Chapter 62: The Spirit-Replenishing Great Art of the Mechanical Maid

Through the art of ingestion, Li Yu ate a small piece of the "Strange Essence Sacrificial Meat." There were risks, but the gains were not small.

First, he had vaguely grasped a pill formula. The ingredients were troublesome; he would likely need to collect all the materials mixed within the sacrificial meat and, using the method of internal refining, guide the strange essence out to refine it. There was only one chance.

If he failed, he would have to suffer a certain degree of backlash.

But Li Yu had already made up his mind to refine it. If this pill were completed, its power would be greater than all his current pills combined.

The second gain was that the seventh Truth Bubble was fully charged, and his true reliance had returned.

Finally, there were the scenes he had glimpsed and experienced during the few breaths he had spent briefly transformed into the Skin-Peeling Forbidden Strange, wandering on that Ten Thousand Stranges Frozen Plain.

"It seems that the method of forcibly breaking into the forbidden area to leave is not feasible."

"The Skin-Peeling Forbidden Strange isn't even considered very powerful within the frozen plain, yet it still slaughtered quite a few people and witnessed some experts above Sequence Six dying miserably inside."

"By comparison!"

"Saving up enough merit points to redeem the City Lord's Mansion's welfare to leave Licheng is more reliable."

"It’s just that it takes a long time. According to what Zhan Kui, Luo Sheng, and the others said, I estimate that even if I don't use merit points to redeem houses, wealth, or strange items along the way, it will still take at least a year to save up enough authority to leave safely."

"Having an official position is sweet, but one has to endure the grind."

Li Yu complained to himself for a moment, then carefully put away the sacrificial meat.

He got dressed again and contacted Shi Dazhu, intending to purchase those unused drafts of the Wanfu Daily as usual.

If Li Yu hadn't joined the City Lord's Mansion, there would have been a lot of other things, such as the ingredients for a Sorrow-Crying Pill.

Since it was consumed to save his life, it naturally had to be replenished.

But now, that was no longer necessary.

"Tomorrow I go to work at the camp. Not to mention one [Sorrow-Crying Pill], if I’m a little greedy, I can replenish one more of each of the other three pills as well."

"Sweet, truly sweet."

"It’s a pity that I don't know the names of any of the spiritual materials needed for this Skin-Peeling Strange Pill, and because it involves a Forbidden Strange, I can't even ask the City Lord's Mansion to help procure them for me to embezzle... I’m afraid I’ll have to make a trip to the Taiping Strange Market and put in some effort to search for them all."

Not long after, Shi Dazhu arrived at his door.

Although he didn't understand why this pretty-boy big client was so stingy with this transaction, his professional attitude was impeccable.

Riding his mighty and imposing steam motorcycle, he delivered the traded goods with a face full of enthusiasm.

Then, he spotted the Wanfu emblem on Li Yu's door.

A rather exaggerated congratulation rang out in the courtyard:

"Fellow Daoist Li has joined the City Lord's Mansion today, and as a member of the Pioneer Team no less?"

"As expected! When I, Shi, first saw Fellow Daoist Li, I knew you were no ordinary person and were destined to soar to the heavens."

"In the future, if you need anything, just let me know from afar, and I, Shi, will definitely deliver it at the fastest speed."

The already enthusiastic Shi Dazhu’s attitude climbed to another level.

It was as if what Li Yu was buying wasn't a mere thousand-tael silver level of waste drafts, but a transaction worth tens of thousands of taels of silver.

But this was also normal!

Shi Dazhu was an ambitious and clever salesman who had always been building his own network of connections.

After learning that Li Yu had joined the City Lord's Mansion, he placed Li Yu into the "connections" category.

So, after delivering the waste drafts this time, he didn't leave immediately, but instead deliberately struck up a conversation with Li Yu.

This was exactly what Li Yu wanted!

First, he said with a casual joke:

"Brother Shi, I have always had a penchant for prying into secrets. I wonder if it’s possible to work a part-time job at the Wanfu Daily? I don't need compensation; just arrange a position where I can observe the publishing process."

"If Fellow Daoist Li were talking about other things, it might be possible, but this is difficult. The Wanfu Daily has a very high status in my sect; everyone from top to bottom must be a member of the Tiangong Sect. This is a point that Fellow Daoist Li would find hard to satisfy."

Hearing this, Li Yu didn't feel much regret.

Pretending to have just remembered something, he asked another rather abrupt question.

Unexpectedly, Shi Dazhu didn't hide anything or demand a price, but answered readily.

During the process, he didn't even glance at the person Li Yu mentioned.

"How does one repair a damaged Linglong puppet that has lost its Tiangong Secret Core?"

"Fellow Daoist Li, you’ve asked the right person."

