Chapter Summaries

Ning Zhuo deflected the Golden Core Cultivators’ suspicions about his disappearance in the clinic and persuaded them to give him protective treasures and rewards. After they left, he found a secret jade slip from Ning Jiu Fan at his residence.

• Ning Zhuo told Zhu Xuanji, Ning Jiu Fan, and Zhou Nong Ying that the clinic’s treatment room had cut off their perception of him, then argued that the unknown culprit might still have a way into the clinic.
• Ning Zhuo asked for more protection and rewards, and Zhou Nong Ying gave him a Four Directions Inversion Array Disk.
• Zhu Xuanji examined Ning Zhuo, confirmed his surveillance measures were intact, and rewarded him with an empty Top-Grade Crystal.
• Ning Jiu Fan promised to personally oversee the rewards for merit before flying away with Zhu Xuanji and Zhou Nong Ying.
• Ning Zhuo returned to his residence, found Ning Jiu Fan’s jade slip of talisman annotations, and understood that he was meant to study it secretly.

Ning Xiaohui pushed herself to earn merit while Ning Zhuo tried to avoid acting against her under Zhu Xuanji’s watch. Meanwhile, the Cloud merchants discovered their auction goods had been stolen, and Zhu Xuanji set out to investigate and preserve their alliance with the city.

• Ning Xiaohui used her Ice Jade Hands talent and refined artifacts to earn merit, reaching 127 points and closing in on a position at the Historical Records Pavilion.
• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit warned Ning Zhuo that Ning Xiaohui was about thirty merit points from her goal, and Ning Zhuo urged it to keep watching her while he waited for an opportunity.
• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit confirmed that Ning Zhuo, as infirmary master, could gain merit from subordinates but would also lose merit if they failed tasks.
• Song FuLi told Fei Si that the Cloud merchants’ prepared auction goods had been stolen, and Fei Si inspected the treasury, where counterfeit goods filled the shelves.
• Fei Si reported the theft to Meng Kui and appealed to Zhu Xuanji, who agreed to investigate, recover the goods, and preserve the Cloud merchants’ support.

Zhu Xuanji investigated the Cloud Merchants’ stolen goods and concealed the truth that Yang Chanyu and Sun Lingtong had stolen them inside the cloud whale, opening the way for an alliance with Song FuLi. With Zhu Xuanji away from the Magma Immortal Palace, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit urged Ning Zhuo to kill Ning Xiaohui, but Ning Zhuo chose to wait.

• Zhu Xuanji used his techniques to identify Yang Chanyu and Sun Lingtong as the thieves, then told Song FuLi and Fei Si that they had stolen the goods inside the cloud whale.
• Song FuLi challenged the City Lord’s Mansion to recover the goods, while Zhu Xuanji concealed where the theft had occurred and discussed joining forces with the Cloud Merchants.
• Song FuLi admitted that his group had come to pursue the Magma Immortal Palace, and he and Zhu Xuanji reached a verbal agreement to cooperate.
• Fei Si reported the dispute to Meng Kui, who authorized him to negotiate with the Cloud Merchants and yield some benefits while keeping his efforts to contact the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit secret.
• After Zhu Xuanji left the immortal palace, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit urged Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong to eliminate Ning Xiaohui, but Ning Zhuo delayed the plan and Sun Lingtong agreed to await his signal.

Fei Si and Zhu Xuanji negotiated a costly alliance with Song FuLi, then learned that a vast store of fire persimmons had vanished from the City Lord’s Mansion warehouse. Zhu Xuanji traced the theft to a Black Shadow Demonic Cultivator, leaving open whether the City Lord’s Mansion was merely a victim or whether Meng Kui had secretly arranged it.

• Fei Si enlisted Zhu Xuanji’s support and negotiated compensation and cooperation with Song FuLi, who secured a large profit and the right to join the contest for Magma Immortal Palace.
• A subordinate reported that a huge quantity of fire persimmons had disappeared from the warehouse, and Fei Si questioned the warehouse manager, who denied stealing them.
• Zhu Xuanji verified that the manager was telling the truth and insisted the theft be thoroughly investigated after learning many valuable fire persimmons were missing.
• Zhu Xuanji examined the warehouse and saw that a Black Shadow Demonic Cultivator had used gaps between the damaged array layers to steal the fire persimmons.
• Zhu Xuanji warned Fei Si that the culprit’s identity did not prove the City Lord’s Mansion was uninvolved, since Meng Kui might have acted without Fei Si’s knowledge.

