Chapter 157 Mechanical Art
Instead of acting immediately, Yu Sui released more light cores towards the half-tower.
The people of Beikun City said that the flames left behind by the sea eye would devour the five elements, so it was impossible to enter. Yu Sui drove the light core to quietly approach, wanting to give it a try.
The five elements of light core were swallowed up as soon as they approached the faint flame. The sudden burst of flame attracted the attention of the others, and everyone's eyes were filled with vigilance and tension.
Yu Sui looked at this scene with suspicion. Did Lin Chenghai know about this thing?
If they knew this, and still made her go to the underworld to find someone, it meant they wanted her to die.
Beikun City is so big, Lin Chenghai left Yu Sui here alone to make her give up. Anyway, this girl is the disciple of Saint Changgen, and the Taiyi people won't do anything to her.
If it weren't for Yu Sui's claim that she and Mei Liangyu were mutually in love, and Lin Chenghai's good impression of Yu Sui, he wouldn't have given Chang Gen Saint's disciple a friendly look.
If he didn't slash Chang Gen Sheng Zhe's disciple two or three times, then that disciple was lucky.
Yu Sui followed the direction Lin Chenghai had left in, occasionally having to adjust the position of the released Five Elements Light Cores. Previously on the Spirit Bird, many Light Cores had been destroyed because of the fight between Lin Chenghai and Ou Rushuang.
Although her light core is well concealed, it is as fragile as a glass bead that can be crushed by hand when it encounters a low-level magic with large-scale destructive power, or when it is attached to the injured part of someone else.
Beikun City was originally built to the standards of a royal capital. It boasts many magnificent palaces and bustling urban areas, with flower markets, theaters, fish pavilions, and other attractions for visitors to enjoy.
Later, it was transformed by the mechanical experts of Taiyi, and the luxurious and glamorous aspects of human life were all turned into a cold and solemn forging platform.
A blazing furnace stands high above, flanked by countless black stone forging tables, upon which lie many mechanical devices and props that laymen would not recognize.
Normally, the forging platform is bustling with mechanical sorcerers, but because of the Sea Eye, the four city lords in charge of Beikun City have ordered a temporary halt to work to investigate the threat posed by the Sea Eye.
Beikun City is arranged in three streets and one ward. There must be a forging platform in the three wards, and the mechanical sorcerers in charge of the forging platform live in these three wards.
Using the Five Elements Light Core, Yu Sui was able to look down on the entire Beikun City from above and discovered the pattern of the forging platforms. The three workshops together formed a square, enclosed by a wide official road.
The city is mostly planted with snow-white jade trees, which surround the official road. These trees, which emit a thin layer of cold air, can be used to absorb the heat emitted by the furnaces of the forging platform, thus cooling down Beikun City.
Although the city is laid out in a square pattern, most of the buildings are the same, making it difficult to distinguish one area from another.
The ground layout is neat and orderly; I wonder what lies beneath.
Yu Sui pondered that the words below Beikun City seemed to refer to the inside of the giant whale's belly.
Using the Instant Concealment Talisman, she hurried towards the Half Tower, encountering many mechanical sorcerers along the way and overhearing them discussing the Sea Eye's attack on Beikun City.
There are also teahouses and taverns in the neighborhood of Beikun City. Those who work or do business here are either from government agencies or people who grew up in Taiyi.
The sound of the Golden Bell also attracted the attention of the sorcerers of Beikun City. After receiving the message from the Lord of Beikun City and Situ Lingkui, those who were close to Lin Chenghai and Hu Gui began to take action.
Yu Sui was searching for the entrance to the underground while also looking for Li Jinshuang.
Hu Gui's location was quite obvious, but the guidance left by the Sound-Seeking Golden Bell disappeared not long afterward. Baili Mo rang the Sound-Seeking Golden Bell again, and the sound resounded throughout the entire Beikun City, one after another.
However, despite searching for the Golden Bell, they could no longer find Situ Jin and Wen Yangzhou.
Standing on the Spirit Bird, Baili Mo looked in the direction of the Sound-Seeking Golden Bell and began to have a headache. Had the outsiders used some method to block the Sound-Seeking Golden Bell, or had they killed someone to silence them?
Zhang Xiangyun and Luo Fu, following Ou Rushuang's orders, went underground with the people from the Mechanical Family. They were astonished to hear that the Sea Eye had attacked Beikun City and brought strange flames.
