Fire Ape and Ning Zhuo

Fei Si cast him a disdainful glance. "You reckless brute, the enemy has already led you around by the nose, yet you do not even realize it."

He cupped his hands again and looked toward the City Lord. "It is all thanks to your keen insight, my lord. You alone have steadied this chaotic situation. You have remained atop the volcano from beginning to end, standing firm as a mountain, leaving the enemy no opening to exploit."

"As long as you personally hold the fort, who could possibly infiltrate the Magma Immortal Palace right before your eyes?"

"This is precisely the wondrous method of meeting ten thousand changes with constancy—great skill appearing artless. The enemy lurking in the shadows can only gaze at the heavens and sigh in despair, utterly without opportunity!"

Chi Dun had been scolded again, and he immediately snapped in anger, "After all that talk, you still have not gotten to the point. What about that demonic cultivator hiding in the Fire Persimmon Forest? If he sets off a chain explosion throughout the forest, would not Fire Persimmon City's accumulations of several hundred years still be destroyed?"

Fei Si shook his head and let out a sigh. "Things have come to this. We can only prepare for the worst."

"However, I do not believe it is very likely that he will detonate it himself."

"He is a demonic cultivator, not brain-damaged. If the entire Fire Persimmon Forest is ignited, its power will shake all of Fire Persimmon Immortal Mountain. He himself will surely be blown to pieces and die miserably on the spot."

After a pause, Fei Si continued, "He has already been struck by the Limestone Heart Technique. The longer this drags on, the worse his injuries will become."

"We are the side holding the advantage. We must proceed slowly and methodically, and absolutely cannot rush for quick success and give the enemy an opening."

"In this subordinate's humble opinion, we should contact the other three families and discuss together how to deal with this demonic cultivator. This will strengthen unity and distinguish loyalty. If anyone truly is the mastermind behind the scenes or an inside accomplice, they will be easier for us to uncover."

"Furthermore, it would be best to act after the Fire Persimmon Festival. By then, we can harvest Fire Persimmons on a large scale and minimize our losses."

Chi Dun's eyes flew wide open as he shouted in disbelief, "You still want to hold the Fire Persimmon Festival?!"

"Do you want everyone in the city to go to their deaths?"

"If the Fire Persimmon Forest sets off a chain explosion, how many casualties will it cause?"

"When that happens, the City Lord will absolutely be unable to escape blame and may very well be dismissed outright!"

Fei Si had clearly expected this. "Since I proposed this plan, I naturally have a way to deal with it."

"City Lord, please look at this Mechanical Monkey."

As he spoke, Fei Si took a Mechanical Creation from his Storage Bag.

The mechanism stood half the height of a man. Its monkey fur was bright red, its body bulging with muscles, lifelike in every detail. If it was not a Fire Ape, what else could it be?

With a hint of pride, Fei Si continued his introduction. "Just three days ago, Chen Cha presented this mechanism. With it, we should be able to harvest Fire Persimmons easily and avoid casualties among our personnel."

The City Lord remained expressionless. With a movement of his Divine Sense, he drew the Mechanical Monkey over and placed it before his eyes for inspection.

After several breaths, he nodded slightly. "Passable. Only the monkey brain's control core contains a modestly clever touch."

He was Nascent Soul Level, with broad horizons. In his eyes, the Fire Ape's design was utterly ordinary, with nothing worth praising.

"Who is Chen Cha?" The City Lord did develop a slight interest in its creator.

Fei Si replied, "Many years ago, you ordered this subordinate to recruit mechanism masters everywhere. Chen Cha was one of them. This subordinate invited her to come live in Fire Persimmon City."

"She is a foundation establishment cultivator with solid attainments in formations and skill in setting up mobile formations. Yet in Mechanism Art, she lacked inspiration and had never produced any outstanding works."

"Now, at last, she has achieved something."

Upon hearing that Chen Cha was merely a foundation establishment cultivator, the City Lord lost interest. He waved a hand. "Handle the matter in this manner."

"Chi Dun, from this point on, you will fully cooperate with Fei Si."

Chi Dun was deeply displeased. "This subordinate obeys!"

The Ning Lineage.

The Clan Head summoned the Young Clan Leader to his study.

