Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Chapter 1174: Chapter 446: Mysterious Immortal Aptitude

Ning Zhuo quietly returned to his own Cave Mansion.

After a brief meeting with Chef, Qing Chi, and Gongsun Yan, he dived into the Martial Arts Array for secluded cultivation.

The sensations he experienced in many areas were vastly different from before.

Most directly, the five senses.

Ning Zhuo furrowed his brow, his gaze focused, and his vision instantly became clearer. Distant scenes seemed to be magnified by half, while nearby objects appeared in intricate detail.

He took out a stone, stared intently, and could distinguish the rock’s most subtle stratification patterns. Taking out a piece of wooden Treasure material, even if the surface was scuffed, he could still clearly see the ring patterns.

He summoned Gongsun Yan, asking him to roughly control the Green Bamboo Puppet to attack him using Mana.

Ning Zhuo closed his eyes, blocked his sense of smell and touch, relying solely on hearing.

Once he entered the combat state, his hearing became instantly acute, precisely capturing all information related to the battle from the chaotic sounds. The Green Bamboo Puppet’s footsteps, Gongsun Yan’s breathing. Ning Zhuo could even sense a hint of curiosity and martial spirit from Gongsun Yan.

After a moment of confrontation with the Green Bamboo Puppet, from the sounds of their actions, he heard the internal mechanisms’ engagement rhythm and the hum of Mana flow, allowing him a clear grasp of the Green Bamboo Puppet’s strengths and weaknesses.

"The sounds captured during combat benefit from the principles of Soldier Dao. Hearing the internal sounds of the Green Bamboo Puppet comes from the principles of Mechanical Techniques."

These were all things Ning Zhuo didn’t possess before.

He dismissed Gongsun Yan, put away the puppet, and began attempting Artifact Refining.

He activated Mana, forming flames, burning the wood while carefully listening to hear the delicate sound of fire tongues licking the wood surface, the popping sound of the wood.

When the time came, he suddenly withdrew the flames, took out the wood, checked it, and discovered that the roast was perfectly to his earlier hearing!

"From this, it seems the principles of Artifact Refining have surged my ability in material handling by dozens of times."

And that was still a conservative estimate.

Ning Zhuo’s nostrils flared, using his tongue to taste, testing the enhancement of smell and taste.

Now, he could differentiate numerous subtle aromas in the air, and even to some degree, trace them to their source, following the scent to find its origin.

Not to mention his perception of Mechanical Artifacts and so forth.

Touch also greatly increased.

Ning Zhuo’s fingertips brushed lightly over the rock, clearly perceiving its hardness and potential fracture surfaces.

He applied Mana Suspended Threads, controlling Mechanical Artifacts, discovering that he could perform far more detailed manipulations of mechanisms than before. An action of slight finger bending, which previously could be divided into at least three different detailed levels.

He took out a Magic Artifact, sensing merely through touch to understand the precise state of the array patterns and glyphs on the artifact, whether worn and the extent of the wear.

With the five sense tests complete, Ning Zhuo found explosive growth in his perception capabilities in terms of Soldier Dao, mechanisms, and Artifact Refining.

Soldier Dao endowed him with more practical combat capability, while mechanisms and Artifact Refining tempted him, eager to craft Magic Artifacts and create mechanisms on a grand scale.

Within the array space of the Martial Arts Arena, Ning Zhuo began moving his body.

He stretched out his arms, punched, flexing muscles, discovering that when exerting force, his muscles twisted like tempered steel wire, and when relaxed, they were loose as usual.

His bones became extremely hard, comparable to certain metal Treasure materials.

Strength didn’t increase much, but the control over power became extremely precise.

Ning Zhuo attempted to handle a piece of Stone Treasure Material, gradually increasing force, able to completely control the extent of stone damage in his hands.

His skin became much tougher than before, almost as if covered in thin armor, yet without any increase in weight.

Ning Zhuo used knives, swords, and staves to mark himself, discovering greater resistance to piercing and slashing damage.

Click.

With just a slight flick of his arm, Ning Zhuo dislocated his arm.

With a gentle pull back.

Click.

The dislocation disappeared.

Ning Zhuo swung his limbs, making various movements, finding unprecedented control over his body.

"Feels like I’ve become a Mechanical Puppet myself. Joints are sturdy and flexible, every movement splittable, achieving ultimate precision."

He burned himself with fire, froze in ice frost, cleaved with electric current, and sliced with Wind Blades...

"Indeed."

"The flesh has greatly increased resistance to attacks from the Five Elements, at least seventy times higher than before."

He activated the Defensive Wheel Slash Formation, discovering manipulation far easier than when in the Xuan Armor Cave, by a hundredfold.

After practicing for a moment, inspiration surged in his Divine Sea, allowing him to see many deficiencies in the battle formation, which could undergo further enhancements.

Sun Lingtong had been observing Ning Zhuo through Life Hanging Thread.

The worries in his heart dissipated by half, exclaiming, "Little Zhuo, your physical form holds great secrets, extremely unusual! With numerous principles upon you without any conflict, it’s practically a miracle."

"Do you know what this means?"

Ning Zhuo slightly nodded, "I understand."

For cultivators, the principles naturally attach during Cultivation.

For instance, a cultivator practicing a Wood Element Technique, adopting Wood Element Mana, inside and out circulating continuously along certain paths. Increasing the Mana quantity concurrently engraves Wood Element principles slowly and onto him.

Whichever Cultivation Technique one practices corresponds to the principles upon them.