World Returns to Fire's words plunged the Squad of the Dead into deep thought. Indeed, judging by the Spirit Realm's usual mechanics, an announcement chime always signaled the completion of an objective.
Seeing his teammates lost in thought, Brother Red Chicken pondered for a second as well before speaking up: "I think you, the disgrace of Fire Masters, are just being contrarian!"
World Returns to Fire kept a straight face and replied coldly, "The heads on our shoulders aren't just for decoration. Think about it. The Spirit Realm doesn't make mistakes, so we must be the ones who are wrong. The fall of Mechanism City had another cause."
Brother Red Chicken was unconvinced. "Couldn't it just be that we've already cleared the objective, but the dungeon's rules state that there is no turning back once you enter Mechanism City, so the prompt won't trigger until we beat the boss?"
World Returns to Fire countered, "Then explain why a notification chimed when we completed the side quest to 'Enter Mechanism City Before Nightfall'? We were already inside Mechanism City back then."
Brother Red Chicken thought hard, then had a sudden flash of wit. "That's because the doors hadn't closed yet!"
World Returns to Fire was rendered utterly speechless.
*Brother Red Chicken actually has his moments of brilliance,* Zhang Yuanqing thought, before musing aloud, "Could it be that the black-robed vengeful spirit's memories were flawed, deliberately meant to mislead us?"
Xiao Yuan nodded. "That possibility can't be ruled out."
The team went quiet for a few seconds before Guan Ya said, "If Red Chicken's guess is true, we're in serious danger. In the spirit's memories, the one leading the assault on the Mohist Sect was an Ancient God of War. The final boss of Mechanism City is very likely to be him."
"Impossible!" Zhao Chenghuang's expression shifted slightly. "We can't possibly face a Dominator-level boss. The dungeon's final enemy will either be two or three Level 6s, or at most a weak Dominator."
Every member came from prominent backgrounds; their understanding and insight into the Spirit Realm's mechanics far surpassed that of wild Walkers.
If this were an instance composed entirely of peak Level 6s, the boss would certainly be Dominator-tier; otherwise, how could it temper Spirit Realm Walkers? A boss of the same level wouldn't necessarily be a match for them.
However, in this party, Level 4 Saints made up the majority, which ruled out a full-fledged Dominator as the final foe.
Considering Yuanshi Tianzun's strength, two or three Level 6s would hardly pose a lethal threat to him, making a weakened Dominator the most probable boss for Mechanism City.
Guan Ya clarified, "I meant a weakened version of an Ancient God of War. But even so, that's an evil class at the peak of combat strength. Our squad will find it hard to escape without casualties."
Zhang Yuanqing said, "Worrying won't change anything. Let's go see the boss first. By all logic, we still have one more trial to clear."
After a brief rest, the party set out again. On the cliff wall east of the valley, they found a cavern leading into the depths of Mechanism City.
They advanced through the winding cavern, climbing upward at times and descending at others through countless twists and turns. Skeletons lay strewn along the path. By observing the distribution of the remains, they steered clear of poison needles, hidden arrows, and various other traps.
The deeper they ventured, the deadlier the mechanisms became. The poison needles and hidden darts were coated in toxins so lethal that not even Xiao Yuan could withstand them, and they carried armor-piercing effects to boot.
After fifteen minutes of cautious progression, they finally emerged from the cavern, and the space ahead opened up dramatically.
It was a vast cavernous hollow carved almost entirely out of the mountain's core, filled with orderly buildings in the Song Dynasty architectural style. The streets were laid out in neat grids, resembling a miniature ancient city.
The underground settlement boasted sophisticated water supply, ventilation, and lighting systems. Several large pools lined the perimeter of the city, flanked by rows of water wheels and water houses.
The water houses channeled a portion of the fresh water into hand-carved canals for the disciples' daily use.
