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Chapter 43: Be Modest in Life

"What exactly this talent is, still remains to be explored in the future."

For now, Ning Zhuo set aside these thoughts to check his condition, confirming that his soul foundation had indeed tripled! The gain was substantial.

"There is still much value to be had from Han Ming; this was just the first time."

The young man harbored even brighter hopes for the future. He went back to check the cell again and fed the unconscious Han Ming some medicinal pills. Afterwards, he re-entered the teleportation room and used it to return to his underground workshop at home.

He began his daily review. This risky endeavor was undoubtedly a success.

With Han Ming captured, his soul foundation had tripled, and the prospect of renaming himself in the rankings saw a glimmer of success. Moreover, Ning Zhuo had also gained some extremely valuable information—that Meng Chong was still in the phase of dispersing his power! This explained why Ning Zhuo was the only name on the ranking list.

Of course, Ning Zhuo had also paid a significant price. Soliciting Sun Lingtong\'s help wasn\'t free; it had cost him nearly half of his family\'s wealth. Only ten percent of the Foundation Establishment Pills remained in the Cang Tie Han Armor; after this operation, seventy percent were consumed, leaving only thirty percent.

Furthermore, the identity of the young puppet master was now compromised, and he was sure to be wanted throughout the city. "All of this was worth it," he assured himself. In fact, even if it meant ruining the entire Cang Tie Han Armor and depleting all his family wealth, Ning Zhuo would not have hesitated.

Ning Zhuo was clear-headed about his current situation—keeping his life was more important than anything else. "The matter with the Foundation Establishment Pills has become even more urgent," he reflected.

"Should I go through Sun Lingtong to buy them? He has connections in the black market, which would be much more convenient for me." Ning Zhuo hesitated. "It would be ideal if the rewards for passing through the immortal palace included Foundation Establishment Pills." "However, it seems that all the current rewards are related to mechanical techniques."

Ning Zhuo was unable to make a decision at this time. It wasn\'t a matter of whether he trusted Sun Lingtong or not, but rather that Foundation Establishment Pills were extremely important and significant, tightly controlled by various powers. The majority of cultivators lacked exceptional talents or superior techniques, and their progression to the Foundation Establishment stage relied heavily on these pills.

The major forces that controlled the Foundation Establishment Pills could thus support their own cultivators in advancing, maintaining, and expanding their power\'s size. The competition over Foundation Establishment Pills even extended to the medicinal herb market, where the primary and key ingredients for these pills were heavily regulated. Controlling the trade of these ingredients allowed forces to curb the production of Foundation Establishment Pills by others, thereby exerting indirect pressure.

Moreover, one\'s own Foundation Establishment Pills could be used to attract external talents to join. Typically, these pills were consumed internally and seldom found circulating outside. Those that did appear on the market were well-accounted for and traced back clearly. Foundation Establishment Pills often featured as finale items in auctions, capable of igniting bidding frenzies.

Those that made it to the black market were exceedingly rare.

Even if there were such a thing, it was largely bait set by certain forces for fishing.

Ning Zhuo had gathered intelligence on this matter for over a decade, having seen it several times!

"If my identity is exposed, relying on the Foundation Establishment stage combat power of the Cang Tie Han Armor, I simply cannot contend against those at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages."

"Not to mention, there\'s also the grand formation of the immortal city."

"Exploring the Lava Immortal Palace, the Cang Tie Han Armor cannot be used."

"The identity of the young puppet master has already been exposed; the Cang Tie Han Armor also can’t be used for the time being."

Ning Zhuo pondered once again and decided to put this matter on hold.

"I am now the top ranked!"

It was at this moment that Ning Zhuo felt a hint of surprise and pleasure about this fact.

He had always approached exploring the Lava Immortal Palace with a mindset of pursuit.

He exerted all his strength, not wanting to be left far behind by people like Meng Chong, and unexpectedly, he found himself in first place!

"Calm down."

"There\'s nothing to be proud of."

"Meng Chong took longer to recover his powers because he was previously too strong."

"He also suffered a sneak attack, which delayed his time."

"Not just him, but also Zhou Zhu, Zheng Jian, and others."

Ning Zhuo analyzed it once over and felt that his lead was partly due to having an informational advantage, and partly because the Buddha Heart Demon Seal directly converted mana. Lastly, it was because he kept a low profile, hiding his true strength, and no one paid him much attention.

"These were all given to me by mother."

"What do I have?"

"I only possess a little inferior talent. No matter how hard I try, I can only be temporarily ahead," Ning Zhuo lamented to himself.

"Without any sacred seals or intelligence, could I have achieved even this much?" He shook his head in the darkness.

"Meng Chong and the others will soon catch up to me, and surpass me," he said with a serious look.

Ning Zhuo gave himself a pep talk, striving to adjust his mindset to the optimal state.

"One must always be humble," he reminded himself.

"Look at Han Ming, who prides himself as a disciple of a great demon sect. His arrogance was blatant, and what has become of him now?"

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

Ning Zhuo continually warned himself, quickly erasing any trace of the slight joy and pride he had felt before.

"Now, I just have to wait for the Lava Immortal Palace to pull me over again."

His soul state was in excellent condition, surpassing his previous peaks by threefold.

He eagerly anticipated his third entrance into the palace.

But as he waited, nothing happened.

"How strange, what\'s going on?" Ning Zhuo wondered.

"During my second time, they pulled my soul in before it had fully recovered. Why is it so slow now?"

Meanwhile, in the Lava Immortal Palace, in the main hall.

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

Seeing Ning Zhuo\'s expectant expression, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit couldn\'t help but snort, expelling two small flames from its nostrils.

Then, it closed its eyes and turned its head away, refusing to watch Ning Zhuo any longer.

Fei Si personally escorted Meng Chong back to the lord\'s mansion.

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

Soon after, his subordinate reported back with a jade slip.

Fei Si\'s spiritual sense penetrated the jade slip and saw the investigation results concerning the attack on Ziyang Courtyard.

The mechanisms left by the demon cultivators were mass-produced and offered no valuable clues.

Based on testimonies and traces at the scene, it was deduced that three demon cultivators had carried out the attack. Two had been exposed, while the third had remained deeply concealed, stealing all the pills from the storage room before vanishing without ever showing their face.

Fei Si paid close attention to the two demon cultivators who had been exposed.

In the jade slip, the portraits of the two were vividly detailed.

One was the cold female cultivator Han Ming, and the other was an old man leaning on a cane.

"Han Ming…" Fei Si sighed.

Han Ming had previously been causing trouble for Sun Lie, harassing him multiple times. Sun Lie had reported this to the authorities, but under Fei Si\'s subtle indication, although the subordinates took action, it was all for show and merely perfunctory.

The reason was that Han Ming hailed from the powerful demonic sect, the Soul-Devouring Sect!