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C16

By the time he got back to the Duke of Wei's estate, it was already the time of the lantern. He hastily ate dinner and locked himself in his room as Lu Que had something on his mind.

Unlike the calm expression he had seen in the afternoon at the West Peace Workshop, Lu Que was currently curiously looking at the one foot tall wooden nine-story pagoda.

Lu Que, who had been living in the Ring Creek Valley since he was a child, had a very different upbringing compared to his peers. Due to the closed environment around him, he could not be like children living in a dried up environment and have all kinds of fun methods. As for his uncle, Mu Zhi, who came from an aristocratic family, had given him all kinds of machinery and wood, which had become Lu Que's favorite toy in his childhood.

In the span of more than ten years, he had viewed Lu Que as his nephew's wooden stick. Not only had he made all kinds of mechanical wood for Lu Que to play with, he had also taught him the method of how to create and crack the mechanical wood.

So this afternoon, on the street stall of the West Peace Workshop, Lu Que recognized at a glance that this was an extremely crafted mechanical wood. Furthermore, Lu Que knew that the mechanical wood was used by the common folk to develop their children's intelligence. For example, the Nine Layer Wooden Pagoda, which was made in an extremely intricate manner, was probably a method used to hide items by the ancient mechanisms and the Mu Clan, an aristocratic clan. This nine level mechanism tower was crafted so meticulously that if there were items hidden inside, it would definitely not be something simple.

The more complicated parts were composed of thirty-three pieces of wood or forty-two pieces of wood. Lu Que had previously unraveled the most complicated parts of the wood, which was a helpless lock made up of ninety-nine pieces of wood that had to be forged by his uncle only after half a month.

From Lu Que's point of view, this wooden tower was not difficult to decipher. He just processed the excess part of the tenon post and carved it into patterns, disguising it as the shape of a nine-story pagoda. As long as he found the main tenon pole, he would be able to dismantle it bit by bit.

After about two hours, Lu Que finally disassembled the entire wooden tower. However, when he opened it, Lu Que was dumbfounded. It was different from the usual mechanical wood. The wooden tower was hollow. There was a cyan colored wooden ball the size of an adult's palm inside the hollow space. Taking a closer look under the candlelight, it was possible to tell that this was a mechanism lock.

Each and every one of the scones required one's eyesight to see clearly. They were seamlessly pieced together, densely packed together to form a round sphere. What was even more miraculous was that even though he could see the tenon pillars with his eyes, they were exceptionally smooth when he held them in his hands. If he did not use his eyes and only used his hands to feel it, he would definitely think that it was a wooden ball made from a piece of wood.

Lu Que held the spherical mechanism lock, which he had never seen before, and rummaged through it for a while. He fiddled with it for a long time but could not find the position of the main mortise pillar. Using the light of the candle, he formed several wooden balls with their dowel posts, until he felt dizzy. It was only then that Lu Que could count that this wooden ball actually consisted of three hundred and sixty dowel pillars. It was much more complicated than the most complicated mechanism he had ever seen.

Closing his eyes to rest for a while, Lu Que went back to rummaging through the mechanism log. He couldn't find any clues until the night watchman knocked on the third board.

For the next few days, Lu Que stayed in his room, studying the mechanism, but there was nothing he could do. His family thought he was in his room preparing for the test, so they didn't pay much attention to it.

During this period of time, Lu Que, who could not find a solution, even used an axe to split the wooden ball open to see what treasure was inside. However, when the sharp iron axe landed on the wooden ball, not even a mark was left. That seemingly light and strange wooden ball was actually extremely sturdy.

After resolving the issue for a few more days, Lu Que, who was truly powerless, had no choice but to ask his father, Lu Chun, to invite his uncle, Mu Xing, who had already been transferred to the Feng Xiang Army to resolve his doubts.

"Jiu Er, your uncle Mu has invited you over. However, you must tell your father why you called your uncle Mu so urgently. What is the purpose of your invitation?" Lu Chun looked curiously at his son, he also felt that his son's mental state had not been very good in recent days. Every day, he would eat a quick meal and then return to his room.

