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Wuqi Mountain, Little Turtle Peak.
Lan Chang'an sat in the pavilion, putting away the letter in his hand.
In the nearby lotus pond, the flowers bloomed splendidly, their petals white with red veins and tender buds laden with dewdrops, their fragrance filling the air.
On the other side of the pond stood a girl dressed in teal robes by the water's edge, her complexion pale as snow and waist slender like willow twigs. Her skirt fluttered gently in the breeze, graceful as wisps of cloud drifting between peaks.
In the year since she had come to Little Turtle Peak, Mu Bingyun had become increasingly reticent, her demeanor more aloof, resembling a snow lotus on a high peak.
"Quite similar," Lan Chang'an glanced over.
Mu Bingyun's appearance and temperament were very similar to the young lady from back then, only her character was a bit colder and less outgoing.
This was likely due to her upbringing.
Orphaned since childhood, she was adopted and taken as a disciple by Mu Xiuyun, lacking complete parental affection. Moreover, her master's experiences had left her distrustful of men.
Upon arriving at Little Turtle Peak, Guan Qiaozhi was wary of Mu Bingyun, outwardly warm but would not treat her sincerely.
Lan Chang'an, besides his cultivation, had other responsibilities like body refining, talisman drawing, nurturing treasure talismans, and studying puppets. He didn't have much time to care for her. Apart from the bi-monthly nurturing sessions, he only occasionally guided her in cultivation and talisman drawing.
"Squeak squeak!"
The Earth Burrowing Rat ran up to Mu Bingyun with a bright mountain flower in its mouth.
"For me?"
Mu Bingyun reached out her slender fingers to take the mountain flower, and a rare smile broke out on her delicate face, like the morning sun melting winter snow.
Of the two pets on Little Turtle Peak, the Profound Water Turtle was closer to Guan Qiaozhi because she had accompanied and fed it since it was small, while the Earth Burrowing Rat remained loyal only to Lan Chang'an and showed no interest in the two female cultivators.
This action was instructed by Lan Chang'an. He mainly worried that Mu Bingyun, having no company, would become too withdrawn.
"Bingyun," Lan Chang'an called out.
"Uncle Lan," Mu Bingyun walked to the pavilion and bowed slightly.
Not far away, Guan Qiaozhi, who was tending the herb garden with the Profound Water Turtle, listened attentively.
"Has your injury healed?"
"It's no longer a problem. Thanks to Uncle Lan's nurturing, the discomfort in my dantian has lessened during cultivation, and my magical power has started to improve, though a bit slower than before the injury."
As Mu Bingyun spoke, her tone lightened a few points. This was the best news she had received in the year she had been at Wuqi Mountain. Lan Chang'an's nurturing methods were effective indeed.
She had gone from initial discomfort and suspicion to gradual acceptance, then respect and guilt. Such unique nurturing methods, if not for old sentiments, would Uncle Lan bother to spend over a decade helping her recover?
"That's good."
Lan Chang'an nodded, then shifted the conversation.
"Little Turtle Peak doesn't keep idle hands."
"From now on, you will take over some of Qiaozhi's work in preparing talisman materials. Mixing spirit ink, maintaining talisman brushes, and the final step of crafting talisman paper."
Mu Bingyun was a mid-grade first-rank talisman master, suitable for some technical work.
"Yes, Uncle Lan." Mu Bingyun's clear eyes brightened, feeling a weight lifting off her shoulders. Cultivating and being nurtured at Little Turtle Peak, living without contributing, she was very uneasy in her heart.
Mu Bingyun went back to her cave to prepare for her new tasks.
"Senior Brother Lan, one person is enough to prepare talisman materials. Why have Bingyun..." Guan Qiaozhi's voice trembled softly, almost on the verge of tears.
"I have more important tasks for you." Lan Chang'an was already prepared, handing her a jade slip.
Guan Qiaozhi placed the jade slip against her forehead to check its contents, soon showing a look of surprise.
"Keep this matter confidential," Lan Chang'an instructed.
"Handle those crucial puppet parts in the secret room."
"Don't worry, Senior Brother Lan."
Guan Qiaozhi's eyebrows lifted, her face beaming with joy. Now, she alone shared a secret with Senior Brother Lan. Besides being a second-rank talisman master, he was also working toward becoming one in the puppetry path.
...
In a blink of an eye, two more years passed.
