Lava Immortal Palace.
Room One.
A series of puppet parts assembled one by one, connecting to form several humanoid figures.
Soon, the puppets of Zhou Zhu, Zheng Jian, Ning Xiaohui, and Ning Zhuo gathered together, each scrutinizing the others.
Zhou Zhu was tall and robust, Zheng Jian had several wooden hooks surrounding him, and Ning Xiaohui's hands were intricately designed, visibly distinct from the rest of her body.
As for Ning Zhuo...
“Wow, your head is huge!” Zhou Zhu exclaimed.
Zheng Jian nodded slightly, “Looking at you like this, it seems you truly possess some hidden talent.”
After numerous deaths, Zhou Zhu and Zheng Jian had gradually learned much, including the connection between puppet forms and innate talent.
“What kind of talent leads to a large head?” Zhou Zhu asked.
“Many types,” Ning Xiaohui replied. “For instance, Clear Spirit Platform, Exceptional Intelligence, Deep Wisdom Root, Brilliant Thoughts, and Gifted Insight…”
Though she spoke calmly, she was inwardly amazed; Ning Zhuo truly possessed innate talent, one well-suited to mechanical arts.
With his abundant spiritual sense, upon reaching Foundation Establishment, Ning Zhuo’s spiritual sense would evolve into divine sense, enabling him to control spirit beasts, gu, souls, and even Dao soldiers, zombie puppets, and other constructs.
“Is that so?”
“My head does seem a bit larger than yours,” Ning Zhuo remarked with a delighted tone, glancing around and patting his head.
Since the evening banquet, when Ning Zhuo had slightly displayed his spiritual sense advantage, he had stirred others’ curiosity.
His unusually abundant spiritual sense hinted at a related talent.
But testing innate talent was no simple task, and many rare talents were difficult to detect.
Zhou Zeshen thought up an idea, “We could use soul entry into the Immortal Palace.”
“Based on what we know of the palace, our puppet forms reflect our innate talents, each bearing unique features.”
“If Brother Ning truly has innate talent, it should manifest here.”
“Since the Lava Immortal Palace was one of the Sages of the Three Sects’ residences, testing talents shouldn’t be an issue!”
Everyone agreed with this suggestion and decided to disband for now, go home, and then reunite, setting a time to soul-enter the Immortal Palace together.
Thus, they all stood around Ning Zhuo, examining his large head.
Ning Zhuo had no choice but to display his innate talent.
Once he soul-entered the Immortal Palace, his large head would surely attract attention, a trait that stood out too much!
In the future, with more soul-entering the palace, comparisons would highlight the uniqueness of puppets with such anomalies.
It was better for Ning Zhuo to expose himself early to influence how others perceived him.
Fortunately, there were many types of talents that could explain the large head trait.
Some talents required rigorous testing methods and considerable resources to verify, making it hard for Ning Zhuo to be forced into prematurely disclosing his Early Wisdom Talent.
“So now, the Ning family has dual talents, just like my Zhou family,” Zhou Zhu thought to himself.
Zheng Jian felt even more burdened.
The Zheng family only had him as a talent, while the other two families had two.
At this rate, the Zheng family was likely to fall behind.
Reflecting on this, Zheng Jian quickly said, “Now that our three families are united, Brother Ning’s talent revelation is truly something to celebrate!”
“After all, our real adversary is Meng Chong.”
“He possesses Immortal Talent, and even with Zhou Zeshen on our side, he’s a tough opponent.”
Zheng Jian emphasized their formidable opponent, fostering unity among the three families.
Zhou Zhu, feeling the same, added, “We once saw Meng Chong push open the door like a flash of lightning, winding through Room Two to enter Room Three in an instant.”
“With such skill, he must have ventured deep into the Immortal Palace, progressing much farther than we have.”
Ning Xiaohui scoffed, refusing to solely boost their rival, “But didn’t Meng Chong recently pass out? Clearly, as the palace inheritance progresses, the difficulty escalates, becoming too much even for him.”
Ning Zhuo nodded, “Immortal Talent is indeed powerful!”
“Let’s claim our rewards and proceed.”
“Agreed,” Zhou Zhu nodded.
The four touched the door one after another, each selecting their reward.
Zheng Jian had just intended to show Ning Zhuo how to use the Hanging Loop when Ning Zhuo tilted his head, thought for a moment, and exclaimed, “Ah, so that’s how it works, I understand!”
With that, Ning Zhuo fired a colored drill at the wall, where it firmly embedded.
Zheng Jian felt a jolt. Ning Zhuo’s pace of figuring things out surpassed his own.
“Did he already receive intelligence that we gathered?” Zheng Jian wondered.
“I’ll guide you; here’s how it’s done,” Ning Zhuo offered as he saw Ning Xiaohui struggling.
“No need!” Ning Xiaohui retorted, coldly.
The next moment, she managed to fire her colored drill too.
Though successful, Ning Xiaohui felt unsettled, thinking, “I could figure this out quickly due to shared intel from the Zhou and Zheng families. Ning Zhuo, however, hasn’t accessed any of this…”
Zhou Zhu only dared to open the door slightly.
