As the dense array of mechanical constructs slid out from the hollows in the stone walls, the deceased squad members couldn't help but grow increasingly frustrated—perhaps even muttering under their breath. Previously, the mechanical automatons had mostly appeared on one side, either to the left or the right, rarely appearing in pairs, let alone in a coordinated dual emergence. Over time, however, the mechanical constructs emerging from the wall openings not only grew stronger but also multiplied in number. Their concerns proved well-founded: the longer they delayed, the more formidable these automatons became, and it wasn't unlikely that they'd eventually face a swarm of six-tier automatons. Yet, despite all their efforts, they could only shake their heads and sigh in resignation—just one word: absolute! Then, they returned to the spiritual realm. Sun Miao-miao drew her handgun, aimed at one of the automatons, and fired. *Bang! Bang!* The automaton used the rubble for cover, evaded the bullets, and immediately altered its advance path—now veering left, now right, now leaping out from atop a mound of earth. Sun Miao-miao was startled, and shouted an alert: "There's a high-intelligence presence among these mechanical automatons "It's not just high intelligence—it's all high intelligence," Guan Ya said loudly. Her shooting was more accurate than usual, yet a bullet had just been deflected. Everyone felt a weight settle in their hearts. Not only had their physical strength and attack power improved, but they had also become "intelligent"—making it even harder to quickly defeat the mechanical puppets. As if one challenge hadn't been met before another arose, a slightly sharp voice came from above: "The mecha is healing itself!" The members of the Wandering Team instantly turned to see fine fragments of bronze gathering at the mecha's chest, gradually repairing its damage and shielding the elderly figure inside. "Xisiang!" Zhao Chenghuang's face immediately darkened. "There's Xisiang in the composition of this mecha." He knew Xisiang's properties well—its three key traits: first, self-repairing ability; second, nourishing the soul; third, its ability to seamlessly integrate into any material, making it an exceptional auxiliary material. Within the spiritual realm instance, the quantity of Xisang is scarce yet widely distributed—encountered frequently, though always in small amounts. Finding several grams at once is already a significant achievement. "We can't let it heal itself, or all our efforts from just now will be wasted—we're doomed!" Red Chicken Brother shouted. "Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, think quickly! Think fast!" "What's the point of you shouting so loudly?" Zhang Yuanqing snapped. "Cancel Plan A and switch to Plan B." Guan Ya, a decisive and calm leader. "No way! Plan B cannot guarantee zero casualties." As a leader, Zhang Yuanqing firmly rejected it. Plan A's strategy involves Sun Miaomiao single-handedly defeating the mechanical beasts, with Zhao Chenghuang and Zhang Yuanqing's spiritual attendants providing support. The others coordinate with the Yin-Yang rotating disk to swiftly eliminate the living organisms inside the armored personnel. The entire process must be completed within five minutes to prevent the activation of the "Heaven's Will" rule. Once that rule is triggered, the difficulty escalates dramatically. The B plan, as suggested by Xiahou Aotian, involves everyone working together to endure the Tianzhi phase and eliminate the mechs during the early stages of the second round—though some casualties may occur. He glanced at the mechs stationed on the Bagua Square, bit his lip, and said, "Proceed with Plan A. Everyone assist Sun Miao-miao in eliminating the mechanical beasts... I'll handle the mechs. I'll take them down. But make sure I'm not attacked by the mechanical puppets." With the situation urgent, the teammates offered no unnecessary words or excessive concern, simply trusting him and diving into battle. Kojo left Shina Yuriko behind, soaring through the sky like a fighter jet, using her unmatched speed to dodge the projectiles from the drone units and maneuvering to the rear of the mech formation, where she violently tore through one of the drones. Her hands were now streaked with blood—violent confrontation was not her forte; stealth and toxins were her strengths. Yet, against these steel giants, she had no choice but to press on and physically engage them. Fortunately, with the assistance of three star officials' spiritual attendants, the spirits of resentment surged through the air, disrupting the drones' paths and precision