Chapter 716

Ning Zhuo held the Intent-Comprehension Brush and examined it carefully.

The brush handle was made of yellow-green Heluo jade, with natural jade patterns intertwined to form vague hexagrams.

The brush head was made of Jiekai wood, bearing scorch marks from lightning.

The brush tip was made of autumn-frost white hare hair; looking at it against the light, one could see specks of silver radiance.

The entire Intent-Comprehension Brush exuded the aura of a magic treasure.

Ning Zhuo, Bai Jiyun, Liu Fushu, and Kong Ran had exchanged much at the banquet and learned a great deal of information about this brush.

"To craft an Intent-Comprehension Brush, one must endure disasters."

"This is a Jin Dan-level Intent-Comprehension Brush; it must withstand at least three tribulations."

"Among them, the most fundamental is the Heart Demon Tribulation, which will interrogate the Confucian cultivator's literary heart. Additionally, since the Heluo jade is harvested from water, it is very likely to suffer a lightning tribulation."

"Looking at the brush head, which uses lightning-struck Jiekai wood, it is very likely that after the Heluo jade was harvested from the water, it suffered a lightning tribulation and was not protected thoroughly, resulting in erosion by lightning qi. Therefore, lightning-struck Jiekai wood was used to compensate for this material defect."

"As for what the third tribulation actually is—"

Based on Ning Zhuo's current attainments in Confucian cultivation and artifact refining, he could not tell.

During the banquet, he also showed this precious brush to Bai, Liu, and Kong, and the three cultivators also failed to find any clues.

Not knowing did not hinder Ning Zhuo from using it.

Immediately, Ning Zhuo channeled his five-element magic power and poured it into the Intent-Comprehension Brush.

Ning Zhuo was not a Confucian cultivator, so his five-element magic power was not perfectly compatible with the Intent-Comprehension Brush. Although it would affect the actual results, it could still be used.

Accompanied by the input of magic power, the seven-inch-two-fen brush handle soon emitted a shimmering jade light, warm and clear.

Specks of electric light flashed on the brush head.

At the brush tip, the silver light became a few shades richer.

Ning Zhuo had already reached some intentions of trading with Bai Jiyun and Kong Ran, among which was the demand for authentic works.

Ning Zhuo wanted to test the brush now; after thinking for a moment, he first took out a tiger skin.

This tiger skin was heavy and thick, very wide, and on the tiger skin were two huge, tattoo-like talismans.

This was precisely the spoils of war Ning Zhuo had obtained after having a conflict with the Pi family cultivators and killing a tiger demon.

Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong had both pondered the two talismans on this tiger skin, but had not gained much.

"Let's see if using the precious brush this time will work?"

Ning Zhuo first copied the Blood-Burning Galloping Talisman among them.

This talisman was nearly circular, as large as a millstone, as if written in blood, and now its surface also resembled the dark red of dried blood.

Looking closely, one could still see many flame-like textures within the dark red patterns.

Ning Zhuo had already studied this magic talisman once and had long known its structure.

Ning Zhuo began to copy it.

He took the talisman heart as the starting point. The upper part of the Blood-Burning Galloping Talisman's heart resembled a blood drop, while the lower part resembled a burning flame.

Ning Zhuo copied the talisman heart and immediately felt an evil impulse, unable to help but blurt out: "Blood burns fire, fire boils blood."

Starting from the talisman heart, it was the main vein of the talisman.

The main vein of the Blood-Burning Galloping Talisman consisted of three of the coarsest dark red cinnabar patterns; they were slightly twisted and radiated outward from the center of the talisman.

When Ning Zhuo copied it, it was as if he felt three boiling blood vessels, pulsating rhythmically with the heartbeat.

"Twisting, boiling, as if there is magma surging inside—"

Finally, there were the auxiliary decorations. Between the three main veins, small, dense patterns were filled in.

When Ning Zhuo copied it, he mainly had two feelings.

One feeling was as if a strong wind was blowing on his face, with a tingling sensation. The other feeling was space cracking, breaking the limit.

From this, he immediately knew: "There must be two types of talisman patterns. One is the Wind-Thunder Pattern, and the other is the Space-Splitting Pattern."

This was a depth he had not excavated when he studied the talisman before.

A moment later, Ning Zhuo looked at the Blood-Burning Galloping Talisman on the talisman paper and made a final summary.

This talisman was identical to the one on the tiger skin, judging solely from its appearance. Ning Zhuo lightly stroked the surface of the talisman and could feel a sense of impending explosive motion from the coarse and powerful patterns, as well as the determination and demonic nature of sacrificing blood to exchange for high speed.

He channeled magic power and ignited the talisman paper.

As a result, the talisman paper burned directly, with no reaction at all.

The talisman making failed.

Ning Zhuo was not surprised in the slightest.

He had only copied it once, experienced the intent within, and slightly improved his own foundation in talisman making. Of course, it also covered paper-crafting techniques, but the gains in this aspect were even scarcer.

Ning Zhuo then copied the Thousand-Layer Scale Skin Talisman.

