< Chapter 46: Here Again! >
In Room No. 2, the rewards were two spirit stones, a glass flying dagger mechanical part, and the Fire Grasping Technique spell. Ning Zhuo immediately chose the spirit stones.
Upon entering Room No. 3, he once again encountered a martial arts puppet. Without hesitation, Ning Zhuo embraced the puppet, enduring its pounding as he fully deployed the Ice-Embracing Technique.
Moments later, the martial arts puppet turned into a lump of ice for the second time. Its large eyes emitted a yellow light, seeming to glare at Ning Zhuo as if accusing him of lacking martial integrity.
Ning Zhuo mentally apologized, “I know this challenge is meant to train my close combat skills with puppets. Unfortunately, I don’t have time now, but if possible, I will come back to learn more in the future.”
The rewards in Room No. 3 were ten spirit stones, a small flying box mechanical part, and the Wood Connecting Technique spell. Ning Zhuo still chose the spirit stones.
Finally, he returned to the preparation room, feeling somewhat stirred. He noticed the floor was clean and empty: “The puppet body I explored with the second time has been cleared away.”
He ran to the rotating pentagonal stone pillar and placed his hand on it. With determination, Ning Zhuo infused spiritual power and channeled soul power, sensing the Buddha Heart Demon Seal.
The Buddha Heart Demon Seal did not disappoint Ning Zhuo. Soon, he saw his name slowly sinking. However, after his name had completely sunk, it gradually floated back up!
“How can this be?!” In an instant, Ning Chen stood frozen, dumbfounded.
At the Lava Immortal Palace, in the main hall.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit joyfully raised its head and opened its mouth, spewing out a large mouthful of flames. Its expression seemed to take delight in disaster, as if saying, “That’s right, serves you right for cheating with the Buddha Heart Demon Seal!” If Ning Zhuo weren’t in a puppet body, he would have been sweating profusely by now.
“Can’t hide my name?” Ning Zhuo pondered. “That means I must display my name prominently.”
“Wait, what if I change the approach? Maybe I could use a different name?” Ning Zhuo continued to experiment.
The first attempt brought success, and he was surprised to see his name change. From Ning Zhuo, it changed to Ning Ji!
Roar! The previously joyful Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, now infuriated, raised its head and roared, causing the Immortal Palace to shake violently.
Atop Mount Huoshi, the lord of Puppet Immortal City immediately opened his eyes, watching the volcano’s mouth cautiously. After confirming that the palace had only shaken briefly, he slowly closed his eyes and returned to meditation.
Ning Zhuo looked up at the leaderboard and shook his head slightly. “Changing it to Ning Ji’s name won’t work. It’s too easy to trace.”
“What if I change it to Meng Chong?” he wondered aloud. “No, that’s even more foolish. Meng Chong would arrive in the preparation room and find himself occupying both the first and second positions. That would give it away immediately.”
“What name should I change to?” Ning Zhuo was in a quandary. Even using an unfamiliar name was a flaw. After a moment of thought, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he came up with a plan.
He looked at the leaderboard with the names already changed and murmured to himself, “This should fool them for a while.”
In the main hall.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit repeatedly slammed its head against a pillar.
It was in agony, helplessly watching others cheat, but it was powerless to stop them. Although it was a palace spirit, its abilities were limited.
With every collision, the entire Lava Immortal Palace trembled.
High above, amidst dense clouds and smoke, the city lord suddenly opened his eyes, his brow furrowed and his eyes shining with divine light: “Is there going to be a riot again?!”
But after waiting intently for a while, all he saw was the Lava Immortal Palace trembling, causing the molten lava below to ripple and churn in waves.
It was almost rhythmic.
Gradually, the city lord relaxed, completely baffled: “Is the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit having a fit? What exactly is it up to!”
Ning Zhuo, however, felt a surge of surprise.
He discovered that by merely changing a name on one leaderboard, the other leaderboards had also updated simultaneously.
He didn’t need to exhaust his spiritual power or soul power to change each name individually.
“The real situation is much easier than I imagined!”
“So, never fear difficulties. Sometimes, the challenges are mostly concocted by our own fears.”
Ning Zhuo encouraged himself.
At that moment, he still had plenty of spiritual power and a fair amount of soul power left, more than enough to continue exploring.
Ning Zhuo didn’t rush to the next challenge but instead explored the preparation room.
As he was about to grab a torch hanging on the wall, a message about a fee came through. This time, however, Ning Zhuo decided not to pay but instead attempted to activate the Buddha Heart Demon Seal again.
Seeing this, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit swung its tail with force, snorting coldly, its disdain clearly evident.
Soon after, Ning Zhuo sighed in disappointment. The Buddha Heart Demon Seal did not grant him the ability to use these tools for free, nor did it offer any discount.
The specific privileges granted by this magical seal, and to what extent they could be used, all required Ning Zhuo to test them one by one.
Ning Zhuo approached the stone leaderboard pillar again. This five-sided stone pillar would rotate periodically on its own to display its five leaderboards.
Touching the pillar, he activated the Buddha Heart Demon Seal. The next moment, the pillar stopped rotating, ceasing its motion.
Just as Ning Zhuo was about to rejoice over this small success, a sudden spark of realization struck him like lightning!
He quickly looked up, excitedly staring at the door of the preparation room. He ran to the door, about to push it open and enter the next unknown room, but suddenly hesitated and withdrew his hand.
He turned and ran to the opposite side, standing before the door through which he had entered.
Meanwhile, in the main hall.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was now propping itself up on its forelimbs, staring intensely at Ning Zhuo, its face full of tension.
Ning Zhuo, feeling the power of the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, tried to open the door.
The next moment, Ning Zhuo effortlessly opened the door!
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, upon seeing this, suddenly threw back its head, let out a loud cry, and furiously slammed its claw into the ground, sparking numerous embers.
Ning Zhuo opened the door and was greeted once again by the sight of Room Three.
The kung fu puppet was still frozen.
Suppressing his excitement, Ning Zhuo entered Room Three and then closed the door behind him.
His palm touched the door panel once more.
The information about the rewards was transmitted again: ten spirit stones, a small flying box from the mechanical parts, and the Wood Connecting Technique.
Ning Zhuo first chose the spirit stone reward, only to find that although the teleportation circle appeared again, it sadly produced no spirit stones.
He then chose the small flying box.
Thus, he received a wooden box that could fly in mid-air.
Lastly, he chose the Wood Connecting Technique.
Consequently, he received detailed information on a magical technique.
Back in the main hall.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit once again rammed its head against a pillar, continuously emitting roars.
The roars resonated far and wide.
However, unlike before, the roars now mixed with feelings of powerlessness, frustration, and suffocation.
The Lava Immortal Palace erupted once again, with countless treasures shooting straight into the sky.
“Again?!”
The Lord of Huoshi City, forced to interrupt his cultivation, puffed his cheeks and glared angrily, compelled to activate the grand formation of the Puppet Immortal City once again in an effort to counter the uprising at the Lava Immortal Palace.