Yuan Yidao: "Don't worry, I'm human, I naturally eat less and don't get hungry easily."
He then laughed and said: "You are my brother, thank you for protecting me earlier. In the future, those Beggars' Sect guys might still bully me, but I won't let you go hungry!"
The monkey opened its mouth, spit out some food onto its palm, and offered it to Yuan Yi.
Yuan Yi waved his hand: "No need, no need."
But his Adam's apple involuntarily moved.
The monkey persisted, took a step forward, and held his palm closer to Yuan Yi's mouth, letting out a call.
"Hehe, then I won't be polite." Yuan Yi's eyes reddened, as he cradled the monkey's hand and quickly devoured the last of the leftover food.
"Delicious, delicious!" Yuan Yi smiled. He was emaciated and wore ill-fitting clothes from others, and with his disheveled appearance, he seemed like a human monkey.
The monkey also laughed, chattering noisily.
One man and one monkey were immersed in happiness.
"Uncle Dasheng, Uncle Dasheng..."
Finally, Yuan Er called out to the monkey and woke him up.
In the instant it opened its eyes, the monkey almost mistook Yuan Er for its former master, given how much the father and son resembled each other.
The monkey's vision cleared, and suddenly, it sniffed the air, causing its brows to furrow.
It detected a foul odor.
Yuan Er swallowed a mouthful of saliva and quickly explained.
Before hearing him out, the monkey stood up and walked out of the tent.
It stood over ten feet tall, robust and mighty like a war elephant. The scars all over its body were like badges of honor, showcasing its countless battles.
"Greetings, Monkey Lord!"
The elders bowed in unison.
The monkey didn't even glance at them, focusing instead on the numerous monkey corpses on the ground. After a moment of silence, it suddenly threw its head back and roared in fury.
The deafening roar sent sound waves that knocked many elders to the ground.
Yuan Dasheng's eyes turned red, truly enraged!
All the elders were drenched in cold sweat.
Yuan Er deliberately stayed at the back, feeling very satisfied seeing the elders' submissive behavior.
He then stepped forward at the right moment: "Uncle Monkey, Uncle Monkey, such a major incident has occurred, we will definitely find the real culprit and punish them severely!"
Yuan Dasheng gradually quieted down, looked at Yuan Er with familiarity, and slowly calmed down.
He gently extended a finger and lightly poked Yuan Er's chest.
Yuan Er's heart raced, and he took a small step back, nodding quickly: "Uncle Monkey, trust me, I won't let you down!"
"But right now, the gang is facing a major crisis. We must perform our best at the Fire Persimmon Festival."
"Now, we are severely lacking manpower, we can only rely on you, Uncle Monkey."
"Please conserve your energy during this time. You are our main pillar!"
Yuan Dasheng remained silent and slowly walked back into the tent, disappearing from everyone's sight.
Yuan Er looked at the fallen elders and showed a slight smile, waving his sleeve: "All of you, get up."
From then on, every order he issued was met with compliance from the elders.
When he left, the elders began to communicate secretly.
"Yuan Er is relying on the monkey's power. Does he still have any leader's demeanor?" someone sneered.
"The Monkey Lord did not kill anyone in anger. His temper has lessened."
"What? Do you want him to go berserk?"
"I mean, is it possible he has aged, his condition deteriorated, and he's just putting up a strong front?" an ambitious elder pondered.
The oldest elder heard this, snorted with disdain, and turned to leave.
The other elders hadn't seen it, but he had personally witnessed Yuan Dasheng's battle once during a gang operation exploring the Flame Demon Melting Cave.
"That Runaway Fire Snake's battle power was comparable to a half-step Golden Core."
"But in the end, it was torn apart by Yuan Dasheng..."
"Yuan Dasheng may have aged, but his combat power remains terrifying. He certainly has talent, at least upper-class talent."
"Not practicing a cultivation technique is his biggest regret, but it's also our gang's greatest luck."
