Assassination

Ning Zhuo slowly opened his eyes and found that his vision had changed dramatically, returning to his underground workshop.

A strong sense of weakness welled up from the depths of his heart.

Ning Zhuo stood up and examined himself.

"My physical body is fine, but my soul has been weakened too much."

In Room Two, he had been hit by the giant wooden pillars too many times.

"Although this is only my first exploration of the Magma Immortal Palace and I didn't enter Room Three, I gained a lot!"

"Especially the spell reward from Room Two, which I luckily brought back."

Ning Zhuo didn't rush to study the acquired spell but first drank water and ate.

When his soul was extracted, his physical body was in a coma. His heartbeat and breathing were maintained, but remaining motionless for a long time was very detrimental.

After all, Ning Zhuo was currently only a Qi Refining Stage cultivator and had not specifically cultivated any body refining techniques. His physical body was not strong.

While eating and drinking to replenish his physical body's nutrition, Ning Zhuo calculated the time elapsed.

"The first exploration of the Magma Immortal Palace took about three hours."

"The method for Qi Refining Stage cultivators who have cultivated the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art to enter the Magma Immortal Palace is different from before. Before, the true body entered the palace, but now the soul is drawn in... This means that even if the City Lord guards the top of Fire Persimmon Mountain, it doesn't mean much anymore."

"No, the City Lord should continue the blockade."

"On one hand, he needs to prevent cultivators above the Qi Refining Stage from entering the palace with their true bodies. After all, the Magma Immortal Palace has now appeared."

"On the other hand, doing so is also beneficial to his own forces. His grandson, Meng Chong, is still in the Qi Refining Stage and started preparing to seize the Magma Immortal Palace a long time ago. In this regard, the City Lord's side still has the greatest advantage."

"Meng Chong possesses Superior Grade Immortal Aptitude - Raging Bolt! I can't compare to him at all."

"Alas, I wonder which level he has passed? Room Two definitely won't trouble him."

Only mortals with spirit roots have the basic qualification for cultivation.

Above spirit roots, there are countless cultivation aptitudes.

Superior Grade aptitude is called Immortal Aptitude, which is no small matter. Defeating enemies across levels is the norm.

Although Ning Zhuo didn't even enter Room Three in his first exploration, he gained a lot.

The Magma Immortal Palace treats "outsiders" and "its own cultivators" completely differently.

This was very beneficial to Ning Zhuo.

According to the previous method, Ning Zhuo would have to face competitors in the Foundation Establishment Stage, Golden Core Stage, and even Core Formation Stage.

But now, under this trial method, his opponents are temporarily only Qi Refining Stage cultivators.

Ning Zhuo recalled the information he had gathered.

"Among the Qi Refining cultivators on the City Lord's side, Meng Chong is definitely the leader."

"The Zhou Family's Qi Refining Stage cultivators are Zhou Ze Shen and Zhou Zhu. These two specifically joined the Mudflow Sect, and their attainments in mechanism techniques are immeasurable."

"Zheng Jian of the Zheng Family is the prominent figure in the Qi Refining Stage. He possesses Superior Grade aptitude like Piercing Insight, which is also very formidable."

"As for the Ning Family, among Qi Refining Stage cultivators of the same level, Ning Xiaohui is the best. However, she is unwilling to switch to cultivating the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art."

"Alas, these are all cultivation geniuses."

"Compared to them, I only have Superior Grade Early Wisdom Immortal Aptitude, utterly unremarkable."

"The key is, they have deep backgrounds and can receive strong support from their families, even help from Nascent Soul cultivators. I can't; I'm too ordinary and can only fight alone. In this regard, I can only look up to them."

Ning Zhuo thought about the situation until his head ached unbearably.

He found a bottle of pills that restored the soul, poured out a few, and swallowed them with water.

Afterward, he quickly threw himself onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

While he was resting, a conflict was unfolding in the Zhou Family.

"Why can't I use the Gathering and Dispersing Wishful Spirit Tide Array here?" a Qi Refining Stage cultivator shouted, his expression arrogant.

