ALL NOVEL Chapter 119: Ninth Level
Within the underground cave:
Swish! Swash!
As a mature Demon Tree, upon realizing that the cave was becoming narrower, it had learned to continuously excavate downwards using its roots while discarding large amounts of soil into the lake.
Fang Xi didn’t interfere with the Demon Tree’s self-taught construction skills; he only provided occasional guidance for proper support and reinforcement, ensuring the Jade Cliff wouldn’t collapse. Otherwise, he let it operate independently.
At this moment, Fang Xi was examining the ‘human puppet’ before him!
The human puppet resembled Mu Wen, with ashen skin displaying faint wood-like textures. Occasionally, tree roots could be seen emerging from or retreating back into the puppet’s facial openings.
“Stand up!”
“Move forward!”
“Jump!”
Fang Xi wasn’t proficient in puppet techniques but relied on the Demon Tree’s ability to control demonic servants for basic manipulation. It felt somewhat sluggish and unresponsive, akin to controlling slave insects with the Insect King.“Perform cultivation maneuver!” Fang Xi’s eyes flickered as he issued a new command.
Mu Wen executed a cultivation technique, causing a layer of spiritual aura to shimmer around his body, emitting fluctuations equivalent to the fifth layer of Qi Refinement!
“This person originally had a cultivation base at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement, but after being transformed into a puppet, their realm dropped to the fifth layer!”
Fang Xi pondered for a moment before issuing a new command.
Whoosh!
Mu Wen executed a cultivation technique, causing the black dagger artifact to emit a loud hum and transform into a streak of dark light, deeply embedding itself into the rock wall.
“Remarkable, his cultivation base is indeed preserved, along with the ability to control magical artifacts?”
This revelation brought immense joy to Fang Xi.
With this capability, couldn’t he potentially command a vast army of ‘human puppets’? Even a formation composed of numerous Late Stage Qi Refinement cultivators could challenge Foundation Establishment beings!
However, moments later, Fang Xi noticed something amiss.
Mu Wen’s manipulation of the artifact was remarkably stiff, lacking fluidity and adaptability - a fatal flaw in combat situations.
‘This feels… despite being at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement, he might not even be able to defeat Hai Dagui… And constantly needing my commands makes it too cumbersome.’
‘His attack power matches the fifth layer of Qi Refinement, but his defense is severely lacking. Being a human body, he has no instinct for evasive maneuvers; I’d need to monitor him continuously… Yet controlling through the Demon Tree introduces significant delay…’
At that moment, Fang Xi realized the difference between his Wooden Puppet Technique and orthodox puppetry methods.
The orthodox puppetry legacy not only included methods for creating puppets but also techniques for controlling them effectively in combat! In fact, the control aspect was even more crucial!
A cultivator’s divine or spiritual sense is inherently limited; non-puppeteers can typically manipulate only one or two puppets at most. However, a skilled puppeteer can divide their consciousness, commanding an entire army of puppets!
Moreover, advanced puppets can be imbued with ‘puppet souls’, granting them a degree of intelligence!
“Indeed, having powerful divine sense greatly enhances puppetry skills. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to acquire any such legacy…”
The Spirit Hollow Market might have it, but currently, Fang Xi had no means to visit!
After thorough experimentation, Fang Xi determined the detailed specifications of his human puppet Mu Wen and shook his head, feeling somewhat disappointed.
The attacks were overly rigid, and commands faced significant delays…
Compared to the precision of orthodox puppet manipulation, there was a stark contrast between heaven and earth.
Additionally, once transformed into a ‘human puppet,’ further cultivation and improvement became impossible.
“After all, my control through the Demon Tree is indirect, lacking the finesse achievable by a true puppeteer. It’s understandable, though… Perhaps in the future, acquiring and studying a proper puppetry technique could compensate for these shortcomings…”
“However, this ‘Wood Puppet Technique’ does have its advantages. First, it allows for massive numbers; with sufficient Demon Tree seeds, one can control as many puppets as desired!”
“Secondly, the materials needed are simple - just complete corpses suffice… Creating a vast army of cultivator puppets in the future is no longer a distant dream.”
Fang Xi rubbed his chin, realizing that if he continued down this path, he would undoubtedly stray further from conventional cultivation and risk becoming a pariah within the cultivation world.
“In fact, there’s another perspective to consider. While cultivator-made human puppets may not be of high quality, mythical beasts crafted into ‘beast puppets’ could prove quite effective!”
Mythical beasts typically possess tough hides and superior defenses, traits which would likely carry over when transformed into puppets!
This means commands given to them can also be kept relatively simple!
Additionally, due to their robust nature, beast materials are less prone to damage, increasing the overall fault tolerance!
“A puppet beast army, perhaps? It’s worth exploring…” Fang Xi stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I must also address the issue of Demon Tree seed proliferation. By employing puppet techniques, I could potentially install mechanisms inside each puppet. If damaged, these mechanisms would destroy the Demon Tree seed immediately?”
“This plan is quite promising; all we need now is a puppet-making legacy…”
Although the Demon Tree seeds had been downgraded, Fang Xi still preferred to prevent their widespread distribution.
After some thought, he saw great potential in this idea and decided to include it as a backup plan.
Currently, venturing out to collect numerous fresh mythical beast corpses was not feasible for him.
“As for you?” Fang Xi looked at Mu Wen, prompting the roots within his body to emerge, intertwining on his face to form a vine mask.
