Chapter 695

Unlike Ning Zhuo sighed: "Earlier, I was talking to Shen Xi about the Fisher-Boy Xiaoman and the Luo Shu; I didn't expect to actually come into contact with them in reality."

Sun Sun Lingtong looked at the water vortex with burning eyes: "The most valuable thing in the Jade-Rinsing Studio is the Luo Shu page. This is a Dao treasure, although it is not complete."

"As long as I use my gift to peer into the page, I can be influenced by it, which will bring me huge help in mathematics!"

Sun Sun Lingtong carefully reflected on his recent encounter; as long as he was influenced by the Luo Shu, he became a genius in mathematics.

This feeling made him unable to stop.

"It's like the Spirit-Hidden Willow—Boss, I can understand this feeling," Unlike Ning Zhuo said. He and Sun Sun Lingtong were connected by the Life-Hanging Thread, so he felt the same.

The Luo Shu page was indeed like a specialized Spirit-Hidden Willow, but it was only similar.

There was a difference between the two. The Spirit-Hidden Willow could improve comprehension, while the Luo Shu page recorded the mathematical rules of heaven and earth, which were necessarily the correct direction. Therefore, what the Luo Shu brought was necessarily the correct understanding!

The results of the Spirit-Hidden Willow's help might be wrong, but it was full of creativity.

The Luo Shu's creativity was equal to zero; it could provide the correct answer, but the extent of creation and understanding still depended on the cultivator themselves.

Do not doubt Sun Sun Lingtong's comprehension ability; in this aspect, he even surpassed Unlike Ning Zhuo slightly.

"Little Zhuo, next I want to continue to spy on the Luo Shu. You try to use the Life-Hanging Thread to sense it with all your might at the same time!" Sun Sun Lingtong suggested.

"Good idea," Unlike Ning Zhuo praised immediately.

Sun Sun Lingtong activated his Heaven-Gifted Spirit Eyes again. When his gaze touched the body of the Luo Shu page, he was immediately influenced by the Dao treasure.

"That's it!" Sun Sun Lingtong was excited, "Little Zhuo, how do you feel?"

Over at Hug-Vine Cliff, Unlike Ning Zhuo's eyes were tightly closed, his brows slightly furrowed, showing a bit of strain. He transmitted his thoughts: "Boss, I can also be influenced."

Sun Sun Lingtong: "This is simply amazing!"

With the help of the Luo Shu page, he began to study the water vortex before him rapidly. On the other side, Unlike Ning Zhuo thought for a moment and took out the jade slip that Shen Xi had given him.

The originally profound content gradually became easy to understand and simple as Unlike Ning Zhuo studied it.

Sun Sun Lingtong only lasted for sixteen breaths before stopping his gift and closing his eyes.

This time, not only was his nose bleeding, but even his ears were oozing bright red blood, and his entire demeanor became somewhat muddled.

Sun Sun Lingtong immediately sat cross-legged, took out elixirs to consume, and operated his cultivation technique to adjust his breath with all his might.

After half a cup of tea, he recovered as before.

Unlike Ning Zhuo also adjusted his state.

"Again!" Sun Sun Lingtong called out and activated his Spirit Eye gift once more.

Unlike Ning Zhuo also hitched a ride on this benefit.

After several times like this, Sun Sun Lingtong had a deeper understanding of the water vortex before him: "This natural formation doesn't just use many magic tools and treasures placed in the divination room, but also the spiritual energy of the water veins here, and even the surrounding space!"

Unlike Ning Zhuo's expression turned solemn, hearing the severity of the situation.

Sun Sun Lingtong sighed: "Therefore, we still cannot forcibly take away the Luo Shu. It is the core of this formation and the heart of the water vortex. This formation is not stable and is changing at every moment; it is precisely because it is influenced by the principles of the Luo Shu that it maintains balance at all times."

