"Brother Ning!" At the entrance of the Zheng Family, Zheng Jian personally greeted Ning Zhuo.
This was Ning Zhuo's first official visit to the Zheng Family.
The Zheng Family went all out, opening the main gate wide. It was no small feat, considering Ning Zhuo was merely in the Qi Refinement Realm.
Moreover, the Zheng Family had Zheng Jian meet him in person.
"Brother Zheng, it's a great honor that you came to receive me." Ning Zhuo stepped down from the carriage, and upon seeing Zheng Jian, he was visibly surprised, quickly showing deep gratitude, feeling moved by such respect.
Zheng Jian was still injured, with nearly his entire body wrapped in bandages.
He laughed heartily: "Don't judge by appearances. My injuries have stabilized. A man of the Zheng Family would never neglect a friend due to mere flesh wounds!"
"Come, I'll take you to the Artifact Refining Room."
After the cooperation between the three families deepened, they opened some of their facilities to each other. For instance, the Ning Family's Talisman Making Room, several arrays of the Zhou Family, and the Artifact Refining Room of the Zheng Family.
The most popular, of course, was the Zhou Family's Gathering and Dispersing As Desired Spirit Tide Array. Everyone who used it praised it, and currently, it was fully booked, with a queue for every cultivator applying to use it.
The second most popular was the Zheng Family's Artifact Refining Room.
Many of the Zhou and Zheng Family's facilities were better than even the City Lord's Mansion.
Back when the Fire Persimmon Immortal City was being built, the Southern Bean dynasty funded most of it, and both the Zhou and Zheng Families made significant contributions.
So, once the city was completed, the two families received two of the best plots of land and managed two of the array pillars, giving them optimal conditions in specific areas.
The Zhou Family had the most ample space for array arrangements, allowing for more creative freedom. The Zheng Family had the most abundant quality Earth Flame, which made artifact refining convenient for them.
From an overall perspective, it was a game between local forces and the central court.
...
The streets were bustling with people.
Yuan Dasheng struggled as he walked, head lowered.
He bumped into pedestrians along the way, but remained unmoved.
Some people who were knocked to the ground did not dare to create trouble, at most mumbling a few complaints before leaving resentfully.
After all, wearing the Iron Han Armor, Yuan Dasheng appeared tall and imposing, exuding a Foundation Establishment aura. Looking at his expressionless face but radiating a strong sense of sorrow and despair, he was clearly not someone to mess with!
...
Under Zheng Jian's guidance, Ning Zhuo arrived at the Artifact Refining Room.
Ning Zhuo looked around, repeatedly expressing his admiration.
The room was well-furnished and equipped, containing many tools that Ning Zhuo had only seen in books before.
The development of various crafts in cultivation had reached a level of specialization. Unlike ancient times, where the thresholds were low and a single cultivator could use one Pill Furnace for both alchemy and artifact refining, today's Pill Furnaces were specialized for specific purposes.
Zheng Jian handed over a jade slip: "Our Zheng Family has stocked many materials. It would be an exaggeration to say we have everything, but we certainly exceed the market supply."
"Feel free to use anything listed in this jade slip, Brother Ning."
"According to our three-family contract, the used materials will be converted to market value and tallied to each family's consumption quota."
At this point, Zheng Jian produced another jade slip: "These materials are from my personal family allotment. Brother Ning can use these as well."
This was clearly a gesture of goodwill.
Ning Zhuo smiled and generously accepted: "Thank you, Brother Zheng."
"If you are not too busy, why not stay? I am about to refine some mechanical components using your family's Artifact Refining Room," Ning Zhuo said.
"This is the mechanical diagram I designed. I would appreciate it if you could review it, Brother Zheng." Ning Zhuo took the initiative to hand over a jade slip.
Zheng Jian was pleasantly surprised, realizing that Ning Zhuo was accepting their goodwill, and immediately reciprocated.
"Brother Ning, you designed the Explosive Flame Monkey mechanism. My knowledge of mechanical techniques is hardly worth boasting about in your presence. I'll just enjoy admiring your new creation." Zheng Jian instantly took the jade slip.
Although he was not particularly interested in mechanical techniques, the competition for the Magma Fairy Palace and Ning Zhuo's previously demonstrated impressive mechanical skills made him feel compelled to examine this new diagram.
He opened it and found it to be a mechanical monkey.
On closer inspection, he saw that the monkey was clearly designed for combat, not for picking Fire Persimmons.
The more Zheng Jian looked, the more his eyes sparkled, becoming deeply engrossed in the diagram without saying a word.
Ning Zhuo ignored him, walking to a corner, grabbing tools, and starting the fire in the forge.
