Chapter 95 – North Star Purple Tenuity Array

“…”

Mu Lin’s immediate nod of agreement left Flower feeling as if she had punched cotton—frustrating and unsatisfying.

More importantly, in Flower’s eyes, Mu Lin’s attitude was nothing short of an insult to the art of puppetry.

Just as she glared at him angrily, venting her displeasure, a voice suddenly sounded at the door.

“Mu Lin, Mother wants to see you. Come with me.”

Hearing this, Mu Lin stood up immediately.

“Understood.”

Following Butterfly, one of the twins, Mu Lin soon met the puppet master, Master Meng Rui. As for his decision not to study puppetry, this lazy noblewoman wasn’t angry but was curious about the reason.

“Why have you decided not to learn? Seeking help from Dongfang Ya and the Chu Family must have cost you considerable effort. If you give up now, all your previous hard work will have been in vain.”

“Thank you for your concern, Teacher, but I don’t mean to abandon it entirely. It’s just that I have my own path and won’t devote all my attention to the way of puppetry.”

As he spoke, Mu Lin took out a paper figure and blew on it lightly.

“Huff…”

“Protect the home and defend the nation!”

Infused with living energy, the paper figure instantly grew in size. With a fierce roar, it stood guard before Mu Lin, brimming with fighting spirit.

This paper figure made Meng Rui raise an eyebrow.

“A paper figure from the Paper Crafting Lineage… afraid of sunlight, fire, and thunder. Limited by its material, its power is only thirty to fifty percent of a conventional Yellow Turban Warrior.”

Mu Lin didn’t refute this assessment. He simply replied, “Teacher is absolutely right, but it’s cheap.”

“Clap, clap…”

This answer made Meng Rui applaud twice.

“Indeed, even if paper figures have countless flaws, they are cheap. That alone is enough to outweigh all their shortcomings. With the heritage of the Paper Crafting Lineage, you truly don’t need to learn how to prepare energy cores or Mind Crystals… You plan to study only talismans and arrays to strengthen your own paper figures.”

“Teacher sees clearly.”

Hearing this response, Meng Rui nodded.

“Very well. I’ll have Flower and Butterfly teach you only the knowledge of external enhancements…”

At this point, Master Meng Rui paused.

“Dongfang Ya and that woman both asked me to teach you well. Teaching you only external enhancement knowledge would be unfair to Dongfang Ya’s favor and the resources the Chu Family provided. I don’t want to be mocked for being stingy the next time we meet. Little one, is there anything you need?”

Hearing this, Mu Lin’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected that getting closer to Dongfang Ya would bring such benefits.

As for what he needed, Mu Lin certainly had something in mind.

“To be honest, Teacher, there is something I urgently need.”

After saying this, Mu Lin took a deep breath and exhaled sharply, “Huff…” With his action, a stream of living energy was expelled from him.

Pointing at the living energy, Mu Lin asked, “Teacher, what kind of paper material is most compatible with this energy? Also, if six… no, seven people share a connected will and similar constitutions, what kind of array could help these seven brothers cultivate this living energy together?”

Any puppet master has an understanding of materials, talismans, and arrays. As a master of puppetry, she specialized in this field. Therefore, seeking answers from Master Meng Rui for his doubts was most appropriate.

His questions indeed didn’t cause Master Meng Rui to show any signs of difficulty on her face.

However, his final words made Meng Rui glance up at Mu Lin. Clearly, from his words, Master Meng Rui had inferred something.

Fortunately, she said nothing, merely reaching out casually to draw the living person’s aura into her hand, sensing it briefly.

After a few breaths, she spoke with a hint of disgust: “Yin attribute, death, and carrying an aura of ominous taboos. Practicing this method will not lead to a good end in your later years… Hmm, this is ** aura, so that’s it. No wonder the Yin Eight Gates are merely ominous and haven’t been completely wiped out by contamination with the ominous and taboo—it turns out they have ties with It…”

After sighing, Meng Rui looked up at Mu Lin, then said with a hint of malice: “I already know what is most compatible with this aura. How about you? Care to guess?”

“Your disciple is dull-witted and cannot guess.”

  ”How boring.”

