Chapter 738 - 580: Late-stage Golden Core Puppet
A Tier Two Top Grade Vajra Bodhi tree was laden with fruit, the Spirit Fruits were only as large as plums, and when ripe, turned golden in color with a texture as firm as if cast from gold.
"Boom!"
Beyond the line of sight, a fruit fell to the ground, creating a shallow pit upon impact, half of the fruit buried in the soil.
Ji An performed the Object Control Technique, capturing the Vajra Bodhi Fruit in his hand. It felt soft, like human skin.
He gently squeezed it, only to find it hard and solid; the skin offered protection to the fruit flesh within.
It was essential to extract the essence from the skin and mix it with the flesh to craft the Medicinal Mud with other Spirit Medicines.
This was only the first step. The second step required adding a bit of mineral powder, mixing it evenly, then sealing for fermentation.
The falling of ripe fruits signified that shortly, a large number would mature, enabling him to begin preparation of the Medicinal Mud and advance the Acala Bodhisattva Skill.
If he could practice his Cultivation Technique to the Golden Core Level before the True Demon Tribulation fully erupted, he would face the disaster with greater confidence.
He stored the Spirit Fruit in the Grotto Void Stone, returned beside the Gathering Essence Tree, and started practicing Magic Techniques.
Without the Spiritual Mechanism, he could not rely on the Stone Turtle, requiring his personal spellcasting to feel the Magical Power traversing the Immortal Vein, sensing the unique rhythm upon releasing the Magic Technique.
In order, he released the Wu Earth God Thunder, Bing Fire God Thunder, and Gui Water God Thunder; the roar of thunder resonated within the Little World.
The air’s tremors caused the Beasts to retreat to the Little World’s edges.
Though distanced, allowing them less intense perception of the Thunder Technique’s power, instinctive fear rooted in their bloodlines responded to its majestic divine power.
He never practiced the Yi Wood God Thunder in the Little World because improper control would cause direct loss; the Spirit Woods couldn’t endure a Golden Core Daoist Master releasing the Yi Wood God Thunder at Perfection Level.
In the Void, clouds occasionally rose, yellow, red, black, yet whatever the color, they appeared brilliant and eye-catching, followed by thunderous resounding, shaking the world.
Earth Qilin and Fire Phoenix came near their master, quietly perching on his shoulder, calmly experiencing the technique’s power.
They sensed the flourishing of Five Elements Power and deeper Yin and Yang transformation.
The Cyan Dragon swayed its body and took flight.
Ji An remained focused, constantly casting spells, until sensing his magical power reduced by half, returning to the Gathering Essence Tree to sit on the Pudun.
He consumed a Fire Element Pill and started channeling the Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture.
Suddenly, the Little World gathered wind and clouds; rushing Spiritual Qi formed a giant vortex, coalescing above his head.
In the Spirit Field, Spirit Plants drew Five Elements Spirit Mechanism together into the Spiritual Energy Vortex, showing vibrant dreamlike hues.
During cultivation, immersed entirely in Introspection, he unknowingly had faint Eight Trigrams Patterns appear centered around himself.
The front showed Li, the back Kan, left Zhen, right Dui...runes glimmering intermittently.
A night passed in silence.
....
Three days later, the Tier Two Top Grade Vajra Bodhi tree bore fully matured fruits within the Little World.
Ji An gathered the Spirit Fruits together, preparing two white porcelain basins, each three feet in diameter, a foot deep.
He sat on a chair, employing the Three Yang Pill Fire Technique, three-colored flames of cyan, red, and white appeared at his fingertips, exercising formidable Spirit Soul Power to control the Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire, roasting the Vajra Bodhi Fruit.
Ji An was cautious, evenly covering the Spirit Fruits’ surface with flame, steadily maintaining fire power, neither more nor less than needed.
Maintaining extended stable Pill Fire output is a fundamental skill for both Alchemists and Artifact Refiners, yet mastering it proves challenging; reaching his level is even harder.
Many Late-stage Golden Core Tier Alchemists might not match his precision.
Due to the Spirit Fruit’s characteristics, its skin didn’t conduct heat, rapidly refining into a drop of pale golden Spiritual Liquid.
Impurities within the liquid burned away in the Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire, giving rise to wisps of gray mist, which were promptly consumed by Spirit Flame, fading to oblivion.
Ji An bottled the Spiritual Liquid in a Jade Bottle; post-cooling, this liquid transformed into golden ’fine sand,’ known as Vajra Sand in Buddhist Cultivator traditions.
The sand felt exceedingly fine and soft, though its true texture was remarkably firm, inheriting the skin’s traits.
The Vajra Sand within Medicinal Mud absorbed through the skin, imparting its qualities, albeit very slowly.
After refining the fruit’s skin, Ji An placed them into the porcelain basins, picking the next Spirit Fruit.
Two double hours later, he placed the last Vajra Bodhi Fruit with refined skin into the basin, shaking his head vigorously.
He stood, stretched both arms wide, and yawned, sighing:
"Finally finished the toughest job."
Divine Sense heavily depleted, his Spirit Soul displayed fatigue, yet the Spirit Fruits in the basins couldn’t wait long.
He maximized the Soul Nourishing Pendant’s magic array’s power, promptly extracting and releasing mysterious substances from Spirit Wood, accelerating Divine Sense recovery.
Grabbing a pot from the pond’s spring, he placed it on the Wind Furnace, lighting the Spiritual Charcoal inside.
