The Seventh Base

Chapter 44: Chapter 43: Be Humble

Ning Zhuo’s left arm felt warm for a little while before the sensation gradually faded.

“The true nature of this innate talent remains to be unearthed in the future.”

Ning Zhuo set aside these thoughts for now and checked his own condition, confirming that his soul foundation had indeed tripled!

The gains were tremendous.

“There’s still much value to be extracted from Han Ming; this is only the first time.”

The young man harbored greater hopes for the future in his heart.

He went back to check the cell once more and fed the passed-out Han Ming some elixir pills.

Afterward, he once again entered the transportation room, took the teleportation route, and returned to his own underground workshop.

He began his daily review.

This risky venture had undoubtedly been a success.

With Han Ming captured and the soul foundation tripled, the light of success was beginning to shine on the name change on the leaderboard.

In addition, Ning Zhuo had also obtained a very valuable piece of intelligence.

That was—Meng Chong was still in the stage of dispersing his cultivation!

This explained why he was the only name on the leaderboard.

Of course, Ning Zhuo also paid a considerable price.

Enlisting Sun Lingtong’s help did not come for free; it cost him nearly half of his family’s wealth.

Only one-tenth of the Foundation Establishment Pills remained in the Iron Han Armor, and seven-tenths were used up during this operation, leaving only three-tenths.

Additionally, the identity of Youthful Guest was now useless, certainly warranting a city-wide manhunt.

“All of this was worth it.”

In fact, even if it meant scrapping the entire Iron Han Armor and spending his entire fortune, Ning Zhuo would not have hesitated for a moment.

Ning Zhuo thought very clearly that in the current situation, preserving his life was more important than anything else.

“The matter of the Foundation Establishment Pills has become even more urgent.”

“Should I go through Sun Lingtong to purchase them? He has channels to the Black Market, which would be much more convenient for me.”

Ning Zhuo hesitated.

“It would be best if the rewards for clearing a stage in the Immortal Palace included Foundation Establishment Pills.”

“But as it stands, all the clearing rewards seem to be related to Mechanical Techniques.”

Ning Zhuo could not make up his mind for the time being.

This was not an issue of whether he trusted Sun Lingtong, but rather that elixir pills like Foundation Establishment Pills were very important, with significant meaning, and have always been controlled items by various powers.

Most cultivators lack innate talents and excellent cultivation techniques, so to achieve the Foundation Establishment Stage, they generally rely on Foundation Establishment Pills.

The major powers that hold Foundation Establishment Pills can help their own cultivators advance and maintain or expand their power.

The competition over Foundation Establishment Pills has even spread to the herbal market.

The main and key ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills are heavily regulated.

Controlling the trade of these materials can also curb the production of other powers’ Foundation Establishment Pills, thereby indirectly suppressing them.

And their own Foundation Establishment Pills could be used to attract external talents to join.

Basically, Foundation Establishment Pills are consumed internally and rarely circulate outside. The Foundation Establishment Pills that circulate in the market have a known and clear origin.

They often feature as one of the finale items in auctions, creating a climax for the bidding.

Foundation Establishment Pills that flow into the Black Market are quite rare.

And even if there are some, to a large extent, they are bait specially put forth by some powers for fishing.

Regarding such matters, Ning Zhuo had collected intelligence for over a decade and reviewed it several times!

“If my identity is exposed, depending on the Foundation Establishment combat power of the Iron Han Armor, I absolutely cannot stand against the Golden Core Stage or Nascent Soul Stage.”

“Not to mention, there’s also the Immortal City Great Array.”

“There’s no need for the Iron Han Armor when exploring the Lava Fairy Palace.”

“The identity of Youthful Guest has been exposed, so there’s temporarily no use for the Iron Han Armor either.”

Ning Zhuo considered all these factors and decided to put this matter on hold for now.

“I’m now ranked first on the leaderboard!”

At this moment, Ning Zhuo finally felt a trace of surprise and joy at this fact.

He had always been in pursuit, exploring the Lava Fairy Palace with a chasing mindset.

He had exerted all his effort, not wanting to be left far behind by Meng Chong and others, but unexpectedly, he found himself in first place!

“Stay calm.”

“There’s nothing to be proud of.”

“Meng Chong has spent a longer time scattering his Mana because he was too strong before.”

“He also suffered an ambush, which delayed him.”

“Not just him, but Zhou Zhu, Zheng Jian, and others as well.”

Ning Zhuo analyzed it once and felt that his lead was partly due to having an informational advantage and partly because the Buddha Heart Demon Seal directly transformed Mana. Finally, his restraint and hiding his true strength meant no one paid attention to him.

“All these are from my mother.”

“What do I have?”

“I just have a bit of lower-grade innate talent, and even giving it my all, I’m only ahead temporarily.”

“Without the Treasure Seal, without intelligence, could I achieve this?” Ning Zhuo shook his head in private.

“Meng Chong and the others will catch up with me, surpass me soon,” he said with a cautious expression.

Ning Zhuo gave himself a pep talk, striving to adjust his mindset to the best it could be.

“One must always be humble.”

“Look at Han Ming, who was so arrogant and overbearing because he believed himself to be a great disciple of the Demon Sect. What has become of him now?”

“This is a bloody lesson that must be absorbed and remembered!”

Ning Zhuo kept warning himself, and the little bit of joy and pride he felt earlier quickly vanished completely.

“Now, I just wait for the Lava Fairy Palace to pull me over again.”

Ning Zhuo’s soul was in an excellent state, having surpassed his previous peak by three times.

He looked forward to entering the palace for the third time.

But the wait turned out in vain—neither on the left nor right did the call come.

“Strange, what’s going on?”

“During the second time, I was pulled in before my soul had fully recovered.”

“Why is it so slow now?”

Ning Zhuo wondered.

At this time.

In the Lava Fairy Palace, the main hall.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit lay atop the throne, its dragon head slightly raised, its gaze piercing through space, observing Ning Zhuo.

Seeing Ning Zhuo’s expectant look, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit couldn’t help but snort, exhaling two small flames from its nostrils.

Then, it closed its eyes and turned its head away, no longer looking at Ning Zhuo.

Fei Si personally escorted Meng Chong back to the City Lord’s Mansion.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Seeing Meng Chong once again heavily protected, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Soon after, his subordinates reported back and brought a Jade Slip.

Fei Si’s Divine Sense pierced through the Jade Slip, viewing the investigation results concerning the attack on Ziyang Courtyard.

The Mechanical Artifacts left behind by the Demon Cultivators were all mass-produced items and could not provide any valuable clues.

According to the confessions and the traces at the scene, the group that attacked comprised three Demon Cultivators. Two showed their tracks while the third one remained deeply hidden, stealing all the Elixir Pills from the storage room before disappearing without showing their face.

Fei Si paid special attention to the two Demon Cultivators who revealed themselves.

In the Jade Slip, the portraits of the two were vividly depicted.

One was the cold Female Cultivator Han Ming, and the other was an old man with a stooped waist leaning on a crutch.

“Han Ming…sigh.” Fei Si sighed.

Han Ming had always been looking for trouble with Sun Lie, harassing him many times. Sun Lie had reported to the officials, but under Fei Si’s insinuation, the subordinates, although they took action, merely went through the motions without much effort.

The reason was that Han Ming came from a major faction of the Demon Sect, the Soul Devouring Sect!