Chapter 675: Unable to Crack

If the mechanism is on the stone tablet, then this isn't the true crypt at all. The real crypt must be hidden somewhere else, simply undiscovered.

"Teacher, your insight is truly remarkable!" Luo Qiqi's eyes sparkled as she looked at Zhang Xuan with profound admiration. He was indeed the teacher she had painstakingly invited; his extraordinary perceptiveness allowed him to spot the issue with the stone tablet immediately. Without him, they would still be searching endlessly, wasting an unknown amount of time.

"Just plain luck!" Yu Fei'er, witnessing her friend's profound admiration, pursed her red lips and scoffed. Although she knew Master Zhang possessed great strength and exceptional insight, she couldn't shake a feeling of skepticism and felt compelled to comment.

"Good luck, you say? Care to make a wager?" Zhang Xuan turned to her.

"You..." Nearly choking, Yu Fei'er gritted her teeth and quickly averted her gaze.

"I'll try to open it!" Aware of the ongoing tension between the two and remembering how his last intervention had resulted in a beating, Wu Zhen prudently kept to himself, focused his thoughts, and quickly approached the stone tablet, effectively cutting off their conversation.

With his eyes tightly shut, his palm gently traced the surface of the stone tablet. As a mechanism, it certainly had a point of interaction. By carefully examining the patterns and utilizing his expertise as a Celestial Artificer, along with his profound understanding of mechanisms, he was confident he could locate its vulnerability.

"Everyone, please be quiet," Xing Yuan announced. "For a Celestial Artificer to decipher a mechanism, they must fully concentrate on finding its intricate patterns. Once identified, even the most formidable device can be effortlessly disabled."

While Celestial Artificers' mechanisms are indeed formidable, they invariably possess a method for activation: a power node. Upon locating this node, even the most intricately sealed object can be effortlessly breached.

"Understood!" The group, already aware of this, nodded in unison and fell silent. Instantly, the entire crypt became so quiet that a dropped pin could be heard.

Controlling his breath and heartbeat, Wu Zhen circulated his true qi rapidly, enhancing his tactile senses. He quickly ran his hand over the stone tablet, pondered for a moment, then opened his eyes.

"Excellent, I've located the node!" Wu Zhen declared with a faint smile, his eyes gleaming with profound confidence. "We'll be able to open the true crypt very soon!" While his personal strength might not match Xing Yuan's, Luo Qiqi's, or Princess Fei'er's, his mastery of mechanisms was a source of immense pride. This was his moment to demonstrate his prowess.

Taking a deep breath, he gave the Thousand Mechanisms Umbrella in his hand a sudden shake. *Whoosh!* A sharp, needle-like barb, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen, immediately sprang from the umbrella's tip. This barb, over a foot long, appeared exceptionally keen under the soft glow of the luminous pearls, emanating an icy aura.

"This is the Thousand Mechanisms Spike, part of the Thousand Mechanisms Umbrella, specifically designed to disable all kinds of mechanisms," Luo Qiqi explained. "To forge just this one spike, it requires five five-star artifact forgers working tirelessly for a full ten days!"

"Five five-star artifact forgers, ten days?" Zhang Xuan gasped in astonishment. Such an immense effort for a spike as thin as a hair? However, upon reflection, he understood. Its delicate structure combined with its extreme sharpness must make it incredibly complex to forge. Indeed, the finer a weapon, the more challenging it was to craft.

"Precisely! Only a Master Teacher like him could command the assistance of so many artifact forgers," Luo Qiqi continued. "For an ordinary person, it would be utterly impossible to secure such dedicated, strenuous help."

Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement. As the world's preeminent profession, Master Teachers naturally held a significant advantage. Befriending a five-star Master Teacher—and a genius at that—at this juncture offered nothing but benefits. It was not difficult for him to secure the services of five artifact forgers for ten days to craft a weapon; for someone from any other profession, such a feat would be impossible.

As they conversed, Wu Zhen's entire aura abruptly concentrated. His eyes wide, he flicked his wrist, thrusting the Thousand Mechanisms Umbrella directly towards a specific point on the stone tablet.

The Thousand Mechanisms Spike made contact with the stone tablet, seeming to strike an almost imperceptible fissure. *Screech, screech, screech!* The stone tablet groaned with a heavy, grinding sound, like a millstone.

"Oh no, retreat!" Hearing the sound, Wu Zhen's confident expression abruptly changed, and he roared. Before his warning even finished, a sound like a torrential downpour erupted from the stone tablet. The group's vision blurred as countless tiny needles shot towards them.

Though these fine needles were mechanism-fired, their velocity was extreme. While not lethal, being struck by them would be excruciating. *Whoosh!* Recognizing the danger, Wu Zhen pressed a switch, and the Thousand Mechanisms Umbrella in his hand sprang open. The umbrella's canopy, forged from special materials, was as strong as a shield. Not only could it deflect these needles, but even sharp weapons would struggle to penetrate it. Had it not possessed such formidable power, this artifact would never have been so highly prized by Celestial Artificers, who would willingly expend their fortunes to craft one.

