Boom!
A violent explosion echoed from afar.
Ning Xiaohui looked up, instinctively gazing toward the western sky.
Indeed, there was a crack in the light shield to the west, through which three runaway fire snakes had infiltrated, crashing to the ground one after another.
The battle on the ground erupted instantly.
Ning Xiaohui quickly turned her head back to the gourd-shaped furnace before her.
Lately, she had been driven to madness by Ning Zhuo and had been desperately earning merits.
At this moment, Ning Xiaohui had noticeably lost a lot of weight, with sunken eyes and large dark circles, clearly showing that she was extremely exhausted both physically and mentally.
But Ning Xiaohui's eyes glowed with a mad fervor, her bloodshot eyes betraying her insanity.
Dizziness suddenly struck her.
Ning Xiaohui, sitting cross-legged on the ground, swayed slightly but quickly steadied herself.
"This is the critical moment in artifact forging, I can't slack off!" She hurriedly took out some elixir pills, popped open the bottle, and poured them into her mouth.
She swallowed five or six pills in one gulp.
As the pills settled in her stomach, Ning Xiaohui felt revitalized, as if her weary body had been reinflated like a deflated balloon by the medicine's power.
"Just hang in there and finish refining this batch of materials, and I'll have another five merits!"
Ning Xiaohui knew very well that her initial advantage would diminish over time, so she moved with frenzied determination.
She used her talent, Ice-jade Hands, to its fullest extent, repairing various mechanical structures.
Such tasks usually rewarded substantial merits.
However, the frequent use of her talent also took a toll on Ning Xiaohui.
So in between, she would come to the gourd furnaces to take on some artifact refining tasks.
The Magma Fairy Palace had numerous furnaces, graded into four levels: copper, iron, silver, and gold.
The gourd-shaped furnaces were spaced apart in an orderly manner, forming a vast gourd forest when seen from afar.
Unlike the medical hall, Five Elements Turret, and the Command Platform, which were important locations, the furnaces were open to the public. Even those without the status of trial disciples could easily receive refining tasks here.
Ning Xiaohui sat cross-legged in front of the furnace, waves of scorching heat blowing her hair, making it dry and yellow.
She stared intently at the furnace before her, not relaxing even for a moment.
"I've already accumulated one hundred and twenty-seven merits."
"Just thirty more merits, and I can obtain a position at the Historical Records Pavilion."
"Ning Xiaohui, give it your all! Show Ning Zhuo and the others what the main line of the Ning Family is capable of."
"This time, I must not fail!"
In her heart, Ning Xiaohui shouted.
Forced into the Immortal Palace by isolation and exclusion, Ning Xiaohui now felt like she was cornered on a cliff with no way out.
The shame of her past, the pressure from Ning Zhuo, and the expectations of the Golden Pill Ancestor all weighed heavily on her, igniting in Ning Xiaohui an unprecedented determination!
Magma Fairy Palace, Main Hall.
On the throne, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit anxiously paced back and forth.
Its gaze pierced through the sky, watching both Ning Xiaohui and Ning Zhuo.
Seeing Ning Zhuo sleeping soundly, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit grumbled: "Stop sleeping. The situation is critical, and you still have the nerve to sleep?"
"Look at Ning Xiaohui, how hard she works, how determined she is!"
Of course, it didn't dare to directly express these thoughts to Ning Zhuo.
It merely muttered to itself, venting its frustration.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was extremely anxious!
If it hadn't been following Ning Xiaohui's progress, it might have been less frantic.
But every time it saw Ning Xiaohui making progress, inching closer to the position at the Historical Records Pavilion, it felt tormented.
"That old bastard Zhu Xuanji is no better, secretly using Ning Zhuo to push Ning Xiaohui."
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit turned in circles, finally losing patience and took a deep breath, initiating contact with Ning Zhuo.
"Master... Master..." the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit called out weakly and affectionately, trying to sound weakened.
Ning Zhuo had just fallen asleep but was woken up.
He opened his tired eyes and weakly said: "Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, are you feeling better?"
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit bitterly smiled: "No, Master, I'm getting worse by the moment, but the situation is too urgent now."
"I have to warn you with all my strength, that Ning Xiaohui is a huge threat."
"She only needs about thirty more merits to get the lowest position at the Historical Records Pavilion!"
"Master, you must deal with her quickly!!"
Ning Zhuo sighed, expressing his own distress and difficulty.
"Ning Xiaohui must be stopped."
"But I have no opportunity!"
"The Golden Core Ancestors are nearby, Zhu Xuanji is always watching me, he suspects me."
Ning Zhuo reassured the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit: "Ning Xiaohui still needs over thirty merits to succeed. We have a little time left, it's not the final moment yet."
"Now is the time to be calm and find the right moment!"
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit jumped on the throne in frustration: "Be calm, how can I be calm! Oh dear, you're driving me crazy."
Of course, it didn't dare to voice these thoughts to Ning Zhuo, only venting secretly.
Ning Zhuo took the opportunity to instruct the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit to closely monitor Ning Xiaohui.
He also inquired about the unanswered question from their last communication.
Helpless, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit could only admit that Ning Zhuo's guess was correct.
