Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Chapter 1309: Chapter 511: Ning Zhuo Repairs the Ship (2)

The entire Spirit Boat, like a baby, sank into a dreamless deep sleep.

In this slumber, those slight injuries that had not yet fully healed began to grow and quietly mend.

Ning Zhuo also took a brief rest, swallowed some Elixir Pills, and recovered from a state that had fallen to less than half.

He took out White Tiger Bone Powder from the last Jade Box.

The bone powder was a glossy white fine powder, faintly tinged with a golden sheen.

Ning Zhuo took a Jade Bowl, poured in a little Spiritual Spring, and lightly sprinkled in the White Tiger Bone Powder. The bone powder dissolved upon contact with water, transforming into a glossy white liquid that exuded vigorous vitality.

Ning Zhuo guided it with his Divine Sense, letting the glossy white bone water draw into threads, directly plunging to the depths of the Spirit Boat.

There was a crack near the bow, about three inches long, reaching deep to the core. Previous nurturing had nearly healed it, but the deepest point remained unhealed.

The glossy white bone water reached the deepest point, causing the last stubborn thread of the crack to begin mending.

When eighty percent of the glossy white bone water in the Jade Bowl was consumed, the Spirit Boat suddenly shook.

A gentle radiance slowly emerged from the core of the Spirit Boat. The glow was soft and warm, like the first light of dawn, like a child awakening.

Seeing this scene, Ning Zhuo couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy in his heart.

The last step was also completed.

With this, Ning Zhuo’s restoration was complete.

Ning Zhuo took out the Nine Orifice Spirit Pearl and extinguished the fire on the Calming Stone. The Spirit Pearl, which regulated Spiritual Energy, had shrunk so significantly that it was only the size of a child’s pinky. The Calming Stone was also more than half consumed, with less than two-tenths remaining.

Ning Zhuo gathered up these remaining treasures and then looked at the Fetal Breathing Spirit Boat.

The Spirit Boat floated in midair, its entire body glossy white, with radiance flowing. The once densely packed cracks had now vanished; the previously worn Array Patterns were now as clear as new.

Ning Zhuo extended his hand, gently caressing the body of the boat.

The touch was warm, full of vitality.

This Artifact Refining was completed solely by him.

This brought Ning Zhuo a greater sense of accomplishment.

Although Gongsun Yan listened to his instructions, he was very unfamiliar with the "Heaven and Earth Embryonic Breathing Grand Art." The primary condition for repairing the Fetal Breathing Spirit Boat was that the cultivator was proficient in this art.

The primary function of this Magic Treasure was to perform the "Heaven and Earth Embryonic Breathing Grand Art," helping others increase their physical foundations.

Without knowledge of the "Heaven and Earth Embryonic Breathing Grand Art," even the highest Refining Techniques could easily lead to failure.

After verifying that everything was correct, Ning Zhuo put away the Fetal Breathing Spirit Boat and relaxed, immediately feeling both mentally and physically exhausted.

He naturally understood the principle of "haste makes waste" and immediately chose to rest.

Once his spirit was fully restored, cultivation would be twice as effective with half the effort.

Xiao Juxia and a hundred other cultivators arrived at the Cloud Prison together.

The cultivator in charge of the trials announced the contents of the test, prompting all the cultivators to perk up and listen attentively.

Cloud Prison is under the control of the Evil Slaying Hall, holding many cultivators, both demonic and wayward, and even some Righteous Cultivators who have erred.

The entire Cloud Prison is constructed using the method of combining artifacts, composed of a vast number of Magic Artifacts, Magic Treasures, and a core Spiritual Treasure, making it one of the key locations of the Myriad Images Sect.

The trial for Xiao Juxia and the others was to inspect and repair the Magic Artifacts, even Magic Treasures, but only on the periphery.

Truly important components were, of course, out of their reach.

In the crowd, Xiao Juxia’s expression remained calm, but doubts arose in his mind once more: "Why has Ning Zhuo not arrived yet?"

He knew well the rules of this Artifact Refining trial—Ning Zhuo had a higher-grade Identity Token, allowing him to skip the early stages of the trial and participate directly in the later stages.

Meanwhile, Zhao Hansheng, Gu Qing, and others, led by the cultivators of the Evil Slaying Hall, arrived at the Cloud Prison, exchanged glances with Xiao Juxia’s group, and then ventured into the depths of the Cloud Prison.

Xiao Juxia’s heart slightly trembled as a Spiritual Mechanism was triggered.

"So my calculations pointed to them!"

"But what does this have to do with Ning Zhuo?"

"Zhao Hansheng and Gu Qing have had no recent interaction with Ning Zhuo."

The trial officially began, and Xiao Juxia and the others scattered like stars, entering various parts of the Cloud Prison to repair Magic Artifacts and Magic Treasures.

Xiao Juxia, while refining artifacts, secretly performed spells to spy on the activities of Zhao Hansheng and his group.