"If we suddenly take the Luo Shu by force, this formation, having lost its calculation core, will immediately collapse. The power contained within, as well as the surrounding space, will collapse and erupt, destroying everything around it."

"By then, not only will I be left without a corpse, but the entire cave abode will suffer!"

This was, of course, unacceptable to Sun and Ning.

Unlike Ning Zhuo had the means to rescue Sun Sun Lingtong, but since the water vortex formation involved the surrounding space, this rescue method would not work well either.

Unlike Ning Zhuo could not let Sun Sun Lingtong risk his life for a mere Dao treasure.

"When is the earliest we can crack this formation and take out the Luo Shu page?" Unlike Ning Zhuo asked.

Sun Sun Lingtong gave a bitter smile: "It's hard to estimate. The difficulty is that it is a natural formation that is changing at every moment. If it were one of the Ten Great Formations, it would be easier for us to handle."

"For me to crack the formation is equivalent to contending with this Dao treasure. Unless my calculation ability surpasses the Luo Shu page, I won't be able to calculate ahead of it and resolve the crisis a step earlier."

Unlike Ning Zhuo evaluated it and then shook his head: "The risk is too great."

"We don't need to forcibly extract the Luo Shu page; we have plenty of time."

Sun Sun Lingtong nodded: "Let me first use the Luo Shu to study the cave abode formation in the formation hub room and control this place."

This difficulty was much lower than solving the water vortex formation.

All changes have their origins; the cave abode formation had traces to follow.

Unlike Ning Zhuo continued: "Once we control the cave abode formation, we will first empty this place and temporarily move everything into the Ten-Thousand-Mile Swimming Dragon."

Sun Sun Lingtong nodded: "Feasible. But the outside world still needs to be looked after."

Unlike Ning Zhuo knew what he was referring to: "Don't worry, Boss, I have already sent people to investigate. Once the information is confirmed, we will act immediately."

What Sun Sun Lingtong was referring to was none other than Niu Cheng.

Niu Cheng's current situation was very bad.

He was surrounded by many angry cultivators who were demanding an explanation.

Niu Cheng had a square jaw and a wide mouth, broad shoulders and a thick back, and his skin was tanned to a bronze color.

His gaze was not sharp; surrounded by many cultivators, his expression was fearful and uneasy, and he kept cupping his hands and bowing, apologizing in a clumsy and tongue-tied manner.

He wore indigo coarse cloth short-sleeved clothes, with his sleeves and pant legs rolled up to his elbows and knees, revealing his sturdy forearms and calves. A worn, shiny cowhide belt was wrapped around his waist, with a one-foot-long brass rod tucked diagonally into it.

He wore cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles, and there were fresh mud stains on the sides and tops of his shoes.

"I... I really didn't expect it to be like this."

"I thought I could get a formation treasure."

"I really didn't do it on purpose!"

Niu Cheng's apology did not lead to understanding, but instead made the cultivators even more relentless.

"Make way, everyone!" Yu Yu Weiye suddenly appeared and flew in front of the crowd.

He glared at Niu Cheng and shouted, questioning what kind of trouble the latter was causing, which had caused his alchemy to fail and resulted in heavy losses!

To gain the trust of the crowd, Yu Yu Heyao directly took out a handful of waste materials, immediately causing the crowd to feel regret and pity; they could see that there were Nascent Soul-level treasure materials in there.

Comparing in their hearts, the negative emotions caused by their losses were reduced a lot. The losses suffered by Yu Yu Heyao were much greater than theirs—"He is the biggest victim!" The cultivators reached a consensus, not knowing that Yu Yu Heyao was acting under orders. The alchemy waste he took out was also intentionally arranged before he set off.

"These losses will all be put on my account," Unlike Ning Zhuo wrote in the flying letter to Yu Yu Heyao, very generously and heroically.

Yu Yu Heyao, of course, was unwilling, so he took the initiative to bear it, paid out of his own pocket, and destroyed the Nascent Soul-level treasure materials to disguise the appearance of an alchemy failure.

