Chapter 428: Immortality Puppet Technique

“When the time comes, just point me at whoever you want to kill.”

The Purple Lightning Sword finally succumbed to the spirit stones, and Chen Mobai nodded in satisfaction.

He was testing the Purple Lightning Sword step by step. It seemed that even without a cultivator wielding it, the Purple Lightning Sword could still activate its power. He just wondered if this fourth-tier sword could contend with a Core Formation cultivator.

“How many spirit stones will you need then?”

“At least one... or rather, half a high-grade spirit stone, I suppose.”

The Purple Lightning Sword originally wanted a year's worth of offerings, but then thought it might be too much, so it temporarily changed its mind and asked for half.

“Isn't that a bit little? After all, if I need you to act, it will definitely be against a Core Formation cultivator.”

Chen Mobai thought about it and felt it was a bit cheap.

After all, in the Eastern Wilderness, even a hundred high-grade spirit stones couldn't move a Core Formation cultivator, as these were either patriarchs of various families or renowned rogue cultivators.

“And it's not certain if I can win. After all, without a sword master's blessing, I can only exert at most ten percent of my power. Half a piece can be considered the basic fee for unsheathing the sword; the exact amount will depend on the battle's outcome.”

After hearing Chen Mobai's words, although the Purple Lightning Sword's mind was as pure as a child's, it also felt as if it had quoted too low and added a supplement.

“Alright then. But given my cautious nature, there probably won't be many opportunities to act.”

Chen Mobai had probed enough and learned the Purple Lightning Sword's power limit.

However, he still felt that ten percent of its power was too low; it might not be a match for a Core Formation cultivator. It was better to remain humble and stay true to his original intentions.

After hearing this, the Purple Lightning Sword had yet to react, remaining embedded in the raw spirit stone, happily enjoying the sensation of abundant spiritual energy bathing its entire body.

Time flew by.

Soon, half a year had passed.

On this day, Chen Mobai, sitting in his wooden hut atop Xiaonan Mountain, opened his eyes amidst the dense spiritual energy.

A mid-grade spirit stone in his palm had completely dulled and lost all its luster, its spiritual energy drained dry by his Pure Yang Dharma Body.

He skillfully took out the Spirit Tester from his storage bag. This ingenious little device had been with him for nearly ten years, and at a price of 580 merit points, it had long since proven its worth.

Spiritual Roots: Metal 23, Wood 48, Water 19, Fire 75, Earth 14

After injecting a stream of spiritual energy, Chen Mobai saw his spiritual root values had increased again and nodded with satisfaction.

After two years of continuous cultivation with mid-grade spirit stones, his Six Yang Body finally showed significant progress, losing 1 point each in Water and Wood spiritual roots, and gaining 3 points in Fire spiritual roots.

This time, he remembered the lesson and stopped cultivating as soon as he felt his spiritual roots changing, planning to visit the Divine Tree Secret Realm later to “touch” the Talent Tree.

Over the past six months, he had primarily been meditating and cultivating in Xiaonan Mountain, a place rich in spiritual energy.

Relying on the Qi Supplementing Spirit Water exchanged from the Daoist Academy, his Pure Yang spiritual power steadily increased, and he had now accumulated 130 drops of liquid spiritual power in his Dantian Qi Sea.

However, to advance the Pure Yang Scroll to the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment, 150 drops of liquid spiritual power were required.

Without the immortal peach fruits Yuan Hongyuan had given him, Chen Mobai originally had no hope of reaching the late Foundation Establishment stage before graduation.

But now, with a year remaining and the ample assistance of the Qi Supplementing Spirit Water, it would definitely not be an issue.

However, compared to the increase in Pure Yang spiritual power, the progress of his Pure Yang Dharma Body undoubtedly made him happier.

After all, due to various fortuitous encounters, his Dantian Qi Sea and Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness had long since been expanded to the perfected Foundation Establishment stage, with no bottlenecks before Core Formation; success was only a matter of time.

