Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Ning Zhuo and Song Fuli met again.

Previously, the two had finalized the deal for the Mechanical Explosive Monkeys.

Ning Zhuo had Chen Cha's workshop work overtime, urgently producing a large number of Mechanical Explosive Monkeys.

Now, it was time for the two of them to hand over the goods.

"I didn’t expect the situation in Huoshi Immortal City to deteriorate so quickly, to the point where it's under siege by demon beasts," Song Fuli sighed.

He had led the Yun Merchants here, planning to do some proper business, but before they could get much done, the city was surrounded by demon beasts.

Upon meeting Ning Zhuo again, he couldn't help but feel the unpredictability of fate.

Little did he know, the real mastermind behind the demon beast siege was standing right in front of him.

Ning Zhuo also sighed deeply and said, "Yes, I didn't expect Huoshi Immortal City to be besieged by demon beasts."

"So this time, we can’t deliver the quantity we originally discussed. This is the first batch of Mechanical Explosive Monkeys, and it will also be the last batch."

As he said this, Ning Zhuo sighed helplessly.

At the critical moment of life and death for Huoshi Immortal City, battles were ongoing, and workshops like Chen Cha's were under strict control by Fei Si.

All the production tasks of these workshops had to be switched to making battle mechanisms most useful for the war.

Compared to the classic battle mechanism creations, the fighting style of the Mechanical Explosive Monkeys was somewhat ordinary.

Originally, their only combat method was self-detonation. Later, during Ning Zhuo's fight with Zhou Zhenshen, he added another mechanism—a throwable firecracker as a secondary attachment.

Even so, with only these two combat methods, the Mechanical Explosive Monkeys were not truly suited for the battlefield.

The design of Ning Zhuo’s blueprint determined that these mechanical creations were more valuable for picking Huoshi fruits.

Regarding Ning Zhuo's apology, Song Fuli nodded repeatedly. "I understand, I understand."

He casually picked out a sample mechanism from the crate and began inspecting it.

A half-human tall Mechanical Explosive Monkey stood before him.

At first glance, the appearance of the Mechanical Explosive Monkey was quite eye-catching, with its vibrant red fur, bulging muscles, and lifelike facial features.

Song Fuli, of course, was no ordinary person. His cultivation had reached the Golden Core stage, and he could already use spiritual sense to inspect things.

He immediately activated his spiritual sense, scanning the entire body of the Mechanical Explosive Monkey from the inside out.

A gleam of light flashed in Song Fuli’s eyes as he commented, "The monkey’s skin is made from Fire Velvet Rat hide, sewn using the most traditional spirit energy embroidery technique."

"The skeleton is made from Heavenly Gold, mainly to pursue lightweight efficiency and certain spatial functionality, making it convenient for setting up storage arrays."

"However, compressing the formation to leave room for future upgrades for the monkey would require a highly skilled formation master. Labor like that doesn't come cheap."

At this point, Song Fuli stretched out his hand and opened the two fists of the Mechanical Explosive Monkey, which had been clenched.

He ran his fingers over the monkey’s fingers.

After a few breaths, he nodded slightly, "The miniature formations here are nested within each other, saving a lot of space."

"The mechanical monkey’s finger movements are agile and flexible, capable of performing very intricate hand movements. This is the foundation for precise fruit-picking tasks."

"From this, it’s clear that Young Master Ning, your formation skills are quite impressive. Your fundamentals are very solid."

"And to think you're only sixteen years old this year. Your achievements in mechanical creations are quite commendable."

"The marble in the monkey’s brain should be your unique creation, right? It acts as a receiver for spiritual sense, probably to keep costs down."

"Personally, I would recommend replacing the marble with a formation disk to create an enhanced version. After all, while the marble design is innovative, its precision control for Foundation Establishment cultivators has a low ceiling, far inferior to a proper formation disk."

"Moreover, switching to a formation disk would raise the unit price of each Mechanical Explosive Monkey by at least thirty percent!"

Song Fuli's comments made Ning Zhuo view him in a new light.

He hadn’t expected Song Fuli’s understanding of mechanical creations to be so refined.

But after thinking for a moment, Ning Zhuo understood. As a traveling merchant from Flying Cloud Country who led a merchant caravan, Song Fuli had traveled far and wide, and it was only natural for him to be well-versed in the many arts of cultivation.

Otherwise, when purchasing local specialties, he could easily make mistakes.

Song Fuli continued, "The body of the Mechanical Explosive Monkey must have been made using alchemy techniques to produce composite materials."

"Since it’s designed to pick Huoshi fruits, the composite materials have been stacked with fire resistance properties."

"In fact, I have a better method, which is using Cold Clouds."

"This type of cloud, which is very common in Flying Cloud Country, can be mixed into the materials, making the monkey’s body not only much lighter but also further enhancing its fire resistance."

"Are you familiar with Cold Clouds?"

Ning Zhuo nodded slightly and honestly said, "In the many mechanical manuals my mother left me, this material is mentioned."

"Unfortunately, this is not Flying Cloud Country but Mount Huoshi."

