Chapter 302: The Secret Pavilion of Opportunity
Suddenly sucked in by the main hall entrance, Ning Zhuo's vision dramatically changed, and a swirl of five-colored light surrounded him.
A strong feeling of weightlessness and dizziness attacked him, a sensation Ning Zhuo was familiar with.
Before, when Sun Lingtong used the Space Piercing Technique to teleport him, it felt exactly the same.
Ning Zhuo's feet suddenly landed, and the five-colored, dazzling scenery before him vanished.
Ning Zhuo immediately became fully alert, scanning his surroundings.
The copper-red walls, the scorching heat, and the golden ceiling felt somewhat familiar, making him mistakenly believe that his soul had once again entered the Immortal Palace.
However, unlike before, this time Ning Zhuo's soul wasn't pulled out by the Life Hanging by a Thread ability, but his body and soul entered together.
New information suddenly flooded into his mind—
"The third round of the Lava Immortal Palace's hall trial!"
"Cultivators will explore the Secret Pavilion of Opportunity, facing unique challenges in each mechanism room to win corresponding rewards."
"Finally, those who find the correct path, break through the Secret Pavilion of Opportunity, and enter the main hall will take the throne and become the Palace Master of the Lava Immortal Palace!"
"Please note: The difficulty of the mechanism rooms varies."
"Please note: During the exploration of the Secret Pavilion of Opportunity and the main hall, cultivators' cultivation levels will be suppressed to the Qi Refining stage."
"Please note: The use of personal magical tools, pills, etc., is forbidden, and violators will be disqualified."
"Please note: Cultivators are allowed to use any tools provided within the pavilion and to cast spells, though their power will be suppressed to Qi Refining level."
"Please note: Any mechanism creations within the trial may be used unconditionally during the exploration process."
"Please note: A small shift will occur after every thirty-six explorations in the Secret Pavilion, and a large shift will occur after one hundred and eight explorations."
"Please note: Cultivators can choose to surrender at any time by simply focusing their thoughts. Upon surrendering, they will be immediately teleported out."
"Please note: Any changes in the trial participant list will be promptly announced to all participants."
...
A long string of information made Ning Zhuo pause to carefully digest everything before he took any action.
After scanning his surroundings, Ning Zhuo realized that the first mechanism room he was in seemed quite ordinary, with only a central pedestal.
The pedestal was covered by a pillar of light, and on it lay a mechanism tool.
It was a wooden ring. The ring was rather thick, and embedded in it were eighteen diamond-shaped crystals. The crystals emitted a faint blue-purple glow. Slight changes in viewing angle made the blue-purple glow shift, making the ring appear quite exquisite.
"A suspension ring." In an instant, Ning Zhuo felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Cautiously, and with extreme vigilance, he examined the ring, using various spells to check for traps. After confirming nothing suspicious, he reached out and took the suspension ring.
The light covering the pedestal dissipated, and the pedestal slowly sank into the floor until it was completely submerged.
Finally, the floor on both sides merged in the middle, sealing tightly without leaving a trace of a gap.
Ning Zhuo stood still, scanning his surroundings for a while, but nothing unusual happened.
"That's it?" Ning Zhuo felt a bit surprised.
Elsewhere in the Secret Pavilion of Opportunity...
"Wow, ya ya!" Sun Lingtong sprinted wildly.
Behind him, a Foundation Establishment-level Flaming Lizard charged after him like a raging bull.
The room was limited in size, forcing Sun Lingtong to jump and scramble around, sometimes even running along the walls.
His legs moved so fast they seemed like spinning wheels.
The Flaming Lizard suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a line of fire.
The fire hit Sun Lingtong’s backside, instantly setting his pants on fire.
Sun Lingtong had no choice but to keep running with all his might while slapping at his burning rear.
In another part of the Secret Pavilion of Opportunity...
Ning Jiufan was pinned to the wall by more than ten spears.
Ning Jiufan's face twisted in pain, but he gritted his teeth and began pulling the spears out one by one.
Unable to retrieve the pills from his storage belt, he had no choice but to use the Ning Family's Ice Art to freeze himself for emergency healing.
...
Ning Zhuo cautiously stepped into the second secret room.
The setup was identical to the previous one, with another pedestal in the middle of the room.
A pillar of light illuminated the mechanism tool on the pedestal, making it stand out clearly.
Ning Zhuo walked forward cautiously and retrieved the mechanism tool, which turned out to be a Blood Dissolving Pool.
"This mechanism component can dissolve any blooded lifeform into blood. When paired with a Blood Oil Bottle, it can allow a mechanical puppet to sustain itself through battle."
"However, my Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, is already finely designed, and there’s no space left to add such a massive Blood Dissolving Pool component."
Currently, the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, was still with Sun Lingtong.
Ning Zhuo had to meet up with Sun Lingtong first to retrieve Yuan Dasheng.
"Sigh, I hope I can meet with Boss Sun soon."
Since his storage belt couldn’t be used, Ning Zhuo had no choice but to carry the bulky Blood Dissolving Pool as he left the room.
Ahead, behind, even the ceiling above and the floor below, all had exits.
Ning Zhuo randomly chose a door and pushed it open.
...
In the secret room of the Booklord, there was only one door.
A giant door.
The door was covered in wooden blocks, all interlocking and contained within the door frame.
