**: Receiving Rewards and Giving In**

Ning Zhuo stood before the five-sided stone pillar and touched its surface with his palm, immediately receiving information.

He was claiming the rewards for ranking first on the three leaderboards: the Qi Refining Ranking, the Speedrun Ranking, and the Progress Ranking!

The rewards were still the same old three options: spirit stones, mechanism parts, or spells. Ning Zhuo had to choose one from each reward set.

"The spirit stone option for each reward contains one hundred stones!" Ning Zhuo's heart trembled slightly.

His largest previous clearance reward had only been ten spirit stones.

One hundred stones was a full ten times more!

Ning Zhuo immediately decided to take the spirit stone reward at least once.

He had previously taken many items from the preparation room to set up his mechanisms. The My Buddha Heart Demon Seal didn't make them free; everything had a cost.

As he set up more and more mechanisms and traps, Ning Zhuo's spirit stones were no longer sufficient.

Suddenly gaining an extra hundred stones basically eliminated any remaining concerns for him.

There were over a dozen options for mechanism parts. Ning Zhuo saw items like the Hoisting Ring, the Force-Return Silk Spool, the Small Flying Box, and so on.

Familiar faces were also among the spell options, such as Embrace Ice Technique, Grasp Fire Technique, and Touch Wood Technique.

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was also observing Ning Zhuo. Seeing the latter standing before the leaderboard, lost in thought with his head lowered, the Fire Spirit couldn't help but show a nervous expression.

Without a second thought, Ning Zhuo began sensing the My Buddha Heart Demon Seal.

Unfortunately, he discovered that for the leaderboard rewards, he couldn't choose multiple options; he could only pick one per reward.

Seeing Ning Zhuo's attempt fail, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit snorted but still appeared tense.

"Strange," Ning Zhuo felt a hint of suspicion. "Something's a bit odd."

The youth was very adept at spotting problems from details.

"Each first-place reward is actually the same: it lets me choose one of three options."

"But the value of these three options isn't equivalent."

"The spirit stone option offers a full one hundred stones, while the other two options remain largely unchanged from the previous clearance rewards."

"I've used most of these rewards already, and I basically have all the spells."

"Patriarch Three Sects shouldn't make such a mistake... which means the actual value of the other two reward options far exceeds their surface appearance."

"I'll try them all!"

Ning Zhuo reached a conclusion.

He had three chances to claim rewards, so he selected each option once.

The one hundred spirit stones were genuine.

For the mechanism part, he chose the Hoisting Ring.

Finally, for the spell option, Ning Zhuo selected a spell he hadn't mastered yet—the Gathering Metal Technique.

In the next moment, information about the spell flooded his mind.

Ning Zhuo was visibly moved!

The Gathering Metal Technique was a spell that allowed one to draw in metal and condense it between their fingers.

Of course, that alone wasn't enough to stir Ning Zhuo's emotions.

More importantly, along with the spell information came numerous insights and comprehension about its cultivation.

Although Ning Zhuo had just obtained the Gathering Metal Technique, thanks to these cultivation insights, he instantly became as proficient as someone who had practiced it for two and a half years!

"The Method of Sudden Enlightenment? Infusing a successor with the cultivation experiences of predecessors?"

"Impressive, truly impressive."

"With this, it can save me so, so much time and effort."

Ning Zhuo was secretly overjoyed.

His background couldn't compare to Meng Chong and the others. Now, only by relying on the leaderboard rewards could he somewhat narrow their advantage.

After testing the spell reward option, Ning Zhuo carefully examined the Hoisting Ring mechanism part.

However, he found little difference from the previous clearance rewards.

Nevertheless, Ning Zhuo already had a new hypothesis about it, waiting only for future verification.

As soon as the time limit arrived, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit couldn't wait to pull Meng Chong into the immortal palace.

For the portal reward this time, Meng Chong chose a mechanism part.

Staring at the Hoisting Ring in his hand, he was quite puzzled: "How do you use this thing?"

Gritting its teeth, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit transmitted information to him, explaining the usage method and even providing the mechanism blueprint.

Instantly, two fiery whips materialized in the main hall and lashed down hard upon the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit!

*Smack, smack, smack.*

For a moment, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit clenched its dragon claws, enduring the flogging with gritted teeth. Its body trembled in pain, its face contorted.

Having received the information, Meng Chong suddenly understood: "So that's how it's used."

He frowned again; deep down, he didn't really like these small gadgets. He preferred charging straight in.

This time, he gently opened the door a crack.

After a moment's thought, he aimed the Hoisting Ring in a certain direction and shot out a blue-purple crystalline dart.

The dart quickly fused with the wall, becoming one solid piece.

Meng Chong manipulated the Hoisting Ring, and the thin rope immediately tensed.

"Use the rope for acceleration, charge through in one go!" Meng Chong focused on himself, activating his supreme innate talent, Thunderous Sprint.

In the next moment, electricity flickered all over his body.

As the thin rope retracted sharply, he pushed the door forcefully and ran with all his might.

*Crackle!* The electric light flared violently!

His speed instantly reached its peak.

He was almost like a bolt of lightning, about to slice through the air and race away.

But the next moment, a huge net flipped up from beneath the floor tiles, squarely enveloping Meng Chong.

Every strand of the net was made of Force-Return Silk! This gave the net extreme elasticity and toughness.

The net stretched taut, like a drawn bowstring.

Meng Chong's speed plummeted. Within a few breaths, his momentum was completely spent.

He was like a pellet, brutally shot back by the retracting net!

*Thud.*

A crisp sound echoed as his entire body slammed into the now-closed door.

He fell apart on the spot.

*Boom.*

The next moment, a massive heavy hammer platform weighing thousands of *jun* crashed down from above.

Meng Chong... was shattered.

Returning to his senses, Meng Chong yelled in frustration, "Ah, ah, ah!"

The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit also smacked its palm sharply, showing an angry expression.

**Dungeon.**

Han Ming slowly raised her head, looking at the reappearing youth with hanging hair. Her face was haggard, numb, and she also looked as if she were about to fall apart.

How many times had her soul essence been extracted now?

She had lost count.

Because on several occasions, she had been unconscious.

She no longer cursed or raged at Ning Zhuo. Partly because she lacked the strength—her physical condition was too poor—and partly because she had fully accepted reality.

Reality was so cruel, crushing the arrogance in her heart. She began to exhaustively contemplate how to survive.

"No, don't control me anymore. I'll help you."

"I will actively draw out my soul essence and transfer it to you."

The youth, Ning Zhuo, was slightly taken aback, then nodded: "You've finally come around, Han Ming. That's very good. I'm happy for you."

Anger surged in Han Ming's heart again, but she suppressed it: "Please give me the Soul-Seizing Shuttle and loosen some of the seals on these chains."

Ning Zhuo smiled: "No rush. Let's eat something first."

He directed over a dozen small puppets to come feed Han Ming. Some sat on her shoulders, holding long spoons to feed her soup. Others stood on her chest, holding up chicken legs, trotters, and such. Some worked in pairs, each holding one end of chopsticks, collaboratively picking up vegetables for Han Ming to eat.

After Han Ming finished a hearty meal, more small puppets held up napkins, lowering them from above her head, down along her hair, dangling them to her mouth—a high-altitude operation—to wipe the corners of her lips.

Finally, three small puppets each held up different fruits, feeding them to Han Ming as a post-meal dessert.

(End of )