Under duress, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had no choice but to spill the Imperial Examination content to Ning Zhuo in hurried speech.
Slap slap slap!
"What's that sound?" Ning Zhuo asked.
"Little master, as I divulge the Imperial Examination content to you, I'm being severely punished by the Immortal Palace's fire whip." The situation was extremely urgent, and the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit could no longer care, frantically urging, "Quickly fire the cannons!!"
Only then did Ning Zhuo relent and give the order to fire.
Boom boom boom...
A large number of cannonballs, condensed from Five Elements Mana, flew towards the Golden Furnace.
"Just as I thought!" Zhu Xuanji's eyes suddenly shone with golden light.
He had been prepared for this.
The next moment, the cultivators he had arranged activated a temporary magic array, intercepting quite a few of the Five Elements cannonballs in mid-air.
Zhu Xuanji threw out an Array Plate, instantly creating a Defensive Magic Array that blocked the remaining cannonball attacks.
Meanwhile, he took the opportunity to come in front of the Golden Furnace.
First, he casually killed several Flame Demon Beasts, then he arrived at the ruins of a Golden Furnace.
"The Lava Fairy Palace originally had eight Golden Furnaces, and now only three remain, with five having been used."
"Disregarding the three intact Golden Furnaces, the clue left by Ning Xiaohui lies in the five that were used!"
"I already know the inside story of the first Golden Furnace, no need to investigate."
"What's left are the second, third, fourth, and fifth."
"The damage to the Golden Furnaces is likely in this order. That is to say, the time when the fifth Golden Furnace was damaged is closest to now."
"So, it's this one!"
Innate—Golden Eyes!
Cultivation Technique—Trace Origin Technique.
The next moment, Zhu Xuanji "saw" the past.
He saw a teleportation circle forming out of thin air, then spitting out Yuan Dasheng's corpse.
The door of the Golden Furnace opened automatically, sucking in Yuan Dasheng's corpse.
Immediately after, the Golden Furnace roared to life, and the fierce flames began to burn, starting the refining process.
Along with the smelting, numerous cracks gradually appeared on the surface of the Golden Furnace.
When the refining ended, the Golden Furnace collapsed with a bang, breaking into countless fragments and rubble.
As the dust slowly dispersed, a Mechanical Monkey stood motionless in its place.
"Is this— the Mechanical Monkey from one of the trial stages?!" In an instant, Zhu Xuanji's pupils slightly dilated.
The retrospective image came to an end here.
Zhu Xuanji came back to his senses and found that another round of bombardment had already descended!
Boom boom boom...
Under the barrage of artillery, the intact Golden Furnaces remained unmovable, and numerous Flame Demon Beasts died.
The temporary magic array that Zhu Xuanji had previously set up finally couldn't withstand the onslaught and succumbed to the ravage of the Five Elements Mana.
Zhu Xuanji, cloaked in golden light, stood bathed in the bombardment, yet remained unshaken.
However, a formidable force was pushing him outwards.
Zhu Xuanji felt helpless.
Because this force came from the Immortal Palace Restriction. Now that the Demon Beasts were lost, Zhu Xuanji no longer had any right to stay here.
Zhu Xuanji, having participated in the Imperial Examination to contend for the position of Immortal Palace Master, didn't want to resist such power forcibly, so he had to comply for the time being.
He had just left the Golden Furnace when a Flying Message arrived, hovering slowly in front of him.
It was a letter from Meng Kui!
After reading the Flying Message, Zhu Xuanji smiled slightly, "Is that all?"
He wasn't concerned.
For after Ning Zhuo confessed and submitted to the law, he admitted that Yuan Dasheng's corpse, which he had obtained, was taken by Sun Lingtong!
Han Ming had never seen the true face of the Youthful Guest, only knowing that the Youthful Guest had produced Yuan Dasheng's corpse.
"Righteous Golden Firmness? Yuan Dasheng actually had Immortal Aptitude. No wonder his body still harbored the Demon Path True Scripture after his death."
"Ning Zhuo didn't realize Yuan Dasheng's true value and readily handed over the corpse."
"The Bukong Sect's Sun Lingtong and the Youthful Guest not only obtained the Demon Path True Scripture but also used the Golden Furnace to turn Yuan Dasheng into a Mechanical Monkey."
