Tao Liang is quite pessimistic about Ning Zhuo.
The Flowing Cloud Peak of the Myriad Images Sect has always been the place with the most frequent conflicts and the most chaotic sect situation.
As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, yet Ning Zhuo, this reckless youth, insists on rushing headlong into it!
"You say you’re valued by Zhong Dao and Tuoba Huang, how good would it be to join the Evil Slaying Hall or the Ten Thousand Beasts Peak? Like me, quietly cultivating and accumulating resources is good. You owe a lot of money, but you’re still young, what’s the rush?"
"Look, I haven’t even urged you to repay the debt! Just repay it slowly, but don’t be reckless."
These are Tao Liang’s heartfelt thoughts.
He wants to say it out loud, but seeing Ning Zhuo’s hidden arrogance and confident demeanor, he knows it’s useless to argue, and can only force himself to hold back.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hits Tao Liang’s mind: "Nine Fire Dragon Lord? Ning Zhuo, my young friend, that Nascent Soul Cultivator wouldn’t happen to be the Nine Fire Dragon Lord, would he?"
"Do you know what situation he’s in now?"
"He previously participated in the furnace trial, even borrowing from the black market, with extremely high stakes. Now his situation is quite problematic, and he’s encouraging you to take over Flowing Cloud Peak."
"Is he human? He’s not."
As Tao Liang says this, he still tries to restrain himself.
Ning Zhuo raises his eyebrows, deliberately provoking: "I know, he’s a demon cultivator, a dragon."
Tao Liang nearly rolls his eyes, his Adam’s apple moving slightly, and he barely suppresses the thought in his mind: "Is that what I’m saying?! What I mean is, he’s just a gambling fool!"
After a few breaths, Tao Liang earnestly advises: "Ning Zhuo, my young friend, you’re still too young. Sometimes, you can’t truly know a person just by their appearance. You and the Nine Fire Dragon Lord are different; he doesn’t have a family, but you have family backing."
Because Ning Zhuo’s background has not been thoroughly investigated, it has led to everyone collectively overestimating the Ning Family.
Ning Zhuo snorts coldly: "Let my family repay the debt? I’ve e to terms with it! In the end, the cost is mine to bear. Maybe the family will take the opportunity to demand my Nanming Fire Furnace."
"Do you think I left a perfectly good position as the family young master and traveled miles to the Myriad Images Sect to join here, for what reason?"
"It’s not because there’s no freedom at home; here I can be free, start from scratch, and prove myself! Especially now that I have the Nanming Fire Furnace, it’s Heaven’s favor, specially arranged for me."
"Heaven offers, but if you do not seize it, you will face repercussions!"
"I, Ning Zhuo, will definitely carve out a path at Flowing Cloud Peak!!"
As Ning Zhuo utters the last sentence, his voice rises, almost shouting.
Tao Liang’s lips tremble several times in anger, thinking, "This brat’s floating, pletely floating, clueless! Let him crash, only by crashing and shedding blood can he truly see himself clearly and realize that occupying Flowing Cloud Peak is pletely different from participating in the Feiyun Conference!"
But of all things...
Of all things, Ning Zhuo has the Nanming Fire Furnace in his hand!
He owes me a debt!
I have invested most of my assets into this.
If there were no ties, Tao Liang would have left after a few words earlier. But now he must try all means to recover his losses.
As he racks his brains on how to persuade Ning Zhuo to abandon this unrealistic plan, Ning Zhuo speaks again.
"Tao Liang." This casual tone immediately causes Tao Liang’s eye muscles to twitch.
Ning Zhuo, who previously referred to him as "Daoist Tao," now calls him by name, being increasingly rude.
"I know you want to advise me, thank you, but give up this idea. I’ve already decided and can’t turn back."
"Take a look at this."
Tao Liang instinctively takes the jade slip: "What is this?"
Ning Zhuo answers: "This is the secret agreement I signed with Zhong Limei; it’s an agreement I reached with Danxia Peak. You see, I’ve already prepared; I’m not even going to the Evil Slaying Hall; I’m going to occupy Flowing Cloud Peak!"
Upon hearing this, Tao Liang’s heart skips a beat, immediately scans with his divine sense, then his pupils shrink and his hands tremble with anger.
Such anger.
Ning Zhuo fundamentally doesn’t understand, acting on his own!
But of all things, Tao Liang cannot directly intervene and stop him.
Clearly a secret agreement, yet Ning Zhuo doesn’t hide it deeply but rather showcases it everywhere.
This time, the exhibition to Tao Liang is an extremely weighty piece of evidence, thoroughly revealing his resolute determination to plunge headlong into the whirlpool of Flowing Cloud Peak!
After reading the jade slip’s contents, Tao Liang is now utterly convinced of Ning Zhuo’s plan for Flowing Cloud Peak!
"It’s over, I can’t stop it." In Tao Liang’s heart, despair descends.
Ning Zhuo observes and interprets Tao Liang’s demeanor, also feeling disappointed—Tao Liang, being a loose cultivator, always focuses on hard practice, has too low a political awareness. He hasn’t seen other details.
Ning Zhuo needs him to notice other aspects to proceed further.
Tao Liang said, "Ning Zhuo, have you ever thought about how easy it is to jump into the whirlpool of Flowing Cloud Peak but how difficult it is to extricate yourself?"