through their ability to manipulate objects. Zhao Chenghuang produced a bronze box, and twelve military terracotta figures emerged, forming a well-organized, stable triangular formation, steadily advancing to meet the mechanical beasts and humanoid automatons. Guan Ya, Tianxia Guihuo, and Hong Ji-guo were the main forces tackling the ground-based mechanical beasts, their close-combat specialists moving swiftly and aggressively, like the wind and like a blazing fire. While the mechanical beasts were far from able to engage them in direct combat, their indestructible steel bodies—immune to both blades and fire—could not be dismantled merely by Guan Ya and her team's words. Lady Yin Yao and Shallowo Reo were responsible for maintaining battlefield control, swiftly moving to reinforce areas that needed support, ensuring no team members were left isolated. The Cat King speaker also played a solid role, providing a lively performance on the suona horn, offering a modest but meaningful boost to the combat effectiveness. Xue Hou Ao-tian's only contribution was to provide several highly practical items for the group. On the other hand, Zhang Yuanqing pulled out the little red hat, shaking off the greedy general and the hundred-slice warrior, but he did not immediately launch an attack—instead, he focused on the yin-yang rotating disk. After the dialogue box on the disk froze for ten seconds, a new one appeared. [Question: One day, three guests arrived at a pleasure house. One was an eunuch, one a Taoist, and one a merchant. The owner called in the head beauty and told the three guests that whoever could obtain the beauty’s body would be exempt from the bill. In the end, the merchant secured the exemption.] [Note: Please explain why the eunuch and the Taoist failed, and why the merchant succeeded—answer within thirty seconds. Countdown: 00:29:45.] Zhang Yuanqing thought for zero point five seconds, and had his answer formed in his mind. Yet he would not reveal it to the mechs. He simply spoke out the only person remaining with him—Yuchi Mei—and instructed, “Mental assault!” Yuchi Mei immediately raised her head and emitted a sharp, prolonged cry. She immediately whispered, "Master, the directional array is higher than mine; the mental impact is ineffective." "What about the dream then?" Zhang Yuanqing quickly adjusted his strategy. Deep vortexes formed in Irui Mei's pupils as she stared at the distant mecha figure. After several seconds, she shook her head, "His will is exceptionally firm. It will take me fifteen minutes to draw him into the dream." Fifteen minutes—already a lost cause... Zhang Yuanqing swiftly thought through his options and issued the command, "Stabilize those bronze fragments." Irui Mei gracefully drifted into the Bagua Square, hovering above the mecha figure. With a simple press of her palms, the rapidly gathering bronze fragments instantly settled to the ground. Progress in restoration stalled. At her sixth-level peak, Irui Mei effortlessly halted Xisiao's restoration. Zhang Yuanqing still did not intervene, his gaze fixed intently on the Yin-Yang rotating disk. At the same time, he donned the Sacrificial Heaven set, retrieved the Thunderstorm Cannon, and took out the Wind-Bringer gloves. He also handed the Sliding Skis and the King of Beasts bracelet to the Greedy General, and Three minutes and eighteen seconds, three minutes and twenty seconds... he silently counted the time in his mind. The Tianzhi would activate five minutes from now. To eliminate the mecha-being before the Tianzhi triggered, he would need the assistance of the Yin-Yang Rotating Disk. As a top-tier artifact at the Saint level, even a Sovereign would lose vitality—though a Sovereign might not particularly care about that small loss. Yet against a weaker Sovereign-level life form, the rogue disk could exert a significant weakening effect. Three minutes and forty seconds! The thirty-second window for the Q&A had arrived. The Yin-Yang Rotating Disk projected a beam of pure black light, striking straight at the mecha-being’s chest, forming a hole the size of a clenched fist. The elderly being inside the mecha, already aged, saw his facial wrinkles rapidly deepen and his skin grow dry and dull. His vitality was steadily fading. At this moment, there were still one minute and twenty seconds until the Tianzhi would activate. Zhang Yuanqing immediately activated the special effects of the Ji Tian Set—donning a flame-embroidered robe, wearing a deep indigo garment, a jade sash around his waist, and stepping firmly He snapped his fingers, and starlight rose from before the mecha's body. Raising the thunderstorm