City Lord’s Mansion.
"We pay respects to Young Master Meng Chong!" Sixteen cultivators greeted in unison.
Their cultivation levels were uniform, all at the peak of Qi Refining Stage, third layer, practicing the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.
Standing next to Meng Chong, Fei Si spoke at the right moment, "Young Master Meng Chong, allow me to introduce them briefly."
"Many of them were personally recruited by me."
"This one is named Li Duolun, skilled in using saw blades to attack and kill enemies. When designing new mechanical devices, he likes to use interlocking wheels."
Li Duolun took a step forward and cupped his hands towards Meng Chong, "I am willing to serve Young Master Meng Chong."
He was a tall, fat man with a decent appearance, chubby-faced, and big-eared, resembling the statues of Buddha in temples.
Fei Si continued, "This is Feng Feidao. His flying knife wrist crossbow is extremely precise, capable of shooting over a dozen knives at once."
"Each knife can split into four or five more. The countless knives scatter in the air, coordinating to form a formation that will slice the enemy into pieces."
Meng Chong looked at Feng Feidao, noticing that he was a short, masked man wearing a martial artist’s outfit, with a pair of small, narrow eyes.
Feng Feidao knelt on one knee and swore allegiance to Meng Chong, "I will go through fire and water for Young Master Meng Chong!"
Lastly, Fei Si introduced, "This is Guan Tiesuo. His specialty is controlling large numbers of magnetic locks, which climb onto the target. The locks combine with each other to form chains, binding the enemy completely, making it impossible for them to move."
Guan Tiesuo's voice was deep and muffled as he said, "I greet Young Master Meng Chong."
Li Duolun, Feng Feidao, and Guan Tiesuo were the three most outstanding leaders in the City Lord’s Mansion’s modification team.
Fei Si had spent considerable effort recruiting them.
It was rare to find cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage with a certain level of skill in mechanics.
Mechanics was hard to learn and master. Most Qi Refining stage cultivators, if they had the resources, would choose to study alchemy, weapon forging, or formation setting. If not, they would resort to farming, fishing, or hunting.
Among the hundred arts of cultivation, mechanics was notoriously obscure. Unless one had a unique opportunity or specific circumstances, few would choose it as their first path.
"Good." Meng Chong nodded and said straightforwardly, "Next, we’ll explore the Immortal Palace together."
"It’s simple. When I charge forward, just follow me."
Meng Chong lacked command skills.
Fei Si coughed twice and tactfully reminded, "While numbers give us strength, they also have drawbacks."
"From what we know, the difficulty of the Lava Immortal Palace’s trial adjusts based on the number of participants and their strength."
"This time, with so many of us, entering the palace together might attract the Mechanical Apes to attack us, increasing the difficulty of the trial."
"There’s even a possibility of multiple Mechanical Apes attacking at once."
"If that happens, you must protect Young Master Meng Chong at all costs. Even if you have to use your bodies, do your best to divert the apes and create opportunities for Young Master Meng Chong!"
"Understood!" The modification team responded in unison, fully prepared to obey.
The City Lord’s Mansion had spies and informants in all three major families.
The news that the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, was blocking the geniuses of the three families in Room Two had already reached the City Lord’s Mansion.
Because of this, Fei Si attributed Yuan Dasheng’s appearance to the trial’s increased difficulty.
Suddenly, Meng Chong said, "Wait!"
"If that Mechanical Ape appears, none of you should interfere. I will handle it myself."
"No one is allowed to interfere in our battle. Do you understand?"
The members of the modification team exchanged glances and then looked at Fei Si.
The main branch of the Ning family all cultivated the Ice Heart Sutra.
This technique, when practiced to a certain level, often led to a calm and even cold-hearted demeanor, with no emotional fluctuations.
As the saying goes: Frost is like a blade, and the ice heart polishes the mirror. Guard your heart like ice, and no evil can invade.
The mana accumulation of the Ice Heart Sutra was not as fast as most top-tier techniques, but its strength in spiritual cultivation was unmatched.
By relying on Ice Jade Wine, one could use their spiritual cultivation to enhance their mana cultivation, perfectly compensating for the technique’s shortcomings.
"Although I cultivate the Five Elements Mana, the Ice Jade Wine is also very suitable for me."
Ning Zhuo’s spirit cultivation far exceeded his mana cultivation. Drinking Ice Jade Wine would elevate his mana cultivation.
Of course, the effects of Ice Jade Wine were most beneficial to those who practiced the Ice Heart Sutra. The spiritual wine was created to compensate for the slow
mana accumulation of Ice Heart Sutra cultivators.
The same resource had different effects and values depending on the cultivator.
Ning Zhuo felt secretly fortunate.
If it weren’t for the fierce competition around the Lava Immortal Palace, how could someone like him, from a minor branch of the family, have access to the Ning family’s core cultivation resources?
Let alone the Dao Comprehension Diagrams, even the Ice Light Strong Pulse Talismans would have been out of his reach.
But now, as long as he performed well, he had a chance to obtain the Ice Jade Wine!
In normal times, only the Ning family’s Golden Core Ancestor would have full access to the Ice Jade Wine. Even the main branch’s high-level members, including the clan leader, had to wait in line. How could it ever be Ning Zhuo’s turn?
"Hmm?" Ning Zhuo took a moment to observe the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng.
Yuan Dasheng had been left in the Lava Immortal Palace, just like before.
Through Dasheng’s perspective, Ning Zhuo noticed a large movement from the City Lord’s Mansion.
Led by Meng Chong, a modification team of seventeen people had entered the Immortal Palace, advancing in a grand and high-spirited manner.
"The City Lord’s Mansion? What a bold move." Ning Zhuo marveled in secret.
Nowadays, the three families combined could barely gather sixteen people.
The City Lord’s Mansion alone could produce sixteen people, showing they had long been prepared. Meng Kui, a strategist of such caliber, was indeed far-sighted.
"With such strength from the City Lord’s Mansion, no wonder the three families have joined forces and grown increasingly united."
As Ning Zhuo sighed, he had the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, send a message to Sun Lingtong.
Sun Lingtong’s soul still lingered in the Immortal Palace.
He was at the Foundation Establishment stage, and his soul power was abundant, allowing him to persist for two or three days without issue.
At that moment, Sun Lingtong was hiding in the preparation room, using various mechanical tools to modify his body.
Sun Lingtong was also quite skilled in mechanics.
When Ning Zhuo was younger, he had shared his mother’s mechanical manuals with Sun Lingtong.
Sun Lingtong had always studied diligently, eager to reunite with his master as soon as possible, so he had devoted himself fully to learning mechanics.
He was talented, and his comprehension skills were by no means inferior.
As a result, although Sun Lingtong’s mastery of mechanics didn’t surpass Ning Zhuo’s, it far exceeded the requirements for entering the Immortal Palace.
Receiving Dasheng’s report, Sun Lingtong was startled, "Someone’s coming?"
Then, he smiled in delight, "Good, good, good. Just as Xiao Zhuo said, let them in first."