Chapter 1422: Sand Table Puppet Shocks the Rich and Noble, Upper Path Weaving Reveals Heavenly Secrets

"Pave the sand."

Li Fugui immediately understood. He used spiritual essence to gather the sand nearby and smoothed it into a flat surface on the ground.

The portrait clone kicked away the small stool he was sitting on, picked up a tree branch, and began by drawing a large circle on the sandy surface.

"This is the 'prison cage'—that old Daoist's trap!"

Their movements quickly piqued the curiosity of Tan Shen and Xiao Baihu. Even after being beaten, they stealthily crept over to peek.

A Bing and A Huo's gazes also turned towards them.

Even the Dragon Spirit in the Shen Nong Herb Garden raised its head and watched from a distance.

"To break this prison cage, just talking about it on paper isn't enough; we'll need to adapt on the spot later."

"But charging in without discussion would be a sure path to death!"

One cat and one weasel, both the same size, overlapped their front paws and nodded obediently in agreement, as if they understood every word.

A Huo thoughtfully shook his head, A Bing's eyes flickered, and the Dragon Spirit showed no emotion.

Li Fugui hummed in acknowledgment: "Please continue, Master Shou."

"You said the old Daoist set up a massive Heavenly Mechanism array outside, sealing off communication between inside and outside?"

Inside the large circle, towards the south, he drew another circle. "This is Jade Capital City... They are fighting in the south?"

"Yes."

Li Fugui said seriously: "Right at the south city gate, near the Dong Ji shop. We rescued the person and can leave the city immediately, but we still need to watch out for the Kyoto array."

Jin Ren slowly waved the branch in his hand: "Don't use 'robbed'; say 'rescued'."

"Alright, rescued."

"Have you seen the old Daoist's Heavenly Mechanism array yourself?"

"Not personally, but the carriage drivers in Jade Capital City are mostly our people... And Fugui knows Master Shou is a Heavenly Mechanism master, so through eyewitness accounts, we reconstructed the positions of the white-robed figures when they formed the array. I even went to the site myself and barely sketched out an inaccurate array diagram." As Li Fugui spoke, he pulled out a jade slip.

Well, I'll be!

Had the carriage drivers in Jade Capital City already been won over?

Jin Ren listened with his mouth agape, staring at Li Fugui as if he were a monster, then took the jade slip—there was even a jade slip to look at!

Who could be as meticulous as Li Fugui?

He had never had anyone like that around him before!

Jin Ren excitedly pressed the jade slip to the forehead of his portrait clone, quickly scanning it. He saw a complex mess of worm-like patterns and over a hundred matchstick figures in various poses.

He fell silent for a moment, then crushed the jade slip with his backhand.

"How is it?" Li Fugui's eyes gleamed.

How to put it...

A pile of dog shit.

After pondering, Jin Ren said tactfully: "It's drawn very well. Just don't draw it anymore in the future."

As he expected, for an outsider to try observing an array with the naked eye and sketch the essence of a saint-level nested Heavenly Mechanism array was pure fantasy.

After all, not everyone had mastery of weaving.

"Ah, is that so?"

The light in Li Fugui's eyes faded quickly.

He was actually very capable, even a grandmaster-level spirit array master.

But spirit arrays and Heavenly Mechanism were two different paths—perhaps the only things in common were the worm-like array patterns and the eighteen poses of the matchstick array eyes.

"Your array diagram would only mislead me as the tower master... Here's an idea!" Jin Ren beckoned, signaling for Li Fugui to follow him into the Crystal Palace.

Li Fugui followed.

One cat and one weasel tiptoed along, taking small steps to join them.

A Bing, A Huo, and the Dragon Spirit watched from behind, their eyes following.

When they reached the pill cauldron, Jin Ren said: "Give up resisting and look into my true body's eyes. It will be over soon."

"Ah?" Li Fugui was stunned but did as told, looking at the person in the large bathtub.

The comatose Master Shou suddenly opened his eyes, like a corpse coming back to life!

"Ah—"

A scream echoed in the Apricot Realm.

It was as if a painful century had passed, yet also like just an instant, before Li Fugui regained his senses.

He found a Life Pill in his mouth. After digesting it, his mental damage was fully healed.

He touched his lips.

There was a white cat hair?

"Meow meow, meow."

Tan Shen raised a paw, indicating it was his doing. A third-grade alchemy cat was quite impressive, after all.

"Alright, I now know what that array is."

Jin Ren led the person and two beasts back to the sand board.

He had just switched his will and used soul reading to personally check the battle site in Li Fugui's memories.

The portrait clone only had a wisp of spiritual thought and no passive skills, so he needed his true body to do it.

Fortunately, the soul reading process was just an instant and didn't delay his true body's recovery.

Of course, Jin Ren was very respectful of personal privacy and didn't peek at Li Fugui's secrets.

With his "Weaving Mastery" at Saint Emperor Lv.0, his foundation in weaving arts (Heavenly Mechanism arts) was incredibly solid.

Creating an array from scratch might take some time, but breaking one only needed a glance.

