Chapter Summaries

Ning Zhuo refused Zheng Jian’s demand to surrender control of the medical clinic and began addressing his dire merit shortage by helping Ning Clan members qualify for clinic positions. He left his followers energized and continued the plan despite a Zheng Clan scout watching them.

• Zheng Jian tried to persuade Ning Zhuo to yield the medical clinic to Zheng Clan, but Ning Zhuo refused and ended their negotiation on bad terms.
• Ning Zhuo considered his negative merit balance and concluded he needed the strength of other factions and Ning Clan members to qualify for the Palace Trial.
• Ning Zhuo led Ning Clan members to repair a mechanism pillar, completing the difficult work while instructing Ning Yong to make the final gear adjustments.
• Ning Zhuo awarded most of the repair merits to Ning Yong, who reached the Medical Practitioner qualification and was sent to the medical clinic.
• Ning Zhuo noticed a Zheng Clan scout observing them, dismissed the concern, and urged his group to continue helping members earn merits.

Ning Zhuo tried to protect the Ning Lineage as the Zheng Lineage escalated its pressure, then met Zheng Jian to negotiate clinic positions and cooperation. Yang Chanyu assassinated Zheng Jian during the meeting, attacked Ning Zhuo, and fled, leaving the lineage conflict in turmoil.

• Zheng Jian failed to match Ning Zhuo's gains at the clinic and suspected the Serious Illness Treatment Room held a secret, while deciding the Zheng Lineage should wait for an opportunity to overpower the Ning Lineage.
• Zheng Dan Lian used a Mechanical Scythe to kill a Golden Core Stray Fire Serpent and demonstrated that the weapon could threaten the medical clinic.
• Ning Jiu Fan showed Ning Zhuo reports of the Zheng Lineage attacking Ning businesses and the Black Market; Ning Zhuo proposed seeking Meng Kui's protection by splitting from the lineage, but Ning Jiu Fan rejected the risky plan.
• Ning Zhuo met Zheng Jian and offered to help Zheng Lineage cultivators become Medical Practitioners in exchange for clinic positions, but Zheng Jian refused to let Ning Zhuo keep even one position.
• Yang Chanyu stabbed Zheng Jian through the heart, then attacked Ning Zhuo; his Oil-slick Talisman blocked her strikes, and she fled after promising to kill him next time.

Yang Chanyu killed Zheng Jian with the Soul-Seizing Halo Blade, while Ning Zhuo survived and reported the attack to the Golden Core cultivators. The Unempty Gate’s assaults threatened the Modification Team’s efforts to secure Magma Immortal Palace posts, and the chapter ended with Zheng Jian’s grieving teammates angrily rejecting Ning Zhuo’s attempt to mourn him.

• Ning Zhuo told Ning Jiu Fan that Yang Chanyu had attacked him and Zheng Jian, and Zheng Dan Lian arrived to confirm Zheng Jian’s death.
• Ning Zhuo recounted the attack to Zheng Dan Lian and Zheng Shuang Gou, then Zhu Xuanji traced the scene and identified Yang Chanyu’s Soul-Seizing Halo Blade as the weapon that took Zheng Jian’s soul.
• Zhu Xuanji said Yang Chanyu had left no trace to follow, while Zheng Dan Lian demanded royal intervention and threatened to defect before Zheng Shuang Gou and Ning Zhuo calmed the situation.
• Ning Zhuo warned the Golden Core cultivators that the Unempty Gate could target the Modification Team to prevent them from gaining Magma Immortal Palace posts, leaving the cultivators unsure how to respond.
• Zheng Hua organized a memorial for Zheng Jian, and the Modification Team members blamed Ning Zhuo when they heard he had come to pay his respects.

After Zheng Jian’s death, Ning Zhuo mourned him publicly and promised to help the Zheng Lineage secure medical hall positions, while privately explaining his motives to Ning Jiu Fan and receiving new protective talismans. As Ning Zhuo advanced his plans and used Zheng Jian’s purified spirituality, Meng Kui foresaw the dragon turtle sinking into magma, and a Nascent Soul Level Fire Walking Snake rushed toward the Magma Immortal Palace.

