Chapter 152: Lava Immortal Palace.
Ning Zhuo, Ning Yong, Ning Chen, and others gathered in Room 1.
“This time, with everyone’s help, I, Ning Zhuo, express my gratitude first!” The large puppet Ning Zhuo stood in front of the first door, cupping his hands to thank the Ning family members.
“A Zhuo, no need to be so polite. Thanks to your help earlier, how else could I have reached the peak of the third layer so quickly?”
“Nothing to say, when I heard you needed help, I came.”
“We were going to explore the Immortal Palace anyway. A Zhuo, feel free to call on me in the future, and I will come.”
The Ning family members were all enthusiastic.
Previously, Ning Zhuo had taken care of his classmates, helping them to cultivate faster without asking for anything in return. In the process, planting the Life Hanging by a Thread technique was a small matter, hardly worth mentioning.
Of course, the enthusiasm of the Ning family cultivators also had to do with the internal situation of the Ning family.
The main and branch families had been at odds for a long time.
The Ning family had always upheld a policy of strengthening the main family while weakening the branches, and the branch family had long harbored considerable dissatisfaction and resentment from being suppressed.
Many branch family cultivators, in order to advance, were forced to serve the main family, and few could remain untouched by this.
Ning Zhuo had emerged as a dark horse. Not only could he remain independent, but he could also help others.
The branch family members had long hoped for such a figure to appear. Although Ning Zhuo was only at the Qi Refining stage, his talent had become widely known.
In the eyes of almost everyone, Ning Zhuo was a genius with great potential!
If nothing went wrong, as long as he grew smoothly, he would inevitably become a banner, a pillar of support that others could rely on.
Thus, the branch family members of the Ning clan had naturally and intentionally gathered around Ning Zhuo.
On one hand, it was to support each other; on the other, they were betting on the future.
This was the game of righteousness.
The weak would never allow themselves to be oppressed without resistance. They would do everything they could to resist the strong and fight for more space to survive.
Just like the three major families of Huoshi City, unable to resist Meng Kui, they obediently followed orders. But when Zhu Xuanji appeared, with just a little invitation, the three families immediately flocked to him.
By doing so, they could use Zhu Xuanji to counterbalance the powerful Meng Kui and secure more benefits for their families.
The three families gathering around Zhu Xuanji and the branch family members of the Ning clan supporting Ning Zhuo were essentially the same.
Ning Zhuo glanced around and saw that everyone’s spirits were high, so he nodded slightly.
This time, he had made up his mind to display his mastery of mechanical techniques.
“Everyone, before we act, I must first make an agreement with all of you!” Ning Zhuo spoke.
“Next, we will work together, with me as the leader, controlling the spiritual power and your bodies.”
“Only when it’s time to use spells, I hope everyone will cooperate.”
The Ning family members responded immediately:
“Understood!”
“No problem.”
Ning Zhuo thanked them again, “Thank you all for your understanding and support.”
“If anyone suffers a loss or sacrifices themselves during this exploration of the Immortal Palace, I will personally provide compensation afterward.”
After a pause, Ning Zhuo’s tone deepened, “Let me speak from the heart. Our branch family members are not lacking in talent, so why are we always overshadowed by the main family?”
“Is it because we don’t work hard enough?”
“The truth is quite the opposite, we work even harder than they do!”
“But the resources are all in the hands of the main family, and every member of the main family is clearly favored.”
“Ning Xiaohui has talent, but I refuse to accept being overshadowed.”
“This time, we are exploring the Immortal Palace to show the main family that we, the branch family, are strong and resilient too!”
Ning Zhuo’s motivational speech hit the hearts of the crowd.
“Hahaha, well said.”
“Exactly right!”
Ning Yong raised his arm and shouted, “I’ve been annoyed with Ning Xiaohui for a long time. Brother Zhuo, we’ll follow your lead!”
“Alright, now everyone dismantle yourselves.” After Ning Zhuo finished speaking, he sat down heavily on the ground and began dismantling the components of his legs.
The others followed suit.
Moments later, they had all disassembled themselves and then reassembled, forming a large mechanical creation.
Ning Zhuo’s head was positioned at the highest point of the mechanical creation, commanding everyone.
First, he activated the spiritual power.
The spiritual power quickly flowed through the combined body, constructing the circulation path of the third layer of the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.
Everyone sensed this scene.
Some began to praise on the spot: “A Zhuo, you’re amazing!”
“Although we’re both at the peak of the third layer, A Zhuo’s mastery of the technique far surpasses mine.”
“Indeed, I can’t help but be impressed.”
Ning Zhuo pushed the spiritual power to its peak, then forcefully opened the first door and pushed himself into Room 2.
In an instant, countless spears shot out from both sides of the walls.
Above his head, a massive hammer-like mechanical trap was about to release, ready to fall.
At this critical moment, Ning Zhuo remained calm, extending more than twenty arms.
The spears were accurately caught by several arms, then skillfully pulled out and used for himself.