Some of the underground passages are interconnected, and their style is the same as the forging platform, with cold black iron, burning furnaces, and open dragon staircases everywhere.
Because the underground area of Beikun City is also very large, and there are many dragon ladders, some of them were damaged and unusable due to the attack on the sea eye. In addition, there are raging fires blocking the way, making it difficult to approach the center of the attack.
In the middle of the giant whale's belly, the path dug by the people of Beikun City was blocked again by the faint flames. They were gathered together discussing how to break through. The best way was to change to another route, but that would take a lot of time.
Zhang Xiangyun and Luo Fu stood a little distance away.
The passageway was flanked by cold, black mystic stone walls, which were used to cool the furnace of the underground forging platform.
Walking through the Black Stone Passage provides a cool respite for those who spend long hours forging mechanisms on the forging platform, and also effectively prevents explosions during the construction of large mechanisms.
Luo Fu frowned as he looked at the flames in the distance that could devour the five elements, and said, "Mei Liangyu and the others might already be dead."
“It doesn’t matter that he’s dead.” Zhang Xiangyun frowned as well. “The important thing is to bring the things back.”
Nian Qiuyan calculated that Mei Liangyu was at the center of the collapse, but how to get in was a problem. So many mechanical sorcerers couldn't figure it out, and they had to find Mei Liangyu before the others did.
Seeing that the mechanic was completely baffled by the flames, Zhang Xiangyun decided not to waste any more time and to find it himself.
Because they were people summoned by Ou Rushuang, they received a map of the underground of Beikun City when they left, to prevent them from getting lost underground.
Zhang Xiangyun looked at the map and walked forward. Luo Fu thought for a moment and said, "There should be many people on the Abyss Sea right now. I wonder if Nangong Sui and Li Jinshuang will be discovered."
"I don't have time to think about them right now." Zhang Xiangyun's brows and eyes showed a hint of irritation.
What was originally a simple matter suddenly became complicated, and everything went wrong.
Zhang Xiangyun is having trouble concentrating on his thoughts. He can't help but think about the underwater attack he suffered, because he couldn't find anyone, or even suspect anyone, and was injured inexplicably.
Luo Fu said it might have been done by the outsiders who kidnapped Situ Jin.
Zhang Xiangyun always felt it was impossible.
The enemy's attack was clearly targeted at him and Luo Fu; Nian Qiuyan wasn't even scratched. If Mei Liangyu and his group hadn't been in the center of the collapsed North Kun City, he would have suspected that Mei Liangyu had secretly launched the attack.
What worries Zhang Xiangyun even more is the attack moves that cannot be predicted or guarded against in advance. They appear suddenly without warning, and if they come several times, he is not confident that he can dodge them all.
Although he reported the matter to Ou Rushuang, Ou Rushuang was at a loss for the time being, only saying that perhaps he and Luo Fu had triggered the mechanism on the Spirit Bird.
The Spirit Bird was a product of the mechanical engineers, and they were unfamiliar with it.
The unknown threat kept Zhang Xiangyun on edge, keeping his eyes and ears open, ready to deal with any sudden and mysterious threat.
"Wait." Luo Fu suddenly spoke, reaching out to stop Zhang Xiangyun who was walking forward. Zhang Xiangyun looked up and asked, "What is it?"
"This way." Luo Fu gestured for him to turn left, then pointed to the map. Zhang Xiangyun looked back at the map before turning around.
Luo Fu asked him, "What were you thinking about just now?"
"It's nothing." Zhang Xiangyun didn't want to reveal his inner worries. He took a deep breath and focused on finding Mei Liangyu.
He continued looking at the map and said, "The collapse covers a large area. At the bottom is the Panlong Grotto, which is where Beikun City stores water. Above that are warehouses storing weapons, stone materials, and other equipment for forging. The Communications Institute is at the very top, and next to it is a forging platform. We should be here now."
Luo Fu turned his head and glanced at the place Zhang Xiangyun was pointing to on the map: "Why are there still quite a few places without names?"
“It’s a secret place kept by the four great families of the Institution, so it’s not marked,” Zhang Xiangyun said. “The sea fire left by the sea eye is not only at the top, but also remains on the underground edges destroyed by the sea eye. You can’t go forward where they are.”
Looking at the map, Luo Fu said, "Some roads are impassable, and digging them up would involve the secret warehouses of the Mechanical Family, which is why it's been delayed until now?"
