Crack.
The main hall bore the brunt of the attack, and suddenly a crack burst forth on its surface.
Once the crack appeared, it spread rapidly, almost extending from the bottom to the roof!
This time, the cultivators in the Secret Pavilion of Transition also felt the impact.
The Secret Pavilion shook violently, the ground and mountains quaked.
After the calm, the cultivators were alarmed to discover that the prohibitions suppressing them had weakened significantly.
"My connection with the outside world has mostly been restored."
"The prohibition still exists, but my cultivation level has rebounded to Foundation Establishment Level!"
"Not only that, I can also use the items I carry with me now."
At this moment, the Golden Core Cultivators were ecstatic!
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was cornered by the Fire Whip, curled inside its shell, enduring the lashing.
It became even weaker.
As a Palace Spirit, closely linked to the Lava Fairy Palace, it was certainly not faring well since the palace had taken such a heavy hit.
Yet, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was overjoyed!
It found that it could secretly send messages to all the cultivators participating in the palace trial.
It quickly messaged Meng Chong, warning him of the drastic change. Yang Chanyu was about to regain her combat power, reaching Foundation Establishment Level, and he needed to retreat quickly.
Meng Chong was startled and subconsciously chose to heed the warning.
Yang Chanyu huffed, somewhat reluctantly, "He escaped quickly! Should I have gone after him?"
Sun Lingtong shook his head, "This is not good!"
"Something drastic must have happened outside. The Demon Beast Tide might have already breached into the inner circle of the Immortal Palace."
"Lava Fairy Palace is like a strong crossbow at the end of its rope, showing signs of collapse."
"The prohibition is gradually losing effect, and our advantage is actually diminishing rapidly. Let's hurry and regroup with Ning Zhuo!"
Sun Lingtong was deeply worried.
His cultivation had recovered to the Foundation Establishment Stage, but together with Yang Chanyu, two Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators chasing Meng Chong held an advantage, albeit not a large one.
Meng Chong had deeply developed the Immortal Talent Mad Dash Thunder, and relying on his immortal aptitude, he was inherently capable of fighting across classes.
"If the situation continues to deteriorate and Golden Core Level combat is restored, then Meng Chong will be of no concern."
"Little Zhuo, oh Little Zhuo, where are you?"
"The prohibitions are weakening, can you sense me?"
Sun Lingtong's body, after all, had the Life Hanging Thread planted by Ning Zhuo.
As if hearing Sun Lingtong's call, in a Secret Pavilion of Transition, Ning Zhuo stamped his foot, his eyes flashed with brilliance: "The prohibition has weakened?"
Ning Zhuo secretly stimulated the Life Hanging Thread, and suddenly, his senses sharpened, detecting Sun Lingtong's location.
"Perfect!" He immediately quickened his steps, aimed in the direction, and pushed the door open.
...
"Cough cough cough." Zheng Danlian half-kneeled on the ground, bent over, and spat out mouthfuls of fresh blood.
Three cultivators were constantly surrounding him.
The surrounding mechanical traps had been completely destroyed by the three, leaving no opportunity for Zheng Danlian to utilize them.
Zheng Danlian had tried to retreat, but his various methods were either detected or neutralized.
Shuzhong Jun had broad vision, Song Fuli had abundant techniques, and the main attacker was the Purple Dawn Pavilion Golden Core True Inheritor. He exhibited the Innate Purple Lightning Power, every movement infused with attacks of purple lightning, causing Zheng Danlian immense distress.
The drastic change affected this battle group as well.
The cultivators felt the weakening of the prohibition, and they all regained some of their power, with their cultivation only suppressed to the Foundation Establishment Stage.
"Is this a mechanism change of the third round of the palace trial? Or is the Lava Fairy Palace no longer holding up?"
"The situation outside is probably not good."
"Let's finish him off quickly, and decide the position of the Palace Master. Otherwise, if we drag this on, the Immortal Palace will suffer too much damage, and winning the position of Palace Master will have little value."
The three, Shuzhong Jun, communicated telepathically.
The Purple Dawn Pavilion Golden Core True Inheritor delivered a winning strike!
