Chapter 57: Taking Stock, Tier 1 Middle-Grade Puppet Master
Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Taking Stock, Tier 1 Middle-Grade Puppet Master
Half a month later, inside a stone house in the Cold Bamboo Garden, Lu Zhao sat cross-legged on his bed. He had just returned to the Zhou Family Marketplace the day before.
Spiritual Qi slowly circulated around his body. He closed his eyes and focused, feeling the rhythm of the Little Spirit Rain Technique moving within him. Only when the last trace of exhaustion had vanished did he slowly open his eyes, a faint smile touching his lips.
The battle at the Zhao Family Marketplace was finally over. To reward the bravery of the cultivators who participated, the Zhou Family had granted them a three-month leave.
Lu Zhao took advantage of this precious rest period to return to the Cold Bamboo Garden, which the Zhou Family had assigned to him. Although the stone house was simple, it was currently piled high with materials he had brought back from the battlefield—Ice Wind Stone, Profound Iron, Ironwood, and a Demon Wolf Corpse.
Lu Zhao took out a Cyan Jade Box from his Storage Bag. After opening it, two Tier One Lower Grade Spiritual Artifacts lay quietly on red silk. One was a dagger that gleamed with a cold light, and the other was a bracer covered in cracks. His fingertip gently brushed the dagger’s edge, the icy touch making his palm tingle slightly. To him now, these two Spiritual Artifacts were practically useless.
He closed the Cyan Jade Box, his mind already made up. ’I’ll take these two Magical Artifacts to the Nine Abyss Pavilion and sell them for fifty Spirit Stones. After all, Zhou Hua is trying to curry favor with me right now, so he probably won’t give me any trouble.’
Next, he took out several warm, earthy-yellow crystals from the depths of his Storage Bag. "Earth Vein Crystal..." Lu Zhao muttered to himself. Information from the Puppet Bead panel surfaced again:
Earth Vein Crystal (Tier One High-Grade spiritual material): An excellent material for refining Tier One High-Grade Earth Element Puppet Cores and for setting up powerful Earth Element Formations.
The smile on Lu Zhao’s lips deepened. He remembered the "Earth Vein Spirit Puppet" recorded in his inheritance, which used this very material as its core. However, he had not yet advanced to a Tier One High-Grade puppet master, so for now, these Earth Vein Crystals could only be stored in his Storage Bag, waiting for the right time.
He placed the Ice Wind Stone and the Tier One Middle-Grade Wolf Corpse on the stone table together. The wolf corpse was sealed in a thin layer of ice, its Demon Beast aura faintly lingering in the air. Lu Zhao stared at them, the steps to refine the Ice Wind Wolf Puppet appearing in his mind. His success rate for crafting the Ironwood Guard had already risen to forty percent. He was just one step away from breaking through to become a Tier One Middle-Grade Puppet Master.
"The spoils from this battle are more than enough to support my push to become a Tier One Middle-Grade Puppet Master," Lu Zhao said in a low voice, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
He emptied all the Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag onto the stone table. A full thousand Lower Grade Spirit Stones, each one glowing with a gentle light. Lu Zhao looked at them and couldn’t help but laugh out loud. This was the first time he had ever possessed such a massive reserve of Spirit Stones, enough to support his push to the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer.
He estimated that if he cultivated at a rate of consuming five Ice Jade Pills and five Vessel-Protecting Pills per month, he could attempt to break through to the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer within five years.
’Without this war, I’m afraid I would have had to struggle on for another three to five years.’ Lu Zhao shook his head with a light laugh, but he remained secretly vigilant.
This war had not only brought him resources, but it had also completely exposed his value. That was why he had followed the advice of the late Shopkeeper Zhou Kang and agreed to take Zhou Hua’s son as his disciple. For now, he still needed the protection of the Preparatory Elder backing Zhou Hua—Zhou Qiling.
As for Puppetry, as long as he taught slowly and focused on building a foundation for Zhou Hua’s son, who could object? He just needed to drag things out until he reached the Late-stage of Qi Cultivation. By then, he would have countless options, and it wouldn’t be a problem to leave the Zhou Family Marketplace. A Late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator was strong enough to travel throughout Chen Country.
「Half a month later」 Zhou Hua arrived at the Cold Bamboo Garden with three Tier One Middle-Grade Wolf Corpses. The new Shopkeeper of the Nine Abyss Pavilion wore a purple robe, and though he appeared more composed, he couldn’t hide the anticipation in his eyes. After handing the wolf corpses to Lu Zhao, he smiled and suggested, "Mr. Lu, why don’t we go to the Spiritual Food Pavilion for a chat? It would also be a good chance for my son to meet you."