He first handed over a list.

Young Clan Leader Ning Xiaoren took it and examined it. Among the fallen, he saw Ning Zhanji's name. Then, on the list of survivors, he saw Ning Zhuo's name.

The Clan Head sighed. "Ning Zhanji's death in battle is a great loss to our Ning Lineage."

Ning Xiaoren said, "A member of the Branch Family died for the Lineage. That is also his honor."

The Clan Head said, "You are in charge of the Lineage's logistics. You will be responsible for the compensation granted to the Lineage cultivators this time."

Ning Xiaoren hurriedly said, "Father, rest assured. Your son will certainly handle this matter properly."

"Mm." The Clan Head nodded and tested him. "Xiaoren, what do you think of the Magma Immortal Palace's emergence this time?"

Ning Xiaoren pondered for a while before replying, "The emergence of the Immortal Palace has forced us to accelerate our exploration progress. Our Lineage was the last party to learn of this matter, and our situation is even more unfavorable than before."

"We have never managed to recruit an outstanding mechanism master. Relying on our Lineage's strength alone, it will be difficult to compete against the other three parties."

The Clan Head sighed, his tone heavy. "At present, the Immortal Palace's selection standard has already been lowered to the Qi Refining Stage. Perhaps our Lineage should fully organize a large number of cultivators to switch to the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art."

Ning Xiaoren's brows knitted tightly. "Father, this is the very matter that worries me most."

"How many people should be organized to switch to the new cultivation art? What kind of people should we use? Most crucially, how many should come from the main branch, and who should they be? And how many from the Branch Family, and who should be chosen?"

"The situation is still unclear. Deciding how to proceed is exceedingly difficult."

Hearing this, the Clan Head could not help revealing a gratified expression. "Xiaoren, being able to understand this point means you qualify as Young Clan Leader."

"I will need to gather the elders and discuss this matter carefully."

"You should go take care of your own duties."

Ning Xiaoren bowed and took his leave.

When he returned to his own study, a Lineage cultivator came to ask how the Lineage's compensation should be distributed this time.

Without a moment's thought, Ning Xiaoren said, "Compensation? What compensation?"

"Were these Ning Lineage members not all from the Demon Hunting Society? The Demon Hunting Society has its own compensation."

The Lineage cultivator looked troubled. "But they are all members of our Ning Lineage..."

Ning Xiaoren cut him off. "It is precisely because the Lineage is in straitened circumstances and short of funds that we encourage our people to join other organizations and make a living. As members of the Ning Lineage, they should think for the Lineage!"

The Lineage cultivator had no choice but to withdraw.

Yet Ning Xiaoren remained furious and summoned Ning Zhuo's grandfather, Ning Ze.

Ning Xiaoren's face was livid. His knuckles rapped against the tabletop with dull thuds. "Ning Ze, what kind of grandfather are you? Ning Zhuo ran into the Crimson Flame Demon Lava Cave and nearly lost his life. Did you know that?"

Ning Ze wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly said, "I knew, I knew!"

After much difficulty, he had "come up with" a brilliant plan himself: provoke Ning Zhuo into joining the Demon Hunting Society. Yet the Immortal Palace had emerged, and Ning Zhanji, who had been tasked with recruiting Ning Zhuo, had died miserably.

Ning Zhuo had not truly joined the Demon Hunting Society. Instead, Ning Xiaoren had seen through Ning Ze's arrangement. Naturally, the latter was furious!

Ning Ze gave a bitter smile. "But Young Clan Leader, it truly is not that I was unwilling to make arrangements for Little Zhuo. It is just that he is far too stubborn..."

Smack.

Before Ning Ze could finish, the inkstone Ning Xiaoren hurled struck him squarely on the head.

A sharp pain hit him, followed by a warm stream that ran swiftly down from his forehead to his chin.

The air beneath Ning Ze's nostrils was filled with the scent of rust.

He knew then that the Young Clan Leader had smashed open his forehead again.

"Do not play dumb with me!" The Young Clan Leader pointed toward the door. "Get out. Next time, I want to hear good news!"

Ning Ze's face was twisted in pain, blood pouring endlessly from his head. Yet he did not dare treat himself on the spot. Gritting his teeth, he withdrew.