This magic talisman was the size of a washbasin; it was not the perfect circle of the Blood-Burning Galloping Talisman, but resembled an octagon with distinct edges and corners.

The color of the talisman pattern was also not dark red, but presented a deep earthy yellow.

This talisman looked difficult to copy at first glance; the main vein was too heavy, simply stealing the show. The talisman heart was tiny, yet it had a thousand threads of connection with its surroundings.

To copy this kind of talisman, one had to go from the outside in.

Ning Zhuo began to copy it.

The main body of the Thousand-Layer Scale Skin Talisman consisted of countless fine, regular diamond-shaped talisman patterns. When copying, one had to layer them.

Threads of intent were transmitted to the bottom of Ning Zhuo's heart, making Ning Zhuo feel as if he were touching a layer of true gemstone scales.

Extending inward continuously from these diamond-shaped talisman patterns, Ning Zhuo slowly reached the position of the talisman heart.

Around the talisman heart, there were three different types of talisman patterns, each constructing three circular rings.

The appearance of the rings was almost identical, only differing in size. But this time, when Ning Zhuo copied them, he felt three different types of intent from them.

The outer ring made him feel like rotating waves, the middle ring like a heavy mountain, and the inner ring like a slow-moving land tortoise.

The final decorations were filled in the gaps between the scales and the three circular rings.

When Ning Zhuo copied it, he felt that space seemed to be producing ripples.

"It seems these are all Void Ripple Patterns. These decorations can enhance resistance to spells."

In the final summary stage, Ning Zhuo looked at the complete Thousand-Layer Scale Skin Talisman on the talisman paper.

Unlike the previous Blood-Burning Galloping Talisman, this magic talisman's patterns were precise, regular, and complex, full of a sense of order and solidity.

The layered diamond-shaped talisman patterns, plus the three circular rings of the talisman heart, revealed an artistic conception of "a thousand layers to unload force, ten thousand spells difficult to invade." This was a point Ning Zhuo had not touched at all during his previous research.

He ignited the talisman paper with magic power; unsurprisingly, he reaped a second failure.

But he did not suffer any backlash.

This was the benefit of using a talisman.

The talisman itself would bear the backlash consequences of a failed spell, not the cultivator themselves.

After continuously copying two magic talismans, Ning Zhuo closed his eyes and sat cross-legged, beginning to rest.

He felt dizzy, with huge consumption of both essence and spirit, and was physically and mentally exhausted.

"The consumption of copying using the Intent-Comprehension Brush is much greater than I imagined."

"My physical body and soul foundation both exceed those of most Foundation Establishment cultivators. If I cannot support it, others will probably only be able to copy one magic talisman before needing to rest."

"However, the effect of copying is really good!"

"My understanding of magic talismans has directly exceeded the sum of the research I did with the boss before."

But if Ning Zhuo were asked to say it out loud, he could not organize his language for a while.

This was intent.

Information that is difficult to fully expound upon through language, text, and other means.

It can only be understood intuitively, difficult to be put into words!

A true expert can expound upon it in a simple and easy-to-understand way, but the subtle points are often lost in the expression.

A moment later, Ning Zhuo returned to his peak state.

He tried copying again.

This time, it was not the tiger skin, but a jade slip he dug out from his own storage belt: "Ice Sculpture Secret Canon."

This was a mechanism classic, personally gifted to Ning Zhuo by Ning Jiufan, expounding on ice sculpture mechanism techniques, which was also the content Ning Jiufan mainly cultivated.

Ning Zhuo had read it several times before and knew that this ice sculpture mechanism book was unique and very characteristic; all ice sculptures were carved from a huge piece of raw material, formed in one piece, rather than assembled between mechanism parts in the normal sense.

Therefore, wanting to sculpt the form one wants requires proficiency in one of the hundred arts of cultivation: the art of carving.

Especially the inner carving technique, which requires carving all array patterns and talismans on the inner wall of the ice sculpture.

Ning Zhuo's skill in carving was relatively weak.

Therefore, he only treated this classic as a reference book and did not delve into it deeply.

Traveling outside, he indeed had no time to take care of these minor details.

This copying test mainly tested the limit, and what impact it had on the harvest of intent under the state of being at the limit.

Ning Zhuo kept copying until he was about to be unable to bear it, his soul became weak, his entire sea of spirit was empty, and subsequent thoughts were difficult to produce.

He had only copied a little over ten percent of the entire classic.

But Ning Zhuo felt that he had a deeper understanding of carving techniques, mechanism techniques, and ice-element cultivation!

But Ning Zhuo found it difficult to evaluate the degree of this gain.

After the second rest, Ning Zhuo took the initiative to contact Sun Lingtong: "Boss, something good has happened!"

He told Sun Lingtong about Wen Ruanyu's letter, his participation in Chu Xuangui's Xingyun Trial, and the subsequent intention to trade with Kong Ran and Bai Jiyun, etc.

Sun Lingtong felt genuinely happy and at the same time devised strategies for Ning Zhuo: "Xiao Zhuo, your direction is correct. The Confucian school is the school best at learning."

"If you want to gain more, you can also borrow the Luoshu pages and the Spirit-Hidden Willow."

