Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master - Chapter 1232 - 474: Heavenly Star Paper (Part 2)
Chapter 1232: Chapter 474: Heavenly Star Paper (Part 2)
After Ning Zhuo crafted the top-grade spiritual paper, Gu Qing also exerted all his efforts, spending his resources to obtain even better precious materials, and pushed himself to the limit without being careless for even a moment.
In the end, the result was that he produced a large quantity of spiritual paper with excellent quality, making him unquestionably the first place.
Meanwhile, Ning Zhuo, after refining twelve sheets of top-grade Mountain and River Pages, ceased making use of the Dragon Qi Jade Pendant.
Lu Zai announced the other names, placing them alongside Gu Qing as the top ten of the first round.
Bai Jiyun, Liu Fushu, Kong Ran, and others did not make it to the list.
Nor did Ning Zhuo.
However, when Lu Zai officially announced the end and everyone exited the Array Space, many people voluntarily gathered around Ning Zhuo.
They all smiled and took the initiative to connect with Ning Zhuo, aiming to purchase the top-grade spiritual paper.
Standing on the outskirts of the crowd, Kong Ran looked enviously at Ning Zhuo, who was actively socializing, and thought with admiration: “The Mountain and River Page is used to make books on geography, travelogues, military camp fortifications, and resource maps.”
“The top-grade Mountain and River Page can provide cultivators an immersive experience when reading about famous mountains, great rivers, dangerous territories, and secret realms.”
“If marking resources like mineral veins and spirit grass growth sites, it can simulate the specific environment of resource points.”
“It’s used for writing topographical, siege, and defense-related military books. It can dynamically demonstrate offensive and defensive stances, serving as a superior alternative to top-grade military sand tables.”
Kong Ran was momentarily stunned before realizing: “I understand Brother Ning’s strategy.”
“He knew he couldn’t beat Brother Gu Qing, yet he deliberately produced this remarkable result to minimize the impact of losing to Gu Qing.”
“Judging from current events, he’s succeeded greatly!”
“After this round, nearly everyone will be talking about the top-grade Mountain and River Page. The glory of Brother Gu Qing’s first place has been greatly diminished.”
Kong Ran saw it this way, and Gu Qing felt the same.
“Ning Zhuo!” He gritted his teeth slightly, glaring at Ning Zhuo in the crowd, “Using such petty tactics only shows your weakness.”
“The second round involves Heavenly Star Paper, where the core challenge is calculation. Using more precious materials will be futile!”
“By then, I want to see how you’ll manage with your petty tricks.”
“Hmph!”
The first round is Mountain and River Page, and the second round is Heavenly Star Paper!
The trial arena is set in an open area of the valley, and it is nighttime.
The night sky is clear, and starlight spreads everywhere.
Nangong Zhi stands at the center, her cyan dress fluttering in the night wind. Her gaze is as clear as stars, sweeping over every cultivator present.
Just now, she had taught the refining method of Heavenly Star Paper a total of three times.
Worried that some among the crowd hadn’t grasped the crucial aspects, she continued to emphasize: “Now that everyone knows the refining method, you should understand one thing—Heavenly Star Paper is not achievable through brute force. Its core lies in ’calculation.’”
“You need to calculate the timing, the star positions, the precise landing point of starlight, and finally deduce the circulation path of star energy.”
“Begin now!”
Gu Qing was already prepared; as soon as Nangong Zhi finished speaking, he immediately got into action.
The primary materials for Heavenly Star Paper are laurel tree bark and star pattern cocoon, while the auxiliary materials are star dew water, star pattern grass, and star-drawing sand.
Disposition of materials need not be mentioned.
Soon, Gu Qing crafted a batch of paper pulp.
He raised his head to the sky, his eyes reflecting the starlight scattered across the night. Concurrently, within the Upper Dantian Divine Sea, the Literary Palace seemed like a precise calculation mechanism, swiftly deducing based on the celestial parameters given by Nangong Zhi.
As the calculations deepened, Gu Qing’s mouth subtly curved into a confident smile.
“It’s now!”
He mobilized his divine sense and used mana to draw down the stars’ glow.
The starlight fell onto the paper pulp, quickly permeating it, leaving blue star traces flowing through. Each node within the star traces gradually became prominent.
Not long after, the pulp unfolded into a large sheet of spiritual paper. The paper was smooth, the stars on it bright and evenly distributed. The shape of the paper was nearly square, but the edges had many rough patches.
Gu Qing then took out the spirit blade, cutting away the outer edges, which were unusable.
