Chapter 493: Strong Martial Puppet, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures

On the cliff, there was a stone hollow, roughly the size of two basketball courts.

Below the stone hollow was a bottomless abyss, but inside, it was shaped like a bowl, lined with dried grass and other soft materials.

The great crane lay prone in the stone hollow, its wings folded, looking obediently at Zhou You.

This was its nest, located ten thousand meters in the sky, surrounded by clouds drifting year-round.

Zhou You looked at the 'corpse' at his feet; calling it a corpse wasn't quite right, as Kunpengzi was not yet dead.

The great crane had grabbed him, tearing and pecking at him, constantly taking him to heights of several thousand meters, occasionally letting him free-fall, and whenever they encountered a mountain cliff, it would press him against it and grind him all the way to the bottom.

Under such torment, Kunpengzi had decisively breathed his last.

Zhou You was very cautious; after confirming that Kunpengzi was not feigning death, he ordered the great crane to take him to a quiet and secure place.

As a result, the great crane carried him to this nest ten thousand meters in the sky.

"The corpse is warm; although the breathing is faint, there are no signs of it stopping."

"The physical body's metabolism is normal, and the wounds are healing; the speed is... at the Pseudo-Strong Martial level."

Zhou You carefully examined Kunpengzi's body, confirming that the bodily functions were still present, so it was not a corpse in the strict sense.

To be precise, Kunpengzi was brain-dead, but the body had not yet died; his current state was that of a vegetable.

Talk about having strong vitality; first the Fist Intent Puppet self-destructed, then he was torn and tortured by the raptor crane, and he still didn't die? "Tell me, what should I do with you?"

Zhou You was troubled by the brain-dead Kunpengzi. Killing him wasn't hard, but the cost this time was too great; how could he balance the accounts? He sighed, took out the remaining remains of the Fist Intent Puppet—a piece of tattered chest skin with the traces of the 'Zang' character symbol—and besides this, everything else had been annihilated in the self-destruction.

Suddenly...

The skin trembled slightly, and wisps of blood Qi darted out, condensing in the air into Blood Qi Gu.

1, 2, 3...

Except for those turned to dust in the explosion, the rest were all here, a total of 8 Blood Qi Gu in their adult state.

Each Blood Qi Gu had gained faint signs of the Strong Martial Omen by devouring and assimilating the blood Qi of the Fist Intent Puppet.

But now, the host they resided in was gone, and these Gu insects were left homeless.

The next moment...

The Blood Qi Gu seemed to find a target, and without waiting for Zhou You to give an order, they quickly darted onto Kunpengzi's shell.

Seeing this scene, a flash of inspiration crossed Zhou You's mind; that's right, he could subdue 'Kunpengzi'.

This shell still retained its state from before death, which was 'Pseudo-Strong Martial'; the effect of Kunpengzi's realm leap before he died had not yet faded, fixing him in this state.

The Blood Qi Gu were very sensitive to the aura of the Strong Martial; it was as if they were fish in a dried-up pond, eagerly wanting to enter a wider river.

Zhou You agreed immediately; he also wanted to see what the effect would be.

One by one, the Blood Qi Gu burrowed into Kunpengzi's body, as if entering a vast ocean; the surrounding blood Qi was vast and boundless, and the texture was a level higher, giving them quite a feeling of being like a fish in water.

What was even better was that the Fist Intent Puppet had been stolen, and Kunpengzi, being in a vegetative state, was an even better ownerless object.

The addition of the Blood Qi Gu successfully took over the permissions of this body.

Originally, the extreme strength of a Strong Martial physical body could immunize against all external evil invasions; microorganisms like Gu insects would be shaken to dust by the powerful defensive force the moment they burrowed into the body.

However, the Blood Qi Gu had absorbed the Strong Martial Omen within the Fist Intent Puppet, causing a mutation that allowed them to successfully take root within Kunpengzi.

"Success!"

Zhou You bit his fist, suppressing the excitement in his heart.

In this way, he was equivalent to mastering a Pseudo-Strong Martial level puppet.