"You can also buy some elixirs and talismans to assist yourself. For example, Wisdom Spring Flowing Powder, Enlightenment Spirit Tea, Heart Mirror Dustless Talisman, Sudden Enlightenment Bodhi Incense, and so on."

"If Kong Ran succeeds in trading with you, perhaps you can also use your natural talent for early wisdom to help you comprehend and learn quickly!"

Regarding the prospect Sun Lingtong described, Ning Zhuo couldn't help but feel a bit excited: "The elixirs and talismans the boss listed are all treasures, and the cost is not cheap."

"There are only tens of thousands of Intent-Comprehension Brushes in the entire cultivation world. Every time one is refined, it must go through disasters."

"The Spirit-Hidden Willow is also a rare spirit plant."

"Not to mention the natural talent for early wisdom, which is one in ten thousand!"

"Even if the Luoshu pages are incomplete, they are still Dao artifacts."

"With these elements superimposed, my learning speed will definitely rise! But I have no way to estimate how much it can be improved specifically."

In short, the future prospect is bright!

Ning Zhuo took out the brush case.

This was the Yunhan Brush-Resting Case, about one foot two inches long, four inches wide, and two inches thick; it was rectangular and flat.

Its edges and corners were rounded like the flow of star tracks, without a trace of sharpness, fully displaying warmth and tolerance.

One only needed to push it gently to slide the case lid in the other direction. The process of opening the case was very smooth, without a trace of noise. When closed, it was tight, with only a glimmer of light visible, like a line of the Milky Way.

The brush handle of the Intent-Comprehension Brush had lost its jade light and was very dim.

Ning Zhuo put the Intent-Comprehension Brush into the brush case, letting it warm and recover for a while.

Ning Zhuo began his daily cultivation.

As usual, physical cultivation and comprehending the Demonic-Dyed Blood Tendon Art were the two major contents.

Under the help of the Fetal Breath Spirit, the physical foundation had been steadily improving.

But the speed of comprehending the Demonic-Dyed Blood Tendon Art was still not good. "If I could obtain the authentic work of the Demonic-Dyed Blood Tendon Art, I wouldn't have this trouble," Ning Zhuo sighed bitterly.

The Three Sects' Masters left behind authentic works for every cultivation technique in the Molten Immortal Palace.

The intent in these authentic works was true intent! Therefore, the three authentic works were three true scriptures.

Even without using the Intent-Comprehension Brush, as long as ordinary cultivators came into contact with them, they could receive true intent irrigation, and their realm regarding the three cultivation techniques would rise all the way!

"These three true scriptures were originally hidden in the bodies of the Buddha Doctor, the Demon General, and the Dao Master."

"The true scripture of the Demonic-Dyed Blood Tendon Art was refined by Yuan Dasheng as a material by mistake."

"My mother is lodged in the Buddha Doctor. I also didn't find the true scripture of the Mirror Platform Psychic Art in the Buddha Doctor."

"As for the true scripture of the Five-Element Qi Law Art in the Dao Master's body, I actually don't need it much."

Ning Zhuo was very profound in the five-element realm.

What he was stuck on was the demonic art!

"I am really not suitable for cultivating demonic arts."

"When can the Red Flower Dharma Image be broken? I might be able to interrogate Lin You for the Demonic Heart technique as an important reference."

Time passed, and it was late at night.

Ning Zhuo finished comprehending the cultivation technique, feeling quite depressed, and couldn't fall asleep for a while.

He simply created ice cubes and tried to do some carving himself.

Failure, failure, failure—

A series of failures made him fall into deep thought: "Although I have gained intent, when I actually do it, the gap between my standard and what I expected is very far!"

"My eyes are too high and my hands are too low; I still need a lot of practice to gain practical experience before I can have a practical and effective improvement in my skills."

Thinking of this, a flash of inspiration suddenly appeared in Ning Zhuo's mind.

It seemed there was a very critical point—

But just at this moment, the cave dwelling token shook slightly, transmitting information that it was under attack.

Ning Zhuo's thinking was interrupted, and he couldn't help but be surprised: "The cave dwelling I rented in the Myriad Phenomena Sect, how could it be attacked?"

As a result, when he looked, he found that the attack intensity was extremely small; it was a mechanism puppet.

A letter was hidden inside the mechanism puppet, originating from Seeing Ban Ji.

Seeing Ban Ji stated directly in the letter that he wanted to have a contest with Ning Zhuo. The winner could choose a trophy from the loser as a reward.

"Who is Seeing Ban Ji?" Ning Zhuo felt puzzled.

"Someone, investigate his intelligence for me." Ning Zhuo summoned Chef Lao and gave the order.

When he pondered again, Ning Zhuo could no longer find the flash of inspiration that had just passed by.

"Seeing Ban Ji has ruined me!"

Ning Zhuo gritted his teeth, and a trace of disgust couldn't help but arise in his heart; at the same time, he had a premonition.

This Seeing Ban Ji seemed to have important significance for him.

If left alone, it would very likely delay his development within the Myriad Phenomena Sect.