Chapter 1608: New Puppet

"It's nothing," Han Li replied with a laugh, his voice filled with admiration. "I just realized that spirit puppets truly live up to their name. If I didn't also possess some knowledge of puppet arts and certain spiritual secret techniques, I might have mistaken your spirit puppet for a real person. Her aura and spiritual pressure are remarkably similar to ours."

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Han, you saw through it!" Jia Tianmu exclaimed, bursting into hearty laughter, not at all discouraged. "You are definitely the first among those below the Saint Race who have visited my cave mansion to independently realize that this maid is a puppet. I personally refined this puppet myself back then; it managed to deceive countless friends." It seemed Han Li's quick insight into the humanoid puppet's true nature made him feel as if he had found a kindred spirit.

"It was merely a lucky guess on my part," Han Li said with a faint smile, gazing at the puppet that was almost indistinguishable from a real person. "However, this spirit puppet seems to be of a lower rank, leaning too much towards anthropomorphic details."

"Brother Han, your insight is truly sharp!" Jia Tianmu sighed, turning to glance at the maidservant with a hint of regret on his face. "This puppet was the first spirit-tier puppet I ever refined. It only possesses the strength of a third-rank of the upper race, and I focused entirely on its spiritual aspect. Unfortunately, despite all my cultivation efforts, its spirituality hasn't improved at all."

At that moment, the maidservant puppet smiled sweetly at Jia Tianmu, just like a normal person. However, the smile instantly vanished, and her face became expressionless once more. Han Li was somewhat speechless at this sight. "Right, Brother Han, please take a look at the spirit puppet in the box. See if it meets your satisfaction?" Jia Tianmu asked with a smile after withdrawing his gaze. "Then I won't be polite," Han Li nodded. With a flick of his sleeve over the table, a swath of green light swept across. After a crisp "crack," the long wooden box opened, revealing its contents. "This is...?" Han Li focused his gaze, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

Inside the box was a white snake, about a foot long, entirely crystalline and translucent, enveloped in a flowing layer of white spiritual light.

"This is a new type of spirit puppet that I recently refined," Jia Tianmu explained with a hint of reluctance. "Its rank is roughly equivalent to your current cultivation level, Fellow Daoist, around the seventh-rank of the upper race. Although its rank isn't exceedingly high, it can transform into two different forms. If Brother Han hadn't saved my life, I truly wouldn't have been willing to part with this puppet." "Two forms?" Han Li inquired, sounding surprised.

"Precisely! Although it hasn't undergone the blood-binding ritual, I can still operate it briefly to demonstrate for Brother Han." As Jia Tianmu spoke, he formed a hand seal with one hand and lightly pointed a finger from afar towards Han Li's wooden box. Instantly, a white ray shot from his fingertip, disappearing in a flash as it entered the body of the white snake in the box.

With a flash of spiritual light, the previously motionless white snake suddenly began to writhe. Immediately, a brilliant white light erupted, and it transformed into a streak of white light that shot out of the wooden box. It became a ten-foot long white python, circling and dancing in the air above the hall.

From a distance, the python's eyes were blood-red, its scales shimmered steadily, and as it swayed its head and tail, a fierce, malevolent aura washed over them, making it indistinguishable from a true giant python. Suddenly, Jia Tianmu let out a low shout, raised a hand, and cast another incantation.

The white python's form paused, its body suddenly trembled, and it then curled into a ball.

Amidst a great burst of white light, the white python instantly transformed into a stunning, heroic-looking woman in white robes. She had picturesque features, but a faint trace of bewilderment lingered in her brow as she hung motionless in mid-air.

"How about it?" Jia Tianmu explained. "This spirit puppet is extremely suitable, whether for combat or for use as a maidservant in your cave mansion. Its only drawback is likely the consumption of spirit stones, which is several times higher than other spirit puppets. Moreover, because the majority of this puppet's body is refined from cold-light crystal iron, it can only be activated by extremely rare ice-attribute spirit stones. If you truly wish to have it, your future spirit stone expenses will certainly not be small."

"Although ice-attribute spirit stones are rare, I believe I can still gather some," Han Li said with a broad smile after gazing at the white-robed woman in the air for a while. "As long as the puppet is useful, I will gratefully accept it." "Heh heh, as long as Brother Han is satisfied," Jia Tianmu smiled. He formed another hand seal and pointed at the puppet in the air. Immediately, the white-robed woman's figure flickered, transforming directly into a ball of white light that shot towards Han Li. After circling once, it changed back into a white snake and slowly descended into the box. At the same time, Han Li flicked his sleeve, and a green mist swept over, closing the lid of the box.

