Magma Fairy Palace.
The first door was quickly pushed open by Yuan Dasheng.
Zhou Zeshen, Zhou Zhu, and the others immediately turned around to look back.
Both sides saw each other just like that.
"People from the Zhou Family!" Ning Zhuo saw this scene through Yuan Dasheng and his pupils contracted slightly.
When he discovered that in Room No. 2, not only were there two geniuses from the Zhou Family, but there were also three other Zhou Family cultivators, he immediately understood.
"They probably used the method I previously conceived, combining the puppet bodies to withstand the door-killing mechanism."
"Apart from Zhou Zeshen, who was already at the peak of the third layer, there were actually three more Zhou Family members with similar cultivation levels!"
Ning Zhuo couldn't help but think of the three-family joint test.
During the Zhou Family's renovation team test results, apart from Zhou Zhu, there was no second peak at the third layer, not even a late third layer.
"The array for the test was provided by the Zhou Family."
"It seems that at that time, the Zhou Family already had a plan and deliberately hid the true cultivation levels of many cultivators."
"Both the Zheng Family and the Ning Family were deceived. At least I didn't expect that the Zhou Family already had a few late-stage third-layer cultivators."
Ning Zhuo immediately figured out the truth.
Based on the speed of cultivation, it was not enough time for an ordinary cultivator to rise from mid-third layer to peak-third layer.
The most likely scenario was that the Zhou Family had been covering up their cultivation for a long time.
"As expected of the array master Zhou Family, skilled in formations and strategy."
"Leading the three-family joint test, they started their layout back then."
"Fortunately, this time, they got caught by me!"
The Zhou Family cultivators were instantly on guard when they heard the door's commotion behind them, turning around and preparing for battle.
Zhou Zeshen smiled bitterly in his heart. Whether the intruder was from the Ning Family, the Zheng Family, or the City Lord's Mansion, their carefully laid out Zhou Family plan would be exposed on their first attempt.
However, the "person" who pushed the door open was totally unexpected by the Zhou Family cultivators.
It was a mechanical monkey.
The monkey was tall and robust, with its golden bones exposed, resembling a layer of hollow armor. Its body was bright red, and its fur a single color with black streaks of varying lengths, making it look extremely menacing.
Zhou Zeshen was just about to greet them, having already prepared his words in his mind, when he saw Yuan Dasheng.
"What is that?!" The Zhou Family cultivators exclaimed in shock.
The next moment, without Ning Zhuo's command, upon detecting others' presence, the Golden Blooded War Ape-Dasheng launched its attack.
It suddenly lifted its foot and stepped forward with a massive stride, directly landing in front of a Zhou Family cultivator.
The Zhou Family cultivator felt a gust of wind rushing towards him.
The next moment, the towering body of the Golden Blooded War Ape-Dasheng loomed over him like a mountain, heavily crashing down.
The Zhou Family cultivator raised his arms to block.
Bam!
The Golden Blooded War Ape-Dasheng's punch came down like a massive hammer, smashing the Zhou Family cultivator from head to toe into a pulp.
Such ferocity elicited simultaneous cries of fear from the Zhou Family cultivators.
Zhou Zeshen's voice became sharp: "Unbeatable, spread out and delay time first!"
As the brains behind Zhou Zhu's actions, Zhou Zeshen quickly thought of the correct strategy in the brief moment of the attack.
However, while the strategy was excellent, the battlefield conditions were far from ideal.
Because Room No. 2 was not as spacious as Room No. 1; it was long and narrow.
To create distance between themselves and Yuan Dasheng, the Zhou Family cultivators had to move toward the second door.
With each step, the floor tiles moved backward, pulling them back to their original positions.
Yuan Dasheng roared and spread his arms, attacking with all his might.
Bam.
Another loud bang followed as the second Zhou Family cultivator's puppet was shattered by Yuan Dasheng, with no resistance.
Beyond the six barriers, cultivators would have Spirit Rhythm Mechanisms. These mechanisms were notably strong, often more powerful than the puppets owned by trial disciples themselves.
And the Golden Blooded War Ape-Dasheng exceeded the highest limits, a key found by Ning Zhuo, and it consumed the Immortal Talents Body to create this Spirit Growth mechanism artifact.
This was entirely beyond the usual specifications!
"What on earth is this thing?!" Zhou Zeshen yelled.
"I don't know either." Zhou Zhu felt very puzzled, wondering why this exploration of the Magma Fairy Palace was unlike any previous times.
Where did this extremely powerful mechanical monkey come from?
"Jump into the trap in the dark, lure the monkey and have it follow you in," Zhou Zeshen quickly thought of another strategy.
These dark traps were specifically set up by Ning Zhuo.
Earlier, during their exploration of the Immortal Palace with Ning Xiaohui, Zhou Zhu, and Zheng Jian, these dark traps had worked, trapping and killing the other three, giving them a terrible imprisoning experience!
Zhou Zeshen's mind was sharp. Within just a few breaths, he came up with a plan. If they utilized the terrain, perhaps sacrificing just one Zhou Family cultivator would temporarily deal with this mechanical monkey.
As long as the trap caught the mechanical monkey, they would only need to figure out how to get through Room No. 2 and leave through the door.
But there were no "if"s.
After the Zhou Family cultivator jumped in, the Golden Blooded War Ape-Dasheng halted just on the edge of the mechanical trap, not moving even a tiny bit.
