Chapter 721: Bamboo Puppet Test
Hundreds of monks gathered at the top of Qingzhu Peak.
Qingzhu Peak's master Qing Huangzi has not appeared yet, but Ning Zhuo has already arrived.
It was early morning and the sky was not yet bright.
The vast sea of clouds rolled silently at the waist of the peak, as if thousands of cloud beasts were slowly stretching their huge bodies in sleep.
The bamboo forests that can be seen everywhere on Qingzhu Peak are deep in color, neither emerald nor green, but warm and restrained, with a tough and cold light that is almost metallic. As the light flows, the jade-like texture is faintly visible.
The bamboo leaves are extremely thin, with a circle of crystal jade light condensed on the edges. When the morning breeze blows, thousands of jade leaves rub against each other, making a rustling sound. This sound is not like the rustling of swaying grass and trees, but more like countless tiny jade chimes being gently struck by the breeze, merging into a clear and ethereal sound of bamboo waves and jade chimes, washing away the noise of the world.
Ning Zhuo was admiring the beautiful scenery here and noticed someone looking at him.
He turned around and followed his gaze to see Ban Ji.
Ning Zhuo smiled slightly and sent a telepathic message: "Fellow Daoist Banji, I didn't expect that we would meet here."
Ban Ji's amber pupils revealed a hint of coldness as he thought back, "Fellow Daoist Ning Zhuo, I have agreed to postpone our sparring session. I didn't expect you to be so ungrateful as to come all the way here to embarrass me."
"how?"
"After investigating me, did you think that Ban Ji from my Ban family was an easy person to deal with?"
"You actually want to stop me during the Xingyun test related to the agency?"
"Haha, that's just a foolish dream!"
Ning Zhuo maintained a smile and communicated with his mind: "Fellow Daoist Ban Ji, to be honest, I also know a thing or two about mechanical engineering."
"After finding out some of your situation, I became very interested in you, fellow Daoist."
"I'm going to give you some advice on this small test of Xingyun."
Ban Ji snorted coldly and ignored Ning Zhuo.
His face was frosty, but he became more alert in his heart.
He had been planning Qinghuangzi's Xingyun test for a long time. The former held the Xingyun test with the purpose of selecting suitable cultivators and finding a successor for the inheritance of the mechanism.
Qinghuangzi's mechanical skills are a powerful supplement to Ban Ji.
Therefore, Ban Ji has always attached great importance to it.
Now, Ning Zhuo suddenly came to make trouble... This made Ban Ji feel a little nervous.
"Ning Zhuo is my human calamity, but since our clan has activated a mechanism, he can also sense something strange about me."
"So, here he comes!"
"Will this small test be plagued by unnecessary setbacks because of him?"
Banji felt a sense of irritation lingering in his heart.
Ning Zhuo's initiative to come this time was undoubtedly a strong offensive posture. This made Ban Ji immediately realize that Ning Zhuo's previous refusal to compete was not a sign of fear, but a cautious strategy to gather intelligence first.
"This kid is indeed full of youthful vigor!"
"I didn't bother him, but he bothered me first. Haha."
"I want to see the quality of this robbery!"
As I thought of this, a figure came floating over.
Qinghuangzi stood in front of everyone.
He had a calm gaze and three long wisps of beard. He was thin and slender, dressed in a simple blue robe. He held a nine-section jade bamboo staff with a small bronze bell dangling from the end.
The surroundings quickly became quiet.
Qing Huangzi opened his mouth slowly and explained the reason why he held this Xingyun test - his life span was coming to an end, and he had no qualified successor, so he simply used this Feiyun Conference as an opportunity to arrange several small tests to select outstanding cultivators to inherit his heritage.
Obviously, many monks present had already heard about this situation in advance, and their expressions remained unchanged when they heard Qinghuangzi's words.
Some of them were old men, some looked like young masters and ladies from aristocratic families, and there were also wandering cultivators dressed in formal attire and carrying swords.
"Alright, the small test is about to begin." After Qing Huangzi explained the reason, he was quite straightforward. He slammed his bamboo stick on the ground and started directly, "The formation, start!"
The bamboo stick tapped the ground, and the green light spread out like ripples on water. The figures of hundreds of monks were blurred and distorted in the light, as if they were thrown into the shaking green water.
When Ning Zhuo's vision stabilized, he found that he and the others had been sent to the space inside the formation and left.
This is an open space, surrounded by green bamboo walls that rise from the ground and tower into the clouds.
Ban Ji took a deep breath. The air was filled with the slightly spicy smell of freshly broken bamboo branches and the rich dampness of soil.
Most of the cultivators were slightly panicked because they found that their cultivation had been suppressed to the Foundation Establishment stage by the formation, and the talismans, magic tools, and even elixirs they carried with them were all restricted by a force that made them difficult to use.
Qing Huangzi disappeared, but his voice carried through: "The bamboo puppets are about to arrive. Everyone must give their all. Select one and use only your spiritual consciousness and magical power to try to control it and refine it for your own use."
"Once the time limit is up, the cultivators who fail to seize the bamboo puppet will be eliminated."
As soon as the words fell, the air vibrated, causing waves of translucent ripples.