As the Medical Hall Master, he could indeed get a commission from his subordinates' merits.
However, if subordinates messed up tasks, the Medical Hall Master would also bear responsibility and suffer a deduction in merits.
This outcome differed slightly from what Ning Zhuo had expected.
As Ning Zhuo was about to ask more, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit abruptly cut off the connection.
Clutching its head, it lamented while lying on the throne's armrest. Every communication with Ning Zhuo cost it dearly in terms of information and advantage.
Yet, it had to rely on Ning Zhuo to deal with Ning Xiaohui.
It could hardly bear it anymore, the situation was too difficult to endure!
Ning Zhuo called out to the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit several times with no response, sighing deeply and lying still on the bed.
He stared at the ceiling, feeling heavy-hearted.
Ning Zhuo wanted to stop Ning Xiaohui and obtain information about the Historical Records Pavilion, but had no opportunity.
The protection from the Golden Core Cultivators was almost too thorough.
Ning Zhuo felt a lot of anxiety and unease.
Every passing day, the pressure from Ning Xiaohui grew greater.
But he knew he had to be extremely cautious.
Reaching this point had not been easy. Just a small Qi Refinement cultivator, he had to constantly watch his every move while dealing with the Golden Core cultivators, not allowing any mistakes!
If he couldn't bear the pressure and blindly acted against Ning Xiaohui, it would play right into Zhu Xuanji's hands, exposing himself.
Zhu Xuanji and the other Golden Core Cultivators used the renovation teams as bait, looking to trap the culprit behind the Fire Persimmon Mountain bombardment.
Likewise, Zhu Xuanji was using Ning Xiaohui for a fishing expedition.
If Ning Zhuo bit the hook too soon, Zhu Xuanji would be the happiest of them all.
"Wait."
"Grit your teeth and wait."
"Wait for the right moment."
"What's taking Song Fuli so long to realize he's been robbed?"
The next day, at the City Lord's Mansion.
After being granted permission, Song Fuli entered the study to meet Fei Si.
Seeing Song Fuli's grim expression, Fei Si felt uneasy but kept a smiling facade, asking about his purpose.
Song Fuli's first words left Fei Si utterly shocked.
"What?! All the items prepared for the auction have been stolen?" Fei Si's eyes widened.
Song Fuli nodded gravely: "This is no joke, Lord Fei Si."
"We just discovered it!"
"As soon as we did, we locked down the scene, and I came to you immediately."
"Ever since we moved into Lava Immortal City, we've strictly followed the rules, and all our materials and treasures are within the allowed range."
"We could have set up a higher-grade array to protect our goods."
"Because we adhered to your city's rules, our protection wasn't more than sixty percent."
"Now that this has happened, we need your help, Lord Fei Si. After all, our goods vanished within Fire Persimmon Immortal City."
Song Fuli's tone, though requesting, carried hidden blame toward the City Lord's Mansion.
Fei Si didn't dare to take this lightly, hurriedly standing up and accompanying Song Fuli back to the scene.
In the treasure vault, fake goods were positioned on the shelves.
If Sun Lingtong and Yang Chan Yu were here, they would realize that all these fakes were made by them, without exception.
Fei Si inspected the surrounding array.
To protect the Cloud Merchant's goods, the City Lord's Mansion had put in efforts to integrate the City Protecting Great Array with the temporary array here.
Technically speaking, the defense here wasn't weak.
However, the fact before Fei Si's eyes was that the Cloud Merchant's goods had indeed been stolen!
"This is troublesome!"
Fei Si frowned deeply.
This singular event was already a significant mishap.
Poor handling could severely damage Fire Persimmon Immortal City's reputation.
If a city couldn't ensure the safety of merchant caravans, how could it expect these caravans to continue abiding by its rules?
If this credibility couldn't be restored, over time, fewer caravans would come to Fire Persimmon Immortal City, negatively impacting its development.
Currently, the City Lord's Mansion hoped to rely on the Cloud Merchant aid in defending both Fire Persimmon Immortal City and Magma Fairy Palace.
"Who on earth stole the Cloud Merchant's treasures at such a critical moment?"
"Damn it, they deserve death!"
Fei Si was furious, suppressing his anger and forcing himself to stay calm.
"We'll definitely give Mr. Song an explanation for this!" Fei Si assured Song Fuli, trying to comfort him.
After ordering the scene to remain sealed, Fei Si left the Cloud Merchant area to report to Meng Kui and then contacted Zhu Xuanji.
"Divine Hunter, I need your help!" Fei Si pleaded, disregarding his dignity.
Receiving Fei Si's distress call, Zhu Xuanji sighed lightly, worry written all over his face.
The Cloud Merchant's group, with their Cloud Whale, a Nascent Soul level beast, was indeed powerful support.
If several Nascent Soul level Red Flame Demon Beasts attack simultaneously, Zhu Xuanji hoped the Cloud Whale could help Meng Kui bear part of the burden.
"It seems I must go out."
"Investigate thoroughly, catch the culprit, and recover the stolen treasures!"
"On that basis, attempt to win over the Cloud Merchant group as well..."