Chen Cha, who had begun to harbor doubts, casually asked Ning Zhuo several questions.
The questions covered many areas. Anyone who was not the actual creator would have been unable to answer them.
Naturally, this did not trouble Ning Zhuo.
After some conversation, Chen Cha dismissed his doubts, though his heart could not help but tremble. "He really designed and made this himself?"
"Isn't he a disciple of the Ning Lineage? The Ning Lineage excels at talismans—since when were they so skilled in Mechanism Art as well, to have nurtured such an outstanding young cultivator?"
"If this continues, this child will surely become someone great in the future!"
Chen Cha now viewed Ning Zhuo in an entirely new light. His interest burned brightly, and he could not resist asking a few more questions.
Ning Zhuo said, "This year's Grand Examination marked the end of this junior's academy days. Senior's eyes are truly keen. I do indeed enjoy Mechanism Art and have always been interested in it. In my daily life, I gather whatever books I can and study them in private. It has nothing to do with the Ning Lineage academy."
Chen Cha stroked his beard and deliberately asked, "Among the hundred arts of cultivation, the four supreme arts are alchemy, artifact refinement, talisman crafting, and array formation. Mechanism Art ranks at the very bottom among the hundred arts, an obscure path among obscure paths. Why are you alone so fond of it?"
Ning Zhuo's heart stirred at once. He realized that their exchange had reached its most crucial moment!
His contact with Chen Cha had long been premeditated. Bringing out the Mechanical Monkey had been part of his plan from the beginning.
The youth considered his words, his expression turning solemn as he said gravely, "This junior believes that cultivation is the pursuit of the truths between Heaven and Earth. The hundred arts of cultivation are merely applications of those truths. At their core, they are simply tools."
"Pills are tools. Dharma artifacts and flying swords are also tools. Talismans and arrays are likewise tools."
"Using these tools makes cultivation more convenient and raises the chances of success in all sorts of endeavors."
"And the ultimate form of tools is none other than Mechanism Art!"
"A new material used in a mechanism may be refined through alchemical methods. A mechanism's structure is shaped through artifact-refining techniques. The arrays and talismans upon it involve the arts of array formation and talisman crafting."
"An excellent Mechanical Creation is the ingenious union of cultivation techniques."
At this point, Ning Zhuo paused. "As for why Mechanism Art has fallen to the bottom of the hundred arts and become a side path, it is because it is the hardest to learn, the hardest to master, and has the highest threshold!"
"On one hand, building mechanism constructs requires cultivators to master many cultivation arts. Alchemy, artifact refinement, talisman crafting, and array formation are all foundations. After mastering them, one must choose and combine from countless materials and techniques."
"On the other hand, designing mechanism constructs is even harder. It tests a cultivator's thinking, talent, inspiration, and imagination. A good design might take a cultivator more than a decade to complete. During that process, one is often stuck at a single point, unable to advance an inch for years."
"Only excellent designs can produce excellent Mechanical Creations."
Upon hearing Ning Zhuo's argument, Chen Cha leaned back slightly, his eyes shining as he looked the youth up and down. He could not help clapping his hands. "Well said! Wonderfully said!"
His attitude toward Ning Zhuo changed once again.
His earlier appreciation and interest transformed into the warmth he felt toward a fellow traveler on the same path!
Human interaction was a wondrous thing. Some people spent every day together, yet remained the most familiar of strangers. Others met for the first time, yet their hearts resonated and their ideals aligned.
The more Chen Cha and Ning Zhuo spoke, the more they hit it off. Their forms of address naturally changed as well.
Chen Cha warmly called Ning Zhuo "Little Zhuo," while Ning Zhuo began calling him "Old Chen."
After pondering Ning Zhuo's question for a moment, Chen Cha directly offered three possible solutions.
Under ordinary circumstances, he would at most have given one solution to resolve someone's confusion. But before Ning Zhuo, he held nothing back.
After hearing the three proposals, countless questions immediately arose in Ning Zhuo's mind, and he asked them one by one.
Chen Cha answered every one of them. His manner was exceedingly enthusiastic, and he had long since thrown matters of payment to the winds.
Ning Zhuo continued offering his own opinions, revising the three proposals.
Chen Cha could not help immersing himself in the joy of discussing matters with a kindred spirit.
Through their discussion, the plan was rapidly improved and optimized. In the end, they settled on adding blood to the Fire Ape, setting a moving-array foundation within the blood to stabilize its body. At the same time, the blood's evaporation would dissipate heat, greatly easing the thermal force endured by the Fire Ape.
Chen Cha judged, "In my many years of experience, once the Fire Ape enters the market, it will surely be wildly popular."
"Little Zhuo, why not let my Flying Disc Workshop produce the Fire Ape?"
"For you personally, how could you produce large numbers of Mechanical Fire Apes? You must entrust a workshop with mass production."
"My Flying Disc Workshop has enough cultivators and equipment to meet your manufacturing needs."
"Moreover, I have operated in Fire Persimmon Immortal City for decades. I have ample sales channels and some connections with the City Lord's Mansion."
"On one hand, I can use those connections to secure a certain degree of tax reduction, allowing you to earn more."
"On the other hand, this would also serve as protection. Once the Mechanical Fire Ape enters the market, it will seriously harm the Monkey Head Gang's interests."
"That gang raises packs of spirit pet monkeys. Its biggest business is ordering monkeys to pick the explosive Fire Persimmons."
"This is something we must guard against in advance."
Ning Zhuo blinked and feigned hesitation. "This..."
Chen Cha smiled and spoke again with sincere earnestness. "Little Zhuo, I'll tell you the truth."