“If I open it any further, the spears will shoot through the gap,” Zhou Zhu explained confidently. “This is the maximum safe opening!”
Zheng Jian sighed softly, “When we first entered to explore, this mechanism didn’t exist. With each attempt, the difficulty of the Immortal Palace’s trials rises.”
Ning Zhuo nodded, “I see.”
Zhou Zhu continued, “After opening the door, our legs will be bound, and a heavy hammer will crush us to pieces.”
“If we try to rush through quickly, we’ll be caught in a net, dragged back, and crushed by the hammer again.”
“Walking along the wall, countless sharp spears will pierce us or push us into the middle for the hammer to finish us off.”
Ning Xiaohui listened in silence.
Suddenly, Ning Zhuo spoke, “I have an idea we could try.”
“Before that, can I ask if we can use the other mechanisms in the room?” he asked, pretending not to know.
Zheng Jian shook his head, “No.”
“Alright then, if I can’t use those, I’ll have to rely on you. Would you kindly disassemble yourselves?” Ning Zhuo proposed.
“Huh?” Zhou Zhu was baffled.
“You really have a plan?” Zheng Jian inquired.
“Of course, but I can’t guarantee success,” Ning Zhuo replied.
Zheng Jian chuckled, “It’s worth a try no matter what. What’s the plan?”
Ning Zhuo revealed his idea.
Zheng Jian and Zhou Zhu exchanged bewildered looks, while Ning Xiaohui took three steps back, shaking her head, refusing firmly, “No, I won’t do that!”
Moments later, a monstrous four-headed, eight-armed, eight-legged puppet pushed open the door.
Its enormous frame stood steady in the passage, using a part of its body as a shield against the spears.
Then, with its eight hands raised high, it caught the falling hammer.
Unable to reach its full height, the hammer lost momentum and was shifted to the side by the creature’s interference.
However, this maneuver left three of the puppet’s arms shattered under the weight.
“We did it! We succeeded!” Zhou Zhu cheered, his head bobbing with joy.
Zheng Jian, deep in thought, murmured, “This confirms it. The Sage of the Three Sects surely intended for us to cooperate. His meticulous arrangements reflect his ways.”
“Hey, what are you all waiting for? Quickly disassemble us!” Ning Xiaohui’s head protested.
Her head was awkwardly positioned beneath her arm, every move of her limb pressing uncomfortably against her forehead.
“Oh, I’ll get to it right away,” Ning Zhuo said quickly.
“The idea of having to pass through the first gate this way every time is dreadful,” Ning Xiaohui complained.
“If it works, it’s good enough,” Zheng Jian replied.
Zhou Zhu added, “Exactly! Miss Ning, your head’s only under your arm. Mine was… well, somewhere lower; did I complain?”
“Apologies, apologies. Next time, we’ll put Brother Zheng on the bottom,” Ning Zhuo offered.
Zheng Jian hesitated, “This arrangement could be reconsidered…”
“I’ll never pass in front of others like this!” Ning Xiaohui exclaimed.
Soon, everyone returned to their original puppet forms.
Ning Xiaohui’s arms were broken, Zhou Zhu’s body was riddled with holes from the spears, while Zheng Jian and Ning Zhuo’s puppet bodies were relatively intact.
“Brother Ning, impressive! I see you in a new light,” Zheng Jian said excitedly, patting Ning Zhuo’s shoulder.
Zhou Zhu gazed around, moved by the memory of finally standing proudly on the other side of the door.
“It’s all thanks to him,” Zhou Zhu’s opinion of Ning Zhuo rose further.
Ning Xiaohui remained silent.
“Shall we continue to the next trial?” Ning Zhuo suggested.
“Absolutely! I’m eager to see what lies ahead in the second stage,” Zheng Jian laughed.
Zhou Zhu said, “Brother Ning, you go last. We’ll scout ahead.”
Ning Xiaohui offered no objection.
Though their time together had been short, Ning Zhuo’s actions had already won the others over.
Shortly after, Zheng Jian and the others fell into concealed pits, their senses dulled, trapped in endless darkness, their cries unheard.
These traps were ones Ning Zhuo had specifically set.
He anticipated this situation.
Since no one could observe him now, he used spells and the Hanging Loop to effortlessly pass through Room Two.
After all, most of the mechanisms were his own designs.
Reaching Room Three, Ning Zhuo immediately activated several martial puppets.
He summoned Yuan Dasheng to shield him.
This time, without even casting spells, he walked through Room Three and arrived at the ready room.
Passing the leaderboard, he glanced at it with a sigh.
Here lay a critical flaw.
He had changed his name, leading all five leaderboards with Yuan Dasheng removed from the rankings.
If he entered the ready room publicly, it would seem odd for “Ning Zhuo” not to appear on the leaderboard.
Seeing this would arouse suspicion among others.
“Fortunately, Yuan Dasheng is guarding Room Three. Whether Meng Chong can surpass this barrier remains uncertain.”
“But for the combined exploration team of the three families, advancing without exceptional speed will be exceedingly challenging.”