: Tree Martial Ape’s Great Victory

With the final soft sound of impact, there was no longer a Buddhist gate before Ning Zhuo—only a seamless wall, indistinguishable from its surroundings.

"I succeeded!" Ning Zhuo was so overjoyed he wanted to laugh out loud.

Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit: ? ? ! !

It was dumbfounded.

It stood frozen in place, motionless, like a statue.

A long time passed before its gaping mouth twitched and closed slightly.

Then, in the next moment, it threw back its head and let out a furious roar, spewing a massive pillar of fire from its throat!

Ning Zhuo pressed on, sealing the demon gate as well, leaving no trace of it visible on the surface.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit went mad!

It leaped and dashed around the main hall, ramming its head against pillars and floor tiles, shaking the entire Lava Immortal Palace so violently it seemed about to jump.

Atop the Fire Persimmon Mountain, flames and lava erupted together, raging uncontrollably.

Meng Kui sighed in despair and had no choice but to intervene, activating the grand formation to suppress the riotous Lava Immortal Palace with all his might.

This was the most violent eruption in the history of the Lava Immortal Palace.

Meng Kui stood guard for a full day and night before the Immortal Palace finally calmed down.

So exhausting!

Even with his Nascent Soul cultivation, Meng Kui couldn't withstand the repeated riots of the Lava Immortal Palace.

After this arduous effort, Meng Kui's face was full of exhaustion. Dark circles appeared under his eyes, and his complexion had grown much paler.

Before long, thick smoke enveloped him, obscuring his appearance and figure.

After his soul returned to his body, Ning Zhuo took a Phoenix Soul Blood Incense Pill and closed his eyes to sleep.

While Meng Kui struggled to suppress the Immortal Palace, Ning Zhuo was sleeping soundly.

A day and night later, Ning Zhuo opened his eyes, refreshed and energetic, with most of his soul power restored.

The Phoenix Soul Blood Incense Pill truly lived up to its potent reputation!

Ning Xiaoren came to check on him.

As Ning Zhuo lay in bed and tried to rise, Ning Xiaoren stopped him.

Ning Zhuo wore a face full of shame: "Uncle Xiaoren, I've failed to live up to your expectations. I'm truly ashamed."

Ning Xiaoren comforted him gently: "It was so sudden. Who could have known the Immortal Palace had such a mechanism? This isn't your fault!"

Ning Zhuo nodded: "Through this experience, I've realized my own shortcomings. I wish to read some books, especially those related to spirituality. Uncle Xiaoren, you were my father's good friend. You'll definitely help me, right?"

"Uh..." Ning Xiaoren was taken aback, cursing inwardly, but outwardly he smiled warmly, "I'll help you look for some."

"Over the next few days, just rest in bed. Don't overexert yourself and hinder your recovery."

"Yes, Uncle Xiaoren." Ning Zhuo cupped his hands and asked, "When will the books be delivered?"

Ning Xiaoren coughed twice and had no choice but to say, "I'll hurry and arrange it, selecting some for you as soon as possible and having them sent over."

Lying in bed, Ning Zhuo then met with Ning Chen, Ning Yong, and others one after another, expressing his gratitude for their condolences and gifts.

Thanks to Ning Zhuo's previous proactive support, he was quite popular in the reform team, especially among his peers.

This was, of course, intentional on Ning Zhuo's part.

While they stood by his bedside chatting with him, Ning Zhuo secretly activated his embryonic divine ability, attaching a Life-Thread to each of them.

This expedition to the Immortal Palace had greatly enhanced his Life-Thread divine ability.

After absorbing a full nine Illusory Reality Lotus Seeds, the lotus root segment grew two new sections. Moreover, at the very top of the segment, a leaf the size of a fingernail had sprouted.

The moment Ning Zhuo sensed his embryonic divine ability, he gained many insights.

"The Life-Thread divine ability has improved significantly. Attaching threads to my peers is now effortless!"