*Clink, clank, clatter!* The resilient umbrella fabric deflected many of the silver needles, yet a significant number still flew towards the group. "Fall back!" Xing Yuan stepped forward, flicked his wrist, and a shield materialized before them. Aware of the potential for mechanisms in this area, he had prepared beforehand. This shield, over two meters tall and two meters wide, was large enough to completely shield everyone behind it.

*Whish!* With a sound like rain pelting banana leaves, the hair-thin needles ceased, many embedded in the ground or stuck in the shield. "That was a close call!" Seeing such a dense shower of needles, cold sweat beaded on everyone's brows. Had Xing Yuan not been prepared with the shield, even with their considerable strength, they would likely have been riddled with needles, suffering an unbearable fate.

"Are you trying to open the crypt or commit murder?" Xing Yuan roared, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead as he glared at Wu Zhen. "I asked you to disarm a mechanism, not try to kill us! Had we reacted even slightly slower just now, this entire group would have perished here. Even with my quick reflexes, four or five needles still pricked me!" He was incandescent with rage. "You looked so confident just now, and this is the result? Couldn't you have aimed properly before stabbing?"

"I..." Wu Zhen's mouth twitched. Knowing he was in the wrong, he offered no further explanation. "Every mechanism is designed with several deceptive nodes to prevent unauthorized access. I just selected the wrong one. Don't worry, I'll definitely find the correct one this time..." He retracted his Thousand Mechanisms Umbrella, closed his eyes once more, and felt along the stone tablet for a moment. After confirming a node, his face was once again alight with confidence.

"This time, it should be correct, no mistake..."

"Are you certain?" Xing Yuan's head emerged from behind the shield, his face etched with disbelief.

"I am certain!" Wu Zhen affirmed with a nod.

"Alright, then proceed!" Xing Yuan hastily retreated behind the shield, completely concealing himself, not an inch of him visible. Despite Wu Zhen's fervent assurances, after two consecutive needle barrages, even a fool would take precautions.

"Right!" Gritting his teeth, Wu Zhen once again took up the Thousand Mechanisms Umbrella and thrust it forward. *Creak, creak, creak!* This time, it wasn't the grinding of a millstone, but the distinct sound of internal gears and springs whirring into action. "Haha, it worked! No problems this time..." Wu Zhen's eyes lit up upon hearing the sound, and he quickly turned his head.

"That's more like it..." Xing Yuan exhaled in relief and cautiously extended his head. This time, the sound was indeed different from the previous two; it must be right... *Whoosh!* The moment his head emerged, a deluge of needles assailed him again, instantly filling his vision. "What the hell!" Xing Yuan cried out, practically in tears. "Brother, are you not satisfied until you've killed me?! Didn't you say there were no problems this time? Then what are these damn needles?!"

In truth, it wasn't just Xing Yuan who was on the verge of tears; Wu Zhen was even more frantic. He had distinctly heard the sound of the springs engaging, so why were needles still shooting out? Although the Thousand Mechanisms Umbrella had blocked some, his lapse in caution meant he was still pierced by dozens of needles, leaving his entire body red and swollen, resembling a hedgehog. *Xing Yuan, it's not that I want to kill you; it's this mechanism that wants to kill all of us...*

"I understand now..." After an indeterminate period, having finally managed to extract all the fine needles from his body, Wu Zhen suddenly recalled something, his mouth twitching. "This... this appears to be a Level Six mechanism, designed by a Six-Star Celestial Artificer..."

"A Level Six mechanism?" The group was stunned. "If it's a Level Six mechanism, what exactly were you doing earlier? A distinguished Five-Star Celestial Artificer like you, and you couldn't even discern that?"

"It's... a Level Six Deceptive Mechanism!" Wu Zhen clarified, understanding their unspoken question.

"A Deceptive Mechanism?"

"Yes," Wu Zhen confirmed, his face pale. "It's a Level Six mechanism that uses special techniques to masquerade as a Level Five device, employing fake nodes to lure people into its traps. Furthermore, the sound it makes upon activation changes each time, designed to thoroughly confuse the opener and cause them harm... I've only ever read about this type of mechanism once in ancient texts. It was supposedly lost centuries ago, so I never imagined... it would be here!"

A Deceptive Mechanism is a trap within a trap; even a true Six-Star Formation Master would likely fall victim, let alone him. Celestial Artificers, specialists in crafting various mechanisms, belong to a unique profession with a profound lineage. Each star level represents a vast difference in skill. As he was only at the early stage of Five-Star, it was entirely normal for him to fail to recognize a Level Six mechanism, especially one from the lost deceptive style. Fortunately, this particular disguise limited the power of the devices the stone tablet could contain; otherwise, those three successive attacks would have been enough to decimate the entire group.