Chapter 169: Harvest, Puppet

"Boom!" A sound like a thunderclap rang out, and the twin hammers tore through the air, carrying boundless Wind, smashing into the Mirage Spirit.

In just an instant, its body began to expand rapidly again, finally collapsing completely like a balloon that had been blown until it burst.

Countless severed limbs splattered, covering the entire thatched cottage.

The strange thing was that there was not a single drop of blood inside this creature, leaving behind only pile after pile of yellowish-white flesh.

These chunks of flesh crumbled and then began to dissolve further; they gradually became ethereal, and all their power converged into one place.

Finally, a fleshy sphere the size of an adult's fist emerged. Chen Mo took the sphere without studying it carefully and first stored it in his Storage Bag.

He was currently in this thatched cottage; the interior of the cottage was decorated simply, but it was still quite tidy.

It was nothing more than a bare wooden bed, a table, and a chair; the floor, paved with bluestone, had not been finely polished, so it still retained many gullies.

The mud and thatch walls looked stable enough, but the thatch laid on the roof was not tight, looking as if it might leak rain at any moment.

Of course, this was just an appearance; this thatched cottage looked like an ordinary one, but in reality, it was extremely sturdy.

Even if Chen Mo used True Qi to form arrows, he could not shake it in the slightest; if it were an ordinary thatched cottage, it should have long since turned to dust.

First, he put away the Giant Spirit Hammer and picked up the hammer he had originally obtained in the Mirage Sea.

Having undergone several Mortal Transformations himself, Chen Mo had also used Mirage Spirits to refine this hammer to its limit, but it now only weighed 1,300 catties, far from being comparable to the Giant Spirit Hammer.

But it had an advantage, which was that he wouldn't feel bad if it were destroyed.

Chen Mo now intended to test whether he could dismantle this thatched cottage.

And what he would gain after shattering it.

If he could not, then he would simply abandon this military camp and never come to this Mirage Sea again.

The rules evolved within the Mirage Sea were far more dangerous than the Mirage Spirits; it was better to avoid contact with them if possible.

He walked outside the cottage and once again exerted all his strength to swing the hammer; the power vented onto the yellow mud and grey wall, and the boundless rebounding force was instantly transmitted to his arms, making the web between Chen Mo's thumb and index finger go numb.

The Grey Mist churned and vibrated, and this patch of the Mirage Sea stirred up waves because of this hammer strike.

However, the thatched cottage did not change in the slightest; countless stalks of thatch vibrated, yet not a single one fell.

Chen Mo did not hesitate; he took a deep breath to adjust his state and immediately swung the hammer again.

After smashing down dozens of times in succession, the thatched cottage finally began to change; cracks gradually appeared on the yellow mud outer wall, as if it would collapse at any moment.

The weapon in Chen Mo's hand had also long since become a mess, but fortunately, this weapon still had a certain ability to self-repair.

As long as Chen Mo could control his True Qi, he could reshape it; it was not that easy to break.

Seeing that the heavy hammer he was swinging was taking effect, Chen Mo let out a long breath, set his stance, and swung it with focus again.

Within this Mirage Sea, apart from the Mirage Spirit from just now and this thatched cottage, there were no other living things.

Even if he created a huge commotion, nothing would be attracted to it.

Chen Mo smashed down a dozen more times, and the mud wall constructed of yellow mud and thatch began to truly collapse; dust and smoke flew everywhere, and in an instant, the entire thatched cottage turned into ruins.

Chen Mo took a deep breath to regulate his state; it was fortunate that this thatched cottage collapsed in time, otherwise, if he kept smashing, he might have suffered internal injuries.

Every strike he currently unleashed exceeded his own limit; even if it didn't exceed it by much, every strike still placed a burden on his body.

Fortunately, the thatched cottage collapsed in time, so he only needed to recuperate slowly and did not need to go into seclusion to heal.

