Chapter 12: Returning to the Marketplace
Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Returning to the Marketplace
Three more days passed. Following the Hundred Refinements Technique, Lu Zhao carved a basic Avoidance Array pattern in the stone chamber to the left.
A Spirit Stone was embedded in the wall, the patterns etched on its surface glowing faintly. This was the array pattern for an unranked Avoidance Array, as recorded in the Hundred Refinements Technique. It could only provide a warning against the Divine Sense probes of cultivators below the Foundation Establishment realm.
Though he was not a proper Array Master, his years of experience carving runes had given him some insight into arrays.
There were common principles among the Cultivation Hundred Arts. While he couldn’t set up a true array, following a diagram to carve some Avoidance Array patterns and deploy an unranked Avoidance Array the size of a single room was still within his ability.
In the southeast corner, a half-finished Rat Puppet Skull rested on the Cyan Nether Stone Platform. A hidden channel on the platform’s surface led directly to the Dark River within the mountain, the current carrying wood chips away into its depths.
Lu Zhao used his Mid-stage Qi Cultivation Divine Sense to control a Carving Knife, cutting the recently acquired Cyan Pattern Wood into pieces. Each piece was just the right size to be carved into a Puppet Core.
There were sixteen pieces in total.
After cutting them, Lu Zhao placed them one by one into a wooden box, which he then put into his Storage Bag.
On a display rack to the right stood three dusty Puppet Guards.
In the central cultivation chamber was a Clear Heart Meditation Cushion, and on the wall behind it, Lu Zhao had thoughtfully hung a Tai Chi Yin Yang Diagram.
In the guest room to the right, the stone table was covered in a crisscrossing network of sword marks. It seemed the previous owner often practiced their swordplay here.
At midnight, the mountain wind, thick with moisture, surged through the cracks in the stone. Lu Zhao circulated the Little Cloud Rain Technique, and the Spiritual Qi of Cyan Rattan Stream seeped into his pores like a gentle stream.
Compared to the sluggish, misty Spiritual Qi at the Cold Pool, the Spiritual Qi here was like a winding mountain brook. Guided by the Little Cloud Rain Technique, the amount of Spiritual Qi he absorbed with each cycle was ten percent more than at the Cold Pool.
With each absorption of Spiritual Qi, the strand of Magical Power that had recently formed inside him would slowly strengthen.
The other three strands of Magical Power would slowly resonate with it, and all four strands would entangle with each other in his Dantian.
After finishing his daily cultivation, Lu Zhao began to refine puppets again. The damp wind of Cyan Rattan Stream blew through the fine cracks of the stone chamber, bringing a refreshing coolness to his skin.
But at this moment, Lu Zhao had no mind to pay attention to such things.
He had already started refining the Flowing Cloud Sparrow. There were now six runes on the wing bone, and cold sweat was beading on Lu Zhao’s forehead.
Next was the final rune. Lu Zhao finished carving it with a trembling heart, let out a soft sigh of relief, and began to meditate to regulate his breathing.
After half a quarter hour, he felt a bit better. He straightened up, walked to the table, and began carving the second wing bone.
Half an hour later, the other wing was also carved with its runes.
By now, he had a faint headache; his Divine Sense felt greatly depleted.
He took a bottle of dark green liquid from his Storage Bag and drank it down. It was a Spiritual Liquid concocted from Ice Grass; it was not of an Entry Tier, but it had a certain effect of calming one’s Heart Spirit.
It was just what he needed. After drinking the Spiritual Liquid, Lu Zhao began to meditate and regulate his energy. An hour later, he opened his eyes, feeling that some of his Divine Sense had been restored.
Letting out a soft breath, he flipped his hand and took out a piece of Wind Pattern Stone the size of a pigeon’s egg. He was going to challenge the most difficult step—carving the Puppet Core.
Three quarters of an hour later, a sharp POP echoed out. Unsurprisingly, he had failed.
Lu Zhao rubbed his throbbing head, which felt as if tiny needles were pricking it. He knew he had overexerted his Divine Sense.
’Looks like I can’t push myself too hard in the future,’ he thought with a wry smile.
Still, it wasn’t a complete failure. He took out the two bone wings. His previous attempt had failed at the rune-carving step; this time, he had at least made it one step further.
「Seven days later.」
Lu Zhao held a whitish puppet in his hand, a cold aura emanating from its body.