"The qualitative change is—I can now add threads to mechanical constructs."

"To be precise, mechanical constructs with abundant spirituality."

All things possess spirituality, but not all have it in abundance.

The first thing Ning Zhuo thought of was Yuan Dasheng!

It had already reached the Lingdong Stage, and the standard for abundant spirituality was full saturation.

Late that night, after sleeping for most of the day, Ning Zhuo got up and went to his uncle Ning Ze's cultivation chamber to practice.

The guards immediately adjusted their positions, forming a protective circle around him in the central area.

With layers of floating clouds drifting around him, Ning Zhuo summoned the Golden Blood War Ape, Dasheng.

Amid the clouds, he applied his embryonic divine ability to Yuan Dasheng.

After a long while, a nearly transparent Life-Thread finally appeared above the Golden Blood War Ape, Dasheng's head.

"Success!" Ning Zhuo was exhilarated.

Suddenly, inspired by a flash of insight, he manipulated the Life-Thread and gave it a gentle pull!

In the next moment, the Life-Thread trembled and lifted.

At its end dangled a spherical, crimson spirituality.

The crimson spirituality glowed brilliantly, sometimes smooth and rounded like a whole, other times forming the adorable, dumbfounded head of a baby monkey, chirping and squeaking.

"I've extracted Yuan Dasheng's spirituality!" Ning Zhuo, the instigator, was stunned on the spot.

Just as the Life-Thread had drawn his soul out of his body and into the Immortal Palace, he had now accomplished something similar.

The Golden Blood War Ape, Dasheng, had no soul, so Ning Zhuo had completely extracted its spirituality!

"Wait a moment!"

Ning Zhuo took out another mechanical ape from his storage bag.

This mechanical ape was one he had crafted together with Zheng Jian in the Zheng family's artifact refining room.

Compared to the Golden Blood War Ape, its materials were more refined, generally two or three grades higher. After all, many things in the Lava Immortal Palace were restricted by关卡 limitations.

Following his intuition, Ning Zhuo directed the Life-Thread to connect to the new mechanical ape.

The monkey-head spirituality dangling from the Life-Thread was then channeled into the new mechanical ape.

In the next moment, the mechanical ape opened its eyes, revealing two points of green light.

Tree Martial Combat Ape, Dasheng!

The mechanical ape was colored in yellow and green, primarily made from Steel Vinewood, Gale Windwood, Black Tortoise Star Iron, and Golden Emperor Quartz.

The ape stood eight feet tall, with a slender build, long arms that reached past its knees, and a solemn, majestic expression.

To fully showcase its combat martial skills, Ning Zhuo had specially designed Tree Martial Combat Ape, Dasheng, with an articulated skeleton.

Using vibrant, living wood as its body, even if damaged in battle, it could be quickly repaired with grafting techniques.

Most importantly, it had six talisman inscription slots. Currently affixed were: Savage Strength Talisman, Swift Wind Talisman, Growth Talisman, Black Tortoise Talisman, Diamond Talisman, and Sharp Blade Talisman.

Ning Zhuo had originally designed and crafted the Tree Martial Combat Ape to train himself, attempting through combat and other methods to gradually find a body that better suited Yuan Dasheng's fighting style.

However, things had progressed more smoothly than he had anticipated—he had directly transferred Yuan Dasheng's spirituality into the Tree Martial Combat Ape!

Without needing Ning Zhuo's command, Yuan Dasheng's now-calm spirituality began to operate the new body on its own.

It moved continuously, starting with small actions like flexing its fingers, gradually progressing to taking steps, and finally waving its arms and dancing about, stirring the floating clouds violently.

Before it could cause a bigger commotion, Ning Zhuo promptly stopped it.

"This way, I can keep Yuan Dasheng by my side and use it."

This was truly a pleasant surprise for Ning Zhuo.

But the surprises didn't end there.

Among the texts sent by Ning Xiaoren, Ning Zhuo discovered secrets related to the Lingdong Stage!

(End of )