Lu Zhao waved his hand, politely declining. "I appreciate the kind offer, Shopkeeper Zhou. However, I need to enter seclusion to refine a Tier One Middle-Grade Puppet, so I can’t accept your invitation for now."
Zhou Hua’s smile faltered for a moment, but he quickly recovered. He stared at the wolf corpses in Lu Zhao’s possession, his gaze flickering. "Mr. Lu, are you... really going to attempt to become a Tier One Middle-Grade Puppet Master?"
Lu Zhao nodded, his expression calm. "If I wasn’t absolutely certain, why would I waste so many resources?"
Hearing this, the smile on Zhou Hua’s face finally became genuine. He was inwardly ecstatic. ’The stronger Lu Zhao’s Puppetry is, the greater the benefits for my faction. If my son can become his disciple, wouldn’t he be able to inherit Lu Zhao’s Puppetry skills?’ At this thought, he cupped his fists respectfully and said, "If you need anything, Mr. Lu, I, Zhou, will certainly do everything in my power to help! I wish you a swift and successful advancement to Tier One Middle-Grade Puppet Master!"
After seeing Zhou Hua off, Lu Zhao closed the stone door and set up an Avoidance Array. What he had just said to Zhou Hua was carefully calculated. Seeing Zhou Hua’s positive reaction, he knew he was on the right track; he needed to make Zhou Hua and his backers more patient with him. The juicier the carrot dangled in front of the donkey, the more patient the donkey would be. In the future, whether it was selling puppets or gathering materials, he would still need the support of Zhou Hua’s faction. However, the push to become a Tier One Middle-Grade Puppet Master was indeed set to begin in the coming days.
「Three days later」 A fully refreshed Lu Zhao sat cross-legged at the stone table. He took out the Ice Wind Stone, Profound Iron, and the wolf corpse, and began refining the Ice Wind Wolf Puppet. The Carving Knife danced between his fingers as Spirit Patterns gradually took shape on the Ice Wind Stone. His Heart Spirit was completely immersed in the refining process, sensing the compatibility of every single Spirit Pattern.
The first attempt failed. A few days later, he began the second attempt, which also failed...
A month later, on the eighth attempt, the Puppet Core of the Ice Wind Wolf Puppet finally shone with a brilliant light. Lu Zhao stroked the perfect ice-wind dual-attribute Spirit Patterns on the Puppet Core and smiled. The refining process had gone more smoothly than he had imagined; he had succeeded in crafting the Puppet Core on only the eighth try.
Next was refining the Puppet Body. Lu Zhao wasn’t worried; refining the body was much simpler than crafting the core. With six wolf corpses, he was bound to succeed in making at least one.
He took out the Profound Iron and an Earth Fire Stone and began refining the Puppet Body...
It went even more smoothly than he had anticipated. He managed to refine a Puppet Body using only three of the wolf corpses.
「A day later」 Lu Zhao’s eyes snapped open, fine beads of sweat dotting his temples. He looked at the Ice Wind Wolf Puppet on the floor. The puppet was pitch-black, its eyes glowing with an eerie blue light, and faint Wind Blades coalesced at its claws. A notification from the Puppet Bead panel appeared:
Name: Lu Zhao
Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer (Middle-Grade Water Spirit Root)
Lifespan: 26/120
Main Cultivation Method: Little Spirit Rain Technique
Magic: Other spells (Great Success), Thousand Overlapping Waves Skill (Minor Achievement), Thousand Threads Technique (Three Divine Threads)
Puppetry (Tier One Middle-Grade):
Flowing Cloud Sparrow (Success Rate: 60%)
Ice Mouse Puppet (Success Rate: 70%)
Ironwood Guard (Success Rate: 40%)
Ice Wind Wolf Puppet (Puppet Core) (Success Rate: 13%) (Puppet Body) (Success Rate: 33%)
Seeing the four words "Tier One Middle-Grade," Lu Zhao couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief. He had finally taken this step, advancing from a Tier One Lower Grade Puppet Master to a Tier One Middle-Grade one! In just over three years, he had gone from being a Tier One Lower Grade Puppet Master to a Tier One Middle-Grade Puppet Master. He now felt much more confident about facing whatever lay ahead.