"Fellow Daoist Jia," Han Li said, smiling suddenly at Jia Tianmu after putting away the wooden box, "from what you said just now, all these spirit puppets are your creations. Your mastery of puppet refining is truly remarkable. By coincidence, I also happen to have a batch of new and very interesting puppets that I obtained from someone else. Would you be interested in taking a look?" "Oh, new puppets! Fellow Daoist, please bring them out quickly, let me have a look." Jia Tianmu's face lit up with great joy upon hearing this. Han Li smiled, then with a flip of his hand, a jade box suddenly appeared in his palm. It shimmered with spiritual light and even had several restriction talismans affixed to it.

He peeled off the talismans, then lightly tapped the lid with one hand.

Instantly, the lid flew upwards, and dozens of inch-sized figurines shot out from the jade box.

These were precisely the spirit servant puppets that Han Li had acquired from the Blood-robed Demon King of the Underworld Abyss.

As soon as these figurines flew to the center of the hall, they suddenly burst forth, emitting a five-colored mist. After a swirling dissipation, twelve beautiful women, clad in five-colored dresses, appeared in the hall, each one graceful, enchanting, and seductive.

Meanwhile, on both sides of the hall, twenty-four handsome young men appeared simultaneously, each holding various musical instruments and sitting cross-legged.

Han Li did not activate any incantations, yet a beautiful melody began to play in the hall, filling the listeners with delight. The beautiful women, swaying gracefully, began to dance in the hall in time with the music.

The women's waists were slender like willow branches, their five-colored dresses floated and spun, and wafts of an exotic fragrance permeated the air.

For a moment, the hall was filled with captivating and alluring figures, utterly enchanting.

The moment these figurines appeared, Jia Tianmu's eyes widened, and he stared unblinkingly.

After an unknown period, the captivating music ceased, and the twelve dancing women halted their movements, standing still with hands clasped. "This is indeed interesting," Jia Tianmu murmured, his eyes flickering as he exhaled a long breath. "These figurines seem to possess spiritual thoughts within them, but they aren't yours, Fellow Daoist Han, are they?"

"You've seen through it, Fellow Daoist," Han Li said with a smile. "These puppets are called Spirit Servants; they are a type of half-spirit, half-material puppet. Unlike spirit puppets, they are created by fusing the essence and spiritual body of a spirit insect with a puppet's physical form. In a way, they share some similarities with your spirit puppets, Fellow Daoist. They also act solely based on certain instincts, lacking any true intelligence, and certainly have no room for further spiritual improvement."

"Fusing a spiritual body with a puppet?" Jia Tianmu's face showed a mix of surprise and delight upon hearing Han Li's words, and he eagerly asked, "I've had that idea before, but I've tried the essences of various spirit beasts without any success. What kind of spiritual bodies are integrated into these Spirit Servants?"

"I also obtained these Spirit Servants by chance, and I'm not entirely sure what kind of spiritual bodies are integrated into them," Han Li said with a meaningful expression, stroking his chin. "However, with these Spirit Servants in hand, Fellow Daoist, it shouldn't be difficult for you to separate them and discover their true nature." "That's true!" Jia Tianmu first seemed to realize something, but then was surprised. "What? Brother Han, are you willing to give these puppets to me?"

"While these Spirit Servants are interesting, they aren't of much use to me," Han Li said calmly. "However, Fellow Daoist, your own mastery of puppet arts is truly astounding. With these, you might even be able to advance another level in that field."

"These Spirit Servants would indeed be of great use to me, but how can I simply accept such a valuable item?" Jia Tianmu said, shaking his head repeatedly. "How about this? I'm quite well-off at the moment, so let me purchase them from you at a high price."

"Forget the spirit stones," Han Li said, his eyes flashing as he finally revealed his true purpose. "If Fellow Daoist Jia truly feels that you cannot accept something for nothing, then I have a few questions I'd like to ask you. If you can answer one or two of them, I will be completely satisfied."

"Questions?" Jia Tianmu was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, but after blinking his eyes, he replied cautiously, "Brother Han, please feel free to ask. However, if any questions involve secrets of our clan, I may not be at liberty to answer."

"Naturally," Han Li said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he chuckled. "My questions will absolutely not involve any secrets of your noble clan." Jia Tianmu's expression relaxed, and he nodded, saying, "Then please ask away, Brother Han."

"During my time in the city these past few days, I've heard rumors that there seems to be a super teleportation array in Tianyun that can cross continents," Han Li asked solemnly. "I wonder if this is true? If so, which clan controls it?"

"A cross-continental teleportation array? Yes, there is indeed such an array," Jia Tianmu replied with unusual ease, clearly a bit surprised by Han Li's question. "However, this array is not controlled by a single clan; rather, it is jointly guarded by several of our thirteen clans." "Which clans guard it?" Han Li pressed further.

"Because this array requires proper safekeeping and frequent repairs, it is guarded by four of our clans: the Crystal Clan, the Stone Cocoon Clan, the Multi-Hand Clan, and our Myriad Ancient Clan," Jia Tianmu replied casually, while also asking thoughtfully, "Fellow Daoist Han, are you interested in the array's setup, or do you intend to use this teleportation array?"