Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 621 Commissioned to Refine Top-Grade Puppets

The light emitted by third-tier spiritual plants is quite different from that of second-tier spiritual plants, not only in terms of brightness, but more accurately, in terms of a more vibrant and lifelike quality.

Now, the gourd vines and leaves have this vibrant sense of life.

Ji An has a natural love for gourds, both in his past life and in this one.

In my past life, I read the Investiture of the Gods and was deeply impressed by several gourd-shaped magical artifacts. The same goes for the purple-gold red gourd in Journey to the West.

I thought these things were just a dream, but I never expected to be fortunate enough to come to this world of immortals.

Planting the Purple Fire Gourd during the Foundation Building stage, and now planting the Azure Flame Purple Spirit Gourd, isn't this fulfilling a past fantasy?

His idea was to cultivate the Azure Flame Purple Spirit Gourd to the third tier, using the gourd as a spirit-nurturing treasure to cultivate fire-elemental magic weapons, or to use it as a magic weapon similar to the Purple Fire Gourd to purely nurture flames.

We should ask Wan Jinrong at that time if he has designed such an auxiliary magic gourd that can be nourished by the fire of life essence, as well as by earth fire or other flames.

If feasible, he could possess multiple gourd-shaped magical artifacts without worrying about nurturing them.

Ji An reached out and grabbed the gourd vine, feeling the surge of its vigorous vitality. The wood and fire elements inside were intertwined and presented a spiral structure, which indeed reached the third level.

With a smile in his eyes, he strode forward, knowing that he had planted a total of four gourd plants.

Sure enough, another third-tier gourd vine was discovered.

Ji An smiled with satisfaction, knowing that he would soon have four third-tier gourds in his possession.

In high spirits, he rode a cloud and flew slowly above the spiritual field, hoping to make some new discoveries.

He would enter the small world to cultivate every day, but apart from casting spells on the spiritual field once every two weeks, he would almost never check on the growth of the spiritual plants.

There are no pests or other monsters here, so it's very safe. Therefore, people don't pay much attention to the growth of the spiritual plants.

Upon arriving at the white land, Ji An landed. He had a very important task to do: prepare materials for crafting a top-grade puppet.

He found a mid-grade, third-tier Vajra Bodhi tree that nurtured the Gengjin Divine Thunder Talisman but had not yet borne fruit. He then connected with the stone tortoise and issued the following command:

'Refine the Dao essence to elevate the grade of the spirit wood.'

The lightning talisman here is only a high-grade third-tier talisman; he wanted to see if there would be any unexpected surprises.

The stone tortoise appeared above the Bodhi tree, and the light and shadow of the Bagua diagram appeared on the ground. A force pushed it away.

A white light flashed, quickly forming a cocoon of light, like a shimmering silver egg.

About a quarter of an hour later, the stone tortoise flew to Ji An's hand, and the cocoon of light shattered inch by inch, revealing a giant tree that was about ten feet tall.

Ji An reconnected with the stone tortoise to check the consumption of Daoist energy. He found that the metal element Daoist energy was being consumed the most, while the other four elements of Daoist energy were also being consumed to varying degrees, and their combined consumption was roughly equal to that of the metal element.

However, all the costs combined amount to only twenty-seven or twenty-eight points, which is negligible compared to improving the Gathering Yuan Tree.

Ji An peeled off the Gengjin Divine Thunder Talisman drawn on tree bark, felt its spiritual power and spirituality, and smiled calmly.

His decision was correct. The Thunder Talisman's grade was upgraded to the third-tier top-grade. When the spirit wood's grade was upgraded, the surge of mysterious power created the Thunder Talisman.

He took down another thunder talisman to examine it, his smile becoming even more gentle; it was also a top-grade third-tier thunder talisman.

He proudly stored the Thunder Talisman in the Void Stone. He continued his efforts, upgrading two more Vajra Bodhi Trees to the third-grade superior level, and obtaining four more top-grade Thunder Talismans.

At this moment, the stone turtle had only seven points of the metal element Daoist essence it had accumulated, but fortunately, it had met the requirements for refining the puppet.

Three top-grade spiritual trees, each about four zhang tall, with roots thicker than a large water vat, could be crafted into a set of puppets; just thinking about it is intimidating.

Big doesn't necessarily mean strong, but big enough certainly isn't weak.

The Rudraksha tree is felled and cut into sections of sacred material according to requirements, while the thicker branches are also preserved.

After filling the two Void Stones halfway, Ji An thought for a moment and then cut down a few more third-grade low-level Vajra Bodhi trees.

Leaving the small world, he rode the clouds to the Cloud Sea Immortal City.

Ji An strode into the Wanbao Pavilion, found a steward, and said:

"I've come to find Master Jinrong."

He needs to inquire about refining the gourd magic weapon so he can prepare in advance.

Having met Ji An several times, the steward politely cupped his hands and said:

"Senior, it's really unfortunate. After returning from Wulan Mountain, Master Jinrong only stayed here for one day before returning to Wanshou Manor."

Did he say when he would be back?

"The master did not tell me, but there are many refining tasks in the pavilion that he needs to handle, so he should be back soon."

Once the real person returns, I will inform you of my visit.

Ji An nodded slightly and said with satisfaction:

"Good work."

He left Wanbaoge and went to the nearby Jinkuige, where Xuanmu Zhenren was responsible for receiving him.

He spoke with great enthusiasm:
"Thanks to your blessing, my transaction with your sect was very pleasant."

He purchased a large quantity of second-tier top-grade Azure Dragon Wood and several third-tier low-grade Azure Dragon Woods, as well as other spiritual woods and spiritual items.

He could clearly sense the goodwill of the Golden Spirit Sect towards him, all of which was achieved by simply sending a jade slip.