Seeing his father, Lu Chun, and uncle, Mu Xing, looking at him curiously, Lu Que quickly took out the mechanical wooden ball that had been bothering him for the past few days. Uncle Mu, this nephew has invited uncle here today for the sake of this wooden ball.

"This is …" Mu Xing looked at the wooden ball in a daze before giving Lu Que a puzzled look. However, Mu Xing had watched Lu Que grow up since he was young. He knew that he wouldn't take out this wooden ball for no reason. There must be some sort of secret behind it. When he picked up the wooden ball and placed it in the sunlight for a closer look, his expression changed greatly. He said with a shaky voice, "Nephew Xian, where did you get this?"

"Uncle knows this thing?" Hearing this, Lu Que was overjoyed. Indeed, there was an expert in the field. Uncle Woodcarver, who had spent his entire life researching mechanisms, was indeed much stronger than him.

Seeing that Mu Chi had examined the tower closely while facing the sun, Lu Que nodded his head. He hurriedly picked up the reassembled wooden pagoda from the ground and said, "This wooden pagoda was obtained by nephew from a stall in the West Peace Workshop a few days ago. The wooden ball in uncle's hand is hidden within this wooden pagoda. "My nephew has been trying to solve the problem for a few days but has been unable to do anything, so I can only trouble you then, uncle."

"So that's how it is." Hearing Lu Que's words, Mu Xing nodded his head and glanced at the wooden pagoda before placing the wooden ball in his hand. He slowly rotated the wooden ball and carefully observed the surface of the ball. From time to time, he would lightly tap the surface of the ball with his finger.

After about the time it took to make a cup of tea, Woodcarver stopped. He tightly furrowed his brow, his eyes somewhat empty. He seemed to be recalling something, and his expression suddenly turned joyful, then solemn.

"Brother Mu, what is this thing?" Lu Chun, on the other hand, rarely saw such an expression on his younger brother's face. Moreover, he was also curious in his heart, hence he asked this question.

"Big Brother Lu, nephew, this is the Heaven-Revolving Lock." Mu Xing's eyes lit up as he looked at the wooden ball in his hand. His tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

"Uncle, what is the 'Heaven-Revolving Lock'?" This was the first time he had heard of this name.

"Heavenly Revolving Lock. It is the most complicated type of lock amongst all mechanisms. It is called the Heavenly Revolving Lock of the Eight Trigrams and Eight Trigrams. It was the secret of the gate back in the day that you used 360 wooden tenons to combine the Yin and Yang elements of the cycle. I have only heard of it, and this is the first time I have seen it. " Mu Xing tossed and turned the wooden ball as if he had found a precious treasure.

"Mechanical door? Didn't the mechanism door get destroyed during the dynasty's Great Xuan period? " Lu Chun was slightly surprised to hear the name of the mechanism door. Counting the time, it had been almost five hundred years since the gate was destroyed.

"Big Brother Lu is right, but my Mu Clan's ancestor was once a direct disciple of the Inner Sect. Unfortunately, when the Inner Sect was destroyed, although our ancestor managed to escape, because he was still young at the time, he did not learn all of his abilities. I have also seen that bit of information in my ancestor's letter about this Yin Yang Eight Trigrams Lock. " Mu Xing sighed and said.

"Then uncle, do you have a way to break it?" The main reason why Lu Que asked Mu Que to come was because of this.

Mu Zhi looked at Lu Que with a smile and said, "Nephew, do you still remember what Uncle said when he taught you how to solve Mechanical Wood?"

"Uncle once said that the mechanisms and trees have countless shapes and changes without any reason. However, they never deviate from their original order, and there are always possibilities to be found. Or for a tenon column to control the overall tai chi buckle. It may be two two buttons at once, or three buttons at a time. " Lu Que said after recalling for a moment.