• Ning Zhuo mourned Zheng Jian before the Zheng Lineage, turned their anger toward revenge, and pledged to help them earn Medical Practitioner positions while halting his own Lineage’s pursuit of further medical hall advancement.
• Ning Zhuo explained his decision to Ning Jiu Fan, who replenished the Oil-slick Talisman and gave him a Water to Fish Talisman for escape.
• Ning Zhuo helped the Zheng Lineage Modification Team earn merits and secure medical hall posts, arranged other positions for his Lineage, and stored Zheng Jian’s purified spirituality in a Mechanism Ring.
• Meng Kui used his divine ability and saw the dragon turtle wounded and sinking into magma, but still could not see Unempty Gate’s fortune.
• The Nascent Soul Level Fire Walking Snake revealed itself and charged toward the Magma Immortal Palace.

A Nascent Soul Level Fire Walking Snake attacked the Magma Immortal Palace, breaking its shield and unleashing a swarm of lesser serpents inside. Ning Zhuo fought to protect the palace and preserve his merit while Meng Kui battled the beast, leaving it badly injured and unable to recover.

• A Nascent Soul Level Fire Walking Snake struck the Magma Immortal Palace's shield, and Meng Kui used Palm's Mysterious Secrets to attack it.
• The Fire Walking Snake burned and battered the shield, sending a swarm of lesser Fire Walking Snakes into the palace, where cultivators led by Zhu Xuanji and Zhu Zhen fought them.
• Ning Zhuo joined the battle with the Ning clan's Modification Team, using Fire Apes, Fire Bamboo Snakes, and mechanical Flying Wanderer Hands against the swarm.
• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit secretly disrupted the shield's mana and directed Mechanical Creations toward vulnerable areas as it hoped the damage would help it escape its prison.
• Meng Kui intercepted the Nascent Soul Fire Walking Snake and used a finger-calculation spell that left the beast crippled and unable to recover its injuries.

As the Crimson Flame Demon Beasts overwhelmed the Magma Immortal Palace and forced the Palace Trial to begin early, Ning Zhuo sacrificed the My Buddha Heart Demon Seal in a desperate bid to improve his standing. The merits were settled, and the selected top thirty-three included Ning Zhuo and Yang Chanyu.

• Ning Zhuo checked his merits after the Fire Walking Snake retreated and planned to modify the Fire Ape to steal the cores of invading snakes.
• The Nascent Soul Level Fire Walking Snake invaded repeatedly, while Ning Zhuo's Fire Ape research stalled and he replenished Zheng Jian's spirituality using the belongings of the dead.
• A core building collapsed, the golden barrier developed holes, and a vast tide of Crimson Flame Demon Beasts overwhelmed the palace's outer defenses.
• Zhu Xuanji took command and organized a defensive line as the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit celebrated the palace's peril and the early Palace Trial.
• Ning Zhuo sensed the trial was imminent and offered the My Buddha Heart Demon Seal through a teleportation ring.
• The Palace Trial began and merits were settled; Ning Zhuo and Yang Chanyu appeared on the list of the top thirty-three.

The Palace Trial ranking appeared, revealing thirty-three candidates and raising questions about the mysterious final entry, “Entry Standard.” Ning Zhuo realized that Sun Lingtong had been using his name, while Meng Chong and Fire Persimmon Immortal City's factions discovered they had been deceived; Sun Lingtong faced the prospect of their anger.

