It turned out that Madam Panshi’s allure had never worked on Che Zhuzi!

Kongxu Zhu was actually a eunuch!

Madam Panshi gazed at the demonic cultivator before her, still unable to believe it.

Look at his thick, bushy beard, his powerfully built physique. So masculine, how could it be?

Che Zhuzi followed her gaze, stroked his beard, and puffed out his chest proudly. “I know what you want to ask. I absorbed a large amount of Yang Qi from outside, and it cost me a fortune. However, the investment was completely worth it. Compared to a seventeen-fold increase in production, the cost of buying Yang Qi is but a drop in the ocean!”

Madam Panshi: —

Che Zhuzi pulled out a contract. “Come, sign it.”

He infused spiritual power, causing the contract to fully unfold before Madam Panshi.

After discerning its contents, Madam Panshi began to struggle again, her shock and anger evident. “This, this is a slave contract?!”

But no matter how hard she tried, she still couldn’t move.

If it had been a normal fight, even if she couldn’t defeat the Gold Core-level Che Zhuzi, she would have had a high chance of escaping. Now, she had fallen for his scheme, and her situation was utterly pathetic.

“I was too careless! I treated Che Zhuzi as prey, never imagining I would be the one, and willingly at that!” Madam Panshi’s expression was miserable.

Seeing she couldn’t break free, she tried to persuade him. “Lord Che Zhuzi, do you really have to be so ruthless?”

“I’ll tell you the truth, I approached you this time, and plotted against Ning Zhuo, all for the benefit of the Ban family.”

“You must know what kind of existence the Ban family is!”

Madam Panshi didn’t mention Ban Ji, but more prudently, directly brought up the Ban family to pressure Che Zhuzi.

Che Zhuzi remained unmoved. “The Ban family is from the righteous path. Would they hire a demonic cultivator like you?”

“Perhaps you’ve misunderstood something.”

“I don’t want to get involved in this trouble. If you have any secret information, go tell Ning Zhuo yourself.”

Madam Panshi was startled, then her face changed again. “Wh-what do you mean? Are you going to—”

At this moment, a strong sense of unease surged within her.

Che Zhuzi’s smile was malicious. “Ah, yes, I’m just an outsider, innocently dragged into this. All I want is to make money. Who has the patience to be involved in your petty squabbles? I am a businessman; I just need to remain neutral.”

His status as a disciple of the Wanxiang Sect gave him this confidence.

“Your affairs, you handle them yourselves!” Che Zhuzi emphasized at the end.

“Am I, am I to become Ning Zhuo’s dog? No, I refuse!” A powerful sense of absurdity and shame washed over her, making Madam Panshi’s face turn pale.

Che Zhuzi suddenly stopped talking, sensing something. He turned sideways, his gaze penetrating, looking at a certain spot within the formation.

Ning Zhuo fought and retreated!

There was truly no other way. The enemy had a two-on-one advantage, and their numbers were too significant. Ning Zhuo’s two fists were no match for four hands.

If the two opponents were new cultivators or lacked sufficient control, there might still be hope. But the reality was, the two blocking Ning Zhuo were completely without weaknesses, and their control over the mechanical constructs was even more skilled than Ning Zhuo’s!

In fact, Ning Zhuo’s opponents were indeed two elderly cultivators.

They had known each other for many years outside the arena and had already reached an agreement to first eliminate Ning Zhuo, the “outsider,” and then decide the victor between themselves.

They pursued Ning Zhuo relentlessly.

Under these circumstances, the outcome of the battle was pretty much decided.

Che Zhuzi suddenly made a move.

Booming—

The labyrinth underwent another drastic change. Various walls shifted, and traps erupted, intercepting the two pursuers for Ning Zhuo.

Walls sliced through space, allowing Ning Zhuo to quickly escape the pursuers’ sight, granting him precious time to catch his breath.

Then, under Madam Panshi’s wide-eyed gaze, Che Zhuzi lightly tapped his finger, and immediately, within the grand formation, the only brand-new Xuan-iron puppet was transported.

“Cheating, someone is cheating here!” Madam Panshi wanted to shout.

“What’s going on?!” Ning Zhuo was overjoyed to see a brand-new Xuan-iron puppet.

This was not just a chance to breathe, but also a huge opportunity for Ning Zhuo to turn the tide!

Without any hesitation, Ning Zhuo immediately replaced his puppet.

He had been envious of the old one, which was already on the verge of scrap, and now he was finally rid of it. “Continue to rest?” Ning Zhuo shook his head, firmly rejecting the previous plan.

“What I need to do is seize this opportunity and immediately turn back to eliminate the enemy!”

The flames of battle burned fiercely in Ning Zhuo’s eyes.

In his opinion, with the new changes in the labyrinth, many new Xuan-iron puppets must have also been sent in.

“It can’t be just the one I replaced!”