"Nephew is right, but this cycle is a bit different." This thing knows Yin Yang, Eight Trigrams, Circulatory Cycle. The locks are divided into the primary stage, the secondary stage and the eighth stage. Mu Xing was extremely fond of Lu Que and did not hide anything. He directly told Lu Que the secret of the Heavenly Secrets.

"Uncle, you mean this Heavenly Lock has ten dowels?" You need to push it together before you can undo it? " Lu Que was somewhat surprised. No wonder he had been unable to understand anything for so long. He never expected it to be so complicated. But even if they knew the method, it would not be an easy thing to find the ten mortise pillars from the three hundred and sixty mortise pillars.

Seeing Lu Que looking at him with a hopeful expression, Mu Xing could not help but smile bitterly. This was the first time he had seen something like this. Even though he knew the method, it would take a lot of effort to unlock it.

"Brother Mu, since this Heaven Revolving Lock is so complicated, what use does it have?" Lu Chun asked curiously after listening for a long time. According to the books, the mechanism door had also been famous for a while. Since this thing was a secret of the door, then there must be a secret use.

After thinking for a moment, Woodcarver organized his thoughts and said. If you take the wooden arts and the mortise together, compared to the civil affairs. The Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Lock was equivalent to a saint's scripture. As for the other organs, they are equivalent to the discussions of all the generations of people in the literary world. "

Hearing Mu Ke's words, Lu Chun and Lu Que, father and son, were a little surprised. They never would have thought that this small wooden ball was actually the source of the entire Morningsun Mechanism.

"However, this Heaven-Revolving Lock is the first thing in the world after the door was destroyed. Maybe there are some secrets hidden inside." After saying that, Mu Xing looked carefully at the wooden ball in his hand. As the most outstanding descendant of the current generation of the Mechanical family, he also wanted to know what other things were hidden within this Heavenly Barrier other than the highest theory behind it.

Lu Chun and Lu Que, upon seeing Mu Que's engrossed look, did not disturb him. Fortunately, the two of them were very patient people, so they just sat quietly to one side, looking at the wooden ball spinning while muttering some words to each other.

Unknowingly, several hours had passed and the sky was about to turn dark. After sitting in a daze for an entire afternoon, Woodburn suddenly burst into laughter. His two hands gripped the wooden ball, his two thumbs pressing down on it, the other eight fingers moving in a series of movements, and with a few cracking sounds, a few more protruding stumps appeared on the smooth and smooth spherical surface. The wooden ball was also overjoyed, turning it over by half a circle, his eight fingers pressing down at the same time, and a few more protruding stumps appeared on the spherical surface, staring at the movements of Lu Que on his wooden hand, carefully counting, no more, no less, exactly ten.

He placed the wooden balls in the middle of the round table and began to remove the dowel pillars one by one. His movements were very slow, and he had to carefully inspect each one of them before placing them in a certain position on the round table. When the entire wooden ball was completely removed, the sky had already darkened. A maid had long since come over to take charge of the lights, inviting the three of them to eat in the main hall. However, the three people in the room did not move. Mu Xing was still immersed in the state of comprehending the mechanisms and the Dao, while Lu Chun and Lu Que were staring at the table full of tenons in shock. If they did not see it with their own eyes, they would never have imagined that there would actually be someone who could create such a complicated and wondrous item.

"What is this?" Lu Que suddenly noticed that at the center of the round table, there seemed to be something that was slightly reflecting the light of a candle. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be five pieces of jade the size of grains. If one didn't pay close attention, one really wouldn't notice.

Lu Que walked up to the five jade pieces and held them in his hand. He noticed that there were three cylindrical jade pieces and two semi-circular jade pieces. It seemed like there were some small patterns on the jade pieces, but because of the dim candlelight in the room, it was hard to see them clearly.

The three of them studied the jade for a while, but did not find anything magical about it, as if it was a piece of trash carved into them, and could not help but feel a little disappointed. However, the three of them did not pay too much attention to it, after all, they had already seen the long-lost Yin Yang Eight Trigrams.

