: Cloud Script Flows into Workshop

Ning Zhuo sighed, "I was just talking with Shen Xi earlier about Fisherboy Xiaoman and the Luo Shu, never thought I'd come across it in reality."

Sun Lingtong gazed intently at the water vortex: "The most valuable thing in Shuyu Studio is that page of the Luo Shu. It's a Dao artifact, even if incomplete."

"As long as I use my innate talent to glimpse the page, I can be influenced by it, giving me immense help in mathematics!"

Sun Lingtong carefully reflected on his recent encounter; whenever influenced by the Luo Shu, he became a genius in mathematics.

This feeling was addictive.

"It's like the Hidden Willow... Boss, I understand this feeling," Ning Zhuo said, connected to Sun Lingtong by the Thread of Shared Fate, he felt it deeply indeed.

The Luo Shu page did resemble the Hidden Willow in a specialized aspect, but only resembled it.

There was a difference between the two. The Hidden Willow enhanced comprehension, while the Luo Shu page recorded the mathematical principles of heaven and earth, always pointing in the right direction. Thus, the understanding brought by the Luo Shu was inevitably correct!

The assistance from the Hidden Willow could lead to errors, but it was full of creativity.

The Luo Shu offered zero creativity; it provided correct answers, but creation and understanding depended on the cultivator themselves.

No need to doubt Sun Lingtong's comprehension ability; in this aspect, he even surpassed Ning Zhuo slightly.

"Xiao Zhuo, I'm going to continue observing the Luo Shu. Try to sense it fully using the Thread of Shared Fate at the same time!" Sun Lingtong suggested.

"Good idea," Ning Zhuo praised immediately.

Sun Lingtong activated his innate Spirit Eye again. The moment his gaze touched the Luo Shu page itself, he was immediately influenced by the Dao artifact.

"This is it!" Sun Lingtong felt exhilarated, "Xiao Zhuo, how do you feel?"

Over at Baoteng Cliff, Ning Zhuo closed his eyes, frowned slightly, showing a bit of strain. He transmitted his thoughts: "Boss, I can feel the influence too."

Sun Lingtong: "This is absolutely fantastic!"

He began rapidly studying the water vortex before him with the help of the Luo Shu page. Meanwhile, Ning Zhuo thought for a moment and took out the jade slip Shen Xi had given him.

The originally profound content gradually became easier to understand and straightforward as Ning Zhuo studied it.

Sun Lingtong only lasted sixteen breaths before stopping his innate talent and closing his eyes.

This time, not only was his nose bleeding, but blood also trickled from his ears, and he seemed somewhat dazed.

Sun Lingtong immediately sat down cross-legged, took out some pills, consumed them, and circulated his cultivation technique to fully regulate his breathing.

After half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he recovered fully.

Ning Zhuo also adjusted his own state.

"Again!" Sun Lingtong called out and activated his Spirit Eye innate talent once more.

Ning Zhuo also caught a ride on this benefit.

After several rounds, Sun Lingtong gained a deeper understanding of the water vortex: "This natural formation doesn't just utilize the many magic tools and treasures placed in the divination room; it also draws on the water vein's spiritual energy here, and even the surrounding space!"

Ning Zhuo's expression turned serious, understanding the severity.

Sun Lingtong sighed: "So, we can't forcibly take the Luo Shu. It's the core of this formation, the heart of the water vortex. This formation is unstable, constantly changing, and it's precisely influenced by the principles of the Luo Shu that it maintains balance at all times."

"If we abruptly take the Luo Shu, this formation would lose its computational center and immediately collapse. The power contained within and the surrounding space would collapse and erupt, destroying everything around."

"By then, not only would I be utterly annihilated, but the entire cave abode would suffer disaster!"

This was, of course, unacceptable to Sun and Ning.

Ning Zhuo had means to rescue Sun Lingtong, but since the water vortex formation involved the surrounding space, the rescue method wouldn't work well either.

Ning Zhuo couldn't let Sun Lingtong risk his life for a mere Dao artifact.

"How soon can we unravel this formation and retrieve the Luo Shu page?" Ning Zhuo asked.

Sun Lingtong smiled wryly: "Hard to estimate. The difficulty is that it's a natural formation, constantly changing. If it were one of the Ten Great Formations, it would be easier for us."

"Having me crack this formation is like opposing this Dao artifact. Unless my calculation ability surpasses that of the Luo Shu page, I could stay one step ahead and resolve the crisis just in time."

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

"We don't need to forcibly extract the Luo Shu page; we have plenty of time."