However, the Pure Yang Dharma Body was different.

As the easiest Divine Transformation cultivation method to get started with in the Immortal Sect, the only thing hindering cultivators from practicing the Pure Yang Scroll was the Pure Yang Dharma Body, which required significant resources and time.

Chen Mobai's mentor, True Lord Shaoyang, had been in seclusion working on this for nearly ten years since Chen Mobai's enrollment, and it was unknown if he would be able to cultivate the Nine Yangs and reach the Nascent Soul bottleneck in his lifetime.

Although he didn't lack spirit stones, there were no examples in the Immortal Sect of fully advancing the Pure Yang Dharma Body's improvement solely through spirit stones from start to finish; it was all just theoretical.

Chen Mobai was also a bit afraid that later on, these spirit stones would cease to be effective for the Pure Yang Dharma Body, leaving him to rely solely on diligent cultivation.

Fortunately, so far, the spirit stones had remained effective.

After two years of continuous refinement, he finally felt the breakthrough of his Six Yang Body today.

At this rate, his Six Yang Body should be perfected in about four years.

Even according to the experience of Pure Yang Scroll cultivators in the Immortal Sect, the Pure Yang Dharma Body's progress slows down in later stages. However, Chen Mobai had originally planned to wait twenty years for Meng Huang'er, so this amount of time would certainly be enough for him to achieve Six Yangs.

In that case, all prerequisite conditions for the Pure Yang Scroll to reach Core Formation would be met.

Once the issue of the Pure Yang Dharma Body was resolved, Chen Mobai would have no more obstacles to Core Formation; all that remained was acquiring Core Formation spiritual items to increase his success rate.

Glancing once more at the Five Elements spiritual root values on the Spirit Tester's screen, Chen Mobai smiled and activated the cloud and mist grand array on the mountaintop.

Soon after, several communication talismans landed in his hands.

First were those from his three disciples.

Liu Wenbai had been busy traveling this year. While expanding the Xiaonan Mountain shops, he was also helping Chen Mobai inquire about Water Mist Ice Crystal, a Foundation Establishment spiritual item.

As expected, the Blowing Snow Palace possessed this item.

However, they called it “Cold Ice Condensation Crystal,” a special spirit crystal used by Snow Country Foundation Establishment cultivators to purify spiritual power. They had also discovered its ability to increase the success rate of Foundation Establishment for ice-attributed spiritual root cultivators, so it was regarded as a strategic resource and not sold externally.

But Chen Mobai knew that “not for external sale” simply meant the price wasn't right.

Therefore, he authorized Liu Wenbai to befriend the cultivators of Blowing Snow Palace, instructing his eldest disciple to negotiate with them in his name and see what conditions would make them willing to sell this “Cold Ice Condensation Crystal.”

The title of the Divine Wood Sect's foremost sword cultivator was still a prominent name in the Eastern Wilderness.

Lan Lingping, the External Affairs Elder of Blowing Snow Palace, was willing to have a face-to-face meeting with Chen Mobai to discuss this matter.

Lan Lingping was a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, the third most important figure in Blowing Snow Palace, after the Core Formation patriarchs and the Sect Master. Her willingness to meet essentially indicated her readiness to show Chen Mobai respect.

Liu Wenbai felt it was inappropriate to make decisions for his master, so he sent this matter via communication talisman.

Chen Mobai checked the time; it was from a month ago.

By now, Liu Wenbai should have returned to the sect. After all, the year-end Sect Grand Competition was very important for Qi Condensation disciples. Next year, a batch of Jade Marrow Gold Ganoderma would mature, and Zeng Woyou would harvest them to refine three batches of Foundation Establishment Pills.

Nominally, these three batches of Foundation Establishment Pills were allocated to Golden Light Cliff, but what if there was a surplus?

Perhaps the top few true disciples of the Divine Wood Sect could receive a share in advance.

