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The entire Lava Fairy Palace was shaking violently!
Ning Zhuo placed his palms on the five stone pillars, his soul power being consumed at a terrifying speed.
His soul had left his body.
His physical body remained in the Fire Persimmon Immortal City, but his soul was drawn into the Lava Fairy Palace. The physical body and soul were connected by the Divine Power Life Thread.
Ning Zhuo was merely a cultivator in the Qi Refinement Realm, but the Buddha Heart Demon Seal was at the Magic Treasure Level. Under normal circumstances, it was already very difficult for him to harness the power of the Treasure Seal.
Now, with his soul and body separated and the Life Thread in between, the difficulty of sensing and harnessing the Buddha Heart Demon Seal's power had increased tenfold!
Ning Zhuo's spiritual power and soul power plummeted like a flood.
He looked up at the leaderboard, feeling delighted inside.
Because he saw his name slowly sinking. At this rate, by the time his engraved name was leveled with the surface of the stone slab, he should be able to conceal his identity!
However, his name's descent came to an abrupt halt.
The puppet Ning Zhuo knelt with both knees, collapsing in front of the stone pillar.
His soul power was almost completely depleted. His soul was so weak that it was on the brink of dissipating.
Ning Zhuo couldn't hold on any longer.
He was trying to draw out the Treasure Seal's power with all his might. It was as if a baby were wielding a giant hammer, and his small frame couldn't bear the weight.
The next moment, his soul could no longer sustain, swiftly ascending from the puppet body. Following the Life Thread, it penetrated through space and instantly returned to his physical body.
Thud.
His puppet body, devoid of a soul, collapsed directly to the ground, motionless.
Ning Zhuo once again fainted.
Lava Fairy Palace Main Hall.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was leaping about in midair, wherever it went, it stirred up surging waves of fire, creating a terrifying scene!
Suddenly, its entire body froze because it sensed Ning Zhuo's soul leaving.
It opened its mouth and roared!
The sound waves spread through the Lava Fairy Palace, where they dispelled thick clouds and parted the rolling lava.
"It's that Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit roaring, what on earth is it going crazy about?"
The Fire Persimmon City Lord had no choice but to go all out, urgently activating the Fire Persimmon Immortal City Great Array again.
Countless emerald-green array patterns outlined the heavens and earth, intersecting like a net, forming a powerful blockade.
The Fire Persimmon City Lord blew out his beard and glared. His robes fluttered as he struggled to counter the rioting Lava Fairy Palace. After holding for half the time it took to burn an incense stick, he finally managed to stabilize the situation.
"The last time, it was because the Immortal Palace was attacked by a Golden Core demon cultivator and almost ascended to the sky."
"What's happening this time?"
"Could it have been attacked again?"
The Fire Persimmon City Lord squinted with a gloomy expression.
Since the Immortal Palace emerged, he had been stationed at the mountain peak, never leaving for a moment.
He was, after all, a Nascent Soul Level, the lord of the region, personally standing guard. Who dared to recklessly infiltrate the Lava Fairy Palace?
The Fire Persimmon City Lord could confirm that since he took his position at the mountain peak, no outsiders had entered the Immortal Palace.
"Even if someone attempted to infiltrate from within the mountain, they would still have to face the Great Array's blockade, inspection, and the terrifying unrest of endless geothermal heat and fiery toxins."
"Could it be that Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit growing impatient?"
Ning Zhuo slowly woke up.
It took quite a while for his blurry vision to gradually clear.
He felt his eyelids were incredibly heavy.
"This time, the damage to my soul is much more severe than the last."
Ning Zhuo fought against the urge to fall asleep and struggled to get up.
Even though he deliberately slowed his movements, his vision still darkened, and dizziness overwhelmed him.
He laboriously sat up his upper body.
This simple action had him breaking into a cold sweat, and his vision intermingled with overlapping lights and shadows. The stationary tables and chairs seemed to sway constantly.
He had to close his eyes first. In the darkness, the sound of his accelerating heartbeat turned into the rhythm of intense drums in his ears.
After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes, feeling somewhat better.
"My physical body and soul are originally one, meant to be together."
The physical body could nourish the soul.
Ning Zhuo felt slightly better for precisely this reason.
However, the speed was far too slow. Ning Zhuo needed to seize the time, so he had to take medicine.
He slowly stood up, left the bed, activated the mechanism, and opened the basement.
He leaned on everything that could support him, moving like a snail. He couldn't move too quickly to prevent himself from fainting again.
When he was halfway down the stairs, he couldn't hold on any longer and slowly sat down.
He curled up, resting his head by the stair railing.
Uncomfortable, heavy, weak, dizzy to the point of nausea, and extremely sleepy!
He lowered his head, feeling like his head had swelled several times, while his spine seemed fragile enough to crumble completely.
He closed his eyes again, quietly listening to the sound of his heartbeat, which pounded like war drums in his ears in the darkness.
He hunched his back as if an invisible, mountain-like weight were pressing down on him.
Trying to crush him!
"Heh heh heh." Instead, Ning Zhuo laughed softly.
The more complex the mechanical artifacts, the more he wanted to study them thoroughly. The more difficult the situation, the more it stirred his hidden, deep-seated fighting spirit!
His face was as pale as paper, drenched in cold sweat, but the corners of his mouth curled up into a slightly maniacal smile.
Soon, his smile faded to nothing.
He opened his eyes again, with only a resolute cold light emanating from his pupils.
"It's feasible!"
"By utilizing the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, I can continue to conceal my identity."
"This is what Mother left for me, and it's my only chance."
"If I can't seize this, I would fail Mother, and be utterly useless!"
Ning Zhuo once again struggled to his feet, each inconspicuous movement requiring all his strength.
He walked down the stairs, sticking to the wall, and finally reached the cabinet.
He fought against the dizziness and used his trembling hands to open the cabinet door, taking out the elixir pill bottle and painstakingly removed the cork.
When he poured out the pills, his limbs were weak, and he couldn't see clearly, spilling many on the floor.
But he eventually managed to take them.
After successfully taking the medicine, Ning Zhuo leaned against the wall and slowly sat on the floor. He lowered his head and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke again, it was already late at night.
His condition had greatly improved.
Earlier, everything he looked at had double images, and slight movements made him feel like the world was spinning on its axis.
But now, his vision was only slightly blurry, and shadows only appeared if he turned his head too quickly.
The effect of using the elixir was far more efficient than sleeping. Otherwise, why else would alchemy be rated the top cultivation skill among the Hundred Skills?
Ning Zhuo picked up the scattered elixirs from the ground, cleaned them up, and returned them to the bottle.
These remaining elixirs were few, and he had to use them sparingly.
"It would be best to buy in bulk."
"Throughout the entire process of attracting the soul into the palace, soul power was constantly being consumed. Therefore, the demand for soul-nourishing elixirs would keep rising higher and higher."
"For me, the situation was even worse."
"Even if I bought many Soul Nourishing Elixirs, I wouldn't be able to bring them into the Lava Fairy Palace, nor could I take them within the palace."
"I must directly elevate the foundation of my soul, at least doubling it. Only then could I hold on longer and achieve the goal of concealing my identity within a leaderboard."
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