But it had to be said that this thatched cottage did indeed have its unique aspects; its protection and sturdiness were truly extraordinary—he hadn't even spent this much effort when he killed the Ping Xi Wang.

Chen Mo leaned on the heavy hammer to rest, his gaze fixed on the continuously collapsing thatched cottage.

He was quite curious about what kind of Mirage Spirit would evolve from the collapse of this thatched cottage.

Mirage Spirits were not completely untraceable; many Mirage Spirits evolved from Mirage Beasts might have more or less similarities to the abilities they displayed themselves.

It was just that no one in this era had ever recorded what kind of Mirage Spirit would evolve from smashing a building in the Mirage Sea; Chen Mo had become the first person to eat crab.

The reason was simple: on one hand, the Mirage Sea that evolved buildings was relatively rare, and on the other hand, these buildings were too sturdy, and it was not easy to shatter them.

Chen Mo held the heavy hammer and could exert boundless Qi and Blood power, which was why he managed to do this, while it was too difficult for other Innate Martial Artists who cultivated True Qi to achieve this.

This was something only he could do, and the Mirage Spirit evolved from shattering a Mirage Sea building was also something only he could obtain.

Chen Mo did not wait long on the side; the collapsed thatched cottage was like quicksand, continuously converging into one body.

Finally, a palm-sized, clay-sculpture-like model of the thatched cottage appeared.

This thatched cottage was very small, but the style was very delicate; from the gullies on the yellow mud walls to the individual stalks of thatch on the roof, everything was vivid and incredibly realistic.

Chen Mo took it and looked at it carefully again and again; from the current situation, this thatched cottage should have great use.

It was highly likely that, like the weapon in his hand, it was a Mirage Spirit that could be used as a tool, and definitely not something that could only be used to replenish Qi and Blood.

The current situation was not suitable for careful study, so Chen Mo decisively stored it in his Storage Bag and took out a hand-held bell.

This hand-held bell also had the function of dispelling the Mirage Sea; compared to the Copper Gong, it was not only better looking but also more convenient to carry.

This kind of hand-held bell was also made by the Imperial Court; officials of the third rank and above in the Imperial Court were all issued one, and if one were unfortunately lost, one would have to pay to find the Ministry of Works to replace it.

The materials for making this hand-held bell were not special—just ordinary brass—but it required a Qi Refiner to use special techniques to refine it.

Refining it was not difficult either; Qi Refiners at the Qi Refining realm could all do it.

If there were no Qi Refiners, then an Innate Martial Artist could barely manage to use Heaven and Earth Power to refine it, but the efficiency would be far inferior to that of a Qi Refiner.

After all, in the application of Heaven and Earth Power, the two were not the same concept at all.

A Martial Artist digs inward into themselves; even an Innate Martial Artist still intercepts Heaven and Earth Power into their body, then transforms it for their own use, constructing power unique to themselves within their body.

Whereas a Qi Refiner observes the Dao and laws of heaven and earth, utilizing the power of Heavenly Law; compared to Martial Artists, they are more adept at utilizing Heaven and Earth Power.

And in utilizing Heaven and Earth Power to set up Arrays and refine pills and Dharma Artifacts, they are also far superior to Martial Artists by more than a notch.

Chen Mo gently rang the copper bell, and the Grey Mist before his eyes receded at a very fast speed, and the military camp appeared once again.

Not lingering here any longer, Chen Mo turned and left.

The Imperial Guards responsible for patrolling only felt a Wind blow past in a trance and could not discover his figure at all.

The cold Wind howled at night; he seemed to merge with the Wind, traveling through this heaven and earth.

Returning all the way to the Inner City, Chen Mo did not go home first, but went to the Ping Xi Wang Fu.

Now that he had left the Mirage Sea, he could even say he was within a Dongtian Fudi, but the things obtained in the Mirage Sea ultimately carried certain risks.

Furthermore, he could be certain that no one in this era had ever obtained this Mirage Spirit he had acquired, so he had to be even more cautious when researching it.

