## Molten Lava Palace

Ning Zhuo, Ning Yong, Ning Chen, and others gathered in Room Number One.

“Thank you all for your assistance this time! Ning Zhuo expresses his gratitude beforehand!” The large puppet, Ning Zhuo, stood before the first gate, cupping his fist towards the Ning family members in thanks.

“Ah Zhuo, no need to be so polite. It was thanks to your help that I was able to reach the peak of the third layer so quickly.”

“There’s nothing to say. I came as soon as I heard you needed help.”

“We were already planning to explore the Immortal Palace. Ah Zhuo, feel free to summon me anytime, and I will definitely come.”

The Ning family members were all enthusiastic.

Previously, Ning Zhuo had taken care of his fellow disciples, helping them to cultivate faster without asking for anything in return.

In the process, he casually planted a thread of life on them, a trivial matter not worth mentioning.

Of course, the Ning family cultivators were so proactive due to internal issues within the family.

The main bloodline and the branch families had been at odds for a long time.

The Ning family had always adhered to a policy of strengthening the core and weakening the branches. The branch families had long been wary of and suppressed by the main bloodline, accumulating considerable dissatisfaction and resentment.

Many branch family cultivators had no choice but to be used by the main bloodline in order to advance themselves, with few able to remain independent.

Ning Zhuo could be considered a sudden emergence. He was not only able to remain independent but also able to help others.

The branch family members of the Ning family had long been expecting such a figure to appear.

Although Ning Zhuo was only at the Qi Refining stage, his talent was well known.

In the eyes of almost everyone, Ning Zhuo was a genius with a bright future.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, as long as he grew up smoothly, he would undoubtedly be a standard-bearer, a backer, a figure to rely on.

Therefore, the Ning family branch members had intentionally or unintentionally gathered around Ning Zhuo.

On the one hand, they were banding together for warmth; on the other hand, they were betting on the future.

This was the game of the righteous path.

The weak usually do not passively accept oppression and slaughter but do their best to resist and contend, striving for more room to survive.

Just like the three great families of Fire Persimmon City, they could not resist Meng Kui and could only obey his orders.

But as soon as Zhu Xuanji appeared and made a slight overture, the three families immediately attached themselves to him.

Because doing so allowed them to use Zhu Xuanji to contend with the powerful Meng Kui, striving for more benefits for their own families.

The three families surrounding Zhu Xuanji, the Ning family branch members generally supporting Ning Zhuo, were essentially the same.

Ning Zhuo looked around, and seeing everyone’s morale high, he nodded slightly.

This time, he had already made up his mind to showcase his attainments in Mechanism Arts.

“Fellow clansmen, before we act, I want to make an agreement with you all!”

Ning Zhuo began.

“Next, we will combine together, with me as the core, allowing me to control the spiritual energy and your bodies.”

“Only when casting spells, I hope everyone will cooperate.”

The Ning family members immediately responded, “Understood!”

“No problem!”

Ning Zhuo thanked them again, “Thank you all for your understanding and support.”

“If everyone suffers losses or makes sacrifices during this exploration of the Immortal Palace, I will personally provide corresponding compensation afterward!”

After a pause, Ning Zhuo said in a deep voice, “To speak from the bottom of my heart, our branch families’ aptitudes are not bad, so why are we always inferior to the main bloodline?”

“Is it because we don’t work hard enough?”

“In fact, the opposite is true. We work harder than them.”

“But the resources are all in the hands of the main bloodline, and every member of the main bloodline receives obvious preferential treatment.”

“Ning Xiaohui has talent, but I am not willing to be compared to her like this.”

“This exploration of the Immortal Palace is to use the strength of everyone to tell those in the main bloodline that our branch families are also strong and tough enough.”

Ning Zhuo’s pre-battle mobilization directly struck a chord in everyone’s hearts.

“Hahaha, that’s so right!”

“Well said!”

Ning Yong even raised his arms and shouted, “I’ve long been displeased with Ning Xiaohui, Brother Zhuo, we all listen to you.”

“Good! Next, let’s all disassemble ourselves first!”

After Ning Zhuo finished speaking, he sat down on the ground with a thud and began to disassemble his leg components.

The others followed suit.

After a moment, they disassembled themselves and then assembled together, forming a huge mechanical construct.

Ning Zhuo’s head was located at the highest point of the mechanical construct, commanding everyone.

He first urged his spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy quickly shuttled through the combined body, constructing the operational trajectory of the Three Layers of the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Formula.

Everyone else sensed this scene.

Some people immediately exclaimed, “Ah Zhuo is amazing.”

“Although we are all at the peak of the third layer, Ah Zhuo’s attainment in the technique is really much stronger than mine!”

“Indeed, I have to admire him!”

Ning Zhuo urged his spiritual energy to its peak and then suddenly pushed open the first gate, stuffing himself into Room Number Two.

In an instant, countless spears on both sides of the wall directly stabbed over.

Overhead, hammer-like mechanical traps were being activated, about to detach from the latches and fall.

At the critical moment, Ning Zhuo was not flustered, he extended more than twenty arms.

The spears were accurately grabbed by these dozen arms and then extracted, turning them into his own use.

Ning Zhuo’s body gently rotated once, and the left arm, according to inertia, shot the spear to the hole on the right wall.

