Longevity: Starting with an infant's innate growth potential

Chapter 196 Five Elements Puppet and Great Advancement of Divine Soul
It was late at night, the moon was bright and clear, and a gentle breeze was blowing.

Inside the meditation room, the soft light of the crystal chandelier illuminated the room.

Zhou Ling sat cross-legged on a futon, with the Ziyang Cauldron standing in front of him. Inside the cauldron, a humanoid puppet was being sculpted.

Beast flames surrounded the puppet's body, causing it to constantly change shape.

Zhou Ling, on the other hand, made hand seals and chanted incantations.

As streams of spiritual energy were poured in, the puppet's features gradually became visible, revealing the form of an adult male.

With a flash of his eyes, Zhou Ling imprinted the shaping seal into the puppet's body. With a "poof," a burst of five-colored light flashed across the puppet's body, and the body became completely stable.

The core was forged from ten pieces of second-tier five-element materials, and the body was made primarily of second-tier ironwood, thus creating this second-tier puppet body.

Even though Zhou Ling had just received a substantial reward from the Dao Academy, he still looked pained.

This puppet body, putting aside everything else, has already consumed twelve mid-grade spirit stones in materials alone.

Crafting these Five Elements puppets is incredibly expensive.

It costs four to five times more than a regular second-tier puppet.

"Fortunately, it worked!"

Zhou Ling slowly put away the beast flames, and looking at the lifelike puppet in front of him, a look of joy appeared on his face.

At this point, the first step in puppet making—creating the body of the Five Elements puppet—is truly complete.

Then, with a thought, the Spirit Farmer Soul Puppet Seal appeared in Zhou Ling's sea of ​​consciousness. He then condensed the Qianyang True Fire and, in conjunction with his divine sense, began to inscribe the Soul Puppet Seal at the core of the Five Elements Puppet.

With the assistance of [Intermediate Analysis], coupled with the second-tier Soul Puppet Seal he had already mastered, this Spirit Farmer Soul Puppet Seal was not too difficult for him.

Amidst the flames, Zhou Ling's soul was like a knife, and he began to carve soul imprints stroke by stroke.

······.

Five days later, Zhou Ling, who had been in the cultivation room, moved his mind, and several figures around him stood up abruptly.

Then they sat cross-legged around him.

Two-headed second-tier mid-grade, three-headed first-tier high-grade.

They looked like human cultivators; their facial expressions were still somewhat blank, but their bodies moved nimbly and gracefully.

Zhou Ling was already very satisfied with the results of his first attempt at refining.

If you look closely, you'll find that some details are still a bit rough around the edges.

However, of these five puppets, only one is a golden-armored puppet with combat attributes; the rest are spirit farmer puppets.

A slightly rough appearance doesn't have a big impact.

The materials and the Soul Puppet Seal are all top-notch.

"Hopefully, these puppets will recoup their costs soon!"

Zhou Ling murmured.

These five puppets, just the materials for the two second-tier mid-grade puppets alone cost nearly thirty mid-grade spirit stones.

This is worth three or four times more than the materials used to refine a high-grade spiritual weapon.

Fortunately, Zhou Ling is now using ironwood as the main body of the puppet and constructing the puppet core with the five elements materials, so the amount of materials consumed will not be so large.

According to the Five Elements Puppet Technique, a puppet is mainly divided into three parts: the body, the core, and the soul puppet seal.

There are also auxiliary items, such as magical artifacts.

The Soul Puppet Seal is of paramount importance, determining the puppet's grade and strength.

It needs to be engraved on the Xuanpo Stone and integrated into the puppet's body, becoming the puppet's main central hub, much like a cultivator's sea of ​​consciousness.

Second-tier Xuanpo Stones are also quite valuable, each costing two or three mid-grade spirit stones.

Therefore, Zhou Ling also hopes that a high investment will yield a high return.

Of course, Zhou Ling was very confident about this.

Those three first-tier high-grade puppets are currently equivalent to late-stage Qi Refining Spirit Farmers, capable of autonomous cultivation and recovery.

So as long as they are brought to the Ziyun Sect, they will become long-term free labor.

The second-tier mid-grade puppet requires the consumption of five-element attribute spirit stones, and its current cultivation level is roughly equivalent to that of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Take, for example, the two mid-grade second-tier puppets he crafted this time.

The second-tier mid-grade spirit farmer puppet is a single spirit farmer soul puppet imprint, already possessing the basic attributes of a second-tier spirit farmer, and can cultivate second-tier spirit crops.

The other mid-grade level two golden armor puppet was made with considerable investment, its body forged from second-tier golden black iron.

This Golden Profound Iron is incredibly hard; even a second-tier spirit sword cannot easily break through it, making it extremely defensive.

In addition to using the Golden Armor Soul Puppet Seal, Zhou Ling also incorporated the Flying Sky Soul Seal.

This allows the golden-armored puppet to master both the Golden Armor Protection Technique and the Golden Crack Fist, while also achieving extremely high speed.

Basically, his strength is no less than that of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.

It would be very difficult for an ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator to break through its golden armor defense.

