< Chapter 48: The Trap of Mechanisms >
"I've reached the second layer of Qi refining, hahaha!" Meng Chong exclaimed with joy in the cultivation room.
After activating Wild Sprint Thunderclap, his cultivation level soared, starkly contrasting with his previous practice sessions, bringing him immense pleasure and a sense of achievement.
His excitement grew as he practiced, gradually becoming addicted.
Wild Sprint Thunderclap, Wild Sprint Thunderclap, Wild Sprint Thunderclap!
The more he used this superior talent, the more he liked it, the more he relied on it.
Fei Si sensed something was wrong and advised him gently.
Meng Chong moderated himself slightly while cultivating, frowning.
He genuinely felt uncomfortable: "So slow, too slow!"
"It's like a snail's pace!"
Of course, this was an illusion.
But after unleashing his nature, he became increasingly impatient.
"Just one more time."
"One more time wouldn't hurt, right?"
Wild Sprint Thunderclap, Wild Sprint Thunderclap, Wild Sprint Thunderclap…
"Hahaha!" His exhilarated laughter echoed through the cultivation room.
Ning Zhuo entered the palace for the sixth time.
He formally entered Room Four.
Room Four was not much different in layout from Room One, filled with scattered mechanical parts.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit watched Ning Zhuo with pursed lips, expressionless, observing his every move without offering any hints.
Ning Zhuo attempted to assemble the mechanical parts; his movements paused, and he was instantly restrained by the Divine Ability—Life Hanging by a Thread.
The young man tried to activate a treasured seal, to no avail.
He tried approaching the exit, touching the door, and again received information about a reward.
"Can this be the end of the level?"
"No, this room must be useful. I just haven't figured it out yet."
Ning Zhuo pondered for a moment and tried to activate the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, but there was no response.
Seeing this, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit unconsciously got up, supporting itself on its four limbs, no longer lying down as before.
It was getting nervous.
Suddenly, an idea struck Ning Zhuo. He abandoned the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art and instead released a spell.
First, the Ice-Embracing Technique.
As soon as the spell was cast, it attracted a mechanical part, which flew towards him.
Ning Zhuo quickly caught it, and due to the force of the collision, he had to step back.
"I guessed right!" he rejoiced inwardly.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, irritated, slapped its dragon claw and gritted its teeth.
Ning Zhuo had figured it out again!
The new mechanical part was a forearm with a hand, very robust, capable of floating in the air.
Ning Zhuo continued to release spells, obtaining another floating arm, a mechanical wooden staff, and a set of mechanical rings, totaling twelve.
"The more spells mastered, the greater the enhancement received in this room."
"This challenge mainly tests one's skills and spells."
Ning Zhuo entered Room No. 5.
A long corridor unfolded before him, at least ten times longer than Room No. 2.
What kind of mechanisms and traps would there be this time?
At the lord's mansion.
"Hahaha!" Meng Chong laughed uproariously, looking up to the sky, "I've reached the peak of the third layer in just three days. Who can be as fast as me?"
For three days and nights, he had barely slept or rested, but now he had finally succeeded.
"I must be the first to enter the Immortal Palace!" he declared.
The next moment, everything before Meng Chong's eyes went dark, as his soul was abruptly drawn out.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit excitedly stood up; it had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
It impatiently communicated to Meng Chong, "Lava Immortal Palace, Puppet inheritance, Life Hanging by a Thread, Qi Refining test… Awaken your talent, fully activate The Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, pass through room one, and reach room two!"
Instantly, a whip of fire formed in the main hall of the Immortal Palace, fiercely lashing the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit.
With a crisp snap, the whip struck the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, causing it to fall to the ground.
The fire whip dissipated, and the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, grinning in pain and excitement, saw that Meng Chong had received the crucial hint and began furiously circulating The Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.
At the same time, faint sparks of electricity began to emanate from his torso.
The sparks of electricity flickered increasingly, emitting crackling sounds.
A small mountain made of mechanical parts began to tremble slowly, and five mechanical parts shot out from it.
The parts soared through the air and, within a few breaths, collided with Meng Chong’s main torso, instantly assembling themselves.
Meng Chong clenched his fists, thrust out his chest, and shouted upwards as electric light gathered around his body, erupting into a beam of lightning that shot upwards, forming a column of electric light with an impressive force.
His movements caused the mountain of mechanical parts to collapse.
Amidst the dust and debris, Meng Chong stood tall and proud, taking large strides forward.
He touched the door and received a reward message.
"The trial of inheritance at the Lava Immortal Palace is quite interesting!"
Meng Chong did not even glance at the options for mechanical parts or spells, and directly chose the spirit stone.
"Room number two, here I come." He forcefully pushed open the door and strode in with vigor.
Bang! He triggered a mechanism, and a massive hammer platform fell from above.
Meng Chong didn't even have time to react before he was completely smashed into countless wooden pieces.
"What happened?" Without his puppet body, Meng Chong's soul was sent back to his flesh body.
He was completely stunned.
After some reflection, he realized, "It seems that after I opened the door, I triggered a trap."
Meng Chong thought for a moment and directly summoned Fei Si.
Upon learning of his ordeal, Fei Si first enthusiastically congratulated him, praising Meng Chong for a good while.
Meng Chong snorted, "I am the most talented person of the current Meng family generation; I won't disgrace my grandfather! Now, what should I do?"
Fei Si sighed, "So, the trial of inheritance at the Lava Immortal Palace has undergone such a significant change at the Qi Refining stage!"
"These days, I have been reading various reports about the three sect masters, trying to understand their thoughts and emotions."
"If I'm not mistaken, Young Master Meng Chong, the door reward you encountered contains a crucial option that could bring you great help."
Meng Chong immediately fell into thought: "Spirit stones, hanging rings, and a burst of energy, which could it be?"
"When can I enter the Lava Immortal Palace again?" After his failure, even though he still had plenty of soul power left, he had to wait three hours.
It was Ning Zhuo's seventh entry into the palace.
During his previous attempt, he failed in Room Five, completely depleting his stored spiritual power.
"Room Five and Room Two are similar; I need to run and maneuver through all the obstacles to reach the endpoint."
"The difficulty has increased at least threefold!"
"Although I acquired quite a few mechanical components, I'm not familiar with them. In my rapid running and dodging, they became a burden."
"The key issue is that the additional mechanical components also increased the consumption of spiritual power."
Ning Zhuo entered Room Two and found that the trap he had set up had been triggered once.
The massive hammer platform…
He had assembled it previously to smash the ranking stone pillars. On his fourth entry into the palace, he had an idea to move it to Room Two and set up a trap.
On his fifth entry, he was excited to find that the trap was still in place.
The experiment was a success!
Thus, using the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, Ning Zhuo added many new features to Rooms Two and Three.
"Meng Chong entered the palace."
"Hmm, he was smashed."
"I already know the minimum interval is three hours. So, I can roughly estimate the timing to avoid running into him."
A sense of urgency rose again in Ning Zhuo's heart, his expression becoming cautious.
"Such superior talent…"
"This time, I should add a few more traps."
"Otherwise, I won't be at ease."