Kindling the Fire

Without a greater than 50% certainty, Zhang Xuezhou and his group would not have fought against a mindless mechanical being.

Opening the metal door behind the mechanical figure revealed a space only four square meters in size.

Behind this door is an iron gate.

"This is a double door. If someone tries to use their dexterity and speed to force open the door, they will be roasted alive in this space by this mechanism before the second door can be opened in time!"

Li Shaojun felt a little uneasy.

He glanced at Zhang Xuezhou, then at Gongsun Hong, and noticed an unnatural undertone beneath their calm expressions. He knew then that these two must have also entertained such thoughts.

"Look at these handprints on the wall! These must have been left by people who were burned to death and couldn't get in or out!"

Li Shaojun pointed to the wall.

Unlike normal brick walls, in addition to piling up bluestone on the outside, this interior was also isolated with copper plates, forming a de facto mechanical prison trap.

"Although there are only three locks here, the real lock is the inner bolt. They've reversed the lock, and our force is limited. How are we supposed to open it?"

Gongsun Hong struggled to open the first door, but he couldn't help but feel a headache when he looked at the second door. He felt that even if his sword broke, it would be difficult to pry open this bronze door.

"This is a mechanical lock. If you correctly open these three locks, the bolt inside might open automatically!"

Li Shaojun and Gongsun Hong each spoke up, and after examining the three locks for a moment, Zhang Xuezhou also began to feel them.

Similar to a combination lock, these three locks, though they look like locks, are so tightly fitted to the door that they seem almost welded together.

If they were to forcefully break the lock, it would be virtually impossible to open the door, and they would inevitably be annihilated by the guards.

Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but marvel once again at the world's unconventional technology; even security doors and locks had taken shape, and creating such a lock body within the doorway gap under limited conditions was incredibly challenging.

Only after inviting Dong Zhongshu to forge the Law Artifact 'Heng' did Zhang Xuezhou truly understand the difficulty of achieving perfection under limited conditions.

What may seem insignificant to people hundreds of years from now is incredibly difficult in our time.

And this is merely one door of the Mohists.

Zhang Xuezhou looked at the four cardinal directions on the bronze door and then reached out and turned the lock repeatedly.

With three lock bodies and four positions, there are very few possible combinations. Even if you try them all, it won't waste much time.

However, for those who are unfamiliar with combination locks, this method of cracking is not in their minds, making it extremely difficult to unlock. Unless one is a core member of the Mo Sect, only a few people can open it by sheer chance.

"You said this Mohists's mechanism is so complex. If I brought this door home, wouldn't I be able to create a treasure vault no less impressive than a storage bag!"

After listening to Zhang Xuezhou's description, Li Shaojun couldn't help but think, feeling that even a single stroke of the Mohists's brush was a treasure.

"Dongfang Shuo, how did you learn about this lock-picking method?" Gongsun Hong asked curiously.

"I've worked with Master Dong to create Law Artifact and have some knowledge of Mohists mechanical techniques," Zhang Xuezhou replied casually.

"Zhongshu... Zhongshu was certainly very strong!"

Gongsun Hong took a deep breath.

Bewitched by the purple light, Gongsun Hong was defeated twice by Dong Zhongshu in his illusions. He was somewhat traumatized and felt that it was normal for him to be inferior to Dong Zhongshu. If Dong Zhongshu knew about the Mohists's mechanism lock, that would also be normal.

"Is there any medicine inside?"

Ao Sheng, who was behind him, lowered his head and asked a question. For the first time, he felt that his demon body needed to shrink a bit when he transformed, otherwise he wouldn't even be able to squeeze through a small human door.

He writhed, his body scalded by the flames, feeling a burning pain all over.

Ao Sheng tore off a piece of charred skin from his body and looked at the bright red flesh underneath. He realized that if he couldn't find any medicine to heal his injuries, he would have to soak in the seawater and quietly recuperate.

Of course, he could ask Ao Li, that annoying guy who was appointed the Rain God by the Heavenly Court, for help and ask him to use the Dragon Ball that Ao Li was keeping.

But just thinking about the scene of praying for the dragon made Ao Sheng feel that it would be worse than death.

