Chapter 96: The Illusory Lotus Seed

[Page 1 of 3]

Lava Immortal Palace.

Room One.

The puppet components began to twitch one after another, joining together to form several humanoid figures.

Before long, Puppet Zhou Zhu, Puppet Zheng Jian, Puppet Ning Xiaohui, and Puppet Ning Zhuo had assembled together.

The four of them sized one another up.

Zhou Zhu was tall and powerfully built. Several wooden hooks hovered around Zheng Jian. Ning Xiaohui’s hands were intricately constructed, markedly different from the rest of her body.

As for Ning Zhuo…

“Wow, your head is huge!” Zhou Zhu exclaimed.

Zheng Jian nodded faintly. “Now that I look at you, it seems you really do possess a hidden innate gift.”

After dying so many times, Zhou Zhu and Zheng Jian had gradually learned quite a bit, including the secrets connecting the puppets’ forms to their innate gifts.

Zhou Zhu asked, “What kinds of innate gifts result in a large head?”

“There are many,” Ning Xiaohui replied. “For example, Clear Spirit and Pure Mind, Literary Genius, Deep Wisdom Root, Soaring Divine Thought, Heaven-Bestowed Brilliance…”

Her tone was calm, but her heart was filled with astonishment. She had not expected Ning Zhuo to truly possess an innate gift.

What was more, this gift was exceptionally well suited to mechanical arts.

Ning Zhuo’s divine thought was extraordinarily abundant. Once he reached the Foundation Establishment stage, his divine thought would evolve into spiritual sense, making it even more convenient to enslave beasts, control insects, command souls, and manipulate battle constructs, zombie puppets, and the like.

Naturally, this also included every kind of mechanical creation.

“Is that so?”

“My head is indeed a full circle larger than yours.”

Ning Zhuo looked around at everyone, rubbed his oversized head, and spoke with evident delight.

After revealing a little of the advantage of his divine thought during the banquet, Ning Zhuo had successfully aroused the curiosity of the others.

His divine thought was frighteningly abundant, and there was a strong possibility that he possessed an innate gift related to it.

Yet testing innate gifts was extremely difficult. Many rare and peculiar gifts could not easily be detected.

Zhou Zeshen had therefore come up with an excellent solution.

“We can enter the Immortal Palace with our souls,” he had said.

“From what we know of the Immortal Palace, our puppet bodies reflect our innate gifts, and each possesses its own unusual manifestation.”

“If Brother Ning truly has an innate gift, it will surely reveal itself in this regard.”

“The Lava Immortal Palace was the residence of the Three Sects Superior. It should have no trouble testing innate talents!”

Once he had made this suggestion, everyone applauded it and deemed it feasible. They immediately agreed to disperse, return home, and enter the Immortal Palace with their souls at an appointed time.

And so, at this moment, they were all gathered around Ning Zhuo, examining his enormous head.

Ning Zhuo had no choice but to display an innate gift in this area.

There was simply no avoiding it.

The moment he entered the Immortal Palace with his soul, his oversized head would inevitably attract attention.

That feature was far too conspicuous.

As more and more people entered the Immortal Palace with their souls in the future, comparisons would become unavoidable, further highlighting the extraordinary nature of puppets with unusual manifestations.

It was therefore better for Ning Zhuo to reveal it proactively. That would make it easier for him to influence the thoughts and perceptions of the others.

Fortunately, there were many innate gifts that could produce an oversized head.

Some innate gifts required strict testing methods and vast expenditures of resources before they could be confirmed.

For Ning Zhuo to be forced to reveal the answer—precocious intelligence—would not be easy.

“So the Ning family now has two people with innate gifts, just like my Zhou family,” Zhou Zhu thought to himself.

Zheng Jian’s mood was heavier.

He was the only genius in the Zheng family. The other two families each had two geniuses. If things continued this way, the Zheng family would remain at the bottom for a long time.

Thinking of this, Zheng Jian hurriedly said, “Now that our three families have joined forces, Brother Ning revealing his innate gift is a cause for great celebration!”

