Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 202 Puppet Inheritance

"It's enough for me to have that mid-grade training room. Husband, don't go asking others for help again and again. And don't keep giving me that high-grade training room. It will slow down your progress."

Su Zhirou squeezed into his arms. Ever since she broke through the seventh level of Qi Refining, the couple took turns using that top-grade training room, basically rotating every month.

"Your spiritual roots are already quite weak, and you keep using that mid-grade training room. Your progress will definitely be getting slower and slower. If I were to build my foundation by myself, I could live for hundreds of years, but you're stuck at the Qi Refining stage and will die in a few decades. How would I survive alone?"

Su Zhirou laid her head in his arms, and after a moment of silence, she said softly, "I'm afraid that even if I reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, I won't be able to successfully establish my foundation."

"Don't keep thinking about this kind of thing. So many people with three-attribute spiritual roots in the cultivation world have succeeded, why can't you? If it doesn't work once, try it twice. If it doesn't work twice, try it three times."

The couple snuggled together, whispered privately, and fell asleep in each other's arms.

…………

The next day, Song Xian sent someone to summon Wu Lian and Shen Fan. That evening, the two of them arrived at the gate of Qingyuan Sect together.

In the spacious and bright hall, Song Xian and Su Zhirou walked in from outside, and they immediately stood up and saluted.

"Please sit down! Junior Brother Shen, Junior Brother Wu, I asked you to come here today mainly because I want to ask for your help with something." The couple sat down in the main seat, and Song Xian went straight to the point.

"Master, please give your instructions."

"I would like you to teach my wife how to make puppets, starting with a snake-shaped puppet until she has her own wolf-shaped puppet. Just like you taught me back then."

"Yes, disciple obeys your command." The two looked at each other and said in unison.

The two were originally wondering why Song Xian asked them to bring the materials for refining the snake-shaped puppet. They didn't expect that it was to give Su Zhirou special treatment. This was a bit unexpected, but it made sense when they thought about it carefully.

The puppet itself is a powerful fighting force. As the saying goes, "too many skills is always a burden", no one doesn't want to have a puppet to accompany them.

Song Xian already has a wolf-shaped puppet, so it makes sense for him to give Su Zhirou one as well.

"I'm sorry to bother you with this matter. You will live in this mansion for the time being. I have arranged two rooms for you. There is a spacious backyard where you can teach my wife the art of puppetry. She is a bit clumsy, so please bear with her."

When Su Zhirou heard him say this in front of outsiders, she secretly twisted his arm with her fingers.

Wu Lian continued, "It is my honor to serve the Master and Senior Sister Su. I will do my utmost to help Senior Sister Su."

"There are probably six or seven people in the Puppet Hall now!"

"Yes, including the two disciples, there are now seven of us."

"Can they all independently refine wolf-shaped and bull-shaped puppets?"

"They haven't reached that level yet. I mainly want them to practice their basic skills more solidly, so I didn't teach them the wolf-shaped and ox-shaped puppet skills all at once. For now, I only let them refine snake-shaped puppets." Wu Lian answered with some guilt.

The reason why he did not teach the first-grade medium-grade puppet refining skills was mainly to consolidate his dominant position. If everyone learned to refine wolf-shaped and ox-shaped puppets and their skills caught up with his, then his position in the Puppet Hall would be in jeopardy.

He is not like Shen Fan, who has the title of the head of the Puppet Hall. In reality, he is just an ordinary disciple of the Puppet Hall. The reason why he can control the affairs of the Puppet Hall is because of his outstanding skills.

If others' puppet-making skills surpass his, he will lose his current status, so he has never taught them the method of making medium-grade puppets, but only let them make snake-shaped puppets, and called it honing the basic skills of his disciples.

After he has mastered the technique of refining leopard-shaped puppets, he will teach the method of refining wolf-shaped and ox-shaped puppets, so that he can always maintain the lead.

Shen Fan was a person with no opinions or ideas, and his skills were not as good as his, so when it came to teaching skills to other disciples, he was the main person.

Song Xian was not as easy to fool as Shen Fan. After hearing what he said, he had vaguely guessed his little thoughts, but he did not say much. Everyone has selfish desires, and as long as it was not out of line, he was actually not willing to get involved in too many trivial matters.

Just like the sale of a shop, since it was handed over to Feng Yan, he would be fully responsible for it. He would not interfere in the management methods or the promotion and appointment of the shop manager.

"How's the refining of the top-grade puppet going?"

"We are still in the process of exploring and have not yet achieved success."

Song Xian asked a lot about the affairs of the Puppet Hall. As the Puppet Hall expanded and the number of people increased, more and more funds were invested. Now the fixed budget is 7,000 spirit stones, and an additional 2,000 to 3,000 spirit stones are required almost every year.