Sun Lingtong nodded: "Let me first use the Luo Shu to comprehend the cave abode formation between the array pivots and gain control here."

This difficulty was much lower than solving the water vortex formation.

Despite all changes, the cave abode formation followed discernible patterns.

Ning Zhuo added: "Once we control the cave abode formation, we'll clear this place out and temporarily move everything into the Wandering Dragon."

Sun Lingtong nodded: "Feasible. But we still need to keep an eye on the outside world."

Ning Zhuo knew what he meant: "Don't worry, Boss, I've already sent people to investigate. Once the intelligence is confirmed, we'll act immediately."

What Sun Lingtong referred to was none other than Niu Cheng.

Niu Cheng was in a tough spot.

Surrounded by many angry cultivators, he was being pressed for explanations.

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

His gaze wasn't sharp; encircled by numerous cultivators, he looked panicked and uneasy, repeatedly cupping his hands in apology, stumbling over his words.

He wore a dark blue coarse cloth short jacket, sleeves and trousers rolled up to his elbows and knees, revealing sturdy forearms and calves. A worn, shiny rawhide belt was wrapped around his waist, with a foot-long brass slip tucked diagonally into it.

His feet were clad in layered-sole cloth shoes, both uppers and soles stained with fresh mud marks.

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

"I thought I could get a formation treasure."

"Really didn't mean to!"

Niu Cheng's apologies didn't bring forgiveness; instead, they made the cultivators more relentless.

"Make way!" Yu Heye suddenly appeared, flying before the crowd.

He glared at Niu Cheng, shouted, and questioned what mischief he was up to, causing him to fail in alchemy and suffer heavy losses!

To convince everyone, Yu Heye directly pulled out a handful of waste materials, immediately causing astonishment and regret among the crowd; they could see this contained materials at the Nascent Soul level.

Comparing in their hearts, the negative emotions from their losses diminished considerably. Yu Heye's losses were far greater than any of theirs.

"He's the biggest victim!" the cultivators reached a consensus, unaware that Yu Heye was acting under orders. The alchemical waste he produced was deliberately prepared before he set out.

"Charge these losses to my account," Ning Zhuo's message to Yu Heye was exceedingly generous and bold.

Yu Heye, of course, was unwilling to shoulder it himself, pay out of pocket, and destroy Nascent Soul-level materials to fake an alchemy failure.

Relying on this pretense, the moment he appeared, he gained significant authority.

Yu Heye confronted Niu Cheng: "Well, how are you going to compensate me?"

Niu Cheng's nature was quite honest; he frankly spread his hands, indicating that although he couldn't afford to pay, he was willing to take responsibility over a long time.

Yu Heye: "What if you run away?"

He pretended to think, then said: "Alright then, you'll stay at my mountain for now, under my watch!"

"You want to retrieve Xie Tang's formation treasure? That's fine. Maybe you'll gain favor from the Heavy Formation Peak and use that to repay our debts."

"What do you all think? Is this acceptable?"

The cultivators looked at each other, remained silent for a few breaths, then spoke up one after another, agreeing it was a good solution.

Their losses were minor, much less than Yu Heye's. In fact, many didn't necessarily insist on compensation. The compensation was small enough to be negligible for them.

Some did need compensation.

But Yu Heye's losses were the heaviest, and they also didn't want to spend their energy and time watching over Niu Cheng, a Foundation Building cultivator.

So, after a moment's consideration, they all agreed.

But Yu Heye didn't stop there; he took out a contract and had all the aggrieved parties present sign it.

After checking the contract contents and finding no issues, the cultivators signed their names.

Finally, Yu Heye handed the contract to Niu Cheng.

Under the intense stares of countless eyes, Niu Cheng could only read it over and sign the contract.

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

"You'll stay in the front chamber, cultivate by my side for now, and don't wander off randomly," Yu Heye sternly instructed.

Niu Cheng hung his head and grunted in agreement.

Having accomplished this, Yu Heye immediately sent a message to Ning Zhuo to report.

Upon receiving the message, Ning Zhuo nodded slightly and stopped worrying about Niu Cheng.

This was the best solution for now.

If he really wanted to stop Niu Cheng from seeking the formation treasure, Ning Zhuo certainly had the ability, but it would have many negative effects. On one hand, it would draw attention; on another, it would be hard to explain; thirdly, it would tarnish his image and reputation, making outsiders see him as a bully.

Getting labeled like that would seriously damage his popularity.

By acting through Yu Heye, no one knew Ning Zhuo was the mastermind behind the scenes.

And deliberately sacrificing a Nascent Soul-level material to coordinate with other victims and force Niu Cheng to submit was a great bargain.