Zhu Xuanji visited Zhu Hou at the Benevolent Childcare Garden and found Li Leifeng’s diary among his belongings. The diary revealed Ning Zhuo’s extraordinary talent for controlling puppets, leaving Zhu Xuanji shocked and newly suspicious of what Ning Zhuo had concealed.

• Zhu Xuanji weighed whether the City Lord’s Mansion was manipulating him and decided to visit Zhu Hou after learning of his appointment to the Benevolent Childcare Garden.
• Zhu Xuanji publicly arrived at the garden, met Zhu Hou, and apologized for being unable to attend the inauguration ceremony.
• Zhu Hou showed Zhu Xuanji Li Leifeng’s diary, which recorded how Li Leifeng supported promising children and tried to recruit Ning Zhuo as a disciple.
• Zhu Xuanji read that young Ning Zhuo had secretly copied increasingly complex puppet-control techniques with remarkable speed.
• Zhu Xuanji discovered that Ning Zhuo stopped visiting the garden after turning six and reacted with shock at the evidence of his hidden talent.

After Li Leifeng’s list strengthened Zhu Xuanji’s suspicions about Ning Zhuo, Zhu Xuanji arranged for Ning Xiaohui to obtain the Golden Phoenix Mirror and gain access to the Historical Records Pavilion. Ning Zhuo was taken away to Zhu Hou’s succession ceremony just as Ning Xiaohui was about to learn the truth, leaving him convinced Zhu Xuanji had made his move.

• Zhu Xuanji concluded that Ning Zhuo had hidden his talent for years and might be connected to the forces behind the Magma Immortal Palace.
• Zhu Xuanji sent Zhu Zhen instructions to protect Ning Xiaohui and planned to give her the Golden Phoenix Mirror so she could qualify for the Historical Records Pavilion post.
• Zhu Xuanji decided to attend Zhu Hou’s succession ceremony with Ning Zhuo, whom he described as an unusually difficult young man to read.
• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit warned Ning Zhuo that Ning Xiaohui had obtained the Golden Phoenix Mirror and was about to offer it to the Immortal Palace.
• Ning Jiu Fan took Ning Zhuo away to Zhu Hou’s ceremony, while the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit cried out that Ning Xiaohui was about to learn the truth.
• Ning Zhuo suspected Zhu Xuanji had arranged both developments and wondered whether Han Ming had been caught.

At Zhu Hou’s succession ceremony in Benevolent Childcare Garden, cultivators debated the beast tide and Ning Zhuo’s controversial rise as Black Market master. Zhu Xuanji arrived with Ning Zhuo, making the guests believe Ning Zhuo had gained powerful Orthodox Path support, though Zhu Xuanji secretly intended to move against him.

• Cultivators gathered in the Puppet Show Building, discussed donations, and argued over whether the beast tide threatened Fire Persimmon Immortal City and Magma Immortal Palace.
• The guests debated whether the Monkey Head Gang and Ning Zhuo could still belong among the Orthodox Path, criticizing Ning Zhuo for controlling the Black Market.
• Zhu Xuanji arrived with Ning Zhuo, and the cultivators fell silent before greeting them as the pair went upstairs.
• Afterward, a guest argued that Ning Zhuo’s youth and Zhu Xuanji’s public company proved his Orthodox Path prospects remained bright, persuading many to reconsider him.
• The narration revealed that Zhu Xuanji had brought Ning Zhuo because he suspected him and might detain him, jeopardizing Ning Zhuo’s chance to compete for the Magma Immortal Palace Lord position.
• A Zixiao Pavilion Golden Core True Disciple arrived, greeted Zhu Xuanji, and retired to a private room as other Foundation Establishment guests followed.

At Zhu Hou’s succession ceremony, Zhu Xuanji questioned Ning Zhuo about his donations and warned him against taking a crooked path. Ning Zhuo realized Zhu Xuanji suspected him of being an accomplice and was trying to draw out a hidden mastermind, then faced a crucial question about whether his own path was righteous.

• Zhu Hou accepted the headmaster position at the Benevolent Childcare Garden and pledged one hundred thousand spirit stones, prompting Zhu Xuanji and other guests to donate as well.
• Zhu Xuanji asked Ning Zhuo why he had not donated at the ceremony, and Ning Zhuo explained his past donations as both repayment for Li Leifeng’s kindness and an effort to recruit talent for his new Lineage.
• Zhu Xuanji praised Ning Zhuo’s nature but warned that people could stray onto crooked paths, making Ning Zhuo suspect that Zhu Xuanji wanted to turn him and uncover a supposed mastermind.
• Ning Zhuo considered his three lines of defense and wondered what clue had led Zhu Xuanji past the second, while remaining unsure whether Han Ming, Sun Lingtong, or the Benevolent Childcare Garden had exposed something.
• Zhu Xuanji pressed Ning Zhuo to say whether he believed he was walking a righteous or crooked path, leaving Ning Zhuo under intense pressure to answer.

