Magma Fairy Palace.
Ning Zhuo, Ning Yong, Ning Chen, and others gathered in Room One.
"Thank you all for your support. Ning Zhuo expresses his gratitude in advance!" The large puppet Ning Zhuo stood in front of the first door and bowed to the Ning Family members.
"A Zhuo, no need to be so courteous. Thanks to your help earlier, I managed to reach the peak of the third level so quickly."
"Nothing to say. Once I heard you needed help, I came right away."
"We were already planning to explore the Immortal Palace. A Zhuo, feel free to call on me anytime; I will definitely come."
The Ning Family members were very enthusiastic.
Previously, Ning Zhuo had taken care of his companions, helping them cultivate faster without expecting anything in return. Planting the Life Hanging Thread in the process was just a minor issue, not worth mentioning.
Of course, the Ning Family's cultivators had their internal reasons for being so active.
There had been longstanding discord between the main lineage and the branch lineage of the Ning Family.
The Ning Family had always adhered to a policy of strengthening the main lineage while weakening the branches. The branches had accumulated considerable resentment and dissatisfaction due to the main lineage's vigilance and suppression.
Many cultivators from the branch lineage had to serve the main lineage for their progress, with few able to remain independent.
Ning Zhuo's appearance was like a bolt from the blue. Not only could he remain independent, but he also helped others.
The Ning Family's branch members had long awaited such a person. Although Ning Zhuo was only in the Qi Refinement Realm, his talent was widely recognized.
In almost everyone's eyes, Ning Zhuo was a promising genius!
Barring any surprises, as long as he developed smoothly, he would definitely become a banner, a pillar, someone they could rely on.
Thus, many members of the Ning Family's branch lineage intentionally or unintentionally gathered around Ning Zhuo.
On one hand, they sought warmth by sticking together; on the other, they were betting on the future.
This was the strategy of the Righteous Path.
Weaklings never passively endure oppression and slaughter; they do everything in their power to resist the strong, fighting for more space to survive.
Like the three major families of Persimmon Fire City, unable to resist Meng Kui, they obediently obeyed him. Yet, once Zhu Xuanji appeared and recruited them, the three families immediately aligned with him.
By doing so, they sought to leverage Zhu Xuanji to counter Meng Kui, thus securing more benefits for their own families.
The three families flocked to Zhu Xuanji, just as the Ning Family's branch members generally supported Ning Zhuo. It was essentially the same.
Ning Zhuo scanned the room and saw that everyone was in high spirits, nodding slightly.
This time, he had resolved to demonstrate his prowess in Mechanical Techniques.
"Fellow clansmen, before we proceed, I must make an agreement with you!" Ning Zhuo began.
"Next, we will combine our forces, with me taking the lead, to control spiritual power and your bodies."
"Only when casting spells do I ask for your cooperation."
The Ning Family members responded immediately:
"Understood!"
"No problem."
Ning Zhuo thanked them again: "Thank you all for your understanding and support."
"If anyone suffers any losses or makes sacrifices during this exploration of the Immortal Palace, I will personally compensate them accordingly after the mission."
After a pause, Ning Zhuo continued with a deep tone: "To speak from the heart, our branch's qualifications are not inferior. Why are we always outdone by the main lineage?"
"Is it because we don't work hard enough?"
"On the contrary, we work even harder than they do!"
"But resources are controlled by the main lineage, and every member of the main lineage receives obvious favoritism."
"Ning Xiaohui is talented, but I refuse to be outdone."
"This exploration of the Immortal Palace aims to use our collective strength to show the main lineage that our branch is strong and resilient!"
Ning Zhuo's pre-battle speech struck a chord with everyone.
"Hahaha, well said!"
"Well said!"
Ning Yong raised his arm and shouted: "I've long disliked Ning Xiaohui. Brother Zhuo, we all follow your lead!"
"Alright, now, let's all start dismantling ourselves." Ning Zhuo said this and then sat down, beginning to disassemble his leg components.
The others followed suit.
A moment later, they had all disassembled and reassembled themselves into a large mechanical artifact.
Ning Zhuo positioned his head at the highest point of the mechanical artifact, commanding everyone.
He first activated his spiritual power.
The spiritual power swiftly traversed through their combined bodies, constructing the operational trajectory of the Three Levels of the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.
Everyone else sensed this immediately.
Some praised him on the spot: "A Zhuo, impressive!"
"I'm also at the peak of the third level, but A Zhuo's proficiency in cultivation techniques far surpasses mine."
"Indeed, I can't help but salute."
Ning Zhuo pushed his spiritual power to its peak and then suddenly opened the first door, pushing himself into Room Two.
In an instant, numerous long spears from the walls jabbed towards him.
Above him, a giant hammer mechanism began to activate, ready to detach from its lock and fall.
At this critical moment, Ning Zhuo, unperturbed, extended more than twenty arms.
