Soul-Lodging Ancient Wood was a top-grade material for making puppets. Its greatest use was that it could house one's mind, giving a puppet greater sentience and making it a bonded puppet that grew stronger alongside its master.
But Ning Ye wasn't from the Wood Puppet Sect and didn't follow the path of puppetry. Making a bonded puppet was meaningless to him; it would only give him another fatal weakness. Most importantly, with his current strength, he couldn't do it anyway.
Besides making puppets, Soul-Lodging Ancient Wood had another special use: making divination sticks.
This was a secret art of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect. Divination sticks made from Soul-Lodging Ancient Wood could greatly enhance one's divination abilities.
Ning Ye knew very well that the Kunlun Mirror's ability to calculate and divine was his greatest asset. It was precisely with the Kunlun Mirror's help that he could obtain so much important information without putting himself in danger.
But the Kunlun Mirror couldn't calculate the future or fathom the workings of Heaven. It couldn't peer into people's secrets, either, which made it difficult for Ning Ye to obtain more vital intelligence. Something like Muliu Town had been pure luck.
With Soul-Lodging Ancient Wood, things would be much easier. If he was lucky, he might even divine the whereabouts of the Thousand Mechanism Hall Fragment directly.
However, making divination sticks out of Soul-Lodging Ancient Wood required a great deal of preparation. First, he needed the Primordial Spirit of a sentient creature, housed within the ancient wood. Only then could it become complete Soul-Lodging Ancient Wood.
The characteristics of different creatures would also affect divination.
The best choice was naturally a creature that could traverse time and space. It could divine the past and future, and its predictions would never fail.
The next best choice was the Primordial Spirit of a powerful creature. It could break through the restrictions on divining people's secrets and make predictions about powerful cultivators.
After that, it could only divine the fates of ordinary people of middling stature.
A cultivator's Primordial Spirit could also be used, but Ning Ye had his own principles and didn't intend to use one.
A powerful creature's Primordial Spirit was hard to come by, but Ning Ye had his own way.
"What? You want the Primordial Spirit of a creature at the peak of the Wanfa Realm?" Wang Sen was shocked.
This was the fourth time Wang Sen had met with Ning Ye. He hadn't expected Ning Ye to make such a demand.
Ning Ye said calmly, "That shouldn't be difficult for the Wood Puppet Sect, should it?"
That was true. A creature's Primordial Spirit at the peak of the Wanfa Realm was hard to come by, but it wasn't a problem for the Wood Puppet Sect. At the very least, it would cost far less than Soul-Lodging Ancient Wood.
Actually, if he could, Ning Ye would rather have the Primordial Spirit of a creature that could traverse time and space. Even one at the Hualun Realm would be more valuable than an ordinary creature at the peak of the Wanfa Realm. But he couldn't make that request; it would alert the Wood Puppet Sect to his identity.
Wang Sen sneered. "The question is, why should we help you?"
He'd already paid Ning Ye for the last matter, so he had every right to refuse this time.
"What does the Black and White Divine Palace's list of moles in the Wood Puppet Sect look like?" Ning Ye dropped a bombshell.
Wang Sen was stunned. "You can get it? The whole list?"
Ning Ye scoffed. "What are you thinking? I can only give you the names of those up to the Cang Xiang Realm."
"Those are too weak. They're no use to us." Wang Sen shook his head.
No use?
Ning Ye had killed two Human Demons while only at the Cang Xiang Realm.
But he didn't tell Wang Sen that. "I could provide names of those in the Hualun Realm, too, but that would have to come gradually, as we continue working together."
Wang Sen was shaken.
Who exactly was this man? How did he have such means?
It wasn't that he couldn't imagine someone using divination to learn this information. It was just that the Heavenly Mechanism Sect had been destroyed. Though other Immortal Sects had their own experts, none could match the Heavenly Mechanism Sect's skill. Even the Heavenly Mechanism Sect couldn't have done this without the Kunlun Mirror. So Wang Sen couldn't begin to imagine how Ning Ye was pulling it off. He could only vaguely sense that this man had tremendous influence.
But if he had that much influence, it made little sense for him to ask the Wood Puppet Sect for a creature's Primordial Spirit at the peak of the Wanfa Realm.
Still, Ning Ye was right. A good start to their partnership could naturally lead to more cooperation.
As things stood, trading a creature's Primordial Spirit at the peak of the Wanfa Realm for the names of the Black and White Divine Palace's moles up to the Cang Xiang Realm was absolutely worth it.
"Are you sure there are no omissions?" he asked.
"If they're on record, none will be missing. If they aren't, or if they've joined recently, there's nothing I can do. But what does it matter? There are always new moles every year. I can sell you the list every year, too." Ning Ye smiled.
You really know how to do business.
Wang Sen nodded. "All right. You have a deal."
For the Wood Puppet Sect, obtaining the Primordial Spirit of a creature at the peak of the Wanfa Realm really wasn't difficult. Wang Sen delivered it just a few days later, though the creature had very ordinary traits; it was only powerful in cultivation.
Ning Ye hadn't expected them to send him anything rare. He used the creature's Primordial Spirit together with the Soul-Lodging Ancient Wood to make twelve divination sticks, each old-fashioned and steeped in the aura of mysterious runes.
