The Renovation Team of the City Lord's Mansion had collectively gone into seclusion for cultivation, and it had been some time since they started.
Leaders Li Duolun, Feng Feidao, and Guan Tiesuo met to discuss Ning Zhuo.
The chubby Li Duolun was the first to speak: "Have you heard? Someone has already matched our record!"
The short Feng Feidao nodded: "I know, it was done by Ning Zhuo of the Ning Family."
Guan Tiesuo, his voice muffled and full of doubt, asked: "We have Young Master Meng Chong on our side, what about the Ning Family? How did they manage it?"
Li Duolun then explained.
Upon learning that Ning Zhuo had used Five Elements Magic to blast his way through, even someone as tough as Guan Tiesuo couldn't help but gasp softly in admiration.
In awe, he said, "Impressive!"
"We've all cultivated these Five Elements Magic, but Ning Zhuo managed to reach the second gate relying solely on them. It shows his proficiency in spells is extraordinary!"
"You know we're listed on the ranking board and get rewards periodically."
"As long as we choose spells, we get divine inspiration and gain casting experience."
"Even so, none of us could achieve what Ning Zhuo has done."
"He did it all on his own without any rewards from the ranking board. It's truly terrifying!"
Feng Feidao crossed his arms and speculated: "How could this Ning Zhuo master various Five Elements Magic to such an extent in such a short time?"
"Did he perhaps spend all his free time practicing spells?"
"If you think about it, he must have been stuck at Qi Refinement Stage 3 for a long time."
"But without subsequent cultivation techniques, his level couldn't progress."
"Under those circumstances, it's only natural he would devote all his time and energy to practicing spells."
But Li Duolun shook his head and said: "That's the standard for ordinary people. From what I know, Ning Zhuo is not an ordinary person."
Apparently, Li Duolun knew more.
He briefly explained Ning Zhuo's feats to the other two.
Ning Zhuo seized control of the black market and dealt with the Young Clan Leader of the Ning Family.
With the support of three families, Ning Zhuo was openly refining a Golden Core level Mechanical Monkey.
Even though he repeatedly clarified that the project only involved forging the Mechanical Monkey's outer shell and skeleton, achieving this with his Qi Refinement Stage 3 was still remarkable.
Now, Ning Zhuo controlled the Renovation Team of the Ning Family entirely, as he had full say in all matters.
The Ning Family's main bloodline genius, Ning Xiaohui, had been sidelined by him.
"Young men like him who rise from the bottom should never be underestimated," Li Duolun highly praised Ning Zhuo.
The other two fell into silence after hearing this.
As pioneers, they felt the pressure of being chased.
Feng Feidao sighed: "This Ning Zhuo isn't just an ordinary prodigy!"
"I'm really curious about his true talent."
Guan Tiesuo's eyebrows slightly raised.
With a hint of disbelief, he speculated: "Could he possibly have Immortal Aptitude?"
The three exchanged glances, falling silent once again.
In the best cultivation secret room of the City Lord's Mansion.
Meng Chong looked at the jade slip in his hand, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, muttering: "Ning Zhuo, huh..."
It was the first time Meng Chong truly took note of Ning Zhuo's name.
"Hmph."
"If you want to catch up with me, you've got a long way to go. Try your best to stand side by side with me first."
"If that happens, I'll be very pleased."
"Because the current exploration is somewhat boring."
Meng Chong eagerly awaited trouble from the Golden Blood Battle Ape - Dasheng.
He yearned for revenge.
However, recently, under Ning Zhuo's arrangements, Dasheng had been actively avoiding confrontations, leaving Meng Chong quite unsettled.
Setting aside the jade slip, Meng Chong delved back into cultivation.
Immortal Aptitude—Frenzied Rushing Thunder!
In the next moment, countless bolts of lightning surged through his body.
With the help of the lightning, his cultivation advanced rapidly, improving with every breath.
The frequent use of Immortal Aptitude had caused Meng Chong to become even thinner over this period.
His cheekbones protruded, and his eye sockets were deeply sunken.
He had used his Immortal Aptitude excessively.
However, the sacrifices indeed brought great gains.
Currently, his cultivation level had reached the late stage of the fifth level, nearing its peak!
City Lord's Mansion, study.
Fei Si handled official affairs.
He started his work at dawn.
The neatly stacked jade slips he processed had formed a pile almost reaching Fei Si's chin.
Just as he was about to take a breather, a subordinate brought in another batch of new jade slips.
Fei Si, having long adapted to this routine, exhaled heavily.
Since the issuance of the Recruitment Decree, the workload had increased more than tenfold.
Many tasks seemed trivial but were of major importance.
This was because countless important figures had flooded into Fire Persimmon Immortal City, including Golden Core level True Disciples from Taiqing Palace and Purple Dawn Pavilion.
Fei Si had to handle these affairs properly.
If mishandled, it could profoundly impact the city's stability and Meng Kui's rule.
At the same time, he had to guard against demon path cultivators from the Soul Devouring Sect and others.
Not long ago, Luo Shang intervened, engaging in a fierce battle at a hidden underground base.
The battle had even involved the aura of a Nascent Soul level entity.
This incident sounded the alarm for Fei Si.
Subsequent site investigations revealed traces of Bukong Sect's spellcasting aura.
Based on their surmise, at least one Golden Core level True Disciple from Bukong Sect had participated in the fight. But they still didn't know who it was.
The Recruitment Decree turned Fire Persimmon Immortal City into a whirlpool, stirring up stormy clouds!
This move by the Southern Bean Country Lord had heavily strained Meng Kui's resources and efforts.
It wasn't just Fei Si; even Chi Dun had been running himself ragged lately.
Fei Si had considered appointing a deputy, but he found none of the candidates up to his standards.
They were either insufficiently capable or lacked the right status.
