Chapter 189: High-Level Puppetry Technique

Several hours later.

Qin Ming had already completed seven refining attempts.

Among them, there were still a few failures.

Finally.

When the eighth refining attempt began.

A burst of five-colored aurora erupted from within the Profound Jade Furnace, a dense mist coiling and lingering above the pill furnace without dispersing.

Qin Ming's expression brightened with joy; he raised his hand and made a grabbing gesture toward the interior of the furnace, and instantly a transparent spirit pill marked with six Dao runes appeared in his palm.

"A premium Soul-Returning Pill!"

After exhausting all remaining materials, Qin Ming had refined two common-quality Soul-Returning Pills and two premium Soul-Returning Pills.

For a second-rank top-grade elixir of such extraordinary difficulty, this success rate was already exceptionally high.

Qin Ming studied the few pills for a while, then stored them inside a jade bottle.

"Tsk, tsk, this pill looks utterly ordinary, yet it can allow a cultivator to return to their peak for a fleeting moment."

Although he had successfully refined the elixir in less than a month, he was in no hurry to deliver it to Canghai Immortal City.

In any case, three months from now he would have to personally visit the Pill Cauldron Pavilion in Canghai Immortal City to collect spirit materials, so he might as well combine the trips.

In the time that followed.

Aside from cultivation, Qin Ming devoted himself to continuing his study of the high-level puppetry technique he had obtained from Miao Renke's storage bag back then.

After several years of research, Qin Ming's mastery of puppetry and the application of splitting his divine sense had nearly reached the second-rank level.

The several straw-man puppets in his spirit field had also been upgraded by him to first-rank top grade.

Since returning from Canghai Immortal City last time, he had also purchased some materials along the way and begun refining second-rank puppets.

Inside the cave dwelling.

Qin Ming focused his entire attention on manipulating the object in his hands.

Numerous materials, meticulously carved and refined by Qin Ming, gradually took shape, until he embedded a pitch-black copper block into the core section.

A puppet in the form of a spiritual turtle was thus assembled by him.

Qin Ming even coated its exterior with a layer of earth-yellow paint, making it appear vivid and lifelike at first glance.

Subsequently, Qin Ming embedded a mid-grade spirit stone into the core groove of the turtle puppet.

Instantly, the entire spiritual puppet emitted a series of 'crackling' sounds, while its surface ignited with a wave of dark-green spirit runes.

The three-zhang-sized spiritual turtle puppet moved slightly, then lit up a pair of cyan eyes to gaze at Qin Ming, awaiting his command.

Qin Ming activated his Puppet Control Technique, splitting off a strand of divine sense and injecting it into this puppet.

The next instant.

The spiritual turtle lifted its head and chest, while the massive shell on its back shimmered with a layer of earth-yellow light.

The spiritual pressure and aura it emitted were comparable to that of an early Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"A second-rank lower-grade puppet! Finally refined."

"Although it is merely an inferior second-rank puppet, there is still room for improvement."

Gazing upon his carefully crafted work, Qin Ming felt quite satisfied.

This turtle puppet was a defensive-type puppet capable of withstanding attacks from below mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and it also possessed a Water Arrow Technique whose power was not much different from the spells of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The puppetry technique held great utility for Qin Ming; besides helping him dig the earth and weed the fields.

In future cultivation journeys abroad, should he encounter a great opportunity, especially one involving a Golden Core opportunity, or even a Nascent Soul opportunity later on.

Even though his lifespan was sufficient, he could not possibly remain indifferent.

And once his puppetry technique reached perfection, they would naturally become the cannon fodder charging ahead for him.

This could significantly reduce the risks he faced.

Materials such as demon beast parts, spirit wood, and mineral ores could all serve as ingredients for refining puppets.

These were precisely the things Qin Ming lacked least, so his learning and refining process proceeded quite smoothly.

Henceforth, in addition to spirit planting and pill refining, Qin Ming had brought another of the hundred cultivation arts to the second-rank level.

Two months later.

Through Qin Ming's continuous improvements and the addition of materials to enhance puppet quality.

Two brand-new second-rank lower-grade turtle spiritual puppets were born from his hands; although their offensive power was unremarkable, they were extremely sturdy and durable, suitable for use as cannon fodder to scout the path ahead in the future.

In any case, he still possessed quite a few spirit materials in hand, so if they were destroyed, he could simply create more.

"The three-month deadline has arrived, and the time is about right; it is time to go to Canghai Immortal City."

Qin Ming stored the two spiritual puppets into his storage bag, then summoned his Yin Yi Shuangfeng, activated the Mist Illusion Realm, and directly departed from Wangyue Island.

Conditions outside remained largely unchanged, though the demon beasts were considerably more subdued compared to before.

Riding his Yin Yi Shuangfeng with speed fully unleashed, rushing like wind and lightning, Qin Ming arrived at Canghai Immortal City after a little over an hour.

The soil outside the immortal city remained vividly red, indicating that several more waves of beast tides had struck during this period.

"Heh heh heh!"

"Here's a fat sheep!"

"Brother, please stop!"

"R-r-r-robbery!"

