Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

A small battle ended as the mechanical puppets swarmed and tore apart the invading demon beasts.  

The teleportation halo appeared, swallowing the corpses of the demon beasts.  

The mechanical puppets, in a long line, began to withdraw one after another.  

Ning Zhuo stood at the side of the retreating line, waiting for them.  

He saw a mechanical puppet missing an arm and a leg, and his eyes lit up. Approaching the line, he pulled it out.  

Since the mechanical puppet had accepted the task, it did not resist and allowed Ning Zhuo to handle it.  

Ning Zhuo made the mechanical puppet lie down by the street. He squatted down and immediately opened it up, dismantling various mechanical components.  

He threw away the damaged components and took out materials from his own storage bag, crafting several new parts on the spot to replace the broken ones.  

Ning Zhuo’s movements were simple and fast, especially his finger movements, which were so quick they dazzled the eyes.  

After just twenty breaths, the mechanical puppet had been restored to its original state and returned to the lineup.  

Ning Zhuo crossed his arms and continued to observe the remaining puppets carefully.  

There were many damaged puppets in the line, but Ning Zhuo bypassed most of them.  

Not every mechanical puppet was worth repairing.  

Some puppets required intricate repairs, like fixing formation patterns, which would drain Ning Zhuo’s time and energy significantly.  

But some puppets, despite looking severely damaged, only needed a few parts replaced to be fully restored.  

Ning Zhuo mainly chose the latter kind of puppets.  

Because these types of repairs were quick and offered considerable merit points.  

It’s worth mentioning that Ning Zhuo always used his own materials to replace the components when repairing these puppets.  

He had found that doing so would earn him even more merit points.  

This act saved the Lava Immortal Palace’s resources, much like when Zhu Xuanji once donated three puppets with nearly Golden Core-level combat power to the Lava Immortal Palace.  

But Ning Zhuo’s approach was far more profitable than simply donating materials. He could actually earn much more merit this way.  

“In just three days, Ning Zhuo has already grasped the essence.” Zhu Xuanji had been observing Ning Zhuo closely and was amazed to see him carefully selecting which puppets to repair.  

Zhu Xuanji made a mental note and recorded the situation in a jade slip.  

Before long, this jade slip was passed on to Ning Xiaohui.  

After reading the contents, Ning Xiaohui’s face turned gloomy.  

“Ning Zhuo has already figured out the trick!”  

“Damn it, it took me over ten days to figure that out.”  

“How long has he even been here?”  

The shadow of past memories resurfaced, making Ning Xiaohui feel uneasy.  

“Of all places, why did he choose the medical hall to compete with me?”  

“Ning Zhuo, you’re clearly targeting me, trying to entangle with me!”  

“I was forced to leave, yet you still won’t let me go even after entering the Immortal Palace.”  

Ning Xiaohui gritted her teeth, feeling intensely targeted by Ning Zhuo.  

She pondered over the situation: "To obtain the basic physician position, you need to spend 96 merit points."  

"At Ning Zhuo’s current repair speed, considering how long he’s been here, he’s probably about to meet the requirements."  

“Damn it!”  

“Positions can be swapped between departments, but my request for a promotion hasn’t even been reviewed!”  

“That’s because I’m the only one in the medical hall right now, and my position is the highest!”  

“No, if this continues, I’ll be caught up.”  

“I need to be faster, I need more merit!!”  

Ning Xiaohui felt as if a primordial beast was chasing her, filling her with immense pressure, forcing her to give her all to earn more merit points.  

Zhu Xuanji easily achieved his goal.  

He needed Ning Xiaohui to quickly obtain a position in the Historical Pavilion.  

As soon as she gained access to the intelligence in the Historical Pavilion, he could identify all the true culprits and criminals—whether they were responsible for the explosion at the Immortal Palace or the one at Mount Huoshi.  

After completing another repair, Ning Zhuo gently pulled the mechanical puppet upright.  

“Go on,” he said softly, giving the puppet a light push on its back.  

The mechanical puppet swiftly rejoined the retreating lineup.  

Ning Zhuo also returned to the main group.  

The cultivators gathered, mostly from the Ning Family, with a few from the Zhou and Zheng Families.  

Ning Zhuo was a prominent figure, and every move he made attracted attention.  

His recent frequent repairs of mechanical puppets had inspired many others to follow suit.  

As a result, once they tried it, they found that repairing the puppets did indeed yield a lot of merit points.  

When Ning Zhuo returned, they were discussing their individual merit point totals.  

“I have thirty-nine merit points now.”  

“I’ve got forty-six.”  

Zhou Zhenshen spoke softly: “Fifty-two.”  

Then he glanced at Ning Zhuo and asked, “Brother Ning, given your speed and the time you’ve been here, your merit points must be around eighty or ninety by now, right?”  

Ning Zhuo silently checked his merit points.  

Minus one hundred and ninety-three!  

He cried inwardly but kept a slight smile on his face, nodding to the group: “I’ve already exceeded ninety-six.”  

“Now, I can enter the medical hall and receive the lowest position—Physician.”  

Everyone immediately expressed their amazement and congratulated him.  

“As expected, you’re truly impressive,” Zhou Zhenshen smiled, clearly not surprised by Ning Zhuo’s accomplishment.  

Ning Zhuo’s recent displays of skill in puppet repair had earned even his respect.  

“Let’s go together to the medical hall.”  

