Azure-Grain Wood shavings fluttered onto the table as Lu Zhao followed the Hundred Refinements Art to carve basic Divine-Sense-Avoidance Formation patterns into the stone chamber on the left.
A spirit stone was embedded in the wall, its etched surface glowing faintly-these were the patterns of an ungraded protective formation recorded in the Hundred Refinements Art, capable only of warning him of probing Divine Sense from cultivators below Foundation Establishment.
Although he was not a formally trained formation master, his years of experience carving runes had given him some understanding of formations.
The hundred arts of cultivation had points in common. Naturally, setting up a proper formation was beyond him. But following a diagram to carve some sense-warding patterns and arrange an ungraded Divine-Sense-Avoidance Formation covering just one room was still within his ability.
A half-finished rat puppet skull sat on the azure netherstone workbench in the southeastern corner. A concealed channel in the workbench led straight to the underground river within the mountain, its flowing water carrying wood shavings down into the river.
Using his mid-stage Qi Refinement Divine Sense, Lu Zhao controlled a carving knife to cut his newly acquired Azure-Grain Wood into pieces, each just large enough to carve a puppet core.
There were sixteen pieces in all.
After dividing them, Lu Zhao placed them into wooden boxes one by one, then put them into his Storage Bag.
Three dusty-gray puppet guards stood on the display rack to the right.
A mind-clearing meditation cushion lay in the central cultivation chamber, and Lu Zhao had even thoughtfully hung a taiji yin-yang diagram on the wall behind it.
The stone table in the reception room on the right was crisscrossed with sword marks. It seemed the previous owner had often practiced swordsmanship here.
At midnight, the mountain wind swept moisture through the cracks in the stone. Lu Zhao circulated the Little Cloud-Rain Art, and the spiritual energy of Green Vine Ravine seeped into his pores like tiny streams.
Compared with the sluggish, mist-like spiritual energy at the cold pool, the spiritual energy here wound along like a mountain brook. Guided by the Little Cloud-Rain Art, each intake yielded ten percent more spiritual energy than at the cold pool.
With every intake of spiritual energy, the recently formed strand of magical power within him slowly grew stronger.
The other three strands of magical power slowly resonated with it, the four strands intertwining in his Dantian.
After finishing his daily cultivation, Lu Zhao began crafting puppets again. The moist wind of Green Vine Ravine blew through the narrow cracks in the stone chamber, bringing a cool sensation against his skin.
But Lu Zhao had no attention to spare for such things now.
He had begun crafting a Flowing Cloud Sparrow. The wing bone inlaid with wind patterns already bore six runes, and cold sweat had seeped from Lu Zhao's forehead.
Next came the final rune. With his heart trembling in fear, Lu Zhao finished inscribing it, let out a soft breath, and began meditating to regulate his breathing.
After meditating for a quarter of an hour, he straightened, returned to the table, and began carving the second wing bone.
Half an hour later, he finished inscribing the other wing as well.
By now, a faint headache was creeping up on him, and he felt that his Divine Sense had been heavily depleted.
He took a bottle of dark green liquid from his Storage Bag and drank it. This was a spiritual liquid prepared from Icefrost Grass. It was ungraded, but it had some effect in calming the mind.
It was just right for him now. After drinking the spiritual liquid,
Lu Zhao began meditating to regulate his breathing. An hour later, he opened his eyes and felt that his Divine Sense had recovered somewhat.
Letting out a soft breath, he turned his hand over and took out a piece of Wind-Pattern Stone the size of a pigeon's egg. He was going to attempt the hardest step.
"Carving the puppet core."
Three quarters of an hour later, an explosive crack rang out. Unsurprisingly, he had failed.
Lu Zhao rubbed his aching head, feeling as though tiny needles were stabbing into it. He knew he had overtaxed his Divine Sense.
It looks like I can't push myself like that again. He smiled bitterly inwardly.
Still, it had not been entirely fruitless. He took out the two bone wings. His previous attempt had failed at the rune-inscribing stage; this time, at least, he had advanced another step.
Time flowed on, and seven days passed.
Lu Zhao held a whitish puppet in his hand, cold air emanating from its body.