High above, embedded in the cavern roof, was a colossal crystal disk about sixty meters across. It concentrated external sunlight, bathing the subterranean city in light.
Layers of corridors wound up the rock face in a spiral that climbed toward the cavern's ceiling. Every ten meters along the corridors sat a two-meter-wide opening, presumably part of the ventilation system.
Yet no spinning of exhaust fans could be heard. Perhaps because the place had been abandoned for too long, the life-support systems had ground to a halt; or perhaps opening vents was simply how the ancients handled air circulation.
"How magnificent," Sun Miaomiao murmured in wonder. "This must be the headquarters of the Mohist Sect. If it weren't damaged, it would probably be even more breathtaking."
Indeed, everything lay in ruins.
The Song-style city looked as though it had undergone a violent demolition. Most of the buildings had collapsed. While the outer rim remained largely intact, the destruction worsened the further inward one looked.
A cataclysmic battle had clearly raged in the city center long ago.
The tiered walkways along the rock walls were equally fractured, snapped segment by segment. The iron chains hanging from them, which should have held platforms or wooden buckets for hoisting goods, now dangled as jagged cords of varying lengths.
Judging by the ground markings, the place must have once held countless bizarre mechanical contraptions, as the group spotted what looked like railway tracks.
Now, however, it was reduced to rubble.
While Sun Miaomiao marveled, Zhao Chenghuang, Zhang Yuanqing, and Guan Ya used Spirit Devouring and Insight to search for traces of vengeful spirits and living souls.
"No presence of vengeful spirits," Zhang Yuanqing reported.
"Living signs detected in the central district," Guan Ya announced, discovering something. She looked at her boyfriend and said, "Give me a boost."
Catching her drift, Zhang Yuanqing sank into a lunge, presenting his knee as a stepping stone.
Guan Ya took a few paces back, sprinted forward, and stepped onto his knee. Her tall, lithe figure shot into the air, leaping over ten meters high.
*Crack!*
Zhang Yuanqing's knee fractured under the impact.
*That kick definitely had some personal vengeance in it...* Grimacing in pain, Zhang Yuanqing wrapped an arm around Sun Miaomiao beside him. "Support me, support me..."
At a moment like this, he didn't dare touch Xiao Yuan.
After a token bit of resistance, Sun Miaomiao wrapped an arm around his waist, straightening her slender back to serve as a crutch.
Xiao Yuan shot Sun Miaomiao a glance before looking at Zhang Yuanqing. "Why don't you let this little sister support you as well?"
She gestured toward Asano Ryo.
"Auntie Xiao Yuan, please spare me the sarcasm... Guan Ya is coming down."
With a soft thud, Guan Ya landed and spoke rapidly: "There's an open square in the city center, roughly 1.2 kilometers away. On it stands a... mecha. There are vital signs inside it. Aside from that, I didn't spot any other enemies."
"A mecha? Are you sure you said a mecha? Can you even see that far from 1.2 kilometers away?" Brother Red Chicken looked skeptical, yet intensely fascinated. "What model is it? A Gundam or a Transformer?"
"Are all men this childish? I tell you the enemy is a mecha, and you care whether it's a Gundam or a Transformer?" Guan Ya said coldly. "To put it another way, it's a three-meter-tall humanoid mechanism. As for whether I can see clearly, you don't need to worry about a Scout's eyesight."
"Enough idle talk. Since we know who the enemy is, we'll follow standard procedure and deploy cannon fodder," Zhang Yuanqing ordered. He then glanced at Brother Red Chicken. "Optimus Prime is obviously the coolest Transformer, right? No contest."
"I think Bumblebee is better," Brother Red Chicken argued.
Zhao Chenghuang silently brought out a bronze box and summoned an Extraordinary yin corpse, directing it through the cluttered streets toward the center of the city.
The terracotta warriors had a limited operational range and could not be controlled at such distance.
