Chapter 4: The Beginnings

Ning Zhuo came to the pill furnace in the corner of the room.

The pill furnace was burning with raging flames, and inside the flames stood a mechanism monkey as tall as a person, enduring the fire constantly.

The skeleton of the mechanism monkey was straight, and its entire body was covered in vivid, red hair. Only its muscles were slowly degrading in the fire, flowing out from various gaps.

The Magma Fairy Palace was hidden in volcanic magma. Ning Zhuo had to control the Explosive Flame Monkey carrying the Thousand Catty Fire Essence to traverse the thick magma and stick to the surface of the Immortal Palace to self-destruct.

But now, its muscles could not support it.

"If Cloud-patterned Soft Silver doesn't work, let's switch to the next material."

Ning Zhuo sat down at the table. According to his plan, tonight he would try using Oil Smoke Mud.

The reddish-brown Oil Smoke Mud emitted a pungent smell.

Ning Zhuo took a small wooden hammer and began to pound the soil.

Each strike of the small wooden hammer on the soil produced a dull thud, scattering the clumps of dirt within. Whenever sparks appeared in the reddish-brown soil, the wooden hammer emitted a chill, extinguishing the sparks instantly.

To process the Oil Smoke Mud, Ning Zhuo specifically designed and developed the small wooden hammer.

If the examiners of the grand examination saw this, they would immediately rate Ning Zhuo's talisman subject as outstanding.

Lower, middle, and upper rankings were the most common evaluations.

Outstanding was extremely rare, sometimes there might not be one in an entire year. This meant the regular evaluation standards were already insufficient to describe the excellence of a young cultivator!

When all the clumps in the Oil Smoke Mud were completely dissolved, a layer of fire oil had accumulated on the surface of the red mud.

Ning Zhuo took a square cloth made of cotton material and covered it on the Oil Smoke Mud.

As he infused mana, the formation on the cloth activated, quickly absorbing the fire oil.

This cloth was also designed by Ning Zhuo, but this time, he did not use a talisman, but arranged a miniature formation on it.

The formation on this cloth was also of an outstanding level.

Ning Zhuo carefully checked, confirmed the Oil Smoke Mud was properly processed, and then began kneading it.

The processed fire oil mud had excellent stickiness, and Ning Zhuo kneaded it into a pliable and fine texture. The other impurities in the mud were all washed out by Ning Zhuo's infusion of mana.

Ning Zhuo dismantled one arm of the mechanism monkey and applied the processed Oil Smoke Mud to the arm's skeleton.

Ning Zhuo's fingers were clean and white, his movements swift and precise under the light of the spirit lamp. He concentrated intensely and was completely unaware of the passage of time. At that moment, the young man exuded a charm of seriousness.

The Oil Smoke Mud quickly took shape under his hands. The bare arm skeleton now had full, blood-red muscles.

Of course, Ning Zhuo did more than merely shape the exterior with his hands. During the process, he continuously channeled mana into the soil, organizing internally.

A light cut with a blade would reveal the muscle-like texture within the red mud.

This astonishing skill in shaping materials would certainly amaze the academy elder.

If Ning Zhuo exposed this, he would definitely become the star pupil of this year's cohort. The emergence of such an excellent artifact refining talent would sufficiently prove the talent and efforts of the academy elder.

After shaping the muscle, Ning Zhuo began testing the arm.

It wouldn't work.

The Oil Smoke Mud had excellent fire resistance, but its mana compatibility was quite poor.

"It needs improvement."

Ning Zhuo started recalling.

"Oil Smoke Mud mixed with thunder sand can create explosives, commonly used for blasting mountains or fighting demon beasts."

"Oil Smoke Mud combined with toxins can be refined into poison pills. When the poison pills disintegrate, they release a Fire Poison Smoke Barrier used to obstruct enemies and provide defense."

"Oil Smoke Mud can also be combined with coal for use in a furnace in the artifact refining room, providing long-lasting, high-temperature fuel."

...

Over the years, Ning Zhuo had tried his best to memorize everything he could access.

During the Xun holidays, he often stayed in the family library all day long, from morning till night, forgetting to eat and sleep.

Nobody knew that the outwardly unremarkable Ning Zhuo was in fact a walking library!

Ning Zhuo recalled all his knowledge regarding Oil Smoke Mud but couldn't find a method to improve it.

"No matter, I'll design the pill formula myself!"

The young man had his own ambitions, his eyes sparkling with confidence.

"Oil Smoke Mud has a warm nature, attributed to the heart and liver meridian, and the fire oil's energy can expel damp and cold from the bones. In small amounts, it can treat cold-induced abdominal pain."

"If mixed with Moonlight Water from the well, the fire and water properties might balance each other, potentially reducing the weight."

"Using a tail feather from a swallow as a guiding ingredient and refining together... perhaps the bird's wind property, its nimbleness and spread, would allow the main ingredient, Oil Smoke Mud, to reach its optimal state."

"Ling Yin Willow fluff might also work. Refine the fluff and Oil Smoke Mud together, referencing formulas like Light Spirit Pill and Purity Dispersal for ratios. The resulting material should be significantly lighter."

...

Ning Zhuo's quick thinking, based on pharmacology and rich in logic, soon led him to conceive several pill formulas.

This alone would ensure that his elixir pill subject score would be outstanding. The Ning Family would undoubtedly step in to secure Ning Zhuo firmly within the family.

Ning Zhuo began attempting to refine new materials.

He searched through his material library and found at least seven possible experimental plans.

Moonlight Water?

Failed.

The resulting mud's stickiness slightly decreased, weight slightly decreased, but fire resistance weakened significantly.

Swallow Tail Feather?

Major failure.

What he got was no longer mud but a pile of dust.

Ning Zhuo, however, felt joy: "The wind property of the bird's feather was too strong. I now have a deeper understanding of this material."

The third attempt was with Ling Yin Willow fluff.

The resulting clay displayed willow fluff patterns, with stickiness unchanged, fire resistance slightly reduced, and weight drastically reduced. All other tests passed one by one.

"I was lucky. Didn't expect to get an ideal result on the third try... uh."

Ning Zhuo had not been happy for long when he saw the willow fluff patterns float up on the clay, an interaction between clarity and turbidity caused the clay to rapidly deteriorate.

This new clay wasn't stable in form!

Ning Zhuo attempted the fourth experiment, it was a major failure.

He pondered for a while but did not hurry to try the next plan; instead, he delved into the details of the Ling Yin Willow plan.

"This plan is close to success, and it adapts to all types of mana. I just need to stabilize its form."

"What should I do?"

Old problems were resolved, and new ones emerged.

Ning Zhuo was not the least bit discouraged; instead, he was eager and more focused on thinking. He immersed himself completely in the process of design, which brought him wholehearted joy rather than monotony and fatigue.

In this state of thought, he felt his existence, felt his value.

He knew he was creating something that did not originally exist in nature!

This anticipation and sense of achievement were unparalleled.

What was torturous to others was pure enjoyment for him, a mental pleasure.

Time silently passed by, and Ning Zhuo remained oblivious as he was deep in thought.

After an unknown length of time, his eyes suddenly brightened.

"To solve this technical problem, I need a dynamic formation."

However, such knowledge was far beyond the syllabus and not taught in the Ning Family academy.

Ning Zhuo stood up and took several paces back and forth in his underground workspace.

After thinking for a moment, he stopped, slightly raised his head, and made up his mind: "Chen Cha... known as the living array master, specializes in dynamic formations, and crucially, he is also a master of mechanisms."

"It's time to approach him."