Zhu Xuanji sighed in disappointment, then recalled something and asked, “Where did the battle between Dao Brother Zheng Danlian and that mad Foundation Establishment cultivator take place?”

Zheng Shuanggou remembered this clearly and directly told Zhu Xuanji the answer.

With this clue and the mechanism blueprints, Zhu Xuanji finally turned and left.

Ning Zhu wandered for a long time, his eyes feasting on the sights.

Leaving the Cloud Market and returning home, he resumed his cultivation.

After demonstrating the fourth layer of the Five Elements Qi Regulation Technique, he sat cross-legged on a cushion, enveloped in a cloud of mystic energy, his eyes closed, his shoulders slumped, and his head bowed – his soul once again entering the Immortal Palace.

In room one of the Immortal Palace, there were a great number of automaton puppets.

Some of these figures were gathered in groups, others were queuing, passing through the first door one after another.

“Brother, excuse me, how come your appearance is different from ours?” Ning Zhu jumped down from the small mountain of mechanical components, and a passerby asked.

Ning Zhu chuckled, “I am Ning Zhu of the Ning family, do you know of me?”

“Ah?” The questioning puppet exclaimed, nodding repeatedly, “So it is Young Master Ning Zhu, I have long heard of your illustrious name.”

Ning Zhu pointed to his large head: “This is the manifestation of my innate talent. As for what kind of talent, I do not know either. The main branch of the Ning family has been preparing a test for me, but it is not yet ready.”

Ning Zhu’s appearance caused more people to whisper in low voices.

As he walked towards the first door, the automaton puppets all actively made way for him.

“Thank you, everyone.” Ning Zhu cupped his hands in thanks, received spirit stones as a reward, and left room one.

“This is the first time I’ve seen Ning Zhu.”

“The genius young master of the Ning family is actually so approachable!”

“Heh heh, approachable? You probably have some misunderstanding about the Lord of the Black Market. These young masters from cultivation great clans usually smile sweetly, but they can be quite ruthless when they actually strike.”

“Seeing him today, the famous Ning Zhu is nothing special, there’s nothing to him.”

“The Monkey Head Gang annihilating the Viper Gang overnight was Ning Zhu’s doing, wasn’t it? You actually think he’s nothing special?!”

In room two, there were still many automaton puppets attempting to pass the challenge.

It is worth noting that a long time ago, Ning Zhu had voluntarily removed the mechanical traps he had added, greatly reducing the difficulty of clearing room two and beyond.

This had sparked numerous speculations among the four major forces of Fire Persimmon Immortal City. The most prevalent guess was that when Meng Chong and others reached a certain checkpoint, they would indicate that the difficulty of the previous checkpoints no longer constituted a test and tempering, and thus would voluntarily remove them.

Another relatively popular guess was that the Revered Masters of the Three Sects were bestowing blessings upon the masses. They not only screened and honed the elite disciples but also took care of the trial disciples with insufficient aptitude, allowing them to keep up with the frontrunners, preserving hope while also maintaining pressure on the frontrunners from the chasing successors.

Little did they know, Ning Zhu simply found it troublesome. He realized that mechanical traps were becoming less effective against large numbers of people, and maintaining them would consume a large amount of Ning Zhu’s time and energy, so he voluntarily removed them.

The further he progressed through the checkpoints, the fewer automaton puppets there were in the rooms.

By the time Ning Zhu arrived at the first transit hall, he was the only one left.

Under the protection of Goldblood Battling Ape – Dasheng and Nether Emissary – Qi Bai, he met with Sun Lingtong again.

Given the high probability that Ning Zhu was being monitored by numerous Nascent Soul cultivators, this was their only channel of communication.

Sun Lingtong inquired about the Cloud Merchant and the Cloud Market, and Ning Zhu recounted his experience of purchasing goods.

“I bought you a Somersault Cloud, and I also got Yang Chanyu a Seven-Colored Auspicious Cloud.”

Sun Lingtong was displeased: “Why did you buy her something!”

Ning Zhu sighed: “Alas, she did contribute quite a bit during the Nascent Soul free-for-all.”

“Without the fake true scripture she personally created, our scheme would likely have been exposed the moment it began.”

“I think she will be happy if you give her this auspicious cloud, and it would also be good to take the opportunity to reduce the amount she charges for her services.”

Sun Lingtong stared at Ning Zhu for a moment, immediately understanding that the lie he had told before, about offering a hefty sum to invite Yang Chanyu to act, had been seen through by Ning Zhu.

Ning Zhu intended to use this artifact-grade Seven-Colored Auspicious Cloud to lighten Sun Lingtong’s burden.

“In the future, do less of these useless things. You’re just wasting money! Can this Seven-Colored Auspicious Cloud be returned?” Sun Lingtong asked.

Ning Zhu’s tone deepened: “Boss, tell me honestly, what did you promise that Yang Chanyu agreed to help?”

“Heh heh heh. The weather is nice today! The sun is beautiful.” Sun Lingtong evaded the question.

Ning Zhu snorted and stopped discussing the topic.

Even though they were in the Magma Immortal Palace, Sun Lingtong spoke of the weather and sunshine, clearly using this absurd answer to express his attitude.

Ning Zhu could only compromise and refrain from asking for the time being.

“I will find an opportunity to give you the Somersault Cloud and Seven-Colored Auspicious Cloud when I enter the Immortal Palace later.”

“For now, the Magma Immortal Palace seems to be a relatively safe place. After all, there are not many people with sufficient mechanical expertise to enter the Immortal Palace.” Ning Zhu said.

