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The Ning Family Clan Leader gave a bitter smile, "State your conditions."
With each condition Ning Xiaohui mentioned, his expression grew darker.
After she listed five conditions, the Clan Leader couldn't hold back and raised his hand to stop her, "Stop, just stop for now."
Ning Grandma, who was highly senior in status, responded unhappily, "Stop what? My granddaughter is risking her life this time."
The Talisman Hall Elder chimed in, "Clan Leader, do you know? The City Lord's Mansion has already taken action, arranging multiple patrols of the City Guard Army to conduct thorough inspections of cultivators practicing the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art in Fire Persimmon Immortal City."
"Once Xiaohui joins this competition, the danger extends beyond just the Lava Immortal Palace."
Ning Grandma snorted coldly, "We are all from the main branch, all part of the same family, not outsiders from the collateral branch. What are you being stingy about, Clan Leader?"
Ning Zhuo awoke the next day by noon.
He felt much better.
"It seems I need some elixir pills to nourish and restore my soul."
Although Ning Zhuo usually kept many elixirs in reserve, he had few that related to the soul.
Based on his first exploration of the Lava Immortal Palace, he would undoubtedly need these kinds of elixirs in the future.
"It's not just the giant tree in room number two that can weaken the soul."
"When the soul is extracted and housed within the mechanical puppet, it also gradually loses soul power."
"Thus, the stronger the foundation of the soul, the more advantageous for exploring the Lava Immortal Palace."
Ning Zhuo decided to take action.
He planned to purchase soul-nourishing elixirs from various alchemy pavilions and pharmacies in the city. Each time he bought them, he would also purchase other elixirs as a cover.
As a result, while on his way, he overheard someone complaining about the City Guard Army arresting people everywhere.
He also saw many notices posted on the walls, declaring that the City Lord's Mansion was hastily testing the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, fearing it to be a Demon Path cultivation method disguised as Dao Sect practices, and ordered that cultivators in the city temporarily refrain from practicing it.
Ning Zhuo immediately changed his plans and dared not visit the alchemy pavilions or pharmacies to buy herbs.
As he headed back, he heard some rumors that made his heart tighten.
"Meng Chong, Zheng Jian, and Zhou Zhu were all attacked and ambushed?"
"Terrifying."
"These days, even these geniuses, protected heavily by their families, face such threats."
"If someone like me, just an ordinary person, were to be exposed, I'd definitely end up worse than them!"
"Mom was right; I should just keep myself hidden."
Ning Zhuo returned home.
While more soul-nourishing elixirs needed to be stocked, the situation was too tense, so he decided to wait.
Ning Zhuo considered the black market.
However, since the explosion at the Immortal Palace, his Iron Han Armor had suffered considerable damage. The exterior of the armor, especially the back, was visibly damaged.
Crucially, one of its core components, the Foundation Establishment Pill, had been consumed until only ten percent remained.
This was Ning Zhuo's trump card and could not be squandered carelessly.
"First, I must master that spell rewarded by the Immortal Palace."
The spell Ning Zhuo had received was called the Embrace Ice Technique. Once activated, it could freeze objects held in the embrace into ice.
Ning Zhuo studied it and his first impression was that it seemed somewhat weak.
He had previously focused on the Snow Region Talisman Scripture, possessing frost-type mana and mastering several spells.
Such as the Ice Spear Technique, Frost Flower Technique, and Snowball Technique.
"The biggest drawback of the Embrace Ice Technique is that close combat is necessary for it to take effect."
"In contrast, spells like the Ice Spear Technique and Snowball Technique can generally be used for ranged attacks."
In actual combat, this flaw was substantial.
This made Ning Zhuo almost want to use the Ice Spear Technique.
In fact, he had wanted to use it while in the Lava Immortal Palace.
The problem was, he couldn't!
This boiled down to the differences and connections between cultivation techniques and spells.
Cultivation techniques, like the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art and Snow Region Talisman Scripture, were primarily used to cultivate mana.
Spells, like the Ice Spear Technique, Frost Flower Technique, and Embrace Ice Technique, were methods of applying mana.
Spells were based on the foundation of cultivation techniques.
A cultivator's mana was varied and diverse; frost-type mana wouldn't enable the use of the Fire Dragon Technique; it could at most use the Ice Dragon Technique or the Snow Whale Technique.
After acquiring Five Elements Mana, Ning Zhuo also tried using spells like the Ice Spear Technique but could not activate them.
Because his mana encompassed all five elements, to use a single-element spell, he would first need to extract the corresponding type of mana.
The Ice Spear Technique he had mastered and the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art were not compatible.
A spell redesign was necessary.
In the cultivation world, this situation was quite common.
If Ning Zhuo switched to another frost-type cultivation technique, he would likely be able to directly use the Ice Spear Technique he knew before. However, the original spell and the existing mana were not a perfect fit, leading to significant energy loss and requiring extensive modification to achieve perfect compatibility.
The Embrace Ice Technique was directly usable by Ning Zhuo.
This was because it was a spell perfectly compatible with the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art.
After practicing a few times, Ning Zhuo managed to separate the water element from his Five Elements Mana and activated the Embrace Ice Technique.
The wooden stool in Ning Zhuo's embrace was instantly covered in frost. The frost rapidly spread and thickened, and within a few breaths, it was frozen solid.
Ning Zhuo couldn't hide his astonishment, "The Embrace Ice Technique's power is surprisingly strong?"
Compared to the Ice Spear Technique, Snowball Technique, and Frost Flower Technique, the might of the Embrace Ice Technique was noticeably superior by more than a notch.
From then on, Ning Zhuo focused intently on practicing this spell in his underground workshop.
Benches, chairs, mirrors, bricks, and other items were all frozen into blocks of ice by him.
He became engrossed in the training.
The ground and corners were filled with various sizes of ice lumps, freezing everything around. The entire underground workshop was permeated with cold, turning it into an underground ice cellar.
"At the first door, the three options I encountered were a Spirit Stone, the Hangman's Noose, and a gust of air spell."
"Upon reflection, each of these options was likely intended to aid me in my trial."
"The Spirit Stone is self-explanatory. The Hangman's Noose is probably similar to my crafted Up-and-Down Wish Rope, and the gust of air spell could potentially allow the mechanical puppet to change direction mid-air or even hover momentarily."
"According to this line of thinking, the reward options before the second door were also intended to assist me in the trial."
"The Spirit Stone, not to mention, the mechanical parts weren't clear, but judging by the Embrace Ice Technique, the third room likely required combat."
Ning Zhuo analyzed the situation, his logic clear. There was evidence too—the Embrace Ice Technique was a typical attack spell.
"The first room required a cultivator to assemble a mechanical puppet; the second room tested the puppet's jumping, running, and dodging abilities; the third room could possibly be a combat room."
"From this perspective, each trial in the Lava Immortal Palace was also a lesson. It seemed that the Three Sects' Masters were not solely selecting outstanding individuals but also had intentions of training mechanical techniques."
"Alas, my soul is almost fully recovered. I just wonder when I can re-enter the Immortal Palace."
That night, an exhausted Ning Zhuo fell into a deep sleep.
He sensed something was amiss and tried to open his eyes but found only darkness.
*Startled for a few seconds, he perceived his surroundings and immediately became excited.*
"My soul has been extracted again, entering the Lava Immortal Palace!"
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