Although this news was only known to the upper echelons, Chen Mobai was the instigator, so he had naturally already hinted at it to his three disciples.

Thus, except for Zhuo Ming, who lacked confidence in herself, Liu Wenbai and Luo Yixuan were both eager, having long awaited this day.

Chen Mobai then looked at the other communication talismans. Both Zhuo Ming and Luo Yixuan had gone to Divine Wood City to participate in this year's Sect Grand Competition and had reported to him, their master.

During his seclusion, they had also hired some Qi Condensation disciples from the sect to operate puppets, harvesting and organizing all the thousand acres of fire spirit rice that matured at the end of the year, storing them in the warehouse.

Chen Mobai also needed to figure out a good way to sell this spirit rice.

After all, the Body Forging Department of the Divine Wood Sect was already saturated. Even if the remaining stock were sold loosely in the markets across the entire country, it would likely be a drop in the bucket and not resolve much.

However, even if it couldn't be sold, he could just brew it all into wine, or half-sell and half-give it away to the sect's Qi Condensation disciples as a form of advertisement.

Luo Yixuan, on the other hand, reported some changes in the Eastern Wilderness's situation over the past six months: the Divine Wood Sect and Shaking Mountain Peak were frequently clashing at the border of Thunder Country, just short of their high-level cultivators officially declaring war.

However, under such circumstances, Zhou Wangshen, who was stationed there, seemed unable to hold on. A few days ago, Xie Yuntian from the Sword Practice Department led another group of Foundation Establishment true cultivators and Qi Condensation disciples to reinforce them.

But as a mere Qi Condensation disciple, she didn't know the exact details.

After reading the communication talismans from his three disciples, Chen Mobai immediately picked out those from his friends, Yuan Chizhe and Yue Zutao.

As expected, they knew more detailed information and had both been dispatched by Chu Zuoshu to the front lines in Thunder Country.

Although the Divine Wood Sect and Shaking Mountain Peak had not yet engaged in a full-scale war, casualties among cultivators from both nations at the border were becoming increasingly frequent.

Zhou Wangshen was someone who couldn't tolerate any slight. Initially, he personally guarded the border and fiercely fought several battles against the general stationed on the side of Rock Country.

Relying on the mystical nature of his Immortal Dao Body, their encounters were considered draws.

However, not long ago, after Ji Dingjin arrived at the front lines, Zhou Wangshen could no longer hold out.

He could still rely on his Dao Body and magical artifacts to contend against late Foundation Establishment cultivators, but once a perfected Foundation Establishment body cultivator made a move, Zhou Wangshen suffered a crushing defeat. If not for a life-saving spiritual talisman bestowed by Patriarch Zhou, he would likely have perished on the spot.

Fortunately, in wars between major sects, besides the absolute suppression of higher cultivation realms, most gaps could still be bridged by relying on the number of cultivators and arrays.

After Zhou Wangshen was defeated by Ji Dingjin, he began to shrink his defensive line, leading the Divine Wood Sect disciples to retreat into a market town that had already been fortified with a third-tier array, holding off Shaking Mountain Peak's surging offensive.

Although Ji Dingjin considered himself invincible among Foundation Establishment cultivators, he dared not single-handedly charge into a third-tier array.

Instead, he turned around and led the Shaking Mountain Peak disciples to reclaim two spirit stone mines and a fine iron mine, among other resources, that had been seized by the Divine Wood Sect during the previous war.

However, not long after, the Divine Wood Sect also relied on pre-arranged teleportation arrays. Xie Yuntian led twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators as reinforcements, launching a counterattack.

However, Ji Dingjin was simply too powerful. As a perfected Foundation Establishment body cultivator who had once attempted to reach Core Formation, even Chu Zuoshu, fighting him head-on, could at most use the characteristics of the Immortal Longevity Sutra to maintain a stalemate.

