A group of Golden Core cultivators slightly concealed themselves and flew towards the summit of Fire Persimmon Mountain.
The leader of this group of Golden Core cultivators was Zhu Xuanji. Behind him were Zheng Danlian from the Zheng Family, Zhou Nongying from the Zhou Family, and the Golden Core Ancestor of the Ning Family.
The Zhou Family and Zheng Family received Zhu Xuanji's invitation, and the Ning Family Ancestor was no exception.
Fei Si noticed the movement and looked into the distance with a sullen face: "Zhu Xuanji truly lives up to his royal lineage, so quickly winning over the local families."
"Alas, City Lord, it will be difficult to prevent this time."
Zhu Xuanji led the three Golden Core cultivators to the mountaintop to meet Meng Kui first.
Meng Kui's face remained calm as an ancient well, even blessing Zhu Xuanji for entering the Immortal Palace and hoping he would have rich gains.
Zhu Xuanji carried the royal decree and used the pretext of investigating a case to enter and exit the Magma Fairy Palace, leaving Meng Kui without a reason to delay.
Seeing Meng Kui disconcerted, the accompanying Golden Core cultivators felt secretly pleased.
These three local families had suffered under the City Lord for too long.
This time, leveraging Zhu Xuanji's position to suppress Meng Kui brought some relief to the Golden Core cultivators.
"My lord, as long as we approach the Immortal Palace, the treasure light will guide us," Zhou Nongying acted as a guide, "Of course, the prerequisite is that our proficiency in Mechanical Techniques meets the entry standard."
Zhu Xuanji nodded and followed the instructions to proceed.
This was his first time entering the Immortal Palace.
As they approached the Immortal Palace, indeed, a beam of treasure light shone upon him.
The treasure light emitted a slight suction force, and Zhu Xuanji relaxed, not resisting at all, allowing the light to pull him into the Immortal Palace.
He entered the Immortal Palace!
Not long after, Zhu Xuanji truly set foot inside the Magma Fairy Palace.
Behind him were the three Golden Core Ancestors.
"Finally inside."
"How long has it been since last time?"
"Haha, Meng Kui can't easily act against us now."
The three family Golden Core cultivators were rather excited.
Zhou Nongying said: "Lord Zhu, you must have received the crucial information by now?"
Zhu Xuanji nodded slightly: "I have. According to the information, as long as we contribute to the Magma Fairy Palace, we can exchange our contributions for rewards within the palace."
"The rewards are varied, not only including materials from the Red Flame Demon Beasts but also spells and mechanical diagrams."
"Reaching a certain level of contribution allows us to use many of the facilities within the palace. The range of activities for cultivators within the palace will also expand accordingly."
"And the greatest reward is the position of Palace Master of the Magma Fairy Palace!"
Zhou Nongying felt relieved after hearing this: "Lord Zhu, our timing is excellent."
"The Magma Fairy Palace is currently under siege by demon beasts, and some Golden Core level beasts have fallen."
"By mingling in the front lines and slaying demon beasts, we can easily earn contributions, the risk is low, but the rewards are substantial."
Zhu Xuanji nodded: "Let's do that first."
Afterward, he and the three Golden Core cultivators joined the front lines of the Magma Fairy Palace.
The actions of the Golden Core cultivators were extraordinary; where they went, demon beasts died miserably, leaving behind numerous demon corpses.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit saw this scene, its eyes widened, seething with anger. It secretly wished the demon beasts would break through the palace. But due to the constraints left by the Three Ancestral Masters, it had to help operate the Magma Fairy Palace to the best of its ability.
Of course, as the condition of the Magma Fairy Palace worsened, the constraints on the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit were not as strict as they initially were.
Utilizing various small loopholes, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had gradually dragged the palace down to its current state.
Zhu Xuanji stopped after slaying more than a dozen Red Flame Demon Beasts.
The three Golden Core Ancestors from the families continued their onslaught.
Opportunities to rapidly accumulate contributions were rare.
Zhu Xuanji sent a voice transmission to the three, suggesting they look around.
Zheng Danlian quickly reminded: "Lord Zhu, you may not know, but we cannot wander around the Magma Fairy Palace freely unless under special circumstances."
The Ning Family Ancestor sighed and touched the dent on his head. This dent always reminded him of how Meng Kui had ruined his plans!
Zhu Xuanji waved it off, dismissing their concerns: "Three friends, do not fret. I have a solution."
Saying this, Zhu Xuanji took out a talisman and activated it.
The talisman melted quickly into a miraculous light.
The light fell upon Zhu Xuanji, disappearing instantly, but his aura changed subtly, becoming different from before.
This difference allowed Zhu Xuanji to explore freely.