Just as Qin Ming halted not far outside Canghai Immortal City, had just stored his Yin Yi Shuangfeng into his spirit beast bag, and was about to send a message talisman to Lv Liang to ask him to open the formation for his entry into the city.

Two streaks of escaping light flashed and vanished, as the figures of two cultivators, one fat and one thin, blocked his path.

These two men had sinister gazes, emitted magic power fluctuations of early Foundation Establishment, and were staring at Qin Ming with wicked grins.

It seemed that taking advantage of the chaos from the beast tide, these were rogue cultivators lying in wait near the Immortal City.

"Brother, you truly possess great courage; in such chaotic times, you dare to travel alone."

"Since you are isolated, do not blame us, the Sheshan Twin Fiends."

"If you surrender obediently, you will save us brothers some trouble."

"Perhaps later I can let you suffer a bit less, ai he he he!"

Qin Ming was also quite depressed; along the way here, he had not encountered any beast attacks.

He never expected that nearing Canghai Immortal City, he would instead encounter two rogue cultivators.

However, the level of these two men was far inferior compared to fierce bandit groups like Lin Zi's.

The corner of Qin Ming's mouth lifted in a smile, "Two fellow Daoists, this humble one has a treasure here and feels it shares an affinity with you both; why not take a look?"

"What treasure?!"

"Bring it out quickly; if you dare play tricks, we brothers will soon show you why flowers turn so red!"

Hearing this, Qin Ming smiled, then slapped his storage bag, causing two turtle puppets to transform into two streaks of flowing light, instantly appearing in the air before him.

"Second-rank puppets!"

The moment the turtle puppets appeared, the Sheshan Twin Fiends opposite could not help but cry out in shock.

Originally a situation of two surrounding one, the tables instantly turned, becoming three surrounding two.

In fact, the reason Qin Ming had such patience to haggle with these two stupid thieves was actually to test the strength of his two newly forged second-rank spiritual puppets.

He was just worrying about having nowhere to test them, never expecting two to deliver themselves to his door, and not too many or too few, exactly at the early Foundation Establishment stage.

"Ei he he he! This brother has misunderstood!"

"Just now we mistaken your identity; truly, our apologies!"

"We will leave immediately."

But just as they were about to fly backward and retreat.

Buzz~ A silver streak of flowing light flashed, instantly appearing out of thin air before the Sheshan Twin Fiends.

The retreating figures of the two cultivators, one fat and one thin, abruptly slammed on the brakes in mid-air.

Subsequently, their gazes turned toward the object blocking their retreat; when they saw it clearly, their pupils suddenly contracted! They were scared nearly out of their wits, for behind them stood a Silver-Winged Frost Bee the size of a calf, emitting the massive spiritual pressure of a second-rank mid-stage great beast.

And it appeared to be the spiritual pet of that plain-looking cultivator from just before.

"Aiyo wo qu! Is this the fat sheep you spoke of?"

"How come I feel that we two look more like the fat sheep?"

The two were already sweating profusely; they never expected that on their very first day out to plunder, they would kick an iron plate.

"Fellow Daoist, we have eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai; we hope you will spare us!" The two returned, bowing deeply toward Qin Ming.

Suddenly! More than ten spiked spiritual weapons flashing with green poisonous light shot straight toward Qin Ming's face.

The Sheshan Twin Fiends clearly did not expect Qin Ming to spare them, choosing instead to break through from his body, which possessed the 'weakest' cultivation base.

As long as they subdued Qin Ming, the remaining puppets and spiritual pet would naturally obey obediently as well.

But reality always differs somewhat from imagination.

In an instant, one of the spiritual turtle puppets moved horizontally to the center; the shell on its back suddenly enlarged, emitting a burst of earth-yellow spiritual light.

Ding ding ding ding!

A series of collision sounds rang out; the all-out lethal sneak attack from the two men was completely blocked by the turtle puppet.

The sight left the two brothers dumbfounded.

Subsequently, the two turtle puppets formed a pincer attack from front and back, rushing to kill the two cultivators.

In a flash, the two puppets and the two cultivators became embroiled in a fierce fight.

Meanwhile, Qin Ming and the Silver-Winged Frost Bee watched the spectacle from the side with perfect composure.

Various spells exploded with brilliance in the air, scattering in all directions.

Even though the Sheshan Twin Fiends exerted every ounce of their strength, they simply could not break through the turtle puppets' defense.

Yet whenever they tried to use their speed advantage to flee outward, that terrifying Silver-Winged Frost Bee would appear before the two in a bizarre manner. Gradually.

The two rogue cultivators were worn down by the two turtle puppets until the magic power within their bodies nearly hit rock bottom.

They were already at the end of their rope.

Qin Ming had tested the spiritual puppets sufficiently, so he immediately split off a strand of divine sense and immersed it into one of the spiritual puppets.

Immediately, the turtle puppet opened its mouth and spat; a blue water arrow sliced through the air in a flash, piercing through the chests of the two cultivators at a bizarre angle in an instant.

"Ahhh!"

The two let out a miserable cry, losing their balance in the air and plummeting down.