As a prank, these traps were all personally set up by Ning Zhuo, who was fully aware of the location of every single one.
Zhou Zeshen saw Yuan Dasheng turn his head and give him a cold stare, and a chill went down his spine.
"Damn it!"
"Zhou Zhu, stop him."
"I'll try to break through with all my might!" Zhou Zeshen shouted.
"Okay!" Zhou Zhu stepped forward, charging toward Yuan Dasheng.
Though Zhou Zhu was tall, he paled in comparison to Yuan Dasheng's stature.
Yuan Dasheng moved gracefully, dodging Zhou Zhu's attacks and then grabbing hold of his flaw, advancing forward.
Bam bam.
With two light thuds, Zhou Zhu knelt to the ground.
When Zhou Zeshen turned around and saw Zhou Zhu couldn't even hold on for three breaths, his fear grew.
He frantically charged forward.
But the backward-moving floor tiles sped up, continuously pulling Zhou Zeshen closer to Yuan Dasheng.
"This damned mechanism is also against me!"
Zhou Zeshen struggled with all his might, but he only managed to gain three more breaths of time.
In the end, Yuan Dasheng took off Zhou Zeshen's head. Then, he opened his palm, tilted it at an angle, and threw Zhou Zeshen's head to the ground.
All Zhou Family cultivators were annihilated!
Dealing with them was extremely easy for Yuan Dasheng, even though there were five of them.
Firstly, they lacked the Immortal Aptitude, unlike Meng Chong's powerful impact. Secondly, they knew very few spells. Under Yuan Dasheng's rampage, they mainly used Qi Spells to increase speed and change direction.
But these small maneuvers were nothing in the eyes of a martial arts master like Yuan Dasheng.
The final act saw Yuan Dasheng, under Ning Zhuo's control, actively jump into the dark trap, overwhelming the remaining struggling Zhou Family cultivators.
Carrying the remains of the enemies' puppets, Yuan Dasheng leaped out of the trap.
These mechanic traps, crafted by Ning Zhuo himself, were no challenge at all as he knew all their details.
Main hall.
Seeing the Golden Blooded War Ape-Dasheng displaying such prowess and easily eliminating the Zhou Family cultivators, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit clenched its dragon claws in frustration, repeatedly pounding the throne.
Ning Zhuo was too arrogant, only sending a single mechanism artifact to break through the barrier this time.
No respect for the Magma Fairy Palace at all!
With limited authority, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit could only watch helplessly as Yuan Dasheng cleaned the battlefield.
Ning Zhuo controlled the mechanical monkey to open up every Zhou Family cultivator, extracting the remaining Spirit Stones.
"Not bad at all."
"If I had tried breaking through alone, I couldn't have harvested this many Spirit Stones in Room No. 2."
"Oh, and two hangman's nooses."
Thanks to the Zhou Family cultivators' contributions, Yuan Dasheng had a gratifying accumulation of power in the early stages.
Ning Zhuo controlled it, resolutely heading deeper.
Meanwhile.
Zheng Family.
"Catch the assassin!"
"Quick, he ran that way."
"Hurry, chase him!!"
The Zheng Family was in chaos, with cultivators frantically chasing the intruder.
"Young Master Zheng Jian, are you alright?" The Zheng Family's Pill Master rushed over to provide treatment.
Zheng Jian nodded slightly: "At the critical moment, my Piercing Heart Insight was triggered, alerting me in time, so I didn't walk into the assassin's ambush."
"How did this assassin get in? This is the inner circle of the clan grounds, it's outrageous!" Zheng Jian clenched his fist, angrily gritting his teeth.
The Pill Master suddenly emitted an eerie smile, and his thick middle-aged male voice turned into a sinister female tone: "What do you think?"
Zheng Jian's pupils contracted sharply, instantly retreating.
But it was too late.
The next moment, the Pill Master suddenly swelled up, his body exploding, releasing a putrid, toxic gas that reached Zheng Jian.
Most of Zheng Jian's body was affected, his skin reddened, blistered, and festering at an alarming speed.
He hurriedly took out emergency elixir pills, pouring an entire bottle down, finally halting the corrosion poison in his body.
"I'm still hit!"
"They intentionally triggered Piercing Heart Insight first to keep me on high alert."
"Without calming my mind, the chances of Piercing Heart Insight triggering again would be greatly reduced!"
"They came prepared."
At this moment, his face looked extremely grim.
City Lord's Mansion.
Meng Chong, surrounded by Thunder Shadows, beat the assassin black and blue.
He sneered: "You think you can assassinate me?"
Zhou Family.
Zhou Zeshen and Zhou Zhu opened their eyes one after the other.
The next moment, excruciating pain surged through their bodies!
Zhou Zeshen saw that his flesh was crawling with ants.
Countless ants, layer upon layer, had devoured his lower body down to the bone, with his abdomen half eaten, intestines spilling out, most chewed into pieces by the ant swarm.
Zhou Zeshen's pupils contracted to the size of a needle, extremely terrified!
The next moment, the Five Elements Mana erupted wildly, causing a violent wind to blow away countless ants.
On the other side, Zhou Zhu was also clearing away the ants. His situation was slightly better, but below the waist, there was nothing left but bones.
"Someone has plotted against us, and there is a traitor within the clan!"
"Someone, help quickly!"