Chapter 33: Return of the Soul

The entire Magma Fairy Palace shook violently!

Ning Zhuo propped his hands on the five stone pillars, his soul power being consumed at a terrifying speed.

His soul left his body.

His physical body remained in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, while his soul was drawn into the Magma Fairy Palace. The connection between his body and soul was maintained by the Divine Power Life Thread.

Ning Zhuo was just a Qi Refinement Realm cultivator, but the Buddha Heart Demon Seal was at the magical treasure level. Under normal circumstances, it was already extremely difficult for him to draw on the power of the treasure seal.

Now, with his soul and body separated, and the connection maintained only by the Life Thread, trying to sense and draw on the Buddha Heart Demon Seal had become dozens of times more difficult!

Ning Zhuo's spiritual power and soul power plummeted like a flood.

He looked up at the ranking board, feeling both excited and surprised.

Because he saw that his name was slowly sinking. At this rate, by the time his inscribed name on the stone was level with the surface, he should be able to hide his identity!

However, midway through, the sinking of his name abruptly stopped.

Ning Zhuo's puppet fell to its knees, collapsing in front of the stone pillars.

His soul power was nearly exhausted. His soul had weakened to the extreme, almost to the point of dispersing.

Ning Zhuo couldn't hold on any longer.

Drawing on the power of the treasure seal with all his might was like a child wielding a sledgehammer, his small frame unable to bear it.

The next moment, his soul could no longer hold on, quickly flying away from the puppet body along the Life Thread, penetrating space and instantly returning to his physical body.

Plop.

The puppet body, without a soul residing in it, fell to the ground, motionless.

Ning Zhuo passed out once again.

Magma Fairy Palace Main Hall.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit leaped up and down in the air, where it swept up surging waves of fire, creating a terrifying scene!

Suddenly, it abruptly halted, sensing Ning Zhuo's soul leaving.

It opened its mouth and roared loudly!

The sound waves spread through the Magma Fairy Palace, clearing away clouds and forcing back rolling lava wherever they passed.

"The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit is roaring; what on earth is it so angry about?"

The Fire Persimmon City Lord had no choice but to fully exert himself, urgently activating the Fire Persimmon Immortal City Great Array once more.

Countless emerald green array patterns outlined the heavens and earth, interwoven like a net, forming a powerful seal.

The Fire Persimmon City Lord's beard bristled, his robes fluttering as he struggled to stabilize the volcanic Magma Fairy Palace. It took him a whole stick of incense time to gradually stabilize the situation.

"Last time, the Immortal Palace was attacked by a Golden Core Demon Cultivator and almost ascended."

"What happened this time?"

"Has it been attacked again?"

The Fire Persimmon City Lord narrowed his eyes, his face gloomy.

Ever since the Immortal Palace emerged, he had stationed himself atop the mountain peak, never leaving for a moment.

He was a Nascent Soul level cultivator, the lord of the region, personally guarding the place. Who would be so foolish as to trespass into the Magma Fairy Palace?

The Fire Persimmon City Lord was certain that since he had been stationed atop the mountain peak, no outsiders had entered the Immortal Palace.

"Even if someone sneaked in through the mountain, they'd have to face the seal, the detection arrays, and the terrifying, volatile geothermal and fire energy that had not yet subsided."

"Could it be that the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit has grown impatient?"

Ning Zhuo slowly awoke.

It took him quite a while for his blurry vision to gradually clear.

He felt his eyelids were extremely heavy.

"This time, the damage to my soul is much more severe than last time."

Ning Zhuo fought the urge to sleep, struggling to get up.

Even though he deliberately slowed his movements, he still experienced a blackout and dizziness.

He struggled to sit up.

This simple action made him break out in cold sweat, as the light and shadows in his vision overlapped, the still furniture appearing to sway.

He had to close his eyes first. In the darkness, the sound of his accelerated heartbeat transformed into violent drumbeats in his ears.

After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes, feeling slightly better.

"My body and soul are inherently one, an original matching set."

The physical body could nourish the soul.

Ning Zhuo could feel a bit better precisely because of this.

But the recovery speed was too slow, so Ning Zhuo had to take elixirs to save time.

He slowly stood up, left the bed, and activated a mechanism to open the basement.

He clung to everything that could support him, moving like a snail. He couldn't move too fast to prevent himself from fainting again.

When he reached the middle of the staircase, he could no longer hold on and slowly sat down.

He curled up, resting his head against the staircase handrail.

Uncomfortable, heavy, weak, dizzy to the point of wanting to vomit, and extremely sleepy!

He bowed his head, feeling like his head had swollen several times its size, and his spine felt as fragile as a nearly withered branch.

He closed his eyes again, in the darkness, quietly listening to the drum-like sound of his heartbeat.

He hunched over, as if an invisible, mountain-like weight was pressing down on him.

Trying to crush him!

"Heh heh." Instead, Ning Zhuo chuckled softly.

The more complex the mechanism artifact, the more he wanted to study it thoroughly. The more difficult the situation, the more it awakened the deeply buried desire to fight within him!

His face was as pale as paper, covered in cold sweat, but the corners of his mouth curled into a slightly crazed smile.

Soon, his smile faded away.

He reopened his eyes, filled with a resolute, cold light.

"It's doable!"

"Using the Buddha Heart Demon Seal can help me stay hidden."

"This is what my mother left me; it's my only chance."

"If I can't grasp it, I would fail my mother and be utterly useless!"

Ning Zhuo struggled to get up again, each seemingly insignificant movement requiring all his strength.

He walked down the staircase, clinging to the wall, finally reaching a standing cabinet.

Suppressing his dizziness, he used his trembling hands to open the cabinet, took out an elixir bottle, and struggled to remove the stopper.

When he poured out the elixir, he was too weak to see clearly, spilling many on the ground.

But ultimately, he managed to take some.

With the elixir ingested, Ning Zhuo leaned against the wall and slowly sat down. Bowing his head, he fell asleep instantly.

When he woke up again, it was already late at night.

His condition had greatly improved.

Previously, everything appeared double, and even slight movements made him dizzy.

But now, his vision was only slightly blurry, and he saw double only when he turned his head too quickly.

The effectiveness of the elixir was far superior to sleep. Otherwise, why would alchemy be considered the top of the hundred arts of cultivation?

Ning Zhuo picked up the elixirs scattered on the ground, cleaned the area, and stored them back in the bottle.

Not many elixirs were left, so he had to be frugal.

"It's best to stock up in bulk."

"Throughout the whole process of drawing the soul into the palace, soul power is being consumed. Therefore, the demand for elixirs that nourish the soul will only get higher."

"For me, the situation is even more dire."

"Even if I buy a lot of Soul Nourishing Elixirs, I can't take them into the Magma Fairy Palace and consume them inside."

"I have to improve the foundation of my soul at least double its current state. Only then can I last longer and manage to hide my name on the leaderboard."