Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Chapter 1457: Chapter 594: Have You Had Your Last Meal?

"Third Nascent Souls."

Hundred Herbs Elder let out a sigh; his restless, unwilling emotions calmed considerably.

Just as many had guessed, he had indeed been dispatched by Hundred Herbs Peak to serve as an extension of the main peak, participating in Nanming Village’s affairs.

Hundred Herbs Elder was naturally not very willing, but seeing the Third Nascent Souls join, he began to accept his fate.

Han Muma took a light sip of tea; as long as it wasn’t Cang Yazi joining, he didn’t care about this Red Robe Guest.

Outside.

Ban Jie gnashed his teeth, his face ashen: "Red Robe Guest has joined! The Third Nascent Souls. Ban Ji is supposed to go against a force with the Third Nascent Souls?!"

"This is too difficult."

Tie Kuang remained silent in the Artifact Refining Hall, lost in thought.

Red Robe Guest joining was one of the possibilities he’d anticipated; now it had come to pass.

"This great tide of Nanming Village has already formed!"

"However, there are still some imperfections."

In the main hall of Heavenly Treasure Building, Dong Nishang watched all this: "The imperfection lies in the composition. The Third Nascent Souls—two Demon Cultivators and one from the Demon Path. In terms of outward image, Nanming Village won’t look very good. Daoist Fellow Ning Zhuo’s Righteous Path image is deeply rooted in people’s hearts, but at the end of the day, he’s only at Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage."

Imperfect?

What’s imperfect about this!

A Pure Gold Carriage frame slowly drove out from within the golden light.

Pulling the golden carriage were eight pure white Heavenly Steeds, their manes like snow, four hooves treading on wind, their eyes Flashing with a light of Spiritual Nature.

Chun Yangzi stepped down from the carriage, walking on air step by step, and under Gongsun Yan’s respectful invitation, entered the first-floor main hall of Heavenly Treasure Building.

"How could Nanming Village possibly be without me, Chun Yangzi?" He chuckled, not at all surprised to see the shock on the faces of the cultivators in the hall.

Ye Qingming and Jin Mantang were both dumbfounded.

Others joining was understandable, but Chun Yangzi?

If he were to join, what about his Pure Yang Palace?

He had brought his sect to submit to Myriad Images Sect, and now he actually wanted to attach himself to a fledgling, newly founded power?

Have I fallen under an Illusion Technique?

This was absurd beyond absurd.

Ning Zhuo’s face was full of astonishment as he hurriedly asked about Pure Yang Palace’s situation.

Chun Yangzi stated that he had already left Pure Yang Palace and was merely the previous Sect Master. This time, he was joining in his personal capacity.

Ning Zhuo immediately expressed his welcome and invited Chun Yangzi to take a seat.

The worry in Dong Nishang’s heart vanished completely: "With Chun Yangzi joining, Nanming Village’s image is now secure!"

Situ Xing, Lin Jinglong, and Shen Xi exchanged glances and all saw joy in each other’s eyes. The families behind them were all happy to see this scene.

Kong Ran was clapping his hands in his heart.

Niu Cheng’s mouth hung wide open, his heart filled with shock: "A fourth Nascent Soul lord has already joined!"

The great tide of Nanming Village rose yet another level higher!

On the mountain outside the building, Ban Jie was already numb.

And the one feeling even worse than anyone else was none other than Flowing Gold Guest. At this moment, he felt as if sitting on a Thorn Felt, needles pricking his back, and a fishbone stuck in his throat!

Jiang Ping watched Chun Yangzi sit at the main table, then looked at Red Robe Guest’s fiery glare at Chun Yangzi, and then at Ning Zhuo.

"Ning Zhuo, oh Ning Zhuo..." Jiang Ping’s heart was a swirl of mixed feelings.

And in the next instant, Mu Yuehua, seated beside him, suddenly stood up.

Jiang Ping was stunned, and immediately felt something was wrong.

Mu Yuehua stepped ahead of him and gave Ning Zhuo a salute: "Daoist Fellow Ning Zhuo, this little woman is also willing to join Nanming Village; I ask that you take me in."

She spoke very politely.

