Chapter 70: Snake Puppet |
The wind howled outside, but Chen Lin was once again holed up in his room.
Day broke, and night fell.
No smoke was seen, only the low, muffled sound of explosions.
Three days later, Chen Lin emerged from his room, looking disheveled.
Although his body was weak, his eyes sparkled with a sharp light, and his smile was irrepressible.
During these three days, he had not slept or eaten, only drinking water and tirelessly refining the puppet.
The effect was astonishing.
Finally, after his tireless efforts, he had successfully created the Snake Puppet of the Qi Refining later stage!
The process was not without its difficulties, but it had proceeded smoothly without any mistakes.
Chen Lin arrived at the courtyard, opened his storage bag, and a three-foot-long gray snake puppet appeared in his hand.
The craftsmanship was a bit rough, but it didn't affect its power.
There was a hidden compartment in the snake's belly, where a medium-order spirit stone was placed.
The Qi Refining later stage puppet required a medium-order spirit stone to operate.
"Go!"
Chen Lin lightly shouted, and the snake puppet was placed on the ground.
In fact, the puppet didn't need sound to be controlled; it relied on the connection between the spiritual power and the Puppet Seal. Moreover, after the cultivator's exclusive mark was left on the Puppet Seal, others couldn't use spiritual power to interfere or seize control.
This was the wonder of the Puppet Seal.
Unfortunately, refining the puppet was too complicated. If Chen Lin didn't have his innate abilities, he would probably be like that fat cultivator, taking many years to create a single tiger puppet.
As Chen Lin gave a clear shout, the Puppet Seal on the snake's head lit up, and it suddenly shot up into the air, drawing a gray light trail.
Then, it made an arc-shaped movement, returning to Chen Lin's shoulder and coiling around his neck.
"Haha!"
The experiment was a success, and Chen Lin burst into laughter.
Indeed, as the ancient texts said, using the more mysterious Qi Refining later stage puppet, one didn't need to give step-by-step commands.
This snake puppet had initially acquired the ability to act according to the programmed instructions, although it was still inferior to the Spirit Puppet Seal, but much better than the tiger puppet.
Chen Lin was extremely satisfied.
It was worth it that he had spent all his Enlightenment Pills to comprehend the array method, which still gave him a headache.
Next, Chen Lin's thoughts stirred, and the snake puppet shot out from his neck, flying towards a distant viewing stone like a gray flying sword.
Just as the snake puppet was about to hit the stone, its head suddenly released a conical light shield, which enveloped its head and pierced through the stone, leaving a fist-sized smooth hole.
Chen Lin's joyful expression deepened.
This was one of the snake puppet's skills – Sword Transformation!
As the name suggested, it could transform into a flying sword for attack.
According to the ancient texts, even weak defensive techniques couldn't withstand this skill, which was as fast as lightning and could change its attack angle at will, making it impossible to defend against.
Just this one skill made Chen Lin extremely satisfied.
Moreover, the snake puppet had another skill.
As Chen Lin's thoughts stirred again, the snake puppet shot up from the ground.
A gray shadow made a large circle in the air, opened its mouth, and a cold, icy object shot out, striking the viewing stone again.
With a loud crash, the viewing stone instantly shattered, and countless fragments scattered everywhere.
A first-tier high-order technique – Ice Stab!
"Great, great, great!"
All the experiments had succeeded, and Chen Lin was overjoyed.
This was equivalent to having an additional Qi Refining later stage helper!
Moreover, it could be controlled in the Qi Refining middle stage, without occupying his own casting space, making it an excellent tool for killing and plundering.
The more Chen Lin looked, the more satisfied he became.
He decided to make another one, as his spiritual power could simultaneously control two puppets without any issues. When the time came, he would have two Qi Refining late stage cultivator-level helpers, which would surely give his enemies a huge surprise.
Of course, he still needed to make talismans to earn money first.
Overjoyed, Chen Lin beckoned, and the snake puppet flew back to him.
However, what made him stunned was that the snake didn't move at all.
"What's going on? Did it break?"
This made Chen Lin jump in fright.
The thing that cost a lot of money to refine, if it broke after just two uses, would be too ridiculous.
"Come back!"
Chen Lin gave the command again, but the snake remained still, not moving at all.
"Come back!"
"What's going on?"
"Can't you move a bit?"
After giving several commands, Chen Lin finally walked to the snake's front with a dark face.
He bent down to pick up the gray snake and began to examine it carefully.
Then, he stood still, stunned.
"This is too much of a rip-off, isn't it? Such a huge consumption?"
After checking, Chen Lin discovered that it wasn't broken, but the spirit stones had been used up.
The medium-grade spirit stones in the hidden compartment had turned to powder, exhausting the last bit of energy.
One medium-grade spirit stone was equivalent to one hundred low-grade spirit stones, and could only be used to attack twice.
Each attack required fifty spirit stones.
This wasn't a puppet, but a money-eating beast!
Chen Lin didn't know how to react, as the thing was useful, but also extremely expensive.
Would he have to walk the path of spending money in the future?
The key was that it could only attack twice, and the puppet's power would greatly decrease, making it impossible to use it as a regular combat force.
If it ran out of energy in the middle of an attack, there wouldn't be enough time to replace the spirit stones.
Chen Lin's joy was reduced by half.
The puppet's combat power was already not comparable to that of a cultivator of the same tier, and now it was even weaker.
Unless… he used high-grade spirit stones!
Chen Lin suddenly thought of a solution.
However, high-grade spirit stones were not commonly circulated, and at least in the Qi Refining stage, no one had seen anyone possessing them. Most were low-grade and medium-grade spirit stones.
Valuable items were exchanged for other valuable items.
High-grade spirit stones seemed to be only available to those at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Chen Lin's mood became somewhat gloomy, and his joy was reduced by half. He thought that he would have to inquire about it when he went to the market next time.
However, even if he could buy one, a single high-grade spirit stone would cost one hundred medium-grade spirit stones, which was really unaffordable!
Helplessly, Chen Lin replaced the spirit stone with a new medium-grade one and put the snake away in his storage bag.
Although it could only attack twice, it was still an invaluable helper, and its combat power had increased significantly.
In the following days, Chen Lin entered a state of cultivating and crafting talismans.
He would use up the materials, sell them in the market, and then buy new materials to refine, like a machine.
Thus, ten days passed quickly.
Chen Lin sat in his quiet room, and suddenly, his body trembled, and his aura surged, causing his clothes to flutter.
After a moment, he opened his eyes, and a flash of light passed by.
After several months, his cultivation had finally increased by another stage!
Chen Lin was thrilled to examine his body, feeling the surging power within.
Then, he began to experiment with this technique and the effects of spiritual treasures.
After trying it out, he couldn't help but nod in satisfaction. The power of the Qi Refining fifth stage was much stronger than the fourth stage, and the techniques were faster and more powerful.
Especially the Royal Wind Technique, which had greatly increased in height and speed, and its endurance had also improved.
"Indeed, everything else is secondary; the most important thing is to increase one's cultivation!"
Chen Lin sighed and prepared to go to the market.
However, before he could leave, he heard the sound of drums and music coming from a distance.
Whose wedding was it?
Chen Lin was puzzled.
This courtyard was located in a remote area, and the neighbors were all over a hundred meters away. When he moved in, he had checked the surrounding neighbors and didn't find any children of marriageable age.
He walked out of the courtyard, slowly heading towards the source of the sound.
It had been several months since he came to this world, and he had never seen a wedding. It would be nice to take a look and share in the joy.