Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Ning Zhuo was stuck at this point.

He was a good student who had a habit of studying ahead, but mastering up to the eighth layer of the technique was his limit, and his time had been utilized to the fullest.

He never thought about studying ahead to the ninth layer stage, as it seemed like a huge waste to him before!

It was really hard to predict the future.

Now, Ning Zhuo couldn't operate the ninth layer technique and was awkwardly stuck at the peak of the eighth layer.

However, the dual cultivation continued.

The energy of the Two Elements kept transferring to him, then quickly dissipated in his three dantian, transforming into the foundation of the three seas.

As a result, his Sea of Mind was filled with thoughts, terrifyingly multiplying in number; his Sea of Qi gathered mana, causing clouds and waves to form with a myriad of phenomena; his Sea of Essence had his blood essence expanding, turning from a lake into a river and sea!

It was unbearable, too unbearable!

Ning Zhuo only felt a pain in his chest, his forehead throbbing, his energy reaching extreme levels, as if he couldn't wait to run at full speed for three days and nights without rest!

First, blood flowed from his nostrils, then from the other six orifices in succession.

Just as he was inwardly crying out that something was wrong, Yang Chanyu finally woke up and regained her senses.

Seeing the Yin-Yang Energy Orb between herself and Sun Lingtong, Yang Chanyu showed a shocked expression and immediately stopped her technique of absorbing Yang and supplementing Yin.

"Sun Lingtong, what's wrong with you? Are you practicing some kind of virgin technique? How can a virgin technique release so much Yang energy?"

Yang Chanyu was both embarrassed and angry, her expression complicated.

Seeing this, Ning Zhuo's heart tightened, and he hurriedly focused his mind on Yuan Dasheng, ready to take action.

But Sun Lingtong said, "Yang Chanyu, weren't you just frantically trying to dual cultivate with me? Now that you've succeeded, are you not satisfied?"

Yang Chanyu snorted coldly, "I was under the influence of an enemy's scheme, a power at the Nascent Soul level that was hard to resist. It's already a miracle I held on this long and saved your life."

"I came here voluntarily this time to discuss the matter of our engagement."

"The engagement from back then was arranged by our masters. Now that neither of us is willing, breaking the engagement is the right path."

"But now, with this situation, dual cultivation has become a reality."

"You must return with me, explain everything to my master, and give me an explanation!"

Ning Zhuo: "?!"

He immediately felt that things were going wrong: "Didn't the boss say that dual cultivation involving Yang and Yin energy at this level was quite common? It didn't even involve the Primordial Yang or Primordial Yin!"

Ning Zhuo wanted to question Sun Lingtong, but now wasn't the right time, so he had to suppress his thoughts.

Sun Lingtong raised his head and glared at Yang Chanyu: "I'm not going back! If I go back, I'll lose my life."

"Our engagement was nothing more than your master scheming for my talent. Everyone knows this kind of plot!"

"My master was tricked and lost a bet, forced to agree to the engagement."

"Why should I go back with you?"

"My master hasn't even been found yet."

Sun Lingtong shook his head directly and refused decisively.

"Besides, what explanation do I owe you?"

"Why should I give you an explanation?"

"You were the one who crazily wanted to dual cultivate with me, what was I supposed to do?"

Sun Lingtong's series of questions left Yang Chanyu speechless.

"At that time, we were both affected by a seductive ghost technique, but I wasn't affected, and you were."

"You should be thanking me for saving your life!"

"If I hadn't drawn out your Yang energy, balancing your Yin and Yang, you'd have been overwhelmed by the Yin energy and either died or been severely injured. And now you're standing here, talking to me like this?"

"You know I cultivate the virgin technique! Do you even realize how dangerous it was for me to disperse my own energy, forcibly extracting my Yang energy? The price I paid was tremendous!"

Yang Chanyu opened her mouth, about to speak.

But Sun Lingtong continued, "If you want to take me back, you'll only be taking my corpse."

"I'll self-destruct my soul; I absolutely won't let you take me!"