In that glance, he saw how terrifying the old Daoist's Heavenly Mechanism array was!

What Li Fugui had drawn in the jade slip was barely one-millionth of its actual complexity!

"What kind of array is it?" Li Fugui asked curiously, while picking up the mischievous Tan Shen, who kept tugging at his sleeve, and holding it in his arms to stroke... Hmm, it felt soft and warm, really nice.

"A very powerful Heavenly Mechanism array..."

"It uses one hundred and eight white-robed figures, drawing on one hundred and eight realms, combining complementary spiritual essence properties with the rules of heaven and earth, to create a saint-level Heavenly Mechanism array that can block saintly power..."

"From your memory, this array is evolving and changing over time, which means the core array eye is definitely being controlled by a saint-level Heavenly Mechanism master—that flashy old Daoist is personally handling it."

"Of course, this array has many flaws, and it's slowly patching them up over time... The old Daoist is clearly capable of more! I'd say he didn't spend much time on this; it was probably thrown together on a whim."

Jin Ren thought for a moment and named it: "Let's just call it the 'Hundred Realms Isolation Array' for now. It seems that's why Xiang Yi couldn't summon the gods."

Thrown together on a whim... Li Fugui was speechless.

Was this the unfathomable Dao Qiong Cang? The array that trapped the ten seats of Xiang Yaoyao was just something casual!

"Since Master Shou said this array has flaws, there must be a way to crack it?" Li Fugui asked, stroking the soft cat fur as Tan Shen comfortably rolled over to expose its belly.

"Yes, it's insoluble for others, but for me, the tower master, it's as easy as lifting a hand!" Jin Ren said proudly; he was an expert at breaking arrays.

Li Fugui was overjoyed: "Please guide me, Master Shou!"

"Well, but actually putting it into action is a bit tricky..." Jin Ren paused, lifting his gaze from the sand board and scanning the surroundings.

After all, his true body was in the Ran Ming ruins, and in the Apricot Realm, he was just a portrait clone, too weak to harm anyone.

So, there was no way he could go outside with Li Fugui to break the array.

Even if he guided Li Fugui to destroy it, the Hundred Realms Isolation Array was still being overseen by Dao Qiong Cang.

He could just make a change on the spot.

If the portrait clone was exposed, there wouldn't even be a second chance to break it—he'd be killed by Dao Qiong Cang's swift hand.

Li Fugui seemed to realize this too, but he said nothing, trusting that Master Shou had a solution.

Following Master Shou's gaze...

Soon, the person, one cat, one weasel, and the two white skeletons and one dragon spirit behind them, all focused on the still, ripple-free fish pond with the fishing rod leaning against it.

"Rise!"

With a stir of spiritual thought, Jin Ren made the fish pond erupt in a splash, and from it flew a strange humanoid creature.

It was covered in intricate and messy Heavenly Mechanism Dao patterns, with a head made of a large, exquisite array disc, and a body pieced together from ancient weapon fragments. Though ugly, its quality was extremely high.

Li Fugui could tell that this thing was made from the pile of treasures in the Apricot Realm where the half-saint 位格 was sleeping.

"This is..." After a brief daze, Li Fugui's pupils trembled in disbelief: "A Heavenly Mechanism puppet?"

"You're quite sharp-eyed!"

Jin Ren glanced at this advisor in surprise; he hadn't expected Li Fugui to see through the nature of such a shabby thing.

That's right, it was a Heavenly Mechanism puppet... a defective one!

While his true body was causing trouble outside, Jin Ren wasn't just idling in the Apricot Realm fishing; he had real work to do.

This ugly Heavenly Mechanism puppet was one of his creations.

Although it currently had zero combat power, zero defense, and no independent consciousness at all...

It could move!

It was engraved with countless Heavenly Mechanism Dao principles, representing the pinnacle of Jin Ren's current weaving skills.

As long as needed, with a bit of spiritual thought, it could barely function as a fragile Heavenly Mechanism master.

This was the "second true body" he had been dreaming of!

This unique awakening skill that couldn't be replicated, he had created through his own abilities!

The defective Heavenly Mechanism puppet was born for one purpose—to decipher the array disc that had stolen the vast information database from Heavenly Mechanism God Envoy No. 2.

But the experiment time was too short.

The Heavenly Mechanism puppet hadn't even fully formed, and the deciphering ended in failure.

Even so, this defective product's Heavenly Mechanism proficiency was still very high, thanks to its solid foundation—it used No. 2's brain.

The information inside couldn't be fully manifested bit by bit, but its practical abilities were far superior to a mere portrait clone.

Using it to create an array disc that could break the "Hundred Realms Isolation Array" was a piece of cake.

"Just wait a moment."

After Jin Ren finished speaking, his body turned into a pile of spiritual essence and dissipated.

Soon, the Heavenly Mechanism puppet made of ancient weapon fragments moved.

"Buzz!"

The Heavenly Mechanism Dao patterns engraved on it lit up completely.

They spread densely from inside to out, making its entire body glow as if it were radiating light.

What was once junk had become a dazzling treasure!