Relying on this layer of illusion, he gained great discourse power as soon as he appeared.

Yu Yu Heyao went to trouble Niu Cheng: "Tell me, how are you going to compensate me?"

Niu Cheng's personality was quite honest; he spread his hands honestly, indicating that although he could not afford to compensate, he was willing to spend a long time to bear the responsibility to the end.

Yu Yu Heyao: "What if you run away?"

He pretended to think and then said: "How about this, you just live on my mountain peak first, and I will keep an eye on you!"

"You want to fish for Ning Ning Xie Tang's formation treasure, that's fine. Perhaps you can gain the appreciation of the Heavy Formation Peak and use it to pay off our debts. Everyone, look, is this method okay?"

The cultivators looked at each other, and after a few breaths of silence, they spoke one after another, saying that this method was good.

Their losses were not much, far less than Yu Yu Heyao's. In fact, many people did not necessarily need compensation. This compensation was small enough that, to them, it was dispensable.

Some people did indeed need compensation.

But Yu Yu Heyao's losses were the heaviest, and they were unwilling to spend their energy and time on watching over Niu Cheng, a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Therefore, after considering for a moment, these people all agreed.

Yu Yu Heyao did not stop there, but took out a contract and asked the victims present to sign it.

After the cultivators checked it, they found no problems with the content of the contract and all signed their names.

Finally, Yu Yu Heyao handed the contract to Niu Cheng.

Niu Cheng was stared at by countless gazes and could only sign the contract after reading it.

Yu Yu Heyao then grabbed Niu Cheng by the collar and dragged him all the way back to Hug-Vine Cliff.

"You will live in the front room and cultivate by my side for the time being; you are not allowed to run around at will," Yu Yu Heyao warned sternly.

Niu Cheng drooped his head and responded in a muffled voice.

After Yu Yu Heyao finished all this, he immediately sent a flying letter to Unlike Ning Zhuo to report.

Unlike Ning Zhuo received the flying letter, nodded slightly, and no longer kept Niu Cheng in his heart.

This was the best way to handle it for now.

If he really wanted to stop Niu Cheng from exploring the formation treasure, Unlike Ning Zhuo naturally had the strength to do so, but there were many negative impacts. On one hand, it would be showing off; on the other hand, it would be hard to explain; and the third aspect was that it would ruin his own image and reputation, making outsiders feel that he was a person who bullied the weak with his strength.

If he really got that label, it would greatly affect his popularity with passersby.

Unlike Ning Zhuo acted through Yu Yu Heyao, and no one knew that he was the mastermind hiding behind the scenes.

And intentionally destroying a Nascent Soul-level treasure material while being able to coordinate with other victims and force Niu Cheng to bow his head was a huge profit.

Now, Niu Cheng was under Yu Yu Heyao's nose, and his progress in exploring the Nine Palaces Formation would be firmly controlled by Unlike Ning Zhuo in secret.

With just a few flying letters and a Nascent Soul-level treasure material, Unlike Ning Zhuo had eliminated future hidden dangers and successfully maintained his image.

The Luo Shu page was indeed extraordinary!

Unlike Ning Zhuo hitched a ride on the influence that the Dao treasure exerted on Sun Sun Lingtong, and it only took him two and a half days to comprehend a small part of Shen Xi's jade slip.

Unlike Ning Zhuo had a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the mountain-protecting formations of Hug-Vine Cliff and Cloud-Touching Peak.

Sun Sun Lingtong also understood the formation in the formation hub room quite well.

But this was not enough.

While Sun Sun Lingtong was studying the formation with the help of the Luo Shu page, Unlike Ning Zhuo quietly left Hug-Vine Cliff and came to another mountain peak through a small teleportation array.

This was White Willow Peak.

The entire mountain peak was planted with white willows; this spiritual plant could naturally absorb the surrounding cloud energy and attach it to its leaves. The cloud energy accumulated and covered the green leaves, making them pure white, which was the origin of the name White Willow.