“The other two enemies might also encounter new puppets and swap out their old ones.”

“I must seize this opportunity, while they are at their weakest, to fully leverage my advantage!”

When only Xuan-iron puppets and Void Spider Silk could be used, Ning Zhuo was at a disadvantage fighting two opponents.

“The longer this drags on, the less advantage I have.”

“Where are you?”

“Here I come!”

Ning Zhuo wished he could instantly flash before his opponents.

Che Zhuzi and Madam Panshi took in Ning Zhuo’s latest actions. They, however, knew the truth—the only brand-new Xuan-iron puppet in the entire arena was in Ning Zhuo’s hands.

The two didn’t exchange words, quietly watching.

Ning Zhuo and his two opponents drew closer.

Che Zhuzi, in a place unseen by both sides, also manipulated the grand formation, altering the layout of the labyrinth. After a few changes, the distance between the two parties was significantly shortened.

“Cheating, more cheating!” Madam Panshi, despite being a demonic cultivator with extensive experience, felt incredibly indignant at this moment.

She looked at Che Zhuzi with confusion, asking the question she most wanted to ask, “You want Ning Zhuo to win so badly? Why? Do you know him from before?”

“Of course not.” Che Zhuzi shook his head, then looked at Madam Panshi with a mocking expression. “Aren’t I doing all this because of you?”

Madam Panshi was stunned again.

She wasn’t stupid and immediately understood. “That’s it. Che Zhuzi wants to clear his name and distance himself from this matter. To have Ning Zhuo deal with me, he needs to show sincerity to Ning Zhuo!”

“This time, Che Zhuzi’s underhanded manipulation, secretly helping Ning Zhuo win first place, is his way of laying the groundwork for his upcoming interactions with Ning Zhuo.”

“So—I actually helped Ning Zhuo win the top spot?”

Realizing this, Madam Panshi couldn’t help but part her lips slightly, her heart heavy, extremely heavy!

Ning Zhuo’s strength was clearly demonstrated in the previous chase.

On his own, it would have been very difficult for him to win first place.

But now, because of Madam Panshi and Che Zhuzi’s choices, Ning Zhuo received covert assistance from the organizers and was climbing towards the top of the ranks.

“Because of me, that little brat Ning Zhuo is going to be first?”

“Even more infuriating, I might even become his slave?!”

Where was the justice in that?

Madam Panshi trembled with anger, feeling incredibly wronged, truly wronged.

Under the deliberate arrangement of the organizer, Ning Zhuo successfully met his two opponents.

Both parties’ first reaction was surprise. Their second reaction was delight.

“Found you.”

“Why aren’t you running now—!”

“Wait!”

“What’s going on? How did he get a brand-new Xuan-iron puppet?!”

The two Xuan-iron puppets suddenly halted midway; they recognized the reality of the situation.

The scene was quite comical for a moment.

Ning Zhuo, on the other hand, was like a tiger descending from the mountain, charging irresistibly towards the two.

At this point, it was too late to retreat!

The two cultivators had a tacit understanding and quickly exchanged glances. “We’ll cover each other and collectively wear him down!”

Their Xuan-iron puppets had sustained significant damage in the many previous intense battles. While not completely dismembered, they all suffered from issues like jammed joints, deformed chassis, and delayed controls.

Ning Zhuo’s eyes were firm, and he adopted the most correct tactic.

He steered his Xuan-iron puppet directly towards the two, launching a full-force assault!

Ning Zhuo attacked more than he defended, only guarding vitals and joints. Then, he relentlessly pursued one of the weaker puppets. He endured attacks to continuously deliver brutal, heavy blows to his target.

His two opponents, like Ning Zhuo, had limited means, hoping to rely on positioning and teamwork to turn it into a war of attrition.

But Ning Zhuo immediately charged head-on, all his moves designed to inflict a thousand injuries even at the cost of eight hundred to himself.

Ning Zhuo’s newly equipped Xuan-iron puppet quickly became scarred.

But the price he paid was rewarded—he successfully scrapped one of the opposing Xuan-iron puppets!

“Excellent, now it’s one-on-one.” Ning Zhuo glared at the sole remaining opponent.

Both sides were silent for a moment, then simultaneously launched an attack,砰砰砰—

The Xuan-iron puppets resembled two armored melee cultivators, exchanging punches and kicks, constantly shifting between offense and defense, a dizzying sight.

In terms of mechanical control, Ning Zhuo was ultimately weaker than his opponent.

The enemy executed a lunge punch, aiming for Ning Zhuo’s puppet’s knee.

Ning Zhuo controlled his puppet, ducking back, and when he couldn’t dodge, he had to brace with his left shoulder.

The enemy’s powerful, determined strike directly crushed Ning Zhuo’s puppet’s left shoulder, rendering the entire left arm unusable.

But Ning Zhuo took the opportunity to retreat, creating distance.