"If I were to purchase Cold Clouds, I’d have to import the material, and the unit cost would be much higher than the current composite materials."

"Considering the manufacturing cost, I directly eliminated the idea of using Cold Clouds."

Song Fuli was slightly stunned, then tilted his head back and laughed, "That makes sense."

"I know your mother was from Flying Cloud Country."

As he spoke, Song Fuli looked at Ning Zhuo with an earnest expression. "I must apologize. We secretly investigated many details about you, Young Master Ning."

"In fact, this is a routine practice for us Yun Merchants whenever we arrive at a new location. After all, we are doing business on other people's turf."

"So, we need to gather as much information as possible about important local figures and pay them a visit."

"In Huoshi Immortal City, City Lord Meng Kui, Detective Zhu Xuanji, and you, the leader of the black market, were all key figures we needed to focus on."

Song Fuli, a dignified Golden Core cultivator, was speaking with a tone of flattery.

His attitude toward business dealings was truly admirable.

Song Fuli continued, "Young Master Ning, you are half Flying Cloud Country blood, so Flying Cloud Country is also your home."

"I suggest that you consider returning home, especially to the Myriad Image Cloud Sea. The sooner, the better."

Ning Zhuo was slightly stunned and couldn’t help showing a look of longing. "Indeed, the Myriad Image Cloud Sea… I’ve long heard of its fame. I’ve always wanted to see it for myself."

Song Fuli laughed heartily, "It’s not just about seeing it."

"For those outside Flying Cloud Country, the Myriad Image Cloud Sea is just a natural wonder, a place that provides vast amounts of cultivation resources."

"But for us Flying Cloud people, it holds another layer of meaning."

"As long as a cultivator with Flying Cloud blood enters the Myriad Image Cloud Sea, they will receive a gift from it!"

"One of the most basic gifts is the ability to sense the bloodline of other Flying Cloud people."

"To be honest, when I first saw you, I immediately felt a sense of kinship, sensing the Flying Cloud bloodline within you. This is because I have been to the Myriad Image Cloud Sea."

"This is an ability possessed by every Flying Cloud person who has been to the Myriad Image Cloud Sea—they can sense the bloodline of their kin."

In the entire cultivation world, the Myriad Image Cloud Sea was famous.

Even without the inheritance from his mother, Ning Zhuo could have learned a great deal about the Myriad Image Cloud Sea from the Ning family’s library.

This was because this super resource site was so renowned that it had become common knowledge in the cultivation world. Mount Huoshi couldn’t even begin to compare.

The Myriad Image Cloud Sea was a gathering place for the Dao of Clouds, filled with the profound laws of the Great Dao. It nurtured vast amounts of cloud-based resources, and even high-level cultivators at the Transformation and Void Refining stages often lingered there, comprehending the Dao of Clouds.

Song Fuli took a deep breath and continued, "Suddenly urging you to go to Flying Cloud Country may seem abrupt."

"But in reality… how should I put this?"

"The Myriad Image Cloud Sea is something like a spiritual homeland for every Flying Cloud person."

"Have you heard of the legend of the Flying Cloud Returning Home?"

Ning Zhuo nodded, "Yes, my mother told me about it when she was alive."

Song Fuli sighed softly, "The young Flying Cloud cultivator yearns to roam the world. However, after years of wandering, they realize that their homeland is where they truly belong. No matter where they go, that remains unchanged."

"To be honest, I was the same when I was young, wanting to explore the world and see all its wonders."

"But one day, when I arrived at the Myriad Image Cloud Sea, and I ventured deep into it, I was moved to tears. The unparalleled sense of awe and familiarity made me feel like I had returned to my mother’s embrace."

"The feelings of awe and gratitude that the Myriad Image Cloud Sea gave me are hard to describe in words.

Only when you one day step into the cloud sea yourself will you truly understand."

Ning Zhuo sighed and said uncertainly, "Perhaps one day, I’ll go."

He couldn’t be sure there would be such a day.

According to his life plan, he aimed to seize the Lava Immortal Palace and become its Palace Lord.

If he succeeded, he would be tied to Mount Huoshi. Unless he activated the Lava Immortal Palace and left Mount Huoshi, he would be bound to remain there.

But as the Palace Lord, and with the Lava Immortal Palace responsible for suppressing Mount Huoshi, it was clear he couldn’t abandon his post.

"Perhaps I should really go and see the Myriad Image Cloud Sea, but how?"

For as long as he could remember, the Lava Immortal Palace had been Ning Zhuo’s life goal. He had never considered any other possibilities.

His mind had been entirely occupied with thoughts of the Lava Immortal Palace and the instructions his mother left him before she passed away.

In fact, before this, Sun Lingtong had once advised him: if he failed to seize the Lava Immortal Palace, or even if he succeeded but needed to flee, he should head to the No-Void Sect to seek a certain degree of protection.

Though Ning Zhuo had acknowledged this as a potential escape route in his heart, he had never truly thought about taking that path.

But now, Song Fuli’s words had stirred something within him, revealing the possibility of another path in life.

Ning Zhuo’s heart was touched.

(End of this chapter)

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