Fierce purple lightning blasted forth, but was blocked by Zheng Danlian.
This surprised the three cultivators.
After the dust settled, Zheng Danlian was still very weak, half-kneeling on the ground, but suddenly, a Mechanical Giant Snake appeared in front of him.
"Hehehe, hehehehe," Zheng Danlian, with disheveled hair, slowly raised his head.
His eyes, filled with blood vessels, looked at the Mechanical Giant Snake frenziedly and obsessively: "Finally, I am with you again."
"Night Rain Demon Weapons!" Shuzhong Jun and the others' expressions changed instantly.
Previously, in the battle among Golden Cores in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, it was this Mechanical Sickle that had instantly killed a true Golden Core of Taiqing Palace, displaying formidable ferocity.
The three cultivators had not expected that Zheng Danlian, being only at Foundation Establishment Level, could use this Mechanical Sickle!
In their cases, with only Foundation Establishment Level cultivation, it was difficult to activate a Magic Treasure. Even if barely used, it could only exhibit a fraction of its power, rather than the practical combat effect of using a Magic Artifact.
"Die, you all must die!!" Zheng Danlian screamed, his face full of hatred and madness.
The Mechanical Giant Snake hissed, and its figure suddenly disappeared from the spot.
"Be careful!" Shuzhong Jun immediately warned.
But in the next moment, the Mechanical Giant Snake had appeared in front of the Purple Dawn Pavilion Golden Core True Inheritor, biting his arm.
With just a slight effort, a crack was heard, and the Mechanical Giant Snake bit off the Purple Dawn Pavilion Golden Core's arm.
The Purple Dawn Pavilion Golden Core staggered back!
Blood gushed from the severed arm.
His face full of shock, "Be careful, this is not just any Night Rain Demon Weapon!"
Zheng Danlian threw his head back and laughed out loud: "Hahaha, kill them!"
The Mechanical Giant Snake lunged at Shuzhong Jun.
Shuzhong Jun's face was stern: "I'll stop it!"
"Good!" Song Fuli immediately rushed towards Zheng Danlian.
...
Lava Fairy Palace, the main hall.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit continuously messaged Meng Chong, guiding him on the most correct route.
Soon, Meng Chong pushed open the door, and saw that the last remaining Golden Core Cultivator of the Meng Family was entering through a door at the same time.
"Meng Chong Young Master! I've finally found you!!" The Meng Family Golden Core Cultivator was overjoyed to see Meng Chong.
Meng Chong nodded at him, increasingly convinced that the message was correct.
"Quickly tell me, where are those two people from the Bukong Sect?" Meng Chong asked.
The Meng Family Golden Core Cultivator looked bewildered, "Ah?"
Meng Chong waved his hand at him, "I wasn't asking you."
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit fell silent for a moment, quickly thinking.
It too wanted to weaken Ning Zhuo's strength, ultimately eliminating him. Clearly, dealing with the Sun Yang duo from the Bukong Sect early and eliminating them would significantly weaken Ning Zhuo's side.
"But, with just Meng Chong and the Meng Family Golden Core, facing Ning Zhuo, facing Sun Yang, do they really have the advantage?"
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit wasn't sure.
Though it could pass messages in, that was already its utmost limit. The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit still couldn't lie, still couldn't expose the Cultivators' intelligence in the trial.
It simply continued to send messages to Meng Chong, directing him to move forward, planning out the safest route for him.
Meng Chong, thinking he could catch up to Sun Yang by following the message, was extremely excited and rushed to the front.
"Young Master, wait for me," the Meng Family Golden Core Cultivator chased frantically behind Meng Chong.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit looked worried.
Because it noticed Ning Zhuo was quickly moving closer to Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu.
"What a disaster! Is it a Life Hanging Thread sensation?"
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit gritted its teeth and sent a message to Zhu Xuanji.
Upon hearing it, Zhu Xuanji's expression slightly changed, "Tell me to choose the left door? This message is suspicious."
"But never mind, I want to see what trickery lies ahead!"
Zhu Xuanji, audacious and skilled, chose to heed the message. He quickened his pace, rushing through several Secret Pavilions of Transition, and stumbled upon...
