Chapter 740 - 581: Custom Puppet (Part 2)
If we can collect enough, we’ve honed our skills and obtained materials.
If we can’t, we don’t lose anything."
𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
He felt that providing a material list wasn’t a big deal, as outsiders wouldn’t be able to deduce how to craft the puppet from the quantities of two materials.
Daoist Master Xuanji nodded and said:
"Junior Brother, what you say makes sense."
He took out a blank jade slip and recorded the quantities needed for both materials, adding over ten percent to each.
Profound Wood Daoist Master took the jade slip, excused himself, and hurried back to the VIP room:
"Thank you for waiting, my friend. Here is the list of materials you need."
"Thank you," Ji An took the jade slip, placed it against his forehead, and checked the contents, feeling confident.
He put away the jade slip and said:
"I’ll leave the customization of a high-spirituality puppet to you, my friend. How much is the crafting fee?"
The Little World required an assistant with sufficient intelligence to help manage tasks like harvesting spirit fruit, feeding spirit fish, collecting honey, and so on, all of which could be delegated to a puppet.
"Although the material demands for such a puppet aren’t high, the craftsmanship required is not low. I’ll use Tier Two Upper Grade iron wood to craft the puppet for you, which will be more durable, costing only fifty top-grade spirit stones."
Profound Wood Daoist Master quoted a rather expensive price, which exceeded that of a standard Tier Two Upper Grade attack-type puppet by quite a bit.
Ji An was quite surprised, "This price is quite unfriendly, considering I am the one providing the soul stone."
"It’s the craftsmanship involved that is the core value. As I mentioned, this type of puppet possesses self-learning and advancement capabilities.
If you’re dissatisfied after utilizing it, you can negotiate a refund with me."
Profound Wood Daoist Master responded confidently, as the Golden Puppet Sect’s legacy could be traced back to the end of the last True Demon Tribulation, with puppet crafting refined by generations of disciples to near perfection today.
In the same realm and controlling the same quantity and types of puppets, today’s disciples of the Golden Puppet Sect could comprehensively suppress the disciples from several generations ago.
"Haha," Ji An chuckled softly, taking out top-grade spirit stones:
"I trust you. Now, let’s cut the soul stone. When will the puppet be ready for collection?"
"In two months."
Profound Wood Daoist Master replied, knowing that with sufficient materials, it could be completed in half a month.
By quoting a longer timeframe, customers are more inclined to believe the quality is worth the wait.
...
The days and nights passed swiftly, and half a month went by in the blink of an eye.
In the Gourd World, Ji An dove into the pond and retrieved a porcelain jar containing medicinal mud, bringing it ashore.
He uncovered the sealing spirit talisman, immediately smelling a faint sandalwood fragrance wafting out. Inside, the medicinal mud was pale gold with a translucent texture.
"Let me experience the effect!"
Ji An murmured, removing his Daoist robe and inner garment, and evenly applied a thin layer of medicinal mud onto his body.
He immediately felt warmth seeping from the outside into his skin, very comfortable.
Unlike the stinging sensation when preparing medicinal mud without having cultivated the Glaze-Gold Jade Bone Body, it was akin to soaking in a pleasantly warm hot spring.
Ji An’s mood improved significantly; cultivation was an enjoyment that one could hardly resist.
He began operating the Acala Bodhisattva Palace, as his blood and qi surged from his heart, following a specific route to nourish his internal organs, bones, muscles, and skin.
Unlike pure body cultivators, his heart had integrated with the Fire Element Divine Mansion, giving his blood and qi a trace of fire element divine intent that provided an extra layer of refinement.
White mist rose from the top of his head, and force was transmitted upward from his feet, spreading to each bone along his spine.
His bones felt tightly enveloped, and inside, the bone marrow experienced slight vibration, with invisible impurities slowly expelled through his breaths and the surging of blood and qi.
Ji An felt his internal organs vibrating in an extremely subtle yet high-frequency manner, his breathing gradually becoming heavier. His chest felt like a volcano was brewing.
The initially warm-feeling medicinal mud now conveyed a cool sensation, particularly refreshing.
At this moment, the medicinal mud began to glow with a crystalline light, making him appear as if carved from jade, smooth and shimmering.