[Page 2 of 3]

“After all, our enemy is Meng Chong.”

“He possesses immortal-grade talent. Even with Zhou Zeshen added to our ranks, dealing with him would still be difficult.”

Zheng Jian deliberately emphasized the enemy’s strength in order to strengthen the unity of the three families.

Zhou Zhu felt the same way. “We once saw Meng Chong push open the door and enter. His body was like a bolt of lightning, twisting and turning as it instantly passed through Room Two and pushed open the door to Room Three.”

“With such a performance, he must already have penetrated deep into the Immortal Palace. His progress is far ahead of ours.”

Ning Xiaohui gave a cold snort, unwilling to bolster another’s reputation. “But hasn’t Meng Chong recently fallen unconscious? That shows the later stages of the Immortal Palace’s inheritance grow increasingly difficult. Even Meng Chong could not withstand them.”

Ning Zhuo nodded. “Immortal-grade talent is indeed formidable.”

“We should choose our rewards first, then push open the door.”

“Very well.” Zhou Zhu nodded.

The four of them touched the door in succession and each selected a reward.

Zheng Jian was just about to instruct Ning Zhu on how to use the hanging ring when he saw Ning Zhuo tilt his head, think for a moment, and exclaim, “Ah, so that’s how it works. I understand now.”

With that, Ning Zhuo launched the colored diamond. It struck the wall and lodged there with remarkable solidity.

Zheng Jian’s heart trembled slightly. Ning Zhuo had figured it out far more quickly than he had.

“Could he have learned the information we accumulated in advance?” Zheng Jian wondered suspiciously.

“I’ll teach you. It works like this.” Seeing that Ning Xiaohui was still experimenting, Ning Zhuo took the initiative to speak.

Ning Xiaohui gave a cold snort. “No need!”

The instant she finished speaking, she too successfully launched a colored diamond.

Yet Ning Xiaohui was in no good mood. She thought, “I was able to figure it out so quickly because I had access to the information shared by the Zhou and Zheng families. Ning Zhuo had not come into contact with any of it…”

Zhou Zhu only dared to push the door open a narrow crack.

“If you open it any farther, a battle spear will shoot through the gap,” Zhou Zhu said, sounding like an experienced veteran. “I’m absolutely certain this is the greatest distance it can be opened!”

Zheng Jian sighed softly. “When we first came here to explore, this mechanism did not exist. As the number of times we have explored has increased, the Immortal Palace’s trials have grown steadily more difficult.”

Ning Zhuo nodded. “I see.”

Zhou Zhu continued, “Once the door is opened, our feet will be restrained, and then a heavy hammer will smash into us, crushing us to pieces.”

“If we move quickly and charge through, a net will still catch us and drag us back, after which the hammer will crush us to death.”

“If we walk along the edge, countless sharp spears will extend from the walls and impale us. Otherwise, they will force us toward the center, where the hammer will crush us to death.”

After hearing this, Ning Xiaohui fell even more silent.

Ning Zhuo suddenly said, “I have an idea. Perhaps we can give it a try.”

“Before that, I want to ask: can we use the other mechanical components in the room?”

He already knew the answer, but deliberately asked anyway.

Zheng Jian shook his head. “No.”

“Oh. In that case, the only things I can use are you three. Please dismantle yourselves first,” Ning Zhuo said.

“What?” Zhou Zhu stared at him in astonishment.

“You really have a way?” Zheng Jian asked.

“Of course I do, though I cannot guarantee that it will work,” Ning Zhuo replied.

Zheng Jian smiled. “Whatever the method, it is worth trying. What exactly do you have in mind?”

Ning Zhuo then revealed his plan.

Zheng Jian and Zhou Zhu immediately wore strange expressions. Ning Xiaohui, meanwhile, backed away three steps, shaking her head repeatedly as she flatly refused.

“No! I refuse to do that!”

A moment later, a monstrous puppet with four heads, eight arms, and eight legs suddenly shoved open the door.