• Zhu Xuanji studied the Palace Trial ranking, noted the leading Golden Core cultivators and Ning Zhuo's position among the Trial Disciples, then grew troubled by the final entry, “Entry Standard.”
• Meng Chong discovered that “Entry Standard” was a person who had ranked ahead of him in the trial checkpoint and vowed to confront them.
• Zhou Zhu and Zhou Ze Shen concluded that “Entry Standard” was likely Sun Lingtong and that he had fooled the city's major factions.
• Ning Zhuo realized his merit had only just secured the last place on the list and was relieved that the mistaken identity between him and Sun Lingtong remained intact.
• Yang Chanyu identified Sun Lingtong as “Entry Standard” and warned that Fire Persimmon Immortal City's leaders would be furious with him.

The Palace Trial ranking list leaked, triggering speculation and violence as cultivators prepared to protect the candidates. The first round began with a written test on unfamiliar techniques, leaving Ning Zhuo anxious despite finding the questions intriguing.

• The leaked ranking list angered Fei Si and Ning Xiaoren, while Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother insisted the list was fake because Xiaohui was absent.
• The weakened Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit feared Ning Zhuo might become palace master and resolved to prevent it.
• An assassinated contestant’s corpse was found, causing people to suspect Yang Chanyu, who stayed hidden with Sun Lingtong as cultivators grew more willing to attack listed candidates.
• Ning Zhuo sought protection from Ning Jiu Fan, and Zhu Xuanji gathered the candidates and their guardians to encourage cooperation and collect golden furnace fragments.
• The first Palace Trial round began in a vast plaza, where candidates had to answer questions on jade slips and the ten lowest-ranked contestants would be eliminated.
• Ning Zhuo read questions about unfamiliar cultivation techniques, while the candidates worried that nobody knew how to answer them.

The first round of the Magma Immortal Palace Trial ended with a jade-slip examination, and the rankings exposed Sun Lingtong as the apparent top scorer while Ning Zhuo stayed inconspicuous. After the scores were combined with the merit list, the Palace eliminated the lowest-ranked cultivators, and the remaining contestants awaited the later trials.

• Book Lord asked Zhu Xuanji about the Three Sects Forefathers' Techniques and tried to buy his knowledge of the Demon-Tainted Blood Tendon Art, but Zhu Xuanji refused.
• Zheng Dan Lian, Zhou Nong Ying, Ning Jiu Fan, and others discussed why the Three Sects Forefathers' Techniques had not been taught before the trial.
• Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong kept their knowledge of the techniques hidden, with Sun Lingtong deliberately limiting his answers while acting under Ning Zhuo's name.
• The first-round ranking placed Entry Standard first, Book Lord second, and Zhu Xuanji third, prompting the cultivators to accuse Sun Lingtong of cheating while Yang Chanyu defended him.
• The combined merit and examination rankings put Zhu Xuanji first and Book Lord second, left Ning Zhuo inconspicuous, and eliminated the lowest-ranked Trial Disciples and Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

After the first round of the Palace Trial, Ning Zhuo arranged to have most of the surveillance methods on him removed and prepared for the increasingly dangerous second round. As rival factions began targeting one another, Luo Shang ordered Han Ming to contact the City Lord's Mansion with information that could put Ning Zhuo in danger.

• The second round was announced as a Ranking Tournament, and ten arenas emerged in the palace plaza.
• Ning Zhuo asked Ning Jiu Fan to help remove the surveillance methods on him, and Zhu Xuanji arranged for the Golden Core Cultivators of the three clans to remove them while keeping his and Ning Jiu Fan's methods in place.
• Zheng Shuang Gou tried to buy Ning Zhuo's Golden Core Level mechanism ape, but Ning Zhuo refused to sell it.
• Meng Kui confirmed that the Mirror Platform Spirit Communication Art, Demon-Tainted Blood Tendon Art, and Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art were the Three Sects Forefathers' Techniques.
• Ning Zhuo refused offers to buy his mechanism ape or bribe him to throw matches as violence and attacks spread through Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
• Luo Shang ordered Han Ming to contact the City Lord's Mansion with intelligence about Ning Zhuo, hoping an attack on him would give Meng Kui leverage against Zhu Xuanji.

