Chapter 315

First small turning point, second small turning point……

The cultivators gradually figured out the mechanism of the palace examination and added a lot of understanding to the Turning Mechanism Secret Pavilion.

Zhu Xuanji jumped flexibly, while breaking through mechanism traps, he secretly pondered: "From the palace examination rules, the way to victory is to find the correct path, leave this mechanism maze, step into the main hall, and sit on the throne."

"But in reality, there are many mechanism secret pavilions, and when everyone accumulates thirty-six times, the order will be shuffled again."

"The previously broken-through routes change completely, and everything starts over from the beginning."

"Therefore……"

"On one hand, one must break through the levels at full speed. If others have passed three secret pavilions and I can pass six, it means my possibility of finding the correct path is a cut higher than others."

"On the other hand, I need to eliminate others as much as possible! The ideal situation is that only I am left. The thirty-six exploration opportunities are all on me alone."

"Hmm?"

Thinking of this, Zhu Xuanji's heart was moved, and he deduced a conclusion: "This proves that within thirty-six times, there must exist a path that can allow me to break out of the Turning Mechanism Secret Pavilion and enter the main hall!"

The cultivators who could enter the third round of the palace examination were almost all quick-witted people. Many, like Zhu Xuanji, realized the true face of the third round of the palace examination—

It looks like finding the correct path, which has a large component of luck.

But in reality, one must eliminate others to exchange for more exploration opportunities for oneself to be more likely to escape the Turning Mechanism Secret Pavilion!

In a secret pavilion.

A battle had just ended.

Shuzhong Jun stood in the center of the battlefield with his hands behind his back. Beside him were several mechanism creations. Some were smashed, some were broken, and others were sealed and unable to move.

Shuzhong Jun was an elite from the Full Book Tower, well-read in scriptures, and his methods were comprehensive and complex, ranking among the top one or two among all cultivators.

He won the battle, but there was not a trace of joy on his face.

"The situation is unfavorable for me."

"In the previous ranking list, I was always in second place. This makes others value me too much, viewing me as a major threat."

In Shuzhong Jun's mind, there was always a clear palace examination list.

"Including me, there are thirteen cultivators in total, but they are not thirteen factions."

"But only four."

"The alliance of the Fire Persimmon Immortal City's cultivation families led by Zhu Xuanji is the largest force."

"The City Lord's Mansion Meng family and the Non-Empty Gate are next."

"The last faction is me, Song Fuli, and the Purple Firmament Pavilion Jin Dan true disciple. We are quite scattered."

When others run into each other, they may not necessarily fight; they are very likely to join forces directly because of their factions.

In other words, Shuzhong Jun is very likely to encounter two or even more enemies.

A more troublesome point is that everyone's cultivation base has been suppressed to the Qi Refining stage. This leads to Shuzhong Jun finding it difficult to fight one against two.

Shuzhong Jun quickly cleaned up the battlefield and dismantled many components from the mechanism puppets.

He did not have means like the "Demonic Blood-Tendon Art" and could not directly corrupt mechanism puppets like Ning Zhuo.

"The second secret pavilion I explored earlier was a place specifically for assembling mechanisms, and there were many suitable mechanism tools."

"Go back there first and use these spoils to assemble a mechanism puppet to keep by my side."

Shuzhong Jun chose to return along the original path.

He could not use storage equipment, but he also had temporary storage spells; after casting them, he was empty-handed and pushed open the small door.

The next moment, he froze in place.

"Zhu Xuanji!" Shuzhong Jun exclaimed in his heart, seeing the cultivator in the room.

Zhu Xuanji also immediately discovered him.

Both sides were fully alert, and the atmosphere in the air suddenly became tense.

"Lord Zhu, since the third round of the palace examination, you are the first fellow daoist I have come into contact with." Shuzhong Jun smiled, on one hand alert to the surroundings, and on the other hand doing his best to ease the atmosphere.

What made him feel slightly relieved was that he did not see other cultivators.

In this room, there were only him and Zhu Xuanji.

This situation was not the worst.

Zhu Xuanji also smiled at Shuzhong Jun, and after the two sides exchanged a few words, Shuzhong Jun immediately took his leave.

Zhu Xuanji hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he did not make a move and let Shuzhong Jun leave.

Judging from the second round of the palace examination, Shuzhong Jun was powerful, had endless methods, and belonged to an all-rounder.

This should be considered a feature of the large force of the Full Book Tower; because they collect too many classics, the cultivators in the Full Book Tower are basically quite comprehensive, with no obvious shortcomings.

