Before Ning Zhuo stretched a colossal mechanical ape.

The ape stood at least four or five times the height of a puppet Ning Zhuo. Its frame was incredibly burly, its arms as thick as Ning Zhuo’s torso.

Yet, the ape was far from clumsy.

With a gentle push, it opened the first door, stepping across the threshold while hunching low.

The doorway barely reached its waist.

Instantly, the mechanism activated, a crushing hammer aimed to smash down upon it.

The mechanical ape didn’t even look up, simply reaching out an arm to intercept the descending blow.

At the same moment, it straightened its back, a magnificent sight, like a mountain rising from the earth!

When its thick arm made contact with the hammer, it didn’t meet it head-on, but instead used a subtle technique to redirect its force.

*Bang!*

The crushing hammer, gently guided by the ape’s arms, was deflected from its original trajectory and slammed into a nearby wall.

The mechanical ape remained composed.

From the moment it entered the room, it stood its ground, merely straightening its form, without moving an inch.

Having diffused the trap, the mechanical ape examined its arm.

Had it met the hammer with brute force, its wooden arm would have shattered long ago. But now, only a few tiny cracks marred its surface.

“Four ounces deflects a thousand pounds!” Ning Zhuo realized at once: the mechanical ape’s close-quarters combat skills were likely superior to even those of the martial puppets.

That display, lifting a heavy weight with ease, combining softness with strength, exhibited a flowing, graceful power.

The mechanical ape continued forward.

*Poof*.

Once more, it triggered a mechanism, a golden net rising from below, seeking to ensnare it.

With a light leap, its arms outstretched, it precisely grasped the edges of the net.

It executed a backflip in the air.

The heavy body landed on the ground, making only a faint sound.

And the golden net, now severed, draped over its body, becoming a cloak offering a degree of protection!

Ning Zhuo could only stare in astonishment.

“This is definitely a master of martial arts!”

The mechanical ape’s movements flowed like clouds and water, turning the enemy’s weapon against itself. Its strength was considerable, enough to tear the net’s connecting cords. Yet, its control over that strength was incredibly precise.

In the following moments, Ning Zhuo watched as the mechanical ape advanced, its speed surpassing the rate at which the floor tiles retreated by a wide margin.

Throughout the journey, massive wooden beams struck out, but the mechanical ape wielded its arms, sometimes smashing through the timber with the force of a hammer, sometimes piercing through obstacles like a spear.

At times, it leaped with agility, weightless and nimble. At others, it stood firm, unshakable, like the pillar of a great hall.

Step by step, it crushed the various mechanisms and traps that were triggered, like a graceful, dancing bulldozer.

Reaching the second door, it paused in thought. After several breaths, it chose spirit stones as its reward.

Seeing this, Ning Zhuo’s heart stirred: “Its body is so enormous, the spirit energy it consumes must be considerable. So, it needs spirit stones.”

Ning Zhuo, having finished observing, reinstalled the surveillance mechanism piece back into the corner.

He immediately went to room three.

The scene in room three sent another shock through him.

Thirty to forty martial puppets lay scattered, mostly crippled, some even torn apart.

In the past forty or fifty days, Ning Zhuo had entered and exited the Molten Lava Immortal Palace countless times.

This was the first time he had witnessed the martial puppets being destroyed!

Ning Zhuo quickly retrieved the surveillance mechanism piece. After examining it, he was momentarily speechless.

Upon entering room three, the mechanical ape was immediately besieged by numerous martial puppets.

It was large and skilled in martial arts, but it only possessed two fists and two legs, so it should have been at a disadvantage.

But after looking at the recording, Ning Zhuo understood what it meant for “every part of a martial arts master’s body to be a weapon”!

The mechanical ape rolled, jumped, and crawled in room three. Fists, feet, elbows, head, chest, back, even its tail and buttocks were all weapons.

It swung its arms, sweeping away a group of puppets.

Its elbows were like awls, piercing through the chests of the martial puppets.

With a headbutt, it sent a puppet crashing into the ceiling. As the puppet fell, the mechanical ape used its tail like a whip, lashing out and sending the puppet flying, knocking down three or four others.

In this manner, the mechanical ape whirled through the room, creating countless mini-tornadoes.

The martial puppets advanced one after another, only to be sent flying.

In the end, when the mechanical ape stood motionless in the center of the room, all of the martial puppets lay on the ground, even the yellow light in their eyes dimmed.

Ning Zhuo felt a sudden understanding: “I understand a little now.”

“This is the correct method for passing room three!”

“Using martial arts to fight will destroy the martial puppets. If you use spells to be tricky, destroying the puppets will be explicitly prohibited.”

“This mechanical ape’s martial arts are truly remarkable!”

Ning Zhuo sighed sincerely.

Each time he passed room three, he had used spells to be tricky.

He not only learned all of the spells, but also gained a great deal of spellcasting experience through the weekly ranking rewards, and had long since become an expert.

“If I were to fight it, I would have to keep my distance and use spells for ranged attacks to have any chance of winning.”

“In close combat, there is absolutely no possibility!”

It was not uncommon for cultivators in the first three levels of Qi Refining to be killed by mortal martial artists.

Seeing the mechanical ape select spirit stones again and leave room three, Ning Zhuo quickly put the surveillance mechanism piece back and hurried after it.

The maintenance room was empty except for himself.

This relieved Ning Zhuo slightly, but also made him more nervous.

On the one hand, he did not need to fight in the maintenance room. The space was relatively small; on the other hand, this meant that the mechanical ape had already passed through here and gone deeper.

After taking the surveillance mechanism piece, Ning Zhuo found that the mechanical ape had circled around here several times, carefully examining all kinds of mechanism platforms, and picking up some manufacturing tools to check them before putting them down.

Finally, the mechanical ape stopped in front of the five-sided stone pillar ranking and stared at it for a long time.

To Ning Zhuo’s relief, the mechanical ape did not infuse the stone pillar with spiritual energy, and therefore did not obtain the trial disciple’s mark.

Ning Zhuo also came to the five-sided stone pillar.

When he saw the ranking, he was greatly shocked!

He was only number one in four lists, and in one of the lists, he had been squeezed into second place.

“The Qi Refining List is tied for first, but the Essence Refining List has fallen behind. I am also on the third level of Essence Refining now.”

“What’s going on?”

The mechanical ape obviously had other opportunities and had cultivated the Demon Infusion Blood Tendon Art early on!

“Yuan Dasheng?” Ning Zhuo stared at the mechanical ape’s name, lost in thought.

“The mechanical ape is obviously a non-human demon cultivator.”

“From its martial arts skills, and its various performances in the maintenance room, it can be seen that it is quite intelligent.”

“It has a name, and I seem to have seen this name somewhere…”

Ning Zhuo had many doubts in his mind.

How did this demon cultivator named Yuan Dasheng get the Demon Infusion Blood Tendon Art ahead of time?

Does it live in Fire Persimmon Immortal City?

At first, Ning Zhuo thought that the mechanical ape was likely a Lava Demon Ape in the volcano. But the subsequent discoveries dispelled this guess.

“Where exactly have I heard this name?”