Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

"These characters... why are they so small?"  

Zhu Xuanji frowned.  

He exerted all his strength, but his vision was still blurry. After all, at that time, the flames were burning, obscuring much of the view, distorting the sight.  

Ning Xiaohui's handwriting was so small, and it was inside the inner layer of the ice block, so it was quite normal that it couldn’t be seen clearly.  

This was quite tricky.  

For Zhu Xuanji, if there were a physical object in front of him, he could use his spiritual sense to scan it and easily obtain the truth.  

But everything he saw was a combined effect of talent and spells.  

He couldn’t do any better!  

"Couldn’t it be written a bit larger?"  

"Ning Xiaohui knew she was doomed, and in her last moments, she used all her strength to make ice bricks, hoping they would be left behind."  

"This is indeed possible."  

"After all, the Ice Jade Hand excels in rising from a desperate situation."  

"But in the end, the ice brick wasn’t left behind."  

"After all, talent is not the same as divine powers..."  

Thinking of this, a sharp light flashed in Zhu Xuanji's eyes.  

"Ning Xiaohui seemed to be a bit overly cautious."  

"Also, if she wanted to leave clues, why didn’t she directly reveal the truth when facing Zheng Shuanggou’s mana avatar?"  

"There is a possibility that Ning Xiaohui discovered some key information after saying goodbye to Zheng Shuanggou's mana avatar or figured something out suddenly."  

"Another possibility exists, too—that Ning Xiaohui's mind was twisted by her desire for revenge before her death, and she wanted to frame her enemies so they wouldn't benefit."  

"One more possibility..."  

"In Ning Xiaohui's eyes, Zheng Shuanggou might not have been trustworthy!"  

"Or, she wanted to report directly to me instead of telling a Golden Core cultivator first."  

Zhu Xuanji's thoughts surged like lightning, with various possibilities rising and falling.  

There were too many possibilities. After thinking for a while, he put aside his chaotic thoughts.  

"It's certain that Sun Lingtong is the murderer of Ning Xiaohui."  

"And, he also possesses the *Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Resolving Sutra*!"  

From the second scene, what Zhu Xuanji saw was exactly this.  

"The *Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Resolving Sutra*! As expected, it’s just as recorded in the royal secrets—this Buddhist sutra can be used to free life and extract spirituality."  

"Sun Lingtong mastering this sutra is solid evidence that the No-Void Sect has deeply infiltrated the Lava Immortal Palace!"  

"No-Void Sect..."  

Zhu Xuanji gritted his teeth. Due to today's events, he felt an unprecedented hatred towards the No-Void Sect.  

"Calm down, calm down."  

"Anger is useless. The wisest decision now is to find Meng Kui!"  

Zhu Xuanji forced himself to stabilize his emotions and waved his arm, gathering all the silver furnace fragments on the scene.  

Even though he couldn’t clearly see Ning Xiaohui’s dying accusation, it didn’t matter; he had other methods!  

"You all clean up the battlefield and try to gather as many clues as possible."  

"I’ll leave the palace to have a talk with Meng Kui!"  

Before leaving, Zhu Xuanji glanced at Ning Zhuo, who was staring at him eagerly. "Oh, right. Protect him well!"  

"He’s a pawn arranged by the No-Void Sect, but now he has repented and defected to the right side."  

The three Golden Core ancestors: ?!  

Zhu Xuanji: "Ning Zhuo is a very important witness. Protect his life at all costs!"  

The three Golden Core cultivators quickly nodded, indicating they understood.  

In the next moment, Zhu Xuanji soared into the sky.  

This left Ning Zhuo alone, facing the intense gazes of the Golden Core cultivators.  

Ning Zhuo, being clever, immediately ran to Ning Jiufan's side. "Ancestor, Ancestor!"  

Ning Jiufan snorted coldly, "Tell me everything you know."  

Although his expression was stern, he still extended his arm to pull Ning Zhuo to his side.  

Ning Zhuo had already prepared his story. It was carefully crafted, originally intended to be used at the second line of defense.  

Now, with slight modifications, he recited it to the three Golden Core cultivators.  