Ning Zhuo defended his choices by describing the hardship of his childhood, while Zhu Xuanji urged him to follow the righteous path and honor Li Leifeng. Zhu Xuanji pushed him to perform a puppet show, and Ning Zhuo took the stage at the gathering.

• Ning Zhuo appealed to Zhu Xuanji's compassion by recounting his poverty and explaining that survival had shaped his choices.
• Zhu Xuanji praised Li Leifeng as a model of the righteous path and urged Ning Zhuo to recognize the light he had received.
• Ning Zhuo described himself as a thief who had scavenged for food, insisting that he had always relied on himself and chosen his own road.
• Zhu Xuanji reminded Ning Zhuo that Li Leifeng had hoped he would step onto the stage and asked him to perform Fang Qing Clears Grievances.
• Zhu Hou arranged the performance, and Ning Zhuo addressed the audience before beginning a puppet show in Li Leifeng's memory and to celebrate Zhu Xuanji's appointment.

Ning Zhuo weighed Zhu Xuanji’s offer to abandon his plans and join the South Bean court while performing “Fang Qing Clears Grievances” under close watch. Meanwhile, Ning Xiaohui uncovered evidence implicating Ning Zhuo in a long conspiracy, but a sudden crash shook the Magma Immortal Palace before she could act.

• Zhu Hou gave Ning Zhuo Li Leifeng’s mechanical puppets, and the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit warned him that Ning Xiaohui had entered the Historical Records Pavilion with the Golden Phoenix Mirror.
• Ning Zhuo considered turning himself in, relying on Zhu Xuanji, and pursuing a future in the South Bean court instead of fighting for control of the Magma Immortal Palace.
• Ning Zhuo began performing “Fang Qing Clears Grievances,” skillfully controlling the puppets as they staged a criminal’s trial.
• Ning Xiaohui used her new authority in the Historical Records Pavilion to investigate the Magma Immortal Palace’s records and discovered that the Mechanical Black Snake and Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit were tied to major secrets.
• Ning Xiaohui found records exposing Ning Zhuo’s conspiracy and celebrated the chance to use him to earn great merit.
• The Magma Immortal Palace jolted with a tremendous crash, nearly knocking Ning Xiaohui off her feet.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit broke the barrier to unleash the Crimson Flame Demon Beasts and tried to kill Ning Xiaohui, who had uncovered evidence in the Historical Records Pavilion. Ning Xiaohui escaped immediate danger but found herself unable to speak the truth, while a puppet play dramatized how a false accusation could be imposed on an upright official.

• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit weakened the barrier, let the beast tide into Magma Immortal Palace, and directed the beasts toward the Historical Records Pavilion.
• Yang Chanyu attacked Ning Xiaohui, but Zhu Zhen intervened and joined the Zhou, Zheng, and Ning family Golden Core Cultivators in driving Yang Chanyu back.
• Ning Xiaohui fled through the chaos and received protection from a Zhou family cultivator and Zheng Shuang Gou’s magical-power clone.
• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit urged Sun Lingtong to kill Ning Xiaohui, but Sun Lingtong dismissed its warning as a deception.
• Ning Xiaohui tried to reveal what she had found, but she could only deny having read the records and then warn her escort to be careful.
• In the play, the black-clothed messenger urged the criminal puppet to falsely accuse Fang Qing, and the second act ended.

Ning Zhuo performed Fang Qing Clears Grievances and confronted his guilt through memories of Sun Lingtong, deciding to act as the battle for the Historical Records Pavilion reached its climax. He used the Five Elements Cannon Tower to destroy the Pavilion and its defenders, while Ning Xiaohui died trapped in a burning furnace.

• Ning Zhuo performed Fang Qing’s decision to submit himself to judgment, and Zhu Xuanji’s message made him consider confessing and taking the righteous path.
• As Fang Qing entered the Purity True Fire, Ning Zhuo remembered Sun Lingtong’s daring way of life and their conversation about accepting death, then told Sun Lingtong to make their move.
• Ning Xiaohui hid in a Silver Furnace, but flames suddenly ignited inside and burned her to ash despite her attempts to escape and protect herself with Ice Jade Hands.
• Ning Zhuo used his authority as Cannon Tower Master to fire on the Golden Core Cultivators’ formation and the Historical Records Pavilion, destroying them and clearing the way for the Crimson Flame Demon Beasts.
• A fiery guillotine beheaded the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, while Ning Zhuo watched Fang Qing bring the Purity True Fire against the powerful minister and resolved to light his own fire.

