Chapter 697: Yunlu Liuchengfang

Ning Zhuo sighed, "Before, I was talking to Shen Xi about the Fisherman Xiaoman and Luo Shu. I didn't expect to encounter them in real life."

Sun Lingtong stared at the water vortex with a burning gaze. "The most valuable item in Shuyuzhai is the Luoshu page. It's a Taoist artifact, even if it's not complete."

"As long as I use my talent and peek at the pages, I will be influenced by it, and it will bring me great help in mathematics and physics!"

Sun Lingtong carefully thought about what had just happened. As long as he was influenced by Luoshu, he became a genius in mathematics and physics.

This feeling made him unable to stop.

"Just like Lingyin Liu... Boss, I can understand this feeling." Ning Zhuo said. He and Sun Lingtong had someone's life hanging by a thread, so they could empathize with him.

The Luoshu page does resemble a specific aspect of the Lingyin Willow, but it is only a resemblance.

There's a difference between the two. While the Lingyin Willow can improve understanding, the Luoshu pages record the mathematical laws of heaven and earth, which must be the correct direction. Therefore, the Luoshu must bring about the correct understanding!

The results of Lingyin Liu's help may be wrong, but they are full of creativity.

The creativity of Luoshu is equal to zero. It can provide the correct answers, but the degree of creativity and understanding depends on the cultivator himself.

Don't doubt Sun Lingtong's ability to comprehension. In this regard, he is even better than Ning Zhuo.

"Xiaozhuo, I will continue to spy on Luoshu. You try to use the life-saving thread and sense it with all your strength at the same time!" Sun Lingtong suggested.

"Good idea." Ning Zhuo immediately praised.

Sun Lingtong once again activated his innate spiritual eyes. When his eyes came into contact with the Luoshu page itself, he was immediately affected by the Taoist artifact.

"That's it!" Sun Lingtong was excited. "Xiao Zhuo, how do you feel?"

Over at Baoteng Cliff, Ning Zhuo's eyes were tightly closed, his brows slightly furrowed, a look of strain evident. He telepathically thought, "Boss, I can be affected too."

Sun Lingtong: "This is simply amazing!"

With the help of the Luoshu pages, he began to quickly study the water vortex in front of him. Meanwhile, Ning Zhuo thought for a moment and took out the jade slip that Chen Xi had given him.

The originally profound content gradually became easy to understand and simple to comprehend during Ning Zhuo's study.

Sun Lingtong only held out for sixteen breaths before stopping and closing his eyes.

This time, not only was his nose bleeding, but even his ears were bleeding bright red blood, and his whole expression became a little dazed.

Sun Lingtong immediately sat down cross-legged, took out the pill and took it, while practicing his skills and regulating his breathing with all his strength.

Half a cup of tea later, he finally recovered.

Ning Zhuo also adjusted his state.

"Come again!" Sun Lingtong called out, and once again used his spiritual eye talent.

Ning Zhuo also took advantage of this benefit.

After doing this several times, Sun Lingtong had a deeper understanding of the water vortex in front of him: "This natural magic circle not only draws on the many magic tools and treasures placed in the divination room, but also the spiritual energy of the water veins here, and even the surrounding space!"

Ning Zhuo's expression became serious as he realized the seriousness of the situation.

Sun Lingtong sighed, "So, we can't forcibly take the Luoshu away. It's the core of this formation, and the heart of the water vortex. This formation is unstable and constantly changing. It's precisely because of the influence of the Luoshu's principles that it maintains its balance at all times."

"If the Luo Shu were suddenly seized by force, this formation would immediately collapse without its core. The power contained within it, as well as the surrounding space, would collapse and explode, destroying everything around it."

"By then, not only will I be dead, but even the entire cave will be destroyed!"

This is of course unacceptable to Sun Ning and the others.

Ning Zhuo had a way to rescue Sun Lingtong, but the water vortex formation involved the surrounding space, so this rescue method was not effective.

Ning Zhuo would never let Sun Lingtong risk his life for a mere Taoist weapon.

"When will we be able to unlock this magic circle and take out the pages of Luoshu?" Ning Zhuo asked.

Sun Lingtong smiled bitterly: "It's hard to estimate. The difficulty is that it is a natural formation, constantly changing. If it is a ten-fold formation, then we will have an easier time."

"Asking me to break the magic circle is equivalent to competing with this Taoist artifact. Unless my calculation ability surpasses the Luoshu pages, I can be ahead of it and quickly resolve the crisis."

Ning Zhuo assessed it and immediately shook his head: "The risk is too great."

"There's no need for us to forcibly extract the Luoshu pages. We have plenty of time."

Sun Lingtong nodded: "First, let me use the Luoshu to comprehend the cave formation in the center of the formation and control this place."