Han Ming turned herself in at the City Lord’s Mansion and reported the Soul Devouring Sect’s scheme, prompting Fei Si to warn Meng Kui. Meanwhile, Zhu Xuanji investigated the golden furnace as Ning Zhuo and the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit prepared to stop him, but Ning Zhuo demanded to learn the second Palace Trial’s subject before firing.

• Han Ming approached the City Lord’s Mansion, surrendered to Fei Si, and described how she had been plotted against and abused.
• Fei Si recognized that the Soul Devouring Sect meant to sow discord between Meng Kui and Zhu Xuanji, then sent a messenger with a warning to Meng Kui.
• Meng Kui used Palm's Mysterious Secrets to send Fei Si’s letter through the damaged Immortal Palace toward Zhu Xuanji, who was investigating the golden furnace in Gourd Fire Furnace Forest.
• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit warned Ning Zhuo that Zhu Xuanji was nearing the furnace connected to Yuan Dasheng’s transformation into a Mechanical Creation.
• Ning Zhuo raised six Five Elements Cannon Towers aimed at the golden furnace, then refused to fire until the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit revealed the second Palace Trial’s subject.

Zhu Xuanji investigated the ruined golden furnaces and discovered that Yuan Dasheng’s corpse had been smelted into a mechanical ape, while Ning Zhuo worked to keep the truth from endangering him and Sun Lingtong. As the second round of the Palace Trial approached, Ning Zhuo lent Ning Jiu Fan the Golden Core mechanical ape, and Fei Si began testing Han Ming’s testimony.

• Ning Zhuo ordered the Five Elements cannons to fire, letting Zhu Xuanji inspect Furnace Number Five before the bombardment forced him out of the area.
• Zhu Xuanji saw that Yuan Dasheng’s corpse had been smelted into the mechanical ape used on the Soul Entering Immortal Palace route, then received Meng Kui’s letter and coordinated with him.
• Ning Zhuo realized Zhu Xuanji’s investigation had exposed the furnace’s secrets, but believed his earlier confession about the Unempty Gate had helped him avoid suspicion.
• Ning Zhuo met Sun Lingtong, told him what he had learned, and hid Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality inside the Golden Core mechanical ape after preparing it to counterattack on command.
• Ning Zhuo lent the partly dismantled Golden Core mechanical ape to Ning Jiu Fan, who gave him the Ice Sculpture Secret Canon in return.
• Fei Si visited Han Ming in the dungeon and challenged him to demonstrate how Tassel-Haired Wanderer had used him to increase his Soul Foundation.

Fei Si used Han Ming to draw out Luo Shang and negotiated cooperation between the Soul Devouring Sect and Fire Persimmon Immortal City. As Meng Kui weighed the city’s threats, Ning Zhuo entered the second round of the Magma Immortal Palace trial, where the candidates would compete in mechanical-creation arena matches.

• Fei Si threatened Han Ming, but Luo Shang’s Golden Core Ghost General emerged from her body and stopped his attack.
• Fei Si offered Luo Shang cooperation, and Luo Shang agreed to preliminary negotiations after learning the city would help the Soul Devouring Sect explore the soul reserves beneath Fire Persimmon Mountain.
• Meng Kui considered the city’s mounting threats and planned to let the beast tide erode the Magma Immortal Palace before intervening.
• Ning Zhuo studied the Ice Sculpture Secret Canon and recognized its connection to the Ning family’s ice-element talismans.
• Ning Zhuo entered the second Palace Trial round, where twenty-three candidates would compete in timed one-on-one matches centered on Mechanical Creations, with the bottom ten ultimately eliminated.

Ning Zhuo used the trial’s materials and tools to build a Mechanism Puppet for the Palace Trial. He named it the Five Elements Soldier, equipped with firecracker attacks and a water-drop defense.

