Chapter 963

Han Li had long ago purchased a map of this sea region. After flying for half a month along a route rarely traversed by cultivators, he finally landed on an unnamed small island.

The island was small, roughly forty square li in area, yet it possessed an inconspicuous, low-grade spiritual vein about seven or eight li in length.

If this were on the mainland, it would surely have been seized long ago by some obscure minor clan. But in this sea teeming with demonic beasts, no clan lacking strength would dare relocate here. Yet mid-sized clans with high-level cultivators would not deign to claim such an inconspicuous spiritual vein.

Moreover, this island lay far off the main sea routes, its location extremely remote, and thus it had remained abandoned to this day.

Han Li was highly satisfied with this place. Immediately, he released his flying swords from within the island’s small mountain, carving out a large open space, then unleashed the Tianji Mansion.

Instantly, a delicate, miniature cave dwelling appeared before him.

For caution’s sake, Han Li not only activated the mansion’s built-in restrictions but also set up a concealment array outside the mountain, summoning a vast expanse of white mist that shrouded over ten li of land—including the peak—making it nearly impossible for others to detect the cave’s location.

After completing these preparations, Han Li moved his personal spiritual insects and herbs into the insect chamber and “herb garden” within the mansion. The Earth Armor Dragon was also bound with restrictions and casually tossed into one of the beast chambers. Then, carrying a large quantity of materials, he entered a sealed chamber.

“These materials are sufficient for only one attempt at refinement. If any critical component fails, there will be no time to find a replacement. The success rate is truly uncertain. After all, I am refining this for the elder—any misunderstanding on my part could cause the entire process to fail.” As soon as he entered the chamber, Han Li pulled down the bamboo tube behind his back and stood it upright before him, speaking calmly.

“I am fully aware of this. Before refining, I will thoroughly explain the entire method to you, repeatedly question your understanding until you have truly mastered it without error—only then will I allow you to begin. Before I explain, first examine this jade slip—it contains basic information on my puppet-making process. Study it thoroughly first.”

From the bamboo tube came the voice of the Great Expansion Divine Lord, as if he had long anticipated this, exuding confidence. Then, with a soft *pop*, a white jade slip shot out from within, which Han Li caught in his hand.

“Since the elder has it all figured out, I am at ease.” Han Li nodded, said no more, and immediately sat cross-legged, sinking his spiritual sense into the jade slip.

Time passed slowly. Han Li’s expression shifted constantly—first surprise, then excitement, finally turning to shock.

After an unknown length of time, he exhaled deeply and finally withdrew his spiritual sense from the jade slip. Yet he did not speak immediately; instead, he closed his eyes and sat silently, pondering deeply.

After a full quarter-hour, Han Li opened his eyes, his expression now calm.

“Excellent. If this puppet is successfully refined, its power will indeed be unparalleled. With sufficient spirit stones, it could stand toe-to-toe with a Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator. But there is one point I still do not understand—I hope the elder can clarify it for me.” After a brief pause, Han Li finally spoke.

“Since I intend to fully transmit this puppet art to you, I have no reason to withhold anything. Ask whatever you wish.” The Great Expansion Divine Lord replied without hesitation.

“If the elder says so, I shall not be polite. According to the puppet arts I previously studied, the higher the rank of puppet, the higher the spiritual essence of the soul required for fusion. I cannot imagine what demonic beast’s soul could be fused with this puppet to fully unleash its power—even the soul of the eighth-level Crimson Fire Dragon I just captured seems inadequate. Yet you have never mentioned anything about a soul until now, which puzzles me. Does the elder have some other arrangement?” Han Li frowned, his tone grave.

“I thought you were going to ask something serious—so it’s this? Regarding the soul, I already devised a solution when I first developed the refinement method. I intended to explain it to you even if you hadn’t asked. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to refine with peace of mind.” The Great Expansion Divine Lord chuckled.

“Elder, you jest. But to fully unleash the puppet’s power, at least a ninth-level demonic beast’s soul is needed—I truly cannot fathom how you plan to resolve this.” Han Li gave a dry laugh, feigning indifference.

Without a reasonable explanation, his innate caution stirred a trace of wariness. Though he had spent years with the Great Expansion Divine Lord as if half-teacher, half-friend, Han Li would never casually discard necessary vigilance.

“You need no demonic beast soul. At the appropriate time, I will fuse my own spiritual essence directly into the puppet.” The Great Expansion Divine Lord’s voice grew solemn, speaking as if describing a trivial matter.

“Use your spiritual essence?” Han Li’s expression instantly changed, filled with astonishment.

“What, do you think my spiritual essence is weaker than a ninth-level demonic beast’s?” The Great Expansion Divine Lord spoke coolly.

