Since there was a mechanism on the stone tablet, there was a good chance that the place they were in wasn’t the real underground chamber. Perhaps, there might be a passageway leading to it, just that they hadn’t found it yet.
“Teacher’s eye of discernment is indeed formidable!”
Luo Qiqi turned to look at Zhang Xuan with eyes shining in admiration.
Indeed, she did well pulling her teacher along with them. His eye of discernment was proving to be incomparably valuable at this timing.
Otherwise, they would surely still be wasting their time, looking around futilely.
Seeing her good friend admiring Zhang shi, Yu Fei-er pouted in displeasure and harrumphed.
“He’s just lucky!”
Even though she knew that Zhang shi possessed extraordinary capability, she still couldn’t help but feel a little displeased when she saw the other party doing well.
Zhang Xuan turned to look at her and asked, “Lucky? Do you want to bet with me then?”
“You…”
Nearly choking on her saliva, Yu Fei-er gritted her teeth and turned her head away.
Knowing that it was best not to interfere in the conflict between the two—the previous time, he was pummeled due to it—Wu Zhen turned a blind eye to it. He hurried over to the stone tablet and said, “Let me see if I can decipher the mechanism!”
Closing his eyes tightly, he began feeling the tablet lightly with his fingers.
Since it was a mechanism, there must be a core controlling it. With his deep understanding of mechanisms as a celestial designer, he should be able to analyze its inner workings through the minor differences on its surface and find its weakness.
“Everyone, be silent. He needs to concentrate hard to find the core. As long as he finds it, he should able to break open this mechanism without any trouble!” Xing Yuan said.
While the mechanisms created by celestial designers were formidable, they had their flaws as well. There was no mechanism that couldn’t work without a core to power it, and once one finds it, even the most difficult of mechanisms could be undone easily.
“Un!”
Understanding this, everyone nodded and fell silent. In an instant, the only sound that could be heard in the area was the torrent beneath the bridge.
Controlling his breathing and heartbeat, Wu Zhen drove his zhenqi to make his touch even more sensitive. He quickly felt his way around the entire stone tablet, and after contemplating for a moment, he abruptly opened his eyes.
“Alright, I’ve found the core. I should be able to open the underground chamber now!”
Wu Zhen chuckled with deep confidence.
His cultivation might not be on par with Xing Yuan, Luo Qiqi, and Princess Fei-er, but he had the absolute confidence in dealing with mechanisms.
It was finally his turn to shine.
Taking a deep breath, he shook the Thousand Utility Umbrella in his hand.
Huala!
A sharp needle suddenly appeared at the top of the umbrella.
The needle was around three centimeters long, and under the warm glow of the Night Illumination Pearl it emanated a fearsome cold gleam. With just a look, one could tell that it was extremely sharp.
“This is the Thousand Utility Thorn of the Thousand Utility Umbrella. It’s used to decipher all kinds of mechanisms. Just for this thorn, five 5-star blacksmiths would have to work tirelessly for ten days to successfully forge it!” Luo Qiqi explained.
“Five 5-star blacksmiths would have to work tirelessly for ten days?” Zhang Xuan was shocked.
This sharp needle that was as thin as a strand of hair actually required so much effort behind it?
But thinking about it, crafting such a sharp and narrow needle couldn’t possibly be an easy task.
After all, the narrower it was, the more prone it would be to breaking.
Luo Qiqi continued explaining. “Un. It is only because he’s a master teacher that he could mobilize so many blacksmiths at once. If it had been anybody else, it would have been impossible to hire them for such a laborious job!”
Zhang Xuan nodded.
As the number one occupation in the world, being a master teacher did have lots of benefits.
There was only benefits that stood to be gained from getting acquainted with a young and talented 5-star master teacher. Thus, it wasn’t too hard for Wu Zhen to get five 5-star blacksmiths to spend ten whole days to craft a weapon for him. If it had been any other occupation, that would have been impossible.
Weng!
