Ning Zhuo left the martial stage and returned to his own residence.
From his appearance, it was evident that his previous tension had completely dissipated, replaced by a brisk stride, a proud bearing, and vibrant energy, with no trace of earlier suppression.
He returned to the underground cultivation chamber, took out the mechanism artifact classics, and quickly immersed himself in study with great concentration.
He came to the workbench, picked up the various mechanism parts that were originally scattered on the ground, and placed them back on the table, continuously disassembling and replacing them, conducting research on mechanism artifacts.
In no time, it was already lunchtime.
He pushed open the door and went to the dining room, where he ate several bowls of rice.
These dishes were quite luxurious, all being spirit food!
Even though Ning Zhuo was already at the ninth level peak of cultivation, he still consumed large amounts of spirit food daily as a disguise.
After a hearty meal, Ning Zhuo returned to the underground cultivation secret room once again.
This time, he activated the Floating Cloud Handkerchief, covering himself with layers of floating clouds, and pretended to cultivate the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.
The Cloud Concealed Bud underneath his tongue helped him disguise himself under Ning Zhuo's mana infusion.
In the perception of Zhu Xuanji and Ning Jiufan, Ning Zhuo seemed to be cultivating the fourth layer of the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.
After completing his meditation and breathing exercises, Ning Zhuo rested briefly before closing his eyes again within the floating clouds, directly entering the Immortal Palace with his soul.
"He's here!"
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had been silently watching Ning Zhuo.
Seeing Ning Zhuo enter the Immortal Palace once again, it silently cheered him on.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit could never have imagined: there would come a day when it would secretly support Ning Zhuo, hoping he would clear the Dao Path in one go.
"Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit?" Ning Zhuo tentatively called out, looking around.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit retracted its head; though it had heard the call, it didn't want to respond in any way.
It was trying to avoid communication with Ning Zhuo as much as possible.
After their last exchange, it went back and reflected on itself, realizing it had said too much, way too much!
Having failed in exploring the Dao Path previously, Ning Zhuo learned his lesson. This time, he chose spirit stones as rewards whenever possible.
He had already collected a reward from the leaderboard once before, and there were still four days until the next collection.
But solely relying on the passage rewards of spirit stones, the accumulation was not insignificant.
When Ning Zhuo reached the final stage of the Dao Path again, his spiritual power reserves were at least thirty percent more than before.
He failed once again.
"My spell proficiency still needs to be improved... but such things require ample practice, and haste won't work."
"If I were to use more spirit stones, I could still emulate the Demon Sect's method of clearing the path through quantity!"
Ning Zhuo discovered the method to clear the path.
Either refine the spellcasting technique or summarize experiences, have comprehensive and detailed strategies, and make precise calculations for every step to ultimately accumulate an advantage in quantity.
While Ning Zhuo was striving to clear the path, Zhu Xuanji and Ning Jiufan continued to stay focused on him.
"This Floating Cloud Handkerchief is a bit troublesome," Ning Jiufan said.
Most of his detection spells couldn't perfectly evade the Floating Cloud Handkerchief, always triggering intense consumption of floating clouds.
"This should be an inheritance left to Ning Zhuo by his mother. The items from the Flying Cloud Country indeed differ greatly in usage from those of our Southern Bean Country."
The layers of floating clouds covering Ning Zhuo made Zhu Xuanji and Ning Jiufan less eager to scrutinize him.
Zhu Xuanji continued: "It seems that Ning Zhuo has completely calmed down. His temper has undergone a transformation, which is very commendable."
"He passed this test; he is a fine talent for cultivation."
"Brother Ning, I must congratulate you."
Ning Jiufan smiled slightly, genuinely happy.
He had witnessed Ning Zhuo's performance over the past couple of days.
The latter had indeed made significant progress in temperament.
Along with Ning Zhuo's natural talent, continued development would surely make him a pillar of the Ning Family!
"Who goes there?" Suddenly, Zhu Xuanji shouted loudly.
His eyes shone brilliantly, emitting a golden glow. His gaze was so sharp that Ning Jiufan quickly averted his eyes to avoid direct contact.
In an instant, Zhu Xuanji vanished from his place, leaving only a faint golden afterimage in Ning Jiufan's line of sight.
Boom!
The next moment, Ning Jiufan heard a loud explosion.
He quickly turned his head and saw Zhu Xuanji clashing fiercely with a mysterious strong foe.
Ning Jiufan immediately joined the fray, rushing over.
Zhu Xuanji waved his hand, and a golden barrier materialized out of thin air, surrounding Ning Zhuo and giving an impression of being impregnable.
The mysterious enemy's entire body was enveloped in green spell light, rapidly retreating.
"Where do you think you're going?" Zhu Xuanji pursued relentlessly.
The green spell light was shattered by him, revealing the enemy's appearance.