Sun Miaomiao didn't work with yin corpses, and Yuanshi Tianzun's corpses were at the Saint stage, making them far too valuable to waste as cannon fodder. Even if Yuanshi Tianzun agreed to it, Zhao Chenghuang wouldn't. He couldn't bear to watch such squandering.
Yuanshi Tianzun had at least been loyal enough to leave him a Level 5 yin corpse. Zhao Chenghuang planned to purchase the one Sun Miaomiao had received as well, hoping she'd give him a forty-percent discount for old times' sake.
Cutting off his wandering thoughts, Zhao Chenghuang inhabited the yin corpse. He carefully stepped over bricks, broken timbers, and craters of various sizes. Before long, he reached the central area and saw a three-meter-tall humanoid mechanism standing silently in place.
He finally understood why Guan Ya had called it a mecha. Compared to the puppet soldiers they had encountered earlier, this mechanical construct was on a completely different level.
Its three-meter frame was cast from bronze, while high-stress joints like the elbows, knees, and wrists were assembled from resilient brass components.
Though towering, it was by no means crude; in fact, it looked remarkably sleek. It possessed an inverted-triangle physique with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs, its bronze plating etched with intricate, antique motifs.
The craftsmanship on finer details was extraordinary: the forearms housed concealed compartments for crossbow bolts, and its chest and abdomen were stoutly armored, hiding whatever mechanisms lay within.
One hand gripped a two-meter-long steel sabre, while the other bore a door-sized bronze shield.
Zhao Chenghuang shifted his gaze to take in the surroundings.
Beneath the mechanical figure lay a hundred-meter-wide Bagua diagram cast from brass, bronze, and black iron. The construct stood directly atop the Taiji fish.
There were no structures in this open expanse, making it resemble a civic square.
Of course, no such concept existed in ancient times; placing this cast-iron Bagua diagram at the exact center of the city proved it had been an extremely significant landmark.
Zhao Chenghuang stepped out of the street and reached the edge of the Bagua diagram. To his left stood three stone steles, inscribed respectively with: "Universal Love, Non-Aggression," "Heaven's Will, Unity with the Superior," and "Expel the Jin Invaders."
*Those stone steles... That means this mechanical construct is the boss! The ultimate boss of Mechanism City isn't an Ancient God of War? The antagonist of this dungeon is actually the Mohist Sect?!* Zhao Chenghuang was astonished.
Going by the pattern of Mechanism City, every trial tested two doctrines. They had already cleared three trials covering six doctrines. That left four doctrines and two trials.
Now, all four remaining Mohist doctrines were accounted for right here. Evidently, this cavern was the final map, the ultimate trial.
This completely overturned their prior assumptions.
Zhao Chenghuang brought his attention back to the mechanism at the center of the diagram, pondering whether to sprint over and attack its knees to probe its attack patterns.
The next instant, his eyes widened in horror.
Without him noticing, the construct had closed the distance and now towered barely two meters away, its cast-iron sabre raised high.
Zhao Chenghuang's yin corpse was a Bewitching Demon, retaining sharp battle instincts alongside superior reflexes, coordination, and explosive power.
The moment he registered the mechanical construct, his body moved on instinct to dodge.
Yet his tensed muscles suddenly refused to obey. The alarm and urgency in his heart vanished without rhyme or reason. The mechanical titan before him seemed to morph into a benevolent elder, an intimate friend, a dependable family member...
A split second later, the cast-iron blade cleaved down, slicing the yin corpse clean in two.
On the outskirts of the city, Zhao Chenghuang's eyes snapped open, his face blank with confusion.
Guan Ya scrutinized his expression. "You look like a man whose brother betrayed him, whose father took out a loan shark debt under his name, and whose wife cheated on him with someone else's kid. I've rarely seen an expression with so many layers... What on earth did you run into?"
Zhang Yuanqing and the others were shocked. They had never expected Zhao Chenghuang to suffer so much trauma from a single trip into the city.
Chapter 540