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With no other choice, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit rapidly divulged the details of the palace examination to Ning Zhuo.

*Smack, smack, smack!*

“What’s that sound?” Ning Zhuo asked.

“Little Master, I am being severely punished by the Immortal Palace’s Fire Whip for revealing the palace examination content to you.” The situation was critical, and the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit couldn’t care less, urging frantically, “Fire the cannons quickly!!”

Only then did Ning Zhuo relent and issue the order to fire.

*Boom, boom, boom…*

Large quantities of cannonballs, condensed from the Five Elements’ spiritual power, flew towards the Golden Cauldrons.

“Indeed!” Zhu Xuanji’s golden eyes flared brightly.

He was already prepared for this.

The next moment, the cultivators he had arranged activated a temporary formation, intercepting a considerable number of Five Element cannonballs in mid-air.

Zhu Xuanji threw out a formation disk, instantly erecting a defensive formation that blocked the remaining cannonball attacks.

He then seized the opportunity to approach the Golden Cauldrons.

First, he casually killed several Blazing Fiend Beasts, then arrived before the ruins of a Golden Cauldron.

“There were originally eight Golden Cauldrons in the Molten Rock Immortal Palace, and now only three remain, meaning five have been used.”

“Ignoring the three intact Golden Cauldrons, the clues left by Ning Xiaohui are on the five used Golden Cauldrons!”

“I already know the details of Golden Cauldron Number One, no need to investigate.”

“That leaves Numbers Two, Three, Four, and Five.”

“The destruction of the Golden Cauldrons is likely in this order. This means the time of Golden Cauldron Number Five’s destruction is the most recent.”

“Then, it must be this one!”

Innate Ability – Golden Sight!

Cultivation Technique – Tracing the Source Sutra.

The next moment, Zhu Xuanji “saw” the past.

He saw a teleportation portal form out of thin air, then expel Yuan Dasheng’s corpse.

The Golden Cauldron’s gate automatically opened, drawing Yuan Dasheng’s corpse inside.

Immediately, the Golden Cauldron activated with a rumble, and raging flames burned, commencing the refinement process.

As it melted, countless cracks gradually appeared on the surface of the Golden Cauldron.

When the refining concluded, the Golden Cauldron crumbled with a crash, turning into countless fragments and debris.

The dust and smoke gradually dissipated, and a mechanical ape stood in place, unmoving.

“This is – that mechanical ape from the trial stage?!” In an instant, Zhu Xuanji’s pupils widened slightly.

The retrospective image ended here.

Zhu Xuanji came back to his senses and discovered another round of cannon fire had already descended!

*Boom, boom, boom…*

Under the cannon fire, the intact Golden Cauldrons remained unshaken, and a large number of Blazing Fiend Beasts died.

The temporary formation Zhu Xuanji had previously set up finally couldn’t bear the strain and was engulfed in the rampant Five Element spiritual power.

Zhu Xuanji, shrouded in golden light, remained unshaken while bathed in the bombardment.

However, a powerful force was pushing him outwards.

Zhu Xuanji felt helpless.

This force originated from the Immortal Palace’s restrictions. With the fiend beasts now annihilated, Zhu Xuanji no longer had the right to linger here.

Zhu Xuanji was participating in the palace examination to contend for the position of Immortal Palace Master, and he didn’t want to resist such a force, so he had to temporarily comply.

As soon as he left the Golden Cauldrons, a flying letter arrived, slowly hovering in front of him.

It was a letter from Meng Kui!

After reading the flying letter, Zhu Xuanji smiled slightly: “Is that all?”

He didn’t take it seriously.

This was because after Ning Zhuo confessed and pleaded guilty, he admitted that the corpse of Yuan Dasheng he had obtained was taken by Sun Lingtong!

Han Ming had never seen the true face of the Tasseled Guest, only knowing that the Tasseled Guest had produced Yuan Dasheng’s corpse.

“Righteous Bone Golden Strength? Yuan Dasheng actually possessed immortal potential. No wonder the True Scripture of Demonic Path remained within its body after its death.”

“Ning Zhuo didn’t know the true value of Yuan Dasheng and handed over this corpse.”