Although Xie Yuntian was the Divine Wood Sect's second-ranked sword cultivator, and his Azure Sun Fire Sword Light was supremely refined, he still couldn't do anything against Ji Dingjin.

After three days and three nights of fierce fighting between the Divine Wood Sect and Shaking Mountain Peak, Xie Yuntian could only rely on his numerical advantage, forming battle arrays to drive the enemy back into Rock Country territory.

After that, it was a series of skirmishes between cultivators of both factions along the border.

During this period, many rogue cultivators and bandits who wished to profit from the chaos stirred up trouble. Coupled with the various immortal cultivation families conscripted from Thunder Country and Rock Country, that area was now arguably the most turbulent place in the Eastern Wilderness.

Among these, there was also a communication talisman from Chu Zuoshu.

The message was to have Chen Mobai on standby. If the command for the two patriarchs to go to war came down, he, as the Divine Wood Sect's foremost sword cultivator, would have to depart for Thunder Country to stabilize the situation.

After selecting a few important replies, Chen Mobai personally went to Divine Wood City to meet with Chu Zuoshu.

“A decisive battle with Shaking Mountain Peak is inevitable, but I don't know the exact date. The two patriarchs are currently forming alliances to ensure they can slay Ji Zhenshi in the next war and completely annihilate Shaking Mountain Peak in one fell swoop.”

As a direct descendant, Chu Zuoshu did not hide anything from Chen Mobai and explained the Divine Wood Sect's plans.

Unlike the previous surprise attack, Ji Zhenshi, having learned his lesson, must now be fully prepared. Besides him and Nan Shidao from Six Armor Mountain, he would likely invite another Core Formation cultivator to hold the line, ensuring a three-on-three match among the high-level cultivators.

It's just unknown whether those participating will be the prominent Core Formation patriarchs from the Eastern Wilderness, or cultivators from outside the Eastern Wilderness.

However, if he could think of these things, Patriarchs Zhou Shengqing and Fu Zongjue would certainly also have considered them.

“If you can summon people, so can I.”

Now, the upper echelons of both major powers are in the phase of inviting friends far and wide.

“Generally, in conflicts between major sects in the Eastern Wilderness, cultivators from outside the Eastern Wilderness are rarely invited, as it breaks the rules. However, this time we intend to annihilate Shaking Mountain Peak. If Ji Zhenshi senses this is a matter of life and death, he certainly won't care about such rules, so we also can't press too hard.”

Chu Zuoshu said, and Chen Mobai nodded.

This area of the Eastern Wilderness used to be dominated by the Five Elements Sect and non-Five Elements Sect forces.

Now, after the Five Elements Sect split, the Divine Wood Sect has been the most prominent, contending with everything.

The Five Elements Sect might be behind this, as when they split, the four branches essentially turned against each other, with only the Water Vein maintaining some goodwill due to its consistent neutrality.

However, last time, when they tried to annihilate Shaking Mountain Peak, Rebirth Valley and Blowing Snow Palace jumped in to side with Ji Zhenshi. If they want to succeed this time, they also need to consider the involvement of these two factions.

“Sect Master, I'll be discussing a business deal with Lan Lingping of Blowing Snow Palace in a few days. I can use that opportunity to gauge their stance.”

Chen Mobai had also come to report this matter. After all, with a major war imminent, meeting with high-ranking members of another sect without prior notification was highly sensitive.

“Perfect. I'll write a letter, and you can represent me in discussions with Blowing Snow Palace. As long as True Lord Kong does not leave Snow Country during the war, our Divine Wood Sect will certainly offer a generous reward.”

As for what this generous reward would be, Chu Zuoshu didn't specify. In any case, it was a verbal promise for now. As long as no Dao Heart Oath was sworn, they could always renege or delay later.

Chen Mobai hadn't expected to receive this task, but he also realized that Lan Lingping's desire for a face-to-face meeting might also be a way to probe this matter, wanting to gauge the Divine Wood Sect's determination to go to war with Shaking Mountain Peak.

