Dungeon Interrogation

Fire Persimmon Immortal Mountain.

At the mountain peak, deep within the sea of clouds.

The City Lord of Fire Persimmon Immortal City sat cross-legged in the air and summoned his Golden Core subordinate, Chi Dun.

Chi Dun was a middle-aged man. One of his eyes was blind, and though short in stature, he was solidly built, his muscles bulging like a walking stone pedestal.

"Chi Dun, I command you to investigate the Black Shadow Demonic Cultivator with all your strength." The City Lord sat upon a prayer mat, white smoke and black clouds endlessly roiling around him like the wrathful, gloomy emotions in his heart.

Chi Dun revealed a troubled expression. "My lord, with a single command from you, this subordinate would brave boiling water and tread through fire without hesitation. But you know that the cultivation art I specialize in is Stone Heart Delaying Tactics. I fear I cannot shoulder such a heavy responsibility."

"No matter." The City Lord gave a slight wave of his hand, and a magical treasure flew from his sleeve.

The treasure was pale yellow all over, small and exquisite—a bell.

The bell flew toward Chi Dun, who hurriedly reached out with both hands to catch it.

The City Lord commanded, "With this Heart Warning Bell, you will be able to track down the demonic cultivator. Give it everything you have!"

Chi Dun took his leave. Carrying the Heart Warning Bell, his first stop was the great prison.

"Easy before difficult. These Ning Lineage cultivators were involved parties. I'll interrogate them first. Otherwise, if the Ning Lineage comes to claim them later, things will become troublesome."

"That Black Shadow Demonic Cultivator previously used them as camouflage to draw Zheng Shuang Gou's attention. Perhaps there is a demonic cultivator's informant among them?"

Though he thought so, Chi Dun also knew that the possibility was quite slim.

Still, this was a perfect opportunity to test the Heart Warning Bell and become familiar with it as quickly as possible.

Ning Zhuo and the others had originally been rescued by Zheng Shuang Gou and had not been detained. But then the Immortal Palace emerged, and the Dharma Transmission Bell's chimes rang throughout the city, turning the matter into a major uproar.

The City Lord personally ordered that all surviving cultivators, including them, be imprisoned.

On one hand, they were to be interrogated for clues. On the other, authority was being used to force them to keep the Immortal Palace's emergence a secret.

Things had already come to this. The City Lord did everything in his power to remedy the situation, racking his brains to conceal the secret of the Immortal Palace.

Chi Dun chose the Ning Lineage cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm first. Not long afterward, it was the Qi Refining Stage cultivators' turn.

As one of them, Ning Zhuo was soon led into a private room to face Chi Dun alone.

Chi Dun flipped through the transcript booklet in his hand without raising his head. His divine sense had already enveloped Ning Zhuo from head to toe. "You're not from the Demon Hunting Society? How did you suddenly end up in the Crimson Flame Demon Lava Cave?"

Ning Zhuo swallowed, cast Chi Dun a reverent glance, then immediately bowed his head, daring to look only at the ground.

He stammered through an explanation, recounting how he had previously encountered Ning Chen and Ning Yong and been provoked by their words, then went on at length about everything else.

Chi Dun's brows furrowed as he listened.

He had no interest whatsoever in a young cultivator like Ning Zhuo.

"This little fellow is merely at the Qi Refining Third Level. On his first trip into the lava cave, he encountered something like this. His luck is truly rotten to the core."

"No, surviving such a great calamity meant he was lucky after all. Most cultivators stronger than him lost their lives instead."

If Ning Zhuo alone had survived, he would have stood out considerably at this moment.

But that was not the case. Three Qi Refining Stage newcomers had survived in total. Ning Chen and Ning Yong were both among them.

"That Black Shadow Demonic Cultivator first used demon beast corpses to lure the Ning Lineage group over step by step, then stirred up the demon beast tide, all to conceal his own aura."

"He was purely using the Ning Lineage cultivators as cannon fodder. The possibility of an informant within the Ning Lineage is small."

"If I were him, even if I wanted an informant, I wouldn't choose a little fellow at Qi Refining Third Level."

Of course, Chi Dun was not careless enough to let down his guard.

In fact, he had been activating the Heart Warning Bell all along, and he had also activated the Heart Questioning Array in the interrogation room.

The Heart Warning Bell could keenly detect ill will nearby. If anyone from the Ning Lineage harbored malice toward Chi Dun, it would sound an alarm.

The Heart Questioning Array, meanwhile, could determine whether a person's words came from their heart.

So long as one's words did not match one's intentions, the Heart Questioning Array would emit red and yellow light.

Throughout Ning Zhuo's interrogation, neither the Heart Warning Bell nor the Heart Questioning Array made any response.

Chi Dun had not held much suspicion toward a minor figure like Ning Zhuo to begin with. Based on the Heart Warning Bell and the Heart Questioning Array, he completely cleared away his doubts.

"You may leave," Chi Dun instructed Ning Zhuo. "Hm?"

He was slightly surprised.

Two streams of blood ran from Ning Zhuo's nose.