The right arm then grabbed the spear and threw it at the trap on the left.

With just one rotation, the spear traps were neutralized by Ning Zhuo, attacking each other with the enemy’s own power.

The giant hammer mechanism smashed over, Ning Zhuo stretched out more than twenty arms, simultaneously contacting the giant hammer in an instant, and then used the rotational force brought by twisting the arms to send the hammer mechanism flying forward.

Just ahead on the road, a huge net trap was being triggered, lifting a mottled net from the ground.

As soon as the net poked its head out, it was smashed by the hammer mechanism.

With a muffled sound, the hammer mechanism pressed down on the net, and the net also offset the hammer’s momentum, both stopping in mid-air.

Ning Zhuo drove more than twenty legs, stepped over them, and easily stood firm.

Facing the slender Room Number Two.

Only at this moment did the others react.

“Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn.”

This was Ning Yong’s voice.

“What’s going on? What’s going on?”

“It’s passed, it’s passed just like that? How did you do it, Ah Zhuo?”
Ning Zhuo smiled faintly, “Fellow cultivators, in recent times, I have secluded myself, diligently cultivating the arts of automaton control. I have especially trained in the simultaneous manipulation of multiple automatons, achieving a state of divided consciousness. This trial is to be the test of my progress!”

As soon as these words left his lips, Ning Zhuo propelled his twenty-odd legs forward, charging towards the obstacles ahead.

The others were about to shower Ning Zhuo with praises, but immediately fell silent.

The Ning Family’s assembled wooden puppet was like a plump, colossal caterpillar, its twenty-odd wooden legs moving in perfect order.

The twenty-odd arms either propped, blocked, received, or unloaded, performing an incredibly coordinated dance.

As massive wooden beams came crashing down, Ning Zhuo would either leap high above them or have his arms work in unison to deflect them.

Some mechanical traps were triggered, but only a few legs were left dangling in the air. The rest of the long legs remained firmly planted on solid ground outside the traps.

Ning Zhuo commanded the massive body, gliding through various obstacles and traps as smoothly as flowing water, reaching the second gate.

“He passed! He passed!”

The wooden heads of the Ning Family cultivators shouted in unison.

Having experienced it firsthand, they felt it deeply.

Many found it hard to believe that they had simply strolled through the second stage like that.

The entire process was remarkably simple, as if walking on flat ground.

But everyone knew that behind such simplicity lay extraordinary skill and effort.

“Ah Zhuo, you’re so impressive!”

“Truly astonishing!”

“If I hadn’t experienced it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it!”

“Is our cooperation really this seamless?”

“Nonsense, it’s all thanks to Ah Zhuo’s guidance!”

That was Ning Yong’s voice.

Ning Zhuo, however, showed no sign of pride. “The battles ahead are the true key. Let’s not talk now. Everyone, listen to my command and claim the rewards. I have a plan!”

The Ning Family’s large wooden automaton stood before the gate, carefully selecting the rewards before finally claiming them all.

“Ah Zhuo, just do what you need to do!”

“Our legs, our arms, our minds – they are all yours to use!”

“Ah Zhuo, charge! Charge! Charge!”

The morale of the group was exceptionally high.

Ning Zhuo pushed open the gate and stepped inside.

In the battles against the many kung fu automatons, Ning Zhuo held back some of his strength and deliberately ‘sacrificed’ several comrades to defeat all the mechanical opponents.

“We won! We were victorious!”

“A magnificent triumph, so magnificent!”

“Ah Zhuo, you’re too amazing. How can you control automatons so effortlessly?”

The answer was simple: puppet strings controlled by human lives.

In many areas, Ning Zhuo made minute adjustments, ensuring that every leg and every arm moved perfectly.

With standardized movements, there would be no hindering or interference, which was a mesmerizing and astonishing sight to behold.

Of course, Ning Zhuo would never answer in such a way.

The young man chuckled, “It’s all thanks to everyone’s unconditional trust in me, allowing me to use you.”

“However, some fellow cultivators were sacrificed. That was my fault, my inadequacy. I will continue to train hard in the future!”

“I am very sorry, everyone!”

The young man’s humble and restrained attitude made his fellow cultivators feel very comfortable.

“Not at all!”

“Ah Zhuo, you’re good in every way, just a little too modest!”

“Do you even know what you’ve done? So many brilliant performances!”

Ning Zhuo laughed again, “Haha, stop praising me, we still have many more stages to conquer!”

He led everyone into the maintenance room.

Here, he disassembled himself and everyone else, returning them to their original individual forms.

“Why separate?”

Many expressed their feelings of attachment.

Ning Zhuo then told them, “These past few days, I have been pondering a lot during my secluded training, and I have conceived many ideas that can be realized here. Please trust me!”

“Let me create some useful mechanical components for everyone. This will be very beneficial for conquering the trials ahead!”

Upon hearing this, all the Ning Family members readily agreed.

Many wanted to watch Ning Zhuo’s modifications, but at this moment, Ning Chen stepped forward.

“Go, go, go, what are you all crowding around here for?”

“These are the automaton blueprints that Ah Zhuo came up with. Let’s not look at them!”

“If we really look into them, will we be worthy of Ah Zhuo?”

These words left everyone speechless. They all turned their heads and faced away from Ning Zhuo.

End of Chapter.