This difficulty is much lower than solving the water vortex array.

No matter how things change, the essence remains the same, and the cave formation can be traced.

Ning Zhuo continued, "Once we have control over the cave formation, we will empty this place and temporarily move everyone to Wanli Youlong."

Sun Lingtong nodded: "It's feasible. But the outside world still needs to take care of it."

Ning Zhuo knew what he was referring to: "Don't worry, Boss, I have already sent people to investigate. Once the intelligence is confirmed, we will take action immediately."

Sun Lingtong was referring to none other than Niu Cheng.

Niu Cheng is in a very bad situation now.

He was surrounded by many angry monks and was asked to explain.

Niu Cheng has a square jaw, a wide mouth, broad shoulders and a thick back, and his skin is tanned bronze.

His eyes were not sharp. Surrounded by many monks, he looked terrified. He bowed and kowtowed repeatedly, and apologized in a clumsy manner.

He wore a short indigo-colored jersey with his sleeves and trouser legs rolled up to his elbows and knees, revealing his muscular forearms and calves. Around his waist was a shiny, worn leather belt with a foot-long brass stick inserted diagonally.

He was wearing cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles, and there were fresh marks of mud on the uppers and the surface of the shoes.

"I, I really didn't expect it to be like this."

"I thought I could get a magic weapon of formation."

"I really didn't mean it!"

…

Niu Cheng's apology did not lead to forgiveness, but instead made the monks even more relentless.

"Make way!" Yu Heye suddenly appeared and flew in front of everyone.

He glared at Niu Cheng and shouted, asking what the latter was doing that caused him to fail in refining the elixir and suffer heavy losses!

In order to gain everyone's trust, Yu Heye directly took out a handful of waste, which immediately caused everyone's surprise and pity. They saw that there were Nascent Soul level treasures in it.

When everyone compared their experiences, they felt much less negative emotions about the losses. Yu Heye's losses were much greater than theirs.

"He's the biggest victim!" The cultivators agreed, unaware that Yu Heye had come here on orders. The waste alchemy materials he had taken out were also deliberately placed there before departure.

"All these losses are my responsibility." Ning Zhuo was very generous and heroic in the Feixin message to Yu Heye.

Of course Yu Heye was unwilling to do so, so he took the initiative to bear the responsibility and destroyed the Nascent Soul-level treasures out of his own pocket, creating the illusion that the alchemy had failed.

Relying on this illusion, he gained great voice as soon as he appeared on the scene.

Yu Heye is looking for trouble with Niu Cheng: "Tell me, how are you going to compensate me?"

Niu Cheng has a very honest personality. He spread his hands honestly and said that although he could not afford to pay the compensation, he was willing to spend a long time and would bear it to the end.

Yu Heye: "What do you say if you want to run away?"

He pretended to think, then said, "How about this, you can live on my hill for now, and I'll keep an eye on you!"

"You want to get Xie Tang's magic array weapon, that's fine. Perhaps you can gain recognition from Chongzhen Peak and use it to repay our debt."

"Everyone, let's see, does this method work?"

The monks looked at each other and after a few moments of silence, they spoke up one after another, saying that this was a good idea.

Their losses weren't significant, far less than Yu Heye's. In fact, many people didn't necessarily need compensation. This amount was small enough that it was dispensable to them.

Some people do need compensation.

But Yu Heye suffered the heaviest losses, and they were unwilling to spend their energy and time on taking care of Niu Cheng, a foundation-building cultivator.

So, after thinking for a moment, these people agreed.

Yu Heye did not give up, but took out a contract and asked all the victims present to sign it.

After checking the contract, the monks found no problems with the contents and signed their names.

Finally, Yu Heye handed the deed to Niu Cheng.

Niu Cheng was stared at by countless eyes and could only read it and then sign the contract.

Yu Heye grabbed Niu Cheng's collar and dragged him all the way back to Baoteng Cliff.

"You just live in the front room and practice with me for the time being. You are not allowed to run around." Yu Heye warned sternly.

Niu Cheng shrugged his head and responded in a muffled voice.

After Yu Heye accomplished all this, he immediately sent a message to Ning Zhuo to report.

Ning Zhuo received the message, nodded slightly, and no longer took Niu Cheng to heart.

This is the best solution at the moment.

Ning Zhuo certainly had the strength to stop Niu Cheng from exploring the magic weapon, but there were many negative consequences. On the one hand, it would attract attention, on the other hand, it would be difficult to explain, and thirdly, it would damage his image and reputation, making outsiders think he was a bully.

If I really were to be labeled like this, it would really affect my popularity among the public.

Ning Zhuo relied on Yu Heye to do things, and no one knew that he was the mastermind behind the scenes.

