From time to time, Ning Zhuo came to the backs of Ning Chen or Ning Yong, placing his hands on their backs to help them control the Sharp Advance Needle, opening up various qi meridians in advance.
The cultivation levels of the two lagged behind Ning Zhuo's, and many of their meridians were not cleared.
Ning Zhuo had long been at the third level's peak and had now broken through to the fourth level. He was very familiar with these meridians, like a local leading outsiders on a path.
The Ice Light Strong Pulse Talisman and the Sharp Advance Needle formed a very clever combination.
The newly opened qi meridians were still very weak and superficial. At this point, applying the Ice Light Strong Pulse Talisman could mostly stabilize them, saving the cultivators a lot of subsequent nurturing and conditioning work.
Very soon, both Ning Chen and Ning Yong made breakthroughs!
Ning Zhuo paid close attention and constantly gave verbal guidance.
Ning Chen and Ning Yong found it very strenuous to operate the new spiritual power circulation pathways initially.
But Ning Zhuo secretly controlled the Life Hanging Thread at that moment, directly commanding their bodies, adjusting their breathing, and continuously optimizing the rhythm.
At the same time, he also drew a trace of power from the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, guiding their thoughts so that they wouldn't discover the truth, merely thinking that Ning Zhuo was teaching them well and that they were learning excellently!
Every cultivator had a limit to their daily breathing exercises.
Ning Chen reached his limit first, followed shortly by Ning Yong.
Only then did Ning Zhuo withdraw his palms from their backs: "You both should adjust your breathing well. I will wait for you outside."
Ning Zhuo was the first to walk out of the cultivation chamber.
Soon after, Ning Chen and Ning Yong walked out one after another, looking exhausted.
Ning Chen was the first to bow, deeply grateful for Ning Zhuo's support.
Ning Yong scratched his head, unable to imitate Ning Chen's eloquence: "Same here!"
Ning Zhuo laughed heartily, saying that it was all within his ability, just a minor matter.
Ning Chen, looking serious, bowed deeply: "Brother Ning Zhuo, if you need anything in the future, just tell me."
Ning Zhuo nodded and smiled; Ning Chen had a good sense of propriety, which Ning Yong somewhat lacked.
Ning Yong wasn't clueless either. Hearing Ning Chen's words, he immediately realized and quickly added: "Me, me too."
Ning Zhuo then said: "In fact, there is something right now that I would like you two classmates to help me with."
Ning Chen felt relieved and quickly asked what it was.
Ning Zhuo then told them to go to the Monkey Head Gang's base and find the current gang leader, Yuan Er.
Yuan Er sat at the main seat.
Below him, many elders of the gang were intensely discussing.
Their voices were very loud, and when they quarreled, they often pounded the table, cursed, and shouted at each other, competing to see whose voice was louder.
The once solemn council room now seemed as chaotic as a market.
Yuan Er's face was ashen.
Without Yuan Dasheng's backing, these elders were all becoming arrogant!
Yuan Er couldn't get a word in edgewise; he felt like a puppet, sitting at the main seat but disdained by everyone.
On the surface, the elders were arguing, but they were actually making fun of Yuan Er.
Yuan Er could clearly feel his already flimsy authority collapsing rapidly.
"What should I do?"
"Who can help me?"
As if hearing Yuan Er's inner prayers, Ning Chen and Ning Yong were led in by gang members.
Ning Chen was all serious, while Ning Yong walked with his head held high, leading the way. As soon as they entered the council room, he loudly said: "Leader Yuan Er, my young master has something to discuss with you."
The council room fell silent.
The gang elders all turned to look at the two Qi Refinement Realm young cultivators.
Their gazes collectively focused on the waist tokens of the two.
Ning Family?!
A trace of joy flashed in Yuan Er's eyes. He slowly stood up, carefully choosing his words: "Does Mr. Ning Zhuo have something to discuss?"
Ning Chen nodded: "Precisely. Please move to another location for a detailed discussion, Leader."
"Sure, sure." Yuan Er was already feeling as uncomfortable as if sitting on a thorn felt.
This was undoubtedly the best way to end the current situation.
"Esteemed guests, please follow me." Yuan Er gestured with his hand.
Ning Chen stepped forward.
Before leaving, Ning Yong waved his hand grandly at the gang elders: "Ah, you all continue, continue discussing."
The elders were no longer as heated as before. Although they continued their discussion, their minds began to wander one by one.