Jiang Ping’s vision went dark.

Danxia Peak and his master Wang Yu both thought very highly of Mu Yuehua, believing her to be an excellent Alchemy seedling.

He’d come to this ceremony and taken the initiative to get close to Mu Yuehua precisely to recruit her. And the result...

The result was that, in the blink of an eye, Mu Yuehua had been hooked away by Ning Zhuo!

Ning Zhuo was quite surprised as well, suspecting in his heart: "What’s going on? Could it be that Mu Yuehua was also sent by Danxia Peak to infiltrate Nanming Village?"

But Ning Zhuo immediately dismissed this immature suspicion.

"Probably not."

"Mu Yuehua’s situation is different from Hundred Herbs Elder’s. Hundred Herbs Elder is already set in his ways, but Mu Yuehua still has enormous room to grow and potential; she’s definitely a Nascent Soul seedling, with both talent and aptitude in Alchemy."

"For such an outstanding junior, Danxia Peak could not possibly send her out. That would simply be criminal waste!"

"So, barring other reasons, Mu Yuehua truly wants to join my Nanming Village? What is she... after?"

Exactly, instead of joining the perfectly fine Danxia Peak, she chose to join Ning Zhuo’s Nanming Village. What is Mu Yuehua after?!

This was also the shared doubt of many cultivators in the hall.

But clearly, the cool-faced Mu Yuehua showed no sign of explaining anything to the public.

"I—I’ll join too." Tao Liang stood up.

Ning Zhuo no longer needed his declaration in the slightest and waved a hand at him lightly: "Sit down."

Tao Liang: ?!

Ning Zhuo’s casual attitude stunned him for a moment and left him feeling quite displeased.

But when he saw the four Nascent Souls joining, his displeasure was quickly cut down.

Compared to his previous private exchanges with Ning Zhuo, the feeling Ning Zhuo now gave Tao Liang was completely different!

"It’s about time." And just then, under such circumstances, Zhong Limei made his entrance.

None of the people in the main hall recognized him.

By now, he had already changed his appearance.

"My name is Tan Zhu. I’m quite interested in the matter of attacking Flowing Cloud Peak, and I’ve come specifically to join." He stated bluntly.

"Tan Zhu? That name sounds a bit familiar."

"Hiss..."

"What are you gasping for?"

"Poison—Poison Annihilation Wanderer! He’s Poison Annihilation Wanderer Tan Zhu!"

"Hiss..." The Cultivator who’d just asked the question also sucked in a cold breath.

Poison Annihilation Wanderer Tan Zhu wore a dark gray-black long robe, with thick, heavy fabric that hung with an intense drape, over which he had a half-sleeve cloak of the same color. The collar stood half an inch high, covering his neck.

His brows were fine, long, and faint, the ends slanting up into his temples. His nose bridge was high and straight, his nose wings narrow; his breathing was extremely light and slow.

His skin was white in a way that wasn’t normal, a pallor caused either by long absence from Sunlight or by depleted blood and qi. Yet under the illumination of the hall’s lamps, others could faintly see a few extremely pale gray-black lines beneath his skin.

He was a Demon Cultivator—a Great Demon Cultivator wanted everywhere across Flying Cloud Country and other Cultivation Kingdoms.

He suddenly appeared, and the moment he showed himself he directly joined Nanming Village, completely beyond everyone’s expectations.

Ning Zhuo, Situ Xing, and the others exchanged via Divine Sense, obtaining information on Poison Annihilation Wanderer.

He thought for a moment, hesitated only briefly, then immediately broke into a smile, expressing his welcome toward Poison Annihilation Wanderer.

Poison Annihilation Wanderer, however, said: "I have a question. Since I’ve joined Nanming Village, which seat should I take?"

All the Cultivators in the hall were instantly startled.

Jin Mantang and Ye Qingming looked at each other, both seeing a glint appear in the other’s eyes.

Poison Annihilation Wanderer’s words were obviously laced with provocation. At the same time, they exposed the hidden danger.

Anyone, seeing the tense atmosphere between Chun Yangzi and Red Robe Guest at the main table, would know that these two were bound to fight over the seating order.

