The early Foundation Establishment demon cultivator's face darkened the moment he saw Gu Ningyun reach out to touch the golden thread.
If his previous threats were born of pure malice, he now looked as though someone had trespassed upon his personal property.
He couldn't help but take a step forward.
“Martial Uncle Zhao Quan.”
A Qi Refining stage demon cultivator nearby quickly pulled him back. “The rules here are strict; do not be impulsive.”
“He's right, Martial Uncle Zhao. We've prepared for so long. These few children are certainly no match for us.”
Hearing this, the early Foundation Establishment demon cultivator, Zhao Quan, took a deep breath, and his expression softened slightly.
“Go. Each of you take one section of the buildings. You must obtain a token before these Daoist cultivators do.”
Gu Ningyun let go of the thread and saw a Qi Refining demon cultivator step up in front of her, immediately beginning to organize the lines.
“Fighting is forbidden here. All the secrets are indeed hidden within these golden lines; you'll understand once you touch them.”
After Gu Ningyun finished transmitting her message to her companions, she began to circle the building in front of her, studying it carefully.
As for the demon cultivators, aside from a necessary sliver of caution, she didn't waste any thought on them.
Combat was prohibited here, as was malicious interference.
Regardless of the demon cultivators' abilities or whether they had researched this place beforehand, the situation was already an established fact.
Rather than letting anxiety over them affect her mood, it was better to stay calm, avoid distractions, and follow her own pace to complete the assessment.
“It's actually the legendary Puppet Thousand-Machine City!”
Mu Chenze pinched a golden thread, a look of disbelief on his face.
“Is this city very powerful?” Jiang Yao asked, somewhat puzzled.
“There are very few records of this city in ancient texts. I only happened to see a few mentions of it in a book from my family's collection.”
Mu Chenze's gaze turned distant. “Legend says that beyond the Five Continents, within the four seas, there is a city.
“This city is composed of countless mysterious and wondrous mechanisms, rivaling even an immortal artifact.”
“You mean this city can be called an immortal artifact?”
“That is how the records describe it.
“I originally thought it was just a rumor, but I didn't expect this city to truly exist, much less leave inheritance tokens in the East Sea.”
Mu Chenze bumped Jun Luo's shoulder. “Jun Luo, have you seen any records of the Puppet Thousand-Machine City in your family's library?”
“I'm ashamed to say that I was focused entirely on my sword training back then. Aside from the texts arranged by my elders, I hardly touched anything else.”
Jun Luo thought for a moment. “Since we've encountered it now, I'll find some time to go back later and check if there are any records about it.”
“It's always good to know more, but whether you two go back to your families or we check the library on Book Peak...
“...none of that is as important as securing a token right now.”
Gu Ningyun finished her circuit and walked back.
Since they first encountered the demon cultivators, the group had been communicating via divine sense transmission.
Even though Gu Ningyun had circled to the other side of the building cluster, her companions kept a strand of their divine sense connected to her.
“My thought is that the five of us should first organize one section of buildings together.
“This way, we can pool our wisdom and combine our strength to obtain a single token as quickly as possible. Once we've unlocked one, we'll have experience, making it much easier to solve the rest.”
The other four nodded. “That's a good idea.”
None of them even considered the possibility that they might fail to solve it.
Why worry so much? Just get it done.
From a macro perspective, the building clusters were composed of various houses, courtyards, and vegetation.
The more complex the structure, the more chaotic the intersecting lines at the connection points.
Each building cluster was roughly the same size. After several rounds of observation, Gu Ningyun chose the most orderly one to start with.
The five of them stood in a circle around the building cluster, each facing a structure.
All five of them were talented in at least one of the four arts—alchemy, arrays, talismans, or artifacts.
Their patience and observation skills had been honed over years of practice.
Though they hadn't yet found the entry point for these complex lines, their mindsets remained exceptionally steady.
They closed their eyes simultaneously, their divine senses weaving through the threads.
The divine sense strength they had developed from spending long periods underwater during their sea expeditions now proved useful.
Gu Ningyun easily spread her divine sense, covering nearly a quarter of the lines and points.
Some points were connected to many lines; moving one would affect the majority of the structure.
Others had fewer connections, resulting in less impact.
Simply organizing them directly would definitely lead to more chaos.
The points could be moved, and the threads would lengthen or shorten accordingly.
Could she find a few points where the connecting lines formed a regular cube?
Gu Ningyun transmitted her idea to her companions, explaining what a cube was and describing common types of cubes.
Soon, Jiang Yao's voice came through. “Ningyun, look at these eight points on my side. Are they what you're looking for?”
Gu Ningyun extended her divine sense along Jiang Yao's path and indeed found eight points.
Each of these points was connected to many lines, but every point had exactly three lines connecting it to three other points in this set.
Eight points and twelve lines connecting to each other, forming a perfect cuboid.
Gu Ningyun used her spirit energy to pull these eight points, forming a massive cube that enclosed this section of the building.
Because the twelve lines of the cube did not intersect with any other lines, the threads immediately turned cyan, and only Gu Ningyun could touch them.
Seeing this, the demon cultivator who was originally working on this building cluster felt his face darken.
“What are you doing? What is this big square? Is this still a building cluster?
“I advise you not to mess around, or none of us will get a token in the end.”
Gu Ningyun treated him as if he were talking to himself.
Her rhythm didn't falter at all. After positioning the cube, she transmitted to her companions, “The rules say to organize the lines, but it's actually about organizing the points.
“We can use these points as support and organize them layer by layer.
“First, find the points that intersect with these eight points and have the fewest connecting lines. Drag them over and place them near the intersection point.
“The placement process should go from the edges of the cube toward the center.
“Place the points with fewer connections first, moving toward those with more.
“However, this isn't an absolute rule; remember to adapt as needed.”
With a clear direction, the five of them searched within the building cluster with their divine senses, dragging over suitable points as they found them.
Soon, the outermost layer of the cube was covered with non-intersecting lines and points.
The lines were various colors—cyan, red, gold, blue, and white—each corresponding to the color of the five's spirit energy.
The demon cultivator who had chosen this building cluster was stunned.
No matter how he moved the points, the lines always intersected somewhere.
How was it that in the time it took him to study a few lines—less than half a quarter of an hour—these five Daoist cultivators had already organized so many?
He hurriedly began to observe their movements.
The rapid progress on this side was quickly noticed by the demon cultivators working on the other four building clusters.
Rate on N.U.
