In his view, Chui Tiao Ke was clearly an elite of the Void Sect; otherwise, he would not have risked his life to rescue Sun Lingtong during the battle with Qi Bai.
The Void Sect was a common enemy of both Zhu Xuanji and Meng Kui. By investigating the Void Sect, it would also be possible to divert the Zhu family's attention and resources, thereby killing two birds with one stone. Why wouldn't he cooperate actively?
Two days later.
Zhu Zhen hurriedly came to find Zhu Xuanji to report his two findings.
"The City Lord's Mansion discovered many cloud threads from the Up-and-Down Ruyi Rope. Upon investigation, it was found that some of these threads are specialties of the Flying Cloud Kingdom."
"Although I haven't found any clues about the Ten Thousand Li Traversing Dragon, I did discover that a large number of cultivators are secretly trying every means to contact the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit. After further investigation, I confirmed that these cultivators all originate from the Meng family!"
Zhu Xuanji's brows immediately furrowed.
Zhu Zhen's first finding did not attract much attention from Zhu Xuanji; it was at most a side evidence.
The second discovery was the key point.
After a brief moment of thought, Zhu Xuanji immediately understood: "It seems the Meng family had long been aware of the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit's secret."
"In that case, he has probably been holding back, never fully confronting the Scarlet Flame Beast tide!"
Meng Kui, relying on deduction techniques, had sensed the secret of the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit through fate energy and had been concealing it until now.
Now, through the investigation of the second Golden Furnace, Zhu Xuanji had circled around and uncovered part of Meng Kui's truth.
"Good, good, good, truly worthy of being the wise general of the Meng family!" Zhu Xuanji looked up at the heavy clouds above.
At this moment, his heart was filled with anger: "These feudal lords and great families!"
But immediately, Zhu Xuanji suppressed this anger deep in his heart.
He asked Zhu Zhen to continue investigating the Ten Thousand Li Traversing Dragon, while he sent a flying message to contact Meng Kui, requesting a meeting.
Meng Kui made the first move, receiving Zhu Xuanji to meet him.
Currently, with two Nascent Soul-level Scarlet Flame Beasts in the beast tide appearing frequently, the Lava Immortal Palace had almost become an isolated island.
For Zhu Xuanji, at the Golden Core stage, to enter and exit the Lava Immortal Palace alone would be risky.
Only with Meng Kui's protection could he safely come and go.
When Zhu Xuanji met Meng Kui, he pretended not to notice Meng Kui's small actions. With his expression grave, he spoke directly about the critical situation, saying that the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had developed a rebellious heart and wanted to escape.
Meng Kui naturally showed a look of astonishment, but in his heart, he realized that Zhu Xuanji probably knew about his small actions.
Zhu Xuanji knew about Meng Kui's small actions but pretended not to know.
Meng Kui guessed that Zhu Xuanji already knew about his small actions but also pretended not to know.
Both sides were aware of each other's performance and were willing to continue the act.
Zhu Xuanji said, "Now the volcano is erupting, and the situation is precarious. Any slight mistake could lead to the destruction of the entire Immortal City and countless city residents."
"The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit is bombarding Fire Persimmon Mountain, trying to use the situation to pressure us and create an opportunity for its escape."
"From today onwards, we must seal the void and prohibit all teleportation methods within a ten-mile radius. Activate the formation's ability to observe the world and mark all Nascent Soul-level presences to prevent Nascent Soul beasts from attacking Fire Persimmon Immortal City."
Meng Kui showed a hint of hesitation: "Sealing the void and observing the world are the trump cards of the city's protective formation. Using them too early will deplete spirit stones excessively, leading to a lack of follow-up resources. Lord Zhu, how did you determine that such measures are necessary now?"
Zhu Xuanji smiled slightly, took out a royal decree, and displayed it: "I don't need to explain to you. Lord Meng, you just need to cooperate." Meng Kui's pupils contracted slightly; even at the Nascent Soul level, he couldn't override a royal decree.
The Meng family was one of the pillars of the Southern Bean Kingdom, and Meng Kui was a court minister, naturally subject to many constraints held in the hands of the Zhu royal family.
The royal decree in Zhu Xuanji's hand was genuine, and seeing the decree was like seeing the king. Meng Kui did not want to defy it and sighed: "I disagree with Lord Zhu, but since you insist and have brought out the royal decree, I will act according to the order."
"However, once the Lava Immortal Palace matter is resolved, I will report the details, and I hope Lord Zhu Xuanji will not mind."
"Of course," Zhu Xuanji said, as the royal decree in his hand took effect, transforming into flying eyebrows and dissipating with the wind.
The royal decree was extremely precious and powerful.
Using it once would consume one piece.
But Zhu Xuanji's arrangement was to find a way to block the Ten Thousand Li Traversing Dragon. He knew that forcibly activating the city's protective formation would be and was risky, but he had no choice!
As for the Ten Thousand Li Traversing Dragon, Zhu Xuanji did not mention it to Meng Kui at all.
Previously, Meng Kui had hidden the secret of the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit from him. Now, Zhu Xuanji concealed the existence of the Ten Thousand Li Traversing Dragon from Meng Kui. To have both sides open up and cooperate sincerely was not impossible, but indeed very difficult.
[...]
As Zhu Xuanji expected, the second round of the palace trial had long reached its end, and after the twenty-seventh round, it was announced to be over.
The results of the second stage of the palace trial were immediately displayed.
The cultivators were not surprised.
They had been participating in the palace trial while carefully keeping track.
