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Within the joint team of the three families, the five Qi Refining stage geniuses are the clear leaders and the core figures of the battles.

Any battle plan will essentially revolve around these five individuals.

Ning Zhuo’s virtue of concealing his abilities manifests itself at this moment. He is determined to listen attentively, remember diligently, and then devise counter-strategies.

Ning Zhuo and the other four enter a secret chamber.

The layout of the secret chamber resembles a schoolroom, with a Foundation Establishment stage middle-aged cultivator standing at the forefront.

The five individuals each find a place to sit down.

“I am Zheng Hua!”

The middle-aged cultivator introduces himself, “This time, I will be explaining to you the general strategy of this joint operation.”

Ning Zhuo immediately recalls the relevant information about Zheng Hua.

He is a cultivator in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment and, despite his relatively young age, serves as an elder of the Zheng family.

This is mainly because his innate talent lies in the Metal-Earth affinity, allowing him to process many materials that are difficult to refine.

Moreover, Zheng Hua himself is also quite accomplished in artifact crafting, having reached the Grandmaster level, making him a top-tier artifact crafting cultivator within the entire Fire Persimmon Immortal City.

Zheng Hua releases his magical power, which solidifies into a lifelike image of the Golden Blood Battle Ape, triumphant.

Zheng Hua says, “Everyone should be familiar with this mechanical ape, or rather, have a deep impression of it.”

Zhou Zeshen, Zhou Zhu, Zheng Jian, and the others all show solemn expressions.

Ning Xiaohui’s face becomes even more somber.

Ning Zhuo, however, furrows his brows tightly.

Zheng Hua continues, “According to the currently gathered intelligence, this mechanical ape is primarily a close-combat battle construct.”

“Its musculature should be crafted from Vermillion Fire Glaze, a material refined from Vermillion Flame Stone.”

“Ice-based techniques are the optimal choice for dealing with this material.”

“Its skeleton contains at least Scarlet Gold Mysterious Iron, and the surface of the skeleton is inscribed with magical restrictions.”

“Based on the patterns of the restrictions and the battle situations, it should be a defensive type. My personal speculation is that it is highly likely to be the Diamond Body Protection spell.”

“Therefore, using lightning techniques to erode the restrictions is also a meaningful tactic.”

“The ape’s brain should contain a specialized mechanical component for calculations. If we can destroy it, it would greatly aid in the battle.”

“Because the materials of the mechanical ape are not particularly outstanding, its combat power mainly comes from its exquisite martial arts memory. To achieve this, the requirements for the calculation component are very high.”

“If we cannot destroy its head, then its palms are the next priority target.”

“Its palms are likely to contain multiple martial arts talismans. Destroying the talismans would also reduce its combat capabilities.”

Zheng Hua’s analysis eases the expressions of the five somewhat.

Immediately afterward, Zheng Hua’s mind stirs, and the magical power-condensed Yuan Dasheng abruptly collapses. When it reforms, it has transformed into the Nether Envoy, Qi Bai.

Zheng Hua’s expression becomes much more solemn, “In my opinion, this mechanical puppet, although it appears less frequently, is more threatening than the mechanical ape.”

“Its skeleton is made of Azure Nether Iron, and the multi-segmented bones are replaced with Soul Wood. We cannot currently determine the specific age of the Soul Wood, but based on the specifications of the mechanical ape, it should be a hundred years old.”

“However, these alone are not enough to allow this puppet to simultaneously control so many ghosts.”

“It should have other important mechanical components on its body to help it control the ghosts.”

“This puppet has the ability to weaken souls. Judging from the magical fluctuations, it closely resembles Soul Devouring Art.”

“There is a mechanical component at the neck that can emit a drum-like sonic attack, causing the souls of living beings to vibrate violently. Once it is unleashed, it will be difficult for us to defend against it on our own!”

“The design of its eyes is a key point, using a mixture of materials. Its power is currently unknown, but I speculate that it may contain some kind of trump card.”