Moreover, deliberately damaging a piece of Nascent Soul-level treasure can coordinate other victims and force Niu Cheng to surrender, which is a big profit.

Now, Niu Cheng is right under Yu Heye's nose, and the progress of his exploration of the Nine Palace Formation will be firmly controlled by Ning Zhuo in secret.

With just a few quick messages and a Nascent Soul-level treasure, Ning Zhuo eliminated future hidden dangers and successfully maintained his image.

The Luoshu pages are indeed extraordinary!

Ning Zhuo took advantage of the influence of the Taoist weapon on Sun Lingtong and it only took him two and a half days to comprehend a small part of Chen Xi's jade slip.

Ning Zhuo had a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the mountain protection formations of Baoteng Cliff and Moyunding.

Sun Lingtong also had a general understanding of the formation against Shujian.

But that's not enough.

While Sun Lingtong was studying the formation with the help of the Luoshu pages, Ning Zhuo quietly left Baoteng Cliff and arrived at another hilltop through the teleportation formation.

This is Bailiu Peak.

The entire mountain is planted with white willows, a spiritual plant that naturally absorbs surrounding clouds and aura, clinging to its leaves. The clouds gather and cover the green leaves, leaving them pristine white, hence the name "white willow."

The top of Bailiu Peak was carved into a flat jade platform by monks.

There is a complex of buildings on the jade platform at the top of the peak, which are interconnected and neatly laid out. They are all part of the Yunlu Liuchengfang.

Yunlu Liuchengfang is the industry founded by Meng Yaoyin.

The entire workshop, like a massive jade paperweight, sits firmly at the center of the peak. All the buildings are constructed of ironwood, with overhanging eaves that reach into the air and glazed tiles shimmering with colorful light.

Ning Zhuo overlooks the workshop from a high altitude.

A clearing was created in the middle of the workshop, creating a rosy glow for drying talismans. There was also a materials collection hall, where the monks were responsible for transporting and sorting raw materials, as well as performing rough processing.

There are two tall buildings. One is called the Flowing Cloud Transformation Building, which can produce cloud talismans. The other is the Lightning Inducing Building, which can refine talismans.

There are three pavilions. One is the Guzhen Pavilion, which resembles a tortoise shell and is used to solidify talismans. Another is the Dianxing Pavilion, which can improve the quality of talismans. And the third is the Rongsha Pavilion, which is used to refine high-quality or even top-grade talisman ink.

The front hall is used to sell talismans, while the back hall houses the jade slip "Yunlu Heavenly Book". Together with the large formation, it protects the entire workshop while also helping to make talismans.

Ning Zhuo descended from the clouds, walked over the gate archway and entered the front yard.

The noisy voices hit me like a heat wave.

The monks gathered around the talismans, haggling over their prices. One monk, selling them, shouted, "Invisibility Talismans starting at 100! Buy 1,000, get 100 free!" Another monk simply tossed his bulging storage bag onto the counter, "I'll take all the Soaring Cloud Talismans on the counter today."

Ning Zhuo took a short walk and found that the talismans here were mainly cloud talismans, and cloud talismans were also the most popular.

After a little calculation, Ning Zhuo can tell: it is really a place where you can make a fortune every day!

Suddenly, the sound of arguing was heard.

"We agreed on a '20% discount on plum blossoms welcoming the snow' sale! Thirty 'Ice Armor Talismans' originally cost nine hundred, now they're seven hundred and twenty! We've already paid for the goods, why are you going back on your word?"

The monk behind the counter hurriedly argued, "This discount expired yesterday! Hurry up and give me the 180 spirit stones!"

The buyer monk sneered: "You remembered it wrongly, what does it have to do with me? I have already paid, you should give me the goods."

This quarrel attracted the attention of many people.

Ning Zhuo was very interested and was also watching.

The two sides were arguing and the dispute was getting more and more serious when a Jindan cultivator walked into the front hall holding an abacus.

Along the way, many monks took the initiative to salute him, showing his prestige.

It’s the deputy abbot Jinqi!

Jin Qi approached the two people arguing, inquired about the situation, and then nodded to the buyer with a friendly expression, "Don't worry, sir, the fault is ours. The talisman will be delivered as agreed upon."

Under his order, the monk who was selling the talisman had to reluctantly hand it over to the buyer.

The buyer bowed, complimented Jinqi, and walked away proudly.

Jin Qi turned to the monk who was selling the goods and said, "All these losses will be deducted from your salary."

The monk's face turned pale and he could only agree meekly.

Jin Qi bowed to all four directions, said hello, and walked out of the front yard, but he rode a cloud and left the Yunlu Liuchengfang. Obviously, he just did it on the way.

Ning Zhuo looked at his increasingly smaller figure, his eyes flickering for a moment as if he was thinking about something.

(End of this chapter)