Ning Zhuo’s body gently rotated, the arms on the left side used the momentum to hurl the spears toward the holes in the right wall. The arms on the right side grabbed the spears and threw them toward the traps on the left.
With just one spin, the spear traps were broken by using their own force against them.
As the giant hammer trap came crashing down, Ning Zhuo extended more than twenty arms, simultaneously making contact with the hammer. Using the rotational force from his arms, he hurled the giant hammer forward.
Right ahead, a large net trap had been triggered, rising from the ground with a colorful net.
Just as the net appeared, the giant hammer slammed into it.
With a dull thud.
The giant hammer pressed down on the net, and the net counteracted the hammer’s momentum, both coming to a halt midway.
Ning Zhuo, commanding more than twenty legs, stepped over them with ease, standing firmly before the long Room 2.
At this moment, the others finally reacted.
“Holy crap, crap, crap, crap!” This was Ning Yong’s voice.
“What just happened? What just happened!”
“We passed! We just passed! A Zhuo, how did you do it?”
Ning Zhuo smiled, “Dear classmates, over this time, I have been training hard behind closed doors in the art of controlling mechanisms. I especially trained in controlling multiple mechanisms at once, mastering the ability to multitask. This breakthrough is the time to test the results!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ning Zhuo moved forward, charging ahead with more than twenty legs.
The others were about to compliment Ning Zhuo, but immediately fell silent.
The Ning family’s combined puppet looked like a bulky, enormous caterpillar, with more than twenty wooden legs moving in perfect order, and more than twenty arms either supporting or blocking, cooperating seamlessly.
One after another, giant wooden beams swung across, but Ning Zhuo either jumped high to dodge them or had the arms work together to block them.
Some traps were triggered, but only a few legs were left hanging, while the remaining long legs were firmly planted outside the trap on solid ground.
Ning Zhuo commanded the massive body, navigating through the obstacles and traps with flowing ease, reaching the second door.
“We passed! We passed!” The wooden heads of the Ning family cultivators shouted in unison.
They had personally experienced it and felt a lot.
Many could not believe that they had passed the second checkpoint just like that.
The entire process was incredibly simple, like walking on flat ground.
But everyone knew how not simple this seemingly simple performance was.
“A Zhuo, you’re truly amazing!”
“You’ve made us see you in a new light.”
“If I hadn’t experienced it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
“Our coordination is this perfect?”
“Nonsense, it’s all thanks to A Zhuo’s command!” Ning Yong’s voice rang out.
Ning Zhuo, however, remained humble: “The real fight is still ahead. Let’s not talk for now. Everyone, follow my command and collect your rewards. I have a plan.”
The Ning family’s large puppet stood in front of the door, carefully selecting for a while before finally receiving the rewards.
“A Zhuo, go ahead and do your thing.”
“Our legs, our arms, our heads are all yours to use!”
“A Zhuo, charge forward!”
Everyone’s morale was high.
Ning Zhuo pushed open the door.
In the battle against the kung fu puppets, Ning Zhuo held back some of his strength, deliberately “sacrificing” several companions, and defeated all the kung fu puppets.
“We won, we won!”
“The victory is glorious, so glorious.”
“A Zhuo, you’re amazing. How can you control the mechanisms so effortlessly?”
The answer was simple.
Life Hanging by a Thread!
In many places, Ning Zhuo had made subtle adjustments, ensuring that each leg and arm moved in a precise, coordinated manner.
With such precise movements, there was no mutual hindrance or interference. The collective power could be fully unleashed, leaving everyone in awe.
Of course, Ning Zhuo would not answer this way.
The young man laughed, “It’s thanks to everyone trusting me unconditionally, allowing me to use you all.”
“There were still a few classmates who were sacrificed, which was my fault, my shortcoming. I will continue to work hard and train in the future!”
“I’m truly sorry, everyone.”
The young man’s humble and modest attitude made his classmates feel comfortable.
“Not at all, not at all!”
“A Zhuo, you’re perfect in every way, just a little too modest.”
“Do you even realize what you did? It was such a brilliant performance.”
Ning Zhuo laughed again, “Haha, stop flattering me. We still have many more checkpoints to pass.”
He led the group into the preparation room.
There, he dismantled himself and the others, returning to their original forms.
“Why are we separating?” Many expressed their reluctance.
Ning Zhuo explained to them, “During these days of intense training, I came up with many ideas, and I can implement them here.”
“Everyone, please trust me.”
“Let me craft some useful mechanical components for you, which will be very advantageous for the upcoming checkpoints.”
Hearing this, the Ning family members all agreed.
Many wanted to watch Ning Zhuo’s modifications, but at this moment, Ning Chen stepped forward.
“Go, go, go, what are you all doing here?”
“These are the mechanical designs A Zhuo came up with, so let’s not look.”
“If we watch, are we being fair to A Zhuo?”
His words left everyone speechless, and they turned away, facing their backs to Ning Zhuo.