Zhu Xuanji sighed disappointedly, then seemed to remember something and asked, "At that time, where did Brother Zheng Danlian and that mad Foundation Establishment Cultivator fight?"
Zheng Shuanggou remembered this very clearly and directly told Zhu Xuanji the answer.
With this clue and the mechanical diagram, Zhu Xuanji finally turned and left.
Ning Zhuo wandered for a long time, feasting his eyes.
After leaving Cloud City and returning home, he resumed his cultivation.
After demonstrating the cultivation of the Four-Layer Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, he sat cross-legged on a mat, veiled in misty clouds, with eyes closed, shoulder hunched, head lowered—once more his soul entered the Immortal Palace.
Room number one of the Immortal Palace contained a large number of mechanical puppets.
Some gathered together in groups, while others lined up, successively passing through the first doorway.
"Greetings, brother. Why does your appearance differ from ours?" A passerby inquired as Ning Zhuo jumped off a small hill of mechanical parts.
Ning Zhuo chuckled, "I am Ning Zhuo of the Ning Family. Do you know me?"
"Ah?" The questioner exclaimed, nodding repeatedly. "So it's Young Master Ning Zhuo. I have long heard of your great name."
Ning Zhuo pointed to his large head, "This is the manifestation of my talent. As for what kind of talent, even I do not know. The main line of the Ning Family is still preparing a test for me, but it's not ready yet."
Ning Zhuo's appearance caused a stir among the people.
He walked towards the first portal, and the puppets all voluntarily made way.
"Thank you, everyone." Ning Zhuo cupped his hands in thanks, took the spirit stones as a reward, and left room number one.
"It's my first time seeing Ning Zhuo."
"The genius youth of the Ning Family is so approachable!"
"Ha, approachable? You must be mistaken about the Black Market Master's son. These scions of great cultivation families smile on the surface, but they are ruthless when they strike."
"Today, seeing him in person, the famous Ning Zhuo is nothing special."
"The fact that the Monkey Head Gang wiped out the Poisonous Snake Gang overnight was due to Ning Zhuo's handiwork. Do you still think he's nothing special?!"
In room number two, there were still many puppets clearing obstacles.
It's worth mentioning that Ning Zhuo had voluntarily canceled the traps he had set long ago, greatly reducing the difficulty of rooms like the second one.
This move sparked a lot of speculation among the four directional powers of Fire Persimmon Immortal City. The most mainstream guess was that when people like Meng Chong reached a certain checkpoint, it signaled that the difficulty of previous checkpoints no longer constituted a test, so he canceled them.
Another mainstream guess was that the Three Ancestral Masters were benevolent to the world. Not only did they screen and train elite disciples, but they also took care of the trial disciples with less aptitude, letting them keep up with the leaders, maintaining hope while also placing pressure on the leaders from the followers chasing behind.
Little did they know, Ning Zhuo canceled the traps because he found them cumbersome. He realized that the traps had less effect as more people passed through and maintaining them would take up a lot of his time and energy, so he canceled them.
The farther he went, the fewer mechanical puppets there were in the rooms.
When Ning Zhuo reached the first central hall, he was alone.
Under the protection of Golden Blood Battle Ape·Dasheng and Netherworld Envoy·Qi Bai, he met with Sun Lingtong once again.
Considering that Ning Zhuo was likely monitored by many Golden Core Cultivators, they had only this one communication channel left.
Sun Lingtong asked about Cloud Merchant and Cloud City, and Ning Zhuo told him about his procurement experience.
"I bought you a Somersault Cloud and a Seven-Colored Auspicious Cloud for Yang Chanyu."
Sun Lingtong complained, "Why did you buy something for her!"
Ning Zhuo sighed, "Sigh, during the Golden Core melee, she indeed contributed a lot."
"Without the fake True Scripture she personally forged, our plan might have been exposed at the very beginning."
"Give this cloud to her. I believe it will make her happy and maybe persuade her to reduce some of her charges, which would be good."
Sun Lingtong looked at Ning Zhuo and instantly realized that Ning Zhuo had seen through his previous lie about heavily paying Yang Chanyu to assist.
Ning Zhuo intended to use this Magical Treasure-level Seven-Colored Auspicious Cloud to lessen Sun Lingtong's burden.
"Stop doing these useless things. What a waste of money! Can the Seven-Colored Auspicious Cloud be returned?" Sun Lingtong asked.
Ning Zhuo's tone deepened, "Boss, just tell me honestly, what exactly did you promise to get Yang Chanyu to agree to help?"
"Ha ha ha. The weather is nice today! The sun is splendid." Sun Lingtong looked around evasively.
Ning Zhuo snorted and did not continue the topic.
Although they were in the Magma Fairy Palace, Sun Lingtong talked about the weather and the sun. It was clear he wanted to use this absurd answer to convey his attitude.
Ning Zhuo could only compromise and put his questions aside for the time being.
"These Somersault Clouds, Seven-Colored Auspicious Clouds, I'll hand them over to you when I get another chance to enter the Immortal Palace."
"For now, the Magma Fairy Palace appears to be a relatively safe place. After all, few have enough mechanical skills to enter the palace." Ning Zhuo said.
