In Sumeru, pretend to be a scholar

Wang Yan shook his head and denied it: "I am a scholar of the Academy of Education."

This identity is still the most useful.

“Scholar…” Xingqiu was taken aback, then nodded. “So that’s how it is. I was just ignorant.”

"Haha, Second Young Master is joking. It's true that we rarely see scholars from the Order of the Teachings in Liyue." Wang Yan's expression of dissatisfaction had disappeared, and he said with a smile.

The two chatted for a while, and the waiter who had just left jogged back, carrying something in his hands: "Second Young Master, I've brought the things."

"Why are you giving this to me? To show the guests," Xingqiu said.

The waiter quickly presented it to Wang Yan. It was a palm-sized piece of amber, golden and very beautiful.

This time the item is correct; it's the top-grade amber that Wang Yan wanted.

"The items are fine. Also, please wrap up the rest for me and we'll settle the bill," Wang Yan nodded.

"Consider the stone amber a gift, don't overcharge," Xingqiu instructed.

"I can't accept this."

"Haha, it was our chamber of commerce that made the mistake. This is an apology, please accept it, guest."

"Then I shall accept your offer."

Wang Yan was just being polite, just like giving out red envelopes during Chinese New Year.

Chapter 127 Crafting of Ritual Implements

Even though Xingqiu gave him Shi Po, the other materials still cost Wang Yan nearly 100,000 Mora.

The cheapest processed wood is sandy wood, costing only 900 moras per zhang (approximately 3.3 meters).

A piece of fine, evenly textured, crack-free, and impurity-free blue-black jade slab sells for 35,000 moles; three catties of finely and evenly grained star silver sand costs 30,000 moles; and a roll of cloud-patterned Xuan paper also costs 30,000 moles.

Total price: 95,900 Mora.

That's why it's called an extraordinary material; at this price, it's definitely not something ordinary people can afford.

The crossbow that Wang Yan made himself before only cost 10,000 Mora in materials, and he got the materials from Dolly.

However, Wang Yan remembered what he was going to do and knew that this was an expense that had to be incurred.

He planned to use mechanical arts and talismans to create a mechanism similar to the He Yao Multifaceted Mechanism.

Of course, it's not as intelligent as the Heyao multifaceted system, but as long as a complete framework is built, intelligence and such can be gradually addressed later.

The money was paid with a voucher from the Adventurers Association.

Wang Yan couldn't possibly carry 100,000 Mora with him at all times.

After paying, Wang Yan asked the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce staff to help move the goods.

After all, a ten-foot-long piece of sand and wood is more than three meters long, and Wang Yan certainly couldn't carry it by himself, even if he could now.

After bidding farewell to Xingqiu, I returned to [White Horse Inn] with the helper who helped with the delivery.

"Guest, what brings you here?"

The person asking the question was an old man, leaning on a cane.

Wang Yan knew him; he was Lu Weng, the owner of the "White Horse Inn".

"I bought some things and had someone deliver them to me," Wang Yan said.

"I see. Please be careful, sir, and don't bump into other guests," Lu Weng reminded him.

If it weren't for that three-meter-long piece of Quesha wood, he wouldn't have asked.

"Don't worry, boss, it won't affect anyone else."

"Oh, by the way, boss, I might be going into seclusion for a while. During this time, please ask the staff not to bring me water or anything else, and not to bother me."

“Yes, sir, I will give the order.”

Wang Yan nodded to Lu Weng, then asked the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce staff to help deliver the items to the room. He then gave the staff a small tip as a way of treating them to tea.

After seeing his friend off, Wang Yan closed the door and then raised his hand to draw the rune "Nagi" in the air.

“(Angelic language) Separation.”

The [Nagi] rune is a type of wind element rune, which essentially refers to the image of wind being trapped or stopped. Here, Wang Yan uses it to isolate communication between the inside and outside of a room.

Furthermore, this rune is neither a basic elemental rune nor a traditional Liyue Celestial rune, but rather a type of Inazuma Yin-Yang rune.

When he helped Dixia translate the Yin-Yang runes on that gilded troupe, Wang Yan learned quite a bit himself.

The power of angelic blessing surged, driving the runes and controlling the surrounding wind elemental forces, creating a silent realm within the room.

After confirming that he wouldn't disturb the other guests, Wang Yan looked at the materials on the side.

