Longevity: Starting with an infant's innate growth potential

Chapter 182 [Sword Moves at Will] and [Danger Avoidance Simulation]

"Phew! This mid-grade second-tier puppet is finally repaired!"

Inside the training room, Zhou Ling exhaled and looked at the mid-grade second-tier heavy armor puppet in front of him with a joyful expression.

Last semester, he used the points he had earned as rewards to exchange for a low-grade Xuan-level Soul Source Puppet Technique at the Dao Academy.

He usually dedicates a considerable amount of time to cultivation.

Puppetry, which primarily relies on puppet seals for control, is quite similar to inscription techniques.

He also had the ability to apply his knowledge to other situations, and with the help of his talent, he made rapid progress.

Each time I practice, I feel a sense of natural progress!
I have now mastered the method of drawing a mid-grade second-tier puppet seal.

A puppeteer's skill and techniques mainly rely on controlling puppets, which requires a powerful spiritual sense.

Therefore, puppets are rarely used by ordinary Qi Refining cultivators.

After all, there aren't many Qi Refining cultivators who possess powerful spiritual energy.

Of course, Zhou Ling is an exception.

Moreover, his spiritual consciousness has already reached the first level of Foundation Establishment.

He also possesses two talents: [Divine Soul Like a Blade] and [Divine Soul Training], which make his divine soul pure and profound, extremely powerful even in the early stages of Foundation Establishment.

Zhou Ling has already collected three second-tier puppets.

We're planning a trip to Black Mountain Valley this time, and we don't know what risks we might encounter, so we need to be prepared.

These puppets are definitely the best addition to our combat strength.

In addition, the Rock Rat and the Golden Fire Raven have both advanced to the second tier.

This lineup is already quite strong.

Moreover, compared to demonic beasts, puppets have obvious advantages: they are fearless of death and will not stop fighting unless ordered by the puppeteer.

Of course, second-tier puppets require not only soul control but also the consumption of spirit stones.

Moreover, it's a mid-grade spirit stone.

Fortunately, the sect acquired some mid-grade spirit stones this time, which made him have more spirit stones on hand.

As long as we can find the Spirit Flame, consuming some mid-grade spirit stones is not a big deal.

The puppet before him was something he had acquired by scavenging in the market using his [Treasure Hunting] talent.

The puppet mark on his body had been damaged, but Zhou Ling used his talent to help him cultivate it again.

This heavily armored puppet is enormous, with a body no less than ten feet long. Its body and heavy armor are made of second-grade mid-level black iron, making it extremely defensive.

Moreover, this heavily armored puppet has two puppet seals inside, the "Golden Armor Seal" and the "Explosion Seal," one for defense and the other for offense and defense, making it extremely powerful.

Basically, it won't be at a disadvantage against a mid-stage second-tier body refinement cultivator.

Ordinary mid-stage second-tier body-refining cultivators would find it difficult to break through the puppet's heavy armor defense.

Of course, the heavy armor puppet is so powerful that it also requires a lot of spirit stones and divine sense to control it.

A mid-grade spirit stone can probably only sustain a few attacks.

As for the consumption of spiritual energy, Zhou Ling has the assistance of [Meticulous Detail], so his consumption of spiritual energy is far lower than that of others, and it is not a big problem.

Just like controlling the spirit sword, he is now able to control three second-tier puppets simultaneously.

However, Zhou Ling felt that these methods were not yet reliable.

Fortunately, among the second-tier ores collected by the sect this time, there were some cold iron essence and black gold ore.

The former has the attribute of water, while the latter has the attribute of earth.

In addition, he also had materials such as Crimson Essence Gold to aid in the forging of spirit swords.

After some deliberation, he decided to first assemble the Five Elements Sword Formation.

The magic sword I had before was of slightly lower grade. If all five elemental spirit swords were of mid-grade, I could achieve the best quality.

The power unleashed by the sword formation is more than enough to deal with late-stage second-tier body cultivators.

Even if he encounters a second-stage peak body-refining cultivator.

There shouldn't be too much risk.

Now that his spiritual flames are mostly at the second-grade level, he plans to forge his own swords.

The original Spirit Flame was of a high grade, but it took too much time to forge.

For someone like Xu Qiang, it usually takes half a month to forge a second-tier low-grade sword.

For him, this was a complete loss.

Fortunately, with the Qianyang True Fire, the time required to forge the sword will be greatly reduced.

After all, each type of spirit flame has different attributes, and their effects are completely different.

If the Azure Lotus Spirit Flame were used to temper tools, it would be twice as effective.

It can be used for healing or refining pills, not only making things twice as effective, but also purifying the essence of spiritual herbs and greatly improving the quality of the pills.

Compared to the several spiritual flames within his body, the Qianyang True Fire is currently the most suitable for refining weapons.

After recovering slightly, Zhou Ling officially began forging the spirit sword.

He then flicked his finger, and a crystalline aura flashed, sending out a ball of crystalline light that hovered in front of him.

It is one of Zhou Ling's other storage rings, which currently contains the resources collected by the sect this time, such as ores and spirit rice.