After Sun Lingtong eliminated Ning Xiaohui, Ning Zhuo publicly praised righteousness and privately decided to confess to Zhu Xuanji, suspecting that Zhu Xuanji had uncovered his defenses. Ning Zhuo admitted his ties to Sun Lingtong and Unempty Gate, while Zhu Xuanji believed his confession confirmed that Unempty Gate was the hidden force behind the Magma Immortal Palace.

• Sun Lingtong told Ning Zhuo she had eliminated Ning Xiaohui and stored her spirituality in the Spirit Box, and Ning Zhuo said he would report her.
• Ning Zhuo praised Li Leifeng and righteousness after the puppet play, prompting the audience to donate to Benevolent Childcare Garden.
• Ning Zhuo told Sun Lingtong that Zhu Xuanji had bypassed his second line of defense, and they discussed surrendering, helping Yang Chanyu, and revealing information about the Palace Trial.
• Ning Zhuo entered Zhu Xuanji's private room, knelt, and confessed that he had secretly contacted and assisted Sun Lingtong and Unempty Gate.
• Ning Zhuo began explaining how he had met Sun Lingtong in childhood, and Zhu Xuanji concluded that Unempty Gate was the true force plotting behind the scenes.

Zhu Xuanji returned to the Magma Immortal Palace after learning it had been attacked, only to discover the Historical Records Pavilion destroyed and Yang Chanyu escaped. At the Silver Furnace ruins, he uncovered Ning Xiaohui’s final moments and the hidden clue she had left behind.

• Zhu Xuanji received word that the palace barrier had been breached, then hurried to the summit with Ning Zhuo.
• Zhu Xuanji learned that the Historical Records Pavilion had been destroyed and Ning Xiaohui killed, while Yang Chanyu had escaped after dissolving a tracking technique with Supreme Goodness Ruo Water.
• Zhu Xuanji searched for Yang Chanyu, but her fabricated trails split in several directions, so he ordered the Golden Core Cultivators back to the Historical Records Pavilion.
• Yang Chanyu confronted Sun Lingtong about her connection to Ning Zhuo and accused her of arranging the Five Elements Cannon Tower’s attack and Ning Xiaohui’s death.
• At the Silver Furnace ruins, Zhu Xuanji used his golden eyes to see Sun Lingtong burn Ning Xiaohui and discovered that Ning Xiaohui had secretly etched a clue into the ice bricks.

Zhu Xuanji concluded that the Unempty Gate was behind the murders and turmoil in the Magma Immortal Palace, then allied with Meng Kui to oppose it. After Meng Kui’s divination revealed four clues, Zhu Xuanji refused to let Ning Zhuo undergo Soul Searching and began suspecting Meng Kui’s motives.

• Zhu Xuanji examined Ning Xiaohui’s faint writing but could not decipher it, then confirmed Sun Lingtong had killed her and possessed the Cremation Prajna Spirit Liberation Scripture.
• Zhu Xuanji told the Golden Core Cultivators of the three families to protect Ning Zhuo, and Ning Zhuo gave them his prepared account of events.
• Zhu Xuanji informed Meng Kui that the Unempty Gate was likely behind the chaos, and they agreed to cooperate against it.
• Meng Kui divined four clues—Ning Zhuo, Sun Lingtong, Zheng Dan Lian, and the Golden Furnace—and proposed searching Ning Zhuo’s soul, but Zhu Xuanji refused.
• After Zhu Xuanji left, Meng Kui secretly pursued the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit and ordered his cultivators to secure key posts; Zhu Xuanji meanwhile suspected Meng Kui had deliberately delayed the Flying Letters.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit rejected the Meng lineage’s and Ning Zhuo’s summons, deciding it would rely on itself, while Ning Zhuo sought protection from Ning Jiu Fan. Zhu Xuanji announced an alliance with Meng Kui, and Ning Zhuo suspected Meng Kui had privately won over one of the three lineages.

• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit woke weakened, ignored the Meng lineage’s summons and Ning Zhuo’s calls, and resolved to rely on itself.
• Ning Zhuo followed Ning Jiu Fan, pleaded for protection from Unempty Gate, and learned Zhu Xuanji had only been probing him without evidence.
• Ning Jiu Fan scolded Ning Zhuo but decided to keep him close and protect him as the Ning lineage’s remaining young genius.
• Zhu Xuanji announced that he had allied with City Lord Meng Kui and that the factions would cooperate while retaining any Immortal Palace positions they obtained.
• Ning Zhuo reasoned that Meng Kui had proposed the cooperation and suspected the Zheng lineage or Zhou lineage had already made secret contact with him.