While they were speaking, the aura around Wu Zhen suddenly surged, and his eyes widened. The Thousand Utility Umbrella abruptly stabbed the side of the tablet diagonally.
Ding!
As soon as the Thousand Needle Utility came into contact with the stone tablet, it seemed to sink into a small crack that was so small that one couldn’t even see it with one’s eyes.
Ji ji ji!
Some heavy creaking noises sounded from the stone tablet, as though it was grinding against the floor.
Upon hearing this noise, Wu Zhen’s confident face suddenly darkened, and he hurriedly shouted, “Darn it, be careful!”
However, before he could finish his words, a storm-like noise suddenly came from the stone tablet, and countless sharp needles shot out from it.
Each of the needles moved at an exceptionally fast speed, and while it wouldn’t be fatal were it to hit, it could cause one a fair bit of suffering.
Huala!
Wu Zhen immediately pressed a point on the Thousand Utility Umbrella, and it opened up.
The cloth of the Thousand Utility Umbrella was forged using a unique material, making it as resilient as a shield. Putting aside these needles, even a sharp weapon couldn’t hope to tear through it.
If not for such incredible functionalities, the Thousand Utility Umbrella wouldn’t be an artifact so well-loved by celestial designers such that they would go to the extent of bankruptcy just to have one forged.
Ding ding dang dang!
The resilient umbrella managed to deflect most of the needles, but there were still some which slipped through its defense.
“Retreat!”
Stepping forward, Xing Yuan flicked his wrist and took out a shield.
Knowing that underground chambers were usually filled with mechanisms and traps, he had brought many things in preparations for the various circumstances they could face. This shield was both two meters in height and width, and it could easily cover everyone behind.
Hu la la!
With a sound reminiscent of rain pattering on banana leaves, the thin needles were stopped in their tracks. Quite a few of them ended up lodging themselves into the ground and the shield.
“That was close!”
Seeing the dense congregation of needles on the ground and the shield, everyone felt cold sweat trickling down their backs.
If not for Xing Yuan preparing this in advance, they would have been turned into pincushions. They would probably be wishing that they would be dead even though the attack wasn’t fatal.
Wiping the cold sweat off his forehead, Xing Yuan turned to Wu Zhen and bellowed furiously.
“Are you trying to open the underground chamber or are you trying to murder us?”
You were supposed to decipher the mechanism, not to murder us. If we had reacted any slower than that, we would have been done in just now.
In fact, despite his swift reaction, he was still pierced by five small needles. He couldn’t control the overwhelming rage bubbling within him.
It was just a moment ago that the other party confidently declared that he had solved it when such a matter occurred. Can’t you look properly before piercing your umbrella into that mechanism?
“I…”
Knowing that he was at fault, Wu Zhen’s lips twitched. “Every single mechanism will have some intentional flaws installed to serve as traps to prevent others from deciphering it successfully. I picked the wrong one just now. Don’t worry, I won’t make any mistake this time…”
Closing the Thousand Utility Umbrella, he closed his eyes and began feeling the stone tablet once more. Finally, he confirmed another point, and he declared with a look of confidence, “This is definitely right this time around…”
“Are you certain?” The face of a doubtful Xing Yuan appeared from the back of the shield.
“I’m certain. If I’m mistaken this time again, I’ll cut my head off!” Wu Zhen gritted his teeth, and without any hesitation, he pierced the Thousand Utility Thorn into it once more.
He was determined to succeed this time to cleanse off the humiliation from his failure, as well as to prove himself!
Hong long! Ji ya!
The Thousand Utility Thorn struck the stone tablet, and the heavy creaking sound echoed once more. This time, before Wu Zhen could say anything, countless thin needles shot out once more.
Wu Zhen’s face paled. At this point, he was already on the verge of crying.
I clearly checked it multiple times, how could I possibly be wrong…
While Wu Zhen was in disbelief, Xing Yuan was on the verge of explosion. Tearing away needles from his face, he howled.
“You’re courting death!”
Are you sure you are sufficiently capable?
