**: The Trial's End**

Peak Level 9!

Ning Zhuo felt an unprecedented strength surging within him.

Back when he was at level eight, he had frantically purified his cultivation, completely eliminating any foreign energies within his body and solidifying his foundation.

Now that he had reached level nine, he realized that purifying his Three Treasures cultivation was still necessary.

His cultivation had advanced too rapidly; it needed to be consolidated.

In this aspect, he had to slow down.

As the saying goes, sharpening the axe won't delay the chopping of firewood. Otherwise, haste makes waste!

"While refining and purifying my level nine mana, I need to search for a Foundation Establishment method. The Molten Rock Palace should have one!"

Based on Ning Zhuo's speculation, after he pushed open the third Buddhist door and cleared the three trials, the Foundation Establishment method should be right there.

"Just having a Foundation Establishment method might not be enough. From what I've read in books, many people seek Foundation Establishment aids to increase their chances of success as much as possible."

Not everyone can successfully establish their foundation.

And for someone like Ning Zhuo, who cultivates all three Dantians simultaneously, the difficulty of Foundation Establishment far exceeds the norm.

Ning Zhuo wasn't very confident.

Most of his confidence came from the Three Sects Sage.

In Ning Zhuo's view, since the Three Sects Sage left behind these three cultivation techniques, he wouldn't have left behind an immature, flawed method specifically to harm his descendants.

"Given his temperament, he should have left many Foundation Establishment aids as rewards."

Ning Zhuo had already made arrangements for purifying his level nine mana.

Previously, while at the eighth level, he hadn't used up all the charges of the Mystical Ice Pure Snow Talisman, saving them specifically for the ninth level.

"Add to that the Pure One Pill, the formation, the Clear Source Treasure Mirror, and the Whirlwind Cart—refining and purifying my mana can be completed very quickly!"

Preparing for Foundation Establishment, forging the Golden Core-level Mechanical Ape, and exploring the Molten Rock Palace were the three major tasks before Ning Zhuo.

After a brief consideration, he decided to focus his efforts next on exploring the palace!

The reason was simple.

Whether it was Foundation Establishment or forging the Golden Core-level Mechanical Ape, if Ning Zhuo attempted either alone, the results would be minimal.

If he gained something from exploring the palace, it would greatly advance both tasks.

So, he summoned layers of floating clouds to cover himself and then sent his soul into the palace.

By now, even if he entered the palace alone and was discovered, it wouldn't raise much suspicion.

However, this time, after entering the palace, he didn't find anyone else.

This was also one of the purposes of his earlier initiative to sell the subsequent cultivation methods!

Almost everyone was frantically cultivating, striving to reach the peak of the sixth level as soon as possible to push open the second Daoist door.

Ning Zhuo, alone, cleared over a dozen trials in a row.

The entire palace was empty, as if time had flowed backward to when he first started exploring it.

When he reached the third transfer hall, he didn't hesitate and chose the third Buddhist door, pushing it open.

Molten Rock Palace, Main Hall.

The Longyuan Fire Spirit, seeing Ning Zhuo push open the Buddhist door, was so shocked that it fell right off its throne, landing on the floor tiles with a thud.

It never expected Ning Zhuo to have reached the peak of level nine.

How could he be so fast?!

The Longyuan Fire Spirit was utterly astonished.

It hadn't observed this secret.

Ever since Ning Zhuo started using the Floating Cloud Handkerchief to conceal himself, the Longyuan Fire Spirit had consciously reduced its observation intensity.

Its insight ability stemmed from the Molten Rock Palace and was extremely overbearing; it could pierce through the floating clouds to see Ning Zhuo's true situation.

But doing so would rapidly deplete the floating clouds, alerting Ning Zhuo.

The Longyuan Fire Spirit didn't want to be so blunt; it was very worried that this little monster Ning Zhuo would discover its existence because of this.

Thus, it was only at this moment that the Longyuan Fire Spirit truly learned of Ning Zhuo's actual cultivation level.

However, what shocked it even more was yet to come!

After pushing open the third Buddhist door and entering the first trial, Ning Zhuo found that passing it required a繁琐 and time-consuming process.

So, Ning Zhuo used the My Buddha, Heart Demon Seal to directly exit the trial and return to the transfer hall.

From there, he set off again, successively pushing open the third Daoist door and the third Demon door.

