Peak of the third level in qi refining!
Zheng Jian's soul was drawn into the palace.
The instant he received this information, his innate Heart-Piercing Insight was triggered as well.
"Through Room One, enter Room Two?"
Subconsciously, he activated the Five Elements Qi Regulation Technique.
Moments later, he touched the portal and, when selecting a reward, focused again, hoping to stimulate his Heart-Piercing Insight.
Nothing happened.
Zheng Jian wasn’t discouraged.
After a quick analysis, he selected the mechanical component, the Hanging Loop.
Although he wasn’t skilled in mechanical arts, he possessed extensive experience in artifact refining, and he quickly deduced the proper usage.
But just as he was about to push open the door, an overwhelming sense of terror surged through his heart!
"Death! I’ll die! I’ll die!!"
The intuition granted by Heart-Piercing Insight shook him to his core.
Zheng Jian gritted his teeth, drawing forth more courage: "So, behind this door lies something deadly?"
"How will I know unless I see it with my own eyes?"
He pushed the door open.
He stepped inside.
Crash!
He was shattered.
…
In the dungeon.
Ning Zhuo gently extended the chain length and said to Han Ming, "You've endured hardship these past few days. Rest well."
All this time, he had restrained Han Ming with chains, keeping her standing.
Since Han Ming’s change in attitude and her cooperation in yielding her soul essence to Ning Zhuo, he had gradually relaxed the constraints.
This time, he lengthened the chains, allowing Han Ming to lie down on the ground.
Han Ming, exhausted, collapsed to the ground, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
Ning Zhuo absorbed all the soul essence from the Soul Capturing Shuttle, discovering that his soul power had reached nearly fifty times its initial level!
"My soul foundation, golden silk jade dew cakes, and various elixirs have kept my spirit cultivation at high speed."
"Demonic techniques are inherently the fastest, yet the Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Technique isn’t far behind in speed."
Now, Ning Zhuo had cultivated both techniques to the first level.
This was the fastest progress he had ever made.
Nearly every day, his improvement was visible to the naked eye.
This intense progress kept him utterly absorbed in cultivation.
…
Zheng Jian pushed open the first door with all his might.
Bang.
Zhou Zhu gritted his teeth, slamming open the first door.
Bang.
Zheng Jian: "Hmph, I’ll try a new approach. This time, I’ll use the Hanging Loop wire to shield me from the overhead hammer. It should buy me some time."
Bang.
Zhou Zhu: "Following Shen’s instructions, I should be able to make a breakthrough this time."
Bang.
…
First place on all five leaderboards!
Essence refinement, second level; spirit refinement, second level.
Ning Zhuo joyfully accepted his rewards.
Selecting spiritual stones was a must, and he chose them twice.
Instantly, he had two hundred spiritual stones in his possession.
It couldn’t be helped—since Zhou Zhu and Zheng Jian’s arrival, Ning Zhuo’s traps had been depleting even faster.
With his remaining three choices, Ning Zhuo selected two spell techniques and one mechanical component.
He had already confirmed that if he chose techniques he already knew, the additional experience and understanding saved him significant time and effort, making it the most economical choice.
As for the mechanical component, he verified his previous speculation: components chosen from the leaderboard could be treated as inheritances, left for the next exploration attempt.
However, most of the mechanical components Ning Zhuo redeemed were used to set traps.
…
Ning Zhuo’s setup caused Zhou Zhu and Zheng Jian’s exploratory experience to descend from surprise to shock, then pain, and finally despair.
"Why… why is it so difficult?!"
"How long has it been, and we still can’t even pass the first door?"
Zheng Jian and Zhou Zhu exchanged glances.
They had already crossed paths and confirmed each other’s identities.
"This isn’t working. Zhou Zhu, the only way forward is to cooperate," Zheng Jian suggested.
Zhou Zhu nodded, "Alright, you go first."
Zheng Jian paused, staring at him, "Are you kidding? You’re built like a pillar. If we rush together, you can hold back the heavy hammer, giving me time to get across."
"Why shouldn’t you hold it for me?" Zhou Zhu countered.
Neither could convince the other, and they reached an impasse.
Neither was willing to sacrifice for the other.
…
Through concealed mechanical components, Ning Zhuo observed this scene afterward.
"It seems the day of cooperation between the Zhou family, Zheng family, and the City Lord’s mansion is drawing near." Ning Zhuo saw this clearly.
It was inevitable.
Without cooperation, they couldn’t even pass the first door.
Only through cooperation was there hope.
In fact, the Zhou and Zheng family upper echelons had reached a consensus, believing that sincere cooperation was the key to passing the assessment!
Zhou Family: "The Sage of the Three Sects is showing mercy, encouraging us to coexist peacefully and collaborate."
Zheng Family: "It must be so. News of the Lava Immortal Palace’s emergence has already spread."
"We must seize this opportunity and work together, striving to secure the palace before the outside world reacts."
After coming to an agreement, the Zhou and Zheng families secretly contacted the City Lord’s mansion.
Meng Chong was approached, and after learning of the two families’ intentions, he scoffed coldly, "Only the weak huddle together; true strength moves alone!"
Meng Chong, fresh from intensive training, was once again drawn into the Lava Immortal Palace.
Under the eager watch of the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, he pushed the door open and entered.
Click!
A faint sound, and electric arcs shot forth.
The net trap sprang, but it was a moment too slow.
The heavy hammer struck, missing its mark.
Between the walls, tenacious transparent threads stretched in all directions.
Meng Chong identified each thread’s position and slipped through every gap, navigating past all obstacles!
He stood proudly before the second door, "Hmph, so Room Two is no big deal."
He selected the spiritual stone reward, then pushed hard, stepping into Room Three.
Inside Room Three, thirty or forty martial puppets raised their heads in unison, each pair of eyes glowing with a blinding yellow light.
These were all puppets that Ning Zhuo had painstakingly frozen and transported from later levels to Room Three.
Meng Chong:…
Moments later, his soul returned to his body.
After using his Immortal Talent too frequently, Meng Chong’s cheekbones were prominent, and dark circles had begun to turn a purplish blue.
"Room Three… is even harder!" He glared, attempting to get up and resume cultivation.
But exhaustion overwhelmed him, and as soon as he tried to rise, his vision went black, and he fell asleep instantly.
…
"Indeed, a supreme talent." After watching Meng Chong’s progress, Ning Zhuo sighed in admiration.
"Although Meng Chong is still operating solo, his success will undoubtedly spur on the Zhou and Zheng families to join forces."
"Knowing the truth, these three forces will surely urge others to switch cultivation methods."
"Which means that soon, I’ll be up against more and more teams of cultivators."
Ning Zhuo was beginning to feel the pressure.
As the number of people increased, so did the complexity of another issue: the likelihood of Ning Zhuo’s entry and exit from the Immortal Palace being discovered would increase significantly.
On this day, he entered the Lava Immortal Palace once more.
"What’s going on?!" Upon entering Room Two, he found all the traps destroyed.
The Thousand-Pound Hammer Stand had been pushed to the wall.
The horizontal logs were all snapped.
The place was a complete mess.
Hurriedly, he retrieved the hidden mechanical components to review the previous scenes.
In the next moment, Ning Zhuo’s heart and mind shook violently.