Upgrading the Puppet Factory

Hey bro, are you free?

After returning to the Immortal Sect, Chen Mobai first called Ming Yihua.

"I am quite busy, but if you, as Councilor of the Opening the Origin Hall, ask me for help, I will definitely make time for you first."

Hearing Ming Yihua's slightly teasing words, Chen Mobai laughed heartily and then went on to tell his story.

When he Core Formation, the Blowing Snow Palace gifted him a Third Grade Water Mist Ice Crystal, which could be integrated into the Crimson Cloud Mist Silk, upgrading it into Third Grade Magic Tool.

Even before graduating, Ming Yihua was already Third Grade Artifact Refiner. This Crimson Cloud Mist Silk was a famous magical Magic Artifact of the Wuqi Dao Academy, and he was the most skilled in its crafting.

So when Chen Mobai mentioned it, he patted his chest and guaranteed that the upgrade would be completed.

"I'll give you an address. You can send the package over there. It should take about two weeks."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Mobai looked at Ming Yihua's address and found that it was located in a Military Department compound.

It seems that his good friend was directly recruited by the Immortal Sect after graduation.

After sending out all the items, Chen Mobai began to leave the pass to fulfill his duties as Councilor of the Opening the Origin Hall.

In Yumu City, the top leader has always advocated governing by Wuwei.

In other words, it makes no difference whether he's there or not, and this approach has been unanimously praised by the local Immortal Sect system.

He first went to the Green Mulberry Academy for a stroll. When he was in the mood, he even audited a day's classes, learning about the most essential aspects of silkworm breeding, Spirit Plant, and cloth weaving. He gained a more concrete understanding of the Green Mulberry Academy.

The next day, he went to the Immortal Sect Hall of Yumu City, where City Lord Wen Ping and the heads of various departments reported on the various events that had occurred in the past year.

After listening, Chen Mobai had learned about the people's livelihood and economy of Yumu City.

This is a Blessed Land city that has developed based on the spiritual Wood Element. More than 30% of its fiscal revenue comes from taxes collected on the sale of various kinds of spiritual wood.

The remaining industries are all related to spirit wood, such as Talisman Paper, furniture, wood products, printing, and bonsai, which together constitute all aspects of the city of Yumu City.

Chen Mobai had always been a hands-off manager in the Immortal Sect, letting Wen Ping handle various political affairs in the usual way before starting to browse the city's Talisman Paper industry.

Because of the abundance of spirit wood resources, there are three famous Talisman Paper in Yumu City, all of which are large factories with complete first- to Third Grade Talisman Paper production systems.

Chen Mobai's first stop was to visit these three companies.

After he Core Formation, as long as he studies diligently, his Talisman Master skills will naturally rise to the Third Grade.

Although the Soaring Heavens Talisman Factory in Vermilion Cloud City has invested heavily over the past ten years, and with the help of the Yan Family's technology, it can now reproduce Third Grade Azure Cloud Talisman Paper and Flying Rainbow Talisman Ink, the quality can only be described as barely acceptable.

After visiting the three factories in Yumu City, Chen Mobai realized the huge gap between his factory and theirs.

"Councilor Chen, this is a Fourth Grade Spirit Elm Talisman Paper that our three families jointly crafted. I heard that you are also an excellent Talisman Master. Take one as a souvenir."

A beautifully packaged, palm-sized, pale yellow Talisman Paper was handed to Chen Mobai.

This is Talisman Paper representing the pinnacle of Yumu City's technology. However, it requires an excessive amount of spiritual wood resources, and can only be refined with an official order from the Immortal Sect and after obtaining permission.

The last time Yumu City produced a large-scale Fourth Grade Talisman Paper was when the Talisman Master Association needed to restore an ancient talisman and required a large amount of Spirit Elm Talisman Paper. Yu Yi Shangren issued a unified order to the Yumu City Immortal Sect system, and only then were the three families allowed to produce it.

As Councilor of the Opening the Origin Hall and the current head of Yumu City, Chen Mobai also has this right.

However, Fourth Grade Talisman Paper were still a bit too advanced for him.

So after getting a general understanding of how Spirit Elm Talisman Paper is made, he began to discuss with the technicians of the three Talisman Paper about making high-level Talisman Paper using Puppet Factory.

After nearly twenty years of operation, most of Chen Mobai's Puppet Factory on the wasteland between Vermilion Cloud City and Yumu City has become old and obsolete.

After all, due to insufficient Merit Points at the time, all the Puppetry were made of the simplest Red Sun Spirit Wood in order to save money.

Even though Chen Mobai himself is a top-notch Puppetry, after years of maintenance and repair, and continuous use, he has reached his limit.

However, this Puppet Factory allowed Chen Mobai to complete the most basic capital accumulation in both realms.

The Talisman Paper he produced allowed his Little South Mountain Shop across half of the Eastern Wasteland, and on the Immortal Sect's side, it also allowed him to accumulate more than 100 million Merit Points in his account.