He hesitated for a moment and then said with embarrassment, "Brother Lu, nephew, can you let me take this [Heavenly Lock] away? I will make a new set and then return the original item to you."

Lu Chun, seeing Mu Zhi's hopeful expression, did not say a word. Instead, he looked at his son, Lu Que. This thing belonged to his son. Although he was a father, he couldn't help but feel sorry for his son.

"Uncle, there's no need to go through all that trouble again. Just take it away." Although this item is a precious treasure to mechanisms and Daos, to me, it's nothing more than a joke. Besides, didn't uncle already take out the treasure for your nephew? " Lu Que smiled as he shook the jade in his hand.

Hearing Lu Que's words, Mu Xing could not help but let out a long sigh of relief. His heart was filled with gratitude and gratification. This Heaven's Lock was nothing to the Lu family, but to the Mu family, it was too important. As long as he could get a good understanding of the secrets, then it would be extremely important for the entire Mu Clan to work together. Lu Que, on the other hand, didn't mind at all and sent him out. This showed how deep their friendship was.

Mu Xing knew that such a favor and a word of thanks was too shallow. He could only pat Lu Que on the shoulder with a flushed face.

Seeing his son Lu Que deal with this matter in such a way, Lu Chun also nodded his head in satisfaction and said with a smile, "Brother Mu, we have to meet such a rare treasure today. Let's go to the front hall and drink a few drinks with your brother.

"Since brother asked for it, little brother should accompany you."

It was already late in the morning, and his heart was full of anxiety. He only drank a few cups with Lu Chun before leaving with the reassembled Heaven-Revolving Lock.

After dinner, Lu Que went back to his room and lay on his bed thinking about what had happened that afternoon. He couldn't help but sigh in admiration in his heart.

After thinking for a while, he started to sweat profusely. He called for a servant to fetch him some water for him. He sat inside the wooden barrel and soaked in the warm water. He could not help but feel a little tired. In the past few days, he had spent quite a bit of effort on unlocking the Heaven-Revolving Lock, as well as on studying and studying it. After taking a bath, he stared out the window at the bright moon. Today was another fifteen years old. He had already been out of River Ring Valley for two whole months. Although his current life was much better and richer than his life in the valley, he still missed his previous life. He missed Little White, missed Big or Small Violet, missed Brother Lu, and missed that valley where he had lived for more than ten years.

As he thought about it, Lu Que felt that his eyelids were heavy. He went to bed with a sense of loss.

It was already the early summer, so Lu Que did not close the window. The silver moon rose up to the skies, emitting a clear and cold moonlight as it shone from the window into the house. It cast shadows on the windows.

Unknowingly, the five pieces of jade that Lu Que had casually placed on the table slowly floated in the air, emitting a hazy green light. The jade cauldron gifted by the Nine-colored Deer also slowly floated out from Lu Que's clothes, spinning in the air.

The thumb sized jade cauldron spun faster and faster in the air. The five rice sized jade pieces, as if attracted by the jade cauldron, also quickly revolved around the jade cauldron. The green light of the jade cauldron interweaved with the green light of the jade pieces. After an unknown amount of time, the jade cauldron stopped rotating and just quietly stood there in midair. Unknowingly, the five jade pieces had already been embedded on the jade cauldron and merged into one.

With a weng sound, the jade cauldron vibrated slightly in the air. An invisible ripple spread outwards with the jade cauldron as the center. At the same time, the image of a huge green cauldron flashed across the sky and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Even the scholarly man who was enjoying the moon and drinking at this moment, upon seeing the shadow of the giant cauldron, must have thought that he was seeing things.

At the same time, the Imperial Spirit Beast Little White, who was sleeping on the green tree, suddenly opened its eyes and looked in the direction of the northeast of the city.

A hint of confusion appeared in Xiao Bai's eyes before he seemed to recall something. He faced the bright moon in the sky and let out a long howl. Within that howl, there was a strong sense of joy.

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