Calm the heart and quiet the mind, embrace the origin and guard the one, empty the consciousness, and also lower the defenses of the Sea of Consciousness.
Then, suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her head as many things surged in wildly. Some turned into words, some into images. These things flashed through her mind incessantly, finally carving themselves deeply into her memory. Mo Tiange fell into a brief state of dazed confusion.
This process did not last long. Back then, Mo Yaoqing had once used this method to pass the Plain Maiden Art to her. At that time, she was still a mortal, her Sea of Consciousness unable to bear such power, so she had fainted for a longer period. But now she was already a Core Formation cultivator, vastly different from her former self, and she quickly regained clarity.
"Master..." Mo Tiange called softly in her mind.
But no voice answered her.
"Master!" She grew somewhat anxious, yet there was still not a single sound in her mind. She picked up the Fusheng Sword, only to find that it no longer contained any divine sense.
She slumped onto the meditation cushion, unable to recover for a long while.
Fuyaozi... had vanished.
Although she had long known this day would come, when he truly disappeared, she could not avoid feeling sorrowful and melancholic.
Master had said that if fate allowed, they might meet again... But a cultivator from a hundred thousand years ago, even if he had advanced to God Transformation, what chance was there he was still alive now? And even if he truly was alive, where would she go to find him? It was merely a comfort.
"What's wrong?" Over there, Jing Xingzhi happened to stop cultivating, preparing to go out for a stroll, when he saw her sitting there looking dejected.
Mo Tiange shook her head lightly. "It's nothing. Just some things I need to get used to."
Jing Xingzhi watched her for a moment, couldn't figure it out, and decided not to pry further. "I'm going out for a walk. Do you want your little fellow to come with me?"
He was referring to Feifei. This man and beast shared a surprisingly similar hobby. Over the past few days, they had often wandered around together, incidentally studying Yang Chengji.
Mo Tiange glanced at Feifei, curled up nearby, ostensibly guarding her cultivation, and sighed. "As you wish. If it wants to go, it can."
Hearing her voice, Feifei raised its head, flicked its golden tail, and leaped onto Jing Xingzhi's shoulder.
"We'll be off then."
Mo Tiange nodded absentmindedly.
Watching the figures of the man and beast disappear, Mo Tiange closed her eyes.
"Master, Master..." The things newly added to her mind left her with mixed feelings.
The secret art for opening the Immortal Palace passage was actually a set of formation techniques called the Mysterious Void Cloud-Piercing Formation. Before this, Fuyaozi had already passed on the method for setting up the formation and the incantation for activating it to her. Now, he had also imprinted the principles behind the formation's construction directly into her mind.
This formation included a star chart and five-star positioning. It required using five mediums to channel immense power into the formation, then unleashing the formation's power to shatter the void in one go. Of course, this so-called shattering the void and tearing space was actually quite crude, not a true art of shattering the void. Even in ancient times, the art of shattering the void was only mastered by those truly great supernatural cultivators. The Mysterious Void Cloud-Piercing Formation that Fuyaozi knew was created by a talented low-level Ancient Cultivator based on the art of shattering the void. This Mysterious Void Cloud-Piercing Formation greatly reduced the required Spiritual Qi, but the space it opened was also extremely unstable.
Even so, in the current human world, this art was already an earth-shattering divine ability. If it were to spread, those great cultivators would likely covet it. And then there were the insights on forming the Nascent Soul, the cultivation methods and unique arts for the Mixed Origin Constitution... This master she had picked up halfway had actually passed on all his secret arts to her.
Ever since she had unintentionally bound the Fusheng Sword in the Western Barbarian Lands years ago and gained Fuyaozi's recognition, this master had taught her many things over the years, yet had only one request of her that could hardly be called a demand. And today, he had transmitted the secret arts he had devoted his life to studying to her, while he himself vanished without a sound.
Mo Tiange took a deep breath, a slight dampness in her eyes, and told herself to pull herself together. Since she had received her master's legacy, she should cultivate diligently and not disappoint his intentions. Perhaps one day they truly could meet again.
The days trapped in the Underground Palace were monotonous, doing the same things every day. However, this was nothing major. Who among those who had cultivated to Core Formation or Nascent Soul hadn't endured lonely cultivation? Secluding oneself for decades was a common occurrence. Being confined to the Underground Palace was merely cultivating in a different place.
For Mo Tiange, such days were not too difficult to bear. Every day she tended to Qin Xi meticulously. His injuries were steadily improving. It was estimated that in a year or two, his Dantian would be fully repaired, thus preserving his cultivation base. As for when he would wake up, that was hard to say. According to Jing Xingzhi's speculation, the reason he had closed his Sea of Consciousness was because the power of the Vermilion Bird's Breath was too great for him to withstand. Once the Yang Spirit Bead within his body fully absorbed the Vermilion Bird's Breath, he should be able to awaken.
These were all good news, making Mo Tiange feel that even though they were trapped in the Underground Palace and unable to leave, there was still ample hope.
Compared to the separation of over fifty years, now that Qin Xi was by her side, even if he hadn't woken up yet, it was already comfort enough.
"Mechanism Puppets..." Placing the jade slip on the tea table, Mo Tiange rubbed her face and fell into contemplation.
