Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master - Chapter 1229 - 473: Top-grade Mountain and River Page! (Part 2)
Chapter 1229: Chapter 473: Top-grade Mountain and River Page! (Part 2)
His face was broad and thick, with a healthy wheat-colored complexion, as if nurtured by the earth’s energy for years. His hands were large and warm, with distinct knuckles, and his palm lines resembled the earth’s mountains and rivers.
Today, he wore a tawny Confucian robe, made of linen and cotton, feeling thick to the touch. The edges and cuffs of the robe were embroidered with simple wave patterns, giving a sense of continuity and stability. A dark wide belt was tied at his waist, on which hung a Jade Slip of the Yu Gong Geography Map.
Lu Zai’s voice was steady as he briefly introduced the rules of this minor trial and then announced its commencement.
Everyone filed in through the designated door.
Upon entering, they stepped into the Array Space.
The Confucian Cultivators had anticipated such a flow of people and had prepared in advance, setting up an Array to create a massive square.
On the square, at intervals, there were stalls. Each stall had the same Refining Tools.
There were more than a thousand stalls across the square.
Even at such a scale, it was not enough. Outside the door, a large number of cultivators were still queuing.
Ning Zhuo followed the crowd into the array and randomly chose a stall.
Lu Zai floated in mid-air and began to explain: “Paper is the mountain and river, heart is creation. Today’s trial is the refining of the Mountain and River Page.”
“Earth is the bone, water is the veins. Without veins, the bone withers; without bone, the veins scatter…”
He truly wasted no words, starting straight with the refining method of the Mountain and River Page.
The audience listened, their expressions varied.
Some were happy, some frowned, some were confused, and some had an epiphany…
Lu Zai didn’t just explain once; he went over it three times and even allowed cultivators to imprint the Jade Slip, sincerely spreading this Papermaking Skill without reserve.
Ning Zhuo understood it after hearing it once.
Lu Zai finished the explanation and even personally demonstrated once, quickly creating a Mountain and River Page.
“We Confucian Cultivators use the Literary Palace for wisdom, Literary Energy for strength, and the Literary Heart as the root.” Lu Zai’s gaze swept across the audience, “Today, I will use my Literary Heart as a guide, helping you all sense the Earth Veins; use Literary Energy to assist you in harmonizing the spiritual materials.”
After saying this, he slowly ascended to the Array Eye.
Then, he activated his cultivation, continuously exuding Literary Energy.
With Lu Zai’s order, the trial began.
Gu Qing, situated in the first row, immediately started working.
The first step was to gather materials.
The stalls were equipped with various materials, with Earth Element as the main material, Water Element as the auxiliary, and Wood Element following.
The Earth Element’s main materials included the King’s Land from the royal ancestral temple, the Territory from border strongholds, Mountain Spirit from famous mountains, and Community Soil from villages.
The Water Element’s auxiliary materials primarily consisted of stalactites from underground caves.
The Wood Element’s auxiliary material was various types of wood marrow.
Gu Qing discarded the King’s Land and Territory, choosing a piece of Mountain Spirit, holding it in his hand.
He activated his Divine Sense, surrounding the Mountain Spirit, and employed the Confucian Skill—Observing Things and Gaining Knowledge!
Soon, in his Divine Sea Palace, information about the Mountain Spirit was continuously derived, converging into a Mountain Spirit illusion. Its appearance was no different from the real Mountain Spirit.
Gu Qing, using the same method, took a section of stalactite to perform Observing Things and Gaining Knowledge.
In the Palace, the stalactite’s illusion appeared again.
Gu Qing activated his Divine Sense, and in the vast bookshelf of the Palace, a text about the previously mentioned refining method of the Mountain and River Page flew out.
Countless characters emitted a faint light, forming a vortex, rotating continuously, then unfolding into a gray-white halo.
The illusions of the Mountain Spirit and stalactite were absorbed into the halo, merging to form a paper illusion.
But the paper’s form was unstable, sometimes shrinking into a ball, sometimes spreading into a ruler, sometimes twisting spirally…
Gu Qing’s Divine Sense was rapidly consumed, leading to an accurate judgment.
He used a second Mountain Spirit, performing Observing Things and Gaining Knowledge, and the illusion merged in the halo, significantly stabilizing the paper’s form, though its edges were blurry, and the surface occasionally creased.
Continuously consuming Divine Sense, Gu Qing made another precise judgment.
This time, he employed suitable wood marrow. The addition of the wood marrow illusion completely stabilized the paper illusion.
Gu Qing could still do better, making the paper illusion vivid and even glowing with a jade luster.
“In this Confucian Cultivator minor trial, the evaluation criteria include both quality and quantity. There are five rounds, and each round’s quality-to-quantity ratio differs. In this round, I will first find the quantity, then seek quality, which is the most reliable.”
After completing his calculations, Gu Qing immediately began his refining.
He first used the Fire Refining method to melt the Mountain Spirit and stalactite, then used the Water Refining method to dissolve the wood marrow, finally merging the three together, placing them in the smelting basin.
The smelting basin is a Water Refining tool, opposite to the Smelting Furnace.
Then, Gu Qing continuously transmitted his own Mana and Literary Energy, infusing it into the smelting basin.
When the time was right, he permeated his Divine Sense, arranging the refining method article from the Palace.
The confused items in the smelting basin finally mixed into a teal-brown pulp.
“It’s time.”
He murmured internally: “Rise!”
The pulp was lifted from the smelting basin, rising into midair. Gu Qing activated his Lower Dantian Wenxin, shooting out a stream of vital energy, hitting the pulp.
The pulp, initially compacted into a ball, unfolded suddenly after being hit by the vital energy, forming a fingernail-sized sheet.
The pulp quickly hardened, its surface uneven, resembling a miniature mountain and river.
Gu Qing’s mind concentrated on it, and after three breaths, he immediately acted, his fingers flying, forming the correct Finger Technique.
Thus, the thick paper was directly cut open, transformed into more than twenty sheets.
The upper and lower layers, being uneven and coarse, were unusable for writing and discarded. But the central and nearby sheets, with smooth surfaces and fine texture, were qualified spirit paper!
“`
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com