He then equally trimmed the paper, crafting a total of nineteen and a half Heavenly Star Papers.
Similar to the first round, Gu Qing was still among the first batch of cultivators to complete it.
He immediately turned around, and his divine sense zeroed in on Ning Zhuo, witnessing the latter still engrossed in calculations, prompting a cold laugh in his heart.
An inherent sense of superiority as a Confucian cultivator arose: “My Confucian cultivation technique, though it primarily focuses on one dantian, takes care of the other two dantians.”
The Literary Palace resides in the Upper Dantian Divine Sea, Literary Energy in the Middle Dantian Qi Sea, and the Literary Heart in the Lower Dantian Essence Sea.
“Confucian cultivators must have knowledge of astronomy and geography. Refining Heavenly Star Paper has a natural advantage; although you Ning Zhuo major in Mechanical Techniques, your calculations ought to be less robust as you primarily focus on the Middle Dantian Qi Sea. How could you compare to me?”
Ning Zhuo, when receiving the Stone Token, deliberately exposed his cultivation level and technique.
Ning Zhuo methodically completed the first round.
He scanned around with his divine sense, realizing he was about in the third group.
“Star Path…”
“I am indeed not good at astronomical calculations.”
“Furthermore, with so many drawing in the starlight simultaneously, frequently interfering with each other, it’s further slowing my paper-making progress.”
There was another reason.
Ning Zhuo was encountering the Heavenly Star Paper refining method for the first time, unlike Gu Qing and the others.
“Since that’s the case.”
Ning Zhuo’s eyes flashed with a gleam of determination as he transmitted thoughts: “Boss, assist me!”
“Coming right up, buddy.” At Shuyu Pavilion, Sun Lingtong giggled, activating the Talent Spirit Eyes to penetrate the Water Array, thereby enhancing Ning Zhuo with the Luoshu’s empowerment.
With the Taoist Artifact’s enhancement, Ning Zhuo’s calculation speed soared, directing him strictly towards the correct answers.
The previously complex, vast calculations, Ning Zhuo now completed in mere moments.
This significantly boosted paper-making efficiency, reaching a stunning effect.
Nangong Zhi, overseeing the entire field, was the first to notice.
She observed briefly, then her gaze paused on Ning Zhuo, showing a slight hint of surprise: “How is Ning Zhuo calculating so rapidly?”
“No, not just fast. It’s both quick and accurate!”
She was profoundly surprised.
For Ning Zhuo’s computing abilities had now matched hers.
The parity in speed wasn’t due to identical proficiency but because the calculations required in the Heavenly Star Paper refining method were limited to such a scope that the space to demonstrate computational skills was inherently restricted!
The next person to notice Ning Zhuo’s anomaly was Liu Fushu.
During his break, he watched as Ning Zhuo swiftly attracted the star’s glow, leaving him utterly speechless.
While he drew the starlight strand by strand, Ning Zhuo drew in streams, almost akin to flowing water.
“What’s going on?!” Gu Qing had just successfully crafted the paper, instinctively sweeping his divine sense to survey his greatest rival, his pupils shrinking instantly.
This fellow Ning Zhuo was up to something again!
“Is this truly his actual strength?”
“Or did he ingest some elixir pills and is merely experiencing a temporary surge?”
“No way, if this continues, he’ll surpass me and may very well capture the first place in this round!”
Gu Qing realized the grave danger and took decisive action, producing a vial of pills.
“If you can take pills, so can I!”
The elixir pill is named the [Burning Mind Enhanced Wisdom Pill], specifically for Confucian cultivators, capable of igniting the Literary Heart to temporarily boost intelligence significantly.
The pill was dark red, with twisted silver veins on the surface, and Gu Qing unhesitatingly swallowed it.
Instants later, an indescribable bitterness and spiciness exploded, as if igniting a blaze in his mouth. He resisted the urge to gag, forcibly swallowing it.
Mana surged, rapidly dissolving the pill’s effects.
Gu Qing felt a cool sensation rushing to the Heavenly Spirit cover, transforming into heat as if his Literary Palace had been thrust into a smelting furnace, elevating calculation speed abruptly!
This thus led his paper-making pace to accelerate too.
Ning Zhuo employed the Taoist Artifact Luoshu, while Gu Qing continuously consumed [Burning Mind Enhanced Wisdom Pills].
The intense competition between the two drew increasing attention from other cultivators, continuing until the time ran out.
After closely examining everything, Nangong Zhi announced to everyone: “The first place in this round is Gu Qing!”
“Second place… Ning Zhuo.”
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com