Sun Lingtong displayed a fierce and tough attitude, as if the desperate pleas for help to Ning Zhuo earlier were just an illusion.

"Fine, fine, fine. Sun Lingtong, you're so sharp-tongued!"

"Right after dual cultivation, you turn your back on me."

"Fine, very well! Like master, like disciple indeed."

Yang Chanyu's face turned green with anger.

Sun Lingtong spread his hands: "You haven't even lost your Primordial Yin, just some Yin energy, what's the big deal?"

"With your status and talent, how many cultivators have you dual cultivated with like this?"

"You think you can use this to threaten me, do you take me for a fool?"

"You!!!" Yang Chanyu was furious.

Sun Lingtong sneered: "Are you going to attack me? I just saved your life, and you want to repay kindness with enmity?"

"I should remind you, we have an engagement."

"If you attack me, beware of the engagement's backlash!"

Sun Lingtong waggled his chubby little finger, his teasing expression making people want to hit him.

Yang Chanyu was left speechless, her eyes flickering as she noticed the ghostly mist quickly dissipating.

This place was no longer safe to stay.

Yang Chanyu took a deep breath: "Hmph, you took advantage of me and still want to play innocent and deny it?!"

"I'll tell you, Sun Lingtong, this isn't over!"

After saying this, she cast a spell, flew through the air, and disappeared from the scene.

A talisman floated in mid-air.

It was left by Yang Chanyu.

Sun Lingtong's eyes lit up, and he reached out to grab it.

The moment he touched the talisman, Yang Chanyu's voice echoed in his ear: "Sun Lingtong! This Void-Escape Talisman is for your protection."

"Keep your life intact, because in the future, I will settle this score with you!"

Sun Lingtong giggled, not taking it seriously: "Settle a score with me? Settle it with my little brother!"

"I never dual cultivated with you."

"No, no!" Ning Zhuo quickly sent a message using the Life-Hanging Thread, "Boss Sun, what's going on?"

Ning Zhuo's head was almost smoking.

He only knew that Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu were enemies, but he didn't expect there to be so much hidden within, with even an engagement involved.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Is this Yang Chanyu, uh, Fairy Chanyu, my sister-in-law?" Ning Zhuo asked.

"Bah!" Sun Lingtong immediately cursed.

"I'm cultivating the virgin technique, what sister-in-law? Don't bring it up again!"

"Her master has been scheming for my spirit eye talent for a long time, trying to drain me to help Yang Chanyu advance."

"They call it an engagement, but if I fall for it, I'll lose my life!"

"Fortunately, I accidentally consumed a Youth-Retaining Pill back then, which forced me to cultivate the virgin technique. Since then, my Primordial Yang has been preserved, and this has delayed the engagement."

"Sigh, my master took me all over the place, avoiding returning to the sect, all to escape this master-disciple duo."

"These are all old matters now, let's not talk about it."

Seeing that the ghost mist had thinned considerably, Sun Lingtong put away Yuan Dasheng, then vanished with a step into the void.

Not long after, he arrived at another underground secret base and reunited with Ning Zhuo.

At this moment, Ning Zhuo was standing still, quietly staring at Sun Lingtong.

Sun Lingtong grinned: "Little brother, thank you for saving me."

Ning Zhuo shook his head: "Boss, you set me up."

Sun Lingtong had always been a tough person, but in this ghost mist incident, he had completely broken character, pleading desperately for Ning Zhuo's help, which was a huge departure from his usual self!

At that time, Ning Zhuo was extremely worried about Sun Lingtong and didn't notice this flaw.

But now that Sun Lingtong was safe, he had time to reflect on it.

Ning Zhuo spoke in a low voice: "Boss, you deliberately made me dual cultivate with Yang Chanyu, creating a connection between us."

"Earlier, you advised me to seize the Immortal Palace and then run away. You kept urging me to join the No-Void Sect!"

"Were you afraid I'd get stuck here?"