After leaving the Divine Wood Hall, the Sect Grand Competition had also just concluded.

Liu Wenbai performed well this time, making it into the top twelve. However, the most dazzling talent from the Xiaonan Mountain lineage was still Luo Yixuan, who reached the finals this year but unfortunately lost to Li Yixian, who possessed a second-tier puppet.

However, this was largely Chen Mobai's fault. Li Yixian had led the Puppet Department to help him refine those agricultural puppets, earning a significant amount of Azure Sun Spirit Wood, which allowed him to fully upgrade his own puppet, originally only quasi-second-tier, to a true second-tier.

“It's alright. Next year, I, your master, will teach you how to break his Azure Sun puppet.”

Chen Mobai saw Luo Yixuan return somewhat dejected and said something with a smile that made her eyes light up.

“Master, that Azure Sun puppet is second-tier. Can I, a mere Qi Condensation cultivator, really break it?”

After hearing this, Chen Mobai took a proud sip of tea.

“It's not that I, your master, am being immodest, but in terms of puppet arts mastery, you won't find anyone in the entire Eastern Wilderness who can compare to me.”

This was true. Although the peak of puppet arts in the Immortal Sect was only third-tier, their theoretical foundation and control techniques were countless versions ahead of those here.

If Chen Mobai wished, he could probably cultivate the Divine Wood Sect's puppet arts to their peak within a year.

Should he make a second-tier Azure Sun puppet for each of his disciples as protection?

He acted on the thought immediately.

Chen Mobai first went to the Divine Wood Sect's Library Pavilion and found the inheritance of Divine Wood Sect's puppet arts.

It was called the “Immortal Longevity Puppet Art,” and it was clear at a glance that it originated from the Divine Tree Secret Realm, belonging to the Immortal Longevity Sect.

The one managing the Library Pavilion was still Senior Brother Hu Jinshan, but after Chen Mobai reached Foundation Establishment, Hu Jinshan became his junior nephew.

Compared to their first meeting, Hu Jinshan's face had aged slightly, but he still remembered every book in the library clearly.

“Junior Uncle Chen, this is the first to second-tier puppet art inheritance. If you need anything above second-tier, you'll have to apply at the Merit Dispensing Department first. Once their process is complete, I'll be able to provide it to you.”

After receiving the puppet art inheritance, Chen Mobai hadn't looked through it yet. Only after hearing Hu Jinshan's words did he briefly check it, confirming that it indeed only contained the first-tier Crimson Sun Puppet and the second-tier Azure Sun Puppet, which was sufficient for him.

“Thank you for the reminder.”

Upon returning to his courtyard in Divine Wood City, Chen Mobai began to read through the “Immortal Longevity Puppet Art.”

Although it only contained detailed methods for crafting first and second-tier puppets, the overall introduction to this Immortal Longevity Sect's puppet art inheritance was quite comprehensive.

This was passed down by Patriarch Hunyuan, though it was unknown whether he obtained it from the Divine Tree Secret Realm or if it was left behind by True Monarch Yiyuan.

The complete Immortal Longevity Puppet Art actually had four tiers.

First-tier Crimson Sun, second-tier Azure Sun, and third-tier Golden Sun, each representing the three grades of spirit wood found in Giant Wood Ridge.

Above that, the raw material would naturally be Longevity Wood, and the puppet refined from it would be called the “Longevity Wooden Dragon.”

During the Five Elements Sect era, Patriarch Hunyuan once refined a complete Wooden Dragon, which held the reputation of “Little Azure Dragon” in the Eastern Wilderness, capable of suppressing all Golden Core cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage.

Unfortunately, it was damaged during a battle with a formidable enemy, and only its remnants were recovered.

According to his master, during the peak of the Immortal Longevity Sect in ancient times, the Sect Master was guarded by forty-nine wooden dragons. These forty-nine wooden dragons, when combined, could form a fifth-tier Longevity Azure Dragon, representing the pinnacle of puppet arts. It was a deep regret that they never had the chance to see the blueprint of the fifth-tier Azure Dragon.

