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Zhou Zhu nodded, "That's right."

Ning Xiaohui coldly snorted, "That Lava Immortal Palace was one of the ancient residences of the three sects' great masters. It is not something to be taken lightly. The three sects' great masters were powerful cultivators in the Void Refinement stage. The trials they left behind are not something easily overcome."

"Your fighting spirit is commendable, but you are indeed a frog at the bottom of a well, with no regard for others."

"Don't say such things in the future."

Ning Zhuo let out a sound of surprise and quickly nodded in agreement, "Oh, oh."

He had been observing their expressions.

The reason he said this was to provoke Zheng Jian and Zhou Zhu, and to probe the Zhou and Zheng families' future plans.

Unexpectedly, his reminder resurfaced painful memories, once again inflicting a heavy blow on Zheng Jian and Zhou Zhu.

Zheng Jian smiled bitterly: "The trials left by the three sects' great masters are indeed too difficult. Don't laugh at us, brother Ning Zhuo. We couldn't even pass the first trial!"

"Ah?" Ning Zhuo widened his eyes, looking genuinely surprised.

Zheng Jian was the oldest among everyone present. Additionally, being straightforward by nature, he chose to openly admit his poor performance without hiding it.

In fact, Ning Zhuo was certain to enter the Immortal Palace next, so there was no need to conceal anything from him.

"What exactly was the first trial that even Brother Zheng Jian and Brother Zhou Zhu found so difficult?" Ning Zhuo couldn't help but ask.

Ning Xiaohui couldn't help but let out a light laugh, thinking, "Zheng Jian's words were still too polite. In fact, they didn't even get a clear view of the first trial."

She hadn't entered the Immortal Palace even once!

On one hand, she had not been at the peak of the third layer for long. On the other hand, she was always protected by talismans and unaffected by soul extraction.

Because the Ning family had learned from the other two families that even if Ning Xiaohui entered the palace, she wouldn't be able to achieve much, they decided to keep her in reserve, waiting for the right moment.

Because of this, Ning Xiaohui had never tasted failure and felt no empathy for Zheng Jian and Zhou Zhu.

Seeing that Ning Zhuo was about to ask more questions, Zhou Zhenshen hurriedly clapped his hands, interrupting him, "Everyone, merely eating and drinking is rather dull. Recently, our Zhou family has recruited a mechanical cultivator named Chu Xiyao, who is quite talented."

"Brother Zheng, Chu Xiyao accompanied us to this banquet and is currently waiting in the main hall."

"Why not invite her up and let her set up a game for our entertainment?"

Zheng Jian gave Zhou Zhenshen a deep look, then nodded, "Since brother Zhou has this in mind, I welcome it wholeheartedly. Please invite the talented one up."

Moments later, Chu Xiyao entered, greeted everyone present, and bowed.

She was a female cultivator, with average looks but an attractive temperament. Her eyebrows drooped, giving her a melancholic expression, especially with her exceptionally slender waist.

Her figure was like a delicate willow swaying in the wind, arousing pity.

Though she was in the Foundation Establishment stage, she maintained a humble demeanor towards the Qi Refining stage cultivators present.

In the cultivation world, strength is revered!

But in this situation, it was not surprising.

On one hand, the gap in combat power between Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining stages wasn't particularly large.

There were many situations where this gap could be bridged!

On the other hand, this was the righteous path, not the demonic path of jungle warfare.

Much of Chu Xiyao's respect stemmed from the potential of Zheng Jian and the others.

Cultivators with spiritual roots could cultivate.

In ancient times, those with spiritual roots were extremely rare, making them inherently noble!

As the era progressed and the number of cultivators increased, the pursuit of excellent spiritual roots began!

Today, as spiritual energy became more abundant, spiritual roots were no longer valued as much, and natural talent was the key trait revered.

Chu Xiyao only had spiritual roots but lacked any natural talent. Given time, her cultivation would be easily surpassed by Zheng Jian and the others.

So, her respect was still rooted in the principle that the strong are revered!

It was just that those present would become the strong in the future!

This was similar to how some sects would immediately take in cultivators with outstanding talent as personal disciples, even if they were only in the Qi Refining stage, granting them elder-level status and respect within the sect.

Ning Xiaohui was curious: "I've heard of Senior Chu's reputation for a long time. My Ning family once tried to hire you with a hefty sum!"

"Senior refused our offer, saying you disliked restrictions and preferred freedom."

"I'm quite curious, what changed your mind and led you to join the Zhou family?"

Chu Xiyao sighed, "Wasn't it because of Zhu Xuanji?"

It turned out that Chu Xiyao, being in the Foundation Establishment stage and skilled in mechanics, met the standard for entering the Immortal Palace and competing for its inheritance rights!

She had indeed entered the Immortal Palace, had been injured, and had also gained some benefits.

During the Huoshi Festival, Zhu Xuanji failed to corner the shadow demon cultivator. Although he didn't lose all his leads, Zhu Xuanji believed that Zheng Jian had intentionally left those leads as traps for him.

Zhu Xuanji then gathered all the records from the four major forces in Huoshi Immortal City and compiled a list of suspects.

He began investigating them one by one, starting with the first name on the list!

Li Leifeng was the first he investigated.

Then came Zhao Die, who resisted and was killed by Zhu Xuanji.

Chu Xiyao knew she was definitely on that list and didn't want to leave Huoshi Immortal City. She still wanted to wait for another opportunity to enter the Immortal Palace.

