Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Chapter 1296: Chapter 505: Breaking Water Formation

In fact, Heavy Array Peak is precisely the faction Shen Xi wants to join. Ning Zhuo helped him achieve his goal ahead of time, and naturally, Shen Xi is grateful to Ning Zhuo.

Of course, Shen Xi will continue to participate in the Xingyun Trial and the Feiyun Conference, as his upcoming performance is crucial to his starting point after just joining Heavy Array Peak.

Wenren Yan is quite satisfied.

Her purpose this time was to make connections with Ning Zhuo in advance, as well as to probe and hint.

This purpose has been perfectly achieved.

Ning Zhuo proactively held a banquet and engaged in close communication with Wenren Yan, quickly becoming familiar with her. His mind was agile, and he quickly understood Wenren Yan’s intention, not making things difficult for her, and gave a direct response on the spot.

Wenren Yan not only achieved her original goal but also had additional gains, namely recruiting Shen Xi.

The Xingyun Trial and Feiyun Conference are major events in which the Myriad Images Sect recruits talented individuals externally. The Myriad Images Sect is abundant in forces and factions, with intense competition.

Though Wenren Yan did not recruit Ning Zhuo, she is willing to continue observing, and in this situation, she did not return empty-handed, having recruited a talent like Shen Xi.

As for Ning Zhuo.

On one hand, he grasped Wenren Yan’s intention during their first meeting, thus arranging in advance. He ultimately had an almost perfect first contact with Wenren Yan, creating a good impression for her to report back favorably.

On the other hand, Ning Zhuo also assisted Shen Xi, creating a plan for him, helping him enter Heavy Array Peak ahead of time, thereby solidifying a personal favor.

Shen Xi won, Wenren Yan won, and Ning Zhuo also won.

Three wins!

This is Ning Zhuo’s mature method on the Righteous Path.

Wenren Yan returned to report these results, evoking reflections among Yin Changgeng and others.

Chunyu Gui scratched his bearded chin and said, "In this light, doesn’t Ning Zhuo’s possibility of being a soul-transfer or reincarnated predecessor become even higher?"

"He understands rules and human nature so deeply. What seems like a casual banquet, many cultivators cannot comprehend or achieve even in middle age."

Such an exceptional younger generation is indeed rare!

But if he were a predecessor who reincarnated through soul-transfer, it would be easier to accept.

After this event, Heavy Array Peak’s probing of Ning Zhuo concluded with a decision to continue observing.

Although Ning Zhuo has explicitly stated that he has no intention of joining Heavy Array Peak, the peak merely paused its recruitment efforts.

Even when a targeted cultivator has no intention of joining, the future he displays is so promising that Heavy Array Peak will often forcefully act, investing heavily or using other means to entice them to join.

The competition within the Myriad Images Sect is extremely fierce.

After returning, Shen Xi was deeply grateful to Ning Zhuo. He told Su Lingkou, "Cousin, now you should understand that choosing to make good relations with Ning Zhuo was the right choice?"

Su Lingkou nodded but still felt somewhat resentful, "Cousin, I think Ning Zhuo just did a favor that was easy to give."

"Given your strength, character, and background, can’t you join Heavy Array Peak solely by yourself?"

"I rather think your chances of being rejected are very slim."

Shen Xi smiled and nodded, "Indeed. Therefore, the favor Ning Zhuo sold isn’t much."

"But I accept this favor!"

"The subtleties of this, you haven’t experienced yet."

Su Lingkou showed a puzzled look, "Oh? What is it? Cousin, please teach me."

She extended her slender jade fingers and lightly tugged on Shen Xi’s sleeve.

Shen Xi took the opportunity to hold Su Lingkou’s little hand and gently smiled, "You were almost always present during my exchanges with Daoist Fellow Ning Zhuo. You should remember that I never told him I wanted to join Heavy Array Peak."

Su Lingkou nodded, "That is indeed the case. Ning Zhuo figured out cousin’s plan."

"But that’s not hard to guess, right?"

"Cousin, you come from the Shen Family of Nine Palace Immortal City and are so adept at formations."

"A talented person like cousin naturally should join the strongest force in the Myriad Images Sect."

Shen Xi gently shook his head, "On the surface, it seems so. In reality, joining a force involves considering many factors."

"For instance, entanglements of grievances and feuds, interests connected."

"Also, the internal competition and conflict within the Myriad Images Sect, as well as the intrigues and camps among cultivators of my batch."

"The difficulty of guessing is much higher than you imagine, cousin."

Su Lingkou pouted, "Cousin, you’re right about everything."

Seeing his cousin’s reluctance, Shen Xi continued, "Even if Ning Zhuo guessed it, my owed favor isn’t much."

"But the goodwill he displayed is the subtlety."

"He expressed his attitude in front of me to the higher-ups at Heavy Array Peak, Wenren Yan—he won’t join Heavy Array Peak."

"This signifies goodwill to me, indicating he and I are not direct competitors."

"At the same time, it’s his clever response before, first receiving my guidance, obtaining my book, and then taking the top spot in the Nine Curves Corridor Array."

Su Lingkou finally was speechless, subconsciously blinking three times, realizing what she hadn’t understood before.

In her view, a seemingly ordinary banquet actually contained many profound meanings.

Shuyu Pavilion.

Ning Zhuo walked into the Divination Room.

It was still a ruin.

The walls of mica stone had long been reduced to powder, leaving only the light shield formed by formations that isolated the Jade Lake water. Above and below were remnants of array patterns, emitting weak light.

In the middle of the room, a deep blue Water Vortex quietly hovered.

The Water Vortex was large, occupying most of the room’s space, spinning at varying speeds, sometimes turbulent like a waterfall, sometimes gentle like silk. Each speed change caused slight quivering in the surrounding space—this was the Luoshu Book Pages performing calculations, maintaining the natural array’s balance.