Chapter 145: Mechanical Puppet Qi Bai
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was in a frenzy, its heart burning with rage, spraying fire all over the main hall, roaring continuously.
Meng Kui struggled to suppress it, refusing to take even half a step beyond his limits.
The Red Flame Beasts had not been driven away and continued to attack the Immortal Palace in large numbers.
In an instant, the situation on the mountaintop became complicated, making it much more difficult for Meng Kui to suppress, causing him great hardship.
But there was no choice.
He was, after all, the current City Lord of Huoshi Immortal City.
Ensuring that the Lava Immortal Palace was not lost was his responsibility.
He could only endure the suffering.
Meanwhile, within the trial grounds, there was a peaceful and serene atmosphere.
Ning Zhuo looked at Sun Lingtong's soul and tilted his wooden head: "Does this count as a success?"
If one were to call it a success, Sun Lingtong's soul had indeed been drawn in.
But if one were to say it was unsuccessful, there was also a reason.
Normally, when a trial disciple first entered Room One, their soul would be lodged within the initial puppet torso, then they would activate the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art to attract other mechanical parts and assemble them.
However, although Sun Lingtong's soul had entered, it was floating in mid-air, with no mechanical parts responding to it.
A red soul flame was swirling around Sun Lingtong's soul.
This was the Phoenix Soul Fragrance Pill he had recently taken to heal his soul.
The red soul flame swayed like the tail feathers of a phoenix, containing the profound meaning of rebirth through nirvana.
"Since you haven't been assigned the initial mechanical parts, I'll try to arrange one for you," Ning Zhuo said as he took the initiative to select mechanical components like the puppet body and limbs for Sun Lingtong.
He first let Sun Lingtong's soul reside within the puppet body, then guided and helped him to assemble his puppet body.
"So this is what it feels like to become a mechanical puppet? It's really fascinating!" Sun Lingtong looked at his puppet hands, stomped his feet, and jumped a few times, feeling quite excited.
"Let's go. Room One might not be safe for long; another cultivator soul might enter the Immortal Palace any moment," Ning Zhuo urged.
Sun Lingtong nodded repeatedly.
Understanding the urgency, he quickly walked dozens of steps forward, arriving at the first door.
He touched the door, but received no information, let alone the three rewards.
Ning Zhuo's heart sank slightly, knowing it was because Sun Lingtong had entered through a cheat. Since he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator through techniques, and hadn't cultivated the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, he couldn't gain recognition from the trial.
So, how about trying the Buddha Heart Demon Seal?
In the next moment, Ning Zhuo's soul power was rapidly consumed, and Sun Lingtong immediately received the information.
"Which of the three rewards should I choose... uh," Sun Lingtong had just started speaking when he noticed that the three rewards had disappeared, and he could no longer choose.
Ning Zhuo, however, reassured him, "Don't worry, I just stopped activating Life Hanging by a Thread."
Of course, this was a lie.
In truth, Ning Zhuo had used the Buddha Heart Demon Seal.
When it came to telling such lies to Sun Lingtong, Ning Zhuo felt no guilt.
Because when Ning Zhuo was only two or three years old, Sun Lingtong had clearly told him: Everyone may have their own secrets, and you must respect others and the little secrets they keep.
Sun Lingtong, who had a deep understanding with Ning Zhuo, immediately understood his intention after hearing his words: "Indeed, this needs to be tested."
The result of the test was that Ning Zhuo had to use the Buddha Heart Demon Seal each time, in coordination with Life Hanging by a Thread, to deepen their connection and temporarily solve Sun Lingtong's unregistered status, allowing him to qualify for the Lava Immortal Palace's recognition and obtain the rewards.
"This is amazing!" Ning Zhuo praised, "With this, Big Brother Sun, you might not even need to appear on the leaderboard."
He led the puppet Sun Lingtong through the challenges and into the preparation room.
Sure enough, the leaderboard only showed two names: "Entry Standard" and "Meng Chong."
Sun Lingtong looked at the "Entry Standard" and gave Ning Zhuo a thumbs up: "Not bad, not bad! Little brother, you're really skilled."
Ning Zhuo, together with the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape Dasheng, had brought Sun Lingtong through the challenges.
They reached the first test of the Buddhist sect.
When Sun Lingtong entered the coffin room, Ning Zhuo fully focused on sensing the Buddha Heart Demon Seal and activating Life Hanging by a Thread.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit raised its head and roared in anger and grief, but due to its responsibilities, it had no choice but to relay the information.
Outside, Meng Kui was gasping for breath while suppressing the Immortal Palace.
Sun Lingtong shouted, "Alright, I've received the message!"
Following Ning Zhuo's earlier steps, Sun Lingtong began to do the same.
Soon, his puppet body scattered to the ground, and his soul returned to his fleshly body.
In the underground base, he re-infused the previously extracted divine sense, mana, and blood essence back into himself.
Following the plan he had discussed with Ning Zhuo, Sun Lingtong also stuffed the Underworld Ghost God Seal, the Soul-Chasing Rattle Drum, and the shattered golden-threaded robe back into their respective dantians.
Even the Ghost Gate Escape Grass, Sun Lingtong broke off three leaves and tucked them into his lower dantian sea of essence.
After completing this step, Sun Lingtong could only wait for Ning Zhuo to bring him back.
Soon, Ning Zhuo drew the soul back into the palace, pulling Sun Lingtong into his previous puppet body.
As this happened, a teleportation circle appeared, and Qi Bai was ejected.
"Success!"
"We did it!"
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong excitedly clapped hands in celebration.
"Lava Immortal Palace, I'm going to use it to create a mechanical construct!" The Golden-Blooded Battle Ape Dasheng dragged Qi Bai to the doorway as Sun Lingtong shouted.
Standing behind him, Ning Zhuo was his strongest supporter! At this moment, Ning Zhuo was fully invoking the Buddha Heart Demon Seal while wildly activating Life Hanging by a Thread.
"Roar—!" The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit wailed in sorrow.
Meng Kui pressed his lips together tightly, struggling to maintain the suppression.
At that time, Ning Zhuo had used Yuan Dasheng, who, despite having immortal potential, was essentially an elderly Fire Fusion Demon Ape at the Qi Refining stage.
But this time was different.
Qi Bai was a legitimate Golden Core cultivator, and he carried two magical treasures and three leaves from Nascent Soul-level treasure plants.
In the Lava Immortal Palace, there were copper, iron, silver, and gold furnaces, four levels of refining furnaces.
To refine immortal materials, one had to use the gold furnace. And once it was used to refine immortal materials, even the gold furnace could only be used once!
Qi Bai's talent wasn't high enough to use the gold furnace, but using the silver furnace with upper-tier talent was certain.
The problem was that one silver furnace was not enough.
Qi Bai had too many things on him!
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had no choice but to grudgingly refine for Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong with all its might.
This was one of the main reasons it hated living in the Lava Immortal Palace.
It had no freedom.
Even if it didn't want to, it still had to comply!
Boom, boom, boom...
One silver furnace after another exploded, unable to bear the load.
After twenty-one silver furnaces were destroyed, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit finally refined a mechanical puppet.
During this time, Meng Kui breathed a sigh of relief.
It was because the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had to focus all its attention on refining, leaving it with less energy to cause trouble, reducing the risk of a Lava Immortal Palace riot.
In the end, the mechanical puppet was completed!
Even though the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was extremely unwilling, it still teleported the mechanical puppet back, delivering it in front of Sun Lingtong.
Netherworld Envoy Qi Bai!