Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Ning Zhuo occasionally came behind Ning Chen or Ning Yong, placing his hand on their backs to help them control the Sharp Progress Needle, and to open up their qi meridians ahead of time.

The cultivation levels of the two were behind Ning Zhuo, and many of their qi meridians had not yet been opened.

Ning Zhuo had long since reached the peak of the third layer and had now broken through to the fourth layer. He was very familiar with these qi meridians, like a local guiding outsiders through unfamiliar territory.

The Ice Light Strong Pulse Talisman and the Sharp Progress Needle formed a very clever combination.

The newly opened qi meridians were still weak and unstable. At this moment, the Ice Light Strong Pulse Talisman was immediately applied, which could stabilize them, saving the cultivators a lot of time on the subsequent nurturing and conditioning.

Soon, Ning Chen and Ning Yong each had a breakthrough!

Ning Zhuo kept a close watch and gave guidance whenever necessary.

When Ning Chen and Ning Yong first began circulating their new spiritual power pathways, it was still quite strenuous for them.

But at this moment, Ning Zhuo secretly controlled the Life Hanging by a Thread ability, directly guiding their physical bodies, helping them adjust their breathing, and continuously optimizing their rhythm.

At the same time, he also drew on a trace of the power of the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, guiding their thoughts so they wouldn't realize the truth, only believing that Ning Zhuo was teaching them well and that they were learning excellently!

A cultivator’s daily breathing exercises also had a limit to how much they could endure.

Ning Chen was the first to reach his limit, followed shortly by Ning Yong.

Only then did Ning Zhuo withdraw his palm from their backs and say, "You two should rest and adjust your breathing. I'll wait for you outside."

Ning Zhuo was the first to leave the cultivation chamber.

Not long after, Ning Chen and Ning Yong emerged one after the other, both looking exhausted.

It was Ning Chen who first saluted, deeply grateful for Ning Zhuo's guidance.

Ning Yong scratched his head, unable to imitate Ning Chen’s eloquence, and simply said, "Me too!"

Ning Zhuo laughed heartily, indicating that it was just a small matter within his capability.

Ning Chen, with a serious expression, bowed deeply, "Brother Ning Zhuo, if you ever need anything in the future, just let me know."

Ning Zhuo nodded and smiled. Ning Chen was very perceptive, something that Ning Yong lacked a bit.

But Ning Yong wasn’t entirely dull. After hearing Ning Chen's words, he immediately realized and quickly added, "I-I feel the same!"

Ning Zhuo then said, "In fact, there is something I need you two to help me with right now."

Ning Chen breathed a sigh of relief and quickly asked what it was.

Ning Zhuo then informed them that they needed to visit the Monkey Head Gang's headquarters to find the current gang leader, Yuan Er.

Yuan Er was seated in the main seat.

Below him, numerous gang elders were engaged in a heated debate.

Their voices were loud, and during arguments, they would often bang on the table, curse, and shout to see who could be louder.

The once solemn council hall was now in chaos, resembling a noisy marketplace.

Yuan Er's face was ashen.

Without Yuan Dasheng’s support, these elders had all become bold!

Yuan Er couldn't get a word in, feeling like a puppet. Although he sat in the main seat, no one respected him.

On the surface, the elders were arguing, but in truth, they were all mocking Yuan Er.

Yuan Er could clearly feel that his already pitiful authority was rapidly disintegrating.

"What should I do?"

"Who can help me?"

As if hearing Yuan Er's inner prayer, Ning Chen and Ning Yong were led in by the gang members.

Ning Chen's face was serious, while Ning Yong, with his head held high, led the way into the council hall, directly calling out, "Leader Yuan Er, my master has something to discuss with you."

The council hall fell silent.

The gang elders all turned their heads, looking at the two young cultivators in the Qi Refining stage.

Their gazes simultaneously focused on the identity badges at their waists.

The Ning family?!

A hint of joy flashed in Yuan Er’s eyes as he slowly stood up and carefully chose his words, "Does Mister Ning Zhuo have business with me?"

Ning Chen nodded, "Indeed. I request that the leader step aside so we can discuss the details."

"Certainly, certainly." Yuan Er had already been feeling out of place here, as if sitting on pins and needles.

This was undoubtedly the best way out.

"Please, this way," Yuan Er gestured.

Ning Chen took the lead.

Before leaving, Ning Yong boldly waved to the gang elders, "Ah, you all continue, keep chatting."

The elders no longer had the previous fiery enthusiasm. Although they continued their discussion, one by one, they began to lose focus.

