True Lord Xuanmu returned to the living room with the puppet and placed a square spirit tool on the table.
"This is a spirit tool that has never been tainted by a cultivator's aura. Only a spirit tool like this can be controlled by a puppet. You must remember that clearly, Fellow Daoist."
He turned to the puppet. "Come, show us what you can do."
The puppet stepped forward, a gentle smile appearing on its face. It raised its hand and activated the Dharma Restriction. The spirit tool flew into the air and spun round and round, growing larger with every rotation.
The Dharma Restriction in its hand changed again, and the spirit tool shrank accordingly.
After finishing the demonstration, it stood with its hands at its sides and tilted its head slightly upward, its eyes gleaming as though it were saying:
'Praise me already.'
Ji An noticed the subtle expression on the puppet's face and obligingly applauded.
"Wonderful!"
He suddenly felt as if he were raising a pet, and he smiled.
The puppet lowered its head, the faint smile at the corner of its lips revealing how it truly felt.
Beside them, True Lord Xuanmu clicked his tongue in amazement. The puppet's spirituality was far stronger than he had anticipated.
He could not make head nor tail of it. How had this been done?
Ji An rose and cupped his hands. "Your craftsmanship is exquisite, Fellow Daoist. I greatly admire it.
"I'm going to seek out Fellow Daoist Jinrong now and commission a flying spirit tool. We can talk another day."
Myriad Treasure Tower.
Heat waves billowed through the Artifact Refining Room, but Wan Jinrong felt exceptionally refreshed. Ever since experiencing "cold artifact refining" once, he had grown increasingly fond of the sensation of yang flames surging and roiling.