His feet were clad in cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles, fresh mud stains clung to the uppers and the vamp.
"I, I didn’t expect it to turn out like this."
"I thought I could get a Formation Dao Treasure."
"I really didn’t mean it!"
...
Niu Cheng’s apology did not elicit forgiveness, but rather made the cultivators even more relentless.
"Make way!" Yu Heye suddenly appeared, flying in front of everyone.
He glared at Niu Cheng angrily, shouting and questioning what nonsense he was up to, causing his alchemy to fail miserably at a great loss!
To gain the crowd’s trust, Yu Heye directly pulled out a handful of waste materials, causing surprise and pity among the people, as they could tell there were Nascent Soul-level treasures among them.
Comparing in their hearts, the negative feelings from their losses diminished significantly. Yu Heye’s losses were far greater than theirs.
"He is the biggest victim!" The cultivators reached a consensus, unaware that Yu Heye had been ordered to come. The alchemical waste he presented was deliberately prepared before setting off.
"All these losses are on my account," said Ning Zhuo generously in a flying message to Yu Heye.
Yu Heye naturally did not want to, he willingly took it upon himself, personally compensating by pretending to fail in alchemy with destroyed Nascent Soul-level treasures.
With this facade, his entrance granted him significant influence right away.
Yu Heye confronted Niu Cheng, "Now, how will you compensate me?"
Niu Cheng was quite honest, spreading his hands openly, indicating that although he could not pay up, he was willing to spend a long time to fully take responsibility.
Yu Heye said, "What if you try to run away?"
He pretended to think, then said, "Let’s do it this way, you stay on my mountain for now, and I’ll supervise you!"
"You want to get the Array Dao Treasures of the Xie Hall, you can. Perhaps you can earn the appreciation of Chong Zhen Peak to repay our debts."
"Everyone, does this plan work?"
The cultivators exchanged glances, and after a few moments of silence, they all agreed that this plan was good.
Their losses were not much, far less than Yu Heye’s. In fact, many were not insisting on compensation. This compensation was minimal, making little difference to them.
Some truly needed compensation.
But Yu Heye’s loss was the most severe, and they were also unwilling to waste their energy and time supervising Niu Cheng, this Foundation Establishment cultivator.
So, after some consideration, these individuals agreed.
Yu Heye didn’t stop there; instead, he took out a contract for all the victims present to sign.
After checking that there were no issues with the contract’s contents, the cultivators signed it with their names.
Finally, Yu Heye handed the contract to Niu Cheng.
Under countless watchful eyes, Niu Cheng could only review it briefly before signing the contract.
Yu Heye then grabbed Niu Cheng by the collar, dragging him all the way back to Vinebrace Cliff.
"You will stay in the front chamber, cultivate near me for now, and do not run around arbitrarily," Yu Heye warned sternly.
Niu Cheng slumped his head and responded sullenly.
After managing all this, Yu Heye immediately sent a flying message to Ning Zhuo to report.
Ning Zhuo received the message and nodded slightly, no longer worrying about Niu Cheng.
This was the best solution at the moment.
If Ning Zhuo really wanted to stop Niu Cheng from seeking Array Dao Treasures, he certainly had the ability to do so, but it came with numerous negative impacts. It would draw attention, be hard to explain, and would ruin his image and reputation, making others think he bullied the weak.
Being labeled as such would severely damage his public image.
By acting through Yu Heye, no one knew Ning Zhuo was the hidden manipulator behind the scenes.
Moreover, purposely losing Nascent Soul-level treasure while coordinating with other victims to pressure Niu Cheng to submit was a highly profitable move.
Now, Niu Cheng was under Yu Heye’s close watch, and his exploration progress of the Nine Palace Formation was firmly under Ning Zhuo’s secret control.
Just a few flying messages and a Nascent Soul-level treasure, Ning Zhuo managed to eliminate future risks and successfully maintained his image.
The Luoshu Pages were truly extraordinary!
Ning Zhuo, leveraging the influence imposed by the Taoist Artifact on Sun Lingtong, had spent just two and a half days comprehending half of Shen Xi’s Jade Slip.
Ning Zhuo gained a more in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the Mountain Protection Arrays at Vinebrace Cliff and Cloud Rubbing Peak.