Then, he touched the ring with his finger.

With a soft "poof," a burst of light erupted, and a dozen or so pieces of ore scattered all over the ground.

Zhou Ling glanced at the ores; these were the materials he planned to use to forge the spirit sword.

Cold iron essence, black gold ore, red gold essence, etc.

Then, with a thought, Zhou Ling summoned a furnace cauldron that appeared before him.

The cauldron is entirely purple, with inscriptions carved on its surface, giving it an ancient and dignified appearance.

This is a second-tier superior-grade purple-gold cauldron, an item that Zhou Ling received from the Heavenly Crafts Bureau.

Concentrating on the materials before him, Zhou Ling exhaled softly, swept his divine sense across them, and drew several pieces of ore into the Purple Gold Cauldron.

The first step in crafting tools is to purify the impurities in the materials.

Then, he activated the Five Elements Qianyang True Technique within his body, and a ball of crimson-gold fire flew out at lightning speed.

After a brief pause in mid-air, the Qianyang True Fire transformed into a fiery bird, flapped its wings, and surged into the furnace, enveloping the ores inside and igniting them in a blazing fire.

As the fire rose, wisps of black smoke occasionally rose from inside the furnace.

The black smoke is produced by refining impurities contained in the ore.

In addition, there are some impurities that are more difficult to refine, which require Zhou Ling to use his divine sense to remove them.

Half a day passed without them realizing it. As the ore gradually melted under the burning of the true fire, Zhou Ling cast a spell.

This is a shaping technique that can mold the material from the molten ore inside the furnace into a sword embryo.

Originally, second-tier materials were extremely difficult to refine; if it were just ordinary second-tier earth fire, it might take several days.

However, under Zhou Ling's Qianyang True Fire, it all melted in less than half a day.

"It's done!"

Several days later, in the cultivation room, Zhou Ling looked at the three-foot-long cold sword in front of him with a slightly tired expression.

This is an earth-attribute spirit sword.

Inside, there is a second-tier mid-grade inscription, Mountainous Edge.

In addition, there is an earth-attribute spirit-sealing restriction, which makes the power of this spirit sword extremely close to that of a high-grade spirit sword.

Of course, Zhou Ling's earth-attribute sword intent is not yet able to imprint itself on the sword stone, so this spirit sword has not yet been integrated into the sword stone.

But its current power is already enough for Zhou Ling.

After all, he was only at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

If it weren't for the talent of [Sword Control] and a powerful divine soul, one would be unable to wield a spirit sword at all.

With a thought, the spirit sword in front of him soared up, condensing into a mountain-shaped sword beam.

[You are currently wielding a spirit sword. Sword control +1, Five Elements Sword Technique proficiency +4]

[Effect: After 10,000 uses of sword control, reaching level four, the sword can be moved at will]

[Note: The sword moves at will; one can easily traverse a hundred zhang (approximately 50 meters) on it.]

[Cumulative number of times you can fly on a sword: 10,000/100,000]

"The [Sword Control] talent has reached the fourth level, achieving [Sword at Will], and the range of sword control has directly reached a radius of 100 zhang."

Zhou Ling was overjoyed. He hadn't expected his [Sword Control] talent to break through at this crucial moment, and with such a good effect. He should know that his original sword control range was only about thirty feet.

If you control two spirit swords at the same time, the attack range is only about ten feet.

"However, it's normal for the [Sword Control] talent to reach the fourth level over the years."

Zhou Ling carefully sensed the differences in the advanced [Sword at Will].

With a thought, a swishing sound was heard.

Instantly, four beams of light shot out from the storage ring on his finger; these were the other four spirit swords with different attributes.

The five spiritual swords moved swiftly and smoothly around Zhou Ling, like five spiritual fish.

Zhou Ling carefully sensed that the consumption of his divine soul at this moment was not significant.

He was extremely satisfied with the powerful sword control talent displayed by the [Sword at Will] talent.

This makes it easier for me to use the Five Elements Sword Formation, and it also consumes less energy.

"With just a thought, one can easily control the spirit sword, with almost no drain on the soul."

Zhou Ling murmured with delight.

Previously, controlling the Five Elements Sword Formation only allowed me to launch one or two attacks, but now it feels like I can do it easily.

Of course, it feels like it can unleash four or five sword array attacks.

This is already a significant improvement for him.

After all, he was only at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"Now, the Five Elements Sword Formation can even put up a fight against a late-stage second-tier Body Refinement cultivator!"

Zhou Ling put away the five spirit swords with a satisfied expression, and then left the cultivation room.

······.

The next day, Zhou Ling got up early and then asked Liu Yue'er about the route to Black Valley.

When Liu Yue'er heard that Zhou Ling was going to Black Flame Valley, a look of worry appeared on her face, and she wanted to go with Zhou Ling.

But Zhou Ling rejected him.

The outcome of this trip to Black Valley in search of the Spirit Flame is unknown.

He didn't want Liu Yue'er to take the risk with him.

After obtaining the map to Black Valley from Liu Yue'er, Zhou Ling prepared to leave Purple Cloud Mountain.