Lan Chang'an turned eighty-six years old and had been at Wuqi Mountain for fifteen years.
On this day, in the secret room of his cave, Lan Chang'an squatted on the ground, installing the final black armor piece onto a two-zhang tall humanoid puppet.
This humanoid puppet resembled a statue, clad in armor and holding a long spear.
He removed the protective heart mirror from the puppet's chest and embedded several mid-grade spirit stones inside. The energy core of the puppet was naturally a key protected area.
Lan Chang'an performed the puppet control technique, and the two-zhang tall statue puppet emitted a faint green light, with the sound of mechanisms faintly operating. With a swing of the spear, muted gusts of wind surged forth. The spiritual pressure it exuded was comparable to an early Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"A second-rank puppet, finally completed." Lan Chang'an smiled with satisfaction.
In this life, he had finally acquired another second-rank skill to protect his path. The way of puppetry could significantly increase his margin for error.
For instance, for someone like Huang Tankong, whose lifespan was nearing its end. By sending out a second-rank puppet, he could force him to exhaust the rest of his life.
If he encountered a truly great opportunity involving the quality of the formed dan or the hope of advancing to Nascent Soul, he wouldn't remain unmoved, even with plenty of lifespan left to spare.
Puppets would serve as great cannon fodder in moments of need.
"Creating puppets is indeed costly, both in terms of time and energy." Lan Chang'an put away the second-rank statue puppet, feeling sentimental.
Spending part of each day on this second-rank puppet had taken over two months. In this life, if he hadn't practiced the Evergreen Technique, which afforded him ample leisure time, he wouldn't have been able to muster the energy to cultivate his body while simultaneously raising his puppetry skills to the second rank.
Every cultivator had only limited energy in their lifetime. Personal cultivation alone takes a lot of time, and one must seek resources to break through small and major realms.
It is rare for any cultivator to manage to raise a skill to a proficient level alongside their main cultivation. Hard work alone isn't sufficient; innate talent and the corresponding inheritance must also be present.
Lan Chang'an's alchemy skill had taken decades to barely touch the threshold of the second rank.
...
Lan Chang'an kept his second-rank puppet master status temporarily secret from the public.
Even Guan Qiaozhi only knew he was trying to advance to a second-rank puppet master.
Next, Lan Chang'an needed to procure materials for the second-rank puppets. Materials for making puppets varied widely depending on the type. Spirit wood, parts from demon beasts, and various ores could all be used for puppet materials. freewёbnoνel.com
Materials for low-grade second-rank puppets were relatively easy to find, Lan Chang'an didn't need to attend auctions to acquire them.
Lan Chang'an flew to Huanglong Immortal City, where he easily bought what he needed with his Huanglong Pavilion VIP token.
Recently, he had another collaboration with the Beast Taming Zhou Family. While at it, he delivered the prepared talismans to the Zhou Family cultivators stationed there.
Zhou Qingxuan was no longer in Huanglong Immortal City. She had stayed there previously to gain experience and earn some credits.
Negotiating with Lan Chang'an now was another Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Zhou Family. His name was Zhou Jingxuan, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Zhou Jingxuan was a middle-aged scholar who was kind and talkative.
Lan Chang'an had heard that Zhou Jingxuan had almost been killed by Liang Shaotian years ago; it was Zhou Qingxuan's quick thinking that saved her uncle's life.
Lan Chang'an chatted with Zhou Jingxuan for a long time, learning much about the inner workings of the Liang Kingdom's cultivation world.
For instance, eighteen years ago, Huanglong Immortal secretly attempted to breakthrough to the late stage of Core Formation and failed.
Lan Chang'an, in his previous life, had reached the pinnacle of the late Core Formation Realm. He deeply understood the difficulty of reaching the late Core Formation stage.
In his previous life, with considerable opportunities and family support, he had paid a steep price to barely cross that threshold.
"Huanglong Immortal attempted the late stage eighteen years ago and failed. freewebnσvel.cѳm
"And Tuoba Jin's challenge to Huanglong Immortal's Fake-Dan disciple as a whetstone happened over a decade ago."
Now, Lan Chang'an understood the details.
Huanglong Immortal, at the mid-Core Formation stage, with a third-rank Huang Dragon of earth grade bloodline, was very strong among Core Formation Immortals and was revered as the number one loose cultivator in Liang.