“Sun Lingtong, the Tasseled Guest, and others from the Empty Sect not only obtained the True Scripture of Demonic Path but also used the Golden Cauldrons to create a mechanical ape from Yuan Dasheng.”

“That mechanical ape should be the one from the ‘Soul Entering the Immortal Palace’ route.”

“Previously, everyone speculated that it was part of the Immortal Palace, one of the Three Sects’ Upper Cultivators’ arrangements. Who knew, this is a method of the Empty Sect.”

“The Empty Sect has long coveted the Molten Rock Immortal Palace and has deeply infiltrated it. Not only can they change names, add mechanical apes to the trial stages to obstruct the cultivation reform teams, but they can also use the Golden Cauldrons for their own private gain.”

“Perhaps the mechanical traps that once troubled all the cultivation reform team members on the ‘Soul Entering the Immortal Palace’ route were also set up by the Empty Sect?”

The City Lord’s Mansion had already captured two demonic cultivators from the Soul Devouring Sect (Triangular Eyes, Hook Nose), so Zhu Xuanji believed that the Tasseled Guest and Sun Lingtong were both disciples of the Empty Sect.

“I had already discussed Ning Zhuo’s confession with Meng Kui. What does he mean by giving me Fei Si’s report now?”

“Oh, I understand.”

Zhu Xuanji was slightly puzzled, then suddenly enlightened.

He looked up and glanced at the sky, letting out a cold snort: “That sly old fox.”

Immediately, Zhu Xuanji wrote a flying letter and arranged for a messenger to deliver it to Meng Kui.

Meng Kui had been waiting and immediately extended a large hand to receive the flying letter when he saw it.

After obtaining Zhu Xuanji’s consent, Meng Kui immediately relayed the order to Fei Si, allowing him to commence action.

Ning Zhuo was still unaware that Han Ming had turned himself in.

But he understood that Zhu Xuanji had already explored Golden Cauldron Number Five.

This made him realize that the refinement of Yuan Dasheng and the Golden Blood Battle Ape – Dasheng had been exposed.

If Zhu Xuanji knew the mechanism that “Golden Cauldrons self-destruct when refining immortal potential,” then the fact that Yuan Dasheng possessed immortal potential would also be exposed.

Ning Zhuo felt fortunate for himself: “Fortunately, back then in the Orphanage, I made the correct decision – betraying Boss Sun and confessing and pleading guilty to Zhu Xuanji!”

If he hadn’t done so back then, he wouldn’t have been able to顺势 (順勢) divulge the secret that “Yuan Dasheng had already been handed over to the Empty Sect.” Without this pre-emptive move to remove potential dangers, Zhu Xuanji’s exploration of Golden Cauldron Number Five at this moment would inevitably have detonated this hidden danger.

And at this time, Ning Zhuo no longer had the Protection of the Imprint of My Buddha’s Inner Demon!

Even if he could temporarily play along, as long as Zhu Xuanji and others restrained him and prevented him from acting freely, he would be stuck, ultimately exposing himself and losing.

He was able to pass this crisis safely for the time being due to his previous actions.

One wrong step, even if there was nothing at that moment, would lead to an almost irreversible situation later on.

It was Ning Zhuo’s foresight and his more than a decade of preparation, including many arrangements in the second line of defense, that allowed him to overcome this calamity.

“Zhu Xuanji is becoming more and more troublesome.”

“This guy is actually targeting the Golden Cauldrons!”

“Although today’s bombardment prevented his subsequent actions, the bombardment itself also exposed many secrets.”

“After this incident, Zhu Xuanji will definitely realize that the Empty Sect is very concerned about the Golden Cauldrons and will be even more certain that the Golden Cauldrons contain important clues!”

“He will definitely continue to try, and his preparations will be even more thorough next time.”

“Ah, what a headache!”

Ning Zhuo was not only facing the palace examination and continuing to cooperate with Sun Lingtong in front of the public, but he also had to deal with Zhu Xuanji, who was relentlessly pursuing the truth behind the scenes!

If Zhu Xuanji focused solely on the palace examination, it would make things much easier for Ning Zhuo.

But reality and ideals often have a clear disparity.

Ning Zhuo could only be forced to divert his energy, constantly monitoring the movements of the fiend beasts, and as soon as any fiend beast groups were about to attack the Golden Cauldrons, he had to initiate cannon fire in advance, trying his best not to give Zhu Xuanji any opportunities.