"When did Yuan Er start associating with the Ning family?"

"Who is Young Master Ning Zhuo? I’ve never heard of him."

"Go back and investigate immediately!"

Yuan Er led Ning Chen and Ning Yong into a secluded room and learned that they had come to request all of Yuan Dasheng’s personal belongings.

"For what reason?" Yuan Er asked, puzzled.

Ning Chen then recited what Ning Zhuo had instructed, "Young Master Ning Zhuo keeps his promises. When he personally creates the Mechanical Ape for you, he naturally wants to put in his utmost effort."

"Since the main material is Yuan Dasheng’s corpse, the Mechanical Ape should closely mimic Yuan Dasheng’s combat habits to fully utilize the advantages of the raw material."

Hearing this, Yuan Er found it very reasonable and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, that makes sense."

"Uncle Dasheng was skilled in close combat. His bones, honed through countless battles and fights, had long been refined to perfectly complement his martial skills."

"I’ll gather all the recordings of Uncle Dasheng’s lifetime battles for Mister Ning Zhuo’s reference."

"As for his daily items, are they really necessary?"

Ning Chen shook his head, "No, this was Young Master Ning Zhuo’s personal request. Creating a puppet is like composing a poem—it requires inspiration."

"You can think of the Mechanical Ape as a poem dedicated to Yuan Dasheng."

"Young Master Ning Zhuo naturally needs to feel Yuan Dasheng’s essence through these daily items and various materials to compose a better poem."

"It’s best to collect everything related to Yuan Dasheng and bring it to us."

"The more complete the collection, the better the final product will be."

Yuan Er nodded repeatedly, "I understand, I understand!"

These days, he had been having a rough time, and the trend was clear—it would only get worse in the future!

No one wanted the Mechanical Ape more than Yuan Er.

"Although Uncle Dasheng is no longer with us, he’ll be with me in another form, protecting me and maintaining control over the Monkey Head Gang!"

Ning Chen and Ning Yong completed the task perfectly.

They returned with a large number of items, all closely related to Yuan Dasheng.

The reason Ning Zhuo collected these was to supplement the spirituality of the Golden Blood Battle Ape·Dasheng.

According to the *Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Resolving Sutra*, everything has spirituality. When the spirituality is strong, it will dissipate outward. Therefore, daily items often carry related spirituality.

Some personal items of great cultivators, after long periods of use, often develop some degree of sentience.

Although Yuan Dasheng wasn’t a great cultivator, he hadn’t been dead for long, so many of his personal items still retained some of his spirituality.

And since this spirituality came from the same source, its supplementation efficiency was very high!

This was also the most feasible plan for Ning Zhuo at the moment.

"Next, I’ll need to train in the *Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Resolving Sutra*, then find an opportunity to refine these items to extract their spirituality."

"Apart from the spirituality issue, the Golden Blood Battle Ape·Dasheng itself also needs better repairs."

Ning Zhuo also had to consider how to handle the aftermath when the Zhou family discovered the Golden Blood Battle Ape·Dasheng.

"Hmm?"

Ning Zhuo checked the jade slip provided by Yuan Er.

The images in the jade slip recorded some of Yuan Dasheng’s martial arts exercises and real combat scenes.

This opened Ning Zhuo's eyes.

Especially a combo that Yuan Dasheng used in combat left a deep impression on him.

When Yuan Dasheng encountered a formidable enemy, he would first pretend to be unable to fight and flee.

When the enemy pursued closely, he would suddenly squat down, reach back, and perform a downward hooking move. At that moment, his arm seemed to lengthen and always managed to strike the opponent.

This was a martial skill that Yuan Dasheng gradually understood and perfected through real combat in street fights and beast battles—*Backward Hook*.

In the recorded images, Yuan Dasheng, in his middle age, also developed another martial skill—*Sun Crushing Hand*!

When practicing *Sun Crushing Hand*, he started by crushing wooden balls, then stone balls, and later iron balls, and steel balls… Gradually progressing, the attack became terrifying, making Ning Zhuo feel a chilling sensation as he watched.

Ning Zhuo sighed, "First the Backward Hook, then the Sun Crushing Hand. These two martial skills form a combo, filled with a ruthless and sinister style. Yuan Dasheng is truly worthy of having fought his way up from the bottom. He’s so grounded!"

A thought struck him, "Perhaps when I repair Yuan

Dasheng, I can take this direction and modify him accordingly."

"If he gains sufficient spirituality, he might even replicate his former favorite combo."

Just the thought of it filled Ning Zhuo with great anticipation.