The sticks could be used for ordinary divination, enhancing its effectiveness. They could also be burned directly to temporarily strengthen one's divination abilities.
Once they were made, Ning Ye immediately activated one. The list of moles was important and would surely be protected by spells; without doing this, he couldn't divine it.
The stick burned like incense. Inside the Thousand Mechanism Hall, the Kunlun Mirror turned, reflecting the list.
Unfortunately, it only showed those below the Hualun Realm.
It wasn't that the mirror couldn't divine the rest. There simply wasn't a list. The Black and White Divine Palace's high-ranking moles could never leave any evidence on paper.
Even so, this was a great haul.
After obtaining the list, Ning Ye lit another divination stick, this time to divine the location of the Thousand Mechanism Hall Fragment.
As the image appeared, Ning Ye was slightly taken aback. "What place is this?"
The image showed a bedroom. It wasn't a storeroom at all.
In other words, the Black and White Divine Palace's Thousand Mechanism Hall Fragment was in someone's personal possession?
Who could it be?
Unfortunately, there was no way to identify the owner from the bedroom alone, and the Kunlun Mirror couldn't divine an individual. But Ning Ye realized that whoever had made the fragment a private possession had to be at least a mighty cultivator of the Immaculate Realm.
Ning Ye examined the bedroom closely and spotted some unusual characters on the antique bed. They seemed to be some kind of ancient script.
So this bed was an ancient relic?
Excellent. Ancient relics were rare; perhaps he could follow this lead and uncover something.
But it wouldn't be easy to investigate on his own. He might have to make use of Wang Sen after all.
The following night.
Wang Sen received the list. Ning Ye had divided it up and only given him the names of moles at or below the Cang Xiang Realm.
Looking over the list in his hands, he eyed it with suspicion. "You didn't just give me some random fake list, did you?"
"Don't be ridiculous. You have your own ways of checking whether it's real," Ning Ye replied.
That was true. It was certainly easier to shoot the target first and paint the bullseye afterward.
"But," Ning Ye added, "you're not really foolish enough to arrest every single mole all at once, are you?"
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Some of them are more useful left alive."
Wang Sen chuckled. "Looks like you're different from me. You really do hate the Black and White Divine Palace to the bone. Did they kill someone close to you?"
Ning Ye replied impassively, "Yes. But they've killed a lot of people. You won't find me by following that lead."
"You've got to start somewhere." Wang Sen smiled.
After meeting so many times, they were gradually getting to know each other, and their conversations had grown more relaxed.
"All right, then. Goodbye." Wang Sen turned to leave.
"Hold on," Ning Ye said.
"What else?"
Ning Ye flicked his hand, sending a sheet of golden paper flying to Wang Sen.
Wang Sen's heart stirred. It wasn't because of anything else, but because that gesture meant the other man had come in person.
Wang Sen had always known that the other man appeared to meet him in person while actually hiding himself using some kind of shadow technique. But this time, the other man had shown up in person.
What did that mean?
Did it mean he now had the confidence to face him directly? Wang Sen realized at once.
In other words, this man's cultivation had been ordinary, but he'd recently made a breakthrough?
But if that was the case, how had he obtained all that secret information?
Could there be someone else backing him?
Ning Ye saw what he was thinking and said, "Don't overthink it. We're both standing under the same precarious eaves. Less scheming and more sincerity would be good for both of us."
Wang Sen snorted and took the golden paper, frowning. "What's this?"
"As you can see, there's an ancient script carved on it. I need you to find out what kind of ancient rune it is, and who in the Black and White Divine Palace possesses a cultivation art or treasure of this sort."
Wang Sen chuckled. "There's something you can't figure out, too?"
"I haven't even managed to get the Primordial Spirit of a creature at the peak of the Wanfa Realm," Ning Ye replied meaningfully. "Everyone has their strengths. That's how we move forward together."
Wang Sen asked, "What can you offer me?"
"What do you want?"
Wang Sen smiled. "I want the cultivation arts of Heavenly Treasury Peak. Can you give me those?"
"You're sure?" Ning Ye asked in return.
Wang Sen paused. He'd only said it offhandedly and hadn't expected Ning Ye to actually have them. "All of them?"
"I have everything up to the Cang Xiang Realm."
"So you can only go to the First Valley of Heavenly Treasury Peak right now?"
"Speculating is pointless."
"Cultivation arts up to the Cang Xiang Realm are useless to the Wood Puppet Sect."
"Then make a request that is useful."
Wang Sen thought for a moment before replying, "I don't need anything right now. Just owe me a favor, and repay it next time."
"Then we'd better be clear about this first. You don't get to name some outrageous price for that favor."
Wang Sen said, "How about killing someone? I'll try not to make you wait too long, as long as they're below the Cang Xiang Realm."
Ning Ye grinned. "As long as they're from the Black and White Divine Palace, there's no problem."
Wang Sen smiled, too.
He was beginning to understand this opponent. At least one thing was certain: he truly wanted to see the Black and White Divine Palace brought down.
Thanks to Fu Baibai for the Alliance Leader.
I recommend a blazing-hot novel by Qi Peijia, The Legendary Mechanic. I'm reading it now, and it's fantastic!
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