The trials behind the Daoist door were very difficult, and Ning Zhuo lacked confidence for the time being.

The first room behind the Demon door was a special trial.

Cultivators attempting the trial could use the Demon Corrupted Blood Sinew Technique to pass various tests and eventually exchange for Blood Path Diagram Boards of different qualities.

After comprehensive consideration, Ning Zhuo still returned to the Buddhist path.

From beginning to end, this path was still the most suitable for him!

Sea of Essence, Peak Level 9!

Sea of Qi, Peak Level 9!

The Longyuan Fire Spirit watched Ning Zhuo move in and out of the three doors as easily as drinking water, and was completely numb with shock!

"What on earth happened to Ning Zhuo?"

"Could it be because of the previous Dual Cultivation?"

The Longyuan Fire Spirit had observed the battle in the underground base.

The ghost mist vortex at the time hadn't completely blocked its insight.

However, even though the Longyuan Fire Spirit knew that Ning Zhuo had interacted with the Golden Core-level Yang Chanyu,

the extent of Ning Zhuo's current cultivation progress was still rather abnormal.

The Longyuan Fire Spirit was privy to the details of the Three Sects Supreme Method.

The Three Sects Supreme Method, from the seventh level to the ninth level, heavily emphasizes the accumulation of vast mana. The amount of cultivation accumulated is three times the sum of the early and middle stages!

Ning Zhuo and Yang Chanyu had generated Two Poles Energy, but this process hadn't lasted very long.

"Why is the effect so good?"

"Is it because of Ning Zhuo's talent, or because it was actually Yang Chanyu's first time Dual Cultivating?"

However, these speculations weren't so important anymore.

The Longyuan Fire Spirit fell into a panic.

It climbed to its feet and began pacing anxiously around the main hall.

The results it had painstakingly accumulated over so many years were now almost completely ruined!

A large number of cultivators with mechanical skills had entered the palace, frantically working for the Molten Rock Palace, accumulating more and more contributions.

Zhu Xuanji had even retrieved the damaged Mechanical Demon General.

One must know that back then, the Longyuan Fire Spirit had tried countless times and expended great effort to ensure the Mechanical Demon General was lost outside!

The fear in the Longyuan Fire Spirit's heart grew with each passing day.

It longed for freedom, wanted to control its own spiritual life.

But currently, its hope of breaking free from its restraints and cage, of regaining freedom, was growing smaller and smaller.

Unwilling, it roared in anger, spewing towering flames towards the ceiling.

The Molten Rock Palace erupted into turmoil once again!

The various mechanical cultivators within the palace immediately faced danger.

Vast Fire Element power rampaged everywhere, massive magma formed tides that surged back against the palace, and the disturbed Flame Beasts reappeared around the Molten Rock Palace.

Even Golden Core cultivators had to exert their full strength at this moment to protect themselves and their livelihoods.

"Come on, hit me!" The Longyuan Fire Spirit desperately longed for Meng Kui to attack it, roaring inwardly.

But Meng Kui sat deep within the clouds, quietly looking down upon the palace's turmoil.

He didn't act immediately.

Only after many mechanical cultivators in the palace had suffered heavy casualties did he finally use the Fire Persimmon Immortal City's great formation to begin suppressing the Molten Rock Palace.

He couldn't hear the Longyuan Fire Spirit's shouts and maintained his usual style of handling affairs, striving for stability!

"Meng Kui, you fool!" The Longyuan Fire Spirit was so angry it spat fire.

While everyone else was obsessively cultivating the subsequent techniques, Ning Zhuo focused all his efforts on clearing the trials.

Third Buddhist Door, First Trial.

The teleportation light sphere spat a damaged Training Puppet onto the workbench.

The countdown began.

The invisible barrier before Ning Zhuo disappeared. He stepped forward to the workbench and immediately began examining the puppet.

"Cracked internal array in the chest, jammed leg joint, missing right arm." Ning Zhuo summarized internally, then asked himself, "How to repair it?"

There were many repair methods, but the tools and materials on the workbench were very limited.

That's right.

The first trial of the third Buddhist door tested the disciple's repair ability.

The challenger would face various damaged mechanical constructs and had to repair them within a limited time using the limited materials and tools provided.

This was already the twelfth mechanical construct Ning Zhuo had repaired consecutively.