“It has mechanical ejection ports all over its body. When opened, these small holes can eject Yin-attributed gossamer sand. The gossamer sand can intertwine in an instant to form a black robe that protects the body, providing excellent defense.”

“From this point of view, perhaps we can use mud-based spells to block the ejection ports.”

Zheng Hua finally says, “This slave ghost puppet has at least two sets of formations and at least eighteen magical talismans on its body. It is clearly a ranged type of mechanical creation. I strongly suggest engaging it in close combat.”

The five individuals’ expressions become grave once more, as they all think, “There’s too little information.”

The information on the slave ghost puppet is significantly less than that of the mechanical ape, and there are few targeted tactics designed.

Dealing with it will probably be very difficult.

Ning Zhuo’s brows are furrowed even more tightly.

In his heart, he thinks: Too much information has been leaked.

Zheng Hua’s analysis is almost perfectly accurate, worthy of being one of the Zheng family’s artifact crafting icons.

As for the Soul Devouring Art, although its details have been exposed, no one has associated it with the Soul Devouring Sect.

Due to the existence of spell modifications, there are multiple versions of Soul Devouring Art. It is not only cultivators from the Soul Devouring Sect who can use this spell.

It is simply that disciples of the Soul Devouring Sect wield even greater power when using this spell.

In fact, Soul Devouring Art existed long before the Soul Devouring Sect was created.

It is rumored that the original source was the Ghostly Fiend Soul Devourer, one of the Ten Ancient Beasts.

The Ghostly Fiend Soul Devourer beast is thirty zhang in length, resembling a lion and tiger, with a massive and sturdy body. Its limbs are thick and powerful, and its claws are sharp as blades.

Its body is covered in dark scales that emit a faint glow at night.

The Ghostly Fiend Soul Devourer’s head has three eyes, the central eye able to see the existence of ghosts.

Its mouth is wide, and its teeth are sharp, capable of easily tearing apart all souls.

Its tail is serpentine, and the tip of the tail is like a snake’s head, which contains a pearl that flickers with a blue light, capable of storing endless soul power.

The Ghostly Fiend Soul Devourer beast has a pair of massive black wings on its back, shaped like bat wings, which allow it to fly at an extremely fast speed, capable of easily catching up to fleeing ghosts.

Zheng Hua dispels his magical power and looks at the five people with a solemn expression, “The above are just speculations based on all the current intelligence.”

“It is not ruled out that our all-out effort will lead to a sharp increase in the difficulty of the challenge, making the aforementioned two mechanical constructs even stronger.”

“Furthermore, it is not ruled out that a third or even a fourth mechanical construct will appear.”

“Alright, if you have any questions, you can ask them now, and I will try my best to answer them.”

Zhou Zeshen is the first to ask, “These two are both mechanical constructs, so why not focus on this aspect? I want to ask, have you not yet discovered the methods used to control these two mechanical constructs?”
Zheng Hua shook his head, “No! Traditional control methods like puppetry, staff manipulation, or divine sense are not consistent with these mechanical puppets.”

“We suspect it’s spiritual manipulation!”

“Within the Lava Immortal Palace dwells a Palace Spirit, the Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit, which can control these mechanical automatons.”

“Previously, the Lava Immortal Palace was besieged by demonic beasts. The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit was suspected to have been deployed, piloting a humanoid mechanical puppet, to command the battle.”

“Here is a record of that battle. Please pass it around.”

Zheng Hua produced a jade slip and handed it to the five cultivators below.

When it reached Ning Zhuo’s hands, he pressed the jade slip to his brow, witnessing the full version of the *Celestial Artisan’s Compendium*. He saw the Immortal Palace’s defensive battle atop the volcano, and the deployment of the Core Formation-level puppet Daoist.

“This must be when Senior Sun and I fought Qi Bai.”

“Who recorded this footage? Daring to act under Meng Kui’s nose.”

“The viewing angle… is it from a distant vantage point?”