Immediately, countless bamboo puppets fell from the sky like a flock of startled kingfishers.
Everyone was already on high alert, and at this moment, they simultaneously activated their spiritual senses to conduct large-scale detection.
Ning Zhuo's eyes lit up with brilliance, and his spiritual sense emanated. He immediately discovered that the vast majority of the bamboo puppets were only at the level of magic tools, but there were a few that emitted precious light and had reached the level of magic weapons.
There is no doubt that the magic-level bamboo puppet is the focus of everyone's competition!
As expected, dozens of threads of magic power shot out like lightning, shooting towards the magic-level fine products in the group of bamboo puppets.
The magic threads were entangled with each other in mid-air, and after many attacks, they collapsed in mid-air.
But there were also a few with high quality who broke through the siege and took these bamboo puppets.
Ning Zhuo's Five Qi Hanging Silk is naturally among them.
His spiritual consciousness quickly penetrated into the bamboo puppet along the magic thread, but other cultivators were also doing the same.
As a result, multiple spiritual consciousnesses collided with each other in the bamboo puppet and started to fight fiercely.
"Hahaha, hahaha!" Banji's spiritual consciousness transmitted a thought, and he laughed wildly, "You are nothing but this, get out of here!"
His spiritual consciousness exuded a rolling demonic aura, corroding the spiritual consciousness of other cultivators, quickly disintegrating it, and then turning it into his own use.
Ban Ji practiced the magic skill "Greedy Demonic Heart Skill", which was not the Ban family's inherited skill, but another opportunity.
This method of practice emphasizes: feed the devil with greed, and when the devil is strong, the opportunity will be fierce; seize the opportunity to nourish greed, and when the greed is intense, the devil will go crazy.
The evil thoughts helped Ban Ji to sweep away his opponents and become invincible.
Even Ning Zhuo's spiritual consciousness was defeated again and again, unable to hold on, and had no choice but to swallow the bitter fruit of defeat.
Ban Ji specifically shouted at Ning Zhuo, "Ning Zhuo, I thought you were special. How can this little spiritual awareness be enough? You still dare to think of stopping me?"
He seized the opportunity to undermine Ning Zhuo's morale.
"Interesting!" Ning Zhuo's eyes lit up and he was full of interest.
Although he had participated in several major battles, this was the first time he had encountered a clash between spiritual consciousnesses.
"Is this the 'Greedy Devil Heart Technique'? It must be a top-tier technique, truly formidable!"
"Although my Mirror Platform Spiritual Communication Technique is also a first-rate technique, its strength lies in spiritual communication, not spiritual awareness."
"It's only natural to lose to an opponent like Benji."
Ning Zhuo was not discouraged and was very self-aware.
In fact, the Mirror Platform Spiritual Communication Technique had a significant shortcoming in cultivating spiritual awareness. Therefore, the Three Sect Masters had specially designed numerous mechanical mirrors to complement and help expand the scope of spiritual awareness, or to make it more precise, or to reach a deeper level.
Ning Zhuo wanted to use these, but there was no way because Qinghuangzi had already stipulated that only spiritual consciousness and magic power could be used to suspend the thread.
Ning Zhuo suffered a small setback, but he remained calm and immediately shifted his target to attack other magic-level bamboo puppets.
Ban Ji sneered, "Ning Zhuo, I want you to know the pain of being in trouble with me!"
He successfully seized a bamboo puppet, but did not give up. He immediately activated his magic power and divine consciousness to join in the snatch of other bamboo puppets.
The regulations only allow each person to have one bamboo puppet at most.
Ban Ji has already secured the bottom line, and now his main task is to interfere with Ning Zhuo!
Ning Zhuo tried several times, but failed each time.
In addition to Ban Ji, there are many other cultivators whose spiritual awareness is very special. They either practice corresponding skills or use some secret techniques or skills.
All in all, Ning Zhuo's spiritual awareness is not surprising.
Of course, he is not without advantages.
Ning Zhuo's advantage lies in his ability to maintain a long-lasting spiritual consciousness and recover quickly. This is not due to the "Mirror Table Spiritual Communication Technique", but rather Ning Zhuo's profound foundation, his body and soul far surpassing those of ordinary people.
It was not until the last magic weapon-level puppet that Ning Zhuo saw the opportunity.
"This guy's spiritual awareness isn't anything special, but he always manages to fight again and again despite repeated defeats. He has a lot of staying power."
"He is my human calamity, and must not be underestimated!"
"To be on the safe side, I have to seize every opportunity. It would be best if I could eliminate him in the first round!"
When Banji thought of this, his breathing became heavy and turbid, like a broken bellows being pulled.
He exerted all his strength, and the greed in his consciousness rushed towards Ning Zhuo's consciousness like a wave.
Ning Zhuo suddenly felt Ban Ji's strong desire - "Mine!" "Take it away!" "Tear you apart!"
Ning Zhuo's consciousness was retreating step by step, and Qing Huangzi's voice came again, telling everyone that there were only thirty breaths left.
Ban Ji laughed loudly and shouted at Ning Zhuo, "You are doomed to fail!"
