Chapter 1238: Spirit-Stabilizing Jade
Chapter 1238: Spirit-Stabilizing Jade
When the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet had been refined, devilish, evil soul refinement techniques had been used in its creation, so it had been an evil puppet by nature from the very beginning.
Even true Spiritual Infant cultivators, unless they had reached the realm where spiritual consciousness could take form, would have their primordial spirits gnawed on by the essence souls within the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet whenever they tried to control it, resulting in damage to the primordial spirit.
At first, this kind of damage had been bearable. After a period of secluded recuperation, the puppet’s master could slowly recover.
Compared with having a Spiritual Infant Realm combat force at one’s disposal, that price clearly had not seemed like much.
What was more, Shangyuan Tranquility Palace had discovered another astonishing function of the puppet.
Because the records left behind by that grandmaster had been scarce, later generations had never known whether it had been due to the materials, some secret technique used during the refinement of the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet, or the fusion of those techniques that had produced some unknown transformation.
Every primordial spirit that was gnawed on by the puppet would leave behind a soul shadow within its body, forever bound inside it.
By sensing the Spiritual Infant soul shadows within, Golden Core disciples of the sect had actually been able to personally experience a trace of the wondrous changes of the Spiritual Infant Realm while still at the Golden Core Realm.
The benefits of this had been obvious. It could greatly increase the chances of breaking through a bottleneck. However, gaining that experience was not easy.
The puppet had dared to devour even the souls of Spiritual Infant cultivators, let alone Golden Core cultivators.
A single misstep would not only prevent one from gaining any benefit, but could also lead to the entire primordial spirit being devoured by the puppet, condemning one to eternal damnation.
Only after Shangyuan Tranquility Palace obtained the refinement method for the secret talisman known as the Inner Vision Primordial Talisman did the true power of this function of the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet finally emerge.
At that time, Shangyuan Tranquility Palace had flourished for a period, standing in unrivaled glory.
The reason Di Que had schemed against Daoist Xuanyu and coveted the Inner Vision Primordial Talisman had been because he had heard that Shangyuan Tranquility Palace’s Inner Vision Primordial Talisman helped with the breakthrough to the Spiritual Infant Realm.
In truth, he had misunderstood. What truly aided the breakthrough was the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet. The Inner Vision Primordial Talisman had merely served as support.
Still, the Inner Vision Primordial Talisman did offer some help when crossing the heart devil tribulation, so the claim had not been entirely wrong.
Its true function lay in forming an inner vision space within the upper dantian, allowing the primordial spirit to hide inside that inner vision and receive a certain degree of protection.
To refine this talisman, a cultivator had to begin the process as soon as they first entered the Foundation Building Realm. It demanded enormous effort and could not be interrupted over the years. One had to nourish it continuously with spiritual consciousness until reaching the peak of the Golden Core Realm before it could finally be completed.
Because of this, such a talisman could only be used by its owner. Once the owner died, the Inner Vision Primordial Talisman would be destroyed along with them, and no outsider could seize it.
Even if Qin Sang had not interfered back then, Di Que still would not have obtained Daoist Xuanyu’s Inner Vision Primordial Talisman.
When disciples of Shangyuan Tranquility Palace refined the Inner Vision Primordial Talisman, by the time the secret talisman was completed, their cultivation would also have reached the peak of the Golden Core Realm, just in time to face the barrier of forming a Spiritual Infant. Under the protection of the talisman, they could then enter the puppet and undergo the experience.
Although the Inner Vision Primordial Talisman had been difficult to refine, the temptation of reaching the Spiritual Infant Realm had once been so great that, at that time, nearly every disciple of Shangyuan Tranquility Palace had carried one.
But as time passed, the situation changed.
Because of one disaster, all of Shangyuan Tranquility Palace’s Spiritual Infant cultivators had perished in a single stroke, and the sect’s circumstances had sharply declined.
With annihilation looming, one peak Golden Core disciple had been ordered to act in the crisis. Facing the invading enemy, he controlled the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet and went into battle.
That battle had been brutal. That disciple had successfully controlled the puppet and driven back the enemy, only to discover in horror that nearly half of his primordial spirit had been devoured by the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet, and that it could never be restored.
With his primordial spirit incomplete, even if he continued living, he had forever lost the chance to form a Spiritual Infant.
If reincarnation truly existed in this world, that damage might even have carried over into the next life.