Its enormous body stood firmly in the middle of the passage. When the mechanism was triggered, it immediately used one of its torsos as a shield, blocking the thrust of the battle spears.

Then it raised all eight hands and caught the heavy hammer just as it was about to descend.

The hammer had not yet fallen far enough to accumulate sufficient power when the monster puppet disrupted it and laboriously deflected it to one side.

However, the maneuver placed too great a burden on three of the monster puppet’s arms, which broke apart under the strain.

[Page 3 of 3]

“We did it! We actually did it!” Zhou Zhu’s head cried out in delight.

Zheng Jian’s head sank into thought. “There is no mistake. The Three Sects Superior truly intended to bring about cooperation among us. Such painstaking arrangements are entirely in keeping with his style.”

“I say, what are you all dawdling for? Hurry up and separate us again!” Ning Xiaohui’s head could bear no more.

Her head had been placed beneath an arm, almost in an armpit. Every movement of the arm squeezed her forehead, leaving her feeling extremely uncomfortable.

“Oh, I’ll separate us right away.” Ning Zhuo hurriedly complied.

“Just imagining that we might have to pass through the first door this way every time makes me feel miserable,” Ning Xiaohui complained.

Zheng Jian, however, said, “If it gets us through, then it is a good method. Practicality is what matters.”

Zhou Zhu added, “Exactly. Miss Ning, your head is merely beneath an arm. Mine is beneath the crotch. Do you hear me complaining?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Next time, I’ll put Brother Zheng down there,” Ning Zhuo said.

Zheng Jian gave an awkward grunt. “Actually, we can discuss that arrangement further.”

Ning Xiaohui shrieked, “In any case, I will never clear a trial this way in front of anyone else!”

A short while later, they had all returned to their original forms.

Both of Ning Xiaohui’s arms had been broken. Zhou Zhu’s torso was riddled with holes from the battle spears.

The puppet bodies of Zheng Jian and Ning Zhuo, by contrast, remained largely intact.

“Brother Ning, well done! You’ve truly made me see you in a new light.” Zheng Jian was so excited that he slapped Ning Zhuo on the shoulder.

Zhou Zhu looked around, overwhelmed with emotion. How many times had it been? At last, he could stand upright and steady on the other side of the door!

It had not been easy.

“He is the one who made all this possible.” Zhou Zhu’s opinion of Ning Zhuo rose yet again.

Ning Xiaohui remained silent.

Ning Zhuo suggested, “Next, let us continue breaking through the trials.”

“Good! I am eager to see what marvels await us in the second stage.” Zheng Jian laughed heartily.

Zhou Zhu said, “Brother Ning, you go last. We will scout the path first.”

Ning Xiaohui did not object.

Though they had not known one another for long, Ning Zhuo’s performance had already won over the others to some degree.

Before long, Zheng Jian and the others successively fell into concealed pits. Their five senses were obstructed, leaving them trapped in boundless darkness, crying out to Heaven and Earth in vain.

All of these traps had been deliberately arranged by Ning Zhuo.

He had anticipated this very situation.

With no one able to observe him, he used spells and the hanging ring to pass through Room Two with ease.

After all, he had personally arranged the overwhelming majority of the mechanical traps.

Ning Zhuo entered Room Three, immediately triggering a large number of kung fu puppets.

He then activated Yuan Dasheng to protect him.

This time, he did not even use a spell. He simply walked out of Room Three and arrived at the preparation room.

As he passed the rankings, he raised his head for a glance and sighed inwardly.

There was a flaw here.

He had already changed his name and ranked first on all five lists. Yuan Dasheng had fallen off the rankings. Yet if he entered the preparation room in front of everyone, the rankings could not possibly display Ning Zhuo’s name.

If the others noticed that, they would find it extremely strange.

“Fortunately, Yuan Dasheng is guarding Room Three at the moment. Whether Meng Chong can overcome this obstacle remains uncertain.”

“But without that sudden flash of lightning speed, the exploration team formed by the three families will find it extremely difficult to get through.”