The "Cloud's End Memoirs" that Ning Zhuo exchanged for, he finished reading quickly.
The book, from Luo Yunzi's perspective, narrated the story of his misfortune, wandering across the land amidst hardships, and his travels to various places.
The story was quite interesting, and Ning Zhuo also felt many local customs and traditions from different places in it.
But regarding topics like destiny and techniques to change fate, it only touched the surface without any in-depth exploration.
And this was already the best literature that Ning Zhuo could exchange for in the Complete Book Pavilion at the moment. The other few books that involved destiny, after Ning Zhuo read their brief introductions, were even worse than "Cloud's End Memoirs."
"Content related to destiny is not well-known, only circulating within a small range."
"At present, the one who masters this kind of secret the most is undoubtedly the Heavenly Track Mansion."
"Although the Heavenly Track Mansion is a super sect, its population is sparse and extremely mysterious. According to Luo Yunzi's self-description, he once studied at the Heavenly Track Mansion, but there was no mention of the Heavenly Track Mansion in 'Cloud's End Memoirs.'
"However, Luo Yunzi could change someone else's fortune within a certain time and range."
"Bringing wealth, official career, romantic luck, and so on to people."
"But all these spells had drawbacks; once they touched specific taboos, the results would be even worse."
Ning Zhuo sighed inwardly.
His previous plan had failed, and he could not rely on "Cloud's End Memoirs" to make the prototype of the Life-hanging Divine Ability achieve a qualitative change.
But it was not without gain either.
At least he learned that changing another's fortune had many drawbacks.
"So, Meng Kui's Mountain Gaze Divine Ability can create different fortune fields, but what are its drawbacks?"
Ning Zhuo pondered this question.
For him, Meng Kui was also a competitor vying for the Magma Fairy Palace.
The reality was cruel.
It would not cease to be a competition just because Meng Kui was in the Nascent Soul Stage, while Ning Zhuo was only in the Qi Refinement Realm.
When the final moment arrived, Ning Zhuo would inevitably face Meng Kui, a Nascent Soul.
"But if I could find out the weaknesses of his divine abilities before then, it would undoubtedly increase my chances of winning."
Ning Zhuo continued his arduous cultivation.
His Divine Sea cultivation level could no longer advance.
His Qi Sea cultivation level had also reached its limit, but his mana needed purification.
His Essence Sea cultivation level still had room for improvement; Ning Zhuo made considerable progress in cultivation speed through consuming large amounts of spirit food and spirit pills.
"However, even if the Essence Sea cultivation reached the peak of the sixth layer, I still couldn't break through the current bottleneck."
Ning Zhuo was almost certain that the difficulty behind the second demon door was consistent with the Buddhist and Daoist sects. If there were no unexpected events, he would still be stuck.
"Behind the second door is a special checkpoint, awarding the Five Elements Spiritual Conversion Disk. The better I am at the Five Elements Generating and Overcoming, the higher quality conversion disk I can get."
"Referring to the coffin room of the first Buddhist sect, there might be only one chance to choose, so I have to be extremely cautious."
"I must heighten my proficiency in the Five Elements Generating and Overcoming as much as possible. Before that, I won't choose the Five Elements Spiritual Conversion Disk."
The Five Elements Generating and Overcoming required diligent practice, and so did the Cremation Prajna Spirit Liberation Sutra even more.
According to Ning Zhuo's evaluation, this cultivation technique was the key to breaking his current predicament!
After all, compared to the Daoist and Demon Sects, the Buddhist Sect was his advantageous path.
Thus, Ning Zhuo focused on the Cremation Prajna Spirit Liberation Sutra, followed by the Five Elements Generating and Overcoming, and lastly, the Demon-infused Bloodline Technique.
He even timed his eating, drinking, waste elimination, and sleeping to the fraction of a second.
Ning Zhuo worked so diligently that those around him were in awe.
"I always thought I was hardworking, but compared to Brother Zhuo, what do I count for!"
"To be so diligent and tireless, no wonder Brother Zhuo has achieved what he has today. I am truly convinced."
"Brother Zhuo is so outstanding, working so hard—how can we have any excuse to slack off?"
Ning Yong and Ning Chen, among others, were greatly inspired.
They began their frenzied cultivation, taking Ning Zhuo as their exemplar.
As Ning Zhuo's status continued to rise, his continuous success brought an increase in his influence.
Ning Zhuo did not need to take deliberate actions to directly change the mindsets and behaviors of those around him.
After noticing Ning Chen and Ning Yong imitating him, Ning Zhuo promptly said to them, "We are all at the peak of the third layer of Qi Refinement. If we want to explore deeper into the Immortal Palace, we must fully advance our proficiency in Mechanical Techniques."
"Here's the plan: I can introduce you to the Mechanical Workshop."
"Once there, you can craft various Mechanism Artifacts and accumulate hands-on experience; this will be very beneficial for you."
Ning Yong, Ning Chen, and the others had no objections.
Since Ning Zhuo said so, he must have his reasons.
These young cultivators all chose to follow without anyone refusing.
Thus, Ning Zhuo introduced them to Chen Cha.
