Chapter 184: Puppetry and Unexpected Guests
Chapter 184: Puppetry and Unexpected Guests
Back in his cave abode, Chu Ning retrieved two storage bags. One belonged to Zou Huqing, and the other to Song Li. The storage bags of Chen Xinming and the others were also found in the Stone Forest, but they were kept together in one place and returned to the Chen family.
At this moment, Chu Ning glanced through Zou Huqing's storage bag and didn't find anything particularly noteworthy. He took out and set aside the spirit stones and elixirs. Then, he opened Song Li's storage bag.
"It seems like the Song family has a penchant for collecting ancient artifacts. I found quite a few ancient sect items in Song Ye and Song Cheng's storage bags as well. While many of them weren't very useful, there were definitely some peculiar ones."
With this thought, Chu Ning began to pay attention to the more antiquated items in Song Li's storage bag. Soon, a jade slip caught his eye.
The jade slip's material wasn't top-notch, but its ancient style intrigued him. Its shape reminded him of the jade slips he had seen in the ancient sect ruins where he obtained the Ling Dan Ji Yao. He immediately picked it up to examine it.
"Puppetry techniques!"
As he perused the contents of the jade slip, Chu Ning's eyes lit up. He had been surprised when Song Li unleashed two puppets in the Iron Meteorite Forest, as he had never heard of the Song family specializing in puppetry in the Thousand Lakes and Islands. Now, looking at the jade slip, he understood where Song Li had learned this skill.
"I wonder if those two puppets were made by Song Li himself or if he obtained them from somewhere else," he mused.
This train of thought led him to recall the puppet beasts in the ancient sect ruins. Those puppet beasts were far more powerful than the human-shaped puppets Song Li had used in the Iron Meteorite Forest.
Intrigued by the possibility of learning more about puppetry, Chu Ning quickly browsed through the jade slip. To his surprise, it contained instructions for creating puppets from the early Qi Refining stage to the early Core Formation stage. Moreover, he soon found the techniques for crafting the two types of puppets he had encountered in the Stone Forest.
After carefully studying the jade slip, Chu Ning reached into one of the storage bags and retrieved the remains of the two human-shaped puppets. Looking at the puppet that had been riddled with holes by his spells, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret.
"Even a puppet from the early stages of Qi Refining is not easy to make. This puppet is beyond repair."
As Chu Ning sighed, he began dismantling the puppet to salvage any usable materials. This also gave him an opportunity to understand the puppet's structure. From the badly damaged puppet, he managed to salvage six or seven barely usable materials, which he laid out for inspection.
Then, his gaze shifted to the other puppet, which remained intact on the outside. However, the restrictions within had been completely damaged by his Ning Wu Zhan attack.
Chu Ning removed several parts from the puppet's back and extracted a piece of black crystal-like metal that resembled a spirit stone. His brows furrowed slightly.
The most crucial component of a puppet was the spirit stone used to control it. Complex talismans had to be inscribed on it to manipulate the puppet. Unfortunately, the spirit stones in both puppets had been damaged by his attacks.
"With the remaining materials from these two puppets, combined with the additional materials in Song Li's storage bag, I might be able to create a puppet with stronger defensive capabilities and the ability to cast remote spells. It's just this spirit stone..."
Chu Ning pondered for a moment, feeling like he had seen something similar before. As he thought, he began rummaging through his own storage bags.
Over the years, Chu Ning had defeated countless cultivators and acquired a vast array of items. He could still recall the more useful items he had obtained recently, but the ones from longer ago were blurrier in his memory.
After searching through several storage bags, he finally found a black object tucked away in a corner of one bag.
"So I do have a spirit stone! I think I got this the first time Ling Xiaobai unintentionally brought me into the Spirit Realm, when I defeated someone named Duan Yuewu."
Chu Ning finally recalled the origin of the spirit stone. At the time, he had also obtained the Qing Guang Zhu, which he used frequently. However, as he had never found a use for the spirit stone, it had been neglected in a corner.
Holding the spirit stone, Chu Ning didn't rush into crafting a puppet. Instead, he picked up the jade slip again and carefully studied the puppet-making techniques described within. He spent the better part of the day engrossed in his research, only stopping when night fell.
"Young Master, I've brought Xin Xin over," came Cheng Lao's voice from outside the cave.
Chu Ning slowly exited his cave dwelling and casually used the jade tablet to dispel the inner layer of restrictions, allowing Cheng Zuyuan and Cheng Xinxin to enter. This was their first time entering his cave dwelling, as they had been residing in the thatched cottage near the outer Spirit Fields all this time.
Chu Ning turned his head at this moment and asked the curious little girl, "Little girl, now that you're inside this cave, how do you feel?"
"Young Master, the spiritual energy here is so dense!" Cheng Xinxin exclaimed with a look of envy and admiration.