After reading this “Immortal Longevity Puppet Art,” Chen Mobai found this sentence at the end, signed by Hunyuan.

This founding patriarch of the Five Elements Sect was also a polymath, skilled in alchemy, artifact refining, puppet crafting, and talisman making. If not for the extreme complexity of refining the Longevity Wooden Dragon and the unavailability of its most precious materials, it's likely that after Hunyuan's passing, the Five Elements Sect could have continued to suppress the Eastern Wilderness and maintain its dominant position by relying on the Wooden Dragon.

As for the master mentioned here by Patriarch Hunyuan, it should be True Monarch Yiyuan, the last ascended cultivator from the Heavenly River Realm.

Chen Mobai, who originally had little interest in the Immortal Longevity Puppet Art, suddenly felt that his previous mindset had been a bit too arrogant after reading it.

One can learn from others' strengths. Although the puppet arts of the Heavenly River Realm were relatively crude compared to those of the Immortal Sect, they had at least reached the pinnacle. He should learn from them with an open mind.

Thus, he went to see Lu Yi, the head of the Merit Dispensing Department, wishing to view the complete “Immortal Longevity Puppet Art,” especially the blueprint for the “Longevity Wooden Dragon.”

“I can approve the third-tier Golden Sun Puppet blueprint and inheritance for you, but all inheritances related to the fourth-tier Longevity Wooden Dragon are with Patriarch Fu. If you wish to see them, you might need to find him.”

Lu Yi and Chen Mobai had a decent relationship. As he wrote the note, he spoke frankly.

Only the two patriarchs were qualified to comprehend the Longevity Wooden Dragon, as its raw material was Longevity Wood, of which there were only three plants in the entire Divine Wood Sect.

And Fu Zongjue had precisely achieved the Dao through puppet arts, so all the original inheritances in this area had naturally been taken by him.

“Don't you in the Merit Dispensing Department keep a backup?”

Chen Mobai asked somewhat curiously, thinking, “What if Patriarch Fu accidentally died during a battle outside, and his storage bag was plundered? Wouldn't the Divine Wood Sect lose the fourth-tier inheritance of the Immortal Longevity Puppet Art then!”

“Now that you mention it, I remember. The Puppet Department should have a backup. You can go ask An Jinghui.”

After hearing Lu Yi's words, Chen Mobai went to the Puppet Department.

An Jinghui wasn't there, but his disciple, Li Yixian, was. The latter, thinking Chen Mobai had come to them again to make puppets, eagerly trotted over to greet Chen Mobai from afar.

“I'm looking for your master...”

When Chen Mobai explained the matter, a hint of disappointment appeared on Li Yixian's chubby face, but he quickly ran out to inform his master.

“Junior Brother Chen, what a rare visit.”

Soon after, An Jinghui arrived. After several interactions with Chen Mobai, they had become friends.

After a brief chat, Chen Mobai stated his purpose.

“About this, Junior Brother Chen, as you know, fourth-tier inheritances are fundamental to the sect and exceptionally precious. It's not that I don't trust you, but it's best to inform Patriarch Fu and get his approval before I can properly show it to you.”

Only then did Chen Mobai realize that the Eastern Wilderness was not like the Immortal Sect. Here, cultivation techniques and inheritances were valued above all else; sometimes, they would rather let them be lost than recklessly pass them on.

He had originally thought that as a Core Formation cultivator, Fu Zongjue shouldn't be bothered with such a minor matter. However, it now seemed that without the approval of the two patriarchs, inheritances above the third-tier in the Divine Wood Sect genuinely couldn't be obtained.

“I was presumptuous in this matter.”

Realizing his oversight, Chen Mobai apologized to An Jinghui. An Jinghui was simply following sect rules, and seeing Chen Mobai understand, he was quite pleased, as it saved him from a difficult situation.

