< Chapter 32: Exposed? >
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit gradually sensed something was off.
It disdainfully exhaled a puff of reddish-brown smoke, convinced that Ning Zhuo's efforts were entirely futile. However, just as it was about to lift its finger to stop Ning Zhuo, it changed its mind.
It suddenly thought that watching this unfold could be quite entertaining.
It was like toying with a small ant—each time raising its palm to block the ant's path. The ant, seeing no way forward, could only turn and go in another direction. By continuously blocking its path, the ant had to keep changing direction.
Ning Zhuo, unaware that he had become like a small ant, felt immense pressure.
"I must destroy my identity!"
Ning Zhuo was acutely aware of the gravity of the situation.
The success or failure of this task could almost determine his life or death!
Even if he didn't die, the outcome would certainly be very grim.
Seek refuge with the Ning family, confess to the clan?
Ning Zhuo hardly considered this.
According to the Ning family's traditions, if he confessed proactively, he would likely be supported on the surface but suppressed in the shadows.
Support? He would just be used as a tool.
His future life would be extremely stifling, and any gains from the Immortal Palace would be seized by the clan.
Freedom? He shouldn't even think about it!
"What about seeking refuge with the other three factions?"
Ning Zhuo shook his head to himself.
At this point, seeking refuge would not be wise. Meng Chong, Zhou Zhu, and others had been secretly harmed. He, as an outsider, with such excellent achievements, would certainly be targeted by other major powers.
He, with his frail build, couldn't bear it; he absolutely couldn't bear it!
"My greatest advantage has always been keeping a low profile, staying in the shadows. But now, a simple leaderboard has exposed me, rendering my efforts of concealing myself for more than ten years in vain."
"I'm not willing to accept this!"
With such pressure and emotions, Ning Zhuo quickly assembled a crude catapult.
He aimed, calculated the distance, and swiftly cut the cord.
In the next moment, the heavy hammer in the catapult's basket was launched.
With a muffled sound, the heavy hammer struck the stone pillar, precisely hitting the spot where Ning Zhuo's name was engraved.
Then, another bang echoed as the heavy hammer fell onto the floor tiles, shattering the tiles nearby.
However, on the stone pillar leaderboard, Ning Zhuo's name remained intact, still as prominent and outstanding as ever!
Seeing this, Ning Zhuo's heart sank deeply.
He clenched his fists tightly, staring up at his name.
He had never expected to encounter a life-and-death crisis during his second exploration of the Lava Immortal Palace!
If he wasn't in a puppet body now, he would have been drenched in sweat.
Negative emotions inevitably arose and quickly spread in his heart.
Ning Zhuo couldn't help but recall his mother's dying instructions.
"Mother told me to stay safe. If my life is in danger, I can even abandon this Immortal Palace entirely."
"Life is still the most important!"
"Perhaps, I shouldn't have had any greed and explored the Lava Immortal Palace."
Ning Zhuo suddenly shook his head, his eyes showing a cold gleam.
"Heh, what's wrong with me?"
"If I had another chance, I would still make the same choice!"
"With such an opportunity right in front of me, if I didn't fight for it and lived so cowardly, I'd rather die."
"Even if I'm eventually exposed, I can accept the worst outcome."
"Because it's all my own choice!"
Ning Zhuo adjusted himself swiftly, returning to a calm and composed state.
Calming down, he quickly came up with another plan.
"The stone pillar ranking is hard to destroy, but perhaps the Lava Immortal Palace itself provides a function to change or disguise names?"
"There are still many areas in the preparation room that I haven't explored."
Ning Zhuo began exploring around.
He quickly scanned the work tables, mechanism-making tools, and various types of mechanism pedestals.
He recognized some, but many were unfamiliar.
He reached the exit of the room and touched the door, but nothing happened.
"It seems the preparation room doesn't offer any rewards."
Finally, he focused on the five stone pillars in the center of the room.
Just a moment ago, he had touched the stone pillars trying to erase his name, but nothing happened.
However, Ning Zhuo thought for a moment and still believed the stone pillars shouldn't be so simple.
He tried channeling spiritual power into the stone pillars, and the next moment, one of the pillars shot out a thin beam of light, striking Ning Zhuo's chest directly.
The thin beam of light imprinted a seal on Ning Zhuo's chest.
After a few breaths, the seal faded away.
"Trial disciple?" Ning Zhuo saw the seal and felt it looked familiar.
Suddenly, he realized, "The style of the seal's characters matches the Buddha Heart Demon Seal."
"This isn't surprising, as my mother took the Buddha Heart Demon Seal from the Lava Immortal Palace."
The seal from the Lava Immortal Palace didn't vanish but merely became invisible.
Then, more information reached Ning Zhuo's mind.
"It turns out that being on the ranking board brings weekly rewards. Moreover, the rewards are linked to the specific ranking. The higher the rank, the better the rewards."
"One week… from when does that start counting?"
"The specific rewards aren't specified either."
Ning Zhuo held onto the stone pillar and looked up at his ranking, sighing inwardly.
"That's not the issue."
"I would rather give up these rewards and remove my name."
To Ning Zhuo, the rewards were merely icing on the cake. But having his name exposed was almost a disaster!
"I want to get off the list, get off the list!"
"I don't want my name up there."
Ning Zhuo pondered deeply but couldn't think of a good solution.
Yet, because he was racking his brain and exhausting his thoughts, he gradually felt a very vague but familiar sensation.
"Could it be the Buddha Heart Demon Seal?!"
In an instant, Ning Zhuo felt like a drowning person grabbing onto the only lifeline. Whether it was useful or not, this was his only hope at the moment.
At that moment, he focused his mind, discarded distracting thoughts, and fully enhanced his sensing of the Buddha Heart Demon Seal.
Huoshi Immortal City.
Ning Zhuo's physical body lay on the bed, indistinguishable from normal sleep.
However, in his upper dantian, the Sea of Consciousness, a majestic seal started to glow faintly.
Its brilliance intensified, extending from his body and, along the thread of life, into Ning Zhuo's soul.
Ning Zhuo's soul resided within the puppet, which was in contact with the five stone pillars.
Through this conduction, the influence of the Buddha Heart Demon Seal extended to the five stone pillars.
Ning Zhuo exclaimed, "It's effective, truly effective!!!"
In Ning Zhuo's fervent desire, his name truly began to sink.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had been watching Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo's various failed attempts to erase his name and his subsequent deep contemplation had amused it.
It reclined on its throne, eyes penetrating space, watching with keen interest.
In the next moment, its movements stiffened, and its eyes abruptly shot out piercing red light.
It sensed the Buddha Heart Demon Seal!
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit became exceedingly excited. It leaped up and soared into the air.
It roared, its petite frame emitting an astonishing sound. The entire Lava Immortal Palace radiated dazzling light once more!
At the top of Mount Huoshi, the light shot upwards like giant pillars, hundreds of beams piercing the sky.
The entire palace trembled continuously, magma churned violently, and thick smoke billowed.
The city lord of Huoshi, who had been on guard, was awakened and quickly acted to suppress the mountain's potential eruption.
"What happened?!" He was filled with doubt.