Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

With the final, soft sound of impact, there was no longer a Buddhist sect in front of Ning Zhuo—only a seamless wall that blended perfectly with its surroundings.

"I succeeded!" Ning Zhuo was so overjoyed that he wanted to burst into laughter.

Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit: ???!!

It was stunned.

It stood there in a daze, motionless, like a statue.

For a long while, its wide-open mouth trembled before slightly closing.

In the next moment, it raised its head and roared madly, spewing out a massive pillar of fire from its throat!

Ning Zhuo, not missing a beat, also sealed the demonic sect again, leaving no trace of any tampering on the surface.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit went berserk!

It leaped up and down in the main hall, smashing into pillars and floor tiles with its head, making the entire Lava Immortal Palace tremble as if it would jump out of the ground.

Atop Mount Huoshi, firelight and lava erupted together in a furious display.

Meng Kui sighed in despair, forced to act by initiating the grand formation, exerting all his strength to suppress the rampaging Lava Immortal Palace.

This was the most violent eruption in the history of the Lava Immortal Palace.

Meng Kui had to guard it day and night before the palace finally calmed down.

So exhausting!

Even with Meng Kui's Nascent Soul stage cultivation, he could not withstand the repeated outbursts of the Lava Immortal Palace.

After this arduous effort, Meng Kui's face showed signs of fatigue; dark circles appeared under his eyes, and his complexion had paled significantly.

Soon, thick smoke enveloped him, obscuring his appearance and figure.

After returning his soul to his body, Ning Zhuo took a Phoenix Soul Fragrance Pill and then fell asleep.

While Meng Kui struggled to suppress the palace, Ning Zhuo slept soundly.

A day and a night later, Ning Zhuo opened his eyes, feeling refreshed and with much of his soul power restored.

The Phoenix Soul Fragrance Pill indeed had an exceptional effect!

Ning Xiaoren came to check on him.

Lying in bed, Ning Zhuo was about to get up when Ning Xiaoren stopped him.

Ning Zhuo, with a face full of guilt, said, "Uncle Xiaoren, I’ve failed to meet expectations; I’m truly ashamed."

Ning Xiaoren comforted him gently, "It happened suddenly; who could have known there was such a mechanism in the palace? It's not your fault!"

Ning Zhuo nodded, "After this incident, I deeply feel my own inadequacy. I want to read more books, especially those related to spirituality. Uncle Xiaoren, you were a good friend of my father, so you’ll definitely help me, right?"

"Uh…" Ning Xiaoren was taken aback, cursing inwardly but smiling warmly on the surface, "I'll help you look for some."

"Rest in bed for the next few days; don’t exert yourself too much, or it might affect your recovery."

"Yes, Uncle Xiaoren." Ning Zhuo clasped his hands in respect, then asked, "When will the books arrive?"

Ning Xiaoren coughed twice, then reluctantly said, "I’ll handle it as quickly as possible and have someone send them to you soon."

Lying in bed, Ning Zhuo subsequently received visits from Ning Chen, Ning Yong, and others. He expressed his thanks for their concern and gifts.

Because of Ning Zhuo's previous proactive assistance, he had gained considerable popularity within the modification team, especially among his fellow classmates.

This was, of course, by Ning Zhuo's design.

While they stood by his bedside, conversing with him, Ning Zhuo secretly activated his budding divine ability, connecting each of them with a "Life Hanging by a Thread."

This exploration of the Immortal Palace had significantly boosted his divine ability.

After absorbing a total of nine Phantom True Lotus Seeds, two new segments had grown on the lotus stem. Moreover, a small leaf, the size of a fingernail, had sprouted at the top of the stem.

The moment Ning Zhuo sensed the budding divine ability, he comprehended many things.

"The divine ability *Life Hanging by a Thread* has greatly improved; connecting threads to my classmates is a breeze!"

"The qualitative change lies in the fact that—I can now attach threads to mechanical creations."

"To be precise, it’s mechanical creations with full spiritual essence."

Everything possesses some level of spirituality, but not all are fully endowed with it.

The first thing Ning Zhuo thought of was Yuan Dasheng!

Now at the Spiritual Movement stage, it had reached the standard of full spiritual essence.

Late that night, after sleeping for most of the day, Ning Zhuo got up and went to his Uncle Ning Ze's cultivation chamber to practice.

The guards immediately adjusted their positions, surrounding him at the center.

Floating clouds drifted around Ning Zhuo as he summoned back the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng.

Within the clouds, he applied the budding divine ability to Yuan Dasheng.

It took a long while before a nearly transparent "Life Hanging by a Thread" appeared above Yuan Dasheng’s head.

"I did it!" Ning Zhuo was ecstatic.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He tugged lightly on the thread.

In the next moment, the thread quivered and lifted.

At the end of the thread hung a round, crimson spiritual essence.

The crimson spiritual essence shone brilliantly, sometimes forming a smooth, round sphere, and at other times morphing into the head of a young ape, looking adorably silly, squeaking and chattering.

"I pulled Yuan Dasheng’s spiritual essence out!" Ning Zhuo, the mastermind, was stunned on the spot.

It was akin to when the *Life Hanging by a Thread* had extracted his soul from his body to enter the Immortal Palace. Now, he had done something similar.

The Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, lacked a soul, so Ning Zhuo had extracted its spiritual essence entirely!

"Wait a moment!"

Ning Zhuo took out another mechanical ape from his storage bag.

This mechanical ape was one he had crafted together with Zheng Jian in the Zheng Family's artifact refining chamber.

Compared to the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, the materials were more refined, generally two or three grades higher. After all, many things in the Lava Immortal Palace were restricted by checkpoints.

Following his heart, Ning Zhuo manipulated the *Life Hanging by a Thread* and connected it to the new mechanical ape.

The spiritual essence hanging from the thread then flowed into the new mechanical ape.

In the next moment, the mechanical ape opened its eyes, revealing two green glimmers.

Tree-War Ape, Dasheng!

The mechanical ape had a yellow-green color scheme, primarily made of Steel Vine Trees, Gale Wood, Xuanwu Star Iron, and Golden Emperor Quartz.

The ape was eight feet tall, with a slender build, long arms reaching past its knees, and a solemn, majestic demeanor.

To fully showcase its combat techniques, Ning Zhuo had specifically designed a jointed skeleton for the Tree-War Ape, Dasheng.

Using life-rich trees as its muscles, even if damaged in battle, it could be swiftly repaired through the *Wood Connecting Technique*.

The most crucial feature was its talisman engraving slots—Ning Zhuo had crafted six in total. Currently attached were the: Savage Strength Talisman, Gale Talisman, Growth Talisman, Xuanwu Talisman, Vajra Talisman, and Sharp Blade Talisman.

The reason Ning Zhuo designed and crafted the Tree-War Ape was initially to train himself, attempting to gradually find a combat body more suited to Yuan Dasheng through battles and other means.

However, things had gone more smoothly than he expected—he had directly transferred Yuan Dasheng's spiritual essence into the Tree-War Ape!

Without needing any command from Ning Zhuo, Yuan Dasheng's spiritual essence, having calmed down, began to control its new body.

It started moving continuously, from small actions like stretching its fingers to eventually stepping forward and finally dancing around, stirring the floating clouds vigorously.

Before it could cause more commotion, Ning Zhuo quickly stopped it.

"In this way, I can keep Yuan Dasheng close to me."

This was indeed a pleasant surprise for Ning Zhuo.

However, the surprises didn't end there.

Among the books sent by Ning Xiaoren’s people, Ning Zhuo discovered secrets regarding the Spiritual Movement stage!