Later, when Shangyuan Tranquility Palace finally produced a new Spiritual Infant grandmaster and the sect’s situation improved, the problem had only worsened. As the puppet devoured more and more primordial spirits, the price of controlling it each time had grown greater and greater.
By the end, even Spiritual Infant grandmasters had found the cost difficult to bear.
At one point, Shangyuan Tranquility Palace had produced a late-stage Spiritual Infant great cultivator whose spiritual consciousness could take form, and whose cultivation had been unmatched throughout Beichen Realm. He had once tried to refine the soul shadows inside the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet and completely eliminate this hidden danger.
Only then had it been discovered that the puppet already contained countless bound soul shadows. Ten thousand ghosts gnawed at the soul. Even for him, although he could barely control the puppet, trying to refine those chaotic soul shadows would have caused backlash and injury. It simply could not be done.
Now, the interior of the puppet had become even more chaotic. The danger of experiencing the Spiritual Infant soul shadows had grown ever greater.
For disciples of the present-day Shangyuan Tranquility Palace, even if they successfully refined the Inner Vision Primordial Talisman, they still did not dare undergo that experience.
They could only keep the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet sealed away on a high shelf, using it to deter petty threats from the outside world. It was only awakened when the sect faced disaster.
Otherwise, how could Shangyuan Tranquility Palace have gone so long without producing even a single Spiritual Infant cultivator?
As for the Inner Vision Primordial Talisman, although its function remained extraordinary, its appeal had greatly diminished. The process of refining it was too long and consumed too much cultivation time, so only disciples of exceptional talent would choose to focus on that secret talisman.
Throughout the generations, the palace masters of Shangyuan Tranquility Palace had all been carefully selected direct disciples, raised from a young age, generous and loyal by nature, always prepared to devote themselves to the sect.
The previous palace master, Iron Crown, had once been forced to use the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet.
He had made a desperate gamble, treating Ziwei Palace as his last hope, only to perish there.
This time, Gong Liangyu had brought out the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet to help him find the Blood Grass, but he certainly had not intended to give up his chance of forming a Spiritual Infant.
What he relied on was that penannular jade ring, the Spirit-Stabilizing Jade.
The Spirit-Stabilizing Jade was an ancient treasure he had obtained by chance. Its function resembled that of the Inner Vision Primordial Talisman, but its power far surpassed it. Unfortunately, it could only be used once.
If he relied on this treasure to cross the Spiritual Infant Realm's heart devil tribulation, success should have been guaranteed. But he could not even pass the stage of condensing the Spiritual Infant, so how could he speak of a heart devil tribulation?
To obtain the Blood Grass, Gong Liangyu had not hesitated to use up the Spirit-Stabilizing Jade.
Even so, he was deeply uneasy. He feared the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet profoundly and was uncertain whether the Spirit-Stabilizing Jade could truly protect him.
After all, even Spiritual Infant grandmasters had their primordial spirits gnawed upon when controlling the puppet.
"What a treasure! What a treasure!" Gong Liangyu’s face was full of joy as he praised it over and over.
He had been praising the Spirit-Stabilizing Jade.
He had no idea where the strand of azure spiritual light sealed within it had come from, but it firmly protected his primordial spirit. No matter how the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet bit and gnawed at it, not the slightest damage had appeared.
Since the puppet gained nothing, the madness in its eyes grew even more intense.
Seeing this, Gong Liangyu knew time was short. He had to find the Blood Grass before that strand of azure spiritual light dissipated. He did not dare delay. Forming a hand seal, he pointed toward the blood river. "Go!"
The evil smile on the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet’s face deepened. It seemed somewhat unwilling, but in the end, it still obeyed Gong Liangyu’s command and plunged straight into the blood river.
Phew... Gong Liangyu let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Being stared at by the puppet’s crazed eyes had sent chills straight through him.
This puppet could even fight a middle-stage Spiritual Infant cultivator. It stood a full two stages above him. The fact that it had not turned on its master and still allowed itself to be controlled was already no small feat.
Had he not trusted the secret technique passed down by his sect, Gong Liangyu never would have dared attempt it.
Inside the blood river, there was no actual bloody water, only blood mist so dense it had become almost viscous.
Splash! The Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet charged into the blood river.
With the puppet leading the way, Gong Liangyu hurriedly leaped after it.