After this evaluation, she revealed the answer, but the final answer made Mu Lin’s heart tremble.

“Human skin.”

“?!?”

“Teacher, what do you mean?”

Looking at Mu Lin’s disbelief, Meng Rui smiled again and said, “I’ve already said it—the paper most compatible with the living person’s aura is paper made from human skin.”

“…”

These words left Mu Lin silent. Then, almost without hesitation, he asked about the next best option. Using human skin was too challenging to one’s moral limits, and Mu Lin was unwilling to do so.

To Mu Lin’s surprise, his reaction actually pleased Meng Rui quite a bit.

Afterward, she introduced Mu Lin to the second type of paper—Year-End Paper.

Because she was rather satisfied with Mu Lin, Master Meng Rui also explained some of the methods for making this paper.

“The materials for Year-End Paper are not precious, but they are peculiar. They require the aura of relics from tombs and some special powers. The older the tomb, the stronger the aura of time it carries, and the better the paper’s effect.”

“Its power is classified by the length of time it has been buried, which is why it’s called Year-End Paper.”

“Given your financial means, you can afford thousand-year Year-End Paper, but you won’t be able to use it continuously. You can use hundred-year Year-End Paper instead.”

“This paper is sold at the Four Seas Pavilion, and the price is fairly reasonable. You can go and buy it directly.”

After hearing this, Mu Lin felt both grateful and somewhat conflicted as he said:

“Thank you for your guidance, Teacher.”

“It’s nothing. But you look conflicted—did something come to mind?”

“Indeed, a few things.”

As he spoke, Mu Lin held nothing back and shared his previous thoughts.

“Before coming here to study, I had also thought about how my paper should be made. But at the time, all I considered were materials like Moonlight Stone and Tear Moon Bamboo—spiritual materials with Yin attributes and connections to the Moon. I never thought of human skin or Year-End Paper. Now it seems my knowledge is still too shallow.”

“Heh, being able to recognize this and say it outright is already quite good.”

After this brief evaluation, Meng Rui addressed Mu Lin’s second question.

“The best Array for seven people with aligned minds is undoubtedly the Seven-Star Array. However, there are many variations of the Seven-Star Array, such as Seven-Star Demon Subduing, Seven-Star Life Preservation, Seven-Star Army Breaker, Seven-Star Fate Alteration… Since your goal is to refine Spiritual Energy, the most suitable Array is the North Star Purple Tenuity Array.”

“The North Star Purple Tenuity is the Emperor Star. Although it does not belong to the Northern Dipper Seven Stars, it is closely related to them. Through the Seven-Star Array, you can summon a wisp of Ziwei Qi, then use this qi to elevate your status and accelerate your method of refining spiritual energy.”

At this point, Meng Rui smiled and said, “I’ve given you the method, but how to cultivate the North Star Purple Tenuity Array—that’s another price. You can’t afford it right now.”

“Also, just now counted as a custom request from me. Answering your two questions, along with the favor from Dongfang Ya and the Chu Family, I’ve mostly repaid. Hmm, this is the inscription method for Adamantine Force. Once I give it to you, we’ll be completely even.”

“In the future, you can still cultivate and study here, but what I can teach you is only basic knowledge. If you want my unique techniques, like the Sky-Scraping Method, Divine Firmament Thunder Control, Womb Treasury Twenty-Four Barriers… you’ll have to spend spirit stones to purchase them, just like those who aren’t even registered disciples.”

This situation was unexpected for Mu Lin, but he could understand it.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Master Meng Rui didn’t genuinely take him as a disciple, so naturally, she wouldn’t teach her secret methods to him wholeheartedly.

That she could guide him and even give him the Adamantine Force was already due to Teacher Dongfang Ya’s considerable influence.

“I understand. And no matter what, thank you for your guidance and teaching, Master.”

“Mmm, you may leave.”

Thus, after this conversation, Mu Lin had exhausted the favors from Dongfang Ya and the Chu Family.

But at the same time, he also obtained what he most wanted… well, most of it.

“I can buy the Year-End Paper on the way back to the Dao Palace. As for the North Star Purple Tenuity Array, I’ll need to think of some methods. For now, let’s see what the Adamantine Force is all about.”

(End of Chapter)