After leaving the Puppet Department, Chen Mobai did not go directly to Fu Zongjue.

Within the Divine Wood Sect, only the Sect Master and Quan Shanlin of the Punishment Hall could freely meet with Fu Zongjue. He certainly wouldn't trouble either of them for such a matter.

The blueprint for the Longevity Wooden Dragon was merely something he was curious about after reading the Immortal Longevity Puppet Art; it wasn't absolutely essential.

Furthermore, once he reached Core Formation, the entire Divine Wood Sect's inheritances would be open to him, so there was no need to rush now.

Upon returning to his own courtyard, Chen Mobai called for Liu Wenbai.

“Go to Snow Country and arrange a time with Lan Lingping. Let the meeting be at White Moon Market Town. I'll meet with her there.”

“Yes, Master!”

Liu Wenbai did not hesitate. Upon receiving the order, he immediately left through the sect's teleportation array to handle the matter.

In this year's Sect Grand Competition, Zhuo Ming made rapid progress, entering the top one hundred. However, her combat experience was still somewhat naive, and she lost to a Qi Condensation cultivator of the same realm in the round of 96 into 48.

“Excellent. Progress is all that matters. This means your direction of effort is not wrong.”

Chen Mobai always educated his disciples with praise, which was entirely different from the prevalent strict teaching style in the Eastern Wilderness. This also made Zhuo Ming and the other two feel very comfortable on Xiaonan Mountain.

In this free and relaxed environment, not only were their natural talents unleashed, but they also sincerely maintained a good atmosphere of mutual help within their lineage.

As expected, after hearing Chen Mobai's words, Zhuo Ming, who had been somewhat anxious, brightened with a smile and completely relaxed.

After bringing his two disciples back to Xiaonan Mountain, Chen Mobai took some time to visit the Divine Tree Secret Realm.

He skillfully “touched” the Talent Tree. It was as if the tree could capture his thoughts, initiating a “big data push.” This time, it unexpectedly gave him an inheritance blueprint called “Purple Sun Puppet.”

Given Chen Mobai's mastery of puppet arts, it was easy for him to discern that this Purple Sun Puppet was part of the Immortal Longevity Puppet Art. Perhaps Patriarch Hunyuan had obtained an incomplete version initially, missing this particular part.

The Purple Sun Puppet was a high-grade third-tier puppet, situated between the Golden Sun Puppet and the Longevity Wooden Dragon. Its raw materials required mostly Golden Sun Spirit Wood and a small portion of Longevity Spirit Wood.

Once completed, its power would be immense, capable of contending with cultivators at the mid to late Golden Core stage.

After reading it, Chen Mobai felt that this blueprint seemed to be of great use to the Divine Wood Sect. If Fu Zongjue could refine this puppet, it would undoubtedly play a decisive role in the great battle against Shaking Mountain Peak.

He just wondered if Patriarch Fu had the skill to refine a Purple Sun Puppet.

With the thought of finding an opportunity to present this blueprint to the sect one day, Chen Mobai went to check on the Sky-Swallowing Serpent.

This time, his spiritual sense cultivation had greatly improved, allowing him to instantly pinpoint the small black serpent hidden in the shadow of a leaf.

After grasping it with his spiritual light hand, he found that its aura had grown to resemble that of a second-layer Qi Condensation cultivator. It seemed that it had eaten too many leaves, as its originally jet-black body was beginning to turn a dark cyan.

However, its size remained unchanged, still very small. If one didn't look carefully, they might mistake it for a large earthworm.

Chen Mobai's expectations for the Sky-Swallowing Serpent were now entirely different. He hoped it could condense a drop of Azure Dragon blood, so he fed it another low-grade spirit stone and even used the Lamp Lighting Art to help it refine it.

After consecutively feeding it three low-grade spirit stones and feeling that the Sky-Swallowing Serpent's body was sufficiently filled with spiritual energy, Chen Mobai stopped, contentedly returning it to the forest below that he had cultivated.

