"It should be Ning Zhuo begging me to handle this matter."
"And not me rushing to arrange it for him."
"I am his eldest uncle, his elder!"
"If I do it this way, won't it make his tail stick up to the sky, and from then on, he will only look at me through his nostrils!"
"How will I discipline him in the future?"
But the situation was beyond control.
Young Clan Leader Ning Xiaoren had cornered Ning Ze, and Ning Ze did not want to give up his managerial position.
What should he do?
Ning Ze racked his brains for a long time without finding a good solution.
In the afternoon, Ning Zhuo returned home.
In the main hall, Ning Zhuo greeted Ning Ze and Wang Lan once again and stated his purpose: "Dear uncle and aunt, I've come this time mainly to take away some daily necessities."
When studying at the academy, Ning Zhuo usually stayed here. Only on weekends did he go back to live alone.
Ning Ze feigned concern and inquired about his situation.
Ning Zhuo quietly activated the power of the treasure seal in his sea of consciousness, while he told the couple he had found a job at a mechanical workshop with good pay.
After a brief conversation, Ning Zhuo excused himself and left.
Watching his departing figure, Wang Lan snorted coldly: "What mechanical workshop, hardly ever heard of it. Such a small workshop, what prospects could it have?"
Ning Ze remained expressionless: "Young people are often very ambitious. They have to go through some hardships to understand the difficulty of the world."
Seeing Ning Zhuo's stubborn attitude, Ning Ze was even more annoyed at the idea of using money and connections to get him a job.
"Wait, maybe I can use his personality to do something." Ning Ze suddenly came up with a good idea.
He sneered: "Little Zhuo is too scholarly and young, he likes adventure and excitement."
"I remember that many family cultivators have joined the Demon Hunting Association, entering and exiting the Flame Demon Melting Cave to hunt volcanic demon beasts."
"I can have someone provoke Little Zhuo into hunting demons!"
The aunt grew worried: "Isn't that too dangerous?"
She was stingy with money but didn't want to see Ning Zhuo getting harmed or even dying.
The uncle shook his head slightly: "Many Ning Family members are already there at the Demon Hunting Association."
"Besides, this time the Young Clan Leader asked me to procure as many as eighty Top and Bottom Wishing Ropes, clearly indicating that our family is set to explore the Flame Demon Melting Cave on a large scale."
"By then, under the protection of the family's forces, Little Zhuo's safety should not be an issue."
"Little Zhuo is young and fiery, likes stimulation and adventure, and wants to achieve success on his own. He dislikes my arrangement and insists on joining the Demon Hunting Association! How about this explanation? Hahaha."
"The wonderful thing is—the exploration of the Flame Demon Melting Cave is also family business. Ning Zhuo is contributing to the family. It can be reluctantly considered family business too. Thus, the Young Clan Leader won't use this to put pressure on me."
"Of course, the money still has to be sent."
"It's just that arranging for Little Zhuo to join the Demon Hunting Association costs far less than arranging him into family enterprises!"
The aunt blinked and thought for a moment: "This idea is good."
"However, dear."
"Since the family plans to make big moves in the Flame Demon Melting Cave, there must be many opportunities for merit. What about Ji'er..."
The uncle immediately glared and scolded: "Are you crazy? On the battlefield, swords have no eyes, what if something happens to Ji'er? Do you want us, the white-haired, to send off the black-haired children?"
"Ah?" The aunt panicked immediately and quickly said, "I was wrong, I thought too much. Ji'er is indeed safest at home making talismans!"
None of them noticed that just as Ning Zhuo turned to leave, two streaks of fresh blood flowed from his nostrils.
Ning Ze thought it was his own idea, feeling smug.
He did not know this was actually the result of Ning Zhuo's active influence.
As the sun set, darkness cloaked Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
Ning Zhuo took a deep breath, feeling slightly nervous and anxious, and opened the pill furnace.