Ning Zhuo was startled for a moment, then wiped beneath his nose with the back of his hand and saw the bloodstain there.

He quickly waved his hands. "My lord, it's nothing, it's nothing! Perhaps it's a hidden injury left over from the lava cave. I'm completely fine. I feel great right now!"

Chi Dun grunted and said no more, merely waving his hand.

Ning Zhuo saluted Chi Dun, then left briskly, gently opening the door and gently closing it behind him.

Chi Dun was about to interrogate the next person when he paused. His divine sense spread out as he contacted the guard outside. "Go tell them to treat the Ning Lineage cultivators properly. Have they grown slack? How can someone still have hidden injuries? Heal them all!"

The Ning Lineage was one of the Three Great Families of Fire Persimmon Immortal City. Chi Dun did not wish to offend them.

Naturally, if some Ning Lineage cultivator was discovered to be colluding with the Black Shadow Demonic Cultivator, that would be another matter entirely.

Ning Zhuo was led away and immediately received another round of treatment.

His nosebleed had naturally been caused by secretly activating My Buddha Heart Demon Seal.

This Treasure Seal could imprint Heart Seals. Outwardly, it could influence others' thoughts; inwardly, it could protect oneself, suppressing and clearing away all manner of thoughts and emotions.

It was precisely: ferry others into demons, ferry oneself into Buddha.

Led by someone, Ning Zhuo returned to the cell.

Before he even entered, he heard the sound of arguments within.

The Ning Lineage cultivators were engaged in a fierce discussion over the contents transmitted by the bell chimes.

When Ning Zhuo entered the cell, quite a few Ning Lineage cultivators turned to look at him. Seeing that he was unharmed, some gave him slight nods before turning back to join the discussion and dispute.

During this trip into the lava cave, Ning Zhuo had lived and died alongside them, greatly closing the distance between them.

Ning Chen and Ning Yong even rose to their feet and came over of their own accord, asking after Ning Zhuo with concern.

They had originally been classmates, so they already had a foundation of familiarity.

Although the two of them had also acted under Ning Zhanji's orders, Ning Zhuo truly had nearly lost his life, leaving them feeling guilty.

It was not merely guilt.

During the trip into the lava cave, Ning Zhuo had been afraid in the face of danger, yet courage had still burst forth from him. At the brink of death, he had also awakened Ning Yong and Ning Chen's courage.

Such a performance made Ning Chen and Ning Yong feel both close to him and admiring of him.

All these thoughts and emotions brought a qualitative change to the relationship the two shared with Ning Zhuo.

"How was it? You're not hurt, are you?"

"We are Ning Lineage cultivators, and our ancestor is a Golden Core cultivator too. If anyone uses some Soul Searching technique on us, the Lineage will definitely stand behind us!"

Ning Chen and Ning Yong spoke one after the other.

Ning Zhuo nodded. "I was a little nervous when I first went in."

"But from beginning to end, no one gave me any trouble."

"I thought it was quite simple. Just tell the truth."

He instead comforted Ning Chen and Ning Yong.

"Good." Ning Yong and Ning Chen answered at the same time.

The next moment, the guards called for them and took both away together.

Ning Zhuo entered the cell and found his own place in a corner.

He had a small stool and a small table before him. Fruit, nuts, and hot tea were placed atop it.

The other Ning Lineage cultivators received the same treatment.

This was naturally abnormal, and entirely due to their status as Ning Lineage members.

Ning Zhuo's place was in a corner of the dungeon.

In a nearby corner lay a heap of rotten straw giving off a foul stench. Great patches of dried blood stained the brick walls, while the cell bars bore fingernail marks forcibly gouged into their surfaces. Standing there, one could almost hear the prisoners' wails and pleas for mercy.

Ning Zhuo knew clearly that once the matter was exposed, his fate would be even more miserable and terrifying than those prisoners'. The first to refuse to spare him might not even be the City Lord's side, but the Ning Lineage! When that time came, these friendly Ning Lineage cultivators around him would turn faces full of rage and hatred upon him and hunt him down with all their strength.

Ning Zhuo felt no regret whatsoever.

Blowing up the Immortal Palace had been a decision he had made long ago. So what if he had risked his life?

He slowly sat down and reached out to take a roasted chestnut.

Between two fingers, he easily crushed the chestnut's shell, producing a crisp crack.

He then removed the kernel, chewed it, and swallowed it.

The Magma Immortal Palace now was like this chestnut. Ning Zhuo had dealt its outer shell a vicious blow and shattered it, lowering the standard.

But how to eat the kernel inside still required careful deliberation and the utmost caution.

The matter had grown too big. With his mere Qi Refining Third Level cultivation, Ning Zhuo was walking on thin ice. The slightest carelessness would expose a flaw, like stepping through the ice with one foot, plunging into an icy lake, and having his life swallowed by the undercurrents.

Back then, Ning Zhuo's Mother had met the same fate.

Ning Zhuo quietly chewed the kernel, carefully savoring its flavor on the tip of his tongue as though savoring the danger of his own predicament.

No one would ever have guessed that this utterly ordinary youth was the true culprit who had blown open the Immortal Palace!