My Apprentice Is Too Diligent

Chapter 78: I Know Who You Are! (Please Subscribe)

Swoosh!

Swoosh~

Chen Wuji closely followed the figure of the black aura and the black sword, flying out.

He encountered the greasy man and his companions.

Each pause lasted no more than two breaths.

Quickly grabbing a few items, shifting his position, and darting back into the darkness.

Just as he had left, a violent sound of breaking wind came rushing from a distance.

An angry roar echoed through the night sky.

"Fengchase Boots! Lifetaking Sword! I know who you are~!"

The lingering sound reverberated through the night, spreading far away.

Chen Wuji, who had concealed his presence to the extreme, remained motionless in the dark.

I know who it is?

Who killed them, please make it clear!

Chen Wuji inwardly complained.

Three of them had already been killed, no, four now, and they were still using provocative tactics, attempting to lure the figure of the black aura and the black sword.

The companions of the hooked-nose man and the white-eyebrowed man, obviously, had not yet figured out who was targeting them.

And the invisible "life" mark released after the white-eyebrowed man and his group were killed had become nothing more than a decoration.

The figure of the black aura and the black sword effectively eliminated one mark after another.

Chen Wuji didn't know how he did it.

Thanks to this "Lifetaking Sword," Chen Wuji followed behind, happily looting the corpses.

As usual, he checked these acquired items to see if there were any traces of energy or residual marks.

Making sure there would be no future troubles.

Chen Wuji returned to the Chen Family courtyard.

Entering the study, he lit a candle and counted his gains.

Over three hundred silver tickets, two porcelain bottles containing pills, an energy stone, and a book.

Chen Wuji figured out what kind of pills the white-eyebrowed man and his group carried.

Qi Condensation Pill, Qi Fusion Pill, and Qi Recovery Pill.

The first two were used to condense True Qi and improve cultivation.

The Qi Recovery Pill was used to replenish True Qi after consumption, quickly restoring cultivation.

Therefore, Chen Wuji could make use of these pills.

He wouldn't mind having more energy stones.

As for the book, it wasn't a martial arts manual but a book on mechanical arts.

"Introduction to Mechanical Arts."

Mechanical arts?

Chen Wuji instantly thought of the mechanical puppets in Eagle Horn Mountain and the Pill Refining Cave.

Then, he quickly flipped through the contents.

Sure enough, there was a section on mechanical puppets!

"'Introduction to Mechanical Arts' records various basic mechanisms."

"Mechanical puppets, mechanical beasts, mechanical vehicles, mechanical cities!"

Chen Wuji quickly skimmed through the contents, becoming more and more delighted.

"Not only does this 'Introduction to Mechanical Arts' provide basic introductions, but it also includes repair methods."

Although the repairs were for simple mechanisms.

But how complex could a pill-refining mechanical puppet be?

Chen Wuji decided to make a trip back to Eagle Horn Mountain!

...

Off he went.

The next morning, Chen Wuji instructed Su Dayong to take care of the house and close the main gate.

He brought the energy stone and the transmission crystal and headed straight for Eagle Horn Mountain.

Entering the Pill Refining Cave once again.

Based on the description of mechanical puppets in the "Introduction to Mechanical Arts."

Chen Wuji carefully dismantled the back of the pill-refining mechanical puppet and examined its various components.

After a thorough inspection, he found that the reason the pill-refining mechanical puppet couldn't move was that the energy stone inside, as its power source, had long been depleted after three hundred years.

In other words, Chen Wuji only needed to replace the energy stone to make the pill-refining mechanical puppet move again!

However, a revived pill-refining mechanical puppet would only be able to refine pills, repeatedly swinging the pestle.

That's not what Chen Wuji wanted.

"If you want the mechanical puppet to unleash its combat power and killing power, you have to adjust one of the core mechanisms, the formation array," he thought.

"The 'Introduction to Mechanical Arts' says that every mechanical puppet's formation array is set with basic combat sequences."

"As long as the array sequence is adjusted to combat mode, the automaton can be activated!"

In simple terms, it is the most basic foolproof combat automaton.

Once activated, it will launch an attack on any living creature that approaches.

As for how the automaton is controlled, most of them are voice-controlled.

The voice control core is a special gem.

The four automata in the alchemy cave are obviously voice-controlled.

Chen Wuji cannot be certain whether this voice control gem can be reset with a new sound.

"The Basics of Automaton Art" states that voice control gems are set from the beginning.

Before being placed inside the automaton's shell, the primary commanding sound is inputted.

Once placed inside the automaton, it is directly bound to the array sequence.

An automaton engineer who is unfamiliar with the array sequence cannot replace the voice control gem.

Three hundred years have passed, and it is a good thing that the voice control gem has not been damaged.

However, it is uncertain whether the internal sound from three hundred years ago still exists and if it can still function.

If, by any chance, Chen Wuji adjusts the array sequence, switches to combat mode, and inserts a new energy stone to replenish the power source, but the automaton still follows the voice commands from three hundred years ago and launches an attack on him, then it would be troublesome.

It's not that Chen Wuji is afraid of these automata.

He is afraid that he won't be able to defeat them and escape.

The problem is that if the automata go out of control, Chen Wuji wants to regain control over them. Besides depleting their energy and forcibly dismantling them, there is no other option but to render them useless.

It would be a pity to scrap them.

Depleting their energy would also be a waste.

Energy stones are not easy to obtain, and losing even one is painful.

What should he do?

"Forget it."

After pondering for a while, Chen Wuji decided to give it a try.

The fact is, no matter how Chen Wuji balances the losses, he cannot avoid the route of readjusting the array sequence and restarting.

Unless Chen Wuji learns how to create automata from scratch, starting from nothing!

The problem is that automaton engineers are even rarer than alchemists.

The inheritance of true automaton art is extremely strict.

"Sigh—"

Taking a deep breath, Chen Wuji steadied his mind.

He compared several basic array sequences in "The Basics of Automaton Art" and made adjustments accordingly.

He started with one sequence, removed the crystal that had run out of energy from the slot, and inserted a new energy stone.

Buzz!

With the replenishment of energy, the dormant array sequences inside the automaton lit up.

Swish!

The eyes made of special gems emitted a bright light.

Before the back shell closed, it began to move.

The original posture started to change.

The body didn't move, but the metal palms moved the fingers flexibly, then extended and aligned, separated left and right, and finally forcefully closed and struck.

After the strike, they separated again. Then, they struck again and separated.

Repeating this motion.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Chen Wuji hurriedly shouted to stop.

No response...

The automaton continued to separate and strike with its palms.

Separate, strike.

Separate, strike.

...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The dull sound of palm strikes reverberated in the cave for a while.

Chen Wuji opened his mouth but didn't shout to stop again.

It failed.

The voice control gem inside the automaton's shell still carried the voice of someone from three hundred years ago.

The automaton still followed the commands of that person.

The only thing Chen Wuji was relieved about was that the adjusted mode was not combat...

Woo!

Suddenly, the automaton that was striking with its palms stopped moving.

"What's going on?"

(End of this chapter)