There was currently no one at Ping Xi Wang Fu, and it was guarded by layers of Arrays; researching it inside was safer even if a problem really arose.

Moreover, he was no longer in the Mirage Sea and could borrow the national fortune dragon Qi to bolster himself at any time; even if a problem did occur, he could quickly suppress it.

Stepping into the Cultivation Secret Chamber of the Wang Fu, Chen Mo took out the Array Token to activate the Array with True Qi, then first took out the Mirage Spirit obtained from just slaying the Mirage Beast.

Having left the Mirage Sea, this Mirage Spirit was constantly changing, and now it was vastly different from before.

Its material no longer resembled flesh but was very much like hardwood, and its shape was no longer a sphere but a large character "da".

Chen Mo did not eat it immediately; he prepared to see if it had other uses first, and if not, he would then swallow it to convert it into his own Qi and Blood.

Pure Yang True Qi burst forth, like a trickling stream, continuously inputting into this piece of Mirage Spirit.

It was like a bottomless pit, unable to be filled no matter what.

Yet Chen Mo could truly perceive that it was constantly absorbing his True Qi and storing these powers.

After a moment of thought, Chen Mo continued to input his True Qi into it; with the Son of Heaven Dharma Sword in hand, he did not need to worry about any major problems.

The Array started, and boundless Heaven and Earth Power was drawn over by him and sent into his own dantian Qi Sea.

At the Innate Realm, although a Martial Artist's True Qi could not be called infinite, it was not an easy task to exhaust it completely as long as one was not in the Mirage Sea.

Because as long as there was consumption, one could absorb Heaven and Earth Power from the world at a very fast speed to replenish it.

The Heaven and Earth Power of this world was very abundant, abundant to the point of being somewhat excessive.

Even if Chen Mo now absorbed Heaven and Earth Power from the world with almost no limit, he still failed to cause any impact on this world.

After a full hour had passed, Chen Mo was finally able to perceive that the Mirage Spirit in his hand was already filled with his True Qi.

Radiant patterns continuously lit up on it, carrying exuberant vitality and a precious light that was extremely rigid and extremely Yang.

Chen Mo's eyes were tightly shut; he could now roughly discern the usage of this Mirage Spirit.

With a thought, the Mirage Spirit in his hand rapidly evolved into a human shape, seven feet tall, with crystalline green light swirling around its body.

This was a puppet, a puppet capable of exerting Innate-level strength.

As long as one first stored their own True Qi inside it, during combat and slaughter, one could release this puppet, and it would use the stored True Qi to fight.

He could control it, or let it fight autonomously; this puppet itself also possessed some relatively simple combat consciousness.

As long as he helped it lock onto an enemy, it would autonomously strike to slay the enemy.

It was just that it had no brain; if one truly discussed strength, it could not compare to an Innate Martial Artist of the same realm.

However, what was stored inside this puppet was Chen Mo's Xiantian True Qi, which was stronger than the Xiantian True Qi of the vast majority of Martial Artists of the same realm.

Therefore, even though this puppet had no brain, "one force overcomes ten skills"; as long as the True Qi was not exhausted, its combat power was enough to dominate in the same realm.

The disadvantage was that every time the True Qi inside was exhausted, it would take a certain amount of time to recharge it if one wanted to use it again.

But compared to the combat power it could exert, this disadvantage was truly not worth mentioning.

In the future, when fighting enemies, he could release the puppet and join forces with it to face the enemy.

If he encountered a dangerous place, such as the Xue Hai Xu Jing he planned to explore next, he could also control the puppet to scout the path and step on traps first; even if it were accidentally damaged, it would be better than risking himself.

Putting away this Mirage Spirit puppet, Chen Mo took out the architectural model of the thatched cottage obtained earlier in the Mirage Sea, carefully inputting wisps of True Qi into it to detect its reaction.

(End of this chapter)