The Golden Core ancestors all pricked up their ears, listening attentively.  

They learned the information before Zhu Xuanji even returned.  

Meanwhile, Zhu Xuanji flew out of the Immortal Palace again.  

Outside the palace, the Red Flame beasts were surging, their attacks growing increasingly fierce. But with Meng Kui's assistance, Zhu Xuanji successfully left.  

Zhu Xuanji flew straight to Meng Kui.  

"Meng Kui, regarding the changes in the Lava Immortal Palace, I have important information to share with you," Zhu Xuanji said bluntly.  

Meng Kui responded, "Master Zhu, please enlighten me."  

Although Meng Kui was at the Nascent Soul level, Zhu Xuanji represented the royal family, so they conversed as equals.  

Zhu Xuanji told Meng Kui about Ning Zhuo’s confession and his deduction that the No-Void Sect was the mastermind behind everything.  

Meng Kui was shocked and remained silent for a long time before saying, "What a No-Void Sect! They infiltrated the Lava Immortal Palace right under my nose, scheming to provoke a Golden Core war. Now they’ve killed Ning Xiaohui and destroyed the Historical Records Pavilion to eliminate evidence."  

"They were able to bombard the Historical Records Pavilion, so it’s likely that the sudden attack on Mount Huoshi by the Five Elements Tower, which triggered the beast tide, was also their doing!"  

"To disregard the lives of thousands in the city like this—they truly are demonic cultivators!"  

Zhu Xuanji: "This is just my speculation; there’s no concrete evidence."  

Meng Kui smiled faintly. "I trust your judgment, Master Zhu."  

Zhu Xuanji looked deeply at Meng Kui and revealed his true intention. "Since the No-Void Sect is this outrageous third-party force, you and I should join forces to eliminate them first!"  

Meng Kui nodded. "Of course. What plan do you propose, Master Zhu?"  

Zhu Xuanji spoke confidently.  

Meng Kui smiled. "Master Zhu’s words make sense."  

"If the No-Void Sect truly seizes the palace lord’s position, both the royal family and my Meng family will lose face."  

"I’ll express my sincerity again—no matter who from either side or the other three families becomes the palace lord, we will all retain our current positions in the Lava Immortal Palace! After the situation settles, even if roles change, it will all follow the court’s regulations. What do you think?"  

Zhu Xuanji's pupils contracted sharply, and his heart shook!  

"What a bold move by Meng Kui! This is an open strategy."  

"No, perhaps one of the three families has already made secret contact with Meng Kui..."  

Zhu Xuanji could win over the Zhou, Zheng, and Ning families. As the city lord, Meng Kui, backed by the Meng family, naturally had similar means.  

It was just tit for tat.  

Given the current situation, Zhu Xuanji had no choice but to agree and go with the flow.  

Soon, they reached a cooperation agreement.  

Both Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui belonged to the same faction of the Southern Dou Country.  

Previously, although they saw each other as primary rivals, they maintained a balance, competing without breaking.  

So, at this moment, joining forces was without obstacles.  

Both Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui hoped to remove the No-Void Sect, this third-party force, and let the palace lord’s position be decided between the two sides.  

If the No-Void Sect succeeded, both the Zhu royal family of Southern Dou and the Meng family, a high-ranking official family, would become laughingstocks and suffer humiliation...  

That was something neither of them could accept!  

After signing the agreement, Zhu Xuanji took out a jade slip and handed it to Meng Kui.  

The contents of the jade slip were the evidence, clues, and speculations that Zhu Xuanji had gathered.  

The most critical were the three scenes Zhu Xuanji had "seen" at the ruins of the silver furnace.  

Holding the jade slip, Meng Kui slowly closed his eyes. His Nascent Soul-level aura suddenly expanded as he began to fully perform his calculation technique.  

For a moment, mysterious energies overflowed, and clouds rolled.  

Several strands of Meng Kui's hair instantly turned white. When he opened his eyes, fatigue was evident on his face.  

Divination often consumed the most precious resource in the world—lifespan.  

This time was no different for Meng Kui.  