Sun Lingtong, having his scheme exposed, showed no panic at all. Instead, he gave Ning Zhuo a thumbs up: "As expected of you, Little Zhuo, you saw through my plan so quickly."

"Hehehe."

"This wasn't a setup; I was paving the way for our future as brothers."

"In the future, after you seize the Immortal Palace, we can return to the No-Void Sect."

"You don't have my talent, but now that you've dual cultivated with Yang Chanyu and possess the Lava Immortal Palace, you're quite valuable. Her master will likely support you."

"With you as my brother, I'll have turned a strong enemy into an ally

, avoided the engagement, and kept my virgin technique intact—it's a win-win!"

Ning Zhuo shook his head and smiled wryly.

If anyone else had done this, he'd be furious.

Ning Zhuo had been independent since he was young, and anyone who made decisions for him would be met with fierce resistance.

But the one who schemed against him was Sun Lingtong.

That was an entirely different matter.

Without Sun Lingtong's care, Ning Zhuo would have struggled to grow. For over ten years, Sun Lingtong had taught him and lived with him day and night. To Ning Zhuo, Sun Lingtong was like a brother, teacher, and father figure all in one.

Sun Lingtong's "scheme" was essentially for Ning Zhuo's benefit.

However, this kind of goodwill had led Ning Zhuo, a mere Qi Refining cultivator, to provoke the Golden Core true disciple of the No-Void Sect, which was quite a heavy burden.

Sun Lingtong continued to explain: "At that time, the situation was really dangerous."

"It wasn't that I intentionally set you up, little brother."

"I merely went with the flow. Given the circumstances, this was the best way to handle it."

"This encounter was actually a rare and valuable opportunity!"

"You want to seize the Lava Immortal Palace, but you're held back by your weak cultivation and the long time needed to train. Dual cultivation provides the perfect shortcut. You could say your luck has arrived."

Mentioning luck, Ning Zhuo couldn't help but think of the theory of fate.

Sun Lingtong then asked: "Little brother, how much did your cultivation increase this time?"

Ning Zhuo truthfully shared his experience.

Sun Lingtong nodded repeatedly and laughed: "Very good, very good."

"The fact that you didn't break through and are stuck at the peak of the eighth layer is actually a good thing. You can purify the Three Seas and solidify your foundation."

"Afterward, when you start practicing the ninth layer technique, the breakthrough will come naturally and without obstacles. And because your Three Seas are so deeply cultivated, your progress will surely skyrocket."

"The only question is, will you ascend to the mid-stage or late-stage after breaking through the ninth layer?"

"Reaching the peak of the ninth layer isn't out of the question either."

"If you reach the peak of the ninth layer… tsk tsk." Sun Lingtong looked forward with great anticipation, "Little Zhuo, you could start thinking about establishing your foundation."

Cultivation really depended on opportunities.

Sometimes, a single immortal fate could elevate a mortal to the heavens in one step!

Though Ning Zhuo was quite upset with Sun Lingtong's scheming, he had to admit that Sun Lingtong had indeed helped him greatly this time.

What was originally supposed to be a long period of cultivation had suddenly been shortened by eighty to ninety percent!

Ning Zhuo pondered: "Since dual cultivation between Yin and Yang is so convenient, I could always find someone else to dual cultivate with."

Sun Lingtong giggled: "Little brother, you're getting the hang of it!"

"Dual cultivation is convenient, otherwise, why do you think those flower houses in the Immortal City are always so lively?"

"But dual cultivation has its downsides too!"

"Frequent dual cultivation can cause your energy to become chaotic, which is not good for your future progress."

"Also, the benefits of dual cultivation aren't as you perceive them now."

"Yang Chanyu has exceptional talent, and she's a Golden Core cultivator far above you, so you experienced such significant progress."

"If you don't find an appropriate partner in the near future, don't dual cultivate again. The gains will be minimal, and the chaotic energy will affect your foundation establishment!"

Ning Zhuo nodded: "Understood, boss."

(End of Chapter)