There is no way around it. This is just a money-burning thing. Although it cannot generate obvious profit returns, if it is developed on a large scale, it will be a huge boost to the sect's strength.

.........

The next day, Song Xian went to the training room to practice as usual. Because today was the day when Su Zhirou first started learning puppet making, he was worried about her, so he finished work early and left the training room.

When I returned to the backyard of the mansion, I saw Su Zhirou standing in front of the table, mixing the glittering powders and stacking them up bit by bit.

This is one of the steps in refining a puppet, called crystal condensation.

Shen Fan and Wu Lian stood beside her, one on each side.

"Headmaster."

"Headmaster."

Seeing him come back, both of them came forward to greet him.

Song Xian walked straight up to Su Zhirou, watched her stack the crystal pillars bit by bit, and said with a smile: "Your crystal pillars are not even straight, what use are they?"

Su Zhirou glanced at him and said, "My husband only knows how to make sarcastic remarks. This is only my first day of study. How can I master it so quickly?"

"I said you were clumsy, and you really are."

"Junior Brother Wu and Junior Brother Shen both say I'm very talented and keep praising me, but my husband is the only one who makes sarcastic remarks when he comes."

"They're just saying nice things to encourage you because they're afraid of discouraging you. Don't take them seriously. You have to know your own limitations."

The couple was flirting and bickering with each other. Shen Fan and Wu Lian naturally did not interrupt, but stood aside like wooden men.

Su Zhirou didn't stop until all four sides of the crystal column were glued together, completing the first step of crystal solidification.

Seeing a slight sweat stain on her head, Song Xian quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe it off for her. Feeling sorry for her tiredness, he said, "Okay, let's stop here for today! Puppet refining is not something that can be accomplished overnight, so take your time. Junior Brother Wu, Junior Brother Shen, you've been busy all day, so take a break!"

"Yes." The two replied.

"From now on, there's no need for both of you to guard here. Take turns. Don't delay the affairs of the Puppet Hall. Just one person can stay here. For example, for the next two weeks, Junior Brother Shen will stay here to teach, while Junior Brother Wu will return to the mountain gate to handle the affairs of the Puppet Hall. Next time, Junior Brother Wu will teach, and Junior Brother Shen will return to the mountain gate."

"Disciple, obey."

"Don't be afraid of her because she's a concubine. Just teach her like any other disciple of the Puppet Hall."

"Senior Sister Su is indeed extremely talented. She has achieved such a level in just one day. I am ashamed of myself." Song Xian smiled and shook his head. "She should be proud of herself if she continues. You guys go!"

The two of them left in response.

.........

For a period of time afterwards, Su Zhirou studied puppet making every day. It must be said that she was indeed very talented in this area. In just one month, she had mastered all the steps of making a snake-shaped puppet.

From crystal condensation, brain refining, bone tempering, to body formation, every step is taken steadily and steadily. Although the finished product is not perfect, it looks good.

Even Song Xian was surprised. He never expected that she was so clumsy when making talismans, but so dexterous when refining puppets, as if she was a different person.

You know, she had never been involved in puppet refining before. At most, when Song Xian was researching it, she watched from the side and didn't do anything.

This time he personally took part in the process and completely mastered the steps of crystal condensation in just a few days. After that, he refined his brain, tempered his bones, and formed his body step by step. Not only was he not stumped, but he became more and more adept at it.

Shen Fan and Wu Lian were full of praise for her, calling her a genius. Although this was a bit exaggerated and flattering, it was enough to illustrate the talent she displayed in refining puppets.

.........

In the blink of an eye, it’s the end of the year again.

Song Xian returned to Hunyuan Sect from Qingyuan Sect to hold the annual financial meeting.

This year's revenue has increased compared to last year, with the total revenue reaching 120,000 spirit stones. Except for the shops in Bianxia City and Humen City, the sales of Yuxiang Dan in other shops have increased. Among them, more than 700 cardamom pills were sold in the shops in Xijiang County this year.

The total expenditure this year was 54,000 spirit stones, and the net profit reached 68,000 spirit stones, setting a new record for the sect.

After the meeting, all the disciples dispersed. Song Xian only kept Lin Zixiang. After he reached the great perfection of Qi Refining, he returned to the mountain gate and gave the training room to Zhong Wenyuan.

"Brother Zixiang, what are your plans next? What are you preparing for foundation building? Do you need any help from the sect?"

Lin Zixiang said solemnly, "I've already considered this matter. Don't rush into building your foundation. Wait until I'm fully prepared. I plan to first cultivate the Xuanyuan Sutra to perfection at the third level, then refine various techniques to a high level, and then choose a place with rich spiritual energy to build my foundation."

"My plan is to use these few years to diligently cultivate my skills and techniques, then participate in a foundation-building selection competition in a few years, and then go to the Beastmaster Sect's mountain gate to evolve and build my foundation."