“Let’s escort Brother Zhuo to his new position!”  

“Yes, yes, I want to see with my own eyes the moment Brother Zhuo walks into the medical hall.”  

The crowd gathered around Ning Zhuo, sincerely celebrating for him.  

But Ning Zhuo shook his head: “There’s nothing to celebrate. You’ll all be there soon. Once you’ve all become Physicians, I’m sure we’ll be able to earn merit points even faster.”  

“I’m exhausted. I’m not in a hurry to take the position. Let’s head back to the courtyard first, and I’ll share some more tips on repairing puppets.”  

This suggestion immediately gained widespread approval.  

This wasn’t the first time Ning Zhuo had done this!  

For the past few days, after returning to the temporary base, he would hold open lessons in the courtyard, sharing his various repair techniques.  

His deep understanding of mechanical components was taught directly to the others.  

The improvement this brought to the group was significant.  

Even cultivators from the Zhou and Zheng Families had come upon hearing about it.  

Ning Chen asked Ning Zhuo if he should allow them to listen in.  

Ning Zhuo responded: “At this moment, the Four-Way Alliance is the larger picture. We must not be petty. Let them all come and listen.”  

Such generosity left Ning Chen and the others deeply impressed.  

However, some in the Ning Family felt dissatisfied, believing it wasn’t fair for Zhou and Zheng Family cultivators to receive the same treatment.  

Ning Zhuo had anticipated this.  

Each night after sharing repair techniques with everyone, before going to bed, he would gather the Ning Family cultivators in his room.  

There, he would teach them deeper insights, along with many tips on repairing and selecting puppets.  

With this approach, any slight dissatisfaction among the Ning Family cultivators quickly vanished.  

After finishing his nightly teachings, Ning Zhuo went alone to the medical hall.  

By the time he arrived, it was already late at night.  

However, the Lava Immortal Palace was still brightly lit, with plenty of light.  

Here, there was no distinction between day and night. Without using magic to track time, it was easy to lose a sense of time.  

Whether it was the lava, the faint golden spherical barrier, or the beast tides outside the barrier, the night in the Lava Immortal Palace was always noisy and hot.  

Upon entering the medical hall, Ning Zhuo followed Ning Xiaohui’s example from her first visit.  

He experimented and received repair tasks at the workbench, continuously fixing a dozen puppets.  

After completing these tasks, he returned to the camp, with dark circles under his eyes and an expression of exhaustion mixed with excitement.  

The next day, after only two hours of sleep, Ning Zhuo went alone to the medical hall again.  

From then on, his actions were different from others, and each time he returned, he faced numerous inquiries.  

Ning Zhuo continued to teach the others repair techniques and took advantage of this process to share various secrets about the medical hall, which stirred everyone’s curiosity and boosted their motivation.  

During this time, Ning Zhuo also mixed in information about the Critical Care Ward while providing other intelligence to the group.  

After two days of this, Zhu Xuanji and the others grew accustomed to his routine and began paying less attention to him.  

“The time is right.”  

In the medical hall.  

Ning Zhuo entered the Critical Care Ward.  

Once inside, he shut the door and activated the formation in the room.  

In an instant, he

was cut off from the outside world!  

Sensing the situation, the Golden Core cultivators immediately communicated via voice transmission.  

“What’s happening with Ning Zhuo? My connection with him is cut off.”  

“I can’t sense him either.”  

“Calm down, it could be due to the special setup of the medical hall. I remember now—didn’t he enter the Critical Care Ward?”  

“Let’s wait and see. Honestly, that’s all we can do. We’re not trial disciples, so we can’t get close to the medical hall anyway.”  

The Golden Core cultivators temporarily calmed down.  

Inside the Critical Care Ward, Ning Zhuo met Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu.  

“Senior Yang,” he cupped his hands in greeting to Yang Chanyu, then addressed Sun Lingtong: “Big Brother Sun, we meet again.”  

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong acted unfamiliar with each other, wary of Yang Chanyu.  

Sun Lingtong explained to Yang Chanyu: “Brother Ning and I have worked together many times.”  

“The big plan I mentioned to you earlier was also in collaboration with Brother Ning.”  

“Brother Ning is a member of the Modification Team and is trusted by Zhu Xuanji and others. If we want firsthand information, we must rely on him.”  

“At the same time, he’s a trial disciple of the Lava Immortal Palace. You’ve seen it yourself—his status allows him access to important places like the medical hall, which will be extremely helpful for our upcoming actions.”  

Yang Chanyu nodded slightly.  

The facts were clear, and she accepted Sun Lingtong’s words.  

Of course, as she interacted with Ning Zhuo more, she would gradually notice the differences between him and the other Modification Team members.  

For example, even if other team members joined the medical hall and became Physicians, they wouldn’t have nearly the same level of authority to allow outsiders into the Critical Care Ward.  

“You, a mere Qi Refining Stage cultivator, dare to covet the Lava Immortal Palace along with a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator?”  

“You’ve got guts!”  

Yang Chanyu said this while sizing up Ning Zhuo at close range.  

From her perspective, this was her first time meeting Ning Zhuo face-to-face.  

She had to admit, Ning Zhuo looked quite good.  

Wearing a white robe, with clear eyes, and at the age of sixteen, he exuded the brilliance of youth.  

Besides that, Yang Chanyu also felt a strange sense of closeness to Ning Zhuo’s life aura.  

(End of Chapter)