Treated sandwood can bear elemental forces and be used to make the outer shell of mechanisms. It is lighter than metal shells and its defensive capabilities are not too bad.

The Azure Jade Plate is a top-grade material for drawing the core of mechanisms, and it is also a good material for carrying the Liyue Celestial Register.

Star Silver Sand is sand powder made from star silver ore. This material, which comes from the snow-capped mountains, can effectively increase the affinity of elemental forces when mixed with other materials.

Cloud-patterned Xuan paper is simple; it's used for writing short passages.

Of course, the most classic ingredients were also indispensable. Wang Yan reached out and took out his Mora bag, pouring all the Mora inside onto the table.

"Let's finish the preparations first."

Wang Yan took out his toolbox, a gift from Falushan. It was small but complete, containing all sorts of tools.

It has everything from large saws and axes to small carving knives.

Wang Yan took out a measuring tape from the toolbox, carefully measured it on the sandpaper, and drew a clear mark with an ink line.

Then, he picked up a handsaw and steadily sawed along the marked lines. Before long, a round wooden board about 20 centimeters in diameter and 3 centimeters thick was completely cut off.

I held it in my palm and weighed it; it was solidly heavy, with a warm, lustrous wood color that exuded a sense of calm and stability.

Next, I switched to a plane and carefully trimmed the edge of the wooden board. The shavings curled off, the burrs were removed, and the edge gradually became smooth and rounded.

Then, use sandpaper of different grits to polish it in sequence, from coarse to fine, until the surface of the wood feels warm and smooth to the touch.

To learn mechanical engineering, one must begin with carpentry.

After polishing, Wang Yan placed the wooden board flat on the workbench, took an extremely fine hard charcoal pencil, and bent down to begin drawing the rune array.

At the center of the array is a six-pointed star-shaped groove, from which twelve main veins radiate outwards. Each main vein branches into several smaller branches, spreading to the edge like tree branches. Overall, it is both rigorous and orderly, yet possesses a certain mysterious rhythm.

If there were any intellectuals here, they would recognize that this is a standard fire element array.

After drawing the battle formation diagram, Wang Yan switched to a carving knife with a needle-like tip.

He held his breath, his wrist as steady as a rock, the tip of the knife precisely following the charcoal mark, wood chips were scraped away as the blade pushed forward, the engraving was deep and smooth.

About half an hour later, the inscription on the array plate was completed.

He blew away the surface debris, checked the engravings, and after confirming that everything was correct, he took out a fragment of fire element and inserted it into the six-pointed star groove in the center of the array plate, fitting it perfectly.

Then, Wang Yan took a half step back, pressed his right fingertip lightly above the array plate, and softly chanted: "(Angelic language) Flames gather."

As soon as he finished speaking, the fire element fragment at the core of the array plate trembled slightly, and the fire element dissipated, flowing along the array circuit engraved on the array plate to form a magic array.

The invisible fire element was drawn from the surrounding air and slowly condensed three feet above the array plate, forming a ball of flame burning in the void.

"That's really good."

Seeing this, Wang Yan took the Mora from the table and gently tossed it into the flames.

Instead of plummeting straight down like ordinary metal, Mora was supported by a gentle force and suspended in the center of the flames, slowly spinning.

Under the intense heat, the surface of the Mora first turns a reddish-gold color, and then the edges begin to soften.

Wang Yan glanced at it, confirmed that the array was stable and the fire was steady, then stopped paying attention and let it melt on its own.

He turned around and took the azure jade tablet.

The jade is fine and smooth, with a color like spring water. It is about the size of a palm and about half a finger thick.

As the core of a future magical artifact, this jade tablet needs to be engraved with three types of runes: attack, defense, and support.

They have different functions, different rune structures, different elemental flows, and different energy nodes, but they must coexist within the same jade tablet, connecting with each other and complementing each other, and must never interfere with or conflict with each other.

This is a tremendous test of the designer's overall control, rune mastery, and carving skills.

Before, Wang Yan wouldn't have dared to do this, but Zhong Li's guidance two days ago really boosted his confidence.

After closing his eyes and concentrating for a moment, the key points of Zhong Li's explanation of the Immortal Talisman Technique and the principle of mechanism-rune coupling taught by Falushan quickly flashed through his mind.