A name immediately surfaced in Ning Zhuo’s mind – Zhu Xuanji.

His guess was accurate.

Indeed, Zhu Xuanji provided the jade slip to the three Golden Core Ancestors.

Subsequently, the three Ancestors duplicated the images and disseminated them within their respective families.

While the others examined the jade slip, Zheng Hua continued, “If it truly is spiritual manipulation, then the Mechanical Ape and the Slave-Ghost Puppet can be regarded as Spirit Treasures.”

Zheng Jian couldn’t help but click his tongue.

Talismans, Magical Instruments, Dharma Treasures, and Spirit Treasures.

In terms of quality, Spirit Treasures were the pinnacle!

Throughout history, the treasures that guarded super sects, families, and cultivation empires were invariably Spirit Treasures.

“Could that person be my family’s Golden Core Ancestor?”

Ning Zhuo, viewing the jade slip, naturally saw the scene of the Ning family Ancestor being struck on the head by a walnut and forced to retreat.

He remained impassive, passing the jade slip to the next person.

“The three families’ understanding of Yuan Dasheng and Qi Bai is already quite profound.”

They had even guessed the truth of spiritual manipulation.

“As expected, those who can become major families in an Immortal City possess heritage and strength, not to be underestimated.”

“However, they have only guessed a part of the truth, and are still some distance away from the whole picture.”

But it wasn’t their fault!

They simply lacked key intelligence; once they had it, they could immediately fill in the gaps and reconstruct the truth.

“One can imagine that if they had reached the Coffin Chamber and learned the *Cremation Nirvana Liberation Sutra*, they would quickly suspect Yuan Dasheng and Qi Bai’s true identities.”

“However, I have already raised all the Buddhist and Demonic Sect stone walls.”

Ning Zhuo previously had one flaw.

The Buddhist and Demonic Sects in the second transit hall were still visible.

However, as the embryonic form of the Mortal Puppet Threads divine ability approached full bloom, and with Ning Zhuo’s cultivation and soul power greatly improved, he was finally able to fully exert himself, blocking the Buddhist and Demonic Sects in the second transit hall with stone walls, completely obscuring them.

Ning Zhuo deliberately said, “If this is all the intelligence we have, I don’t think our chances of defeating the Mechanical Ape and the Slave-Ghost Puppet are very high.”

“I suggest we postpone the operation and continue to investigate, gathering more comprehensive intelligence.”

“On a solid foundation of preparation, we can then explore the Lava Immortal Palace in force.”

Zhou Zeshen immediately cast an admiring gaze at Ning Zhuo, thinking: Ning Zhuo has the same idea as me; we are both people who use their minds.

Ning Xiaohui snorted, “Ning Zhuo, why are you showing cowardice before the battle?”

“If you want to gather intelligence, we can take this opportunity to have a good fight with this damned Mechanical Ape.”

“If we tear it to pieces, wouldn’t we be able to gather key information?”

Ning Zhuo snorted, “Ning Xiaohui, I know you are often abused by the Mechanical Ape. I can understand your eagerness for revenge.”

“But that doesn’t mean you can fight mindlessly.”

“Your recklessness will only lead to more failures.”

“You…”

Ning Xiaohui glared, her face full of anger and disbelief.

No one, or rather no one of her age, had ever treated her so rudely.

Ning Zhuo was the first, and in front of outsiders, directly belittling her.

“You, a mere branch family…”

Ning Xiaohui gritted her teeth, her eyes practically spitting fire.

Ning Zhuo interrupted mercilessly, “You, from the main family, can’t even achieve half of my accomplishments, what are you?”

Ning Xiaohui stood up abruptly, her body radiating a chilling aura.

A snow-white, icy ghost rose from her body, staring menacingly at Ning Zhuo, “When did the Ning family’s branch families become so arrogant?”

Ning Zhuo’s pupils constricted, and he leaped back, widening the distance, staring at the ghost, “What are you?”

The ghost trembled with anger, “I am also from the Ning family’s main line.”