"Such a terrifying rate of consumption... could it be because the refining materials are special?"
"I'm afraid... that isn't the only reason. This Sandman Puppet can merge with the environment of the Quicksand Land, maintain this form, and move within it. Most of the Immortal Essence is likely being consumed in that process."
"But even if I poured all the Immortal Essence in my body into this Sandman Puppet, it could only hold out for at most one shichen."
"That amount of time would probably only be enough to drive the Sandman Puppet to the location of the Half-Immortal Artifact."
"Finding the original body and bringing both it and the Heaven and Earth Furnace back would very likely increase the Sandman Puppet's consumption even further."
"If the Immortal Body remains here, exhausts all its Immortal Essence, and is affected by the Quicksand Land's anomalous devouring power... let alone replenishing its Immortal Essence, even its already damaged foundation may suffer further injury."
"What if other cultivators pass by... No, I need to think of another way. Relying entirely on my own Immortal Essence to drive it simply isn't realistic."
Su Shi'er kept muttering to himself as he repeatedly examined the Sandman Puppet before him, thinking without pause.
He could quickly get the hang of this puppet and command it with ease.
Yet he could not make heads or tails of the methods used to refine it.
Sand grains were tiny. Gathered together, they were like flowing water to begin with, a material without any fixed shape.
To use nothing but sand-type spiritual materials to refine a tangible Sandman Puppet—
This was an extraordinarily high level of artifact-refining attainment.
Other puppets were generally controlled using Spirit Stones in conjunction with a cultivator's divine sense.
More sophisticated ones used Spirit Stones to set