“From today onwards, you shall be known as ‘A-1’ and will solely be responsible for guarding the underground cave.”
Immediately, A-1 positioned himself against the cave wall, resembling a statue…
News about the Mu Clan Patriarch swiftly faded from interest on Peach Blossom Island.
The cultivation world is pragmatic; once a loser disappears, unless they return as a triumphant hero someday, they are gradually forgotten by all.
While some members of the Mu Clan left Peach Blossom Island, others continued striving there, reverting to their previous state of being rootless like floating duckweeds…
Undoubtedly more infamous than Mu Wen was the ‘Silver Armored Demon’!
This individual’s notoriety grew exponentially with each escape from Foundation Establishment cultivators. They even formed a tribulation cult, repeatedly clashing with the joint law enforcement teams of the Thirty Six Islands Alliance, resulting in brutal carnage!
By now, the mere mention of their name could silence crying children at night!
However, for a cultivator who preferred isolation and never ventured to the market, such infamy held little impact.
On the other hand, Hai Dagui remained constantly worried about his friend Lu Guo, praying fervently that he wouldn’t encounter the Silver Armored Demon head-on…
Five years later.
Inside his cultivation room, Fang Xi silently circulated the Everlasting Spring Art, feeling the surging magical energy within his dantian’s sea of qi. It naturally overflowed, opening new channels for circulation.
This breakthrough was effortless and remarkably smooth.
“Twenty years since planting my tree, now at age forty-three, I’ve reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement!”
Fang Xi felt quite satisfied with his progress.
Breaking through one level every five years primarily stemmed from Jade Cliff’s limited spiritual energy environment. The low-tier spirit vein, aided by the Little Cloudrain Array’s Gathering Spirit effect, barely managed to enhance the cultivation room’s spiritual energy to a low-rank first-tier level.
For Late Stage Qi Refinement cultivators, a high-rank first-tier spiritual vein is considered minimally suitable for cultivation.
Apart from that, my pill concocting skill has steadily improved to mid-high first rank, but my array formation mastery remains stuck at mid-grade, hindered by a significant barrier.”
Fang Xi felt quite helpless about this situation.
While studying formations, whenever he encountered a difficult problem, he had no choice but to painstakingly ponder over it. In contrast, with sufficient materials and his current divine sense realm, Fang Xi could effortlessly progress through pill concocting, at least for medicinal pills within the Qi Refinement stage…
As a result, in recent years, Fang Xi focused primarily on refining pills, placing formation study as secondary.
Regarding the Dao of talismans, he inadvertently advanced to mid-rank first-tier without realizing it. This may have been influenced by daily insights gained from the fragmented silver runes of the Second Wood Dharma Idol. Regardless, Fang Xi felt particularly gifted in drawing Wood element talismans, achieving higher success rates compared to other types.
Lastly, his artificing skills remained unremarkable… having been completely abandoned.
Exiting the cultivation room, Fang Xi glanced at the blue-and-white golden tortoise beetles. Now, the insect chamber was filled with these jade-like creatures adorned with blue markings; not a single black-striped golden beetle remained.
Even the Insect King, due to consistently consuming ‘Beast Grain Pellets’, had ascended to mid-rank first-tier!
The wine cellar was also filled with various types of spirit wines, aged from one to several years, with the oldest batch boasting a remarkable twenty-year maturation period!
These aged spirit wines had a rich amber hue and were so viscous that strands could be lifted with chopsticks, making them highly prized among cultivators who indulged in such pleasures.
Despite not being exceptionally high in grade, their exceptional taste ensured they could still fetch large quantities of spirit stones when sold.
On Jade Cliff, Fang Xi had cultivated a total of twenty acres of diverse spirit fields, including five acres dedicated to medicine plants.
Among these, the oldest batches of Blood-Replenishing Grass and Snake Orchid Fruits were already ten years mature, ready for sale or use as auxiliary ingredients in mid- to high-grade first-rank medicinal pills.
“In truth, if a cultivator possesses spiritual land, focusing on farming rather than combat can quickly accumulate resources without much strife…”
After inspecting all areas, Fang Xi approached the pond, his eyes gleaming menacingly.
Even now, the Great Azure Fish remained stubbornly at mid-rank first tier!
“The decade has passed, and you’ve missed your last chance - blame only yourself!”
He unsheathed the Golden Flood Dragon Blade, preparing to send the Great Azure Fish on its final journey.
Suddenly!
The Great Azure Fish leaped, emitting abundant demonic aura that attracted surrounding spiritual energy, forming a small whirlpool.
“Is this…a breakthrough?”
Fang Xi’s eyes twitched slightly. “Really waiting till the last moment to advance? Is this fish even more cautious than me?”
As he marveled, the Great Azure Fish consumed vast amounts of spiritual energy, rapidly growing over two meters long. Its species seemed to transform as well, resembling more closely the sleek bodies of catfish or eels, with elongated azure whiskers…
“A high-rank first-tier Qingyu Carp King, nicknamed ‘little azure dragon’…”
Gazing at the now larger, snake-like Great Azure Fish, Fang Xi grinned menacingly. “Finally advanced… I’ve been craving ‘Azure Dragon Soup’ for so long!”
With a splash!
The triumphant Great Azure Fish froze mid-air, plummeting back into the pond and causing a significant commotion.
Didn’t they agree on sparing its life upon advancement? Why is it destined for soup instead?
Could this truly be fate?!
Compared to cunning humans, it remained far too naive!