"The materials provided allow me to make an arm to replace the puppet's missing one."

"I should try to imitate its intact left arm."

"No, that's wrong."

"This might be a trap! I should first inspect the internal array."

Ning Zhuo took out the Array Sound Hammer from his mechanical tools.

He carefully tapped the puppet's chest with the hammerhead.

After each tap, he retracted the hammer, held it in mid-air, and quietly listened to the clear sound it emitted.

The sound entered his ears, and in his mind, thoughts surged, agitated by the sound, rapidly coalescing into a corner of an array diagram.

After tapping repeatedly, the array diagram in his mind gradually became complete.

From the complete diagram, he quickly identified the missing or damaged parts. He also discerned the type of array.

"Indeed a trap!"

"This array integrates the puppet's limbs. The puppet has a left arm, but its right limb is supposed to be a drill."

If Ning Zhuo imitated the left arm and forged a right arm, he would undoubtedly fall into the trap and fail this test.

"So, the Three Sects Sage wanted to admonish us that repairing mechanical constructs shouldn't be done with preconceptions. Making judgments first is wrong; one should conduct thorough investigation and observation."

Ning Zhuo understood the Three Sects Sage's good intentions.

After repairing the Training Puppet, he smoothly advanced to the next test.

After consecutively repairing thirty-three mechanical constructs, Ning Zhuo entered the second trial.

Roar!

A living Molten Flame Ape appeared before him, giving Ning Zhuo a slight start.

He quickly noticed that this ape was injured; it could only stand on one foot.

Ning Zhuo examined it carefully: "Oh, it took an arrow to the knee."

The trial's explanation was delivered to his mind via the Life Thread.

Ning Zhuo understood: the second trial required him to work on a living creature, crafting a mechanical prosthetic limb to benefit a life with disability!

The second trial was much more difficult than the first.

Ning Zhuo failed several times. He consulted texts extensively outside, even spent some building funds at the Book Tower to exchange for relevant mechanical blueprints, improving his own abilities, before finally passing.

The Buddhist door's third trial was even more difficult.

Ning Zhuo couldn't control the Golden Blood Battle Ape · Da Sheng; he could only let it fight freely. Ning Zhuo acted as the repairman after each battle.

However, during the trial, he could collect the beasts and mechanical puppets defeated by Yuan Dasheng, repair them, and then use them to assist Yuan Dasheng in battle.

Ning Zhuo progressed with great difficulty, scraping through each minor trial, winning by a hair's breadth.

Yuan Dasheng was highly intelligent, but the trial difficulty was too high! Ning Zhuo exerted all his effort, racking his brains to collect, repair, and add auxiliary combat power for it.

The attrition rate was too high!

Often, the combat power collected in the first battle would be completely depleted by the second.

Ning Zhuo's best record was stuck at the fifth minor trial.

Until he had a flash of inspiration and discovered the correct path to clearance.

It turned out that although he couldn't participate in the battle or directly control these constructs or beasts, he could still use his repair tools during the combat process.

"The Three Sects Sage wanted to train and test our ability to repair mechanical constructs during intense battle."

After realizing this, Ning Zhuo's progress record climbed steadily.

He reached the thirty-third minor trial, where the difficulty was absurdly high.

Even going all out, Ning Zhuo couldn't keep up with repairs. The auxiliary combat power he had painstakingly accumulated was quickly overwhelmed by the horde of enemies, giving him no chance to repair during the battle.

After failing three times, Ning Zhuo reached the thirty-third minor trial for the fourth time.

He made a decision and did not withdraw the Golden Blood Battle Ape · Da Sheng.

Yuan Dasheng, following Ning Zhuo's pre-battle instructions, resolutely activated its Immortal Asset — Righteous Bones, Golden Fortitude!

With the Immortal Asset unleashed, it became invincible.

Relying solely on its own strength, it slaughtered the vast number of opponents.

Yuan Dasheng was disfigured, paying a heavy price, but forcefully pushed Ning Zhuo through the third trial.

Just as Ning Zhuo had guessed, upon pushing open the door at the end of the third trial, he reached the endpoint of this trial route!

The Foundation Establishment method was transmitted to his mind, and other rewards were laid out before him.

The voice of the Longyuan Fire Spirit, extremely weak, reached Ning Zhuo's ears: "Little... little spirit pays respects to Master."

(End of )