Sun Lingtong also almost fully understood the formations in the Array Core Room.
But it wasn’t enough.
While Sun Lingtong researched formations using the Luoshu Pages, Ning Zhuo quietly left Vinebrace Cliff, using the Transmission Array, to go to another peak.
Here was White Willow Peak.
The entire mountain was planted with white willows, a kind of spirit plant naturally absorbing surrounding cloud essence that clings to the leaves. The gathered and covered clouds on the green leaves left them gleaming white, explaining the origin of White Willow’s name.
The summit of White Willow Peak was leveled into a jade platform by cultivators.
Atop the peak, there were clusters of buildings, interconnecting with precise layout, comprising the Yunluo Formation Workshop.
The Yunluo Formation Workshop was a venture established single-handedly by Meng Yaoyin.
The entire workshop sat on the peak center like a massive green jade paperweight. All the buildings were constructed using iron pine wood, with their projecting eaves extending outward, and the glazed tiles shone with colorful lights.
Ning Zhuo looked down at the workshop from above.
The workshop’s center was enclosed to form a Dawn Talisman Sunning Field. There was a Material Collection Institute, where cultivators handled the transportation, sorting of raw materials, and pre-processing.
There were two tall buildings. One was the Flowing Cloud Transformation Tower, which could mass-produce Cloud Talismans. The other was the Thunder Attraction Tower, which could refine Talismans.
There were also three pavilions. One was called Solid Town Pavilion, shaped like a turtle shell, specializing in solidifying Talismans. Another was the Star Pointing Platform, which enhanced Talisman quality. The third was the Melted Sand Pavilion, meant for refining upper-grade and even top-grade Talisman inks.
The front courtyard was for selling Talismans, while the rear chamber offered the Jade Slip "Cloud Talisman Celestial Book," in conjunction with a great array, protecting the entire workshop while aiding in Talisman production too.
Ning Zhuo descended from the clouds, stepping over the workshop’s archway into the front courtyard.
The bustling crowd’s noise hit him like a heatwave.
Cultivators were haggling over talismans. A sales cultivator shouted, "Invisibility Talismans, sold in batches of a hundred! Buy a thousand, get a hundred free!" Another cultivator threw a bulging storage bag onto the counter, "I’ll buy out all the Cloud Soaring Talismans on the counter today."
Ning Zhuo walked around a bit and noticed that Cloud Talismans dominated the Talismans here, and they were the most popular too.
After a quick assessment, Ning Zhuo realized: this place was raking in money daily!
Suddenly, the sound of an argument could be heard.
"What about the ’Plum Blossom Welcomes the Snow for Eight Discounts’? Thirty ’Ice Armor Talismans’ originally cost nine hundred; after the discount, it’s seven hundred and twenty! The transaction is clear, why go back on it?"
The sale’s cultivator hurriedly argued, "That offer ended yesterday! Pay up another one hundred and eighty spirit stones!"
The buying cultivator sneered, "That’s your mistake to remember, what’s it to do with me? I’ve already paid; you should hand over the goods."
This dispute attracted the attention of many.
Ning Zhuo watched with interest.
As the argument escalated with no resolution in sight, a Golden Core Cultivator entered the front courtyard holding an abacus.
Along the way, many cultivators respectfully saluted, indicating the person’s prestige.
It was Deputy Workshop Master Jin Zi!
Jin Zi approached the two arguing parties, understanding the situation, and nodded affably to the buyer, "Rest assured, esteemed guest, the fault is ours; the talismans will be delivered as promised."
Under his command, the selling cultivator, albeit unwillingly, had no choice but to hand over the talismans painfully.
The buyer clasped his hands in praise of Jin Zi and left triumphantly.
Jin Zi then turned to the selling cultivator and said, "These losses will be deducted from your salary."
The cultivator’s face turned pale, obliging with reluctance.
Jin Zi clasped his hands toward the surroundings, waved a goodbye, walked out of the front courtyard, and then rode the clouds to leave the Yunluo Formation Workshop. Evidently, he just took care of the matter conveniently along the way.
Ning Zhuo watched his receding figure, his eyes twinkling with thoughtful contemplation.