After a moment, Wang Yan opened his eyes, firmly pressed his left hand against the edge of the jade plate, and picked up the carving knife with his right hand.

As the knife tip fell, he began to engrave with complete concentration.

Time passed slowly, and after an unknown amount of time, Wang Yan finished finishing the last rune, finally letting out a long sigh of relief and slowly straightening his aching back.

At this moment, dusk had fallen outside the window.

Wang Yan turned to look at the array plate beside him. The void flame was still burning steadily, and the Mora within it had completely melted. The crimson-gold solution floated quietly, its radiance contained within.

He took the star silver sand, scooped up a spoonful, and sprinkled it evenly into the flames.

When the star silver sand comes into contact with the high-temperature solution, it melts immediately and mixes with the Mora solution.

The crimson gold is tinged with strands of silver-blue, the two colors intertwined and swirling like flowing rosy clouds, appearing even more magnificent under the reflection of the flames.

After observing for a moment and confirming that the fusion was even, Wang Yan stretched out his right index finger and drew a line in the air, softly chanting: "(Angelic language) Wind."

A wisp of invisible breeze arose in response, gently probing into the flames like nimble fingers, guiding the molten metal, interwoven with gold and silver, to slowly flow out of the fire.

The solution forms a thin, continuous stream of gold and silver that flows precisely to the already carved Qingxuan jade slab on the workbench, or rather, the Qingxuan core.

The stream flows automatically along the engravings, filling each groove.

The crimson gold and silver-blue colors meandered through the rune ravines, and wherever they passed, the originally simple blue-black jade surface was instantly illuminated, presenting a deep and mysterious luster.

When the last rune was filled with molten metal, the entire jade slab seemed to come alive. The rune array faintly glowed, and the energy circuit was now connected.

Wang Yan dispersed the whispers and then raised his hand to press on the array plate: "(Angel's words) Stop."

The red light on the array plate gradually faded, the light from the fragment of the central fire element diminished, and the flames in the void above quietly dissipated.

The metal solution filling the core of Qingxuan has initially solidified, but has not yet completely cooled and hardened. Wang Yan did not touch it, letting it cool naturally to the side.

While waiting, Wang Yan turned his attention back to the remaining sandwood.

Next, we will manufacture the outer shell of the magical artifact.

Regarding the outer shell, Wang Yan already had an idea—to cut the Quesha wood into pieces, each piece engraved with sub-runes of different functions, and then combine them using the power of the Qingxuan core to ultimately form a polyhedral structure similar to the Heyao multifaceted cube.

The outer shell not only provides physical protection, but the array of sub-runes on it can also be linked with the core to expand the functionality of the artifact.

He did it without hesitation.

Wang Yan picked up his tools again and first used a ruler and compass to mark out dozens of square areas with sides of about three centimeters on the sandwood, and then sawed them off one by one with a string saw.

Next comes sanding, which makes each small wooden block flat on all six sides, with rounded edges and consistent dimensions.

This job involves mechanical repetition and tests patience and attention to detail.

Wang Yan patiently processed each piece of wood one by one until all the pieces met the requirements and were piled up.

Of course, not all parts of the wood were suitable; more than three meters of wood were used to make only seventy-two small cubes.

Next is the inscription of runes.

Compared to the complex runes on the core of Qingxuan, the runes on the outer shell are simpler but more numerous. Fortunately, Wang Yan has already gotten into the zone and doesn't feel tired while engraving them. Instead, he feels a sense of satisfaction from putting his knowledge to practical use.

As the last piece of wood was carved, the first rays of dawn were already visible through the window.

After resting briefly and stretching his stiff neck and wrists, Wang Yan began the final and most crucial step: assembly.

Compared to the previous steps, assembly is actually the simplest, because it doesn't require Wang Yan's help.

Wang Yan took the Qingxuan Core, which had already cooled down, and placed it on the seventy-two small cubes.

Wang Yan said softly, "(Angelic language) Activate."

The next moment, the core of Qingxuan trembled slightly, as if some kind of gravity was emanating from it, and the small cubes around it seemed to come alive and start to move.

Before long, as the core was fully activated, it floated into the air, and the seventy-two small cubes also floated around it, gradually approaching and combining, finally forming a polyhedron that shone with runes.

The core is surrounded by small cubes at the center.