If possible, he hoped that the Mohists's small treasure trove contained some healing medicines. This was a medical art that the dragons were not good at, but it still had a healing effect on the dragons' bodies.

If one could encounter a skilled healer or cultivator who would kindly offer treatment, that would be the best outcome.

"Forget it, I'm not counting on human cultivators to heal me. They might drug me and I'll wake up with my skin peeled off!"

After considering the consequences, Ao Sheng finally abandoned this crazy idea.

He peeked around and saw Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly turning a Little Jin.

A moment later, Zhang Xuezhou pushed the small door open, revealing an inner room of nearly 100 square meters, filled with dark objects.

"What is this?" Li Shaojun asked, his face grim.

"This appears to be the Mohists's top-grade fuel, made from a special type of wood," Gongsun Hong said, his expression also slightly grim. "This is very likely the fuel used on this mechanical doll!"

"This damn haul is incredible!"

Li Shaojun disliked fuel and had no interest in it whatsoever.

Even the most blazing flame cannot compare to a Creation Pill that boosts cultivation.

"It's still useful," Zhang Xuezhou said, frowning as well. "Once this fuel is lit, the flame burns continuously, making it much easier for us to survey our surroundings!"

"Indeed, the Mohists's Mechanical City certainly has more than just this one room. It's a maze of interconnected passages; there should be many more rooms to search!"

Gongsun Hong also comforted himself.

The School of Mohists of cultivators did not only use mechanisms; these cultivators also needed to cultivate, which required both cultivation tools and Law Treasure artifacts.

"The further down we go, the harder it is for the purple light to penetrate, which means we can search freely," Li Shaojun said. "If we find any insurmountable mechanisms, we'll regroup then."

Li Shaojun enjoys the convenience of adventure with Zhang Xuezhou, but he is not willing to seek rewards with Zhang Xuezhou.

He felt he hadn't gained anything from following Zhang Xuezhou, so he spoke up, suggesting that everyone could meet at this exit of the underground passage if they encountered danger.

"Lord Ao Sheng is injured and it is inconvenient for him to enter or leave this place. He can keep this jade ruyi outside," Gongsun Hong said.

"Very well, it's better for the three of us to split up than to search in one direction," Zhang Xuezhou nodded. "This way, we can find medicine to treat Lord Ao Sheng's injuries as soon as possible!"

"Thank you so much for thinking of me, I'm so touched!"

After listening for a short while, Ao Sheng felt that the three of them were completely thinking of him, and that entrusting him with the item that could dispel the hallucinations in this area showed their utmost trust in him.

With the cold jade ruyi in his hand, Ao Sheng felt much more comfortable.

"You need to come and treat me as soon as possible!"

He watched as the three of them each carried a lit bundle of flames and headed in three directions: forward, left, and right. Looking at himself behind them, Ao Sheng couldn't help but offer a word of advice.

He stood listlessly at the door, pawing at the mechanical man who had caused him so much trouble.

After peeling off its skin and dismantling its tendons, Ao Sheng dismantled the mechanical figure into pieces, revealing a three-legged cauldron at its central core.

Even though the mechanical figure was completely soaked, there were still sparks of fuel under the three-legged cauldron.

Ao Sheng tugged at it and felt a tendon being pulled on his finger. A strong gust of air blew by, and the flames under the three-legged cauldron immediately flared up, with blue flames shooting rapidly upwards for ten feet along the cauldron's legs.

This startled Ao Sheng.

Having experienced the agony of such flames, he was genuinely afraid of accidentally getting burned again.

If he were to get himself burned, Ao Sheng felt he might not live to see the elixirs Zhang Xuezhou and the others bring.

He looked at the three-legged cauldron that was spewing flames with considerable fear, and watched helplessly as sparks splashed into the dark mass that everyone had previously called top-grade fuel.

As the raging fire rose, the door, which had been explored many times, began to turn red, soften, and then quickly melt into molten iron.

He tilted his head slightly and spat a mouthful of water at the fuel. The flames ignited by the fuel pile grew even fiercer, causing large areas of the dark mass to burn.

The scorching heat from the flames made Ao Sheng, who was several feet away, extremely uncomfortable. He shuddered, grabbed the jade ruyi, and quickly fled the place, twisting his ankle.