"This..."

Li Fugui's mouth hung open, and goosebumps covered his skin.

Master Shou was too terrifying, wasn't he?

His true body's power was already incredible, and now he was secretly researching the Dao Hall Master's exclusive Heavenly Mechanism puppets—and succeeding halfway?

If he made an army of Heavenly Mechanism puppets, conquering Sacred Mountain alone would be a breeze!

"Click."

The defective Heavenly Mechanism puppet reached into its chest and pulled out a saint-level array disc.

As mechanical sounds clicked from its back, it extended six extra arms, turning into an eight-armed octopus-like figure.

"It's quick; just wait a bit longer."

This Heavenly Mechanism puppet didn't need seals; its hands were steady as can be.

It simply inserted a Spiritual Sparrow into its rear as an energy source and began operating on the array disc with all eight arms.

"Buzz buzz buzz..."

The Heavenly Mechanism array disc started to tremble.

Layer upon layer of Heavenly Mechanism arrays were nested into it.

In just a few dozen breaths, the Heavenly Mechanism array disc was complete.

The Heavenly Mechanism puppet wasn't satisfied and pulled out another array disc to continue engraving.

By the time the Spiritual Sparrow energy in its rear was depleted, it had two major saint-level treasures in its hands.

"Array-breaking disc!"

The Heavenly Mechanism puppet lifted its array disc head, its flat, mechanical voice carrying a hint of excitement.

You could tell this Heavenly Mechanism puppet didn't speak often... As soon as Li Fugui had that thought,

The Heavenly Mechanism puppet had already woven a vocal spirit array for itself, and Master Shou's voice emerged:

"Hold this 'array-breaking disc' tight. When you need it, just throw it at the old Daoist's Hundred Realms Isolation Array, and it will shatter his big array."

"This second array disc is for dealing with the Kyoto array—I started researching it when I first entered the city, but that thing is too precise; it's the result of the old Daoist's decades of work, and I can't fully break it yet. However, blowing a small hole for your escape is more than enough."

"This..." Li Fugui took the two array discs, feeling a bit dazed. Was it really that simple?

"Master Shou, will this really work?" He doubted the discs' effectiveness.

Master Shou's emotions were clearly high, barely suppressing his urge to share:

"Li Fugui, do you know what a 'virus' is?"

"Creating one is hard, but the principle of destruction is very simple."

"I've already figured out where the core of that Hundred Realms Isolation Array is; the other minor details and evolutions are important to others, but not to me!"

"When you throw this array disc, the old Daoist's core array will be 'contaminated,' and his Heavenly Mechanism Dao patterns will mutate..."

The Heavenly Mechanism puppet tilted its array disc head back, its eight arms spreading wide as the Apricot Realm's sunlight cast a long, strange, and fanatical shadow:

"Once the array-breaking disc is out, the old Daoist's Heavenly Mechanism Dao patterns will turn into parent patterns, spawning countless child patterns that multiply chaotically—or rather, weave!"

"The new weaving Dao patterns will act like parasites on the 'body' of the Hundred Realms Isolation Array, constantly devouring its power to grow themselves, continuing to multiply and weave... in an endless cycle until the Hundred Realms Isolation Array is completely drained."

"The Dao gives birth to one, one to two, two to three, three to all things. In the blink of an eye for the old Daoist, his array will be broken, and no matter how he tries to fix it, he can't, because his Heavenly Mechanism array is dead, while my weaving art is alive!"

"As for the over a hundred white-robed figures at the array eyes, they'll be backlashed and severely injured right away. Moreover, their Qi sea and spiritual essence will be completely depleted from feeding my weaving Dao patterns!"

The Heavenly Mechanism octopus's tentacles suddenly pointed at Li Fugui:

"This is your chance!"

"What to do next, I don't need to explain."

Li Fugui listened, his palms sweating.

Was this the game between Heavenly Mechanism masters? They hadn't even met face-to-face, and one had already calculated the other to death...

Whoever struck first would be the one getting hit?

This feeling...

Li Fugui steadied himself and looked again at the defective Heavenly Mechanism puppet, feeling an extremely uncomfortable nausea from its array disc head and eight octopus arms.

Wasn't this exactly the vibe of the hidden Dao Hall Master?

So, did all who practiced Heavenly Mechanism arts end up with this nauseating aura?

"Understood?"

After the Heavenly Mechanism puppet slumped to the ground, too lazy to waste more energy, the spiritual thought returned to another portrait clone.

"Under-stood..." Li Fugui nodded shakily, looking at the Dao Qiong Cang portrait clone in front of him, now familiarizing itself and stretching, his emotions a mix of flavors.

How did even the Dao Hall Master have a clone?

Master Shou, what kind of disgusting arts have you been researching in this small world?

As his thoughts scattered, Li Fugui recalled the rumors that spread "Master Shou's" name, crafted by the Hua Cao Pavilion:

"The unmatched is not Xu Dad, the clone-less is not Master Shou; one man spawns thousands, hard to tell if his arts are right or wrong."

Where was this a rumor?

This description was spot-on!