Chapter 469: The Gongsun Family

“Jiu jiu!”

With a clear cry, a streak of fire flashed across the sky and vanished in an instant.

“Hmm… It seems this Phantom Spirit has been modified and has already adapted to the rules of this world…”

Wu Ming, astride the back of the Fenghuang, was flying at an unparalleled speed, gazing at the white clouds below with a satisfied nod.

The Fenghuang beneath him was naturally the Flame Emperor from the Phantom Spirit World, a divine Phantom Spirit!

Of course, in the Phantom Spirit World, with the aid of the original forces of heaven and earth, the Fenghuang barely possessed the might of a sixth-level being. However, with the demise of the Creator God, it had lost most of its power.

Moreover, under the suppression of the foreign world’s rules, it was now at most a fifth-level spiritual bird.

The rules of the Phantom Spirit World differ from those of the Great Zhou. Even after being transformed by the Main Temple into a Vermilion Bird-like spiritual creature of this world, it’s still impossible to maintain its former sixth-level power. Still, it’s more than enough for transportation!

In fact, with this sample, the Main Temple would inevitably add an option for Fenghuang or Vermilion Bird in its future pet Phantom Spirit system.

“A branch of the Gongshu Clan should be deep within the Mohe Mountains!”

This intelligence came from Gongshu Zhe’s true soul within the Main Temple, leaving no room for doubt.

Frankly speaking, with this person’s true soul and a batch of other fallen reincarnators’ imprints, Wu Ming could easily revive a squad of puppeteers.

But again, the entanglements would be too deep, not good for either side. Besides, a team of puppet masters couldn’t compare to the hundreds of ordinary disciples from the Gongshu and Mohist clans.

After all, creating large puppets is a massive undertaking. Who has ever seen an entire industry chain supported by just a few people?

Similarly, this is why Wu Ming, despite mastering the Mohist School’s Manual of Ingenious Devices, had no intention of cultivating any talent himself—it was simply too cumbersome. It was better to directly utilize the talent reserves of the Mohist and Gongshu clans.

Although the Mohists had gone into hiding and were hard to locate, the Gongshu Clan couldn’t escape.

Before long, Wu Ming arrived at the edge of a massive waterfall.

The waterfall cascaded down the cliff, dozens of zhang high, feeding into a vast lake below, roaring with turbulent waves.

Seeing this, Wu Ming’s heart leapt with joy: “We’ve arrived!”

In this world, the art of machinery possessed miraculous craftsmanship, but it still required harnessing natural forces. According to Gongshu Zhe’s memories, this waterfall’s powerful, continuous impact was precisely what had drawn the Gongshu Clan to settle here.

“The masters of the Mohist and Gongshu clans are so capricious—they either reside beneath mighty waterfalls, beside volcanoes, or in geothermal caves. In short, they never take the usual path!”

Wu Ming thought with a wry smile, then waved his hand.

The Fenghuang let out a long cry, flew to the center of the waterfall, and spread its scorching blue flames like an umbrella, splitting the waterfall down the middle and revealing the smooth rock behind.

In a corner of the rock face, three carved animal heads—tiger, leopard, and lion—formed a triangular pattern. The constant pounding of the waterfall had made them smooth yet clearly visible, a display of exquisite craftsmanship.

“Jiu jiu!”

The Fenghuang was highly intelligent. Its slender beak pecked lightly at the left eye of the tiger, the right eye of the leopard, and the forehead of the lion. Then, in a flash, it flew back to Wu Ming’s side, shrinking into a small bird perched on his shoulder.

Gulu! Gulu!

The pecking technique seemed to be some kind of signal. Wu Ming waited quietly, and soon he saw a string of bubbles rising from the lake below.

Hualà!

The bubbles became more numerous and dense, until finally a dark shadow emerged from the lake’s depths, resembling an ancient aquatic beast. It burst through the surface, splashing water everywhere, accompanied by hundreds of streams cascading down.

The monster that emerged from the lake’s depths was a giant wooden fish, its surface gleaming with an oily sheen, and its two eyes clearly made of crystal.

“Is it Brother Gongshu Zhe returning?”

Peng!

The hatch opened, and a small head with braids popped out, looking around excitedly.

“Cough… cough…”

Wu Ming coughed, finally drawing the attention of the small figure: “Who are you? How do you know our Gongshu Clan’s secret signal?”

“I’m a friend of Gongshu Zhe!”

Wu Ming replied calmly: “I’ve come to visit the Gongshu Clan… As for you, why did you suddenly appear before confirming friend or foe? Don’t you think it’s dangerous?”

“Oh right!”

The small figure slapped their head, then slammed the hatch shut. The monster’s tail turned, its two side fins opened, and rows of gun-like devices immediately targeted Wu Ming: “Are you good or bad? How do you know Brother Gongshu Zhe… I’m really strong…”

Wu Ming was momentarily speechless and quickly flipped through Gongshu Zhe’s memories.

Needless to say, although this pitiful fellow had been bullied by his clansmen, he still had one or two friends. This girl, Gongshu Rui, was clearly one of them. However, she seemed a bit absent-minded, a problematic child with a very eccentric personality, making her a good match for Gongshu Zhe… no, a kindred spirit.