“Of course not. You were originally a Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator, and after cultivating the Great Expansion Art, your spiritual sense and essence are surely no less potent than those of a Soul Transformation cultivator. But you do not intend to reincarnate. Once your essence merges into the puppet, you will immediately lose your self.” Han Li hesitated.

“Of course I intend to enter the cycle of reincarnation. After rebirth, this Divine Lord may yet tread the path of cultivation again!” The Great Expansion Divine Lord chuckled without hesitation.

“What do you mean? If I heard correctly, you plan to fuse your essence into the puppet yet still wish to retain the chance of reincarnation. Do you have some secret technique to achieve this?” Han Li paused, stunned—but he was no ordinary cultivator. His mind raced as he speculated.

“Han boy, you’re remarkably astute. That is precisely my intent. When I was trapped within the puppet by the Spirit-Hosting Technique, I did not sit idle. I spent thousands of years researching a method to transfer the spiritual essence out of the puppet without relying on magic power. Though that method proved too difficult and failed, I accidentally discovered a secret technique to split the essence. This Soul-Splitting Art differs greatly from ordinary spiritual division—it is a genuine splitting of the soul itself. When the time comes, I will split my essence into two parts: one carrying the bulk of the essence to fuse into the puppet; the other, carrying emotions and memories, will dissipate and return to the cycle of reincarnation.” The Great Expansion Divine Lord spoke openly, without concealment.

“But can this method truly work? Splitting the soul is surely not so simple.” Han Li, startled by this secret art, exclaimed in disbelief.

“Relax. I am only splitting off the essence’s power—it will not greatly hinder my reincarnation. Once I pass away, this essence power would vanish uselessly anyway.” The Great Expansion Divine Lord spoke calmly.

“I see. Then I am at ease.” Han Li thought for a moment, found no major flaw, and nodded, relaxing his mind.

“Good. Since there are no further issues, I will begin explaining the refinement methods for each component and the key points to watch for. Let’s start with the puppet’s body—it is composed of over a dozen core parts, requiring the following materials…”

Han Li perked up, focusing entirely, listening intently.

Days passed. Han Li rarely left the sealed chamber, spending most of his time using his spiritual sense to control several giant ape puppets within the mansion, accelerating the maturation of spiritual herbs and nurturing the spiritual insects.

As for the twelve six-winged Frost Centipedes, besides feeding them the Rainbow Silk Grass, he suddenly thought to give each one a Snow Soul Pill, to observe the effects. After all, these pills greatly benefited his Purple Luo Extreme Fire—surely they would benefit the supremely yin and cold six-winged centipedes as well.

To his surprise, Han Li found that while he himself needed three to four months to refine a single Snow Soul Pill, these centipedes could fully refine one in just one month—and their frost breath had noticeably grown far more potent.

Delighted, Han Li kept only the Snow Soul Pills he needed for himself and gave the rest to the giant apes to feed the spiritual insects.

As for the Metal-Eating Larvae, though they continuously consumed the ripened Rainbow Silk Grass, they showed no significant change—and their advancement to maturity seemed impossibly distant. Han Li could only be patient and proceed slowly.

Half a year passed in a flash. On this day, Han Li had just refined one puppet component within the sealed chamber. Following the Great Expansion Divine Lord’s instructions, he placed several materials before him, his expression filled with peculiar surprise.

“You say these materials can all be incorporated into the puppet?” Han Li frowned slightly.

“Correct. I only recently conceived their uses—they will undoubtedly elevate this puppet’s power another notch.” The Great Expansion Divine Lord spoke calmly.

“The final Black Essence Drill I can accept—perhaps you have a method to refine it into a weapon for the puppet. But what are these other materials? I still don’t understand them, nor can I discern their purpose.” Han Li raised a hand, pointing to two items on the ground, puzzled.

The items he pointed to were unmistakably the long, slender silver chain that had once bound the Corpse Demon, and several fragments of the gray, dull, unremarkable stone recovered from the Abyss of Demonic Qi.

“As you said, the Black Essence Drill—I’ve been pondering what to make of it since you first obtained it. Though it is the sole material for forging the Demon Dragon Blade, using it to craft other demonic artifacts would still yield formidable power. I’ve decided to refine it into a weapon to serve as the puppet’s secret trump card. As for this chain, when you mentioned it could withstand strikes from Geng-Jing Flying Swords, I immediately conceived an idea. Though I don’t know its exact composition, when mixed with some Gang silver, it can be forged into a protective shield for the puppet. As for these fragments, I only just recalled what they are.” The Great Expansion Divine Lord paused, his tone turning grave.

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