessness.
Frustration, utter frustration.
This was far from his true strength!
“It’s blocked,” Ning Zhuo breathed a silent sigh of relief.
The mechanical traps he set up were ineffective against Yuan Dasheng. Only by personally intervening could he halt the latter’s advance.