Chapter 315

The first small turning point, the second small turning point...

The cultivators gradually figured out the mechanism of the palace examination and added a lot of understanding to the Turning 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 paths are completely changed, and everything starts from scratch."

"So..."

"On one hand, one must break through levels at full speed. Others have passed three secret pavilions, and if I can pass six, it means the possibility of me 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 touched, and he calculated a conclusion: "This proves that within thirty-six times, there must exist a path that can allow me to break out of the Turning 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, with a large component of luck.

But in reality, one must eliminate others to exchange for more exploration opportunities for oneself, so that it is more likely to escape the Turning Secret Pavilion!

In a secret pavilion.

A battle had just ended.

Shu Zhongjun 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, unable to move.

Shu Zhongjun was an elite in the All-Book Tower, well-read in scriptures, and his methods were comprehensive and complex, ranking among the top among all cultivators.

He won the battle, but there was not the slightest 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 Shu Zhongjun'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 Huoshi Xiancheng cultivation families led by Zhu Xuanji is the most powerful."

"The City Lord's Mansion Meng family and the Unoccupied Sect are second."

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

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

In other words, Shu Zhongjun is very likely to encounter two or even more enemies.

A more troublesome point is that everyone's cultivation base is suppressed to the Qi Condensation stage. This leads to Shu Zhongjun finding it difficult to fight one against two.

Shu Zhongjun quickly cleaned up the battlefield, dismantling many components from the mechanism puppets.

He did not have methods like the "Demon-Dyed Blood Tendon Art" and could not do what Ning Zhuo did, directly demon-dyeing mechanism puppets.

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

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

Shu Zhongjun chose to return the same way.

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!" Shu Zhongjun 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." Shu Zhongjun smiled, on one hand guarding against the surroundings, and on the other hand doing his best to ease the atmosphere.

What made him 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 Shu Zhongjun; after the two sides exchanged a few words, Shu Zhongjun immediately took his leave.

Zhu Xuanji hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he did not make a move, letting Shu Zhongjun leave.

Judging from the second round of the palace examination, Shu Zhongjun was strong, with endless methods, belonging to an all-rounder.

This should be considered a characteristic of the All-Book Tower, a major force; because they collected too many scriptures, the cultivators in the All-Book Tower were basically quite comprehensive, with no obvious shortcomings.

"What a pity, if I could meet my own people, we could advance and retreat together."

"Meeting Shu Zhongjun, who is alone, I should have made a move to eliminate this major threat in advance!"

Zhu Xuanji felt regret in his heart; being alone, fighting Shu Zhongjun, the outcome was hard to determine, 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 Secret Pavilion constrained his strength to the Qi Condensation level, which made Zhu Xuanji very cautious and not easily start a war.

"Still need to reunite with others as soon as possible." Zhu Xuanji lifted his feet 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 reunite as soon as possible.

But after actually trying, Sun Lingtong tasted the flavor 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 get on his way; he had to reunite with Zheng Danlian as soon as possible.

And Zheng Danlian had red eyes, tearing apart the Red Flame demon beast guarding the front.

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

He could not touch his mechanism sickle, and a strong sense of emptiness in his heart kept torturing him.

As for reuniting or something, Zheng Danlian did not have this thought.

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

Ning Zhuo was leisurely and composed.

"The situation is very favorable for me."

The demon-dyed 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 collected.

Ning Zhuo had not mastered any storage spells, and in a situation where he could almost take nothing away, 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 reunite, the objects were limited.

It was fine for Ning Zhuo to meet any of the four people: Zhu Xuanji, Ning Jiufan, Yang Chanyu, and Sun Lingtong.

If the scope was slightly expanded, 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 had a brief encounter with Shu Zhongjun, thanks to Fei Si's letter of introduction."

"I 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 quite good.

And in the second round of the palace examination, Ning Zhuo also displayed his strength, so that when everyone was suppressed to the Qi Condensation level, they would not treat him as a soft persimmon to be squeezed!

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

Ning Zhuo had not forgotten the previous deduction.

Although they had all signed an alliance, there were also counter-methods for such things.

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

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

All cultivators were very grave 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 major turning point.

Regarding the small turning point, everyone was clear.

What was the major turning point?

Meng Chong pushed the door and entered.

The next moment, he saw Zhou Nongying.

Zhou Nongying's pupils shrank, 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 Shu Zhongjun and the Unoccupied Sect."

"If you encounter that Jin Dan cultivator of your Meng family, tell him this strategy too, okay?"

Meng Chong clenched his fists, and faint electric sparks flashed on his fists: "Not okay!"

He actually refused flatly.

Meng Chong stared at Zhou Nongying, his face full of excited fighting spirit: "We are all at the Qi Condensation 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—Galloping Thunder!

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

He was bold and heroic, actually taking the initiative to start a fight.

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

Before this, even if cultivators met each other, they were like Zhu Xuanji and Shu Zhongjun, restraining each other, very cautious, and did not make a move rashly.

Under the blessing of Galloping 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, sneering: "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 major turning point."

"Meng Chong, I spared you, 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 inevitably eliminate Meng Chong.

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

The token flew out, blocking the divine power of the magic array.

Two large characters on the token—No War!

Mechanism component No-War Plate!

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

Zhou Nongying snorted coldly, his expression displeased: "There's such a mechanism? Why haven't I 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-War Plate."

"Zhou Nongying!!"

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

Zhou Nongying: "You're coming back?!"

He was also angry.

He was actually looked down upon like this: "I want to see how many No-War 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 froze; the mechanism props Meng Chong took out were too many.

"So the major turning point is to greatly increase the possibility of us meeting." Shu Zhongjun 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. We shouldn't fight, but should join forces."

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

What Shu Zhongjun thought of, Song Fuli also thought of.

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

Instead, Meng Chong and Zhou Nongying from Huoshi Xiancheng started a battle.

At the same time, at the peak of Mount Huoshi, deep in the clouds and mist.

A burly man with a tiger's back and a bear's waist took big strides and walked in front of Meng Kui: "Brother, how have you been? 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, arrived quietly!

A cup of tea later.

Electric light filled the entire Turning 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 spraying from his wounds, and laughed toward the sky, in high spirits.

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