Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Ma Xianhong, with his keen ears, chimed in while drawing: "It won't work. The Qi provided by the Divine Core is somewhat different from the natural Qi that one can guide oneself. I've tried almost every combination, but none of them work."

He pointed in the air and said, "Perhaps our understanding of the Qi of nature is not thorough enough."

This matter was beyond Cheng Mo's current knowledge. Since both of them said so, he decided to believe them for the time being.

Ma Xianhong worked extremely quickly, and before he knew it, the blueprints were revised: "Let's make the parts according to this first."

Cheng Mo took the blueprints and looked them over. The area that was originally used to store the instruction set had been greatly reduced, leaving more space for the energy source—that is, the Divine Core.

Qiu Rang scratched his head: "Where do we begin?"

Ma Xianhong: "Chou asked you to first build the prototype according to the specifications on the blueprints. I'll explain the principles of the information storage runes and the divine core to Brother Cheng. If Miss Xia is interested, she can also come and listen."

Xia He really wanted to say that she wasn't interested, but she still forced herself to step forward and "attentively" listen to the lecture.

Over the next few days, Xiu Shen Tang transformed into a bustling workshop, with Ru Hua keeping herself very busy.

For the first two days, the air was filled with the smell of burning metal, and Qiu Rang searched through the pile of materials for suitable blanks.

Ding Ziheng was being bossed around, carrying iron ingots and copper bars, muttering, "How come making a puppet takes more materials than building a house?"

Cheng Mo lay on the table listing the parts, his pen scratching softly.

Xia He leaned over to take a look, but then felt dizzy and gave up. She turned around and helped Ma Xianhong tidy up the worktable piled with tools.

At night, Qiu Rang's palm flames burned the raw material, sweat pouring down his face. Cheng Mo trimmed the cooled rough blank, metal shavings accumulating at his feet. Ding Ziheng leaned against the corner and dozed off.

On the other side, Ma Xianhong was manipulating his magical artifact, focusing intently on inscribing runes. Xia He, carrying a ceramic pot, silently refilled everyone's water.

By the third day, the work had become even more refined.

Qiu Rang needed to concentrate fully, using his Qi to carve Qi paths within the joint cavity. Cheng Mo repeatedly checked each part with calipers, making adjustments from time to time. Xia He forced herself to focus, injecting Qi into the Divine Core; the crystal faintly glowed before quickly fading away.

Ma Xianhong focused intently on the recording and docking. When the energy chamber successfully docked with the command core, a faint blue energy stream flashed by.

The group looked visibly tired, but their eyes shone brightly.

Another day passed, Cheng Mo assembled the leg bone frame, and Qiu Rang polished the joints of his hands. Xia He successfully lit up the fifth Divine Core and happily pumped her fist.

Ding Ziheng cooked a large pot of mushy food, and everyone sat around it and ate it quickly. No one commented on the taste, nor was it worth commenting on.

The sounds of hammering, discussion, and occasional cheers and sighs continued in the meditation hall until late at night.

No one mentioned Zhao Guizhen, as if he had never existed in the village.

The final assembly took place late at night.

Qiu Rang picked up the component and aligned it for fitting, Cheng Mo assisted in positioning, while Ma Xianhong used his Qi to connect each core connection point and activate the runes.

Ding Ziheng and Xia He were cleared out and could only watch from afar as the humanoid frame gradually took shape.

Finally, after several busy days, Ru Hua made her dazzling debut.

Qiu Rang was the most excited, rubbing his hands together: "Quickly, start it and try it!"

Ma Xianhong looked at Cheng Mo and said with a smile, "Brother Cheng, please go first."

Cheng Mo waved his hand: "Brother Ma, please go first."

"Brother Cheng first."

"Brother Ma, please."

While the two were still exchanging pleasantries, Xia He couldn't wait any longer. She took a step forward, placed her palm on the pre-set Qi interface on the puppet's back, injected a wisp of Qi, and triggered the activation rune.

hum-

Two faint lights appeared in Ru Hua's eyes, her joints made a soft clicking sound, and she turned her head somewhat stiffly, locking onto Ma Xianhong.