A smile suddenly appeared on Ning Zhuo's lips.
He sent a telepathic message: "Everyone, how long will you endure? Now is your last chance to fight!"
The monks looked stern and suddenly attacked together, besieging Ban Ji!
Ban Ji's face changed drastically.
It turns out that thoughts can be conveyed while spiritual consciousnesses clash.
While Ning Zhuo was fighting with Ban Ji, he was also contacting like-minded people.
Ban Ji continued to chase Ning Zhuo's consciousness, trying his best to suppress the latter, showing an arrogant and conceited attitude.
This made other monks wary and fearful, and under Ning Zhuo's coordination, they secretly formed an alliance against Ban Ji.
"Banji is so powerful. If we let him perform in the back, our hope will be slim!"
"He is suppressing Ning Zhuo now. If Ning Zhuo loses, we will be the only ones left."
"Use all your strength to eliminate Ban Ji first!"
All the monks shared the same hatred for the enemy and launched a siege together.
Ban Ji immediately tried his best to fight back, but the monks were too numerous and powerful, and Ban Ji had consumed a lot of his spiritual consciousness in chasing Ning Zhuo everywhere, causing him to fall into a dilemma of retreat.
"Oops!"
"I was only focused on suppressing Ning Zhuo and trying to drive him out, and I forgot about these monks."
"My Ban family is one of the few prominent families in Feiyun Country that specializes in government agencies. I am also the only candidate nominated by the Ban family to join the Wanxiang Sect. This in itself attracts attention and makes people wary."
"Ning Zhuo is a relatively unknown guy, and he doesn't get the attention he deserves."
“Damn it…”
"Hold on, we must hold on!!!"
Banji gritted his teeth and his body began to shake.
He desperately burst out his spiritual consciousness, causing the sea of consciousness in his upper dantian to shake violently, as if it was pierced and stirred by thousands of rusty steel needles!
"I can't lose!"
"I can't fall here. I'll hold on until I die."
"Hold on!!!"
Ban Ji squeezed out all his potential, his eyes were bloodshot, his expression was extremely ferocious and terrifying.
In just thirty breaths, he felt like he was living in a different era.
Ning Zhuo always rushed to the front. When his spiritual consciousness was exhausted, he would mobilize his sea of consciousness to generate new spiritual consciousness.
If we don’t set an example, how can other monks follow?
People’s hearts cannot be in chaos!
"Three, two, one, time's up." Qinghuangzi said.
Ning Zhuo's vision went dark, his face turned pale, and he felt drowsy.
"No!!!" Ban Ji howled in pain. He tore his hair, his eyes fierce, as if he wanted to choose someone to devour.
He persisted to the end, fighting tooth and nail, but ultimately failed and failed to hold the last position - the bamboo puppet he had previously seized was also taken away by others.
He never expected that he would fail at the very beginning.
In preparation for the exam, he studied a lot of information about Qing Huangzi, even figuring out how Qing Huangzi would test the successor. He firmly believed that he was well prepared and would get what he wanted.
As a result, he was eliminated by everyone in the first round!
"The most damnable culprit is Ning Zhuo!"
"I'm going to kill him, I'm going to kill him!!!"
Ban was so angry that he almost died on the spot and wished he could eat Ning Zhuo alive.
Ning Zhuo smiled back.
His smile was pale and weak. This victory was also a pyrrhic one for him.
He was not among the cultivators who seized the magic-level bamboo puppet.
In the end, Ning Zhuo only managed to seize a magic weapon-level bamboo puppet.
But Ban Ji was eliminated and lost the qualification to participate in the next round.
With such results, Ning Zhuo is already satisfied!
Ning Zhuo controlled a palm-sized bamboo puppet and made it walk in a small maze built of green bamboo.
A sharp sound of breaking through the air exploded without warning, and more than a dozen bamboo spears protruded from the walls on both sides, trying to pierce the bamboo puppet controlled by Ning Zhuo into a hornet's nest.
Ning Zhuo tried his best to control the bamboo puppet to dodge, but the previous consumption of his spiritual consciousness was too severe and it has not recovered fully until now.
Because of this burden, although Ning Zhuo's bamboo puppet managed to get through this section, its chest was still pierced, forming a hole.
"What should we do?" Ning Zhuo frowned, feeling worried.
This is only the second stage, and it is already so difficult. The next stages will probably be even more difficult.
With a flash of inspiration, Ning Zhuo chose the exposed bamboo spear, chopped it off, and used it as material to repair himself.
The hole in the puppet's chest was covered with new bamboo strips. It held two other bamboo spears in its hands and set out again.
After passing through the maze, we arrived at the third stage.
On a rather spacious arena, many monks controlled their bamboo puppets and engaged in a fierce fight.
"Damn it, damn it! I've already guessed this part and made a lot of preparations!"
"Ah! Why did I lose? How could I lose here?"
Ben was so angry that he almost fainted. He really couldn't accept the fact before him.
And when he found out that Ning Zhuo became one of the final twelve winners, he covered his heart, gasped heavily, almost roared to the sky, and then vomited three liters of blood.
"My robbery!"
"He is my robbery!!"
(End of this chapter)
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