The search continued for a day and a night, but the numerous Golden Core cultivators still failed to uncover the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator.
Faced with this fact, the four major forces of Fire Persimmon Immortal City were all disgraced.
The lockdown of the Immortal City had not been lifted, but the lockdown could not stop the swirling rumors and the surging undercurrents.
Zhu Xuanji asked Fei Si for some mechanism fragments.
These fragments all came from the runaway, riotous mechanism monkeys that had attacked Yuan Er.
Since the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator had not shown up, these mechanism fragments became the only clues.
Zhu Xuanji tinkered with these fragments.
He had also obtained the design blueprints of the Explosive Flame Monkey. He glanced at them and memorized them quickly.
Spending the time it took to brew half a cup of tea, he tried to piece together three mechanism monkeys from the fragments he had.
The mechanism Explosive Flame Monkeys were all badly damaged, barely able to stand in front of him.
Zhu Xuanji took out control wires, infused them with mana, and began to manipulate these mechanism Explosive Flame Monkeys.
If Fei Si had seen this, he would surely be astonished: So Zhu Xuanji had this skill as well.
Zhu Xuanji had his own expertise in mechanical techniques, and this was one of the reasons he had been chosen to investigate the case.
Moments later, Zhu Xuanji put away all the control wires and sighed, not finding any valuable clues.
"Let's review this again."
Zhu Xuanji closed his eyes and reviewed his investigation process: first the mechanism monkeys, then the Thousand Catty Fire Essence, and finally the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator.
"Using the mechanism monkeys for self-detonation was clearly to guard against the Trace Origin Technique."
"There's no trace of the Thousand Catty Fire Essence in the market. If the four major forces did it, it would be easy to understand."
"The disappearance of the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator most likely means there was an insider who secretly released him!"
All the clues suggested to Zhu Xuanji that one of the three major families within Fire Persimmon Immortal City might be the mastermind behind the Magma Fairy Palace explosion and the one posing as the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator.
"But if the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator had already escaped, why would they trigger the mechanism monkeys' explosion during the Fire Persimmon Festival to frame the Monkey Head Gang?"
"Wouldn't that be unnecessary?"
As Zhu Xuanji delved deeper into his thoughts, he pondered.
"Perhaps the other party wanted to disguise themselves and create the illusion that the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator was present on the scene."
"In addition, the other party might have eliminated the old monkey because it had been performing too prominently. Publicly getting rid of it could weaken the prestige of the City Lord's Mansion."
"Lastly, the other party might also want to confuse me and drag down my investigation progress."
Bang!
Zhu Xuanji clenched his fist and struck the jade table.
He felt provoked by his enemy. These mechanism monkey fragments seemed to mock his incompetence, as if saying: Come investigate, I left you clues!
But Zhu Xuanji had already learned his lesson from the mechanism monkeys. He knew that if the other party did this, he was unlikely to find anything out and would only waste his precious time and energy.
"If the mechanism monkeys were a provocation from the other party, then did the old monkey really make a mistake?" Zhu Xuanji had thought of this layer, which was why he turned back midway on the day of the Fire Persimmon Festival, even using the best elixir to verify if the old monkey's mind had been influenced.
Zhu Xuanji's verification result was negative.
After pondering for a long time, he slowly opened his eyes, thinking, "The most suspicious thing is still that explosion!"
It was late at night.
Zhu Xuanji concealed his presence and returned to the Monkey Head Gang's base, where he used a spell to put Yuan Er into a deep sleep.
Then, he took out the best elixir and carefully gave Yuan Er a drop, but saw no effect.
Zhu Xuanji sighed in disappointment: "What was I thinking? The chances of Yuan Er's mind being influenced are too small!"
"Hmph, this scoundrel even wasted a drop of my best elixir."
Looking at the sleeping Yuan Er, Zhu Xuanji was in a bad mood.
As he turned to leave, he flicked his sleeve, and the air currents struck Yuan Er's cheek with a crisp slap sound.
Zhu Xuanji quietly distanced himself from the Monkey Head Gang's base, under the starry sky, heading to the top of Persimmon Mountain to see the City Lord.
"Meng Kui City Lord, I need to review all the records and thoroughly investigate everyone who has entered and exited the Magma Fairy Palace over the years!"
...
Ning Zhuo returned home, rested for a while, and patiently waited until late at night. Then, he donned the Iron Han Armor and once again disguised himself as the Youthful Guest.
He transported himself to the dungeon and saw Han Ming.
As soon as he pushed open the cell door, he saw Han Ming squatting on the ground, scratching his head and ears in an unbecoming manner.
Han Ming shuddered, hurriedly stood up, waved at Ning Zhuo, and said in a terrified voice, "Sir, please don't give me any more monkey souls. My soul needs to digest and purify!"
"Now, my soul has become deformed, taking on many monkey characteristics."
"My behavior has also unconsciously changed!"
Ning Zhuo nodded. He knew he couldn't run the well dry and gently said, "You have been working hard lately. Next, you only need to absorb this old monkey. I will give you a break so that you can rest for a while."
Ning Zhuo had been frantically acquiring wild monkeys and handing them over to Han Ming to absorb.
Because of this, Ning Zhuo's soul's foundation had increased more than eighty times since he first encountered Han Ming.
Han Ming's condition had dramatically declined, and Ning Zhuo could see it.
Bang.
Yuan Dasheng's corpse was taken out of the storage bag and thrown to the ground.
Han Ming was startled, goosebumps rising. At first glance, she felt this old monkey was extraordinary!
"Devour its soul, and you can take a break." Ning Zhuo said.
When handling the corpse, Ning Zhuo had deliberately worn down Yuan Dasheng's soul and imprisoned it within the corpse.
Since Yuan Dasheng had not practiced any soul-related cultivation techniques, he was at Ning Zhuo's mercy.
But doing so still carried risks.
The best option for Ning Zhuo was to have Han Ming absorb it and then later absorb from Han Ming, maximizing the use of this prize.
"Thank you, sir, for your kindness!" Han Ming swallowed a bit of saliva and began to cast the Soul Absorption Technique.
But the next moment, Yuan Dasheng's corpse emitted a flash of golden light.
Thump.
Han Ming spat out a mouthful of blood, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.
Ning Zhuo was taken aback, immediately controlling several small puppets to provide aid while cautiously examining Yuan Dasheng's corpse.
Han Ming quickly regained consciousness and shouted in a panic, "Righteous Golden Firmness!"
"This, this is superior talent!!"
Ning Zhuo raised his eyebrows in astonishment: "Superior talent? Does this old monkey have immortal aptitude? Are you sure?"
Han Ming nodded, staring at the old monkey's corpse with determination: "Absolutely no mistake! I've thoroughly studied the sect's records and confirmed this feature as Righteous Golden Firmness. The possessor is naturally loyal and unwavering, with an indomitable spirit."
"Their entire skeleton is the hardest, comparable to diamond, making their body strong and resilient. The soul adheres to the bones, making it steadfast and unyielding, hardly influenced by external forces."
"In my current state, I can't absorb its soul. Even at my peak, I might not succeed."
At that moment, Han Ming recognized the identity of the old monkey, sighing, "To think, to think that the old monkey of the Monkey Head Gang, Yuan Yi's pet, actually had immortal aptitude!"
Han Ming then froze.
She quickly raised her head, looking at Ning Zhuo with her eyes shining brightly.