“Choosing the position of Tower Chief of the Five Element Cannon Tower back then was also a correct decision.”

The position of the Five Element Cannon Tower has repeatedly shown its powerful value.

The position of Medical Hall Director is also very useful.

Ning Zhuo came to the severe treatment room and secretly met with Sun Lingtong.

He shared all the palace examination information he had just gleaned from the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit with Sun Lingtong.

He then took out the Jindan-level mechanical ape and the Golden Blood Battle Ape – Dasheng.

In front of Sun Lingtong, Ning Zhuo cast the divine ability Human Life Suspended Thread, drawing out Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality.

Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality floated in mid-air, round like a ball.

A monkey head appeared on the ball, lifelike.

The monkey head wasn’t noisy, but looked at Ning Zhuo with solemn dignity and spoke: “Master.”

Ning Zhuo nodded at him: “There is a task for you to do.”

“For the next period of time, I want you to lie dormant within this mechanical body. Wait for my command, and then you will launch a counterattack.”

After Ning Zhuo finished speaking, he infused spiritual power into the base of his tongue, where a strange flower was hidden.

He infused spiritual power into the strange flower’s veiled bud, urging out a wisp of smoke.

Ning Zhuo exhaled the smoke towards Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality.

The smoke wrapped around Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality, making it appear semi-transparent and ethereal, with many cloud patterns around the spiritual light ball.

Ning Zhuo inserted Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality with the cloud patterns into the Jindan-level mechanical ape.

Ning Zhuo let Yuan Dasheng try out the new body, giving it a period of adaptation, then ordered it to hide again.

Finally, Ning Zhuo opened the body of the Jindan mechanical ape and disassembled many internal components, taking them out and placing them in the severe treatment room.

After his secret discussion with Sun Lingtong, Ning Zhuo returned to his temporary residence and proactively requested a meeting with Ning Jiufan.

“Old Ancestor, the second round of the palace examination is approaching. After much thought, I still feel it’s best to lend this item to you!”

Saying this, Ning Zhuo took out the Jindan-level mechanical ape and directly handed it to Ning Jiufan.

Ning Jiufan was surprised and subconsciously scanned the entire Jindan mechanical ape with his divine sense.

He saw that this mechanical ape was tall, measuring eighteen feet. Its skeleton and joints were made of ten-thousand-strike mysterious iron. The chest and back primarily used crimson sun copper. The claws and teeth were sourced from diamond.

The entire mechanical ape was made of high-grade materials and was extremely sturdy.

However, compared to its appearance, the interior of the mechanical ape was empty, requiring many mechanical components to be filled before it could be activated.

“Little Zhuo, good, you are very good.” Ning Jiufan stroked his beard, feeling satisfied, “Then, I will accept this filial piety of yours. The second round of the palace examination may indeed require it!”

Ever since the news of the second round of the palace examination was announced, he had been actively preparing from all aspects, thinking of every possible method.

He had, of course, thought of the Jindan-level mechanical ape in Ning Zhuo’s hands.

However, due to his status as an elder and the face of the righteous path, he felt it was inappropriate to openly ask Ning Zhuo for it.

This time, Ning Zhuo proactively offered it, which greatly comforted Ning Jiufan, making him feel that Ning Zhuo was ultimately a member of the Ning family, and his previous actions to protect Ning Zhuo were not wrong! Now, he had received a heartwarming reward.

“This mechanical classic, ‘Ice Sculpture Secret Canon,’ is the focus of my mechanical techniques. Take it back and study it.” Ning Jiufan took out a jade slip from his storage ring.

Ning Zhuo immediately beamed with joy, quickly accepted it, and sincerely thanked him.

Seeing Ning Jiufan opening the Jindan mechanical ape, Ning Zhuo wisely excused himself.

Fiery Persimmon Immortal City, City Lord’s Mansion.

Fei Si, having received Meng Kui’s reply, immediately began to act.

He entered the dungeon, met Han Ming, and spoke directly: “According to you, that Tasseled Guest used you to increase his soul foundation?”

“I don’t believe it.”

“Come, come, let’s see you demonstrate it, use it on me!”

(End of Chapter)