Without even lifting his eyelids, Qin Ming directly threw out two black spiritual seeds and cast the Thorn Technique on the two men.

Afterwards, he collected two blood pearls and two storage bags; as for the corpses, they would soon become food for passing beasts.

Qin Ming opened the storage bags to take a glance; it seemed the Sheshan Twin Fiends belonged to the bottom tier among rogue cultivators, as aside from a few tens of thousands of low-grade spiritual stones, everything else consisted of ordinary items.

With a single-hand gesture, the two turtle puppets shrank in size and flew before him.

Qin Ming inspected them carefully; after the intense battle just now, the two puppets had only acquired a few not-so-obvious scratch marks, with everything else remaining normal.

"Mm, not bad!"

Subsequently, he stored the spiritual puppets away and flew toward the Immortal City.

Halfway there, Qin Ming sent a message transmission to Lv Liang.

Half an incense stick later.

Lv Liang rushed out from the city and personally granted Qin Ming passage.

"Aiyo, Fellow Daoist Qin, I didn't expect you to return to Yunze Xiancheng so soon!" Lü Liang greeted Qin Ming with great enthusiasm.

Fellow Daoist Qin smiled and said, "Troubling you, Fellow Daoist Lü; every time I come, I must bother you to open the gate personally."

"There now! What kind of talk is this, Fellow Daoist Qin? You're being too distant!"

"Has Fellow Daoist Qin come to Yunze Xiancheng for some urgent matter? Is there anything I can help with?"

"It's nothing particularly urgent, just a small matter; no need to trouble yourself, Fellow Daoist Lü."

"Oh, in that case, once your affairs are settled, please come to my residence for a chat; tonight I'll have that girl Wanjun prepare a fine feast of wine and dishes."

"Certainly, certainly."

As the two spoke, they had already arrived at the inner city.

Lü Liang, still burdened with official duties, departed to attend to them.

Qin Ming, however, went straight along the main avenue, arriving at the core district of Canghai Immortal City.

Following Wei Wuya's instructions, he wound through several alleys with many twists and turns until he reached an elegant pavilion, above whose plaque were carved the three large characters 'Linglong Pavilion'.

This was precisely an enterprise established by Lei Yuanzong within Canghai Immortal City.

Qin Ming immediately stepped inside.

Upon entering, an elderly man with white hair and a blue robe came out to greet him, calling out warmly:

"Aiyo! It's actually Fellow Daoist Qin who has arrived!"

"My surname is Mei; I am the Shopkeeper of this Linglong Pavilion. The Young Sect Leader of the Weishao Sect instructed me about you not long ago."

Fellow Daoist Qin observed Shopkeeper Mei slightly and discovered that he actually possessed cultivation at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Hearing this, he returned the courtesy, saying, "Shopkeeper Mei."

"This is no place for conversation; please, come upstairs," Shopkeeper Mei said with a slight smile, making an inviting gesture.

A moment later.

After the two had gone upstairs.

Only after Shopkeeper Mei had set up a soundproofing formation in the room did he ask puzzledly, "Fellow Daoist Qin, you've come to the pavilion so early; could it be that some problem arose during the process of refining the Soul-Returning Pill?"

"Is there anything this old man can do to help?"

"Or perhaps the spiritual materials are insufficient?"

"But if that is the case, I'm afraid this old man cannot assist; the spiritual materials required to refine the Soul-Returning Pill are truly difficult to find."

The moment Shopkeeper Mei saw Fellow Daoist Qin arrive, he never once considered the possibility that the pill refinement had succeeded.

After all, only three months had just passed.

In his understanding, even for the most formidable second-grade Grand Alchemist, merely comprehending the pill formula would be a struggle, let alone beginning the actual refinement.

Elder Yan of Lei Yuanzong had spent a full half-year studying it before even attempting to refine, and the result was still disastrous.

Fellow Daoist Qin shook his head; he had no intention of lingering here too long, wishing to settle the transaction of money and goods immediately, obtain the spiritual materials Wei Wuya had promised him, and depart.

He then took out two exquisite porcelain bottles, placed them on the table, and came straight to the point: "Shopkeeper Mei, thanks to the blessings of Fellow Daoist Wei, I have not failed in my mission and have successfully refined two pills."

The moment his words fell.

Buzz—Shopkeeper Mei's gaze locked dead onto the pill bottle Qin Ming handed over, his mind going completely blank.

"F-Fellow Daoist Qin!"

"Y-You've already succeeded in refining it?"

Qin Ming nodded neither affirmatively nor negatively.

"Correct, one common grade and one premium grade Soul-Returning Pill; Shopkeeper Mei may inspect them."

"What?!"

"A premium grade Soul-Returning Pill!"

"..."

Subsequently, Shopkeeper Mei impatiently opened the two porcelain bottles before him and tilted them to pour out two pills.

As someone of Lei Yuanzong at the late stage of Foundation Establishment who had lived so long, he possessed some knowledge and experience.

When he saw the six pill marks on one of the spiritual pills, he finally revealed a look of shock.

(End of Chapter)