• Ning Zhuo discovered that the patterned worktable could provide mechanical tools once the Palace Trial began.
• Ning Zhuo inspected the materials and planned to use the Fist Gold for a framework, the ancient wood for spiritual channels, and the Spirit Stone to power a Spirit Gathering Array.
• Ning Zhuo shaped charcoal-baked clay into a vessel, melted and refined the Fist Gold three times, and formed a hollow framework.
• Ning Zhuo cut the ancient wood into bone cores, made an array plate, and shaped fire essence into firecrackers.
• Ning Zhuo inscribed arrays and added Frost Talismans to the Frost Flower Water Drop, then attached it to the framework and covered the puppet in charcoal-baked clay.
• Ning Zhuo made more firecrackers and named the completed Mechanism Puppet the Five Elements Soldier.

Ning Zhuo defeated Feng Feidao in the second Palace Trial by using the Five Elements Soldier’s balanced design and resource efficiency to outlast the Wooden Arrow Hero. In the plaza, Ning Zhuo realized that the missing cultivator’s slot remained in the tournament, which would require at least twenty-five rounds and last at least ten days.

• Ning Zhuo finished preparing and testing the Five Elements Soldier before the trial deadline.
• Ning Zhuo recognized Feng Feidao and identified the swift, longbow-wielding Wooden Arrow Hero as his opponent.
• Feng Feidao attacked with explosive and ice-tipped arrows, while Ning Zhuo advanced behind a water shield and used firecrackers to destroy the Wooden Arrow Hero’s thorny growths.
• Ning Zhuo forced Feng Feidao into a war of attrition, and the Five Elements Soldier’s elemental arrangement helped it conserve spiritual power as the Wooden Arrow Hero slowed and suffered damage.
• Ning Zhuo’s Five Elements Soldier defeated the Wooden Arrow Hero in close combat, earning him one point of battle record.
• In the plaza, Ning Zhuo deduced that the tournament still counted the assassinated cultivator’s empty slot and would involve at least twenty-five rounds over at least ten days.

Ning Zhuo studied the contestants’ mechanism puppets during the Palace Trial and recognized that his Five Elements Soldier was outmatched by several rivals. As the increasingly difficult second question put Sun Lingtong at risk, he secretly gave her Golden Blood Battle Ape Dasheng, which she brought into the next day’s competition.

• Ning Zhuo compared the Red Turban Army, Vajra Guardian, and Frost Envoy with his Five Elements Soldier and judged that he would likely lose against their creators.
• Ning Zhuo worried that Sun Lingtong’s weaker mechanism skills could expose her identity if she was eliminated, while he conceded whenever he faced Zhu Xuanji or Ning Jiu Fan.
• After the first question ended, Ning Jiu Fan returned Ning Zhuo’s mechanism ape and its Round Wood Alert Pillow mechanism.
• The second question required less material and a low-grade spirit stone, making the trial harder as Sun Lingtong and her allies began losing more matches.
• Ning Zhuo secretly met Sun Lingtong at the Serious Illness Treatment Room and gave her Golden Blood Battle Ape Dasheng after restoring Yuan Dasheng’s spirituality to it.
• On the third day, Sun Lingtong brought Golden Blood Battle Ape Dasheng into the competition, astonishing the others.

Sun Lingtong used Golden Blood Battle Ape Dasheng to reverse her losing streak in the Palace Trial, while Ning Zhuo concealed Nether Envoy Qi Bai. A Nascent Soul Level beast broke into the Magma Immortal Palace, damaging its defenses and creating an opening for Zhu Xuanji to investigate the golden furnace ruins; the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit urged Ning Zhuo to bombard them to stop him.

• The Modification Team members recognized Golden Blood Battle Ape Dasheng and cursed Sun Lingtong when they realized Unempty Gate had been behind their past defeats.
• Sun Lingtong used Golden Blood Battle Ape Dasheng to defeat opponents including Meng Chong and Zhu Xuanji, while the others speculated that Unempty Gate possessed another powerful mechanism puppet.
• Ning Zhuo took advantage of the attention on Sun Lingtong to keep winning, while Zhu Xuanji focused on the unexplored second, third, and fourth golden furnace ruins.
• A Nascent Soul Level Flame Treading Lizard joined the attack, overwhelmed Meng Kui alongside the Fire Walking Snake, and shattered the Magma Immortal Palace's barrier.
• Crimson Flame Demon Beasts invaded the palace, and their assault damaged its restrictions so Qi Refining Stage and Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators could enter and leave without mechanism attainment.
• Zhu Xuanji saw a chance to investigate the golden furnace ruins, so the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit urged Ning Zhuo to bombard the area and make him give up.