Ji An smiled and said, "Both sides can benefit from this, and we can also deepen our cooperation."

"Haha, let's deepen our cooperation!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Ji An said, "I have obtained a high-grade third-tier Vajra Bodhi tree and have come to entrust you with the task of refining a puppet for the late-stage Golden Core realm."

Master Xuanmu's eyes widened suddenly. He was now basically certain that the Golden Spirit Sect had obtained some kind of secret treasure or technique that could stimulate the growth of spiritual plants.

A thought of greed arose in my mind, but I quickly suppressed it.

Whether it's a secret treasure or a secret technique, it must be something extremely confidential. You can't be too careful about things that involve the foundation and inheritance of a sect.

If it's a secret treasure, it would only be placed in the most heavily guarded place at the mountain gate. If it's a secret technique, the cultivators who know the technique will definitely have their souls restricted, so it's impossible to obtain the technique through soul searching.

He put on a businesslike smile and laughed loudly:

"Fellow Daoist, you have chosen us to refine your puppets, and you will certainly not be disappointed in the future. If the puppets are damaged in the future, we can also repair them."

Please wait a moment while I report to the Pavilion Master.

He bowed apologetically and left quickly.

A moment later, he led in a dignified-looking monk.

"Let me introduce you. This is our Pavilion Master, Master Xuanji."

"Sect Master, this is True Man Xuanqing. He's the one who commissioned us to refine the Demon-Subduing Puppet for the late-stage Golden Core realm."

After the two exchanged greetings, Ji An said:

"I also brought a few third-grade low-level Vajra Bodhi trees with me this time, hoping to refine them into the same puppets."

Master Xuanji smiled gently:
"No problem. The materials of the third-tier low grade are in the hands of our Golden Puppet Pavilion. We can refine the third-tier mid grade puppets, whose strength is only slightly weaker than that of a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator."

To be honest, when Master Xuanmu asked for a list of materials a few years ago, he had no hope at all. He never expected to be pleasantly surprised.

For puppeteers, crafting higher-grade puppets is essential to improving their skills; in fact, this applies to all kinds of cultivation arts.

Opportunities to refine late-stage Golden Core puppets are rare, and his gaze toward Ji An grew increasingly kind.

"Fellow Daoist, the living room is too small. Let's go to the storeroom for a chat. I need to inspect the materials."

If the materials are of poor quality, then all your hopes will be dashed.

Ji An had no objection, saying, "I will follow your instructions, fellow Daoist."

The three filed out into the warehouse, which resembled a large factory with a ceiling height of five zhang (approximately 10 meters). Some specially treated materials were scattered along the edges of the walls.

Ji An first took out the third-grade superior Vajra Bodhi tree, and then took out the inferior spiritual wood.

Master Xuanji was in charge of inspecting the high-grade spiritual materials, while Master Xuanmu was in charge of inspecting the low-grade spiritual materials. After the inspection was completed, the two looked at each other and nodded in satisfaction.

Master Xuanji spoke:

"The wood of the spiritual material is dense and uniform, and it is full of spiritual energy, making it a rare material."

"We've accepted your order, fellow Daoist. Let's discuss the details now."

Ji An nodded, "I only have enough soul stones to refine a late-stage Golden Core puppet. To refine a mid-grade third-tier puppet, your esteemed organization will need to provide the soul stones. I can pay with spirit stones."

Master Xuanmu smiled and said, "The amount of low-grade spiritual wood provided by you is more than normally needed. We can keep the extra spiritual materials, and I will take care of the soul stones."

Since the sect leader has the task of refining a top-grade third-tier puppet, the task of refining a mid-grade third-tier puppet will inevitably fall to him.

Mid-grade puppets don't require that many spiritual materials, saving a lot of wood.

"no problem."

The group began discussing various details and finally signed an agreement.

The two from the Golden Puppet Pavilion were very happy. Although they didn't earn any spirit stones from this refining, they were able to collect a considerable amount of spirit materials, which was more gratifying for a puppeteer than obtaining a large sum of high-grade spirit stones.

Materials can be sold for spirit stones, but spirit stones cannot necessarily buy materials.

Especially after the outbreak of the True Demon Tribulation, these kinds of spiritual materials became even more valuable.

Ji An sighed softly, "I am very satisfied with your sincerity, it's just that it took a bit too long."

He understood very well how inefficient it would be for a puppeteer to be responsible for the entire creation of a puppet.

The sect has already established a puppet production line, and as long as there is a sufficient supply of materials, it can mass-produce second-tier puppets.

Master Xuanji waved his hand, “Fellow Daoist, slow and steady wins the race. It only takes five years to refine a top-grade third-tier puppet, but how many years does it take to cultivate a cultivator at the ninth level of the Golden Core stage!”

Ji An shook his head, "Fellow Daoist, you can't just calculate the time it took you to refine it; you also need to calculate the growth time of the spirit wood."

He's perfectly clear-headed and won't be fooled.

Master Xuanmu continued:
"The puppet I'm in charge of crafting will be ready for delivery in three years. You can take it with you then."

"That's the only way," Ji An said, feigning regret, and then asked:
"I wonder if your esteemed establishment sells the method for crafting third-tier puppets? The most basic method will suffice."

The sect does not have the inheritance to refine third-order puppets. It didn't have the resources before, but it will gradually develop the foundation for it in the future.

Master Xuanji's eyes lit up. "As long as it doesn't involve our inherited puppet-making techniques, it can be sold."

This is not the place to talk. Let's go back to the living room, have some tea, and chat. Fellow Daoist, please!

The method of crafting is a secret, but he can use an outdated puppet-making method from many years ago to fill the gap.

Those puppets consumed more energy and their magical restrictions were not perfect; they were nothing more than genuine third-tier puppets.

(End of this chapter)