She had a graceful figure, with a face as beautiful as a peach blossom.
"Bukong Sect, Yang Chanyu!" In an instant, the identity of the mysterious enemy flashed through Ning Jiufan's mind.
Yang Chanyu kept retreating swiftly with a smile on her lips. Her eyes glowed with a green light, fixated on Ning Zhuo, who was still in soul form within the Immortal Palace.
Evidently, this was a detection spell.
The green glow receded as Yang Chanyu smiled lightly: "So, that's it."
With those words, she turned abruptly, her speed increasing, leaving only a hint of pink afterimage in place as she darted into the shadows of the street.
"I'll chase! You stay here." Zhu Xuanji left these words quickly before rushing off in pursuit.
Ning Jiufan concealed himself, coming directly to Ning Zhuo's side. He pushed his mana to the limit, but restrained his aura without any leakage, maintaining a vigilant stance.
Upon hearing the commotion, Foundation Establishment Guards arrived one after another. They were astonished by the presence of the golden barrier, and none had noticed Ning Jiufan, who was lurking nearby.
Zhu Xuanji and Yang Chanyu chased and fought repeatedly, creating one explosion after another.
The sounds of explosions and collapsing houses thundered through the night sky without pause, awakening the entire Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
Ning Zhuo's soul was still within the Magma Fairy Palace, and his physical body was surrounded by the golden barrier. Outside the barrier, Foundation Establishment Guards stood in dense formations, strictly protecting him.
After the disturbance, the floating clouds returned to their positions, once again concealing Ning Zhuo thoroughly.
However, judging by the previous display, such defenses were extremely fragile, virtually decorative, when facing a Golden Core Level opponent.
At a certain tavern.
The sounds of explosions continued to echo. Diners in the tavern, having heard the commotion, stood up and went to the windows to watch the spectacle.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sun Lingtong, disguised as a middle-aged man, vanished into the table's underbelly.
The people secretly monitoring him had their view obstructed for a moment, and when they looked again, the target had completely vanished.
"Where did he go?"
Feeling something was amiss, the monitors rushed to the location, circling Sun Lingtong's former dining table and anxiously searching.
"Find him quickly!"
"He can't have gone far."
"He must be nearby!"
Their expressions were notably grim, and some immediately activated detection spells, scanning all the diners in that floor.
"Hmm?!"
"Who dares to be so unruly?"
"Using spells to scan me!"
Some diners instantly bristled.
Such detection spells were potent, and for those being scanned, it was a strong affront.
However, the next moment, the cultivators who cast the spells all deliberately leaked their auras, their faces turning fierce.
There were six of them, each at the Foundation Establishment Stage!
Releasing their cultivation auras collectively, they immediately suppressed the crowd.
The previously indignant diners turned pale, sweating profusely, timidly silent.
Their demeanor instantly revealed that they had realized: they had just offended formidable individuals, quite possibly a force they couldn't contend with.
The pursuers searched desperately. Soon, their search area expanded to the entire tavern, yet they still couldn't find Sun Lingtong.
They hurriedly exited the tavern, dispersing around the surrounding streets.
Along the way, Sun Lingtong, disguised as an old man, brushed past the pursuers.
The pursuers paid him no heed, roughly knocking Sun Lingtong to the ground, not stopping for a moment, rushing ahead at full speed.
Sun Lingtong immediately let out groans, impersonating a helpless old man knocked down by thoughtless pedestrians, unable to get up.
Sun Lingtong, being from Bukong Sect, had mastered the art of impersonating various roles effortlessly!
Subsequent pursuers only glanced at him, stepping over his prone body.
Each pursuer wielded a magic artifact.
They continuously infused their mana, causing the artifacts to emit strong fluctuations, scanning their surroundings thoroughly.
Sun Lingtong was right in the center of the range, yet he remained motionless.
As a Bukong Sect disciple, he had the confidence to counter most detection artifacts!
However, his eyes held a hint of gloom.
After spreading the second wave of rumors, Sun Lingtong noticed a large number of people mobilizing to locate the source of the rumors.
Upon investigation, he found that these searchers were primarily from the four major forces of Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
But not solely. For instance, Taiqing Palace had also dispatched members to join the search.
"The crucial moment is now," Sun Lingtong thought silently.
With the entire city's major forces actively searching for the mastermind behind the rumors, it made spreading rumors increasingly difficult for Sun Lingtong, reducing his maneuverability by a hundredfold!
Continuing this approach would exponentially increase his risks.
Yet, he still held on to the third wave of rumors.
At this moment, Sun Lingtong, disguised as an old man, lay helpless on the street.
He looked up at the sky, recalling in his mind the conspiracy he had planned with Ning Zhuo in the Magma Fairy Palace.
Ning Zhuo had spoken to him solemnly: "Elder Sun, according to my plan, the third wave of rumors is the most critical."