Inside the Mechanical Dragon.
In front of the mechanical platform, Ning Zhuo had been working continuously for half a day.
The last type of Vowel Reed he needed to craft was the final one.
The "Vowel Reeds Book" records this as "Shadow Bee Needle." When simply activated, it can emit a very short sound, under which the mechanism carrier can experience a rapid speed burst.
The materials were already prepared on the table, including Thunderstruck Jade Bamboo, which is colored like frozen fat and holds electric patterns; Golden Ring Poison Bee with fire lines in its abdomen and wings that shine gold; North Ice Crystal Sand, star-like and chilling upon touch; and Spring Equinox Rootless Water contained in a green jade lotus cup.
Ning Zhuo activated the mechanical platform, unleashing a sharp golden light to longitudinally dissect along the natural electric patterns of the Thunderstruck Jade Bamboo.
Instantly, the chamber wall was revealed before Ning Zhuo, covered with Thunder Patterns spirally ascending.
In Ning Zhuo’s mind, the description from the "Vowel Reeds Book" surfaced - Thunder Patterns conduct energy, carved by the heavens and earth using thunders as knives to create a sound track.
Ning Zhuo took out the North Ice Crystal Sand, placing it entirely into the green jade lotus cup, thoroughly mixing it with Spring Equinox Rootless Water.
According to the detailed steps in the "Vowel Reeds Book," Ning Zhuo used Five Elements Mana in the mixing process, sometimes with Fire-attribute, sometimes with Water Element, and occasionally switching to Earth Element.
It has to be said that Five Elements Mana covers a wide range and is quite versatile.
Eventually, Ning Zhuo obtained a semi-transparent paste, tinted with a slight green hue.
Ning Zhuo meticulously filled the jade bamboo wall with this semi-transparent paste, leaving only one final cavity as the vibration source nest.
"Thunder has engraved natural sound tracks in the bamboo chamber using this treasure material, saving considerable manual effort."
Ning Zhuo silently praised Qing Huangzi’s clever material selection in this aspect.
He then proceeded to handle the Golden Ring Poison Bee.
Upon releasing the prohibition, the poison bee flapped its wings aggressively, its stinger aiming directly at Ning Zhuo’s forehead!
Ning Zhuo neither dodged nor avoided, instead conjuring a stream of Wood Element Mana to intercept the Golden Ring Poison Bee.
The tip of the bee’s stinger pierced three inches into the Wood Element Mana, suddenly igniting and creating a toxic fire.
The toxic fire intertwined with the green energy, and the bee’s body crumbled into ashes, leaving only the poisoned sound needle hanging and buzzing.
Ning Zhuo seized the moment, quickly moving to the next step while the toxic fire was still burning.
Using the bee needle as a pen and the toxic fire as ink, Ning Zhuo pierced the ice sand paste three millimeters before retreating, creating numerous small holes along the way.
Where the ice and fire clashed, a sizzling sound was produced, with each hole varying in depth and angle.
The initial sound hole was as wide as a grain of wheat. The seven holes in the middle were as fine as needle tips, while the final sound hole slanted into the chamber wall.
The toxic fire was extinguished by the ice paste.
Ning Zhuo embedded the bee needle into the final chamber.
Ning Zhuo bit the tip of his finger, allowing a blood pearl to drip inside while activating mana.
The buzzing of bees suddenly arose!
Ning Zhuo flipped his palm, pressing the two bamboo sections tightly together with a slight force.
The buzzing was forcibly pressed back into the chamber, refracting repeatedly within the eight sound holes. By the ninth echo, the buzzing became suddenly clear, turning into a brief sound before completely quieting down.
Under Ning Zhuo’s blood refinement, the jade bamboo rejoined into a single piece.
He held the warm jade bamboo in his palm, witnessing a faint golden needle glow at the end of the bamboo segment.
Ning Zhuo lightly stroked the bamboo segment, suddenly throwing it into the air. As it rotated, it emitted a series of brief, sharp sounds.
The bamboo segment’s chosen speed increased dramatically, almost turning into a black shadow.
Ning Zhuo extended his hand again to catch it.
The lingering sound around his ears abruptly disappeared as a result.
"With this, the twenty Vowel Reed mechanism components are now completely crafted."
"Next, it’s time to make the Bamboo Puppet."
According to Qing Huangzi’s dissemination of information, the premise for participating in the second Xingyun Trial is for cultivators to bring their crafted Bamboo Puppets to attend.
"However, Qing Huangzi did not mention the number of these Bamboo Puppets."
"Here, perhaps he is intentionally testing the design mechanism of the cultivators participating in the trial, and their ability to analyze the situation."
There are two extreme strategies in mind.
The first extreme is to concentrate all Vowel Reed components on a single, giant Bamboo Puppet.
The second extreme is to make each Vowel Reed component into a separate small Bamboo Puppet. The gathered Bamboo Puppets would form a small-scale team of twenty.
Ning Zhuo did not wallow in indecision here.
"I am unsure of the specific circumstances of the second Xingyun Trial, so adopting a moderate approach is most suitable."
He planned to craft seven small Bamboo Puppets, each equipped with an average of three Vowel Reed components.
Ning Zhuo stood in front of the platform without moving his feet.
Soon, the time of a cup of tea passed, and Ning Zhuo crafted the first small Bamboo Puppet.
The third reed was carefully designed by him into the handle of a bamboo whip.
The body of the bamboo whip adopted Ice Silkworm Crystal Silk, weaving it with the aid of Divine Sense. On the body of the whip, many grooves were etched to create sound through the friction of airflow.
Mana Suspended Threads!
Ning Zhuo extended his five fingers for control.
Whip. The small Bamboo Puppet swung the whip.
The air quickly formed a vortex, and a brief sound moved around the ears, then transmitted through the bamboo whip to the end of the handle, amplified tenfold within the bamboo chamber.
Following this, it was transmitted through the arm of the small Bamboo Puppet to the interior of the body, activating the remaining two Vowel Reed components.
The next moment, a semi-transparent soundwave spider web burst from the body of the Bamboo Puppet from inside out, covering the surrounding area of one zhang.
The soundwave spider web carried three levels of power, serving as the trump card of this small Bamboo Puppet.
Ning Zhuo used a piece of Mystic Iron to test the soundwave spider web.