Chapter 495: Cost

"These are all second-tier puppets?" Bai Yuan on the side could not help but ask, while looking at these puppets with glowing eyes.

"Hmm! They are all second-tier. I did not refine first-tier puppets."

Su Fan nodded. First-tier puppets, although easier to refine, were just like that, and their strength was only at late-stage Qi Refining, which was no improvement for the Su Family.

But these second-tier puppets were different. A ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator refining them, with their divine soul, could also exert the combat power of the first or second layer of Foundation Establishment.

Although it could not be sustained and could not be like a real Foundation Establishment cultivator, letting a ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator exert the combat power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator was equal to having six more Foundation Establishment combat powers.

So the high-level members of the Su and Bai families had different eyes.

This puppet itself was a rare thing in Zheng Guo.

After all, puppets and artifacts were different. Some artifacts, even without artifact refining methods, some artifact refiners, relying on groping, could also refine them.

But puppets indeed required special refining methods. Without refining methods, you simply could not refine them.

So in the markets of Zheng Guo, there had never been any puppet trading, and even the Yunyang Sect did not necessarily have this thing.

Even if they did, I fear it was not refined by themselves; it was estimated that someone brought it back from other immortal cultivation countries

If the Yunyang Sect were truly capable of crafting them, they would not fail to sell them, even though the cost of these things is quite high.

Not to mention Tier 1, which far exceeds artifacts of the same tier, the cost for a Tier 2 puppet is around fifteen or sixteen thousand.

Of course, it depends on the crafting technique, but the cost generally falls within this range.

The reason it needs to be so high is also because of the materials required, especially the core material, soul crystal stone; a single Tier 2 soul crystal stone costs about ten thousand.

The higher the quality, the more expensive the price naturally becomes.

The method of puppet crafting in this world is somewhat similar to that of the Great Qin World, but in the Great Qin World, there are no spirit stones, and the puppets are driven entirely by the divine cores of gods, and a divine core serves a function similar to that of soul crystal stones and spirit stones in this world.

The function of a soul crystal stone is to connect with a cultivator's divine sense to drive the puppet, while spirit stones are naturally the source of power.

The divine cores of the Great Qin World, however, contain both of these.

Relatively speaking, divine cores are naturally more precious; after all, those divine cores can automatically absorb the spiritual energy between heaven and earth to recharge, which can be said to be like a perpetual motion machine.

In the Main World, there are naturally no divine cores, so when Su Fan crafts puppets, he can only rely on soul crystal stones.

A Tier 2 soul crystal stone costs about ten thousand, and a higher quality one costs thirteen or fourteen thousand.

Adding in the other main materials, crafting such a Tier 2 puppet beast requires about fifteen or sixteen thousand, and a Tier 2 high-tier one requires a little over twenty thousand.

It is just that the soul crystal stones Su Fan purchased are all Tier 2 mid-to-low-tier, so the cost is lower; of course, this also means the combat power of the puppet beast is relatively lower.

But no matter how low, it still possesses the combat power of the early Foundation Establishment stage. If taken out to be sold, with a cost of fifteen thousand, selling it for twenty-five thousand is not a case of having a price but no market.

But there will certainly be people willing to purchase it.

It is true that this price is more expensive than a Foundation Establishment Pill, but Foundation Establishment Pills have a price but no market; it is not something you can buy just because you have spirit stones.

And this, as long as one has the crafting method, can be bought.

Therefore, Su Fan believes that some immortal cultivation families will inevitably be unable to resist purchasing one or two to keep as their family's foundation.

To prevent a sudden gap in the family's Foundation Establishment cultivators in the future, having such a Tier 2 puppet can also deter some people with ill intentions.

One must know that for many Foundation Establishment families, not every generation can produce a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Many Qi Refining families have existed longer than the Su family and have had multiple Foundation Establishment cultivators in their ancestry.

But the result is that during the time of the previous Foundation Establishment cultivator, they were unable to cultivate the next Foundation Establishment disciple, thus the family experienced a gap.

Because families with Foundation Establishment cultivators can generally secure a Tier 2 spirit vein, but once a family lacks the deterrence of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, there will inevitably be many loose cultivators, especially those Foundation Establishment loose cultivators without a base, eyeing them covetously.

After all, the number of Tier 2 spirit veins in the Zheng State territory is not as high as the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators, especially loose cultivators. What is a loose cultivator? It is someone without a foundation, like duckweed.

And once there is a spirit vein, that counts as a family of cultivators.

Back in the day, before Su Wanjun became a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the Su family started out as scattered cultivators, barely a dozen, and could not even be considered a family of cultivators.

Later, Su Wanjun secured a Tier 1 spirit vein, and only then was the Su family established. When Su Wanjun succeeded in Foundation Establishment and secured Yuntai Mountain, they became one of the five great Foundation Establishment families of Yu County.

If Su Wanjun had died in the Hundred-Year Monster Invasion back then, and the Great Elder had not yet reached Foundation Establishment, I am afraid the current Su family would have dispersed as well.

Because there would inevitably be Foundation Establishment cultivators coming to have designs on Yuntai Mountain.

In fact, back then, after Clan Head Su Wanjun was injured, there were indeed Foundation Establishment cultivators who came to spy, but in the end, they were scared off by Su Wanjun.

Therefore, in Su Fan's view, these Tier 2 puppets, or even Tier 3 puppets, still have a certain market. It might not be a big seller, but some families are still willing to spend the money to buy one as a family foundation.

This single Tier 2 puppet can bring in about ten thousand spirit stones. Perhaps for a behemoth like the Yunyang Sect, it does not count for much.

But for some cultivators within the Yunyang Sect, it is certainly a significant temptation.

However, it has never appeared in the market, which means the Yunyang Sect also lacks this kind of crafting method.

The Yunyang Sect is a major Golden Core sect, but in the end, its foundation is not that deep. It has only existed for tens of thousands of years, and its sphere of influence has never left the Zheng State.

It is normal that they do not have such a collection.

After all, these puppets themselves are scarce items, and the crafting method is likely a treasured item among major forces. Major forces might sell puppets, but selling the crafting method is likely impossible.

Perhaps some forces in decline might sell it, provided they possess it.

Su Fan's crafting method comes from another world, and he created it himself in the Evolution Space. Furthermore, it was while he was in the Nanli Kingdom; after he purchased a Tier 1 puppet, he went through the Evolution Space and practiced continuously before he created the crafting method.

If he did not have the cheat that is the Evolution Space, he would not know how many materials he would have to consume to create a puppet crafting method belonging to the Main World.

It is just like scientific research in later generations; if there is virtual imaging and artificial intelligence, perhaps many materials can be saved. The Evolution Space is similar to this.

Moreover, the Evolution Space is more advanced and its function is more powerful.

This is also the reason why Su Fan's alchemy and talisman-making levels have improved so quickly.