"This would also benefit me greatly."
"My Flying Disc Workshop has not produced a dazzling product in many years. Your Fire Ape happens to satisfy my urgent need."
"The better the Fire Ape sells in the future, the more renowned my Flying Disc Workshop will become, and the easier it will be to conduct business."
"So, my workshop will take only thirty percent of the Fire Ape's profits. I will bear all manufacturing costs!"
Ning Zhuo scratched his head. "Old Chen, I can feel your sincerity, but..."
Chen Cha stroked his beard. "No matter. Such a major matter should indeed be considered carefully. Perhaps, Little Zhuo, you should ask your family. However, though the Ning Lineage is a great cultivation clan, it has little strength in the mechanism trade. Relying on the Lineage for this business would not be wise. They might even entrust it to a Mechanical Workshop themselves."
"This old man speaks plainly. Little Zhuo, go ahead and investigate if you wish!"
Ning Zhuo waved his hand. "Old Chen, my parents both died when I was young. I lived under my grandfather and grandmother's roof. Now that I have graduated from the academy, I have completely separated from them and live on my own."
"I can decide these matters myself. I never intended to place this Mechanical Fire Ape under the Ning Lineage's control."
"I only have one small request."
Chen Cha said, "Oh? Speak freely."
Ning Zhuo said, "I want to join your workshop and participate in all kinds of work at the Mechanical Workshop, so that I can gain experience. I also wish to seek Old Chen's guidance more often. I have accumulated far too many questions. As for consultation fees, they can be deducted from my Fire Ape earnings. What do you think?"
Chen Cha burst into laughter. "Little Zhuo, having you come here would be a blessing for the Flying Disc Workshop. You are more than welcome!"
"With your talent, you can directly become the Vice-Market Lord."
Ning Zhuo hurriedly waved his hands. "That will not do! This junior's knowledge is shallow and his talent limited. What I need is to learn and seek instruction. I am merely a perfectly ordinary youth of the Ning Lineage. With my abilities, how could I possibly serve as Vice-Market Lord?"
"Perfectly ordinary? You really are far too modest!" Chen Cha shook his head, sighing without end. He mistakenly believed this was the refined upbringing of a great clan.
Ning Zhuo's true thoughts were exactly that!
He did not think Chen Cha's earlier criticism had been wrong.
"Old Chen appreciates me so highly and treats me with such courtesy because of the consultation business and the mechanism profits."
"I have only achieved a little in Mechanism Art. In the Mechanical Secret Records Mother left me, there are many mechanisms I still cannot fully understand."
"Take the design of the Mechanical Monkey, for example. I spent several years on it, stumbling and bumping along the way. This time, I only resolved the difficulty after seeking Old Chen's advice."
"I still need to make greater and further progress in Mechanism Art."
What he did not know was that Chen Cha's evaluation had never contained the slightest exaggeration. It rested entirely upon reality and Chen Cha's rich life experience.
Ning Zhuo did not know that every word Chen Cha had spoken came from the bottom of his heart.
On one hand, Ning Zhuo had always fiercely concealed his abilities. He had never before held an exchange with a fellow practitioner like today's, so he did not know his own precise standing.
On the other hand, Ning Zhuo had followed Mother's dying instructions and remained cautious at every turn. In order to conceal his abilities, he had constantly conditioned his own mind.
Even after attaining some achievements, he would try every possible way to criticize himself from every angle and uncover all kinds of shortcomings, determined not to let himself fall into pride and complacency.
For fourteen years, he had repeatedly told himself: I am perfectly ordinary, utterly commonplace. Even the things I have accomplished could be done by others. I still need to work hard. I must never slacken...
Over time, countless repetitions had shaped an exceedingly humble character in him. He could not see his own excellence and believed from the bottom of his heart that there was nothing remarkable about himself. There were still so very many places where he needed to work harder.
Chen Cha had struggled for many years. A Mechanical Creation like the Fire Ape was something he had dreamed of day and night!
After reaching a cooperation agreement with Ning Zhuo, Chen Cha immediately mobilized the full strength of his workshop that very day. He produced more than twenty Mechanical Monkeys and sent them into the market for sale.
That night, Ning Zhuo placed the Fire Ape, now fitted with its moving array, into the furnace for another baking test.
"This time, it will most likely succeed." Ning Zhuo was quite confident.
His gaze was deep and distant. "Chen Cha..."
Ning Zhuo had investigated Chen Cha for many years and understood much about his character.
Just as Chen Cha thought highly of Ning Zhuo, Ning Zhuo likewise held Chen Cha in high regard.
"If there is no problem with the crucial Fire Ape link, then the next matter is how to come into contact with the Magma Immortal Palace."
The Magma Immortal Palace was hidden within Fire Persimmon Mountain's body, concealed amid dense magma.
Ning Zhuo first had to reach the inside of Fire Persimmon Mountain.
There was a route. He would first reach Fire Persimmon Mountain's summit, enter through the volcanic crater, and bore into the Crimson Flame Demon Lava Cave. From among its myriad passages, he would select the correct path and keep delving deeper until he reached a place from which the Magma Immortal Palace could be seen.
"But if the Magma Immortal Palace develops problems the first time I enter the cave, that would be far too conspicuous."
"After all, I have never entered the Crimson Flame Demon Lava Cave in all these years. Suddenly entering it would be too abrupt."
"I need to find a cover."
At this thought, the image of his grandfather, Ning Ze, surfaced in Ning Zhuo's mind.
In that instant, a plan sprang to mind.
Before you continue