Success

The instant the fragment fell into his hands, the Thousand Mechanism Hall inside Ning Ye gave a sudden, humming tremor.

It trembled with the joy of having something lost returned.

In that instant, a new hall had appeared inside the Thousand Mechanism Hall without warning, tucked into a corner.

Ning Ye sent a wisp of his consciousness inside. When he saw what the fragment had become, he couldn't help but stare in astonishment. "A storeroom? It actually became a storeroom?"

When the Heavenly Mechanism Sect created the Thousand Mechanism Hall all those years ago, they had planned to forge the greatest divine artifact under heaven. That was why it contained countless mysteries and many wondrous buildings with strange functions: the Kunlun Mirror could deduce space and time, the Heaven-Hiding Prison could imprison mighty experts, the Dragon-Severing Platform could execute immortals for their crimes, the Myriad Manifestations Map could manifest all living beings, the Undying Spring could bring the dead back to life, the Demon-Refining Tower could refine demons, the Heart-Cleansing Pool could cleanse the heart, the Xuanji Ruler could help one comprehend the workings of heaven, and the Throne of Creation could create all things. There was even the power to seize stars and pluck down the moon—though some of these had never been completed and were unfinished from the start.

Even so, any one of those functions would have been an enormous help to Ning Ye. Yet he had never encountered a single one. All he'd gotten was a storeroom.

This storeroom wasn't an ordinary place, either. It was called Sumeru House, and it contained an immense space—truly capable of containing Mount Sumeru within a mustard seed. Compared to a mustard seed pouch, it could hold an unimaginable amount more.

But what was the use of that?!

What did I need an endless storeroom for?

Well, at least it was complete.

The Thousand Mechanism Hall was said to contain a thousand mechanisms, but in truth it had ten main functions like those above. There might be hundreds of fragments, which meant that collecting just one or two could very well be insufficient to restore any function in full.

This Sumeru House was a rare exception, retaining its integrity. Perhaps its unique spatial properties made it impossible to split apart any further.

Heaven really didn't favor me!

Ning Ye sighed inwardly.

Then his eyes suddenly lit up.

Wait!

A storeroom?

Wouldn't that be perfect for stashing treasures?

The storeroom inside the Thousand Mechanism Hall was its own independent space, and the hall was an ancient treasure. Even Fu Dongliu's Tracing Origin Technique wouldn't be able to detect it.

In that instant, Ning Ye realized that while the fragment might not be much use in a fight, it could be of boundless use in concealing things from others.

All these thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. The Flame Burst Beads were still exploding one after another, and the shockwaves hadn't yet died down. Inside the building, walls and beams had collapsed, and smoke and dust filled the air. It was the perfect opportunity to take things amid the chaos. Ning Ye hurried back, reaching the alchemy room. Without caring what anything was, he floated through the air, his sleeves sweeping out to gather every object touched by his magic power. In the next moment, he appeared directly inside the storeroom of the Thousand Mechanism Hall.

By the time he dropped from the air and landed on the ground, countless items had tumbled into the storeroom with a clatter. Most were broken stones and splintered wood, but there were also books and scriptures, as well as magic treasures, pearl ornaments, pills, talismans, and more. Valuable or worthless, they all landed in the storeroom like rubbish.

Ning Ye himself rolled across the ground several times, gathering every object he touched along the way, whether it was trash or treasure. Only then did he stop.

The wards flashed wildly and thundered, followed by a tremendous boom. The entire Xuanyu Pavilion collapsed.

"Bastard!"

"Bastard!"

"Bastard!"

Outside the Xuanyu Pavilion, Xuan Mulang raged and cursed hysterically. Behind him stood Chi Wanning, Xu Yanwen, Yang Ziqiu, and the others.

Ning Ye was covered in blood. The explosions had torn open his wounds again, but everyone had suffered at least a few injuries by now. No one noticed that his wounds were especially severe.

After all that chaos, everyone was covered in dust and grime. Even Fairy Niaohua's hair had been tossed into disarray by the shockwaves, and dust had smudged her lovely face. Fortunately, she promptly used a cleansing spell and regained her earlier radiance. She even glanced around to see if anyone had noticed how disheveled she'd been. Seeing that everyone's attention was fixed on the series of explosions at the Xuanyu Pavilion, she relaxed. No one seemed to have noticed, and Chi Wanning breathed a sigh of relief.

Xuan Mulang was practically going mad. He was injured, but not seriously. What truly pained him were all the treasures in the inner chambers—some weren't made for combat and couldn't withstand damage. Now, whether they could withstand it or not, they were all buried beneath the rubble, their fates unknown.

How could he not be enraged? How could he not hate them?

He hadn't read many books, and his vocabulary was limited. He went back and forth between "bastard," "mongrel," "turtle's son," "fuck your granny," and "I'll kill your whole family." But his rage thundered straight into the sky, wild and domineering.

By contrast, his subordinate Siping seemed fairly calm. After inspecting the scene, he looked doubtful. "That's strange. The force of these traps wasn't weak, but they were spread too far apart, so their power couldn't be concentrated. They're still a little too weak to take down Lord Xuan Mulang."

Smack!

Siping was slapped across the face. Xuan Mulang roared, "Would you be satisfied only if he'd killed me?"

Siping lowered his head and said nothing.

Xuan Mulang was consumed by fury, but the others could still keep their heads.

Zhong Rihan frowned. "It really doesn't look like an attempt to kill anyone. It's more like someone had a grudge against the Xuanyu Pavilion itself. Could this still be a ploy to lure us away?"

Chi Wanning's expression changed slightly. "Oh no!"

She hurried toward Ningxin Cottage, moving even faster than before.

Seeing her reaction, Ning Ye was a little taken aback.

It wasn't strange that Chi Wanning had misunderstood, but the extent of her alarm still struck him as odd.

Puzzled, he kept moving. With Xu Yanwen leading the way, he returned with the others to Ningxin Cottage.

Chi Wanning rushed straight into the garden and looked around. She let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. It wasn't my place."

Ning Ye's thoughts stirred. "Fairy, aren't you going to check inside?"

Chi Wanning came to her senses, as if waking from a dream. "Oh, right."

She went inside and searched again, confirming that nothing had been lost.

Only then did everyone relax. Ning Ye, however, kept scanning the garden.

From Chi Wanning's reaction, whatever she was worried about clearly wasn't inside the cottage. It was somewhere in this garden.

But what could be in the garden?

There were pavilions, pools, rockeries, and trees. Ning Ye couldn't figure out which one it was, so he simply took a few steps as if wandering around.

When he reached the rockery, Chi Wanning asked, "Junior Brother Ning, is something the matter?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just checking whether the person who attacked us from the shadows had set up any traps here, too." Ning Ye had already settled on an answer. He casually flicked his hand, and a few drops of blood landed on the rockery before he walked back.

"Thank you for your concern, Junior Brother, but my place is fine. Something's happened at Green Wood Hall, and everyone's been injured. It looks like this tea gathering can't go on."

Her words carried an unmistakable hint that she was asking them to leave. Everyone understood and began taking their leave.