The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was enraged, spewing fire all around the main hall, constantly roaring.
Meng Kui labored hard to suppress it, not daring to take a single step beyond the boundary.
The Red Flame Demon Beasts were not repelled, with numerous waves continuously attacking the Immortal Palace.
In an instant, the battle atop the mountain became complicated, making it increasingly difficult for Meng Kui to manage, enduring great hardship.
But there was no choice.
After all, he was the current City Lord of Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
Ensuring the Magma Fairy Palace was secure was his duty.
He had to bear it.
In the trial chambers, however, everything was tranquil.
Ning Zhuo looked at Sun Lingtong's soul and tilted his wooden head: "Does this count as a success?"
On one hand, Sun Lingtong's soul was indeed drawn in.
But on the other hand, one could argue it was not a success.
Normally, when a trial disciple first entered Room One, their soul would reside in the initial puppet torso, then use the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art to attract and assemble other mechanical parts.
However, Sun Lingtong's soul floated in mid-air, without any mechanical parts responding to it.
Sun Lingtong's soul was surrounded by a red soul flame.
This came from the Phoenix Soul Blood Fragrance Pill he had taken recently to heal his soul.
The red soul fire swayed like a phoenix's tail feathers, holding profound and mysterious meanings of rebirth.
"Since you didn't get the initial mechanical parts, let me try arranging some for you." Ning Zhuo took the initiative, selecting a mechanical torso and limbs for Sun Lingtong.
He first had Sun Lingtong's soul reside in the mechanical torso, then guided and helped him assemble his own puppet body.
"Is this what it feels like to become a mechanical puppet? It's really fascinating!" Sun Lingtong looked at his puppet hands, stomped his feet, and jumped a few times, feeling very excited.
"Let's go. In Room One, it's not safe as a cultivator's soul could enter the Immortal Palace for exploration at any moment." Ning Zhuo urged.
Sun Lingtong nodded repeatedly.
Knowing the urgency, he quickly walked several dozen steps to the first gate.
He touched the gate but received no information, let alone the three rewards.
Ning Zhuo's heart sank slightly, knowing this was because Sun Lingtong entered by cheating. Since he was a foundation establishment and hadn't practiced the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, he couldn't be recognized by the trial chamber.
Should I try using the Buddha Heart Demon Seal?
In the next moment, Ning Zhuo rapidly consumed his soul power, and Sun Lingtong immediately received the information.
"Which of the three rewards should I choose... uh." Sun Lingtong just began to speak when he saw the three rewards disappear, unable to choose any.
Ning Zhuo reassured, "Don't worry, I just stopped activating the Life Hanging Thread."
This, of course, was a lie.
In reality, Ning Zhuo used the Buddha Heart Demon Seal.
Ning Zhuo felt no guilt in telling this lie to Sun Lingtong.
Because when Ning Zhuo was just two or three, Sun Lingtong explicitly told him: Everyone may have their own secrets; respect others and their small secrets.
Sun Lingtong, understanding Ning Zhuo well, immediately grasped his intention: "Indeed, we need to test this method."
The test revealed that Ning Zhuo needed to use the Buddha Heart Demon Seal every time, combined with the Life Hanging Thread to deepen the connection, temporarily resolving Sun Lingtong's illegitimacy issue and allowing him to be recognized by the Magma Fairy Palace and qualify for the passage rewards.
"That's amazing!" Ning Zhuo praised, "With this, Elder Sun, you might not need to be listed on the ranking."
He led the puppet Sun Lingtong through the trials, reaching the preparation room.
Sure enough, the ranking only showed "Entry Standard" and "Meng Chong."
Sun Lingtong, looking at "Entry Standard," gave Ning Zhuo a thumbs up: "Well done, little brother, you've got some skills."
Ning Zhuo, in collaboration with Golden Blood Battle Ape - Dasheng, had brought Sun Lingtong through the journey.
They kept advancing until they reached the first Buddhist trial.
When Sun Lingtong was in the coffin room, Ning Zhuo fully sensed the Buddha Heart Demon Seal and activated the Life Hanging Thread.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit raised its head and roared angrily, full of sorrow. But bound by duty, it had to relay the information.
Meng Kui outside, panting heavily, continuously suppressed the Immortal Palace.
Sun Lingtong shouted: "Alright, I've received the information!"
Following Ning Zhuo's previous steps, Sun Lingtong also began to act.
Soon, his puppet body scattered on the ground, with his whole soul returning to his flesh.
In the underground base, he poured back the previously extracted divine sense, mana, and essence blood.
As agreed with Ning Zhuo, Sun Lingtong also stuffed the Netherworld Ghost Seal, Soul-stirring Drum, and the broken Golden Thread Robe back into their respective dantians.
Even the clump of Ghost Gate Escape Grass, Sun Lingtong broke off three blades and placed them into the lower elixir field beneath the essence sea.
With this step completed, Sun Lingtong could only wait for Ning Zhuo to pull him in.
Soon, Ning Zhuo re-extracted his soul into the palace, pulling Sun Lingtong back into his previous puppet body.
Along with this action, a teleportation circle appeared, ejecting Qi Bai.
"It succeeded!"
"We did it!"
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong clapped with excitement.
"Magma Fairy Palace, I'll use it to create mechanical artifacts!" Golden Blooded War Ape - Dasheng dragged Qi Bai to a portal, and Sun Lingtong shouted loudly.
Standing behind him, Ning Zhuo was his greatest supporter! At this moment, Ning Zhuo fully invoked the Buddha Heart Demon Seal while frantically activating the Life Hanging Thread.
"Roar—" The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit howled in sorrow.
Meng Kui tightly pressed his lips, struggling to suppress it.
At that time, Yuan Dasheng used by Ning Zhuo, despite having immortal aptitude, was essentially an old Magma Demon Ape with Qi Refinement Realm cultivation.
This time was different.
Qi Bai was a genuine Golden Core Cultivator, carrying two magical treasures and three Nascent Soul Level herb leaves.
The Magma Fairy Palace contained bronze, iron, silver, and golden furnaces, four levels of furnaces.
To refine immortal aptitude materials, a golden furnace was required. And once immortal materials were to be refined, even the golden furnace could only be used once!
Qi Bai's aptitude wasn't high enough to use the golden furnace, but using a silver furnace given his upper-class talent was definite.
The key was, one silver furnace was far from enough.
Qi Bai had too many items on him!
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had no choice but to begrudgingly refine with full effort for Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong.
This was one major reason why it greatly disliked living in the Magma Fairy Palace.
It had no freedom.
No matter how unwilling, it had to comply!
Bang, bang, bang...
One silver furnace after another exploded, unable to withstand the load.
After the destruction of a full twenty-one silver furnaces, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit finally formed a mechanical puppet.
During this time, Meng Kui heaved a sigh of relief.
All because the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had to concentrate fully on the refinement, leaving less energy to cause turmoil, leading to fewer disturbances in the Magma Fairy Palace.
Finally, the mechanical puppet was completed!
Even though the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was extremely reluctant, it still transported the mechanical puppet back, presenting it before Sun Lingtong.
Netherworld Envoy· Qi Bai!