“Alright, Rui’er, if I really wanted to attack, I would have charged in directly…”

Wu Ming was quite speechless: “Please inform the Gongshu Clan’s Grand Elder that I have urgent matters to discuss. Oh, and about Gongshu Zhe’s death… Do you know about it?”

“How do you know my name? Wait a second…”

The hatch opened again, and the girl who looked only about fourteen or fifteen years old quickly jumped down, grabbing his arm: “What did you say? Brother Gongshu Zhe… died?”

Wu Ming looked at the girl with exasperation. With her carefree demeanor, if he were a villain, he could have taken her hostage dozens of times.

“According to Gongshu Zhe’s memories, this girl had a lab accident at age fourteen, causing dangerous materials to leak and nearly killing her. After being rescued, she was left with lingering effects—her appearance and mind forever frozen at fifteen? What kind of thing is that? The foolish are blessed?”

“Wait, Rui’er, what are you doing?”

Hualà!

The lake water parted, and another strange fish surfaced, from which came an angry voice: “I only asked you to watch the water divider for a moment. How could you just run out like that? And why did you come out directly from the puppet? Have you forgotten the operating procedures?”

It seemed this one was the actual receptionist. Wu Ming felt relieved and quickly explained his purpose.

“Gongshu Zhe?!”

The newly arrived Gongshu Clan disciple was quite cautious, staying inside the puppet without stepping out, and the two rows of weapons remained locked onto Wu Ming’s position. Upon hearing the name, his reaction was also somewhat strange: “Has he already died? What proof do you have?”

“This… Do his tools and the remains of his puppet count?”

Wu Ming had previously impersonated Gongshu Zhe for a while, so he was well-prepared in this regard. He directly pulled out a disk covered in patterns and threw it over.

This was essential equipment for a mechanist, roughly equivalent to an ID card from a past life, personally awarded by the elders upon reaching adulthood in the Gongshu Clan—utterly unforgeable.

“Hmm… This is indeed Gongshu Zhe’s measuring disk!”

The strange fish swallowed the disk whole, and after a long while, a voice came out: “Since you are a guest, please move forward and enter the mountains for a discussion! Gongshu Rui, let him ride your Tai Mo Pi Shui Qi Lin Suo!”

It seemed he had somewhat believed Wu Ming’s identity, but still maintained considerable caution.

“Alright!”

Gongshu Rui wiped her eyes and opened the hatch: “Come in!”

Wu Ming entered with curiosity, watching the hatch close. The strange fish began to submerge, feeling much like a submarine from his past life.

The windows were located at the eyes of the strange fish. Looking out from there, the outside light grew increasingly dim, clearly indicating the submarine was diving deeper and deeper, gradually plunging into total darkness.

In the dimness, a fluorescent glow became increasingly prominent, forming an arrow-like symbol.

Gazhi! Gazhi!

With a slight vibration, the sound of gears meshing came. The strange fish shot out streams of water from its tail, using the propulsion to follow the symbol’s direction, entering an underwater current beneath the lake.

“This defense is quite impressive. Ordinary people would never imagine the Gongshu Clan’s entrance hidden within an underwater current beneath the lake…”

Wu Ming nodded repeatedly as he looked around: “And even for second or third-tier experts, as long as man-eating fish or similar measures are set up underwater, it would be enough to ensure they never return…”

Gulu! Gulu!

With a stream of bubbles, the strange fish began to ascend, seemingly moving upward along the waterway.

In the darkness, besides the fluorescent markers, there were also scattered points of light shimmering like stars, creating a breathtaking view. However, with Wu Ming’s keen eyesight, he noticed these “stars” were actually talismans inscribed underwater, their spiritual glow still vibrant and their power undiminished.

“Talismans?”

He was slightly taken aback: “Water Arrow Technique? Earthquake Technique? Quite insidious indeed. Once activated, they could bury intruders alive… And there are also soul-sealing spells, which might even trap a real cultivator’s primordial spirit…”

“Um… Brother, how did Brother Zhe die?”

Gongshu Rui, manipulating the many levers in front, suddenly asked without turning her head, her voice low.

“It was me who killed him. Not only did I kill him, but I extracted his soul and tortured his spirit in myriad ways, leaving only a fragment of his true soul imprint, sealed within the Main Temple… never to be reborn!”

Wu Ming felt a slight sweat but did not say that out loud, instead slowly replying: “He died during an experiment with a new puppet…”

With Gongshu Zhe’s true soul imprint in hand, his entire life could be reviewed at any time. It wouldn’t be difficult to come up with a perfectly convincing explanation, let alone the fact that impersonating Gongshu Zhe himself was something Wu Ming could pull off with seventy or eighty percent certainty.

However, this time he was here to invite the Gongshu Clan to join his cause. Gongshu Zhe was merely a stepping stone, not worth investing so much effort, let alone the trouble of impersonation.

“I see!”

Gongshu Rui immediately believed him: “Brother Zhe was a genius at making puppets. He always said he would create a supreme puppet that could rival the Gongshu Clan’s Tianyuan Mechanism and the Mohists’ miraculous craftsmanship… Unfortunately, he always had problems with the operation. I’ve warned him many times…”

As she spoke, tears began to fall, making Wu Ming feel a slight sense of guilt, as if he were deceiving a naive little girl.