"If you want to completely repair her and restore all her modules, including her memory, that is impossible."

"If you only need to restore some parts, or let her continue to evolve, then there are quite a few ways."

Speaking of this, Shi Dazhu paused, and a lewd smile suddenly appeared on his face.

Li Yu saw it and immediately had a bad premonition. Sure enough, the next moment he heard this guy say:

"The most practical method is the [Spirit-Replenishing Great Art]."

"Linglong puppets are born with spirituality. Even if they are severely damaged, as long as they can receive 'spirituality' replenishment day and night, there is still a chance to restore some modules."

"As for the method of spirit-replenishing?"

"Fellow Daoist, lean your ear over..."

Li Yu subconsciously leaned over and immediately heard a very sordid secret technique.

At the same time, a doubt arose in his heart: If the people of the Tiangong Sect all did this, could they still be considered a righteous sect?

As if to answer him, Shi Dazhu added:

"Fellow Daoist, this method actually goes against the Tiangong Sect's teachings. It is a secret technique that emerged unexpectedly after we, the Tiangong Sect practitioners of this branch, came to Wanfu City to preach and collided and exchanged ideas with many practitioners in the city."

"In fact, it is already considered a forbidden technique. I hope Fellow Daoist will not spread it. Of course, even if it were spread, the Tiangong Sect would not acknowledge it."

=9+Shu_ba

"Although this method is called forbidden, it can indeed allow you to possess a Linglong puppet that is obedient and has greatly increased combat power."

"If you buy some nice clothes and a bionic skin, you will be the envy of everyone when you take her out."

After hearing these few sentences, Li Yu couldn't help but have doubts about the path of this Shi Dazhu before him.

Fellow Daoist Shi!

You are so lewd, will you really not develop strange habits and gradually shift your alignment?

This salesman didn't know Li Yu was bad-mouthing him in his heart. After finishing the Spirit-Replenishing Great Art, he continued:

"If Fellow Daoist needs a proper method, there are those too."

"The most convenient is to spend some cost to hire a Sequence Seven [Puppet Maker] of my sect to repair the puppet."

"As long as you can afford the money and strange items, it is not difficult to restore seven or eight out of ten modules."

After Shi Dazhu finished speaking, he saw that Li Yu was unmoved.

He understood in his heart and turned to say:

"Of course, a puppet maid is a close, personal item, and it is not good to let others touch her."

"Fellow Daoist can also purchase some second-hand Tiangong Secret Cores through me, or through the Taiping or Yongning Strange Markets, and hand them to your maid to devour."

"But doing so will likely result in a demonic puppet with chaotic memories and a strange temperament, with unpredictable consequences."

"There was once a customer who did this, and it turned out the second-hand secret core came from a battlefield slaughter puppet, which caused his own puppet to be contaminated. On the spot, she pulled out a chainsaw sword and skinned her master alive into a pulp."

"There are also luckier ones who bought second-hand succubus secret cores, causing themselves to be drained dry overnight."

"If Fellow Daoist needs them, I can keep an eye out for you, but second-hand secret cores that flow into the market are independently sealed, so even practitioners of my sect cannot distinguish their origins. Fellow Daoist must be cautious when purchasing."

"Are there no blank secret cores?"

Li Yu couldn't help but ask in return.

"The art of the Tiangong Secret Core is a secret of my sect. The ones that have already been used are one thing, but blank secret cores are not allowed to circulate."

"Of course, if Fellow Daoist has extraordinary channels to obtain them, that is another matter. For example, if you know high-level members of my sect, or if you are a Demon Star Order Master, then there is indeed some chance."

"At least I, Shi, do not have that ability."

Apparently, by the end, Shi Dazhu felt he had invested enough.

Not wanting to reveal any more secrets, he laughed it off and made a joke.

He didn't notice at all!

When he mentioned "Demon Star Order Master," a faint light lit up in the depths of Li Yu's eyes.

That's right!

He could use merit points to redeem a blank secret core.

He would see what the price was then; as long as it wasn't outrageously expensive, it would be extremely cost-effective.

Li Yu made up his mind, silently noted this, and then politely sent Shi Dazhu away.

Returning to the residence and entering the master bedroom, he intended to read the large stack of Wanfu Daily waste drafts in his hands by the glow of the electric eel lamp.

Who would have thought that at this moment, "Hongdou," who should have been silent and motionless, appeared silently in front of Li Yu.

With that pretty girl's face, she suddenly spat out a mechanical voice:

"Evaluation of the [Spirit-Replenishing Great Art] complete!"

"If Master enables this method, there is a fifty percent chance that one-third of the modules within Hongdou's body can be restored."

"Enable?"

(End of chapter)