Because most of the time, the ten arenas were transparent and visible, and the cultivators who had a bye, stood below to observe comprehensively. Therefore, the results of most arena matches could be checked.
Even if they couldn't investigate, they could roughly deduce the outcome based on the strength gap between the two sides.
What the cultivators didn't know was how the results of the second stage of the palace trial would combine with the current overall ranking.
They were unclear about the weight of the second stage's results on the total score and how it would be calculated.
The truly tense moment arrived.
The new overall ranking list was released!
First place, Zhu Xuanji.
Second place, Book Master.
Third place, Zheng Dan.
Fourth place, Meng family cultivator A.
Fifth place, Zheng Shuangjun.
Sixth place, Purple Dawn Pavilion Golden Core true disciple.
Seventh place, Ning Jiufan.
Eighth place, Yang Chanyu.
Ninth place, Entry Standard.
Tenth place, Zhou Nongying.
Eleventh place, Ning Zhuo.
Twelfth place, Meng Chong.
Thirteenth place, Song Fuli.
According to the second stage of the palace trial, ten more were eliminated, leaving only thirteen to enter the third stage.
As the results came out, the expressions of the cultivators in the main hall square varied.
Those who were eliminated looked heavy-hearted, while those who made it relaxed, exhaling turbid air, no longer as tense.
Carefully studying this ranking list would reveal many insights.
Zhu Xuanji being first was something everyone had anticipated. Zhu Xuanji was already first in merit, and he had the most victories in the second round of the palace trial.
Book Master being second was also understandable. After all, in the previous merit ranking list, Book Master was already at the forefront. This time, he performed well in the second round of the palace trial, only losing more to Zhu Xuanji.
The two Golden Core cultivators of the Zheng family were ranked third and fifth, worthy of being from the Zheng family, which focused on artifact refining and had many advantages in creating mechanical constructs.
The representative cultivator from the Meng family was only the fourth-place external aid cultivator A, and the twelfth-place Qi Refining genius Meng Chong showed signs of fatigue.
The Purple Dawn Pavilion Golden Core true disciple occupied the sixth place on the list, which did not surprise anyone. Purple Dawn Pavilion and Great Purity Palace were both super sects, and since they could send Golden Core true disciples to compete for the palace master position, they must have carefully selected their candidates.
From the performance of the Purple Dawn Pavilion's Golden Core true disciple, one could infer that if the Great Purity Palace's true disciple had not died, he might have been on the list as well. In this regard, many cultivators on the list should thank Zheng Danlian.
Ning Jiufan and Ning Zhuo both made the list. Entry Standard and Yang Chanyu did as well. In the overall ranking, the Void Sect and the Ning family were about the same.
Some cultivators, seeing this, sighed that Ning Zhuo had made a great contribution. In the latter half, he severely injured the Golden Blood Battle Ape Dasheng, causing Entry Standard Sun Lingtong's performance to plummet, ultimately only reaching ninth place.
Zhou Nongying fell to tenth place. This was a bit awkward.
From this point of view, the Zhou family seemed to have suffered the most losses in the second round of the palace trial. Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zeshen were both eliminated, leaving only one Golden Core survivor.
In fact, many Golden Core cultivators were also eliminated.
For example, Zhu Zhen from the royal Zhu family. He also realized his elimination result early and withdrew, not investing energy in the palace trial, but actively completing the tasks assigned by Zhu Xuanji.
Similarly, two Golden Core true disciples from the cloud merchants were also eliminated.
Among the Meng family's Golden Core cultivators, many were also eliminated. The second stage of the palace trial revolved around mechanical constructs, and all cultivators' cultivation levels were suppressed to the Qi Refining stage, minimizing the differences in cultivation.
Overall, most were Golden Core cultivators, with only one Foundation Establishment cultivator — Sun Lingtong, and two Qi Refining stage cultivators — Ning Zhuo and Meng Chong.
Meng Chong possessed Immortal Talent, which was prominently displayed in the second stage of the palace trial. In the arena, many of his opponents voluntarily conceded, including the Meng family's Golden Core cultivators.
From this perspective, perhaps it was precisely because of supporting Meng Chong that the Meng family's Golden Core strength was significantly reduced.
Ning Zhuo's ranking was surprisingly higher than Meng Chong's.
The cultivators were initially surprised but quickly understood.
Ning Zhuo shone brightly in the second round of the palace trial. Severely injuring the Golden Blood Battle Ape Dasheng left a deep impression. The Five Elements Soldier he created seemed ordinary but was balanced, with no obvious weaknesses in any aspect. Many who faced him were defeated, and those who competed against him truly realized that this young genius was not simple.
Considering that Ning Zhuo's talent had not been measured, and even the Immortal Talent Meng Chong was suppressed, people speculated even more about Ning Zhuo's potential.
"The Ning family has produced an outstanding junior."
"Although the main and side branch lines of the Ning family have deep conflicts, Ning Zhuo has already gained Ning Jiufan's attention; his future is boundless!"
"With his talent, in decades or a hundred years, he will surely be an important figure in Fire Persimmon Immortal City."
Ning Zhuo's reputation soared.
What the public didn't know was that Ning Zhuo's real ranking was even higher.
[...]
Just one day later, the teleportation circle brought the thirteen cultivators back to the square in front of the main hall.
"The third stage of the palace trial begins!"
Boom.
In the astonished eyes of the crowd, the main hall doors slowly opened after hundreds of years.
The entrance was filled with Five Elements spiritual energy, which weaved a colorful vortex of spiritual energy.
A powerful force emanated from the vortex, pulling all the cultivators into it.
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