The Booklord gripped the door handle with one hand, needing to expend spiritual power and mental energy to shift these blocks and arrange the words carved on each block in the correct order.
The end result was a complete script of the *Demonic Blood Tendon Technique*.
The problem was...
"I don’t know a thing about the *Demonic Blood Tendon Technique*!"
The Booklord screamed internally in frustration.
At this moment, he deeply regretted not participating in the Golden Core battle for the demonic technique during the conflict in Huoshi Immortal City.
Even if it was a fake technique, there was still some truth to be gained from it.
"Or, at least, if someone had sold me some information about the demonic technique during the second hall trial, I could have deduced quite a lot. I wouldn’t be stuck like this now."
This was the second secret room the Booklord had entered.
The giant door blocked his path forward.
After some effort, the Booklord, now slightly pale, gave up.
"My strength is suppressed to the Qi Refining stage."
"Not only is my total spiritual power and mental energy restricted, but even my recovery is limited to the Qi Refining stage."
"I can't afford to waste too much here in front of this door."
"I have to remain constantly on guard in case someone else enters this secret room and we end up fighting."
Before leaving, the Booklord cast a reluctant glance at the massive door.
A feeling deep within told him that the room behind the door held great rewards.
"Unfortunately, I’m not a disciple of the trial."
"From both the first and second hall trials, it’s clear that the Three Sect Lords favor their own disciples greatly."
This secret room had two exits.
One was the giant door, and the other was a smaller door.
The smaller door was the one through which the Booklord had entered.
With a sigh, he opened the small door and returned to the first secret room he had entered.
This time, he chose another small door and left.
Still unwilling to give up, he silently memorized the route in his mind.
...
Ning Zhuo had just left his third secret room.
From this secret room, he had obtained a pill that, when consumed, could quickly restore spiritual power.
Just as he pushed open the door and entered his fourth secret room, the entire room suddenly began to shake.
The shaking wasn’t very intense, but the sound of mechanisms echoed throughout the room.
The mechanical sound persisted for several breaths before abruptly stopping. During this time, the room continued to tremble. When the noise ceased, the room became calm again.
"Hah!" A Qi Refining-level Kung Fu Puppet assumed a battle stance, ready to face Ning Zhuo.
"Finally, something different." Ning Zhuo's eyes lit up as he stepped forward.
The Kung Fu Puppet charged at him.
Aware of his limits, Ning Zhuo quickly retreated, using spells to attack from a distance.
The Kung Fu Puppet was gradually tied up by fast-growing vines.
"Demonic Blood Tendon!" Ning Zhuo leisurely walked up to it and, using his own blood essence, cast the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique, forcibly subduing the puppet.
"Before I retrieve the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, I’ll just make do with this." Ning Zhuo left his fourth secret room, with the Demonic Blood Kung Fu Puppet trailing behind him.
This time, he decided to return the way he came.
However
, when he opened the small door he had entered through, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar room.
This confirmed a certain suspicion of his.
The information had stated: "After thirty-six explorations, a small shift will occur. After one hundred and eight explorations, a large shift will happen."
"So, this is the so-called 'small shift'? The connections within the Secret Pavilion of Opportunity are randomly disrupted, and any previously memorized routes are now useless."
"I’ve explored four secret rooms, and there are thirteen cultivators participating in the second round of the hall trial. Some have explored fewer rooms than I have, so the total number of rooms explored by everyone combined must have just reached thirty-six."
"Reaching this number triggered the mechanism, causing a small shift."
"If the small shift is like this, what would a large shift be like?"
Ning Zhuo pondered deeply, constantly thinking. He knew he needed some time to truly understand the rules of this third hall trial.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit closely monitored the Secret Pavilion of Opportunity.
This was a cleverly designed mechanical structure and the final line of defense for the main hall of the Lava Immortal Palace.
The trial challenges set by the Three Sect Lords were only made possible by utilizing the unique abilities of this mechanical structure.
Even the various trial challenges only used a small portion of the pavilion's power.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was the sole spectator, overseeing everything. After the first small shift was triggered, it quickly summarized the experiences of each cultivator.
Some had good luck, others bad, some racked their brains, while others were still being hunted.
"The ones with the greatest gains are Meng Chong and Ning Zhuo."
"Both of them have made progress in every secret room they’ve explored. Currently, their accumulation of mechanism creations is almost equal, firmly placing them in the top tier."
The top tier consisted only of Meng Chong and Ning Zhuo.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit's expression grew serious: "The route choices in the Secret Pavilion of Opportunity are actually a test of the cultivators' fortune."
"The more abundant and prosperous their fortune, the better their chosen route will be, yielding greater rewards. The opposite is also true."
"Meng Chong is an immortal talent, blessed with extraordinary fortune. But Ning Zhuo is showing similar results? Though he possesses the Life Hanging by a Thread Divine Ability, the total fortune he gathers only creates an average pool, putting everyone on the same level."
"He hasn't been identified as having special talent. Could he also be an immortal talent?"
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit couldn't help but wonder.
"But that doesn’t make sense."
"If he were an immortal talent, how could his life in Huoshi Immortal City for the past sixteen years have been so unlucky and oppressive?"
"That definitely isn’t the fortune of someone with supreme talent!"
(End of Chapter)