Now, with Niu Cheng under Yu Heye's watch, his progress in exploring the Nine Palaces Formation would be firmly controlled by Ning Zhuo from the shadows.

With just a few messages and one Nascent Soul-level material, Ning Zhuo eliminated future risks and successfully maintained his image.

The Luo Shu page was truly extraordinary!

Ning Zhuo, catching the influence the Dao artifact exerted on Sun Lingtong, spent only two and a half days to comprehend nearly half of Shen Xi's jade slip.

Ning Zhuo gained a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the protective formations of Baoteng Cliff and Moyun Peak.

Sun Lingtong also came to understand most of the formation in the array pivot room.

But it still wasn't enough.

While Sun Lingtong used the Luo Shu page to study the formation, Ning Zhuo quietly left Baoteng Cliff and arrived at another mountain via a small teleportation array.

This was White Willow Peak.

The entire peak was planted with White Willows, a spiritual plant that naturally absorbed surrounding mist, adhering it to its leaves. The accumulated mist covered the green leaves, turning them white, hence the name White Willow.

The peak of White Willow Peak had been flattened by cultivators into a smooth jade platform.

On the peak's jade platform stood a complex of buildings, interconnected and neatly arranged, all part of the Cloud Script Flows into Workshop.

The Cloud Script Flows into Workshop was an industry founded by Meng Yaoyin.

The entire workshop resembled a massive green jade paperweight, firmly occupying the center of the peak. All buildings were made of iron pinewood, with overhanging eaves extending into the air, glazed tiles shimmering with colored light.

Ning Zhuo looked down at the workshop from high above.

The workshop enclosed an open space in the middle, forming a Glow Drying Field for talismans. There was a Material Acceptance Yard, where cultivators were responsible for transporting, sorting raw materials, and performing rough processing.

There were two tall buildings. One called the Flowing Cloud Completion Building, capable of mass-producing cloud scripts. The other, the Lightning Attraction Building, for quenching talismans.

There were three pavilions. One was the Solidification Pavilion, shaped like a turtle shell, specializing in solidifying talismans. Another was the Star Pointing Platform, which could enhance talisman quality. The last was the Sand Melting Pavilion, specifically for refining high-grade or even top-grade talisman ink.

The front courtyard was for selling talismans, while the rear hall enshrined the jade slip "Cloud Script Celestial Book," paired with a large formation that both protected the entire workshop and aided in talisman production.

Ning Zhuo descended from the clouds, passed through the workshop's archway, and entered the front courtyard.

The bustling noise hit him like a wave of heat.

Cultivators haggled over talismans. One seller shouted: "Invisibility talismans, a hundred minimum! Buy a thousand, get a hundred free!" Another cultivator directly tossed a bulging storage bag onto the counter: "I'll take all the Cloud Soaring talismans on the counter today."

After browsing briefly, Ning Zhuo found that the talismans here were mainly cloud scripts, and cloud scripts were the most popular.

A quick calculation told Ning Zhuo: This place must be making a fortune daily!

Suddenly, an argument broke out.

"Agreed on 'Plum Blossoms Greet Snow, 20% off'! Thirty 'Ice Armor Talismans' originally 900, discounted to 720! Payment and goods settled, why go back on your word?"

The cultivator behind the counter hastily argued: "That promotion ended yesterday! Quickly make up the 180 spirit stones!"

The buying cultivator sneered: "That's your mistake, what's it to do with me? I've already paid, you should hand over the goods."

The argument attracted many onlookers.

Ning Zhuo watched with interest.

As the dispute escalated with no resolution, a Golden Core cultivator holding an abacus entered the front courtyard.

Along the way, many cultivators greeted him respectfully, showing his prestige.

It was Deputy Workshop Master Jin Zi!

Jin Zi approached the arguing pair, ascertained the situation, and nodded amiably to the buyer: "Customer, rest assured, the fault is ours. The talismans will be handed over as agreed."

Under his order, the selling cultivator, though reluctant, had to painfully hand over the talismans to the buyer.

The buyer cupped his hands, complimented Jin Zi, and strode away triumphantly.

Jin Zi turned to the selling cultivator: "These losses will be deducted from your salary."

The cultivator turned pale but could only meekly agree.

Jin Zi cupped his hands to the surrounding crowd, gave a greeting, and left the front courtyard, actually riding a cloud away from the Cloud Script Flows into Workshop. Clearly, he had just dealt with it in passing.

Ning Zhuo watched his receding figure, his eyes flickering thoughtfully for a moment.

(End of )