"Though you might seem to be having a pleasant negotiation with the Nine Fire Dragon Lord now, it’s because he needs something from you. In the future, once you’ve repaired the Nanming Fire Furnace and recognized the truth, do you think the Nine Fire Dragon Lord will allow you to back out?"
"Have you considered that you might end up losing your Nanming Fire Furnace?"
These words held another implication — if the Nanming Fire Furnace is lost, what about me, the debtor? You acknowledge these debts, but the new owner probably won’t.
Tao Liang seemed concerned and sincere, continuously advising, but from start to finish, he genuinely cared only about his own interests.
Ning Zhuo took a deep breath, revealing hesitation for the first time.
Observing Ning Zhuo’s demeanor, Tao Liang’s face immediately showed pleasure: "Heaven help us, this headstrong boy is finally starting to think seriously."
Seeing Tao Liang’s delight, Ning Zhuo realized that relying on Tao Liang to understand on his own would be too challenging.
He sighed deeply and said, "Tao Liang, who told you that the ’Nine Fire Dragon Lord’ you mentioned is that mysterious cultivator?"
Tao Liang was stunned: "If it’s not him, then who?"
Instinctively, he followed Ning Zhuo’s gaze to the Jade Slip in his hand and scoffed internally: "Zhong Limei? Haha, how... could it really be?"
As this thought occurred to him, more doubts arose in Tao Liang’s mind.
"Why is Ning Zhuo so confident about taking over Flowing Cloud Peak?"
"Why did Danxia Peak voluntarily waive so much debt, effectively cutting it in half? Is it really just to keep Ning Zhuo from joining the Evil Slaying Hall?"
"If Danxia Peak still wants the Nanming Fire Furnace, but Ning Zhuo doesn’t sell, did they understand Ning Zhuo’s inherent character, thus igniting his ambition and encouraging him to occupy Flowing Cloud Peak?"
"This way, signing a secret agreement is meant to entice Ning Zhuo to forget about the Evil Slaying Hall and focus solely on stirring things up at Flowing Cloud Peak!"
"But in reality, Danxia Peak has already set traps there, waiting for Ning Zhuo to plunge in and eventually lose the Nanming Fire Furnace. No, it could be worse. Danxia Peak might envelop Ning Zhuo from another angle, getting both him and the furnace!"
Thinking of this, Tao Liang suddenly thought that Danxia Peak was highly likely the mastermind, and Zhong Limei, being an Elder of Danxia Peak, was ordered to lead Ning Zhuo to venture into Flowing Cloud Peak.
"So, he’s finally touched upon that layer." Seeing Tao Liang’s changing expression, Ning Zhuo felt relieved.
Counting silently in his heart for a few moments, he suddenly said, "Tao Liang, I’ve said everything I should, and what I shouldn’t, I certainly won’t say."
"Do you think I’m foolish? Would I risk going to Flowing Cloud Peak without clear prospects?"
These words instantly "translated" in Tao Liang’s mind into another meaning.
Firstly, there are many things that Ning Zhuo indeed couldn’t say. Because it concerns Danxia Peak, which has its own schemes and must have made Ning Zhuo keep silent.
Secondly, Ning Zhuo felt hopeful and confident precisely because of cooperating with a main peak like Danxia Peak. Alas, this boy is too smug, already understood clearly by others.
Ning Zhuo, with exasperation, said, "Joining us indeed benefits you! For me, it’s a way to repay debts; everyone wins together."
"If you don’t want to, then so be it. But at that time, don’t blame me for not repaying your money."
"I’ve already told you in advance!"
"So, before we part ways, we also have to sign a secret agreement, clarifying these to prevent you from damaging my reputation in the future."
Tao Liang was furious enough to curse, extremely annoyed internally: "How could I sign such a secret agreement with you?!"
He glared at Ning Zhuo: "In that case, count me in!"
Ning Zhuo appeared surprised: "What does that mean? You’ve changed your mind?"
If it were the Nine Fire Dragon Lord, Tao Liang wouldn’t have much confidence. The other party’s not human, just a gambling dog who might even use his own subordinates as stakes.
But if it’s Danxia Peak, one of the Eight Peaks, doing things behind the scenes, that’s entirely different!
Tao Liang still didn’t have high hopes for Ning Zhuo’s future, but he sensed deep waters and something fishy.
For the sake of his large investments, he decided to join, although he didn’t genuinely intend to do anything, just to "get close and observe."
But that was enough.
Immediately, before leaving, Tao Liang and Ning Zhuo signed a secret agreement. The agreement was very lax, even vague; they merely agreed to ally and then form a group to take over Flowing Cloud Peak.
Tao Liang left, preoccupied, unaware he was actually the first recruitments.
Afterward, Ning Zhuo had detailed conversations with Golden Core Cultivators like Hundred Herbs Elder, Jiang Ping, Shen Hongyao, and Qin Ke, confirming specific debts.
Ning Zhuo revealed his plan for Flowing Cloud Peak to these people, yet none agreed to join.
Shortly after, Ning Zhuo successfully negotiated with almost all the Golden Core Cultivators. "Almost" because Ning Zhuo couldn’t contact Cloud Wanderer, who had already left the Myriad Images Sect’s Main Mountain Gate, continuing his travels.
Then came the turn of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
The first was none other than Situ Xing.
Situ Xing had been waiting for quite a while. Upon seeing Ning Zhuo, he immediately said, "Let’s not talk about debts first; let’s have a fight. Whoever wins will be the boss!"
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