[A late-stage second-tier body cultivator is spying outside the sect; Crisis Response +1]

[Effect: Crisis alerts reach 1,000, crisis response reaches level 3, and crisis avoidance simulation is implemented.]

[Note: This crisis avoidance simulation can provide crisis simulation prompts.]

[Total number of crisis alerts: 1,000/10,000]

"Someone is spying from the outside!"

Zhou Ling was startled.

Moreover, he is a late-stage second-tier body refiner!
This was something Zhou Ling never expected.

In addition, the "crisis response" has been upgraded to "crisis avoidance simulation".

[Risk Avoidance Simulation: Traveling westward carries hidden dangers.]

[You departed at 9:00 AM, heading west towards Black Valley. You have been targeted by the hidden leader of the Blood Beast Sect. Your fate is uncertain. Do not proceed!]

At this point, a prompt appears on the panel.

"So it's the Blood Beast Sect Master! Does this guy know that Master isn't at Purple Cloud Mountain?!"

Looking at the prompt that appeared on the panel, Zhou Ling frowned.

I originally thought that this person was afraid of his master and dared not come to Ziyun Mountain easily.

Unexpectedly, they were lurking nearby, waiting for me to go out.

Thankfully, my [Crisis Response] has improved, otherwise it would have been dangerous.

"Let's stay home for now and see if this person has left by tomorrow?"

"But this person lurking around the sect is a considerable hidden danger!"

Zhou Ling decisively chose not to go to Black Valley for the time being.

Although he had the means to deal with a late-stage second-tier body cultivator, he did not have a sufficient chance of winning.

Moreover, we don't know what risks this trip to Black Valley might bring, so it's best to avoid this person for now.

After returning to the courtyard, he instructed Liu Yue'er and the other person not to leave Ziyun Mountain during this period.

Although Liu Yue'er and the other woman had some doubts, they naturally dared not disobey Zhou Ling's orders.

[Danger Mitigation Simulation: Beyond the sect, danger lurks.]

The Third Elder of the Blackwater Sect is heading towards the Purple Cloud Sect, intending to join forces with the Blood Beast Sect Master to spy on the Purple Cloud Sect and find out if Fairy Purple Cloud is still in the sect.

[Once the two join forces, you will be in grave danger. Please evacuate as soon as possible.]

In the afternoon, just as Zhou Ling finished lunch, the [Danger Avoidance Simulation] reappeared.

Instantly, Zhou Ling's heart skipped a beat, and his face darkened.

It seems that these two companies have joined forces, which is why they dared to come to Ziyun Mountain.

This was Zhou Ling's first thought.

Otherwise, how could they, alone, dare to go up the mountain so easily?

But the problem now is, how should I deal with this?

According to the information provided by Liu Yue'er, the third elder of the Blackwater Sect is a late-stage second-tier puppeteer.

This strength is in no way inferior to that of the Blood Beast Sect Master.

If the two of them team up, I'm sure I'm no match for them.

According to the risk avoidance scenario, abandoning Ziyun Mountain and leaving this place is clearly the safest option.

However, now that we finally have the resources of Ziyun Mountain and have discovered news of the Spirit Flame, we should leave now.

"Wouldn't that be a huge loss!"

Zhou Ling quickly weighed the options in his mind.

It seems that if we try to avoid it now, we'll lose Ziyun Mountain.

"If Ziyun Mountain is lost, it's lost. After all, resources can be found eventually."

"But now that Ziyun Mountain has been breached, how could they possibly let Yue'er and the others go?"

Thinking of this, Zhou Ling frowned.

Since his first visit to the Ancient Cloud Realm last year, Liu Yue'er and the other woman have treated him with utmost respect, taking meticulous care of his every need in terms of food, clothing, and lodging.

After spending so much time together, we've inevitably developed some feelings for each other.

He certainly couldn't just stand by and watch the two of them get killed.

"Five Elements Sword Formation, Puppet, Spirit Flame, Divine Soul Secret Technique, True Yang Golden Body."

"If it really comes down to fighting to the death, I might not be unable to kill the Blood Beast Sect Master!"

"Since that's the case, then we have no choice but to do it!"

Zhou Ling gritted his teeth, a resolute look on his face.

We cannot lose our base at Ziyun Mountain, and we must also save the lives of Liu Yue'er and the other person. So we have no choice but to take action first.

Let's see if we can kill this Blood Beast Sect Master.

As for that Blackwater Sect Third Elder...

They'll try to find another way to deal with it, since they also have puppets and other means.

He immediately sent orders to the Golden Fire Crow and the Stone Rock Rat, instructing them to go out and search for the Blood Beast Sect Master's hiding place.

"Hey!"

With a shriek, the Golden Fire Crow took the lead, flapping its wings and soaring into the sky.

The rock rat sizzled twice and came to Zhou Ling's side, awaiting orders.

"go!"

Zhou Ling waved and left the courtyard, heading down the mountain.

The rock rat darted forward, clearing a path ahead.

(End of this chapter)