"That Mechanical Monkey must be the same one in the route of Soul Entering Immortal Palace."
"Previously, everyone speculated that it was a part of the Immortal Palace, one of the three sects' elders' arrangements. Who would have thought, this was Bukong Sect's ploy."
"The Bukong Sect has long coveted the Lava Fairy Palace and has infiltrated deeply, not only able to rename things, but also to add Mechanical Monkeys in the trial stages, obstructing the Renovation Team, and even using the Golden Furnace for their own gain."
"Perhaps, those Mechanical Traps that once troubled all members of the Renovation Team along the route of Soul Entering Immortal Palace were also Bukong Sect's arrangements?"
City Lord's Mansion had already captured two Demon Cultivators from the Soul Devouring Sect (Triangular Eyes, Hawk Nose), so Zhu Xuanji thus believed that both the Youthful Guest and Sun Lingtong were disciples of the Bukong Sect.
"I had already discussed Ning Zhuo's confession with Meng Kui. Now he has sent me Fei Si's report, what does he mean by that?"
"Oh, I understand."
Zhu Xuanji, slightly puzzled at first, then came to a realization.
He glanced up at the sky and snorted coldly, "This old sly fox."
Immediately, Zhu Xuanji wrote a Flying Message and arranged for a messenger, sending it to Meng Kui.
Meng Kui had been waiting, and upon seeing the Flying Message, immediately flew out a large hand to catch it.
After receiving Zhu Xuanji's affirmation, Meng Kui immediately issued an order to Fei Si to take action.
Ning Zhuo still didn't know about Han Ming's self-surrender.
But he did understand that Zhu Xuanji had already explored Golden Furnace Number Five.
This made him realize that the refining of Yuan Dasheng, as well as the Golden Blood Battle Ape Dasheng's exposure.
If Zhu Xuanji was aware of the mechanism "the furnace will self-destruct when refining Immortal Aptitude," then the fact that Yuan Dasheng possessed Immortal Aptitude would also be exposed.
Ning Zhuo felt fortunate for himself, "Luckily, back then in Ciyou Garden, I made the correct decision—to betray Boss Sun and plead guilty to Zhu Xuanji!"
If he had not done this, he would not have been able to opportunistically reveal the secret that "Yuan Dasheng has already been handed over to the Bukong Sect." Without this prior action to defuse the situation, Zhu Xuanji's exploration of Golden Furnace Number Five would have inevitably detonated this hidden danger.
However, Ning Zhuo no longer had the protection of the Buddha Heart Demon Seal!
Even if he could feign compliance temporarily, as long as Zhu Xuanji and others restrained him, making him unable to move freely, he would be unable to take any step forward and would eventually be exposed and defeated.
He was able to pass this temporary safety check because of his earlier actions.
One wrong step and, even if nothing happened at the time, there would be almost no chance to change anything when things went wrong later.
It was Ning Zhuo's foresight as well as his decade-plus of preparation, involving many arrangements within the second-line defenses, that allowed him to survive this calamity.
"Zhu Xuanji is becoming more and more troublesome."
"This guy is actually targeting the Golden Furnace!"
"Today's cannon fire, although it stopped his follow-up actions, also exposed many secrets."
"After this incident, Zhu Xuanji will inevitably realize that the Bukong Sect is very anxious about the Golden Furnace and will be even more convinced that it holds important clues!"
"He will definitely continue to try, and his preparations for the next time will be even more thorough."
"Ah, headache!"
Ning Zhuo was not only facing the palace examination but also needed to continue to cooperate with Sun Lingtong in public and had to deal with Zhu Xuanji who was relentlessly pursuing the truth behind everything!
If Zhu Xuanji were focused on the palace examination, Ning Zhuo's life would be much easier.
But reality and ideals often have a clear gap.
Ning Zhuo could only be forced to divert his energy, constantly paying attention to the movements of Demon Beasts. Once any group of Demon Beasts threatened to attack the Golden Furnace, he had to preemptively launch a cannon fire, trying not to give Zhu Xuanji any opportunities.
"Choosing the position of the turret leader of the Five Elements Turret back then was also a correct move."
The responsibilities of the Five Elements Turret have proved their substantial value time and again.