Ning Zhuo thwarted Zhu Xuanji’s attempt to reach the Gold Furnace ruins, then defeated Meng Chong in the Palace Trial by countering his mechanisms. His growing battle record drew attention, and a crime wave in the Black Market forced its leaders to seek his help.

• Ning Zhuo used deployed Mechanical Creations and Five Elements Cannon Towers to repel the Crimson Flame Demon Beast horde, frustrating Zhu Xuanji’s search for clues at Gourd Fire Furnace Forest.
• Ning Zhuo refused to destroy the Gold Furnace ruins and ordered the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit to warn him about schemes against him as he pursued the Palace Master position.
• Ning Zhuo faced Meng Chong in the eighth test of the second round and adapted his design to counter Meng Chong’s fast-built mechanisms.
• Ning Zhuo defeated Meng Chong decisively, and a Meng family member noticed his high ranking in the battle statistics.
• Ning Zhuo received word that public security had collapsed in the Black Market and merchants were demanding compensation, prompting the Black Market’s leaders to contact him.

Ning Zhuo focused on the Palace Trial while the Black Market and the Magma Immortal Palace faced growing dangers. After an assassin tortured Ning Xiaoren and forced him to obstruct Ning Zhuo, Ning Xiaoren realized he had no easy way to reach his well-guarded enemy.

• Ning Zhuo ordered the Black Market to seek support from Ning Youfu and Ning Houjun, then sent Ning Xiangguo and Ning Xiangqian to lead more than a hundred cultivators into the Magma Immortal Palace.
• Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong performed strongly in the Palace Trial, drawing attention from cultivators who wanted to stop Ning Zhuo from winning.
• Ning Xiaoren fought exhaustedly against a pack of Flame Treading Lizards, and Ning Xiaohui's grandmother risked her life to block one so the formation could destroy it.
• The Magma Immortal Palace's defenses held against the beast tide, but two Nascent Soul Level beasts damaged its outer perimeter as Unempty Gate assassins targeted Palace Trial participants.
• A Masked Assassin tortured Ning Xiaoren with a gu worm and ordered him to obstruct Ning Zhuo within three days.
• Ning Xiaoren agreed to the task but concluded that Ning Jiu Fan's protection made Ning Zhuo difficult to attack.

Ning Xiaoren and Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother conspired to kidnap Ning Ji and use him against Ning Zhuo, while the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit warned Ning Zhuo of their plan. Ning Zhuo let the kidnapping proceed and sent ransom money, but the masked group rejected it and kept Ning Ji captive.

• Ning Xiaoren, controlled by a gu implanted by the Masked Assassin, decided to interfere with Ning Zhuo by kidnapping Ning Ji.
• Ning Xiaoren persuaded Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother to help, claiming Ning Zhuo had secretly imprisoned her granddaughter and urging her to take a hostage in exchange.
• The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit informed Ning Zhuo of the plot, but Ning Zhuo ordered it not to interfere so he could turn the scheme to his advantage.
• Ning Xiaohui’s grandmother captured Ning Ji, and the masked group helped Ning Xiaoren send ransom letters to Ning Ji’s parents.
• Ning Ze and Wang Lan entered Magma Immortal Palace and asked Ning Zhuo to rescue Ning Ji; Ning Zhuo sent Ning Xiangguo with ransom money.
• The masked group rejected the ransom, intending to keep Ning Zhuo distracted, and Ning Ze and Wang Lan went back to confront Ning Zhuo.