Sun Lingtong nodded, "Zhu Xuanji seems to have set his eyes on you."
"As a Divine Hunter with many years of experience, even if he hasn't found your evidence, his excessive experience may have developed a certain intuition."
"Little Zhuo, although your plan is highly risky, you should indeed act quickly."
"I'll let you use Netherworld Envoy·Qi Bai. I won't interfere personally; the more people involved, the more chaotic it becomes for you."
Ning Zhuo nodded, waving goodbye to Sun Lingtong.
This time, his main objective was to pave the path through the gates!
He, along with Netherworld Envoy·Qi Bai and Golden Blood Battle Ape·Dasheng, cleared the way.
The checkpoints along the way posed no obstacle to him. For each reward option, Ning Zhuo chose spirit stones.
Even the leaderboard rewards were no exception; he chose spirit stones.
Ning Zhuo maximized his spirit stone reserves!
The third gate.
He pushed the door open...
The third to last checkpoint.
The second to last checkpoint.
The final checkpoint!
Ning Zhuo broke through using brute force; his spell proficiency was not enough, so he spent spirit stones to refine a huge amount of spiritual power, winning through sheer quantity!
After spending over half an hour, he finally succeeded in single-handedly clearing the final checkpoint.
He left Golden Blood Battle Ape·Dasheng and Netherworld Envoy·Qi Bai at the second to last checkpoint.
There was no other way, as having an extra helper would increase the difficulty of the final checkpoint several-fold.
This checkpoint tested the spellcasting ability of the trial disciple himself.
Ning Zhuo entered the final reward room of the gate.
As soon as he stepped inside, he was rewarded with the Foundation Establishment Method focusing on the Middle Dantian.
Up until now, he had collected all three Foundation Establishment Methods, ready for the final fusion to form the comprehensive Three Superior Sect Techniques Foundation Establishment!
Using this Foundation Building Method meant truly cultivating all Three Elixir Fields simultaneously!
Among the numerous job badges hanging on the wall, Ning Zhuo had already set his sights on one after communicating with the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit.
Without hesitation, he took the top badge from the wall.
Five Elements Turret Commander!
It was also a high-ranking second-rank position.
"Young Master, you did it! You finally did it!" The excited voice of the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit rang out instantly.
"I noticed your arrival earlier, but seeing you busy clearing checkpoints, I didn't dare to disturb you," the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit explained.
Ning Zhuo nodded, "No more idle chatter."
"Execute our predetermined plan."
"Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, open the Five Elements Turret for me!"
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit responded immediately, "Little Spirit obeys."
Although it didn't have sufficient authority, after Ning Zhuo became the Turret Commander and authorized it, it could fully activate the turret.
The next moment.
In the Magma Fairy Palace, a three-story turret suddenly began to rise.
With the sound of mechanical gears turning, the turret clicked into place at a certain height, becoming fixed.
The turret, which had risen, now reached six stories high.
"What's going on?" Many Cultivators in the Immortal Palace watched in alarm at this massive commotion, casting spells to look far and saw the taller Five Elements Turret.
Then, under countless astonished gazes, the windows on each floor of the six-story turret opened, extending thick, sturdy cannons.
Most of the cannons were at the Magic Artifact level, but the much larger main cannon was at the Magical Treasure level, with one on each floor.
The enormous black cannon barrels exuded an aura of dominance.
"It looks like something big is about to happen!" The watching Cultivators couldn't help but feel a sense of rising tension.
In the reward room.
Ning Zhuo's voice was as hard as iron, "Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, fully infuse mana, prepare for firing."
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit's voice also became steely, "Mana infusion complete, turret ready."
Ning Zhuo clenched his fist and decisively ordered, "Fire!"
Bang!!!
The simultaneous firing made the cannon sounds merge into one.
Hundreds of five-colored mana-formed round cannonballs shot in all directions.
They traced arcs in mid-air, plunging into the lava of Fire Persimmon.
They kept burrowing into the mountain, recklessly blasting through numerous tunnels.
Then they exploded among the many demon beast communities!
Bang, bang, bang...
This time, the explosions did not merge into one but erupted continuously.
The multi-colored mana shockwaves spread fiercely in all directions, obliterating everything in their path!
Countless Red Flame Demon Beasts turned to dust in the explosions.
The entire Fire Persimmon Mountain trembled as never before!
The ground quaked, the mountain shook!
Lava surged skyward, reaching hundreds of feet high.
Ferocious flames roared, forming a giant fire column that covered the entire mountain top.
This hell of blazing flames carried unparalleled destructive power, making heaven and earth tremble, threatening to engulf all life!
Even Meng Kui, who had been sitting in meditation, was dumbfounded by this hellish scene, even for a Nascent Soul.
"Wh-what's happening?"
"How dare the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit do this!!"
"It's gone mad, completely mad!!!"
In an instant, Meng Kui recalled the earlier scene at the Mountain Gaze.
He suddenly understood, "That Dragon Turtle withdrew its limbs, disregarding the breaking of the lava slab, even risking falling into the lava."
"It's going all out to break free!"