The position of head of the healing hall was also very useful.
Ning Zhuo went to the Serious Injury Treatment Room for a secret meeting with Sun Lingtong.
He shared all the information about the palace examination that he had just learned from the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit with Sun Lingtong.
He then took out the Golden Core Level Mechanism Monkey and the Golden Blood Battle Ape Dasheng.
In front of Sun Lingtong, Ning Zhuo used the Life Hanging Divine Power to hang Yuan Dasheng's spirit out.
Yuan Dasheng's spirit floated in mid-air, round and plump.
On it appeared the shape of a monkey head, vivid and lifelike.
The monkey head did not make noise but instead watched Ning Zhuo solemnly and respectfully and spoke, "My lord."
Ning Zhuo nodded at him, "There is a task I need you to do."
"In the coming period, I want you to infiltrate this mechanical body and lie in wait. Upon my command, you will launch a counterattack."
After finishing speaking, Ning Zhuo channeled mana into the base of his tongue, where a peculiar flower was hidden.
Mana flowed into the Cloud Concealed Bud within the flower, evoking a stream of smoke.
Ning Zhuo exhaled the smoke towards Yuan Dasheng's spirit.
The smoke enveloped Yuan Dasheng's spirit, turning it semi-transparent as if it was both present and not, and around the sphere of the spirit, numerous cloud patterns emerged.
Ning Zhuo inserted Yuan Dasheng's spirit, now marked with cloud patterns, into the Golden Core Mechanism Monkey.
Ning Zhuo allowed Yuan Dasheng to try using the new body, giving it time to adapt before ordering it to resume hiding.
Finally, Ning Zhuo opened up the Golden Core Mechanism Monkey's body, disassembled many of its parts, and laid them out in the Serious Injury Treatment Room.
After his secret talk with Sun Lingtong, Ning Zhuo returned to his temporary residence and took the initiative to seek an audience with Ning Jiufan.
"Elder Ancestor, with the second round of the palace examination imminent, after much consideration, I still feel that lending this item to you is the most suitable action!"
With these words, Ning Zhuo took out the Golden Core Level Mechanism Monkey and handed it directly to Ning Jiufan.
Ning Jiufan was surprised and instinctively scanned the entire Golden Core Mechanism Monkey with his Divine Sense.
He saw that the mechanism monkey was tall, standing at one zhang and eight chi. Its skeleton and joints were made of Wanji Xuan Iron. Its chest and back were mainly crafted from Redsun Copper. The claws and teeth were sourced from Vajra Stone.
The entire Mechanism Monkey was constructed from high-end materials and was extremely sturdy.
However, despite its imposing exterior, the interior of the Mechanism Monkey was hollow, requiring the insertion of many mechanical components to be activated.
"Little Zhuo, not bad, you've done well," Ning Jiufan stroked his beard, pleased, "Then, I shall accept your filial piety. The second round of the palace examination could indeed require it!"
Since the news of the second round had come down, he had been brainstorming and actively preparing from all aspects.
He had certainly considered the Golden Core Level Mechanism Monkey that Ning Zhuo possessed.
However, considering his position as an elder and for the sake of maintaining the dignity of the Righteous Path, it was not appropriate for him to directly ask Ning Zhuo for it.
This time, Ning Zhuo's initiative to offer it reassured Ning Jiufan, making him feel that Ning Zhuo truly belonged to the Ning Family. His previous actions to protect Ning Zhuo had not been in vain, and now he received a gratifying return.
"This Technique Classic, the 'Ice Carving Secret Scripture,' is the main focus of my studies in Mechanical Techniques, you take it and study it well," Ning Jiufan took out a jade slip from his storage ring.
Ning Zhuo's face lit up with delight, and he hastily took it, expressing his thanks sincerely.
Seeing Ning Jiufan open the Golden Core Mechanism Monkey, Ning Zhuo tactfully took his leave.
In Fire Persimmon Immortal City, City Lord's Mansion.
Fei Si, having received a reply from Meng Kui, immediately began to act.
He entered the dungeon and spoke directly to Han Ming, "According to what you've said, that Youthful Guest used you to enhance his soul's foundation?"
"I don't believe it."
"Come now, demonstrate it on me!"