If this man had succeeded in advancing to the late Core Formation stage eighteen years ago, Tuoba Jin likely would've targeted someone else for his challenge.
After that challenge, Tuoba Jin went into seclusion and advanced to the Core Formation Realm within two years.
According to Zhou Jingxuan, the quality of Tuoba Jin's core was exceptional, reaching the threshold of a Golden-Dan.
Tuoba Jin hadn't always borne the name "Jin"(gold), but later changed it to signify his aspiration towards attaining a Golden-Dan.
"A Golden-Dan is essentially a Nascent Soul seed." Lan Chang'an couldn't help but yearn.
In his previous life, with high grade spiritual roots and the full support of his family, he had only managed to cultivate a mid-quality True-Dan.
Out of ten Core Formation Immortals, at least nine had earth or heaven-grade spiritual roots or innate treasure bodies.
Tuoba Jin was rumored to have high grade spiritual roots and an innate treasure body.
...
Lan Chang'an returned to Wuqi Mountain from Huanglong Immortal City with a pile of puppet materials.
Guan Qiaozhi possessed both dexterity and ingenuity, making her highly skilled at handling puppet parts—otherwise, Puppet Master Sang back then wouldn't have gifted her one of his puppets.
Lan Chang'an began planning for his second puppet. In fact, he wanted to create a second-rank flying puppet, but unfortunately, flying puppets required higher proficiency and rarer materials, so they weren't suitable for his current circumstances.
He glanced at the Profound Water Turtle not far away and got an idea. Turtle-type demon beasts were known for their formidable defensive capabilities.
"I'll craft a turtle puppet that prioritizes defense over attack. It can serve as a shield in critical situations." Lan Chang'an decided on his second puppet.
As he was pondering...
Whoosh!
A streak of light shot out from beyond Wuqi Mountain toward Xiao Pan Peak several li away. It was a tall, curvaceous, and serene female cultivator in a simple dress.
"This Fairy Shi has been going out frequently in recent years." Lan Chang'an took a look.
This time, Shi Manrong's aura seemed somewhat disordered, and she flew haphazardly, as if in haste. Lan Chang'an was unsure what had occurred but did not pry further.
A few years ago, Shi Manrong had tried to play hard to get, attempting to understand the second-rank defensive formation in Lan Chang'an's residence from his previous life but she failed.
Since then, she had refrained from attempting any such feat again, occasionally visiting Little Turtle Peak only to bring small gifts and exchange pleasantries with Lan Chang'an, maintaining a relationship that remained purely courteous and amicable.
Shi Manrong was a well-known formation genius in the surrounding neighborhood, with the potential to become a third-rank formation master in the future. Lan Chang'an was happy socializing with her.
...
Three days later.
Shi Manrong visited Little Turtle Peak.
This time, she had returned to her usual graceful and calm demeanor, bringing a small gift box.
However, Lan Chang'an was busy today, working on second-rank puppet parts in the secret room of his cave.
"Sister Shi, Brother Lan is in seclusion and cannot receive visitors."
"Qiaozhi, give this to Talisman Master Lan." Fairy Shi smiled warmly, her voice gentle.
"Okay."
Guan Qiaozhi accepted the small jade box.
After Shi Manrong left, Guan Qiaozhi returned to the cave mansion and, with Lan Chang'an's permission to enter, delivered the small jade box to the secret room.
The small jade box had a layer of restriction, which could be easily opened as long as one was at the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Lan Chang'an's powerful spiritual sense swept through it beforehand, finding no abnormalities.
Opening the jade box, there were two items: a voice transmission talisman and a jade slip.
Lan Chang'an activated the voice transmission talisman.
A gentle, warm female voice flowed out:
"After knowing each other for over a decade, I deeply trust Fellow Daoist Lan's character and temperament."
"I wish to be honest: to make a deal with Fellow Daoist Lan and offer an opportunity."
After listening to the transmission talisman, Lan Chang'an picked up the jade slip and examined its contents.
His expression shifted slightly, showing a trace of surprise.
"This time, she does seem to be sincere."
The jade slip contained two main pieces of information.
One of them was about the layout of the protective formation on Xiao Pan Peak, including its vulnerabilities and back doors. Lan Chang'an had been to Xiao Pan Peak before and confirmed that the information was accurate. This was tantamount to saying that this Fairy Shi had granted Lan Chang'an the key to the main door of her cave, as well as the hidden passageways within.
...
(End of Chapter)