"It's a pity; if I could run into my own people, we could advance and retreat together."

"Running into Shuzhong Jun, who is alone, I should have been able to make a move and eliminate this major threat in advance!"

Zhu Xuanji felt regretful in his heart; being alone, fighting Shuzhong Jun, the outcome was hard to predict, and the prospects were unclear.

If he could exert his full Jin Dan level strength, he might have made a move.

There was no way; the Turning Mechanism Secret Pavilion constrained his strength to the Qi Refining level, which made Zhu Xuanji very cautious and not easily start a war.

"Still need to meet up with others as soon as possible." Zhu Xuanji lifted his foot and continued to explore.

……

Sun Lingtong frowned: "The Lava Immortal Palace is truly powerful; it can even suppress my marriage contract!"

Before the third round of the palace examination, Sun Lingtong had received information provided by Ning Zhuo and had some understanding of the palace examination content.

He leaked it to Yang Chanyu.

The two discussed that they could use the marriage contract between them to sense each other and meet up as soon as possible.

But after actually trying, Sun Lingtong tasted the bitterness of failure.

……

"Sigh, where exactly is the Young Master? I hope he doesn't run into others in advance." The Meng family Jin Dan cultivator walked in a hurry.

……

Zheng Shuanggou was also in a hurry to catch up; he wanted to meet up with Zheng Danlian as soon as possible.

And Zheng Danlian had red eyes, tearing apart the Red Flame Monster Beast guarding the front.

The irritability in his heart kept accumulating, and he muttered: "Why, why ban my Night Rain Demonic Soldiers!"

He could not touch his mechanism sickle, and the strong sense of emptiness in his heart tortured him constantly.

As for meeting up or anything, Zheng Danlian did not have the heart for it.

He only wanted to hold his mechanism sickle and be closely together with it every moment.

……

Ning Zhuo was leisurely and calm.

"The situation is very favorable for me."

The Corrupted puppets behind him had already increased to five.

At the same time, there was a box floating in mid-air, following him closely.

This was another mechanism creation Ning Zhuo had received, and it was also one he was very familiar with—the Small Flying Box.

In this storage mechanism component, several mechanism components Ning Zhuo had accumulated were stored.

Ning Zhuo had not mastered any storage spells, and in a situation where he could almost take nothing, the appearance of the Small Flying Box solved his pain point.

The situation was indeed very favorable for him.

Or rather, it would not be an exaggeration to say it was the most favorable.

Because for others to meet up, the objects were limited.

Ning Zhuo could meet up with any of these four people: Zhu Xuanji, Ning Jiufan, Yang Chanyu, and Sun Lingtong.

If the scope was widened slightly, Zheng Shuanggou, Zheng Danlian, and Zhou Nongying were also fine.

The total number of cultivators in the third round of the palace examination was only thirteen. The objects he could join forces with were as many as seven.

"In fact, I have had a brief encounter with Shuzhong Jun, and I have Fei Si's letter of introduction to thank for that."

"I have also had transactions with Song Fuli before."

"It's just that I'm not very familiar with the Purple Firmament Pavilion Jin Dan true disciple."

Looking around, Ning Zhuo's relationships with other cultivators were considered quite good.

And in the second round of the palace examination, Ning Zhuo also showed his strength, so he wouldn't be treated as a soft persimmon to be squeezed when everyone was suppressed to the Qi Refining level!

"However, the Jin Dan ancestors of the Zheng and Zhou families still cannot be trusted too much."

Ning Zhuo did not forget the previous deduction.

Although they had all signed a covenant, there were also means to counter such things.

The possibility of vertical and horizontal alliances always existed, and Ning Zhuo never forgot the possibility of these two families cooperating with the City Lord's Mansion in private.

The mechanism sounds rang out again, and the secret pavilion vibrated slightly.

All cultivators were very solemn and cautious.

Because this time, it was already the third round of changes. According to the information, this was no longer the third small turning point, but the first large turning point.

Everyone was clear about the small turning point.

What was a large turning point?

Meng Chong pushed the door and entered.

The next moment, he saw Zhou Nongying.

Zhou Nongying's pupils shrank slightly, and he nodded expressionlessly: "It's you, Meng Chong. Go ahead; our two sides have an agreement, and I won't make things difficult for you for the time being. Not a single person on the list has moved; it is the correct strategy to first eliminate outsiders like Shuzhong Jun and the Non-Empty Gate."