cannon, he aimed it at the white-haired elder and fired. The mecha's heavy frame recoiled backward, pursued by a spherical bolt of lightning. After stepping back several meters, it landed and rolled sideways, narrowly avoiding the bolt. Despite its massive and solid build, it demonstrated remarkable agility. "Boom!" The spherical lightning exploded on the metal surface, splashing blackened scorch marks outward. As the mecha steadied itself, Zhang Yuanqing launched attacks with two shadow corpses from different directions. "Clang!" Ignoring the mecha's long blade sweeping across, Zhang Yuanqing's purple thunder mallet struck hard against the mecha's chest, but was blocked by its left palm. The mecha's entire left arm trembled violently. "Four minutes and ten seconds." Zhang Yuanqing was knocked off balance by the blade's sweep. The rhythmic clanging of impacts never ceased. With the celestial ritual suit activated, Zhang Yuanqing gained all the extraordinary abilities from the Water Ghost, Wood Spirit, Fire Master, and Earth Monster at the transcendental stage, now reaching the level of a Saint. With the skills of the star officials, it effectively combines the strengths of five major professions. However, the life-draining effect of the Yin-Yang Rotating Disk consistently targets the mecha-being, clearly weakening its overall strength. The mecha-being soon realizes this issue, swiftly dispatching three enemies with a single strike and then rushing off in a steady pace—clanging, clanging—toward the distance. ——The Yin-Yang Rotating Disk's domain spans a radius of forty meters. Ethereal streaks of starlight rise, and Zhang Yuanqing intercepts the mecha-being's path, using the wood spirit's exceptional balance to deflect and evade its arrows and projectiles, then delivering a powerful blow with a hammer to the mecha-being's left palm, which is shielded over its chest. The rivets at the joint of the mecha-being's left arm vibrate intensely, showing clear signs of loosening. It quickly retreats one step, sweeping its blade across, only to be held steady by the greedy general who raises his own blade vertically. "Four minutes and twenty seconds!" Zhang Yuanqing capitalizes on the moment, delivering another hammer blow, then enters the Night-Wanderer state, drawing the attention of two six-tier peak At this level, the shadow corpses possess strong combat power, are fearless in the face of death, and exhibit a certain spiritual awareness. They know how to evade and parry during battle, making them exceptional support units. "Four minutes and thirty seconds!" Zhang Yuanqing materialized, securing a successful ambush strike. With a resounding blow, the rivets on the mechanized warrior's left arm finally gave way, flying apart, and the bronze shell cracked with a sharp sound. He didn't pursue further glory; instead, he re-entered the night flow and issued a command to I-Chuan Mei to immobilize the rivets. "Four minutes and forty seconds!" Zhang Yuanqing slid out from beneath the mechanized warrior's hips and delivered a heavy blow. "Crack!" The left arm finally collapsed, the crack spreading along the bronze shell, tearing progressively until it burst with a loud pop. A shower of resonant bronze fragments sprayed outward. The mechanized warrior's chest was now unimpeded. The Greedy General and the Hundred-Slice Warrior both closed in, one shielding the long blade while the other pressed against the warrior's back, cutting off any chance of escape. Zhang Yuan Qing stepped forward smoothly, loosened his fingers, and the Purple Thunder Hammer fell to the ground. With a burst of flame from his palm, he formed a small blade of blazing fire, piercing the hole the size of a clenched fist. ——The Purple Thunder Hammer could not penetrate the hole to kill the enemies within, and the Thunderstorm Cannon had been charging too long. The blade of flame successfully pierced the chest of the white-haired elder, its intense heat burning into the vitality of his frail frame. They had been right—the enemy was not the ancient war god of Jin Ting, but rather the Mo Sect, a scholarly lineage known for its members' delicate constitutions, which made the flame blade easily capable of cutting through the elder’s body. At that moment, the black light projected by the Yin-Yang Rotating Disk faded, and the domain covering a radius of forty meters vanished, signifying that the elder had now completely perished. The next instant, the mechanized figure collapsed heavily, emitting a deep, resonant sound. "Exactly five minutes!" Zhang Yuan Qing stood beside the fallen mechanized figure, exhaling a long, steady breath.