Can’t you have at least given us a warning before you pierced the stone tablet? My head is still outside, you know… If not for me using my zhenqi to ward off the might of the needles, who knows what could have happened to me now?
But even so, having an entire face full of needles as though a porcupine had made him frenzied.
Can’t you be a little careful and aim for the correct point?
Two consecutive failures; are you really trying to pull everyone down to their graves along with you?
“Don’t worry! I’ll surely get it right the next time…”
Plucking away a few silver needles from his head, Wu Zhen’s lips twitched in frenzy. He closed the Thousand Utility Umbrella once more and began feeling the stone tablet.
After a long time, he paused, and gritting his teeth, he said, “I’m sure that it’s this one, no mistake about it…”
“Are you… very certain?” Xing Yuan asked questioningly.
“I’m very certain!”
Xing Yuan nodded.
“Alright… Do it then!”
Xing Yuan swiftly hid behind the shield, concealing his entire body behind it.
Even though this fellow had spoken confidently, he had also done the same the two previous times. After triggering the trap consecutively, he would be a fool to not seek cover.
“Un!”
Gritting his teeth, Wu Zhen held up his Thousand Utility Thorn and pierced the stone.
Ji ya ya!
This time, it wasn’t the sound of heavy creaking but the melodic tune of gears turning.
“Haha, I succeeded! There’s surely no problem this time…”
Hearing this sound, Wu Zhen’s eyes lit up, and he quickly turned around to share his joy.
“That’s more like it…”
Heaving a sigh of relief, Xing Yuan’s head peeked out from the umbrella. Given the difference in noise, the other party should have gotten it right this time…
Huala!
As soon as his head peeked out, a storm-like noise resounded in the air once more, and innumerable flying thin needles appeared in his sight.
“The heck!”
Xing Yuan was on the verge of crying.
Big Brother, will you only be content after you get rid of me?
Didn’t you say that you had succeeded?
If you really had succeeded, what’s with these thin needles?
In truth, Wu Zhen felt even more frenzied than him at this very moment.
He clearly heard the cogs of the mechanism turning, why would it still shoot out thin needles?
Even though he had opened the Thousand Utility Umbrella in time to ward off the majority of them, due to his slower reaction from having his guard down, he was still pierced by dozens of needles. The places stabbed by the needles swelled red, creating quite a glaring sight.
Xing Yuan, it’s not that I want to kill you, but that this mechanism wants to kill the both of us…
“I got it…”
After a long moment, after Wu Zhen finally plucked out the thin needles from his body, he suddenly thought of something and his mouth twitched. “This seems to be… a grade-6 mechanism set up by a 6-star celestial designer…”
“Grade-6 mechanism?”
Everyone staggered.
If it was a grade-6 mechanism, what the hell were you doing up there?
As a 5-star celestial designer, you should know better than to make such an elementary mistake!
Knowing what everyone was thinking, Wu Zhen hurriedly explained himself.
“It is because there’s a booby trap contained within the grade-6 mechanism!”
“A booby trap?”
“Un. Using some special means, this grade-6 mechanism is disguised as a grade-5, and fake flaws were installed on them to lure others to trigger them. Furthermore, there are different sounds to triggering these flaws to beguile those attempting to decipher it, thus putting their guards down momentarily… I’ve only seen this kind of mechanism in some books once, and I thought its heritage had already died out. Who knew that… I would actually find one here!”
Wu Zhen’s face paled.
This booby-trapped mechanism was designed so exquisitely that even a 6-star celestial designer could possibly fall into the trap, not to mention, him.
As an occupation specializing in the crafting of mechanisms, celestial designers had a unique heritage, and it was an occupation recognized by the Master Teacher Pavilion. There was a significant difference between the knowledge or capability of those in between every single rank. As a 5-star primary celestial designer, it was perfectly normal that he would be unable to see through the booby-trapped mechanism of a grade-6 mechanism.
It was fortunate that limited by the disguise, it was impossible to fill the stone tablets with anything stronger than the needles. Otherwise, they would have been dead by now.