He then took out the Heaven's Reckoning Pearl, which he had placed nearby, and began to check on his spider puppets.

Within this year, Chen Mobai had used this method to find three Azure Sun Spirit Trees in the Divine Tree Secret Realm. It was precisely because of this that he conceived the idea of refining an Azure Sun puppet for each of his three disciples.

His recent luck seemed to be quite good. After checking the information within the Heaven's Reckoning Pearl, Chen Mobai discovered that one of his spider puppets had disappeared, which meant he had encountered another Azure Sun Spirit Tree.

Chen Mobai identified the direction from which the puppet's last transmission had come before its disappearance within the Heaven's Reckoning Pearl, then swiftly rushed over using the Earth-Separating Flame Light Escape Art.

Soon, in a vast scorched land, he saw an Azure Sun Spirit Tree that was almost completely burned away.

This was, surprisingly, an Azure Sun Spirit Tree in the midst of transforming into a third-tier tree.

Its gnarled, dragon-like branches had already been burned to ashes, leaving only the thickest main trunk. However, under the scorching of purple-red spiritual flames, its bark was also blackening and peeling off in flakes. If the burning continued, the trunk would soon disappear completely.

If he was lucky, a seed of Azure Sun Fire might remain.

If unlucky, only black ashes would be left on the ground.

Chen Mobai recalled the scene where Mu Yuan had once nurtured a seed of Azure Sun Fire; he could also do it.

But for Chen Mobai, who had now comprehended the essence of the Pure Yang Scroll's spells, Azure Sun Fire could be ignited and generated at any time and was no longer considered precious.

Therefore, a bold idea arose in his mind.

Could he help this Azure Sun Spirit Tree complete its transformation? If so, he would possess a third-tier Golden Sun Spirit Tree.

But how to help?

It was certainly too late to go to the Divine Wood Sect to research information now. He could only rely on his own understanding, injecting pure Longevity spiritual power into the tree trunk, hoping to help this Azure Sun Spirit Tree endure the tribulation of spiritual fire calcination.

However, he found that the Longevity spiritual power did not have a significant effect on this Azure Sun Spirit Tree.

However, the moment he touched the trunk, Chen Mobai's spiritual sense perceived the endless life force being ignited within the tree under the spiritual fire's calcination.

It was fortunate that he possessed the Fire Spirit Body, allowing him to grasp such intricate details amidst the spiritual fire's calcination.

Speaking of vitality, Chen Mobai remembered the Azure Wood Divine Thunder.

Treating it as a last resort, he condensed Azure Wood thunder light as soft as clear water using his Longevity spiritual power, then injected it thread by thread into the burning Azure Sun Spirit Tree.

As expected, this vitality-infused thunder had an effect.

It revitalized the Azure Sun Spirit Tree's already weakening life force, prolonging its impending demise.

Unfortunately, Chen Mobai realized he had found this Azure Sun Spirit Tree too late. If he had infused it with vitality using Azure Wood Divine Thunder from the very beginning of its transformation, it should have been able to complete its metamorphosis.

Seeing that all the bark had been burnt away and the trunk was about to be eroded and ignited by the spiritual fire, a flicker of regret appeared in Chen Mobai's eyes.

However, even if the transformation couldn't be completed, he had a second method to preserve this peak second-tier Azure Sun Spirit Tree.

The “Wood Sowing Art,” obtained from the Talent Tree, was activated.

He had also found time this year to cultivate this spiritual plant art to the second tier, which coincidentally allowed him to transform this Azure Sun Spirit Tree into a “tree seed.”

Compared to the Divine Wood Sect's conventional tree seed method, the Wood Sowing Art was more convenient and simpler.

Chen Mobai speculated that the tree seed method might have evolved from this Immortal Longevity Sect's spiritual plant art.

Soon after, a shimmering green tree seed landed in his palm.