The long spears were precisely caught by the arms, then pulled out to be used by him.
Ning Zhuo's body rotated slightly, sending the left-hand spears into the holes on the right wall. The right-hand spears were thrust into the traps on the left side.
With just one turn, Ning Zhuo used the force of the traps to neutralize each other with their own power.
The giant hammer came crashing down, but Ning Zhuo extended over twenty arms, simultaneously contacting the hammer and using the rotational force from twisting his arms to send the hammer flying forward.
In front of them, a giant net trap was triggered, lifting a colorful net from the ground.
The net had just emerged when the hammer smashed into it.
With a dull thud.
The hammer pressed down on the net, and the net absorbed the hammer's force, both coming to a halt midway.
Ning Zhuo skillfully maneuvered over twenty legs to step over them, standing confidently in the spacious Room Two.
It was only at this moment that the others reacted.
"Holy crap, crap, crap, crap!" This was Ning Yong's voice.
"What happened? What happened!"
"Just like that, we passed! How did you do it, A Zhuo?"
Ning Zhuo smiled: "My fellow students, during this time, I've been diligently practicing the Mechanism Control Art. I especially trained in controlling multiple mechanisms simultaneously, achieving multitasking. This challenge was the test of my achievements!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ning Zhuo moved his twenty-plus legs forward.
Just as the others were about to praise him, they fell silent.
The combined Ning Family puppet moved like a bulky, gigantic caterpillar, its over twenty wooden legs moving in orderly fashion, its over twenty arms either supporting or blocking, catching or releasing, in a tightly coordinated manner.
Each giant wooden beam swung mostly either causing Ning Zhuo to leap high over them or simply being blocked by the collective strength of the arms.
Some traps were triggered, but only a few legs were suspended, while the remaining long legs stood firmly outside the traps.
Ning Zhuo deftly commanded the massive body, navigating through various obstacles and traps, reaching the second door.
"We passed, we passed!" The puppet heads of the Ning Family's cultivators cheered in unison.
They had experienced it firsthand and felt deeply impressed.
Many couldn't believe they had just passed the second checkpoint so easily.
The entire process seemed simple, as if walking on flat ground.
But everyone knew how complex and challenging it actually was behind that simplicity.
"A Zhuo, you're truly amazing!"
"You've really surprised us."
"If I hadn't experienced it myself, I wouldn't have believed it."
"Were we really so well-coordinated?"
"Nonsense, it's all thanks to A Zhuo's command!" Ning Yong's voice exclaimed.
Ning Zhuo, however, showed no pride: "The upcoming battle is the key. Let's not talk further. Follow my command and claim the rewards. I have a plan."
The Ning Family's large puppet stood at the door, choosing for a while before finally claiming the rewards.
"A Zhuo, go ahead."
"You can use our legs, our arms, our heads!"
"A Zhuo, charge, charge, charge!"
The crowd was incredibly enthusiastic.
Ning Zhuo pushed open the door and entered.
During the battle with numerous Kung Fu Dolls, Ning Zhuo reserved some of his strength, intentionally "sacrificing" several companions to defeat all the Kung Fu Dolls.
"We won, we won!"
"A glorious victory!"
"A Zhuo, you were amazing. How did you control the mechanisms so effortlessly?"
The answer was simple.
Life Hanging Thread!
In many places, Ning Zhuo made micro-adjustments, ensuring that every leg and arm moved perfectly.
With perfect movements, there was no mutual hindrance or interference, allowing the collective strength to be fully unleashed, leaving everyone in awe and amazement.
Of course, Ning Zhuo would not answer this way.
The young man smiled brightly: "Thanks to everyone's unconditional trust in me, letting me use you all."
"Some friends did sacrifice, which was my fault, my deficiency. I'll continue to train hard!"
"I apologize deeply to everyone."
The young man's modest and reserved attitude made his companions feel very comfortable.
"Not at all!"
"A Zhuo, you're great but too humble."
"Do you realize what you've achieved? It was a brilliant display."
Ning Zhuo laughed again: "Haha, stop praising me. We have many more checkpoints to clear."
He led everyone into the preparation room.
There, he disassembled himself and the others, returning them to their original forms.
"Why separate?" Many expressed a sense of reluctance.
Ning Zhuo explained: "During my recent cultivation, I conceived many ideas that we can realize here."
"Please trust me, everyone."
"Let me create some useful mechanical parts for everyone, which will be beneficial for the upcoming challenges."
With his words, everyone in the Ning Family agreed without hesitation.
Many wanted to watch Ning Zhuo's modifications, but Ning Chen stood out at this moment.
"Come on, move, why are you crowding here?"
"This is A Zhuo's mechanical diagram. We shouldn't look at it."
"If we look, would we be doing right by A Zhuo?"
His words left everyone speechless, and they all turned away, giving their backs to Ning Zhuo.