With the aid of medicinal mud, Ji An immediately felt incremental progress with each Grand Circulation of cultivation.
The color of the medicinal mud began to fade with cultivation, indicating that its properties were being gradually absorbed by his body.
An hour later, Ji An concluded his cultivation, gasping for breath while walking around the Gathering Essence Tree, as the medicinal mud started falling off, revealing a glossy texture on his skin.
The cultivation of the Acala Bodhisattva Skill greatly consumed physical energy, and even as a Golden Core Daoist Master, he found it slightly unbearable.
The Five Elements Reincarnation Skill significantly consumed divine sense, while the Acala Bodhisattva Skill primarily exhausted physical energy.
Somehow, Ji An felt that, despite his physical fatigue, his spirit soul’s acuity seemed to have increased.
With the medicinal mud, the cultivation of the Acala Bodhisattva Skill could now maintain a higher pace; his requirements weren’t high, as long as his body cultivation could soon reach the Golden Core Level.
By then, combining a solid physique, a strong spirit soul, and abundant magical power, he would have greater confidence to face external adversities.
Once his breathing became even and smooth, he sat down calmly, and when the vastness of the deep sea lay tranquil in his mind, he began operating the Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture.
With the operation of the cultivation method, his physical recovery accelerated significantly compared to normal rest, as the two cultivation methods surprisingly complemented each other.
...
The Golden Puppet Pavilion, VIP Room.
Ji An sipped a mouthful of tea and nodded in satisfaction, having surprisingly tasted a Tier Three Lower Grade famous tea, a treatment he had never experienced during previous visits here.
Profound Wood Daoist Master entered the room and apologetically said:
"Thank you for waiting, my friend. Recently, fellow daoists have significantly increased their orders for Golden Core puppets, we’re incredibly busy."
As he spoke, he took out a human-shaped puppet he had already crafted and opened the control core in the puppet’s chest:
"My friend, please store your magical mark inside, and then you’ll be able to communicate spiritually with the puppet directly."
Ji An was amazed at the puppet’s appearance; if he overlooked the opened chest and lack of spirit soul fluctuations, it was indistinguishable from a real person.
He stored his magical mark into the soul stone, and the puppet’s eyes flickered with light.
Profound Wood Daoist Master concealed the central core and smiled:
"This puppet also knows a cleaning spell, my friend. When you have tasks for it, demonstrate a few times first, and it will quickly master them.
It’s powered by top-grade spirit stones, with one stone lasting over two thousand double hours and needing replacement once a year.
When the spirit stone is nearly depleted, its eyes will emit an orange-red glow to prompt a replacement..."
After detailing some precautions, Ji An noted them down one by one.
...
Ji An returned to the Black Stone Grotto Mansion, bringing the puppet into the Little World.
He pointed at the Spirit Devouring Insect tower and said:
"If a hole appears at the top of these jade cocoons, it means the spiritual insects have completed their metamorphosis, and you should collect the jade cocoons then.
Classify and arrange them based on their glossiness and brightness, observe how I do it."
After demonstrating a few times, he said:
"Now you try."
Ordinary puppets couldn’t distinguish between different jade cocoons, whereas he had high hopes for this expensive custom puppet.
The puppet stepped forward, its eyes sweeping like radar, quickly gathering the jade cocoons from the insect tower that lacked spiritual insects.
Ji An inspected them, clapped his hands in satisfaction as the puppet could indeed distinguish the quality differences among the jade cocoons, enabling him to delegate the task to the puppet.
He further instructed, "Every three days, extract spiritual insects to feed the spirit fish and fire crystal ants, I’ll help you identify them first."
This task was comparatively simpler, manageable by ordinary puppets.
Subsequently, he taught the puppet how to harvest spirit fruit, pluck the golden leaves of the Profound Leaf Sword Bamboo, and prune the branches of fruit trees; the puppet learned quickly.
Ji An also taught the puppet how to harvest honey, pick and roast spirit tea, descale and clean spirit fish, roast fish, and steam spirit rice, all of which the puppet swiftly mastered.
The puppet displayed adept control over the fire during fish roasting, yielding a satisfactory flavor.
"Haha, I’m liberated now."
Ji An let out a hearty laugh, feeling that the spirit stones invested were worth it, equivalent to having gained a long-term laborer.