Heavenly Mechanism Stone

Chapter 35: Heavenly Mechanism Stone

Three days later, Gongsun Ye returned.

He was drenched in blood, murder in his eyes.

As soon as he returned to Five Sheep Cave, he sent his disciples to find Ning Ye.

The biggest problem with the mechanical Stone Lion killing Yue Xiuxiu was that it seemed far too targeted.

Going after one disciple so deliberately didn't seem like something the Extreme Joy Sect would do. Especially since Yue Xiuxiu had mentioned Ning Ye on the way to Ancient Spring Town.

Of course, she probably hadn't said anything good about him.

But Gongsun Ye didn't let the Extreme Joy Sect off the hook. He stormed into their sect, personally killed three of their disciples, extorted a hefty sum of goods and money, and left. As soon as he returned, he went looking for Ning Ye.

But just as he gave the order, one of his female disciples said, "Ning Ye went to Tianping Mountain. The mountain has been sealed off."

"Tianping Mountain has been sealed off? What happened?" Gongsun Ye asked, taken aback.

The female disciple gave a vague explanation, and only then did Gongsun Ye learn that the day before, a mechanical murder had occurred on Tianping Mountain.

"A mechanical murder? What happened?"

The female disciple replied, "It was an aberration. This one was earth-aligned and could hollow out stone statues, build mechanisms inside them, and coat them with something that attracted body-refining pills. One of our junior brothers happened to pass by and was drawn in by it. He accidentally triggered the mechanism and died on the spot."

"How dare it!" Gongsun Ye slapped the table and stood up.

Now he understood.

The aberration had been taking revenge.

Clearly, after Ning Ye and Yue Xiuxiu discovered its tracks, it had grown resentful. After killing a cultivator from the Extreme Joy Sect, it had used his mechanism box to set a trap and ambush Yue Xiuxiu. Then it had even dared to sneak into Nine Palaces Mountain and try to ambush Ning Ye.

But its luck had evidently run out. Black and White Divine Palace was full of talented people, and Ning Ye wasn't the only one who followed the path of close-quarters combat and body refinement. In the end, someone else had taken the hit for him.

After learning that the aberration had appeared on Tianping Mountain, Black and White Divine Palace had immediately sent out a large force to seal off the mountain. Even Ning Ye had joined the search.

After hearing what had happened, Gongsun Ye no longer suspected Ning Ye. He was simply astonished by the aberration's audacity. But thinking about what he'd heard earlier, it really was an intelligent aberration, so perhaps it wasn't that surprising.

Unfortunately, since it had appeared on Nine Palaces Mountain, even if it was caught, he wouldn't get a share.

The female disciple raised her almond-shaped eyes and gazed at Gongsun Ye with limpid eyes. "How about I go call him after he returns from the mountain?"

Gongsun Ye waved his hand. "Forget it. It's just a shame about Xiuxiu."

The female disciple pressed her lips together in a smile. "Now that one Yue Xiuxiu is gone, your disciple can find you ten more Yue Xiuxius. How does that sound?"

Gongsun Ye's eyes narrowed. "Very good, very good!"

With a wave of his hand, the female disciple's clothes fell away, and Gongsun Ye pounced on her.

......

The cottage.

After a night of searching the sealed mountain, Ning Ye finally returned.

He had just sat down when the inkstone beside him suddenly stood upright. It was the Heavenly Mechanism Stone. A face formed on its surface, wearing a miserable expression. "You exposed me to clear yourself of suspicion. Now everyone's looking for me. The Immortal Sect has plenty of wondrous arts and secret techniques. I'm afraid they'll find me sooner or later."

Ning Ye replied languidly, "Don't worry. I've already obscured your heavenly secrets. They won't find you anytime soon."

The Heavenly Mechanism Stone was astonished. "You're just an ordinary disciple. How could you obscure my heavenly secrets? Are you some kind of master of divination and numerology?"

Ning Ye had naturally used the Soul-Lodging Wood Counting Rods and the Heaven Stealing Art to obscure the Heavenly Mechanism Stone's secrets. The Heavenly Mechanism Sect had fragments of three divine arts. Ning Ye knew the Heaven Asking Art and the Heaven Stealing Art, but the third secret art wasn't recorded, and he still hadn't learned it.

