Soul Returns

The entire Magma Immortal Palace was shaking violently!

Ning Zhuo braced both palms against the Five-Sided Stone Pillar, his Soul Power draining at a terrifying rate.

His soul had left his body.

His physical body remained in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, while his soul had been drawn into the Magma Immortal Palace. His body and soul were linked by the Divine Power: Life Hanging by a Thread.

Ning Zhuo was only a Qi Refining Stage cultivator, yet My Buddha Heart Demon Seal was at the Magic Treasure level. Under normal circumstances, drawing upon the Treasure Seal's power was already exceedingly difficult for him.

Now, with his soul and body separated and Life Hanging by a Thread between them, sensing and drawing upon My Buddha Heart Demon Seal had become more than ten times harder!

Ning Zhuo's spiritual energy and Soul Power plummeted like floodwaters pouring through a breached dam.

He looked up at the rankings, yet delight welled in his heart.

Because he saw that his name was slowly sinking. At this rate, once the name he had engraved in yang carving became level with the stone slab's surface, he should be able to remain anonymous!

However, the sinking of his name came to an abrupt halt midway.

Puppet Ning Zhuo dropped to both knees, collapsing before the stone pillar.

His Soul Power was nearly exhausted. His soul had weakened to the absolute limit, on the verge of scattering into nothingness.

Ning Zhuo could no longer hold on.

Pouring all his strength into drawing out the Treasure Seal's power was like an infant swinging a sledgehammer—his tiny frame simply could not bear it.

The next moment, his soul could no longer maintain itself. It swiftly rose from the Puppet Body, followed Life Hanging by a Thread, pierced through space, and instantly returned to his physical body.

Plop.

Without a soul inhabiting it, his Puppet Body fell directly to the ground and lay motionless.

Ning Zhuo fainted once more.

The Main Hall of the Magma Immortal Palace.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit darted and leaped through the air. Wherever it went, surging waves of fire rose up, a terrifying sight!

Suddenly, its entire body froze, for it sensed Ning Zhuo's soul departing.

It opened its mouth and let out a thunderous roar!

The sound waves spread outward through the Magma Immortal Palace, sweeping away layers of cloud and mist and forcing aside torrents of lava wherever they passed.

"That Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit is roaring in fury again. What madness has seized it?"

The Fire Persimmon City Lord had no choice but to go all out and urgently activate the Fire Persimmon Immortal City Grand Formation once again.

Countless emerald-green formation patterns outlined heaven and earth, crisscrossing like a net to form a powerful seal.

The Fire Persimmon City Lord blew his beard and glared, his robes whipping in the wind as he strove to resist the rampaging Magma Immortal Palace. After holding on for a full half-incense stick's time, he finally began to stabilize the situation.

"Last time, the immortal palace was attacked by a Golden Core demonic cultivator and nearly rose into the air."

"What happened this time?"

"Could it have come under attack again?"

The Fire Persimmon City Lord narrowed his eyes, his expression dark.

Ever since the immortal palace had emerged, he had guarded the high skies above the mountaintop without leaving for even a moment.

He was a dignified Nascent Soul Level cultivator, the lord of this region. With him personally standing guard, who would dare overestimate themselves and sneak into the Magma Immortal Palace?

The Fire Persimmon City Lord could be certain that since he had taken position in the Azure Vault above the mountaintop, not a single outsider had entered the immortal palace.

"Even if someone tried to infiltrate through the mountain itself, they would have to face the formation's seal and detection, as well as the endless geothermal fire and baleful fire intent whose terrifying upheaval has yet to subside."

"Has that Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit grown impatient?"

Ning Zhuo slowly awakened.

It took a long while before his blurred vision gradually cleared.

He felt as though his eyelids weighed a thousand pounds.

"This time, the damage to my soul is far worse than last time."

Ning Zhuo forcibly resisted the urge to fall asleep and struggled to rise.

Even though he deliberately slowed his movements, darkness still swam before his eyes, and the world spun around him.

With difficulty, he raised his upper body into a sitting position.

That simple movement had already drenched him in cold sweat. Light and shadow overlapped in his vision, and even the still tables, chairs, and benches seemed to sway without end.

He could only close his eyes first. In the darkness, the sound of his accelerating heartbeat transformed in his ears into furious drumbeats.

Only after a long while did he slowly open his eyes, feeling slightly better.

"My body and soul were originally one whole, a perfect original match."

The physical body could nourish the soul.

That was precisely why Ning Zhuo could feel himself improving.

But the speed was far too slow. If Ning Zhuo wanted to race against time, he had to take medicine.

He slowly rose to his feet, left the bed, activated the mechanism, and opened the basement.

He held onto everything that could support him and inched forward like a snail. He could not move too quickly, lest he faint again.

When he reached the middle of the stairs, he could no longer endure and slowly sat down.

He curled his body up and rested his head against the stair railing.

Discomfort, heaviness, weakness, dizziness so severe he wanted to vomit, and overwhelming drowsiness!

He lowered his head, feeling as if it had swollen several times larger, while his spine felt as frail as a branch that was about to wither completely.

He closed his eyes again and quietly listened in the darkness to his heartbeat pounding like war drums.

He hunched over, as though an invisible mountain-like weight were pressing down upon him.

Trying to crush him!

"Hehehe." Ning Zhuo laughed softly instead.

The more complex a Mechanical Creation was, the more he wanted to study it until every last detail was crystal clear. The harsher his circumstances, the more they stirred the fighting desire he normally concealed, buried deep in his bones!

His face was pale as paper and covered in cold sweat, yet the corners of his lips curved upward, forming a faintly crazed smile.

Soon, his smile vanished.

He opened his eyes once more, and all that spilled from his pupils was a cold, resolute light.

"It can work!"

"Using My Buddha Heart Demon Seal, I can continue to remain anonymous."

"Mother left this for me. It is also my only chance."

"If I cannot seize even this, then I will have failed Mother—and I would be utterly useless!"

Ning Zhuo struggled to rise again. Every insignificant movement demanded every ounce of his strength.

He made his way down the stairs, pressed against the wall, and finally reached the standing cabinet.

Suppressing his dizziness, he used trembling hands to open the cabinet doors, took out a pill bottle, and painstakingly pulled out the stopper.

As he poured out the pills, his limbs were weak and his vision unclear. Many scattered onto the floor.

But in the end, he still managed to take them.

Having successfully taken the medicine, Ning Zhuo leaned against the wall and slowly sat down. He lowered his head, then immediately fell into a deep sleep the next instant.

When he woke again, it was already late at night.

His condition had improved dramatically.

Before, everything he saw had doubled, and the slightest movement sent the world spinning.

But now, his vision was merely somewhat blurred. Only when he turned his head too quickly would double images appear.

The power of pills was far more effective than sleep. Otherwise, why would alchemy be ranked first among the hundred arts of cultivation?

Ning Zhuo picked up the pills scattered across the floor, cleaned them, and put them back into the pill bottle.

There were not many pills left. He had to conserve them as much as possible.

"It would be best to stock up in large quantities."

"Throughout the entire process of drawing my soul into the palace, my Soul Power is constantly consumed. Therefore, my need for pills that nourish the soul will only grow greater."

"For me, the situation is even more severe."

"Even if I buy many Soul Nourishing Pills, I cannot bring them into the Magma Immortal Palace and cannot take medicine inside it."

"I must directly strengthen the foundation of my soul, at least doubling it. Only then can I hold out longer and remain anonymous on one ranking."