"May I ask who you are? Which of the Nine Sects and Three Clans do you belong to?" Nian Tou asked with a forced smile.
Ming Zhi Tian replied, "None of them."
Nian Tou took offense, "I treat you with courtesy, why do you speak so?"
Ming Zhi Tian chuckled, "You drag me in to take my life, and then claim courtesy? This is the funniest joke of the year."
Nian Tou said, "I wanted to make a friend. It was just a trial, to test the results of my mechanic arts. I never expected to pull in a demigod at the ninth level of the Transcendent Realm. But I haven't heard of any sect leader from Zhang Tian Yue's Nine Sects and Three Clans reaching the ninth level of the Transcendent Realm. You are not Guo Qiang either, so who are you?"
Ming Zhi Tian looked up, "You know Senior Brother Guo?"
Nian Tou replied, "I've heard of him occasionally."
Seeing the exposed skeletons in the pit below, Ming Zhi Tian frowned, "It seems you've harmed many people over the years."
Nian Tou offered a placating smile, "A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. Even if you destroy this Nian Tou of mine, it will be of no use. It's better to be friends."
Ming Zhi Tian sneered, "I don't make friends with demons."
Nian Tou immediately took offense, "I am not a demon, I merely research mechanic arts. How did you get in? Don't you know?"
Ming Zhi Tian said proudly, "I don't know. A mechanical lock pulled me in."
Nian Tou burst into laughter. Ming Zhi Tian frowned, "What are you laughing at?"
Nian Tou said, "Didn't you see the large characters on the temple's signboard?"
Ming Zhi Tian hadn't noticed, "The temple? I was pulled down before I even reached the temple to look."
Nian Tou let go, "Then it's none of my business. You fell into the trap because you didn't see the warning sign."
Ming Zhi Tian couldn't argue with him, "Then may I ask, how large were the characters?"
Nian Tou paused, then cleared his throat, "Sesame seed sized."
Ming Zhi Tian was enraged, "Never mind sesame seeds, I can't even see grains of rice! You're tricking people!"
Nian Tou, undeterred, tried to pacify him, "Regardless, this is fate. Since you are unharmed, and my entire mechanical contraption has been destroyed by you, let's call it even. I'd rather have one more friend than one more enemy, wouldn't you agree?"
Ming Zhi Tian nodded slightly, clasped his hands behind his back, and said, "Speak. If you don't give me an explanation, I'll confiscate your belongings."
Nian Tou's face darkened, and he replied helplessly, "I am the ancestor of Mechanical Beasts, Bai Ju. Are you still unwilling to reveal your name?"
"Ming Zhi Tian."
Bai Ju said, "As an apology, I will teach you the first form of elementary mechanic arts."
As he spoke, a clear stream of information flowed into Ming Zhi Tian's mind. Ming Zhi Tian absorbed the information, his jaw dropping in astonishment. He saw vivid, ever-changing images of divine and ghostly patterns appearing in his mind.
Bai Ju said, "Don't underestimate this first form. It's the fundamental principle of mechanic arts. If you have extraordinary talent, learning the second and third forms will be easy."
Ming Zhi Tian closed his eyes and pondered, "So, the copper and stone monsters outside were all made by you?"
Bai Ju nodded, "Indeed. My true form is not here. If fate allows, we will meet again."
Bai Ju's Nian Tou vanished. Ming Zhi Tian stood stunned for a long time, his mind racing with thoughts, before a sliver of understanding emerged.
He exclaimed in awe, "With just a Nian Tou, you created copper and stone monsters at the fifth level of the Alchemy Realm. Mechanic arts are truly profound and inscrutable!"
It turned out that this place was constructed according to the layout of the first form of mechanic arts. After exploring for a while, Ming Zhi Tian found the exit and, with a spring, leaped into the mechanical temple and then out of it.
He passed the warning sign Bai Ju had mentioned. Indeed, there were only a few characters, the size of sesame seeds: "Mechanical trap ahead, please leave quickly."
Ming Zhi Tian swore, "Damn it!"