"By then, we may need some financial support from the sect."

George Lam had personally witnessed Zhang Shilin's repeated failures in building his foundation, and his final attempt to force his foundation resulted in his self-destruction and death. Therefore, he was filled with vigilance and fear towards building a foundation, so much so that his expression became solemn whenever the word "foundation building" was mentioned.

With Zhang Shilin's previous experience as a lesson, he naturally would not try it rashly, because he was well aware of the risks of building a foundation.

Laying the foundation is a huge hurdle for cultivators. Those who succeed will get everything, and their cultivation, strength, lifespan, and status will all take a big step forward.

If they fail, at best their spiritual power will evaporate and their cultivation will regress; at worst their roots will be damaged, or they may even explode and die.

This is a big gamble, and no one will give up easily. Some cultivators who have reached the great perfection of Qi training will even prepare for foundation building for decades, partly because the conditions for foundation building are very harsh.

On the other hand, both the risks and the rewards are too great.

To achieve the goal of building a foundation, one needs not only expensive foundation-building pills, but also a spirit vein of the second-level medium quality or above.

First, let’s talk about the Foundation Establishment Pill. The unified selling price of the Foundation Establishment Pill in Xijiang County is 27,000 spirit stones. This price will only go higher, not lower.

For ordinary cultivators, this is a huge sum of money. Most cultivators cannot earn so many spirit stones in their entire lives.

Even for the direct disciples of some large sects, it is very difficult to come up with so many spirit stones, not to mention the independent cultivators.

For a disciple of a small sect to come up with so many spirit stones, it would require the combined strength of the entire sect.

Just like the Qingyun Sect, Zhang Shilin almost emptied the entire sect’s treasury in order to build his foundation.

In terms of scale, the Hunyuan Sect is inferior to the Qingyun Sect, but thanks to the Xijiang County market opened up by the Yuxiang Pill, its annual income has far exceeded that of the Qingyun Sect in the past. In addition, the management of the Hunyuan Sect is relatively transparent, and there is almost no room for embezzlement, so the treasury is full of wealth.

The bulk of the sect's finances come from the sale of Jade Fragrance Pills, and the price of Jade Fragrance Pills is fixed. Every year, the Alchemy Hall keeps records of how much it issues, and the accounts must be audited at the end of the year.

Unless the shop owners were planning to make a quick buck and run away, the profits would be immediately discovered during the year-end check.

The rest of the industries were also packaged and given to the team of independent cultivators.

In this way, all financial revenue can be attributed to the sect and then distributed uniformly by the sect, basically eliminating the space for disciples to transfer money privately.

With the current income of Hunyuan Sect, I can’t say anything about other things, but at least in Bianxia Town, there should be no other family that can compare with it. Even the Ding family, which controls the market, cannot earn that much in a year.

Therefore, the Foundation Establishment Pill is naturally not a big problem for the sect.

But the other condition for building the foundation is a spiritual vein of the second-level medium quality or above, which is very troublesome.

Without a spiritual vein with abundant spiritual energy, it is useless to have a foundation-building pill.

And all the spiritual veins of this level are in the hands of big forces.

This is also the point that independent cultivators and many small forces hate the most. It is equivalent to those big forces monopolizing the right to build the foundation in disguise.

If you want to build a foundation, you must obtain its consent and meet its requirements.

In order to avoid provoking the hatred and anger of independent cultivators and small forces, many major forces generally do not act so drastically.

Like the Beast Taming Sect, it will give opportunities to those who are capable by holding foundation-building selections.

If you can't control it yourself, it's because you don't have enough strength, so you can't blame him.

Of course, only a very small number of people can pass the foundation-building selection. What should those who cannot win the championship do if they want to obtain the second-level medium-grade spiritual vein foundation-building?
Many large sects will issue tasks to the outside world. Take the Beast Taming Sect as an example. For example, if a murderer who killed one of its disciples fled to a very far place and is no longer within the Beast Taming Sect's sphere of influence, the Beast Taming Sect will issue a reward.

The higher the value of the target, the more generous the conditions offered. When you complete the task, it will lend you the mountain gate for foundation building.

In short, although independent cultivators and small forces do not have second-order medium-grade spiritual veins to build their foundation, it is not completely impossible, it is just not easy to obtain.

"Brother Zixiang, you don't have to worry too much about the spirit stones. The sect will fully support you. Brother Zixiang just needs to make preparations." Seeing that he had thought it through and had a thorough plan, Song Xian nodded in response.

Of course, he hoped that George Lam could establish his foundation as soon as possible. If the sect could produce a cultivator who could establish his foundation, the benefits would be self-evident.

But this matter involves the fundamentals, so of course it should be based on one's own wishes. Otherwise, if the foundation building fails and the blame is put on the sect, it will be difficult to deal with it.

(End of this chapter)