Chapter 29: The Hanging Loop

With the invaluable experience of his first encounter, Ning Zhuo was no longer a stranger to darkness.

He did not hesitate, summoning the spiritual power from his spirit stones with all his strength, and began to operate the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Technique.

Click.

He drew the first mechanical component toward himself and assembled it.

It was an arm.

He drew another piece and successfully fitted it together.

This time, a wooden head.

Ning Zhuo regained his sight.

He lay sprawled atop a mountain of mechanical parts, reaching out to touch his head, only to find it was still a large, square block.

“Why is it this one again?”

“When running and jumping, it catches the wind—this negatively affects passing through the second room.”

Ning Zhuo twisted his oversized head, dragging his body with his single hand as he climbed about.

He patiently selected a pair of legs, only stopping once he found two of equal length.

His prior experience had taught him that spending time on this was entirely worthwhile.

Moreover, when choosing arms, he decided to opt for longer ones.

“I want long arms and long legs.”

“And I need to swap this head for a smaller one.”

Ning Zhuo failed.

Just as he rummaged around and chose a smaller head, ready to make the exchange, a new message appeared—The initial puppet body, determined by innate talent, cannot be freely exchanged within Room One.

“There’s a restriction?”

Ning Zhuo paused, sinking into thought.

“If the puppet is assembled based on innate talent, that means—people like Meng Chong will start in this room with puppets far superior to mine.”

“It also means that, despite the similar material of these piled mechanical parts, their performance actually differs greatly.”

Ning Zhuo then thought about himself.

“Even in the womb, I took the Early Wisdom Pill, so I have the talent of early intelligence.”

“Is it this talent that gave me this big head? So, I can’t swap it for a smaller one?”

“With the gift of early wisdom, I have this large head. It must mean the big head has its advantages, though they haven't shown yet.”

“Furthermore…”

Ning Zhuo noticed a crucial detail.

The first mechanical piece he attracted was an arm, not a head!

---

“The first time was like this, and so is the second. The arm component comes before the head.”

“Does this mean I actually possess a hidden talent, one connected to my arms, and perhaps even more outstanding than early wisdom?”

Ning Zhuo’s mind was agile, his observations keen, able to spot issues from small details.

It was entirely possible.

Talents in cultivation are myriad and strange, far too many to count. Although the Ning family had always tested for immortal potential, their methods only covered basic and typical talents. Many unique abilities could not be detected by conventional means.

Perhaps, Ning Zhuo’s arms held such a talent, unrecognized by his family.

He continued to ponder the recent information.

“The message said this is the ‘initial puppet body,’ and that it cannot be ‘freely’ exchanged within Room One.”

“Does this mean my body can actually be updated? That, in some rooms, I’ll be able to freely exchange parts?”

In just a few breaths, Ning Zhuo unraveled the seemingly ordinary message, grasping many hidden keys.

Despite the notification, Ning Zhuo still clung to a bit of hope and attempted to assemble wing components.

If he could attach wings, passing through the second room would be much easier.

As expected… it was impossible.

“So these wings, short horns, claws, and other parts are prepared for non-human entities.”

“In the future, might the Lava Immortal Palace have non-human competitors?”

Ning Zhuo climbed down from the mountain of mechanical parts.

During this process, he made another important observation.

Soon, he discovered traces left from his first exploration.

“In other words, this room is precisely Room One from my initial exploration.”

This finding was crucial!

“This isn’t a room exclusively mine.”

“In fact, the abundance of mechanical parts is a subtle reminder of this.”

“The changes I made during my exploration seem to have been preserved to some extent?”

“There’s another key issue—while exploring the Immortal Palace, might I encounter others in the same room?”

Ning Zhuo walked to the door of Room One, paused his thoughts, and reached out to touch the door.

A message appeared, the same as before—three options.

One, a spirit stone.

Two, a hanging ring for mechanical parts.

Three, a burst of spell energy.

Ning Zhuo had already planned, and without hesitation, chose the hanging ring.

---

At present, he had seventy percent of his spiritual power remaining, far more than during his first exploration. Moreover, the reward for passing Room Two still included a spirit stone.

In the long run, choosing spell energy would be most advantageous. But for now, Ning Zhuo needed immediate combat strength. Selecting the hanging ring would allow him to venture farther in this exploration.

“In the early stages, information is the most important.”

“So I must try to explore further. Only then can I gather enough intelligence, and with such a foundation, make the right decisions.”

“Ah, I wonder how far Meng Chong and the others have reached.”

“Hopefully, I’ll soon see their trails.”

The teleportation circle appeared once more, depositing a wooden ring before slowly fading away.

Ning Zhuo picked up the ring and examined it closely.

The wooden ring was about half a foot in diameter, with a thick body, inlaid with eighteen diamond-shaped crystals.

These crystals emitted a faint blue-violet glow. Whenever Ning Zhuo changed his viewing angle, the light shifted as well, making them quite striking.

“So this is the hanging ring? How do I use it?”

“Is there no explanation?”

Ning Zhuo received no information about the hanging ring.

He understood: the reward of mechanical parts also tested a cultivator’s mastery of mechanism arts.

He would have to discover its proper use himself.

With this in mind, Ning Zhuo instinctively placed the hanging ring on his brow.

Nothing happened.

He laughed awkwardly to himself, “I forgot, I no longer have divine sense.”

Divine sense originates from the Sea of Spirit, which is the upper dantian of a cultivator.

There are three dantian in this world: the upper dantian (Sea of Spirit), the middle dantian (Sea of Qi), and the lower dantian (Palace of Essence).

The upper dantian, at the brow, is the Sea of Spirit—source of consciousness, gateway of mysteries, where thoughts condense in the void.

The middle dantian, in the chest, is the Sea of Qi—seat of magical power, where energy gathers like clouds, hidden strength accumulated.

The lower dantian, within the abdomen, is the Palace of Essence—center of bloodlines, where vital essence converges, root of life.

Ning Zhuo’s puppet body was entirely wooden, lacking all three dantian. Even the “magical power” he used was merely spiritual energy drawn from spirit stones.

Holding the hanging ring in his palm, Ning Zhuo tried channeling spiritual energy into it.

Soon, the diamond-shaped blue-violet crystals inlaid on its surface all lit up, one by one.