The next second, it strode straight toward Ma Xianhong.

Before Lao Ma could react, Ru Hua picked him up, turned him around, and took him back to the inner room. She pressed him onto the bed and pulled the blanket over him tightly.

Then Ru Hua stood by the bed, motionless.

Everyone: "..."

Ma Xianhong struggled to peek out from under the covers.

Qiu Rang stared, mouth agape: "This...it seems to be done, but it also seems not entirely done?"

Ma Xianhong sat up, and Ruhua immediately turned to the kettle on the table next to her, poured a glass of water, and handed it to him.

Ma Xianhong subconsciously took it and drank a sip.

Ru Hua took the empty cup, turned around and poured another one, then handed it to her again.

Ma Xianhong: "..."

Ding Ziheng scratched his head: "Does it think you're particularly thirsty?"

Qiu Rang frowned: "It seems there's a loop error in the basic instruction logic..."

Ma Xianhong laughed, took the second glass of water, and set it aside: "Not bad, not bad! The basic action commands all worked, and the interactive response was also very timely."

Originally, the operating logic of this thing wasn't called "instructions," but everyone has heard Cheng Mo talk about it so often that's what people call it.

Ma Xianhong patted Ru Hua's arm, "A minor adjustment to the logic will suffice."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and then cheered.

Xia He was so happy that she hugged Cheng Mo tightly and jumped up and down, shouting, "It's done! Little Mozi, it's done!"

Cheng Mo was so dizzy from being shaken that he kept replying, "Mmm, mmm, it's done, it's done..."

After the initial excitement wore off, fatigue washed over me. After several days and nights of busy work, the dust had finally settled, and I could no longer resist the drowsiness.

The group said goodnight to each other and then dispersed with heavy steps.

The next morning, the sun shone brightly.

Cheng Mo woke up feeling refreshed and turned his head to see Xia He still fast asleep on the next bed, her pink hair covering half of her face.

He crept up to her, leaned close, and suddenly raised his voice: "Wah la la la!"

"Ah!!!" Xia He sat up with a start, stunned for a couple of seconds. Seeing it was Cheng Mo, her eyebrows shot up. "You little Taoist priest! I'll beat you to death!!!"

Cheng Mo laughed heartily, already leaping three steps away: "Hehehe~ You can't hit me, you can't hit me~"

Xia He chased after them, yelling, and the two of them made a ruckus in the house for quite a while.

After they had had their fun, the two went to the backyard and, facing the morning light, slowly began to practice their martial arts. Their movements were as gentle as a mountain stream, and their breaths were long and steady.

No one delivered any ingredients today.

Cheng Mo started a fire, Xia He washed rice and picked vegetables, cooked a pot of congee, and cut some wild boar meat that had been smoked a few days ago.

A simple breakfast, yet exceptionally delicious.

Xia He, biting her chopsticks, asked, "Little Mozi, what are we doing today?"

Cheng Mo took a sip of porridge: "The cultivation furnace is repaired, Old Ma has recovered, and the puppet is finished. Today, it's about time to say goodbye."

Xia He slowed her chewing and smacked her lips: "You suddenly said goodbye... I'm really a little reluctant to part with you."

Cheng Mo looked at her: "What's wrong? Want to stay?"

Xia He shook her head and quickened her eating pace. "No, it's just a little...feeling. We don't belong here." She put down her bowl. "Since we're leaving, let's hurry and head to the next place!"

Cheng Mo looked at her amusedly: "You have a destination in mind?"

"I don't," Xia He said, her eyes crinkling, "but you definitely do~"

She had always believed that Cheng Mo's entire itinerary was aimed at finding a solution to his Qi-sensing problem, but in reality...

Cheng Mo also sped up, finished his meal, quickly cleaned up the dishes, and went to the Cultivation Hall with Xia He.

From a distance, you could hear the clanging and tinkling of things inside, mixed with the sound of rhythmic footsteps.

Upon entering, I was surprised to see three or five women running around, some carrying metal ingots and others carrying tool baskets, transporting things towards the body-refining furnace.

Ma Xianhong was almost buried in a pile of materials, with only his striking white hair showing.