With these resources, plus his current identity, he can prepare to rebuild a more sophisticated Puppet Factory.

According to Chen Mobai's plan, in addition to being able to make First Grade Talisman Paper, he also wanted to be able to make Second Grade and even Third Grade paper.

However, in the Immortal Sect, most of the Talisman Paper of the Second Grade and above are still made by hand by cultivators, while a small portion with high demand can be made by machinery and automation.

As for the Third Grade Talisman Paper, the Immortal Sect only have a handful of two or three types that can be mass-produced.

Chen Mobai discussed with the chief engineers of the three Talisman factories, gradually perfecting the Blueprints for his Puppet Factory.

During this time, he also made several phone calls with his teacher Che Yucheng, to discuss the details of upgrading the Puppetry.

After Core Formation, Chen Mobai's network of connections was incomparable to that of his Foundation Establishment stage.

"Third Grade Heavenly Calculation Bead!"

After receiving Chen Mobai's call, Fu Borong, the director of the Sky Mending Dao Academy, felt somewhat embarrassed, but considering that Chen Mobai was a potential Potential for Spirit Transmutation and likely to become one of the top figures in the Immortal Sect in the future, he agreed to use his influence to help Chen Mobai.

The Third Grade Heavenly Calculation Bead can only be made to order in the Immortal Sect. Due to their wide range of uses, the waiting list is basically several decades long.

Moreover, while there may be a queue, whether the Sky Mending Dao Academy will accept the orders is another matter entirely.

Chen Mobai had enough face; after Fu Borong spoke to him, the head of the mathematics department at the Sky Mending Dao Academy reluctantly accepted the order.

Once the order is accepted, it means that the production of the Third Grade Heavenly Calculation Bead has begun.

After paying a deposit of ten million Merit Points to secure this crucial element, Chen Mobai began recruiting people.

The Puppetry making was still entrusted to Chai Lun, but this time he wouldn't have to pay for it upfront. Chen Mobai directly used his influence to allow him to freely choose and use various spirit wood resources from Yumu City.

Originally, we wanted to use metal, but since the Third Grade Heavenly Calculation Bead took up nearly half of the total budget, we could only use cheap wood for the rest.

The main reason is that Chen Mobai, as the head of Yumu City, can buy spirit wood at almost cost price. He can also mix in some Second Grade Green Sun Spirit Wood synthesized using the Jia Mu Art from the Divine Tree Secret Realm. Compared with these advantages, the expensive spirit materials and metals are naturally eliminated.

However, this time the funds are much more abundant than when he was in the Foundation Establishment, and as Councilor of the Opening the Origin Hall, Chen Mobai can borrow the maximum amount from the Immortal Sect Bank.

Yumu City Bank stated that all available funds could be lent out, amounting to approximately 80 million in Merit Points.

With ample Merit Points and confidence, Chen Mobai began to contact the other two members of his original team who created the Formless Puppet.

He plans to use Bionic Materials for the key joints and other moving parts of the Puppetry, while continuing to use spirit wood for the other less important parts. This will greatly extend the Puppetry's lifespan; with proper maintenance, it should last for fifty or sixty years.

"No problem, just send me the Blueprints and I'll arrange it for you right away."

Wenren Xuewei thought Chen Mobai had something important to discuss with her, so she deliberately interrupted her tea time.

"I've also managed to revive the Enlightenment White Tea plant you gave me, and it's already drinking Second Grade tea leaves..."

Since he had already made the call, Chen Mobai also took the opportunity to build a relationship with Wenren Xuewei, since she had mastered the Evergreen Technique and was destined to Nascent Formation.

"How is it? It tastes good, right...?"

When the topic of tea came up, Wenren Xuewei, who had been nonchalant, suddenly became interested and began to carefully inquire about Chen Mobai's various experiences and observations during the process of planting tea trees.

Fortunately, Chen Mobai was also very concerned about the survival of the Enlightenment White Tea and often asked Zhuo Ming about it. Although he did not know as much as Zhuo Ming, who had personally cultivated the Spirit Plant, he had personally inquired about the entire process of the Tea Tree being planted, taking root, and then upgrading to the Second Grade. He had no problem communicating with Wenren Xuewei.

In fact, because he shared some of the most authentic experiences of the Tea Tree obtained from Zhuo Ming's "Omniscient Connection," he actually stunned Wenren Xuewei.

She hadn't noticed these details when she was cultivating and transplanting the tea seedlings; it turns out that the timing of dripping Spiritual Water into the Tea Seed brings a sense of joy...

"If you dedicate yourself wholeheartedly to Spirit Plant, your achievements will be no less than those of your swordsmanship."

Wenren Xuewei said with some admiration, she thought that Chen Mobai had cultivated the Tea Seed himself to survive and advance.