Thanks to his prior experience refining the Cyan-striped Mouse Puppet, the process of creating this Ice Mouse Puppet went relatively smoothly.
After being soaked in Spiritual Liquid for seven days, the Rat King’s spine could barely bear five Ice Burst Runes. The finished Mouse Puppet’s sharp claws scraped against the stone wall, leaving a half-inch shallow mark.
At the end of the month, Lu Zhao took stock of his work. In the corner of the stone chamber lay a Flowing Cloud Sparrow Puppet, two Ice Mouse Puppets, and two Cyan-striped Mouse Puppets. This was the fruit of his labor for the past month.
Lu Zhao had barely managed to refine the Flowing Cloud Sparrow Puppet a few days prior. Its quality wasn’t very good, and its performance was also worse than what was recorded.
The Wind Spirit Patterns on the Sparrow Puppet’s bone wings were dim and lusterless, only allowing it to fly to an altitude of just over eighty zhang.
Lu Zhao stroked the Hundred Refinement Technique Jade Scroll and gave a wry smile. "Five puppets a month is my absolute limit right now."
However, his success rate for refining Cyan-striped Mouse Puppets had already reached over forty percent.
He glanced at his status panel.
Name: Lu Zhao
Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer
Lifespan: 23/120
Main Cultivation Method: Little Spirit Rain Technique
Magic: Water Bullet Technique, Water Curtain Technique, Ice Cone Technique, Breath Concealment Technique, Water Mist Technique, Water Nurturing Technique, Wind Manipulation Technique
Supporting Skill:
Puppetry (Tier One Lower Grade):
Cyan-striped Mouse Puppet (Success Rate: 45%)
Flowing Cloud Sparrow (Success Rate: 15%)
Ice Mouse Puppet (Success Rate: 25%)
He could now refine three types of Tier One Lower Grade Puppets, and two of them were even high-quality versions. He could be considered a genuine Tier One Lower Grade Puppet Master.
Lu Zhao took inventory of his Storage Bag. ’I’ve used up all my accumulated Wind Pattern Stones on that Flowing Cloud Sparrow, so I’ll need to buy more. I only have eleven pieces of Cyan Pattern Wood left, but I can get more from Zhou Qixing. I still have two small Ice Condensing Stones, which might be enough to make one more puppet if I’m lucky. Only one Rat King corpse remains, though I have six Mouse King’s Fangs and plenty of ordinary Spirit-Devouring Rat corpses. I’m running low on materials. It’s time for a trip to the Marketplace to sell these puppets, restock, and get a new Carving Knife.’
The Dark River rippled with a reddish hue in the morning light. Lu Zhao took out some Beast-Repelling Powder, sprinkled it on the Puppet Guards as he had done before, and then took out his puppets.
He had already said his farewells to the others yesterday; he was setting out this morning.
Compared to when he arrived, his strength had increased considerably, and he now had several more puppets. After testing them, he found that both Ice Mouse Puppets had strength comparable to a Tier One Lower Grade Demon Beast. The Flowing Cloud Sparrow could monitor the ground from an altitude of eighty zhang, clearing the path ahead for him.
’If only I’d reached the Entry Level with the *Thousand Threads Technique*. Then I could control both Ice Mouse Puppets at once. Combined with my own Magic, I could retreat unscathed even if I couldn’t defeat a Late-stage Qi Cultivator.’ The thought flashed through his mind.
According to the legacy he’d received, the *Thousand Threads Technique* was not only a core skill for manipulating puppets but also a Secret Technique for tempering one’s Divine Sense. Each time one split off a Divine Sense Thread, their Divine Sense would grow stronger. Unfortunately, it was extremely difficult to cultivate, and he still hadn’t reached the Entry Level. He hoped to find the necessary Spiritual Objects to practice this technique during his trip to the Marketplace.
For now, Lu Zhao could only rely on the traditional method to control his puppets. They were agile as long as they were within the range of his Divine Sense, but the moment they exceeded that range, they became incredibly clumsy.
Furthermore, he had reached a preliminary Entry Level with his Wind Manipulation Technique. Although it wasn’t at a high level, just being able to use it would save him a lot of trouble.
By taking a few detours, he could still reach the Marketplace within a day. After all, for the current Lu Zhao, the wilds of the Cultivation Realm at night were far too dangerous.