...
Yuan Dasheng was passing through the west gate of Fire Persimmon Immortal City, heading into the wilderness.
The number of pedestrians around him quickly dwindled.
Step by step, he walked into the wild forest west of Fire Persimmon Mountain. Though his figure was burly, it exuded a strong sense of loneliness and desolation.
Eventually, he stopped in the wilderness, sitting on an unremarkable hill, staring blankly at everything around him, watching the sky and the clouds.
...
Ning Zhuo exhaled a breath of turbid air, carefully tilting his wrist to pour the melted silver into the mold.
Zheng Jian quickly used a spell, guiding the molten silver to spread evenly and fill every corner of the mold.
Ning Zhuo placed his hand on the wall, activating the array.
Instantly, a cold stream gushed from the ceiling, cooling the hot mold into a block of ice.
Zheng Jian waved his hand, dispelling the cold, and then took out an oddly shaped mechanical component.
This was the final piece.
With the help of the Zheng Family's Artifact Refining Room and the assistance of the talented artificer Zheng Jian, Ning Zhuo had completed all the mechanical components. The time taken greatly exceeded Ning Zhuo's expectations.
Next, they just needed to assemble and combine them.
There were no surprises. Once assembled, an eight-foot-tall ape skeleton stood before them.
Zheng Jian exclaimed repeatedly: "Just looking at this skeleton, I see more than a hundred movable joints. This mechanical monkey will be extremely agile, but it will also be very demanding on the cultivator's control. Many will probably be unable to harness its full potential."
Ning Zhuo said: "I designed this for myself. I purposely made it this way so that I can have ample room to improve my skill in controlling mechanical artifacts."
"Now, it's time to arrange the array."
"Then, we'll install the array plate and so on."
"Filling the body etc., will come later."
Zheng Jian nodded, his face showing joy: "Let's follow your plan, Brother Ning. I'll be your assistant."
Despite his injuries, he insisted on participating the entire time. On one hand, he could directly observe Ning Zhuo's mechanical skills; on the other hand, it provided excellent training, enhancing his own mechanical techniques.
After two days and nights, they finished the task.
"Why don't you stay at my place for the night, and leave in the morning?" Zheng Jian offered.
He had gained much from participating and experienced the brilliance and fun of mechanical techniques, openly stating: "Brother Ning, I'd love to chat with you all night!"
Ning Zhuo smiled bitterly, pointing to the bandages all over Zheng Jian's body.
The once unblemished bandages were now soaked with blood in several places and stained with ash.
"Brother Zheng, you should rest and recover."
"You've assisted me throughout; I am deeply grateful. If I linger any longer, your family might complain."
"We will have another opportunity to chat at length in the future!"
Zheng Jian laughed heartily: "Alright, alright."
"Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you."
"In a few days, our three families will conduct a joint operation, and we need you to lead it."
"Our injured ones can't participate."
Although the geniuses of the three families could still send their souls into the Immortal Palace, their physical injuries required their souls to reside continuously in their bodies during recovery.
Otherwise, the new body might grow incorrectly, failing to perfectly match the soul. This would create many obstacles to future cultivation, reducing efficiency. Over time, this cumulative loss would be unacceptable.
As night fell, Ning Zhuo left the Zheng Family by carriage.
Fire Persimmon Immortal City did not have a curfew, so Yuan Dasheng also entered the city.
Before Ning Zhuo arrived at the family residence, Yuan Dasheng had already sneaked into Ning Ze's house, quietly waiting for Ning Zhuo's return.
Just as Ning Zhuo had guessed, emotions did dissipate.
The stronger the emotion, the shorter its duration.
After sitting silently in the wilderness for two days and nights, Yuan Dasheng's emotions ebbed like a receding tide, exposing its soul which once again followed commands and acted according to orders.
However, the sorrowful melancholy still lingered, like a heavy gray cloth draped over the soul.
Controlling Yuan Dasheng was no longer as it had been before for Ning Zhuo.
"According to the 'Theory of Souls', after the Spirit Growth stage comes the Spirit Movement stage."
"Fully developed soul, Yuan Dasheng is no longer in the Spirit Growth stage but has entered the Spirit Movement stage."
"This so-called Spiritual Movement, is it such uncontrollable actions?"
"If emotions flare up again, I will lose control of it once more!"
Such a dreadful experience was not something Ning Zhuo wanted to repeat.
"There must be a way, and the Magma Fairy Palace must have the solution to this problem," Ning Zhuo said.
This issue needed to be resolved quickly.
"I can't just enter the Immortal Palace without reason; too many eyes are on me."
"The best opportunity is in a few days during the joint action of the three families!"