Of course, this attack-attribute five-element puppet not only consumes a lot of raw materials, but also consumes a considerable amount of resources each time it is activated.

Five medium-grade spirit stones with five elemental attributes can only be used to activate the Golden Armor defense or attack three times.

This consumes far more energy than activating a mid-grade second-tier spirit robe.

Of course, Zhou Ling had anticipated this.

A little extra energy expenditure is acceptable, as long as it proves useful in crucial moments.

This golden-armored puppet can withstand one or two attacks from a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

After collecting four of the spirit farmer puppets, Zhou Ling immediately took out five mid-grade spirit stones from his storage ring.

I still have dozens of mid-grade spirit stones on hand.

In addition to the Heavenly Foundation Establishment reward this time, there were also the gains from the last trip to the Heavenly Cloud Realm.

Of course, some of it comes from the monthly offerings from the Heavenly Crafts Bureau.

Now that the foundation has been successfully laid, the benefits at the Heavenly Crafts Bureau will be improved.

The situation at the Heavenly Crafts Bureau is not bad. As long as they refine some magical artifacts, they don't have to do other tasks, but the various benefits and treatments are not low.

Moreover, if one could be selected to receive special training from the Heavenly Crafts Bureau as a Heavenly Crafts Guardian, the benefits would definitely increase several times over.

Therefore, we must strive to achieve this.

After inserting five mid-grade spirit stones into the core control slot of the golden-armored puppet, Zhou Ling recited the incantation according to the Five Elements Puppet Technique, activating the Golden Armored Soul Puppet Seal.

In an instant, a dazzling light flashed across the Five Elements Puppet, and its previously somewhat blank face regained its vitality and life.

In Zhou Ling's sea of ​​consciousness, he also sensed a mysterious connection.

The puppet's aura was even stronger than his own.

Zhou Ling looked satisfied.

He immediately sent the first thought to the puppet, instructing it to meditate and cultivate.

The golden-armored puppet immediately followed Zhou Ling's example, sitting cross-legged and cultivating with each breath.

"As expected, it doesn't require expending divine sense!"

"Moreover, cultivating with a cultivator is exactly the same as cultivating with a cultivator; this is simply perfect!"

Zhou Ling was overjoyed to sense the puppet's presence.

As long as it doesn't fight, this puppet won't consume spirit stones for its daily activities.

Of course, this kind of training cannot improve its strength.

The only way to achieve autonomous advancement through cultivation is to refine a natal puppet.

With these five puppets as a foundation, Zhou Ling was eager to try his hand at crafting a natal cultivation puppet.

However, considering the creation of my own natal puppet, the materials will definitely need to be even better.

Although I still have several dozen mid-grade spirit stones, I need to save them for entering the Ancient Cloud Realm, so I'm a little short on spirit stones for now.

However, once you have enough points at the Taoist Academy or the Heavenly Crafts Bureau, you can exchange those points for materials.

This saves spirit stones, and the quality of the materials is also better than those purchased from the market.

"However, the Five Elements Puppet is not like that; it can't solve the problem once and for all!"

Looking at the golden-armored puppet, Zhou Ling murmured again.

Even if a puppet possesses a degree of sentience and autonomy, it is still ultimately a puppet. It still maintains a spiritual connection with its owner.

If one encounters an opponent whose spirit is stronger than one's own, the connection between one's spirit and that of the puppet general may be severed.

At that time, the puppet will be out of your control.

Thinking of this, Zhou Ling's gaze shifted, and he realized that he also needed to improve his spiritual cultivation as soon as possible, and also needed some countermeasures.

For example, you could give a command to a puppet that it should immediately self-destruct once it separates from your soul.

Of course, this is a last resort.

Even if it means self-destruction, the puppet must not fall into the hands of others, otherwise it would be a huge loss.

However, this is only a temporary solution and not a cure.

To forge iron, one must be strong enough oneself.

Thinking of this, he took out a pill bottle from his storage ring and poured out Soul Essence Pills.

These are the elixirs awarded by the Taoist academy this time.

On the surface that shimmered with a crystal-clear light, two red patterns flickered.

"Two-Dan Soul Essence Pill!"

"Products from the Taoist Academy are indeed of the highest quality!"

Zhou Lingxuan immediately tossed the Soul Essence Pill into her mouth and swallowed it.

He then activated the incantation to refine and absorb the medicinal power.

A cool sensation filled my Qi Sea.

[You are absorbing the medicinal power of the Soul Essence Pill. Pill stress +1, Soul Essence Pill power +1]

As the medicinal effects spread rapidly, Zhou Ling, who was sitting cross-legged on the futon, felt waves of medicinal power surging and crashing over him in his mind's sea of ​​consciousness, like a raging ocean.

A tremendous roar resounded in my mind, my ears ached unbearably, and my entire consciousness felt as if it were being churned up.

Immediately, Zhou Ling's vision went black, and his face showed pain.

Keep in mind that this is a mid-grade, second-tier Soul Essence Pill with two core patterns; the soul power it contains is unimaginable.

Furthermore, the [Medicinal Stress] effect further amplifies the medicinal potency.

Zhou Ling found it impossible to refine them slowly in a short time.