Ning Zhuo advised Ning Jiu Fan that the Ning family should pursue as many Magma Immortal Palace positions as possible, while preserving its frost-talented geniuses. The Ning family’s main branch recognized that the policy would strengthen Ning Zhuo’s faction and leave them with little power to prevent its rise.

• Ning Jiu Fan tested Ning Zhuo’s talisman-making and urged him to study the craft, then asked how the Ning family should respond to the agreement preserving Magma Immortal Palace positions.
• Ning Zhuo recommended that ordinary clan members cultivate the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art to compete for positions, while frost-talented geniuses retained their techniques.
• Ning Zhuo urged Ning Jiu Fan to establish a separate branch under new leadership, but Ning Jiu Fan flicked him on the forehead and forbade him to mention splitting off again.
• The Ning Family Patriarch shared Ning Jiu Fan’s letter with the elders, who concluded that the clan had to compete for positions despite the risk to its main branch’s control.
• The Ning family’s leaders realized that the retained positions could give Ning Zhuo’s faction a powerful new source of resources, and they saw no way to stop its growth.

The Ning Family main branch accepted that the new cultivation policy and Ning Zhuo’s rising influence threatened its power, so it began sending cultivators to modify their cultivation and compete for Magma Immortal Palace positions. The Ning Family Patriarch developed killing intent toward Ning Zhuo, but he also freed Ning Xiaoren’s path to the Palace and told him to seek Ning Zhuo’s favor, shocking his son.

• The Ning Family elders agreed to win over Ning Zhuo and support the main branch’s bid for positions in the Magma Immortal Palace.
• The Ning Family Patriarch resented Ning Zhuo’s growing power and, for the first time, considered killing him.
• Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother stormed into the Council Hall, denied that her granddaughter was dead, and ran out in grief.
• The Ning Family main branch ordered many Qi Refining cultivators to modify their cultivation and sent qualified Mechanism Art cultivators to compete for Palace positions.
• The Ning Family Patriarch visited Ning Xiaoren in prison, said Ning Xiaohui was dead, and explained that Ning Xiaoren could earn his freedom by contributing talismans.
• The Ning Family Patriarch told Ning Xiaoren to pursue a future in the Magma Immortal Palace and curry favor with Ning Zhuo, leaving Ning Xiaoren stunned.

Zheng Jian entered the medical clinic and set out to surpass Ning Zhuo, while Zhou Ze Shen and Zhou Zhu repaired a ruined mechanical building and worried about the growing threats to the Magma Immortal Palace. Ning Jiu Fan pressed Ning Zhuo to lead the Ning Lineage, and Ning Zhuo agreed to step forward only after asking for stronger protection.

• Zheng Jian entered the medical clinic, discovered its higher-reward missions, and resolved to use Ning Zhuo's absence to overtake him.
• Zhou Ze Shen warned Zhou Zhu that the beast tide and the Unempty Gate threatened the Magma Immortal Palace, while Zhou Zhu focused on the opportunities the destruction created.
• Zhou Ze Shen and Zhou Zhu surveyed a ruined building, then used Mechanical Creations to clear and begin rebuilding it for greater merit.
• Zhou Ze Shen hoped Ning Zhuo would defend the medical clinic from Zheng Jian, while Ning Jiu Fan summoned Ning Zhuo and urged him to raise the Ning Lineage's standing.
• Ning Zhuo said the Unempty Gate might assassinate him and asked for a Directional Space Escape Talisman; Ning Jiu Fan said space escape was difficult in the palace and offered him a spirit talisman instead.

Ning Zhuo used his time at the medical clinic to test a way of replenishing a spiritual talisman and craft a new mechanism. The chapter ended with Zheng Jian demanding that Ning Zhuo lead the Ning Clan’s Modification Team away from the clinic so the Zheng Clan could claim it.

• Ning Jiu Fan gave Ning Zhuo an Oil-slick Talisman and ordered him to get back to work.
• Ning Zhuo gathered intelligence from the Ning Clan’s Modification Team and concluded that competition among the three clans would intensify as they fought for key positions.
• Ning Zhuo entered the medical clinic, secretly replenished the Flowing Clouds and Water Talisman with Ning Xiaohui’s spirituality, and crafted a pair of Floating Ice Jade Hands.
• Ning Zhuo left the newly crafted mechanism in the Serious Illness Treatment Room to avoid risking its discovery.
• Zheng Jian told Ning Zhuo that the Zheng Clan wanted the medical clinic and asked him to name his price for leading the Ning Clan’s Modification Team away.