Sun Lingtong nodded: “This Zhu Xuanji fellow seems to be keeping an eye on you.”

“These divine constables who have handled cases for many years, even if they haven’t found evidence of your guilt, sometimes develop an intuition from their extensive experience.”

“Xiao Zhu, although your plan is very risky! You should indeed act as soon as possible.”

“I’ll lend you Nether Emissary – Qi Bai. I won’t participate myself, the more people there are, the more trouble it will cause you.”

Ning Zhu nodded and waved goodbye to Sun Lingtong.

His main purpose for coming this time was to open up the Dao Gate path!

He took Nether Emissary – Qi Bai and Goldblood Battling Ape – Dasheng and charged straight through.

The checkpoints along the way could not impede him, and for every reward option, Ning Zhu chose spirit stones.

Without exception, the ranking rewards were also spirit stones.

Ning Zhu maximized his spirit stone reserves!

The third Dao Gate.

He pushed the door open…

The third to last checkpoint.

The second to last checkpoint.

The final checkpoint!

Ning Zhu used brute force, and if his spellcasting skills were insufficient, he would squander spirit stones, refining a vast amount of spiritual power to win by sheer quantity!

After spending more than half an hour, he finally succeeded, clearing the final checkpoint by himself.

He had left Goldblood Battling Ape – Dasheng and Nether Emissary – Qi Bai at the second to last checkpoint.

There was no other way, adding one more helper would drastically increase the difficulty of the final checkpoint several times over.

This checkpoint tested the trial disciple’s own spellcasting ability.

Ning Zhu walked into the final reward room of the Dao Gate.

The moment he stepped through the door, he obtained the Foundation Establishment technique centered around the middle dantian.

By now, he had gathered all three Foundation Establishment techniques and could proceed with the final fusion and combination to form a complete and comprehensive Three Sects’ Supreme Foundation Establishment!

Only by using such a Foundation Establishment method could one truly achieve Foundation Establishment with all three dantians cultivated simultaneously!

Among the many job tokens hanging on the wall, Ning Zhu had already had a target after communicating with the Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit.

Without hesitation, he directly took the token at the very top into his hand.

Five Elements Cannon Tower Commander!

It was also a high-ranking position, reaching the second rank.

“Little master, little master, you did it! You finally did it!” The excited voice of the Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit immediately came.

“I sensed that you were here earlier, little master, but seeing you busy with clearing the checkpoints, I didn’t dare to disturb you,” the Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit explained.

Ning Zhu nodded: “Let’s not waste time on pleasantries.”

“Execute the plan we discussed long ago.”

“Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit, activate the Five Elements Cannon Tower for me!”

The Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit immediately responded: “Little Spirit obeys the command.”

Its authority was not enough, but after Ning Zhu became the Cannon Tower Commander, with his authorization, it could fully activate the cannon tower.

The next moment.

In the Magma Immortal Palace, a three-story cannon tower suddenly rose upwards.

After a series of mechanical sounds, the cannon tower groaned and reached a certain limit, stabilizing itself.

The cannon tower, having risen, now reached six stories.

“What’s happening?” Many cultivators who were inside the Immortal Palace, due to this massive commotion, cast spells to gaze into the distance and saw the even taller Five Elements Cannon Tower.

Then, under countless astonished gazes, the windows of each level of the six-story cannon tower were opened, and from within, thick, sturdy cannons extended.

Most of the cannons were of the artifact level, but the main cannons, which were more than ten times larger in size, reached the treasure level, with one on each floor.

The massive muzzles were pitch black, revealing a hint of dominance.

“It seems like something big is about to happen!” The cultivators who observed this scene couldn’t help but feel a tightening in their chests.

In the reward room.

Ning Zhu’s voice was like iron: “Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit, pour in all the magic power and prepare for bombardment.”

The Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit’s voice also turned cold and hard: “Magic power infusion complete, cannon tower is ready.”

Ning Zhu clenched his fists and ordered decisively: “Fire!”

Boom!!!

Because of the simultaneous firing, the cannon sounds converged into one.

Hundreds of spherical cannonballs formed by five-colored mystic energy blasted in all directions.

They arced through the air, then plunged simultaneously into the Fire Persimmon magma.

They penetrated deep into the mountain, tearing through everything in their path, violently carving out countless tunnels.

Then, amidst numerous groups of demonic beasts, they exploded with a thunderous roar!

Boom boom boom…

This time, the explosion sounds did not converge, but erupted one after another.

The five-colored mystic energy shockwaves spread fiercely in all directions, annihilating everything in their path!

Countless fiery demonic beasts were reduced to dust in the explosions.

The entire Fire Persimmon Mountain trembled violently to an unprecedented degree!

The ground shook and the mountains swayed!

Magma surged, instantly reaching the sky, towering hundreds of feet high.

Blazing flames burned fiercely, forming colossal pillars of fire, covering the entire summit of Fire Persimmon Mountain.

This was a hell of raging flames, carrying unparalleled power of destruction, causing the heavens and earth to tremble, threatening to devour all life!

Meng Kui had been sitting in meditation, and upon seeing this hellish, terrifying scene, even as a Nascent Soul cultivator, he was dumbstruck.

“Wh-what’s happening?”

“How dare the Dragon Tortoise Fire Spirit do this!!”

“Mad, it’s completely mad!!!”

In an instant, Meng Kui thought of the scene he had observed from the mountain.

He suddenly understood: “That dragon tortoise pulled out its limbs, disregarding the shattering rock formations, and it also wanted to fall into the magma.”

“To escape captivity, it’s going to risk its life in a desperate struggle!”