Chapter 148: City Lord's Mansion in Full Force

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.

Fei Si smiled slightly, "Since Young Master Meng Chong has said so, you should obey."

"Understood." The group responded again in unison.

This time, however, their response was noticeably weaker than before.

Some of them exchanged looks, clearly unimpressed with Meng Chong's decision to face the ape alone.

"What have you all understood?" Fei Si thought disdainfully.

Meng Chong's decisions came from his heart, driven by his nature.

Each action allowed him to tap deeper into his nature and gain a deeper mastery of his innate immortal potential.

Since exploring the Immortal Palace, Meng Chong had experienced defeat after defeat, but his strength had improved tremendously.

"And he is far ahead of the geniuses from the three families!" Fei Si, unaware of the full truth, always believed that Meng Chong was in the lead, holding a huge advantage.

Especially after Meng Chong had recently shared the ranking information with Fei Si.

Fei Si had even asked some specific questions, and after receiving the answers, he was misled even further.

"Young Master Meng Chong has boundless potential, and the City Lord has great foresight. At this rate, he will undoubtedly take control of the Lava Immortal Palace!"

"The only concern is Zhu Xuanji!"

"This person colludes with the three families, stirring up chaos. He entered the palace under the guise of investigating the truth. Even Lord Meng Kui finds it difficult to confront him directly."

"This is quite troublesome..."

In the righteous path, one had to follow the rules. Going head-to-head was more of the demonic path's style.

The Ning family's territory.

In Ning Ze's cultivation chamber, Ning Zhuo was madly cultivating.

Clouds surrounded him, dense like cotton, completely covering him.

He lit a stick of God-Assisting Incense, meditating on the Mirror Platform Spirit Technique, his face serene and peaceful, full of compassion.

He raised his neck and gulped down large amounts of exquisite Spirit Food while practicing the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique.

Sitting cross-legged on a cushion, he actively inhaled and exhaled, practicing the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, while using the Ice Light Strong Pulse Talisman and Sharp Progress Needle to boldly open new meridians.

While Meng Chong, Zheng Jian, and Ning Xiaohui were all stuck at the peak of the Qi Refining Stage, third layer, Ning Zhuo's cultivation had already reached the late stage of the fifth layer. His essence refining had advanced to the sixth layer, and his spirit cultivation had soared to the late sixth layer!

"Since I grasped the embryonic form of the divine ability 'Life Hanging by a Thread,' every time I cultivate my spirit, the results have been extraordinary, with no bottlenecks, progressing smoothly."

"My Demonic Blood Tendon Technique quickly broke through to the sixth layer, thanks to my relentless consumption of Spirit Food, along with high-quality elixirs."

"But the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, which I began cultivating first, has fallen behind, only at the late stage of the fifth layer."

"Even with the help of the Ice Light Strong Pulse Talisman and Sharp Progress Needle, it's still like this."

"Unfortunately, to be safe, I can't use the Zhou family's Gather-Disperse Spirit Tide Formation. If I could use it, perhaps I could push my mana cultivation to the sixth layer."

Ning Zhuo recalled the message passed down from the higher-ups of the Ning family.

The Ning family's Golden Core Ancestor had personally decreed that the family's modification team would receive strong support, with access to more unique and excellent cultivation resources.

"Three bottles of White Snow Spring Pill are provided to the entire team as a safety net. With these excellent healing pills, there's no fear of suffering damage from rapid cultivation."

"Two Dao Comprehension Diagrams are also valuable. If I can comprehend the Proud Snow Art and the Frost Dominion Art, these two techniques naturally align with the Five Elements Mana and require no modification."

"The most critical resource is the Ice Heart Jade Pot!"

"This is the Ning family's treasured artifact, capable of brewing Ice Heart Jade Liquor, also known as Ice Jade Wine."

"After consuming this wine, one can use the treasure of the spirit to enhance the treasure of the body, making it the best resource for cultivating the Ice Heart Sutra."

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."