"Is it because you cultivate here that you were able to build your foundation?" she asked.
Chu Ning chuckled lightly upon hearing this. "If building a foundation were that easy, there would be countless cultivators in the Thousand Lakes and Islands who would have done so. The disciples of the families in the Thousand Isles Alliance have cultivation environments that aren't much better than mine."
As Chu Ning spoke, he led the two of them to an empty stone chamber.
"You two will stay in this stone room from now on," he said, and then proceeded to instruct Cheng Zuyuan and Cheng Xinxin on how to enter and exit his cave abode and this particular stone chamber.
"Not only at night, but whenever you have free time from tending to the spirit fields, you can come here to cultivate. Little girl, if you want to build your foundation so badly, let's see if you have the ability to do so."
"Thank you, Young Master!" Cheng Xinxin was quick-witted and immediately bowed deeply to Chu Ning.
Cheng Zuyuan also bowed deeply. Being older and more experienced, he understood the significance of Chu Ning's gesture. It meant that Chu Ning truly acknowledged and accepted the two of them.
Indeed, Chu Ning had intended as much. Over the past period, he had observed that Cheng Zuyuan was not only diligent but also very mindful of following the rules. Although Cheng Xinxin had the heart of a child and was more carefree, she still behaved appropriately in important matters and was diligent in her cultivation, thanks to her grandfather's influence.
By inviting them to stay in the stone chamber, Chu Ning was not only considering the recent increase in chaos in the Thousand Lakes and Islands and the weakened defensive capabilities of the outer formation, but he was also acknowledging and accepting them, providing them with a better cultivation environment.
Chu Ning then briefly explained the layout of his cave abode. Although he knew that they wouldn't go wandering around, he still needed to inform them. He didn't want to be disturbed during his cultivation or pill refining.
After settling the two of them in the stone chamber, Chu Ning returned to his own cultivation room and continued studying the puppet-making techniques. In the afternoon, he resumed his cultivation.
Speaking of which, due to his involvement in the search efforts over the past month, his cultivation had fallen behind somewhat.
[Blazing Divine Wood Art (High-Rank Xuan Tier), Second Layer (2057/10000)]
[Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique, First Volume, Undying Soul (98/3000)]
[Refine God Technique, Third Layer (73/8000)]
After checking his cultivation proficiency, Chu Ning took out Iron Elemental Fruits and Green Wood Primordial Yang Pills that had undergone Spirit Refinement from his storage bag.
After increasing his proficiency in cultivation by 2 points for body refining and 4 points for qi refining, Chu Ning once again arrived at the Iron Spirit Flower's medicinal garden and began absorbing the wood essence to strengthen his divine sense.
After completing all of this, night had fallen. Chu Ning prepared to return to his cave abode to start pill refining.
Before that, Chu Ning had obtained a significant number of Spirit Recovery Pills from various sources. However, during his recent trip to Calm Lake Island, he had used up most of them.
It was necessary to have a stockpile of these spirit pills for recovering divine sense.
Fortunately, the pill compilation he had obtained earlier included the formula for refining Spirit Recovery Pills. He had all the required materials, although not in large quantities, but enough to refine a small batch.
Just as he was about to move, his gaze suddenly lifted, focusing on the outer perimeter of the formation.
In a flash, Chu Ning disappeared from his original spot and reappeared outside the stone chamber where Cheng Zuyuan and Cheng Xinxin resided.
"Young Master," Cheng Zuyuan addressed Chu Ning, thinking that he had come to give them some instructions. He quickly walked forward.
"Stay in the stone chamber, and no matter what happens, do not come out," Chu Ning said, leaving them with a brief instruction before flashing out of the stone chamber once more.
Cheng Zuyuan's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.
"Grandpa, what's going on with the Young Master?" Cheng Xinxin asked, her curiosity piqued.
Cheng Zuyuan shook his head, his expression quickly returning to normal. He closed the door to the stone chamber and activated the restrictions according to the method Chu Ning had taught him.
This way, no sounds from outside could penetrate the chamber.
At that moment, Chu Ning had already appeared at the outer perimeter of the formation.
Looking at the intruder who had entered the formation, he spoke in a calm voice, "Greetings, fellow Daoist. Why didn't you announce your presence when visiting Yan Peak? It's not like you, Fellow Daoist Cen."
The figure paused upon hearing Chu Ning's words, and then, with a flash of their figure, they appeared beside Chu Ning.
"Fellow Daoist Chu, your timing is impeccable. This formation of yours is indeed from the Cen family, and it's quite interesting. If you hadn't spoken up, I wouldn't have been able to pinpoint your location." The blue-robed elder, Liu Yishan, spoke with a complex expression on his face.
(End of Chapter)
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