The sound of birdsong was close to his ears.
Ning Zhuo was interrupted from his rest and opened his eyes.
The one who woke him was a mechanical parrot, with a lever inserted into its back.
The lever controlled it, enabling it to call out at timed intervals and wake Ning Zhuo.
"It's about time." Ning Zhuo immediately sensed the mark on his chest, and his soul entered the Immortal Palace.
He quickly assembled a puppet body and cleared the stages continuously.
Along the way, he noticed traces of others attempting to clear the stages; upon checking a surveillance component, he found out it was Zhou Zhu and Zheng Jian beginning to cooperate.
"In the short term, they pose no threat."
"The key concern is Yuan Dasheng, even Meng Chong is secondary."
Ning Zhuo continued to clear the stages.
He was now proficient in more than twenty spells, all very practiced; as long as his spiritual power was ample, clearing these stages was quite easy.
After advancing as far as possible, Ning Zhuo retreated.
He retreated all the way to Room Eight, stopped moving, and began patiently waiting.
Not long after, the door was suddenly pushed open, and a large puppet monkey squeezed inside.
"It's here." Ning Zhuo muttered silently, slowly rising to face the monkey.
Their gazes met, and Yuan Dasheng immediately realized this mechanical puppet before him was not ordinary.
After scrutinizing Puppet Ning Zhuo for a bit, Yuan Dasheng then scanned the whole area, trying to guess the potential hidden traps besides the obvious ones.
"It seems he's mistaking me for a guarding puppet, like those Kung Fu Dolls before." Ning Zhuo nodded secretly.
This was exactly the result he wanted to create.
In this regard, the ranking list and his pseudonym played a crucial role in making Yuan Dasheng mistakenly believe he was the only one bravely challenging the Immortal Palace!
After a moment of observation, Yuan Dasheng began attempting to clear the stage.
Ning Zhuo immediately took action.
Spell—Embrace Ice Technique.
Mechanical Component—Flying Hands.
Spell—Qi Spell.
Mechanical Component—Emitted Qi Ring.
A mechanical arm quickly flew toward Yuan Dasheng, with freezing Cold Qi emanating from its palm.
Cold Qi typically required contact to be effective. But with the Emitted Qi Ring spinning in front, a breath of qi drove the Cold Qi forward.
Fan-shaped Cold Qi instantly spread out.
Yuan Dasheng immediately dodged; although he mostly avoided it, a portion of his left leg was still covered in frost.
Yuan Dasheng's eyes immediately gleamed with ferocity!
A spell-casting guardian puppet, this was the first time he had encountered one.
Without hesitation, Yuan Dasheng charged, his momentum fierce, quickly closing in on Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo lightly leaped, activated the Qi spell, and with the Emitted Qi Rings on both his ankles generating thrust, he propelled himself backward.
Ning Zhuo swiftly widened the distance.
As he retreated, he continued his assault.
Dozens of Flying Hands attacked repeatedly—the Embrace Ice Technique, Grasping Fire Technique, Gold Gathering Technique, Grafting Technique, and so on. Empowered by the Qi Spell, they all became mid-to-long-range attacks.
Yuan Dasheng tried his best to shrink his figure, using his arms as a shield to protect his face, breaking through every spell, and simply charging at Ning Zhuo, ignoring everything else.
This tactical choice was undoubtedly correct!
But it couldn't save him from defeat.
A moment later, Yuan Dasheng's puppet body collapsed; some parts were burned, others frozen into ice, and some tangled with growing wood, creating massive obstacles...
Before collapsing, Yuan Dasheng threw his head back and roared in anger, the sound filled with unwillingness, resentment, and helplessness.
Aggrieved, deeply aggrieved.
This was far from his true strength!
"Blocked him." Ning Zhuo sighed with relief.
The mechanical traps he set were ineffective against Yuan Dasheng. Only his personal intervention could halt the latter's advance.