On ordinary days, 'Kunpengzi' was in a vegetative state, with bodily functions maintained at the weakest operating level; once triggered by the Blood Qi Gu, he could quickly switch to the Pseudo-Strong Martial state.

"You caused my Fist Intent Puppet to self-destruct; from now on, you will fill his position." Zhou You said to Kunpengzi, "From now on, you will be the backer behind me, Gu Lao."

And it really wasn't just talk; although Kunpengzi's physical body was unharmed after suffering the self-destruction, he had suffered the backlash of jealousy fire, and the skin on his body was burnt to tatters, making his appearance 70-80% similar to the original Fist Intent Puppet.

A Pseudo-Strong Martial level puppet—could it play a big role at a critical moment?

This harvest alone was worth all the consumption of this battle for Zhou You; it was a guaranteed profit.

Next...

Zhou You manipulated this body and felt the powerful strength of the Strong Martial level; the physical body had already surpassed the Martial Master level, with muscles, bones, and flesh as pure as jade and as tough as gold.

No wonder it was called the Strong Martial Golden Body; a Strong Martial's body was like a golden statue, with hair, skin, and nails possessing infinite possibilities for extension.

The puppet's nails were pulled off; although they couldn't compare to the remains of the Great Charm, they weren't far off, and could be used to further fuse and strengthen the spear tip, increasing its sturdiness and lethality.

In terms of strength, the Strong Martial's blood Qi had reached its peak, giving birth to a higher-level energy called Essence Energy.

In reality, force, blood Qi, and Essence Energy were not separate; they were the manifestations of a martial artist's physical strength at different realms.

A Strong Martial master who had grasped Essence Energy could extend their lifespan internally and influence the nature of heaven and earth externally.

The reason why watching Strong Martial masters fight previously resulted in mountains collapsing, the earth splitting, and fire and thunder was because of this.

Qiangwu Yichongtian was still too weak; at least above the third level could one have the momentum Zhou You had seen before.

Even so, the realm of just entering the Strong Martial level could still influence the scene around the battle.

If Kunpengzi had been a true Qiangwu Yichongtian, he definitely could have affected the space and disabled the flight power of the Iron Feather battle robe.

"Hmm?"

After moving around a little, Zhou You suddenly discovered that the puppet's body was sending out signals of hunger.

He immediately realized that this world also followed the principle of conservation of energy.

Martial artists were all big eaters, eating meat and drinking wine; they supplemented themselves with high-calorie foods and had to take medicine for nourishment every few days.

By the time they reached the Martial Master level, ordinary Secret Medicine could no longer satisfy their needs, and they had to supplement with higher-quality Spirit Medicine.

A Strong Martial master who could move the power of heaven and earth at will certainly didn't eat ordinary food.

He had heard that in the Medicine King Sect, there were specialized Ganoderma pharmacists who refined nourishing medicine for Strong Martial masters, but he had never seen it.

The trouble had arrived.

Zhou You scratched his scalp; he hadn't even found a source for his own Silver Tide Whale Swallowing Pill, so how could he afford to feed this Pseudo-Strong Martial puppet?

This is like a moderately well-off family that drives a private car suddenly acquiring a private jet, only to find they cannot afford the fuel.

"Coo coo coo!"

The Great Crane watched from the side, heartless and carefree; it suddenly felt its mouth was lonely, so it reached over to a corner and nudged with its beak.

In the pile of hay, a round, plump mushroom was revealed.

The Great Crane ate them one by one, juices splashing everywhere, and the fragrance instantly drifted to where Zhou You was.

The puppet's sense of Hunger grew more intense.

Zhou You suddenly reacted, and ignoring the Great Crane's strong opposition, he snatched up a mushroom; it was round and plump like a human head, entirely snow-white, with its surface covered in fine, delicate fuzz.

The puppet ate the mushroom in a few bites, the sense of Hunger receded like a tide, and it was full.

Zhou You's gaze toward that pile of mushrooms became even more fervent.

He recalled a medicine recorded in the Canon of the Medicine King called the 'Snow Letter Mushroom', which was listed under the category of treasures for geniuses, with a key note... for refining Spirit Medicine.

(End of chapter)