The peak of White Willow Peak had been carved by cultivators into a flat jade platform.

There was a complex of buildings on the jade platform at the peak, connected to each other, with a neat layout; they were all part of the Cloud-Seal Flowing Workshop.

The Cloud-Seal Flowing Workshop was an industry created by Meng Meng Meng Yaoyin single-handedly.

The entire workshop was like a huge green jade paperweight, firmly occupying the center of the peak. All the buildings used iron pine wood, with overhanging eaves extending into the air, and colorful light rolling on the glazed tiles.

Unlike Ning Zhuo looked down at the workshop from high in the sky.

The workshop enclosed an open space in the middle, forming a field for Sun Ning talismans with rosy light. There was a Material-Receiving Courtyard, where cultivators were responsible for transporting, sorting raw materials, and performing rough processing.

There were two high buildings. One was called the Flowing-Cloud Turning Building, which could mass-produce cloud seals. One was the Lightning-Attracting Building, which could temper talismans.

There were three pavilions. One was the Solid-Town Pavilion, whose architectural shape resembled a turtle shell, specifically for solidifying talismans. One was the Star-Pointing Platform, which could improve the quality of talismans. And there was the Melting-Sand Pavilion, which was specifically for refining high-grade or even top-grade talisman ink.

The front courtyard was used to sell talismans, while the back hall enshrined the jade slip "Cloud-Seal Heavenly Book," which, paired with a grand formation, guarded the entire workshop while also helping to make talismans.

Unlike Ning Zhuo descended from the clouds, stepped past the workshop gate archway, and entered the front courtyard.

The sound of people clamoring rushed toward him like a heatwave.

Cultivators were bargaining around the talismans. A selling cultivator shouted: "Invisibility talismans sold in batches of a hundred! Buy a thousand and get a hundred free!" Some cultivators directly threw bulging storage bags onto the counter: "I'll take all the Cloud-Ascending Talismans on the counter today."

Unlike Ning Zhuo strolled around for a bit and found that the talismans here were mainly cloud seals, and cloud seals were also the most popular.

After a quick calculation, Unlike Ning Zhuo could judge: this place was making money hand over fist!

An argument suddenly broke out.

"The 'Cold Plum Welcoming Snow 20% Off' was agreed upon! Thirty 'Ice Armor Talismans' were 900 at the original price, and 720 after the discount! The money and goods have been exchanged, why are you going back on your word?"

The cultivator behind the counter argued hurriedly: "This discount ended yesterday! Hurry up and pay the remaining 180 spirit stones!"

The buyer cultivator sneered: "That's you remembering wrong; what does that have to do with me? I've already paid the money, you should give me the goods."

This argument attracted many people's attention.

Unlike Ning Zhuo was interested and was also watching.

Just as the two sides were arguing and the commotion was getting bigger, a Golden Core cultivator holding an abacus walked into the front courtyard.

Along the way, many cultivators took the initiative to salute, revealing this person's prestige.

It was the Vice Workshop Master, Jin Mao!

Jin Mao came to the two arguing people, and after clarifying the situation, he nodded to the buyer with a pleasant expression: "Guest, don't worry, the mistake is on our side."

"The talismans will be delivered according to the agreed-upon discount."

Under his order, the selling cultivator, although unwilling, could only painfully hand the talismans to the buyer.

The buyer cupped his hands, flattered Jin Mao, and walked away triumphantly.

Jin Mao turned to the selling cultivator and said: "These losses will all be deducted from your salary."

The cultivator's face turned pale, and he could only respond submissively.

Jin Mao cupped his hands to all sides, greeted them, and walked out of the front courtyard, but he drove his clouds and left the Cloud-Seal Flowing Workshop. Clearly, he had just been passing by and done it on the way.

Unlike Ning Zhuo looked at his shrinking back, his eyes flickering for a moment, lost in thought.