"If you run into that Jin Dan cultivator of your Meng family, tell him this strategy as well, okay?"

Meng Chong clenched his fists, and faint electric sparks flashed on his fists: "No!"

He actually refused flatly.

Meng Chong stared at Zhou Nongying, his face full of excited fighting spirit: "We are all at the Qi Refining level, Senior Zhou. This opportunity is too rare, and this junior really wants to compete with you."

Zhou Nongying's face sank: "Junior, you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."

Meng Chong's eyes lit up: "If I remember correctly, Senior Zhou seems to have no talent, right?"

Immortal Talent—Rampaging Thunder!

The next moment, Meng Chong's body was like lightning, fiercely killing toward Zhou Nongying.

He was bold and daring, with great heroic spirit, actually taking the initiative to start a battle.

Since the third round of the palace examination, this was the first battle between cultivators.

Before this, even if cultivators ran into each other, they were all like Zhu Xuanji and Shuzhong Jun, restraining each other, very cautious, and did not make a move rashly.

Under the blessing of Rampaging Thunder, Meng Chong's distance from Zhou Nongying was getting further and further.

Meng Chong was astonished and puzzled.

Zhou Nongying stood with his hands behind his back and sneered: "Let me tell you, after the second turning point, I have been guarding this secret pavilion and have not left."

"I set up a magic array here in advance precisely to guard against the risks of the large turning point."

"Meng Chong, I spared you once, but you don't know what's good for you; you deserve to be eliminated."

The next moment, Zhou Nongying pointed his finger.

The magic array roared.

Meng Chong was bound, like a bug in amber, unable to move.

The next moment, the majestic power of the magic array descended! If this landed, it would definitely eliminate Meng Chong.

But the next moment, Meng Chong used magic power to infuse a token in his arms.

The token flew out and blocked the divine power of the magic array.

Two large characters on the token—No Fighting!

Mechanism component No-Fighting Tablet!

Under the activation of the No-Fighting Tablet, Meng Chong's figure slowly dissipated in place—he was teleported away.

Zhou Nongying snorted coldly, his expression displeased: "There's such a mechanism? How come I haven't encountered it."

Meng Chong's body flashed out of thin air, appearing in the secret pavilion he was in before.

"Damn it, it used my only No-Fighting Tablet."

"Zhou Nongying!!"

Unlike the choices of other cultivators, Meng Chong's anger rose, and he actually chose the door from before again, stepped in, and faced Zhou Nongying again.

Zhou Nongying: "You're back?!"

He was also angry.

He was actually looked down upon like this: "I want to see how many more No-Fighting Tokens you have!"

Meng Chong grinned: "None left, just one."

"But I have other things!"

As he spoke, he retched and spat out a long string of mechanism props from his body.

Zhou Nongying's expression condensed; the mechanism props Meng Chong took out were too many.

……

"So the large turning point is to greatly increase the possibility of us meeting." Shuzhong Jun understood.

He smiled and looked at Song Fuli in front of him: "Brother Song, meeting you is my good fortune."

Song Fuli nodded repeatedly: "Yes, our faction is the weakest. Let's not fight; we should join forces."

Basically, the cultivators in the palace examination were not stupid.

What Shuzhong Jun thought of, Song Fuli could also think of.

These two external cultivators did not make a move and immediately chose to unite.

On the contrary, Meng Chong and Zhou Nongying from the Fire Persimmon Immortal City started a battle.

……

At the same time, at the peak of Fire Persimmon Mountain, deep in the clouds and smoke.

A burly man with a tiger's back and a bear's waist took big strides and walked in front of Meng Kui: "Brother, you've been well, hahaha."

Meng Kui revealed a smile: "Meng Hu, it's good that you've come."

One of the four great families of the Meng family, Nascent Soul level, Meng Hu, had arrived quietly!

……

A cup of tea later.

Electric light filled the entire Turning Mechanism Secret Pavilion.

Zhou Nongying looked down in disbelief at the huge wound on his chest.

Then, he slowly raised his head and looked at Meng Chong, who was covered in blood and grinning foolishly opposite him.

"I, actually lost?!" Zhou Nongying muttered.

"Hahaha!" Meng Chong put his hands on his hips, ignoring the blood spurting from his wounds, and looked up to the sky and laughed, in high spirits.

Information was quickly conveyed, shocking everyone's hearts—"Meng Chong battles Zhou Nongying, the latter is eliminated!"