"This is the Hidden Spirit Wall." Zhu Xuanji came to a wall, touched it, and instantly recognized it.
The wall was heavy, with large, window-like talismans pasted at intervals.
Zhu Xuanji channeled a bit of mana, which was wholly absorbed by the wall.
As it absorbed, straight lines of array patterns flickered on the wall.
The Hidden Spirit Wall was used to store various spiritual powers.
Geothermal energy, mana, and more could be absorbed and stored.
Even if the wall was destroyed, these energies wouldn't explode but would remain stored within the bricks.
With specific arrays, even the mana in enemy spells could be forcibly absorbed.
Zhu Xuanji followed the wall, continuing his exploration.
Soon, he paused slightly, discovering a well.
The well was sealed, but Zhu Xuanji was sure it had no water.
"This is the Earth Dragon Well."
"The underground of the Magma Fairy Palace has a meticulously laid out hidden dragon tunnel system."
"The tunnels crisscross, covering almost the entire palace. The palace transports mechanism forces through the hidden dragon tunnels."
"Unfortunately, we can't enter."
Zhu Xuanji kept investigating, stopping at damaged spots or clear battle scars, using his Golden Eyes and Trace Origin Technique to trace the origins.
His mission in coming to Fire Persimmon Mountain included uncovering the secret of the Magma Fairy Palace's early emergence.
"What is that?" Zhu Xuanji stood on a high platform, looking at a row of bronze furnaces.
These furnaces, like giant gourds, sat evenly spaced on the ground. From a distance, they looked like a forest of furnaces, unusually neat.
"Bronze Furnace, Iron Furnace, Silver Furnace, Golden Furnace!" Zhu Xuanji quickly recalled the related information.
"The Magma Fairy Palace has four grades of furnaces, with the Golden Furnace being the most precious, totaling eight. If damaged, they are almost irreparable except by the Three Ancestral Masters themselves."
"These furnaces create various mechanism artifacts."
"The palace's operation, even now, relies heavily on these furnaces."
Zhu Xuanji descended from the platform, continuing his exploration.
He gradually realized that even with the royal talisman allowing him free movement, there were still many restricted areas.
"It seems I'll need to boost my contributions to the palace."
"Fortunately, I came prepared!"
With this thought, Zhu Xuanji took out three mechanism artifacts from his storage bag.
White Porcelain Dragon!
Thermal Phoenix!
Spiral Serpent!
The dragon was as white as snow, made entirely of exquisite porcelain.
The phoenix had magnificent wings with countless embedded gems at its tail, capable of absorbing and releasing immense light and heat.
The serpent resembled an earthworm, with a metal body but great flexibility. Its front end had numerous rotating serrated jaws, perfect for underground excavation.
Each of the three beast-shaped mechanisms had quasi-Golden Core power!
Zhu Xuanji offered all three of them.
In an instant, his contributions to the Magma Fairy Palace soared, surpassing countless predecessors.
Amidst the clouds and mist, Meng Kui sighed deeply.
He had observed Zhu Xuanji offering the three beast-shaped mechanisms.
It was evident that Zhu Xuanji came well-prepared.
Whether it was the talisman he used earlier or the three mechanisms he brought out later, Meng Kui quickly recognized the Southern Bean Royal Family's true attitude towards the Magma Fairy Palace.
Meng Kui was not surprised.
The Southern Bean Supreme Emperor and the Three Ancestral Masters had deep ties.
The Magma Fairy Palace held special significance for the Southern Bean Royal Family.
Even disregarding this connection, the royal family would value the legacy of a Refining Void great power under their rule.
Meng Kui thought Zhu Xuanji was unlikely to be serious because only one Golden Core was sent by the royal family, not giving the impression of taking substantial action.
But now, this glimmer of hope had vanished.
Zhu Xuanji's alliance with the three families put the City Lord's Mansion in a clearly disadvantageous position.
Especially since Meng Kui's two Golden Core subordinates were not qualified to enter the Immortal Palace.
Meng Kui transmitted to Meng Chong: "Good grandson, for the upcoming exploration of the Immortal Palace, bring others with you."
"The situation is critical, and opportunities are fleeting."
"While the chance is still in our hands, we must seize it tightly!"
Meng Chong's expression changed slightly, then he nodded vigorously and replied loudly, "Grandfather, I understand!"
The City Lord's Mansion's renovation team was even better than the Zhou Family's.
Meng Chong preferred solo action, but since his grandfather personally instructed him, he would lead a team for the task.
Meng Chong summoned the renovation team to meet with him, emphasizing:
"Let me be clear. If that Mechanical Monkey appears, none of you should interfere."
"I can defeat it alone!"
After three hours, Meng Chong's soul entered the Immortal Palace.
Following him were sixteen members of the City Lord's Mansion's renovation team!