This burnt Jade Leaf Mulberry yielded Spiritual Charcoal, relaying a subtle woody aroma when ignited.
He brewed a pot of Tier Three Middle Grade Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea, as water vapor began to diffusing, Ji An inhaled the teascape, instantly relieving some Spirit Soul fatigue.
Yet it was a mere illusion; Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea didn’t possess such potent effects, merely invigorating his spirit.
If the tea’s fragrance held powerful immediate effects, the Ghost Moon Cyan Jade Tree would rank among Treasure Plants.
With delight he drank the Spirit Tea, feeling significantly better.
Brewing another pot of Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea and consuming it, he sensed his Divine Sense nearly fully restored.
The Tier Three Middle Grade Spirit Tea has a richer taste than the Lower Grade, and its nourishing effect on the Spirit Soul is also stronger.
Ji An continued his work. He separated the pulp and pit of the Vajra Bodhi Fruit, placing the pulp and the already processed Spirit Medicine into another unused porcelain basin.
He cut open the pit and squeezed out the moisture from the yellowish-brown seeds inside, dripping it into the porcelain basin.
After completing this step, he poured Vajra Sand into the basin, mixing it evenly as a faint medicinal fragrance spread out.
When all the procedures were completed, the medicinal aroma transformed, becoming somewhat like sandalwood.
𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
The volume of the medicinal mud shrank to only a tenth of its original size.
Ji An packed the medicinal mud into a jar, sealing it with a Sealing Spirit Talisman.
The Sealing Spirit Talisman he was drawing now had reached the Tier Three Lower Grade level, able to completely isolate the Qi Mechanism.
Thus, the medicinal mud was made, and he placed the medicine jar into the mud at the bottom of the pond, where it would take approximately half a month to ferment.
Ji An returned to the Gathering Essence Tree and fell into a deep sleep, without dreams for the whole night.
...
The next day, Ji An rode on a cloud, leaving Black Stone Mountain for the Immortal City, arriving at the Golden Puppet Pavilion.
Fang Shiping stepped forward, respectfully saying:
"Senior, may I ask what you need?"
Ji An recognized this somewhat aged cultivator, feeling inwardly nostalgic.
Long ago, they met in the Western Continent, both young and full of vigor.
Now, a hundred years have slipped by like a fleeting horse, with him breaking through to the Golden Core Stage, while the other still lingered in the Chao Origin Stage.
Ji An could feel the onset of death emanating from the other person, feeling somewhat melancholic, as the presence of death indicates the beginning of the decline of vitality, meaning the other has little time left.
It was clear that the other did not recognize him, and he had no intention of acknowledging either, as their encounters in the Western Continent were only a few fleeting instances, not amounting to friendship.
Ji An coughed lightly, expressing his request:
"I want to commission a puppet. It doesn’t need to have great attack or defense power, only a very strong spiritual nature.
I cultivate alone, intending to use the puppet to handle miscellaneous tasks."
Fang Shiping said:
"Senior, commissioning a puppet with very strong spiritual nature requires a Soul Stone as the central core.
Currently, the shop lacks spare Soul Stones and cannot refine a puppet to your specifications."
All the Soul Stones in the shop are used for making puppets at the Golden Core level, and without this crucial material, many High-Tier puppets can’t be refined.
Ji An lightly shook his head, "I have Soul Stones here, arrange for a Puppet Master for me."
Fang Shiping understood, stepping aside:
"Please, senior, proceed to the VIP room for a rest."
They went upstairs to the second floor, with Ji An entering the VIP room to wait, while Fang Shiping went out to report.
Soon after, Profound Wood Daoist Master entered, looking slightly surprised, bowing with a smile:
"It’s truly a rare visit, greetings, fellow Daoist Xuanqing!"
Though in the same city, the two of them didn’t meet often.
Ji An returned the bow, and after pleasantries, he explained his request, taking out a Soul Stone the size of a pea:
"Is a soul stone of this size adequate?"
Profound Wood Daoist Master nodded, "More than enough, even to the point of wasting good material."
The other only requested it to be refined into a regular humanoid puppet, to serve as a servant.
He paused, then asked:
"Fellow Daoist, have you considered acquiring a Golden Core Level puppet? This Soul Stone could be divided into two parts, with a bean-sized piece being sufficient to create the kind of puppet you require."
Ji An raised his brows slightly, "Why not introduce me to it?"
He had purchased several puppets before but never found much use for them. However, with the outbreak of the True Demon Tribulation imminent, commissioning some Golden Core Level puppets could prove useful.
Profound Wood Daoist Master explained:
"We found that the Vajra Bodhi Tree has a strong suppressive effect on Demonic Qi, leading us to develop a puppet made from Vajra Bodhi Wood.
These can unleash techniques similar to those of a Buddhist Cultivator, and have exceptionally sturdy bodies, being extremely effective against both demon lords and True Demons."
Saying this, he took out a humanoid puppet covered with golden patterns, demonstrating its functionality.
Ji An asked in detail about the puppet’s various parameters, then said:
"How large can you create a puppet from this material? It must not affect its combat abilities and possess sufficient flexibility."
Profound Wood Daoist Master thought for a moment before answering:
"We possess the blueprint for crafting a puppet three zhang and six chi tall. With excellent materials, such a puppet would have attack and defense power at the Golden Core Perfection Level."
The wood of the Vajra Bodhi Tree is incredibly hard, and combined with the sacrificial refinement of secret techniques, the spiritual materials become even tougher.