Although she had long known that he was exceptionally talented and capable of anything he set his mind to, Wenren Xuewei felt a sense of awe and reverence for the first time after being outshone in her area of expertise— Spirit Plant Tea Seed.

She used to be inferior to Chen Mobai because she couldn't beat him.

This time, it's in her most confident area.

"Oh, no, it just happened to survive..."

Chen Mobai dared not continue the conversation.

This Tea Seed Zhuo Ming only been cultivated to the Second Grade. There's nothing more to say if we continue. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he said that he still had some machine orders to discuss and hung up.

Chen Mobai naturally went to Heaven's Craftsmanship Artifact Factory again for the assembly line production of Talisman Paper Talisman Ink. Zhou Tiangong, like Wenren Xuewei, only charged him the cost price. He also personally helped him complete the design and debugging of the machine, and even took into account everything such as the docking with the Puppetry, the inclusion of the Heavenly Calculation Bead, and the upgrading of the factory layout.

After arranging everything in the four major areas—core Chip, raw material supply, machinery and equipment, and Puppetry production— Chen Mobai finally had time to meet with his good friend.

"Your cultivation has progressed quite quickly; you've already Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer."

Chen Mobai and Yan Bingxuan walked in the shade of the trees, breathing in the fresh forest air, chatting and laughing.

Compared to you, I seem a bit clumsy.

Yan Bingxuan smiled faintly at Chen Mobai, a rare occurrence.

Because Chen Mobai needs to apply to the Opening the Origin Hall to leave Yumu City, only Yan Bingxuan can come here each year. She studies the Ice Soul Divine Light in the Sky Mending Dao Academy, and when she gets stuck in her studies, she comes here to relax.

Chen Mobai also enjoyed the time he spent talking with her. Since he Core Formation, she was the only one among his high school classmates who still kept in regular contact with him.

The others, probably because of their higher status, consciously stopped associating with him.

Yan Bingxuan stayed in Yumu City for three days. Chen Mobai treated her to Rice Flower Fish brought from Little South Mountain, which was the most carefree period she had experienced after forming her Core Formation.

"I'll be going now, see you next year."

After hearing Yan Bingxuan's words, Chen Mobai reluctantly saw her off onto the plane.

Spending time with Yan Bingxuan made him feel more comfortable and relaxed than ever before.

Being with her, my mind is completely at ease, and I don't need to worry about anything.

However, such a life can also wear down one's fighting spirit. Chen Mobai is essentially a very ambitious person.

After seeing Yan Bingxuan off, he was about to call Qing Nü to invite her to visit Yumu City when a call came in that made him frown.

[Lan Haitan]! Upon seeing the incoming call notification on the screen, Chen Mobai really wanted to hang up immediately.

But thinking of what he had said when they were in Wangwu Cave Heaven, and that Qing Nü was still in his Sky Mending Group, he hesitated for a long time before answering the call.

Lan Haitan: [I thought you wouldn't answer.]

Chen Mobai: [What is it?]

Lan Haitan: [Good news and bad news, which do you want to hear first?]

Chen Mobai: [Good news.]

First, hear the good news; it will bring you a period of good mood.

Lan Haitan: [I'll be arriving in Yumu City soon. You should be very happy to see me.]

Chen Mobai: [I don't think this is good news.]

Lan Haitan: [I'm leading a team on this mission, and one of the team members brought your good friend along. You'll be able to see her soon, isn't that great news?]

Qing Nü!

"What do you mean by this?" After realizing this, Chen Mobai's eyes narrowed sharply, and his tone turned cold.

Lan Haitan: [It's just because of that old case from years ago, which has recently made decisive progress. A key figure is involved, so I brought her along as well. Don't misunderstand, it wasn't specifically because of you that I sent her on this mission.]

After hearing Lan Haitan's explanation, Chen Mobai frowned even more.

That old case from years ago involved two Golden Core True Person from Vermilion Cloud City.

Chen Mobai: [What's the progress?]

Lan Haitan: [This can't be said over the phone, and I can only tell you after you agree to participate.]

Chen Mobai didn't say anything more. He had already guessed what the bad news was, so he simply hung up the phone.

At this moment, his only consolation was that he had sent Yan Bingxuan away ahead of time.

Chen Mobai was deep in thought in his courtyard.

The old case from years ago was related to Qing Nü, and Lan Haitan had mentioned it to him when they were in Wangwu Cave Heaven.

The worst-case scenario is that the Immortal Sect has already identified the True Person Scarlet Robe Yu Tianguang as a suspect, and the Sky Mending Group's collective mobilization this time may be aimed at arresting him.

So, how can he avoid this situation? Just as Chen Mobai was pondering this, his phone suddenly received an email.

[Dear Councilor Chen Mobai, the Immortal Sect's Sky Mending Group has a mission to carry out in your jurisdiction. We kindly request your assistance if it is convenient for you.]

The email was sent by the Opening the Origin Hall Committee.