Ning Zhuo handed new Mechanical Diagrams to Chen Cha, "This is the new model I modified of the Mechanism Explosive Flame Monkey; it's primarily used for combat."
Chen Cha took a look and nodded contentedly, "The materials are much more solid than last time."
Ning Zhuo smiled, "It's mainly for the Monkey Head Gang to use. This kind of combat mechanism needs to be reliable since it's a matter of life and death."
Days quickly passed by.
That afternoon, following his schedule, Ning Zhuo specifically set aside some time to hear reports from Ning Xiangguo and Ning Xiangqian.
Many stewards dismissed by the main branch had been recruited by Ning Zhuo, among whom Ning Xiangguo and Ning Xiangqian were the most outstanding. Ning Zhuo appointed these two as leaders.
After unifying the black market and establishing rules, Ning Zhuo became almost a hands-off manager.
For over half a month, it had been maintained by the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Ning Family.
The emergence of the Magma Fairy Palace and the Recruitment Decree attracted many outsiders who continuously flooded into Fire Persimmon Immortal City, causing the black market business to boom tenfold.
While the black market's revenue soared, the management difficulty also greatly increased.
Fortunately, these cultivators from the Ning Family were all in the Foundation Establishment Stage and were not ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators—as stewards chosen by the main branch, they naturally had special talents.
These cultivators were the elite among the Foundation Establishment stage.
Their Frost Spells were very suitable for capturing people. When cultivators were frozen, they usually could keep their lives.
If it were according to Sun Lingtong's arrangement and influence, they would not have been able to handle the current black market.
But the former stewards of the Ning Family managed the black market in an orderly manner.
"You all have worked hard these past days," Ning Zhuo said as he finished listening to the reports and began distributing responsibilities.
He had already investigated the specific salaries of these Foundation Establishment cultivators when they served as Ning Family stewards, and Ning Zhuo took out eighty percent of the revenue from managing the black market to distribute to them.
Thus, it achieved the monthly salary standard they had when serving as Ning Family stewards.
"It's the end of the month, so let's pay everyone," Ning Xiangguo said, "Young Master Zhuo, it seems there's a miscalculation. We've only served for half a month, but this is a month's pay."
Ning Zhuo nodded, "The extra part is my gift to everyone."
"From now on, every clansman who joins us will receive half their monthly salary as a joining bonus in the first month."
Ning Xiangqian rejoiced, "This idea is good; everyone will like it!"
Ning Zhuo continued, "Next, based on individual assessments and achievements, we will calculate this month's bonus."
"According to the rules I previously set, detailed calculations will be made. The calculation process and results will be presented to the cultivators themselves for verification."
"The bonuses will be paid at the end of next month, together with next month's salary."
"In short, salaries will be paid at the end of each month, and bonuses at the end of the following month. This method allows for any disputes regarding bonuses to be reported and corrected."
Ning Xiangqian repeatedly nodded, "This method is good. This way, everyone working in the black market will earn at least as much as they did in the family. Those who contribute more will earn more, which is very fair!"
Ning Xiangguo frowned slightly, "With this arrangement, there will be almost no remaining profit from the black market. Young Master Zhuo, you should keep some for yourself. Permit me to say, you are giving away too much."
Ning Xiangqian was taken aback for a moment, then nodded after careful consideration, "It seems to be that way."
Ning Zhuo smiled and waved his hand, "It's only for the first month. I believe that we'll do better in the future."
"There will be more outsiders coming to the black market."
"In fact, as long as the Magma Fairy Palace hasn't chosen a master, there will always be cultivators coming from far and wide."
"These people will greatly boost the business in the Immortal City. The black market is growing larger, isn't it?"
Ning Xiangqian grinned, "That's true!"
Ning Xiangguo, however, gazed deeply, "But Young Master Zhuo, do you really want to keep running the black market?"
"In my private opinion, this is not a long-term plan."
"We need legitimate businesses; the black market is not the righteous path."
"Being too entrenched in it for too long will hinder our Ning Family's reputation."
"Right now, it's still acceptable because everyone might think: The four major forces reached a consensus allowing the Ning Family to intervene in the black market to stabilize the overall situation of the Immortal City."
"In the future, when outsiders diminish and the Immortal Palace chooses a master, we won't be able to hold onto this domain—we will have to abandon it."
Ning Xiangqian frowned and asked, "Why can't we hold onto it? The black market is something we fought for."
It was clear that Ning Xiangguo had more strategic insight, recognizing the situation and thinking long-term.
Ning Xiangguo continued, "That's why I sincerely suggest, Young Master Zhuo, you don't have to be so generous. Seize this rare opportunity to accumulate as much wealth as possible and keep it in your own hands. In the future when we withdraw from the black market, at least we will have a material safeguard."
Ning Zhuo took a deep look at Ning Xiangguo.
During this period, although he stayed behind the scenes, he still tried to connect with each Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Ning Family one-on-one during his fragmented time each day.
In this exchange, Ning Zhuo also gathered more authentic information about each of them through the Turtle Breath Gang.
By now, most of the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Ning Family had already become part of the Life-hanging Divine Ability.
Ning Xiangguo and Ning Xiangqian were among them.