"When did Yuan Er form a relationship with the Ning Family?"
"Who is Young Master Ning Zhuo? Never heard of him."
"We should investigate thoroughly once we return!"
Yuan Er led Ning Chen and Ning Yong to a side room, where he learned that they intended to take all of Yuan Dasheng's belongings.
"Why?" Yuan Er was puzzled.
Ning Chen then relayed Ning Zhuo's explanation, saying: "Young Master Ning Zhuo keeps his word and values promises. He is making the mechanical monkey personally for you and will naturally put in his utmost effort."
"Since the main material is Yuan Dasheng's remains, the mechanical monkey made should approximate his combat habits in life to better harness the potential of the raw material."
Yuan Er felt it made perfect sense and nodded repeatedly: "That's correct."
"Uncle Dasheng excelled in close combat, and his bones had been tempered through countless battles and fights, perfectly aligning with his martial skills."
"I will gather all of Uncle Dasheng's life images for Mr. Ning to reference."
"As for daily living items, that's not necessary, right?"
Ning Chen shook his head: "No, this was specifically instructed by Young Master Ning Zhuo. Creating a mechanical device is like composing a poem; it requires inspiration."
"You can think of the mechanical monkey as a poem in memory of Yuan Dasheng."
"Young Master Ning Zhuo naturally needs to feel Yuan Dasheng's essence through these items and various materials to compose better."
"It's best if you collect everything related to Yuan Dasheng and let us deliver it."
"The more comprehensive the delivery, the better the final product."
Yuan Er nodded repeatedly: "I understand, I understand!"
These days, his life had been tough. The trend was clear—it would become even harder in the future!
No one anticipated the mechanical monkey more than Yuan Er.
"Although Uncle Dasheng is no longer here, he will be with me, protecting me and controlling the entire Monkey Head Gang in another form!"
Ning Chen and Ning Yong completed the task perfectly.
They brought back many items, all closely connected to Yuan Dasheng.
The reason Ning Zhuo collected these things was to replenish the spiritual nature of the Golden Blooded War Ape - Dasheng.
According to the Cremation Prajna Spirit Liberation Sutra, all things have spiritual nature. When the spiritual nature is strong, it disperses outward. Hence, everyday items often carry associated spiritual nature.
Some cultivation masters' personal items, used over a long time, would often develop some spiritual wisdom.
Although Yuan Dasheng wasn't a cultivation master, he hadn't been dead for long, so his items still retained some spiritual nature.
This type of spiritual nature was of the same origin, making supplementation highly efficient!
This was currently the most practical plan for Ning Zhuo.
"Next, I need special training in the Cremation Prajna Spirit Liberation Sutra. Then, find an opportunity to refine these items and extract their spiritual nature."
"Besides the spiritual nature issue, the Golden Blooded War Ape - Dasheng also needed better repairs."
Ning Zhuo also had to consider how to deal with the aftermath should the Zhou Family discover the Golden Blooded War Ape - Dasheng.
"Hmm?"
Ning Zhuo examined the jade slip provided by Yuan Er.
The images recorded in the jade slip showed Yuan Dasheng practicing martial skills and actual combat scenes.
This broadened Ning Zhuo's horizons.
Especially the combo Yuan Dasheng used in fights left a deep impression on him.
When Yuan Dasheng encountered a strong enemy, he first pretended to be defeated and fled.
When the enemy pursued relentlessly, he suddenly squatted down, reached back, and made a grabbing motion. At that moment, his arm seemed to extend, always hitting the opponent.
This was a martial skill that Yuan Dasheng gradually understood and perfected through street fights and beast battles—Backhand Retrieval.
In the recorded images, Yuan Dasheng, in middle age, developed another martial skill—Sun-Breaking Hand!
He practiced Sun-Breaking Hand by first crushing wooden balls, then stone balls, followed by iron balls, and eventually steel balls… step by step, the offensive technique was terrifying, making Ning Zhuo feel a chill after watching it.
Ning Zhuo sighed: "First, the Backhand Retrieval, then the Sun-Breaking Hand. The two martial skills formed a combo filled with a ruthless and venomous style; Yuan Dasheng is indeed someone who fought his way up from the bottom. So down-to-earth!"
An idea sparked in his mind: "Perhaps, when I repair Yuan Dasheng, I can start from this angle and modify him."
"Once he has ample spiritual nature, he might replicate his proud combo."
Just thinking about it made Ning Zhuo feel extremely excited.