He could only continuously circulate the "Qinghui Nourishing Spirit Technique" to fully refine the medicinal power.

[You are absorbing the Soul Essence Pill's Soul Power, becoming more resilient with each setback +1, and your Proficiency in the "Qinghui Nourishing Spirit Technique" +30].

Fortunately, the spirit of "the more setbacks, the stronger we become" came into play once again.

Zhou Ling finally snapped out of her dizziness and let out a heavy breath.

Her complexion gradually returned to normal.

As the "Qinghui Nourishing Spirit Technique" continued to operate, the cultivation of the soul improved at a visible speed.

On the soul seed, the phantom of the Fire Essence Maple Tree grew another large circle, reaching about half a zhang in length, and sprouted dozens of red leaves.

This is the situation when the "Qinghui Nourishing Spirit Technique" enters the second level.

Zhou Ling was overjoyed. He could feel that his spiritual cultivation had improved significantly at this moment.

After more than half an hour, as the medicinal power was completely absorbed and refined, Zhou Ling opened his eyes, his gaze bright and piercing.

After fully absorbing the immense medicinal power of the Soul Essence Pill, and with the help of his [The More Setbacks, the Stronger He Becomes] talent, his understanding of the "Qinghui Nourishing Spirit Technique" naturally progressed to the second level.

Open up the meridian circulation of the second level of the "Qinghui Nourishing Spirit Technique".

At this moment, a sharp light flashed in Zhou Ling's pupils, and a heavy and mysterious aura emanated from his body, his overall aura having been significantly enhanced compared to before.

The second level of the "Qinghui Nourishing Spirit Technique" has been completed!
His divine sense reached 500 zhang, surpassing that of an ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Furthermore, the purity of the soul is also significantly improved.

It greatly enhances the ability to refine magical artifacts and control puppets.

Moreover, with the opening of the second layer of meridians in the "Qinghui Nourishing Spirit Technique".

He also mastered several new methods of manipulating divine sense.

Divine Splitting Technique, Soul Fusion Technique, and Divine Control Slash.

As the name suggests, the Divine Splitting Technique involves dividing one's divine soul into several independent divine souls, which can then attack simultaneously or manipulate objects.

This soul-binding technique was undoubtedly very useful for Zhou Ling, who cultivated puppetry.

With this soul technique, he was able to control several puppets simultaneously without consuming too much of his soul energy.

The Soul Fusion Technique involves using the soul seed within the sea of ​​consciousness to re-integrate the power of the divine soul, allowing the divine soul to gain a significant boost in a short period of time.

The third soul technique, Divine Slash, is the most practical method of attacking the soul.

It is an evolved version of the Divine Soul Blade that was condensed when the first level was perfected.

With his powerful Kobe cultivation, he unleashed a divine soul blade.

This is an extremely powerful soul-binding technique.

It can launch a soul attack on an opponent several miles away.

"If combined with my [Divine Soul Like a Blade], then this Divine Slash can crush even a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. It's simply the best killing technique for defeating enemies beyond one's level!"

Feeling the divine soul technique he had just comprehended, Zhou Ling was overjoyed and began to make plans in his mind.

Compared to the previous two soul-controlling techniques, Zhou Ling actually wanted to master the Divine Control Slash as soon as possible.

Of course, it is also the most difficult of the three spells.

So for now, we can only take it one step at a time.

With talent as a supplement, and by gradually improving proficiency, it won't take long to fully master it.

As for the Divine Splitting Technique, it is due to the strength of his divine soul, coupled with the assistance of the two talents: [Divine Soul Training] and [Meticulous Attention to Detail].

This is the easiest thing for him to master.

It's also very practical.

As long as a certain level is reached.

He can simultaneously control several puppets to fight the enemy.

Moreover, he already has five second-tier puppets at his disposal.

If he can control everything, then even if he encounters a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, he will have the power to fight back.

However, this Divine Splitting Technique has a weakness: the divine consciousness that is split off is much weaker than the original divine consciousness.

Once attacked by the opponent, or even wiped out.

That would also have a significant impact on his consciousness.

This is also a problem that needs to be solved next.

"I wonder if it can be used in conjunction with [Soul Like a Blade]?"

Zhou Ling pondered this in his heart.

With the [Divine Soul Like a Blade] combined with the Divine Splitting Technique, its power will definitely be enhanced.

Of course, the key is to improve the "Qinghui Nourishing Spirit Technique" and one's own spiritual cultivation.

This is the root.

Then he glanced at the golden-armored puppet and smiled, "From now on, you'll be called Golden Armor."

The golden-armored puppet stood up, a joyful smile on its face, and then bowed to Zhou Ling.

Although they cannot speak yet, some basic expressions of thought have already been demonstrated.

Zhou Ling was very satisfied with this, and then sent him orders to be in charge of the safety of the residence and the housekeeping.

It's a bit of a waste to have a second-tier high-grade puppet do housework.

However, this does not consume spirit stones and will not have any impact.

Zhou Ling was also thinking of giving it a try and seeing how it performed in various aspects.
Immediately, the golden-armored puppet received the order and left the training room.

They began cleaning the courtyard of the retreat.

(End of this chapter)