"Because I am here," Zhou Ze Shen said with a gloomy face as he walked out.

The Zhou Family Qi Refining Stage cultivator's mouth twitched, just about to speak mockingly, when he saw Zhou Ze Shen take out a small flag.

He aimed it at the troublesome Zhou Family Qi Refining cultivator and simply waved it. Immediately, the earth beneath the Zhou Family Qi Refining cultivator's feet churned, turning into a swamp that quickly swallowed him.

The Zhou Family Qi Refining cultivator shouted, "Zhou Ze Shen, you're too arrogant! You dare to use force within the clan grounds! Ah ya..."

He couldn't speak anymore.

His entire body was almost swallowed by the mud, his chin and mouth submerged in the earth, but his nostrils remained above, giving him a chance to breathe.

He struggled desperately but couldn't move. He was utterly enraged, his face flushed red, his eyes wide with fury.

Zhou Ze Shen sneered, then scanned his surroundings and said to the onlookers, "I know some people in the family are dissatisfied with Zhou Zhu and me."

"But using such petty tricks to disgust people is really underestimating me."

Just then, a sharp alarm suddenly sounded from underground.

Zhou Ze Shen's expression changed drastically. He turned around in a panic and rushed into the basement.

The Gathering and Dispersing Wishful Spirit Tide Array had slowly stopped. Zhou Zhu lay on the ground, his eyes tightly closed, blood flowing from all his pores.

"Da Zhu!" Zhou Ze Shen cried out, rushing into the array to check on Zhou Zhu and give him emergency treatment.

Shortly after, a Zhou Family Elder arrived, his face ashen. "Investigate! We must find the culprit and punish them severely!"

Zheng Family.

In the refining room, it was bustling with activity.

A ten-foot-tall furnace opened its large mouth, the firelight making Zheng Jian's face red.

At this moment, he was bare-chested, his muscles bulging, sweat pouring down as he refined artifacts with all his might.

He held iron tongs in one hand and raised an iron hammer high in the other, continuously striking the artifact embryo.

The artifact embryo was quite small, only the size of a baby's palm.

Suddenly, the artifact embryo emitted a brilliant light.

Zheng Jian's eyes gleamed with sharp light. He quickly put down the hammer, scooped up a ladle of water, and poured it directly onto the artifact embryo.

The clear water landed on the embryo, making a sizzling sound and releasing large plumes of white steam.

Zheng Jian immediately felt a sense of danger and quickly retreated.

But he had already inhaled a little of the white steam and couldn't help but cough twice, coughing up blood directly.

"Damn it, the water was poisoned!"

Zheng Jian's face turned pale, and he darted out of the artifact refining room.

City Lord's Mansion.

A black-clothed assassin climbed over the courtyard wall, stepped onto the rooftop, and silently took out a blowdart-like magical artifact.

He secretly used a spell to melt a small hole through the roof, then slowly extended the blowdart downwards.

But the next moment, he heard a low roar: "Thief, die!"

The blowdart was forcefully pushed, carrying terrifying electric light, and directly pierced back through the black-clothed assassin's mouth, shooting out from the back of his head, and then disappearing into the high sky at an extremely fast speed.

In the dazzling electric light, the assassin trembled violently a few times.

The next moment, he turned into charcoal and fell headfirst. He rolled down the roof until he hit the ground.

"Hmph!" In the room, Meng Chong slowly closed his eyes and continued to disperse his cultivation.

Ning Family.

Ning Xiaohui stood before the clan leader, with her grandmother and the Talisman Hall Elder beside her.

"It's not impossible for me to switch to cultivating the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art. But I have some conditions!" Ning Xiaohui changed her tone.

It turned out that the main branch of the Ning Family had consistently failed to produce any decent individuals, leaving them with no choice but to nominate Ning Xiaohui.

Ning Xiaohui's grandmother, as well as the Talisman Hall Elder who supported her, also gradually couldn't withstand the combined pressure from others and had to choose to compromise.