Fei Si naturally thought of Ning Zhuo.
Although the latter only had the cultivation level of the Qi Refinement Stage 3, which was notably lacking, his abilities had long caught Fei Si's attention.
Fei Si couldn't help but recall the latest intelligence on Ning Zhuo.
He never expected that Ning Zhuo could achieve so much—matching Meng Chong's records!
"Now this kid, Ning Zhuo, has obtained the subsequent cultivation techniques of the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art."
"But too much of anything is bad."
"He might not understand this principle yet, given his youth and the multitude of achievements."
"Only by experiencing such setbacks can he truly understand deeply."
"Kid, you need to stop. If you go any further, you'll be in trouble."
Fei Si only thought this in his heart and never actually advised Ning Zhuo.
He admired and believed in Ning Zhuo, seeing him as a younger version of himself.
Fei Si himself had once suffered due to overreaching.
Now, he also wanted to see Ning Zhuo face such challenges.
Fei Si silently waited for the opportunity. He wanted to step in and offer help when Ning Zhuo hit a low point.
This way, the act of winning hearts would be much more effective.
Ning Family Clan Land.
"Damn it, damn it!" Ning Xiaohui abruptly opened her eyes.
Her aura surged like boiling water, her chest rising and falling in agitation.
She could never calm her mind while cultivating the subsequent techniques of the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, feeling restless and irritable.
Comparison truly brought pain.
Especially after experiencing the great convenience that the Flowing Clouds and Streaming Water Talisman brought to her cultivation, she found the current slowness even more intolerable.
She deeply missed the Flowing Clouds and Streaming Water Talisman.
Living in luxury is easy; returning to simplicity is hard.
Every time she thought about the Flowing Clouds and Streaming Water Talisman falling into Ning Zhuo's hands, she felt utterly miserable.
Her Treasure Talisman was helping her enemy and rival, aiding in someone else's cultivation!
Ning Xiaohui felt incredible discomfort and frustration.
She didn't know: as soon as Ning Zhuo obtained the Flowing Clouds and Streaming Water Talisman, he put it aside for Sun Lingtong to examine.
After all, this talisman was taken from Ning Xiaohui.
Ning Zhuo couldn't be sure if she'd tampered with it.
Something Ning Xiaohui desperately desired was indifferent to Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo didn't focus on improving his cultivation level; his lack was in the purification and refining of his three-treasure cultivation levels.
In the cultivation secret room, Ning Zhuo sat cross-legged on a mat.
He opened his mouth to swallow a Pure One Pill, channeling mana to quickly digest the elixir and wrapped the medicinal power with his essence blood.
The essence blood circulated throughout his body, integrating the medicinal power.
He took out the magic artifact, Tornado Windmill, to purify his mana.
At the same time, he also used the Pure Source Treasure Mirror.
This magic artifact was acquired from the Zheng Family after he sold the subsequent cultivation techniques.
The artifact's quality was high, with effects far superior to the Tornado Windmill.
Ning Zhuo infused his three-treasure cultivation level into the Pure Source Treasure Mirror.
The mirror would then return the cultivation level back to him.
The returned cultivation level was purer and more refined than before.
Throughout Ning Zhuo's cultivation process, the formation in the secret room was always functioning.
The formation provided significant help to Ning Zhuo.
This formation was specially crafted for Ning Zhuo by several formation masters from the Zhou Family, dispatched by Zhou Zeshen. It offered powerful refining effects.
The combination of these means accelerated Ning Zhuo's purification and refining speed to a remarkable degree!
The cultivation world had evolved to such an advanced stage that most resources were being utilized efficiently. Various auxiliary cultivation methods were available, vastly facilitating cultivation and impacting every aspect of a cultivator's effort.
As a result, the demand for resources among cultivators had become unprecedentedly large!
As long as resources were abundant and there were proper methods, cultivation could proceed rapidly.
Ning Zhuo leveraged his connections and personal skill, utilizing resources from all three families.
Previously, even prodigies like Zheng Jian and Zhou Zeshen struggled to achieve what Ning Zhuo had accomplished.
The emergence of the Magma Fairy Palace created different ambitions among the three families. Due to the pressure from the City Lord's Mansion, they had to cooperate closely.
This provided Ning Zhuo with a fertile environment for growth.
In the past, mobilizing resources from all three families to such an extent would have been unthinkable!
Several days passed swiftly.
In the cultivation secret room.
Ning Zhuo was enveloped in layers of floating clouds.
He multitasked, pushing the ninth layer of the cultivation technique, initiating a crucial breakthrough.
In an instant, he advanced from the peak of the eighth layer to the early stage of the ninth layer.
The breakthrough was so natural, without the slightest obstacle.
As Ning Zhuo continued to operate three cultivation techniques simultaneously, his three-treasure cultivation level swiftly soared!
Ninth layer early stage...
Ninth layer middle stage...
Ninth layer late stage...
Ninth layer peak!
As Sun Lingtong had previously predicted, their last dual cultivation involving Yin and Yang energies was significantly impactful, allowing Ning Zhuo to amass substantial strength.
When Ning Zhuo purified his eighth-layer cultivation to its extreme, the breakthrough propelled him straight to the peak of the ninth layer!
Ning Zhuo felt his three elixir fields finally no longer swollen and uncomfortable.
This brought him great relief.
"Ninth layer peak!"
"The speed is far beyond my expectations!"
"Next is further purification."
"And preparation for the Foundation Establishment!"
Three-elixir field Foundation Establishment...
The thought of this filled Ning Zhuo with great anticipation and excitement.
In the cultivation world, practicing three different cultivation techniques in three elixir fields and then advancing to the Foundation Establishment Stage was extremely rare.
This was true even for great sects like the Soul Devouring Sect and Bukong Sect.