However, Zhu Xuanji had already promised that the lifespan Meng Kui lost from this divination would be compensated with life-extending ginseng from the royal treasury.  

Zhu Xuanji: "Did you gain anything?"  

Meng Kui nodded slightly. "I found four clues: Ning Zhuo, Sun Lingtong, Zheng Jianlian, and the Golden Furnace."  

For a moment, Zhu Xuanji frowned deeply.  

He could fully understand the appearance of

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong.  

But why Zheng Jianlian?  

And why the Golden Furnace?  

Zheng Jianlian was one of the two Golden Core cultivators from the Zheng family, and the Golden Furnace was the highest-grade refining furnace in the Lava Immortal Palace.  

"Why were these two clues mentioned by Ning Xiaohui before her death?"  

Meng Kui interrupted Zhu Xuanji's thoughts. "Among the four clues, Ning Zhuo is the easiest to investigate. In my opinion, we should directly capture him and conduct a soul search!"  

Ning Zhuo was only at the Qi Refining stage, easy to control. The only complication was Ning Jiufan's stance.  

Zhu Xuanji didn’t hesitate and directly shook his head in refusal. "That’s not appropriate."  

"Ning Zhuo does have ties with the No-Void Sect, but I’ve already made him voluntarily confess and submit to the law."  

"He’s my man now, and he will be useful in the future."  

Meng Kui smiled slightly, not annoyed at being refused. "Master Zhu, as the Chief Detective, you’re naturally better at solving cases and catching criminals than I am. I’ll be waiting to see the results."  

Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui parted ways.  

As he watched Zhu Xuanji leave, Meng Kui’s gaze grew cold.  

"It seems Zhu Xuanji hasn’t yet realized that the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit has developed other intentions."  

"But it won’t be long!"  

"The No-Void Sect? Hmph!"  

Meng Kui didn’t pay much attention.  

After all, the No-Void Sect had only sent one Golden Core true disciple and one Foundation Establishment outer disciple.  

If a Nascent Soul-level cultivator from the No-Void Sect appeared, it would be a completely different matter.  

So, even though Meng Kui had discovered that the No-Void Sect was a third-party force that had been lurking all along, he wasn’t in a hurry to act personally.  

"Just suppress them with stillness."  

"Let Zhu Xuanji pursue the No-Void Sect. It’s good if it takes up some of his time and energy."  

With that thought, Meng Kui sent out orders, commanding his faction’s cultivators in the Immortal Palace to fully strive for as many key positions as possible.  

At the same time, he ordered his trusted aides to risk their lives to contact the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit!  

Zhu Xuanji flew back to the Lava Immortal Palace.  

Along the way, his brow furrowed, his gaze deep.  

If Ning Zhuo hadn’t voluntarily confessed, in this current situation, he would be contemplating and hesitating—whether to soul search Ning Zhuo.  

But now, Ning Zhuo had just defected, and he was going to be soul searched in the next moment?  

The consequences of a soul search were severe, ranging from memory loss to madness.  

Anyone with a bit of political savvy wouldn’t do something so foolish, let alone Zhu Xuanji.  

"Now that I’ve allied with the three families and created a rift with the Zheng family, if I soul search Ning Zhuo, it would cause a superficial relationship with the Ning family."  

"Meng Kui wants me to soul search Ning Zhuo... he’s just a small Qi Refining cultivator, a mere pawn drawn in by the No-Void Sect. What could he possibly know?"  

"Moreover, Meng Kui is suspicious as well!"  

Zhu Xuanji calculated the timing.  

When the Lava Immortal Palace had been breached, Meng Kui hadn’t acted immediately.  

All three Golden Core cultivators had sent out urgent flying messages, but without Meng Kui’s protection, the messages were attacked and destroyed by the omnipresent Red Flame beasts as soon as they left the Lava Immortal Palace.  

"So, Meng Kui deliberately suppressed the dissemination of the flying messages and didn’t immediately intercept and protect them, causing me to receive them so late."  

"The Meng family’s ambition to seize the Lava Immortal Palace is too strong."  

(End of Chapter)