However, Ning Ye's Heaven Stealing Art was even weaker than his Heaven Asking Art. On top of that, he lacked a foundation in the Heavenly Mechanism Heart Method. Even with the Soul-Lodging Wood Counting Rods, his makeshift attempt was nowhere near as good as Xin Ranzi's Heaven Stealing Art. He could only obscure the Heavenly Mechanism Stone's secrets for about three years.

He and the Heavenly Mechanism Stone weren't close enough yet for him to share such secrets.

So he simply said, "Cut the nonsense. Stay put, and don't stick your head out. If you keep talking so freely, I might not be able to protect you."

"Oh." The Heavenly Mechanism Stone obediently lay back down, but it couldn't help adding, "It's really boring."

"When you were chased like a drowned dog and had to pose as a stone statue, too afraid to move, why didn't you say you were bored then?"

The Heavenly Mechanism Stone grinned cheekily. "But now I have a master, don't I?"

Who knew you were such a shameless thing?

Ning Ye thought for a moment. "It's not impossible to let you move around freely."

The Heavenly Mechanism Stone was delighted. "Tell me, tell me!"

"Find a puppet and put you inside it. We'll just say it's a puppet imbued with spiritual essence. Wouldn't that do?"

The Heavenly Mechanism Stone was overjoyed. "Exactly, exactly! That's a great idea!"

Ning Ye continued, "But first, I'd need to have such a puppet. Second, I'd need suitable spiritual essence. Third, I'd need a plausible reason for owning a puppet."

The Heavenly Mechanism Stone replied, "You can buy a puppet, hunt for spiritual essence, and come up with any excuse you like. At worst, just take up puppet arts as an elective."

Ning Ye sneered. "Easy for you to say. Do you know how many spirit stones a decent puppet costs? Do you know how high the spiritual essence requirements are for a chatterbox like you? Do you know that the arts available as electives in the Cang Xiang Realm are limited? Do you know my master doesn't like me choosing anything outside the Blade Dao? Most importantly, are you my subordinate, or am I yours? The way you put it, I'm practically your servant, doing your bidding!"

The Heavenly Mechanism Stone was dumbfounded, unable to say anything for a moment.

Seeing it like that, Ning Ye said, "Forget it. Just help me out, and when the time is right, I'll find you a body."

"Sure, sure! Boss, just tell me what you need," the Heavenly Mechanism Stone hurriedly agreed.

What did he need? He wanted to turn Black and White Divine Palace upside down!

But Ning Ye wasn't going to tell it that yet. He said flatly, "Naturally, I need to get stronger. I'm going to focus on my cultivation for a while and break through to the fourth layer. Don't bother me unless it's important."

In two months, it would be a year since he joined the sect. Before his probation ended, Ning Ye needed to advance to the fourth layer. He also needed to keep looking for a chance to obtain a Thousand Mechanism Hall Fragment.

Ning Ye was cultivating that day when Xu Yanwen came by again.

When he saw Ning Ye, Xu Yanwen smiled. "Thanks to you, Wan Ning has grown much closer to me. In fact, she specifically invited me to spend time with her at Ningxin Cottage in three days."

Ning Ye smiled. "Such a good opportunity to be alone with a beauty. Wouldn't I just be an extra?"

Xu Yanwen shook his head. "I wouldn't want that either, but Wan Ning specifically asked for you. Looks like your performance last time caught her eye."

There was no jealousy in his words. He probably knew full well that Chi Wanning wouldn't fall for him.

Xu Yanwen was like someone in a harem fighting for favor. When he couldn't win on his own, he'd bring in an ally—provided the ally was beneath him.

Ning Ye fit that standard perfectly. He was ugly, but had a mind full of plans. Bringing him along wouldn't make Xu Yanwen lose face, and it would only make him look more imposing, handsome, and suave by comparison. Naturally, Ning Ye was the ideal companion.

Ning Ye had been waiting for this opportunity, too. Hearing Xu Yanwen, he smiled. "Since that's the case, I'll gladly accept."