This was a deeply hidden prison, with its surroundings built from Demon Suppression Mysterious Stone, and the walls covered in Sealing Runes. Deep in the prison, a Confucian Cultivator sat, his limbs and neck shackled, lying on the ground.

His hair was disheveled, his appearance haggard. Upon hearing movement, he suddenly opened his eyes.

In that instant, a divine light shot forth from his eyes, a sharpness conveying a demonic madness.

It was Qin De.

Qin De stared intently at Zhao Hansheng and his group: "Two Confucian Cultivators?"

He sneered: "Why isn’t Duanmu Zhang, the old cultivator, here? Is he too ashamed to meet me because he can’t out-debate me?"

Zhao Hansheng stepped forward to the cell door: "Qin De, I’ve thoroughly examined your ’Saint Thief Scripture,’ it’s full of flaws and errors. Do you dare to debate the scripture with me?"

"Debate the scripture?" Qin De was taken aback.

Xiao Juxia was also slightly surprised.

He was unaware of the details about Qin De and was puzzled as to why Zhao Hansheng and Gu Qing, the teacher and student duo, would suddenly venture into the depths of Cloud Prison to debate scriptures with a particular high-value prisoner.

The scripture debate had already begun.

Qin De first took the initiative: "If saints do not die, great thieves never cease. These words of Zhuang Zi, do you Confucian Cultivators dare to face them directly?"

Zhao Hansheng responded calmly: "Zhuang Zi’s words are not to slander sages, but to warn the world. The sage governs the world with benevolence and righteousness, which can indeed be used by thieves. Yet, a sage is not born to fuel theft, but to establish order for the world. Is it not a fallacy to quit eating for fear of choking?"

Qin De retorted with a cold sneer: "Mere sophistry! I ask you, throughout history, have the emperors not bound the masses with rites and laws?"

Zhao Hansheng replied: "Rites and laws bind the masses, but also nurture them. Without rites, there is chaos; without laws, there is violence. The sages established rites and composed music not to bind the people, but to fulfill their lives and build their virtues."

...

The debate commenced with rapid exchanges, like skilled swordsmen engaged in a swift offense and defense, creating flurries of dodging shadows and glints of swords.

Xiao Juxia, positioned far away, could penetrate the obstacles with his Divine Sense, hearing each and every word clearly.

After listening for a while, he came to some understanding: "This ’Saint Thief Scripture,’ though biased and flawed, manages to maintain internal consistency, which is quite impressive."

"Was it this young man’s own creation? He indeed possesses some talent."

He began to appreciate Qin De.

In his sleeve, he calculated again: "I see now."

"It is Qin De’s ’Saint Thief Scripture’ that hinders the development of the Confucian Cultivators in this sect, hence they need to remove this obstacle."

"Since they are unable to displace it with their own efforts, they’ve sought external help."

"No wonder they treated Zhao Hansheng and Gu Qing with such courtesy."

"Oh, and another reason, Heart Learning is truly impressive..."

By the time Xiao Juxia had heard up to this point, Qin De was utterly overwhelmed, almost completely defeated.

Heart Learning, by creating a separate mechanism, opened up a new world. Qin De, long confined within the prison, was encountering such new knowledge for the first time, experiencing a violent upheaval, only able to retreat repeatedly in the scripture debate, suffering defeat after defeat.

Those arguments he deemed flawless were dismantled one by one by Zhao Hansheng. His supposedly unassailable logical loops were drastically undone.

Contrastingly, Zhao Hansheng had been forewarned of the ’Saint Thief Scripture,’ having already engaged in a round of debate, fully prepared for the encounter.

One party brought new Confucian learning with preparations, while the other was building behind closed doors, kept in the dark, hastily responding to the challenge.

In the end, Qin De gritted his teeth: "Heart is Reason? Ridiculous! If heart equates to reason, then where does private desire come from? Where does evil thought arise?"

Zhao Hansheng smiled calmly: "The essence of the heart is originally pure reason, devoid of anything but propriety. Yet, it is obscured by private desire, hence the lack of goodness. Just like a clear mirror, inherently bright but obscured by dust, thus failing to clearly reflect objects. However, dust is not the mirror, and private desires are not the heart. Remove the dust, and the mirror shines; eliminate desires, and the heart is clear. This is the work of reaching a state of innate knowledge."

Qin De was stunned, opening his mouth to counter, yet finding no words to do so.

Gu Qing observed from the side, already breaking out in a cold sweat as he listened, and seeing Qin De remaining silent for long, rejoiced internally: "We’ve won, as expected, my teacher has triumphed."

"This Qin De, indeed, is quite outstanding, no wonder he created the heresy ’Saint Thief Scripture,’ to withstand a debate with my teacher to such an extent. If it were me, I certainly wouldn’t last more than thirty percent of the time."

However, at this moment, Qin De suddenly spoke, asking a question: "Conscience differentiates right from wrong, so if one knows right from wrong, wouldn’t it mean knowledge can be stolen?"