“That’s right.” Zhang Xiangyun nodded and pondered, “However, now that people from the Mechanical Island have arrived and even alerted the Taiyi Saint, even if it involves the secret warehouse, they will reopen the road and will not delay any longer.”
He said, "Let's first find a passable place where no sea fire has been left."
While Zhang Xiangyun and Luo Fu were acting, Yu Sui was focused on the map in his hand, while also observing Lin Chenghai's movements. He was already engaged in combat, but Lin Chenghai had the upper hand, and the mechanical sorcerers who came to stop him were no match for him.
Lin Chenghai doesn't linger in battle; his attacks are swift, ruthless, and precise. He doesn't aim to kill, but rather to incapacitate his opponents. If there are few of them, they simply run away; only when there are many of them holding him back will he act quickly to eliminate them.
However, Yu Sui noticed that if Lin Chenghai got into a fight, he would stop and take a break to catch his breath.
It seems he was still affected by the poison of the Blood Golden Butterfly.
Thanks to Zhang Xiangyun's map, Yu Sui was able to find the entrance to the underground.
Zhang Xiangyun and Luo Fu took the dragon ladder down to the next level. Exiting the dragon ladder was a spacious tea room for people to rest. Behind the two carved screens on the left and right were doors leading to a secret storeroom that was not marked on the map.
"Shall we go take a look?" Luo Fu asked.
These two secret warehouses have nothing to do with the Eye of the Sea attack.
“Since we’re already here,” Zhang Xiangyun said, stepping out of the dragon staircase first and heading towards the screen door on the left.
Luo Fu followed closely behind.
Zhang Xiangyun was also curious about the secrets of the mechanical experts, and coupled with Mei Liangyu's talent in mechanical arts, he was filled with resentment.
He also wanted to see what fancy things the government agencies had.
When Zhang Xiangyun reached out and touched the stone door, he discovered that there were no restrictions on it, and it could be opened easily. This made him more cautious, and he glanced at Luo Fu out of the corner of his eye, signaling him to be careful.
Upon receiving Zhang Xiangyun's signal, Luo Fu took a step back without making a sound.
The moment Zhang Xiangyun opened the door, Luo Fu activated his protective aura and turned to the side. Golden lightning surrounded Luo Fu, and the lightning lines surged inward like a swarm of snakes.
But they missed.
Amidst the dazzling flashes of golden lightning, Zhang Xiangyun and Luo Fu were able to see the situation inside, and their expressions changed slightly.
Even Yu Sui, who was using the Wind Riding Technique to rush through the underground passage, stopped and slightly widened his eyes.
Although the stone gate was small, the space inside was quite large. Lights burned on the stone walls, illuminating the long, deep pit below. The first thing that caught the eye was the silver lines hanging down from above. The silver lines were thin and long, almost invisible to the naked eye, but they became noticeable because of their large number.
These slender silver lines correspond to the hundreds of spirit puppets in the deep pit below.
The spirit puppets were dressed in the Situ family's mechanical uniforms, and their physiques included men, women, and children of all ages. The exposed skin of the young men and women was so delicate that it seemed as if it could be broken with a touch, and their fingers were long and slender. Even the wrinkles and lines on the skin of the elderly were incredibly fine.
However, regardless of gender or age, their body shapes and physiques are all cut from the same mold.
Silver threads are wrapped around their necks, hands, and feet, shaping them into marionettes.
The spirit puppets faced the stone door, so once the stone door opened, you could see their faceless faces, all uniformly pale, flat, comical yet eerie. Looking at them for too long could even be unsettling and send chills down your spine.
If you didn't see its face, no one would believe that what was in this deep pit was actually a spirit puppet created using mechanical arts.
Instead, they would consider them to be living, breathing people.
Mei Liangyu and Yu Sui had said that the current Situ grandmother was skilled in puppetry.
The Situ family also primarily studied the art of puppetry.
However, Zhang Xiangyun and Luo Fu were unaware of this.
The two men stared at the pale, faceless yet lifelike humanoid puppet before them, feeling a chill run down their spines. After the initial shock, Zhang Xiangyun immediately realized that a place like this couldn't possibly be without any restrictions, allowing free entry and exit. The fact that they had entered so easily meant that someone had already lifted the restrictions beforehand.
[Author's Note]
Sorry, baby. I originally wanted to finish writing this major plot and release it all at once, but I have a lot of other things to do. I need to spend a few more days finishing those before focusing on writing this. o(╥﹏╥)o
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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