Thanks to his previous experience crafting Azure-Patterned Rat Puppets, the crafting of this Frost Rat Puppet had gone relatively smoothly.
After soaking in spiritual liquid for seven days, the rat king's spine had barely managed to bear five Ice-Explosion Rune Patterns—the finished rat puppet dragged its sharp claws across the stone wall, leaving shallow grooves half an inch deep.
When he took inventory at the end of the month, one Cloudstream Sparrow Puppet, two Frost Rat Puppets, and two Azure-Patterned Rat Puppets stood in the corner of the stone chamber. These were the fruits of his month's work.
Lu Zhao had barely managed to craft the Cloudstream Sparrow Puppet a few days earlier. Its quality was not very good, and its performance fell somewhat short of what the records described.
The Spirit Runes on the sparrow puppet's bone wings were dull and lightless, and it could only reach a height of a little over eighty zhang.
Lu Zhao rubbed the Hundred Refinements Art Jade Slip and smiled bitterly. Five a month was his current limit.
Still, his success rate in crafting Azure-Patterned Rat Puppets had risen above forty percent.
He glanced at the panel.
Name: Lu Zhao Cultivation: Qi Refinement fourth layer Lifespan: 23/120 Primary cultivation art: Little Spirit Rain Art Spells: Water Bullet Technique, Water Curtain Technique, Ice Cone Art, Breath Concealment Technique, Water Mist Technique, Water-Nurturing Art, Wind-Riding Art Supplementary arts: Puppet Art (First-Tier Low Grade): Azure-Patterned Rat Puppet (45% success rate) Flowing Cloud Sparrow (15% success rate) Frost Rat Puppet (25% success rate)
He could now craft three kinds of First-Tier Low Grade puppets, two of which were outstanding examples within that category. He could be called a genuine First-Tier Low Grade Puppet Master.
Morning mist condensed into frost flowers on the glass bottle as Lu Zhao checked his Storage Bag. Crafting that Flowing Cloud Sparrow had exhausted all the Wind-Pattern Stone he had saved, and only eleven pieces of Azure-Grain Wood remained.
He could buy some more from Zhou Qixing.
There were still two small pieces of Ice-Congealing Stone. With luck, he could craft another puppet.
Only one rat king corpse remained, though he still had six rat king teeth and quite a few ordinary Spirit-Devouring Rat corpses.
He did not have many materials left. It seemed it was time to visit the Market District, sell the puppets he had on hand, and exchange them for various supplies. His carving knife needed replacing too.
Crimson ripples spread across the underground river in the morning light. Lu Zhao took out beast-repelling powder and sprinkled it over the puppet guards as before, then took out his own puppets.
He had told the others yesterday that he would leave for the Market District this morning.
His strength had increased considerably since his arrival, and he had several more puppets. His tests had shown that the two Frost Rat Puppets were comparable in strength to First-Tier Low Grade demonic beasts. The Flowing Cloud Sparrow could monitor the ground from eighty zhang up, clearing obstacles from his path.
If only I had gained an initial grasp of the Thousand Threads Technique. Then I could control two Frost Rat Puppets at once and combine them with my own spells. Even if I couldn't defeat a Late Qi Refining cultivator, I could still escape unscathed.
The thought flashed through his mind.
According to the inheritance, the Thousand Threads Technique was not only the core technique for controlling puppets, but also a secret art for tempering Divine Sense. Each additional thread of Divine Sense separated out would strengthen his Divine Sense a little more. Unfortunately, it was extremely difficult to cultivate, and he had yet to gain even an initial grasp. On this trip to the Market District, he also wanted to look for the spiritual materials needed to cultivate it.
For now, Lu Zhao could still only control puppets through traditional methods. Within the range of his Divine Sense, he could maneuver them with reasonable agility, but once they moved beyond that range, they became extremely clumsy.
In addition, he had gained an initial grasp of the Wind-Riding Art. Although his proficiency was low, as long as he could use it, it would spare him many detours.
Even taking a somewhat longer route, he could reach the Market District within a day. After all, nights in the wilderness of the cultivation world were still far too dangerous for Lu Zhao as he was now.
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