"Very good, it's indeed successful!"
Seeing the unharmed mechanical Explosive Flame Monkey, Ning Zhuo relaxed, feeling elated.
Then, he willed it.
The seal hidden in his sea of consciousness slightly glowed.
It was the magical treasure left to him by his mother—the Buddha Heart Devil Seal!
The top of the seal was carved with a Buddha and a devil, standing back to back, forming a sharp contrast. The Buddha's expression was serene and benevolent, while the devil appeared ferocious, eyes like fire.
The body of the seal resembled a round basin, the surrounding Sanskrit talismans flickered on and off.
The bottom of the seal had ancient celestial script with four large words, "Buddha Heart Devil."
One thought to become Buddha, one thought to become devil.
I am both Buddha and devil.
The seal, reflecting itself, was Buddha's compassion, saving others and oneself. Reflecting upon others, it could project a cultivator's thoughts and ideas into others' sea of consciousness, influencing and changing their thoughts. For this, it became others' heart demon.
To hide this treasure, Ning Zhuo had suffered much and paid many prices. He frequently bought Gold Thread Jade Dew Cakes primarily to expand his sea of consciousness, increasing his foundation to bear this magical treasure.
He also gained much from this treasure!
For example, when he disguised himself as a youthful guest among the black market and was robbed by a demon cultivator, Ning Zhuo used this treasure to shake the enemy's mind, creating flaws. Even a momentary flaw often allowed him to win effortlessly.
Also, like today, to influence Ning Ze, he forced the treasure's power to exert a little influence. Only then did Ning Ze have the "inspiration" to come up with the plan to have Ning Zhuo join the Demon Hunting Association.
But because of it, Ning Zhuo's soul was often weak, his spirits exhausted, and his nostrils continuously bled.
"The uncle was in the Foundation Establishment Stage, and I was only at the third level of the Qi Refinement Realm. Influencing him was very difficult and came at a cost."
"Unlike when I acted in the black market, wearing the Iron Han Armor that granted the power of Foundation Establishment, so I could easily shake my Foundation Establishment enemies by invoking more of the seal's power."
"However, the true use of this seal is not here but for controlling mechanical constructs!"
Ning Zhuo evoked the seal's power, forming a heart seal.
The heart seal appeared pale pink and instantly shot into the mechanical monkey's body.
The next moment, the mechanical monkey opened its eyes and leaped out of the pill furnace by itself!
The mechanical Explosive Flame Monkey, agile and quick-witted, leapt around the underground workshop, moving freely without disturbing any items. Its actions were deliberate and precise.
If others saw this, they would have been astonished.
There were many ways to control mechanical constructs, the mainstream being divine sense control. However, cultivators needed divine sense, which typically required Foundation Establishment cultivation level.
Ning Zhuo had equipped the mechanical monkey with a divine sense receiver, meaning this construct was meant for Foundation Establishment cultivators.
However, even an experienced Foundation Establishment mechanism master would find it difficult to control the mechanical monkey so adeptly using divine sense.
This was because the divine sense receiving unit of the mechanical monkey consisted of three pellets, conceived by Ning Zhuo to save costs and use ingenuity. Compared to traditional array plates, the control performance was vastly reduced. So, it wasn't the mechanism master's lack of skill but the mechanical monkey's inherently poor control performance.
Yet, under Ning Zhuo's control, the mechanical monkey was as vivid as a real monkey!
All thanks to the heart seal.
As the saying goes, the hearts were in sync.
Using the Buddha Heart Devil Seal, Ning Zhuo implanted a heart seal into the mechanical monkey, allowing him to control it directly with his mind. This form of control was more convenient and effective than divine sense.
Ning Zhuo commanded the monkey to somersault and attempt to store Fire Essence, all with great success.
"Years of preparation have finally come to fruition at this moment!" The youth felt a sense of achievement, gazing toward the Magma Fairy Palace with a flash of determination in his eyes.