Zhu Xuanji led the Golden Core cultivators from the three families deep into the volcano.
They entered boldly and openly through the volcanic crater.
Acting in his capacity as a royal envoy, Zhu Xuanji ordered Meng Kui to guard the Immortal City diligently, without making any mistakes.
The Golden Core cultivators from the three families felt happy. Usually oppressed by Meng Kui, they now felt a sense of glee seeing him being subdued.
Unless Meng Kui rebelled and became a traitor to the Southern Bean Country, he had to guard the Immortal City and the mountaintop well, patiently waiting for Zhu Xuanji and his group to return.
Ning Zhuo naturally didn't know about Zhu Xuanji's group's actions. On that day, he began the first round of assembly.
He assembled a large number of mechanical components together, forming a huge black iron skeleton.
Previously, the Martial Fighting Ape was eight feet tall, taller than Ning Zhuo. The Golden Blood Battle Ape was slightly shorter than Ning Zhuo.
The newly refined mechanical ape was completely a large to medium-sized mechanism.
Its skeleton alone was one and a half feet tall, equivalent to a two-story building.
From the skeleton itself, one could sense its hardness and stubbornness, like an ancient beast.
The ape's skeleton and joints were all made of Wanji Xuan Iron.
Ning Zhuo proceeded to assemble the ape's chest and back. This part mainly used Redsun Copper, making it very thick and extremely heavy.
Ning Zhuo then installed the ape's claws and teeth, all made of Adamantine Stone, sharp in texture, enhancing the mechanical ape's attack power.
On the ape's key joints, skeletal surfaces, and the insides of its chest and back, there were intricate grooves carved.
These grooves intertwined to form a highly complex array diagram.
A closer look revealed that the complexity of the array was due to at least three arrays being superimposed on one another.
This was an extraordinary array setup technique, evident of the Zhou Family's expertise in formations!
In many of the grooves, thick blood silkworm threads were inlaid.
These blood silkworm threads would be melted by Ning Zhuo's mana and added to the array pattern grooves, serving to maintain and preserve the array, extending the usage time of the array by at least thirty percent.
The first round of mechanical ape assembly was completed through the secret cooperation of Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong.
Its lower body, such as the thighs, was still just a skeleton, yet the entire mechanical ape already weighed over thirty thousand pounds.
According to Ning Zhuo's conservative estimate, the complete assembly would weigh around forty thousand pounds.
Such weight would even leave slight depressions in the average ground.
Such a heavy body posed a greater challenge for power supply.
Thus, Ning Zhuo utilized the Mechanical Heart Ball Furnace·Fire Essence rewarded by the Magma Fairy Palace.
This mechanism resembled a giant sphere, with a furnace forged at its center. The surface of the sphere had various protruding cylinders of different sizes, lengths, and thicknesses.
Once filled with Fire Essence, it would consume the energy, converting it into powerful force, causing the cylinders to continually extend and contract, providing strong power in all directions.
Due to the need for Fire Essence consumption, the middle layer of the sphere used an internal carving technique to ingeniously place a highly functional storage formation.
Merely having the Heart Ball Furnace wasn't enough. Ning Zhuo also used Wind Fire Wheels.
According to his design, two massive Wind Fire Wheels would be installed on the calves of the new mechanical ape.
When needed, the Wind Fire Wheels would rotate with full force, whipping up strong winds and fierce flames, pushing the heavy mechanical ape forward violently!
The mechanical ape's palms would be very broad and thick.
This time, the Martial Arts Talismans embedded in the palms and wrists were not just a dozen but thirty-six in total.
As for the design of the Martial Arts Talismans and Wind Fire Wheels being similar to those in the Magma Fairy Palace's mechanical ape,
Ning Zhuo had already prepared his explanation: "What? Am I not allowed to borrow excellent design ideas?"
Ning Zhuo assigned the task of refining Martial Arts Talismans to his subordinates.
These former deacons, all elite Foundation Establishment cultivators, had no trouble refining some Martial Arts Talismans.
Therefore, Ning Zhuo prepared stacks of each type of Martial Arts Talisman, aiming for full combat readiness, never fearing excessive use.
The most critical part was still the internal structure of the mechanical ape.
A high-quality Blood Conversion Pool from the Magma Fairy Palace would be installed in the ape's lung area.
A Blood Oil Bottle, also part of the rewards, would be connected to the Blood Conversion Pool, hanging in the abdomen where the lower elixir field was located.
In the abdomen, next to the Blood Oil Bottle, there was also a Blood Spring Pot.
The Blood Spring Pot stored Ning Zhuo's blood, which would automatically purify the contents of the Blood Oil Bottle using it as a catalyst.
Ning Zhuo's blood served as a standard, and the purified essence blood could be fully absorbed by him, meeting his precise needs.
Ning Zhuo's blood loss would necessitate using elixir pills to heal and quickly replenish blood.
But healing was still preferable over personally purifying essence blood!
Because, during the healing process, Ning Zhuo could simultaneously engage in other cultivation practices, making more efficient use of his time.
Zhu Xuanji and the others kept going deeper into Fire Persimmon Mountain.
Sometimes they used tunnels inside the mountain; other times, they had to carve their own path.
They took turns acting as the vanguard, enduring the most pressure, and tirelessly forging ahead.
Fire Persimmon Mountain was teeming with Red Flame Demon Beasts.
Even though many had perished in a previous frenzy attacking the Magma Fairy Palace, the number of demon beasts remaining within the mountain was still incalculable.
Zhu Xuanji wielded a precious ruler, cutting through all obstacles. The Zheng Family cultivators harnessed geothermal energy, launching fierce assaults. Zhou Family cultivators threw array plates, setting up the battlefield. The Ning Family Ancestor exhaled frosty breath, freezing and killing strong enemies.
The six Golden Core cultivators supported each other, becoming more coordinated with each battle, but they gradually grew weary after several rests.
The deeper they went, the stronger and more numerous the Red Flame Demon Beasts became, continuously attacking them, forcing them to keep fighting and preventing them from resting.
"We've arrived!" Zhu Xuanji shouted, boosting morale.
They finally reached the subterranean lair of the Magma Demon Ape.
Zhu Xuanji immediately noticed the remnants of a Mechanical Demon General.
But the next moment, the king of the demon apes rose and roared.
With that roar, numerous demon ape figures emerged from the flames, heavily surrounding Zhu Xuanji and his group.
"Damn!"
"They actually have five Golden Core level demon apes?"
"The enemy is formidable. Should we retreat?"
The demon apes' physical prowess far surpassed that of the human race. Unless one practiced Body Cultivation, it was almost impossible to compete physically.
None of Zhu Xuanji's group practiced Body Cultivation. Even the Golden Core cultivator from the Zheng Family, Zheng Shuanggou, only practiced it as a secondary discipline.
Zhu Xuanji also wanted to retreat, but the demon ape formation was too dense, ultimately intercepting them.
A life-and-death battle ensued!
Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
Underground secret base.
Amidst the thick, dark clouds, Luo Shang was entwined by several alluring ghostly women.
These female ghosts were highly skilled at arousing desire and absorbing male Yang energy.
Yet, amidst this group of enchantingly beautiful female ghosts, Luo Shang remained indifferent and cold-faced, quietly cultivating dark magic spells!
He was using the female ghosts to aid his cultivation.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open slightly, sensing a faint disturbance.
Instantly, the disturbance expanded, making the space feel as if a door had been pushed open.
Sun Lingtong walked in.
He had to switch locations every so often, moving to the next underground secret base.
This time, it was here.