Before departing, Fuyaozi had told her to go into seclusion here. But after careful consideration, she felt now was not yet the time for seclusion. First, Qin Xi had not awakened. In this Underground Palace, she couldn't rest easy, even if she entrusted him to Jing Xingzhi. Second, finding a safe place for seclusion wasn't easy. She wanted to enter the Void Heaven Realm but couldn't explain it to Jing Xingzhi. Third, if she were to go into seclusion, it would be to form her Nascent Soul. There were still many preparations to be made; she needed to settle all matters and have a mind free of attachments.
Considering this, she decided to wait until Qin Xi woke up before considering seclusion. For now, her spare time would be better spent studying miscellaneous arts.
Whether it was the Mysterious Void Cloud-Piercing Formation or Fuyaozi's Mixed Origin secret arts, they were things that could only be comprehended at the Nascent Soul stage. At her current realm, she couldn't even begin to grasp them. Therefore, Mo Tiange dug out that beginner's guide to mechanisms she had obtained from the relics of a God Transformation stage Ancient Cultivator.
This beginner's guide to mechanisms was straightforward and easy to understand, not restricted by cultivation realm. It provided very detailed explanations, from making simple mechanisms at the start to basic puppet techniques at the end. It was an excellent introductory book.
If she could thoroughly master this beginner's guide, creating simple puppets wouldn't be a problem. And the so-called simple puppets were from the perspective of Ancient Cultivators. By today's standards, they would be sufficient to reach the Core Formation stage.
With Core Formation stage puppets, many more things became possible. For example, above the Underground Palace, within the Immortal Palace, because of the presence of a God Transformation stage Corpse Puppet, they dared not easily leave the Underground Palace. Even if they did leave, they would be on tenterhooks, and some tasks would be inconvenient. But with puppets, they could send the puppets out of the Underground Palace to search for treasures in the Immortal Palace. Puppets had no human aura, so the Corpse Puppet wouldn't attack them. Moreover, Core Formation cultivation wasn't low either.
And the things that controlled these puppets were indeed the crystals she had once read about in the Void Heaven Realm's records. Of course, Crystal Jade and Crystal Soul Jade could also be used.
This jade slip stated that the difference between Crystal Jade, crystals, and Crystal Soul Jade lay in the amount of Spiritual Qi they could provide. Crystal Jade was naturally the best. It contained abundant Spiritual Qi and had strong automatic recovery capabilities. Creating high-level puppets required using Crystal Jade, as crystals and Crystal Soul Jade were insufficient to provide the Spiritual Qi needed to operate them. Ordinary puppets could use crystals. Compared to Crystal Jade, crystals were not precious and were inexpensive, though more needed to be embedded. Most puppets used crystals. As for Crystal Soul Jade, because mid-to-high-level puppets required too much Spiritual Qi, Crystal Soul Jade was generally only used for practicing with beginner-level puppets.
After reading this jade slip, Mo Tiange realized that the two Foundation Establishment stage puppets Purple Micro Immortal had given her were considered mere practice pieces for beginners in the eyes of Ancient Cultivators. After those two puppets broke, she had taken them apart to look and indeed found Crystal Soul Jade embedded inside.
If she wanted to learn Mechanist Arts, this Ancient Cultivator's Qiankun Ring contained many materials related to Mechanist Arts. Plus, when she had just formed her Core, she had once exchanged for a large batch of Crystal Soul Jade in Kunzhong City, which was perfect for practice.
Deciding to act, and taking advantage of Jing Xingzhi's absence, Mo Tiange sorted through the contents of two Qiankun Rings, gathering all Mechanist Arts-related items into one Qiankun bag, and began her studies.
She had always been diligent in her work. Every day, apart from her fixed cultivation time, she almost entirely devoted herself to comprehending Mechanist Arts, soon producing her first batch of finished products.
Jing Xingzhi was very interested in this. Having nothing better to do, he and Feifei would squat beside her, watching her make puppets.
Mo Tiange had no intention of being secretive. If he wanted to watch, she let him. If he could lend a hand, that would be even better. Unfortunately, Jing Xingzhi clearly had little interest in miscellaneous arts. He was enthusiastic at first, but after two days of trying, he later only watched without participating.
A month later, Mo Tiange produced her first batch of puppets. These puppets only had Qi Refining perfection cultivation, but it was a good start. After placing restrictions on the puppets with her divine sense, she commanded them to leave the Underground Palace.
Given her current divine sense strength, this wasn't difficult. However, the Immortal Palace was vast, and these puppets were too weak to venture too far.
Half a day later, these Qi Refining puppets brought back some withered spirit herbs, filling Mo Tiange with joy. This showed her plan was feasible. If she could create Core Formation stage puppets, even more would be possible.
Mo Tiange buried herself in researching and making puppets. Several months passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Qin Xi's injuries showed improvement. His Dantian was no longer a major concern, only requiring quiet recuperation. With the Nine-Turn Resurrection Pill, Jing Xingzhi's wounds healed quickly. These days, he no longer just meditated and wandered; he began finding a quiet place to practice his swordsmanship. As for Feifei, it often slipped out of the Underground Palace to wander around above.
Feifei's behavior worried Mo Tiange somewhat. Although it had the ability to coexist peacefully with spirit beasts, Corpse Puppets were not living beings and were unaffected.
But Feifei was nonchalant, indicating it could handle it. Seeing Feifei so confident, Mo Tiange said nothing more. Feifei was no ordinary spirit beast. A divine beast always had some special traits.
As for Yang Chengji, he had yet to regain consciousness.