Ning Zhuo said, "Senior Tan, the seating is simple—it’s ranked according to the size of the debt."

"If you intend to take a higher seat, this junior suggests you provide funds to repair the Nanming Fire Furnace, and fight for supremacy in terms of debt."

As soon as this was said, Kong Ran and the others relaxed their furrowed brows, all crying "brilliant" in their hearts.

Ning Zhuo directly defused this crisis, and the plan he offered was one everyone could accept—after all, Nanming Village was founded for the sake of repaying debts.

Under this principle, if you’re the biggest creditor, then you taking the highest position is completely fine!

Tan Zhu nodded: "Good, I accept that arrangement. But neither he nor I are creditors—how should we be ranked?"

Tan Zhu pointed at Tu Yuanzi.

Tu Yuanzi’s heart clenched; he immediately waved his hand. "I don’t care. I acknowledge you’re stronger—be stronger then."

Tan Zhu: ...

Ning Zhuo: ...

Everyone: ...

Thus, the tense atmosphere that had suddenly rippled through the hall was blown away at once by Tu Yuanzi’s concession!

Some people began to think more deeply.

In their eyes, Tu Yuanzi showed no air of a Nascent Soul at all, probably afraid of putting Ning Zhuo in a difficult position. This further supported their suspicion that Tu Yuanzi had been sent by Ning Zhuo’s clan to provide support!

In the end, the number of Nascent Soul Cultivators joining settled at "five."

Five Nascent Souls!

Nanming Village, crudely established at first and not thought highly of, had, after forming the alliance, suddenly become a massive force with five Nascent Soul Cultivators, leaving many people shocked, stunned.

And Ning Zhuo, that "mere Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage" who at the beginning had called for stirring up storms with his own strength to found a mountain stronghold, once again became the center of attention!

Ning Zhuo waited a while; seeing that no more guests were arriving and the Sun was already well overhead, he declared the feast open.

He wasn’t short on money, and the banquet he’d booked at Heavenly Treasure Building was of extremely high standard, making the guests eat to their hearts’ content—especially Jiang Xiaobian, Niu Cheng, and the others, each one stuffed full. Ao Pan, Lu Zeng, and the others quietly shoveled down rice, very soon their mouths slick with oil.

Ye Qingming, Jin Mantang, and Li Ku were all in a very heavy mood, the food tasting like nothing.

The most special person was Flowing Gold Guest.

This man faced a table piled high with delicacies but didn’t move his chopsticks at all.

How could he possibly eat this last meal?!

During the feast, many people ate and chatted, all the while throwing him measuring glances.

This was practically another form of public execution!

Flowing Gold Guest was the clearest, most vivid example of someone who’d made an enemy of Ning Zhuo!

This pressed a strong psychological hint onto the Cultivators in the hall—look, this is the outcome of offending Ning Zhuo; see how miserable it is.

Flowing Gold Guest actually very much wanted to leave the table, but he also considered that doing so would be too obvious an escape, and would draw even more criticism!

In the end, he chose to sit there with a livid face, motionless like a statue.

He endured this period with great difficulty, waiting until the guests clinked cups back and forth and gradually ate and drank their fill.

Ning Zhuo had been maintaining the atmosphere at the main table all along.

Seeing the time was ripe, he decisively rose to his feet and, with calm, composed bearing, walked toward Flowing Gold Guest.

This scene immediately drew the attention of the Cultivators.

Flowing Gold Guest sprang up; he stared fixedly at Ning Zhuo, his expression completely devoid of his previous lofty attitude, now full of wariness and alertness.

He squeezed out a sound through clenched teeth: "Ning Zhuo..."

Just as he uttered Ning Zhuo’s name, Flowing Gold Guest was startled by his own voice—since when had it become so hoarse, so weak?

Ning Zhuo gave him a formal salute. "Senior brother, have you finished your last meal?"

"You!" Flowing Gold Guest took a deep breath. "A mere Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage, how arrogant. You should know that although Nanming Village has many Nascent Soul experts, they cannot help you in battle."

Ning Zhuo offered no explanation; he merely stretched out his hand, pointing at the hall’s doors, and said with a faint smile, "Please."