So, after much consideration, she chose the Zhou family as a temporary refuge.

Why did she make this choice?

She mainly considered two points.

First, it was certainly not possible to choose the City Lord's Mansion.

The City Lord's Mansion was under the jurisdiction of the Southern Dou Court, and Chu Xiyao joining them would leave her no reason to resist Zhu Xuanji's stringent investigation!

Second, the three great families offered more lenient conditions and were far more tempting than the City Lord's Mansion.

Even if Zhu Xuanji came to trouble her, the three great families couldn't resist him head-on but could still provide some protection.

At the worst, the three great families could secretly release information, allowing Chu Xiyao to escape on her own.

The three great families were deeply rooted in Huoshi Immortal City and highly valued their family reputation.

After weighing her options, Chu Xiyao chose the most powerful of the three great families—the Zhou family.

Ning Zhuo's eyes flickered.

He had made a name for himself by participating in this small banquet, gaining the first valuable piece of information tonight.

"Is it Zhu Xuanji's actions that are driving cultivators to form alliances?"

"Some cultivators with relatively clean backgrounds are likely to seek refuge with the four major forces. But there are certainly some demon cultivators who will remain unaffiliated. They will either flee far away or band together. There will hardly be any fools who continue to act alone."

"Zhu Xuanji is methodically investigating suspicious individuals. I wonder if my mother is on that list?"

Ning Zhuo felt the pressure once again.

Chu Xiyao patted her storage bag, releasing a mechanical wooden box.

The box was square, and once it landed on the ground, it quickly disassembled, gradually forming a rectangular labyrinth game board.

Ning Zhuo immediately recognized that the board was modeled after Room No. 2.

Although Zhou Zhu and Zheng Jian had both perished under the heavy hammer at the entrance, they had caught a glimpse of the layout of Room No. 2 when the door opened.

After dying numerous times, they had managed to gather some valuable intelligence.

After setting up the labyrinth game board, Chu Xiyao took out game pieces and distributed them to Zheng Jian and the others.

The pieces were also small mechanical devices, resembling wheels with spokes and an axle.

"Isn't this a miniature version of *Yi Lun*?" Zheng Jian asked after examining the piece.

Chu Xiyao nodded, "Yes, this is *Yi Lun*!"

"*Yi Lun* is a mechanical toy often favored by young cultivators! Children would pour a pitiful amount of their mana into the *Yi Lun*, making the wheel move on its own. They would then compete to see whose wheel rolled the farthest."

"The reason it's called *Yi Lun* is because the cultivator who invented it was very weak and would always get knocked out in the first round of any competition held by his family, sect, or country!"

Chu Xiyao continued, "But the *Yi Lun* I modified can absorb not only mana but also store a certain amount of spiritual sense. What we need to do is pour mana and spiritual sense into the game piece and place it into the labyrinth game board to see whose *Yi Lun* can travel the farthest!"

Zheng Jian was a man of action. The moment Chu X

iyao finished speaking, he tossed his piece into the board!

His *Yi Lun* swiftly moved through the labyrinth, making several turns before finally crashing into an obstacle and stopping.

"Interesting!" Zheng Jian's eyes gleamed as he summarized, "Mana and spiritual sense must be abundant and work in harmony. Each step must be calculated precisely; otherwise, even the smallest mistake in coordination will quickly accumulate, causing compounding errors that drag each other down until you fail."

Chu Xiyao smiled softly, immediately complimenting Zheng Jian's keen insight.

After Zheng Jian, Zhou Zhenshen, Zhou Zhu, and Ning Xiaohui took their turns. Zhou Zhu's piece traveled the shortest distance, while Zhou Zhenshen, though weaker in cultivation, managed to go the farthest.

Ning Xiaohui's *Yi Lun* moved gracefully with a delicate charm, covering a distance second only to Zhou Zhenshen.

"Now it's brother Ning Zhuo's turn!" Zhou Zhenshen said with a smile.

Instantly, many eyes turned towards Ning Zhuo!

Zhou Zhenshen had called it entertainment, but it was fundamentally a test. In the cultivation world, individual excellence was always valued.

Undoubtedly, this test would likely determine the internal competition among the three families moving forward.

The others were familiar with each other, but Ning Zhuo was a dark horse. Despite gathering intelligence, he remained the most mysterious.

As everyone watched him openly and secretly, Ning Zhuo seemed completely oblivious. After tossing his piece, his gaze followed it, his face tense.

The *Yi Lun* made numerous turns through various obstacles, progressing slowly. It wasn't as graceful as Ning Xiaohui's nor as precise as Zhou Zhenshen's, but it continued forward, eventually reaching a record-breaking distance.

"How could this be?" Zhou Zhu was shocked!

Zheng Jian and Zhou Zhenshen both looked at Ning Zhuo!

Even Ning Xiaohui couldn't help but show surprise, reassessing Ning Zhuo.

Chu Xiyao's eyes sparkled, "It's spiritual sense!"

"This young lord from the Ning family has an exceptionally strong spiritual sense, far beyond that of a Qi Refining stage cultivator!"

"Therefore, he was able to maintain control over the *Yi Lun* for a longer period!"

"Moreover, he used the minimum amount of mana, extending the duration of coordination between spiritual sense and mana to achieve the best results!"

Ning Zhuo scratched his head, "It seems like that's the case. My spiritual sense does seem to be a bit more abundant than others my age."

"Could it be natural talent?"

For a moment, the same question crossed everyone's minds!