Although the enemy had scored a hit, he immediately turned and fled. The battle situation was now very clear.

Ning Zhuo’s Xuan-iron puppet had a clear advantage and began to pursue.

His speed was faster, continuously closing the distance between them.

The opponent’s full-force strike earlier had intended to break Ning Zhuo’s puppet’s leg, but Ning Zhuo preferred to sacrifice an arm rather than let him succeed.

This control over crucial details further dimmed the enemy’s hope of a comeback.

Ning Zhuo caught up to the enemy and, with a flying kick from behind, knocked him down.

The opponent suffered a heavy blow, a large section of the puppet’s back visibly caved in. However, he didn’t turn to fight but instead rolled forward on the ground, continuing his escape.

The opponent’s combat experience was quite rich, knowing that a desperate fight would put him at too great a disadvantage.

He executed the most correct tactic at the moment, maintaining his rationality throughout: “If my opponent can get a new Xuan-iron puppet, it means somewhere in this labyrinth, there’s also a second, a third—”

“As long as I find it, replace my old one, and turn to fight again, I can win!”

The tactic was sound.

The logic of this deduction should also be correct.

Madam Panshi watched the cultivator’s desperate escape within the formation, but felt a pang of sadness.

Because in the entire labyrinth, there was truly only one such brand-new Xuan-iron puppet. This was specially prepared by Che Zhuzi for Ning Zhuo!

“None.”

“None, none!”

“Damn it, why haven’t I found a new Xuan-iron puppet yet?!”

The cultivator ran wildly, unable to find any hope of turning the tide. Conversely, lacking the will to fight, he was repeatedly caught and severely beaten by Ning Zhuo, causing more damage to his puppet.

“Since I’ve taken this path, there’s no turning back.”

“Xuan-iron puppet, where on earth are you hiding?”

This was the cultivator’s only hope.

After observing for a moment, Che Zhuzi once again tapped his finger, and not far in front of the cultivator, another new puppet was delivered.

“You changed your mind?” Madam Panshi stared at Che Zhuzi.

Che Zhuzi returned a meaningful smile.

The cultivator turned a corner, then suddenly paused.

“I found it, I finally found it!”

“I finally discovered a brand-new puppet.”

“It wasn’t easy at all—”

At this moment, the cultivator was almost overjoyed to tears.

But Ning Zhuo pounced in the next instant, sending a flying kick that knocked down the enemy puppet.

The cultivator had originally wanted to dodge, but his Xuan-iron puppet was too damaged and couldn’t react in time, getting knocked to the ground.

The cultivator quickly manipulated his Xuan-iron puppet, attempting to get up, but Ning Zhuo rushed over, striking the opponent’s Void Suspension Silk with a palm.

The cultivator quickly manipulated the suspension silk, making it dodge flexibly.

Ning Zhuo took the opportunity to close in, lifting his foot and stomping down hard. With a loud bang, he directly crushed the cultivator’s puppet’s head.

This was a fatal blow!

Ning Zhuo won!

His previous deliberate study and arduous practice had paid off in the final competition.

The other cultivator stood rooted to the spot, only letting out a sigh after a long moment.

He clenched his fists, his face filled with unwillingness. “Damn it, just a little, just that last bit, and I could have turned the tables!”

Madam Panshi witnessed all these events. She finally looked at Che Zhuzi, gaining a deeper understanding of him.

Che Zhuzi played his hand very cleverly; sending in the second Xuan-iron puppet was just a trap. Giving hope, creating a facade of fairness.

The cultivator, seeing the brand-new Xuan-iron puppet, finally stopped running, which ironically played right into Che Zhuzi’s calculations.

“Too insidious!”

“Don’t let Che Zhuzi’s rough appearance fool you; he’s actually so shrewd and cunning. If only I had known—”

Madam Panshi couldn’t think any further.

A thousand pieces of gold cannot buy foresight!

Ning Zhuo also let out a deep breath. “I never thought I would win in the end.”

He looked at the second Xuan-iron puppet, which was within arm’s reach through his Xuan-iron puppet, and secretly marveled at his truly good luck. The three rounds were over, and the outcome was decided.

Che Zhuzi then officially appeared, dismantling all the labyrinths and gathering the cultivators in one place.

As previously advertised, he presented identity jade tokens to the top ten winners. From now on, with this token, they could purchase Void Spider Silk here and enjoy a 20% discount.

The cultivators, almost every one of them carrying a piece of Void Spider Silk and a mix of complex emotions, left the cave dwelling.

Although they had been manipulated, Void Spider Silk was indeed very practical.

Che Zhuzi had been orchestrating such minor trials for many years. Operating just below people’s psychological limits, he boldly manipulated to open up sales channels for his products.

Finally, he looked at Ning Zhuo. “Junior, you are outstanding. Take your time choosing any magic tool you desire.”