"Sun Lingtong, Yang Chanyu!" Zhu Xuanji took a deep breath and chuckled lightly, "Very good, very good."
Sun Lingtong cursed, "What rotten luck."
Yang Chanyu narrowed her eyes, "Lord Zhu, you're perhaps too overconfident. Even if the prohibitions weakened us somewhat, we both possess Foundation Establishment Level combat strength. Two against one, you stand alone."
As she spoke, she sent a message to Sun Lingtong, "What do we do now?"
Sun Lingtong grimaced, "What can we do? Retreat first."
...
"Brother Ning, it's your turn to choose a door now. Which one do you think we should go through?" Zheng Shuanggou asked with a smile.
A battle had just ended.
Ning Jiufan and Zheng Shuanggou together had slain the guardian Flame Demon Beast.
A Foundation Establishment Level Demon Beast was somewhat challenging for Zheng Shuanggou and Ning Jiufan.
However, as the prohibition weakened, the two Cultivators suddenly regained their Foundation Establishment Stage level, immediately changing the tide of the battle.
Ning Jiufan was busily dismantling the Flame Demon Beast, carefully collecting its skin, muscles, bones, and blood, etc. He kept some for himself and gave some to Zheng Shuanggou.
Since their meeting, they had joined forces to advance.
As Ning Jiufan packed up the spoils, he said, "Which door to choose doesn't really matter. Hmm, that door right in front of us looks fine, let's choose that one."
Zheng Shuanggou nodded, "Okay."
Before he finished speaking, the door directly in front was suddenly pushed open.
Meng Chong, high in battle spirit, rushed in first, followed by the hurried Meng Family Golden Core Cultivator.
The two groups faced each other.
After a moment of silence, both parties quickly realized the situation and took their combat stances.
Zheng Shuanggou and Ning Jiufan against Meng Chong and the Meng Family Golden Core!
...
Ning Zhuo's pace hastened.
"Something's wrong!" As he continued to sense, he noticed that Sun Lingtong's location hadn't moved for quite some time.
Now, with the prohibition weakened and the Cultivator's strength partly restored,
the difficulty of the Secret Pavilion itself was much lower compared to underground.
"Boss Sun shouldn't be stuck in the same place for so long. Likely, he's encountered a formidable enemy!"
"I must meet up with him quickly."
"Hang in there, Boss!"
...
Under the guidance of the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, two battles commenced.
While an earlier battle had already reached its conclusion.
Shuzhong Jun gasped for breath, blood-soaked, lying on the ground, only his lower half remaining.
He stared fiercely at the Mechanical Giant Snake.
The Mechanical Giant Snake was swallowing.
It was swallowing none other than the lower half of Shuzhong Jun!
"Unexpectedly, I was defeated by a weapon!" Shuzhong Jun's face showed a desolate expression as he shook his head.
He weakly spoke, "I concede."
The next moment, a transportation circle spontaneously appeared, quickly engulfing him.
Zheng Danlian, stooped, looked at Song Fuli, "Now, only you remain."
"Hehehe, hahaha."
"Snake, go eat him!"
"Damn it!" Song Fuli, severely injured, saw the Mechanical Giant Snake pounce, his expression tense as he forcefully pushed out both palms, emitting a cloud of smoke.
The Mechanical Giant Snake crashed into the smoke, missing its mark.
Its entire body was covered with flexible cloud strands.
The Mechanical Giant Snake struggled frantically on the spot, snapping the strands one by one, swiftly regaining its freedom.
Taking advantage of this, Song Fuli hastily retreated and crashed into a door, entering the next Secret Pavilion.
"You can't escape! Snake, let's chase!! Hahaha." Zheng Danlian's despondence vanished, his face flushed with excitement.
After being able to use his personal props, he consumed many Elixir Pills, having mostly healed his injuries.
Thus, this battle temporarily came to an end.
Related information reached the ears of other Cultivators—
"Zheng Danlian battles Shuzhong Jun, Purple Dawn Pavilion Golden Core True Inheritor, and Song Fuli, emerging victorious. Shuzhong Jun, Purple Dawn Pavilion Golden Core True Inheritor eliminated!"