Chapter 483 - 443: Magical Treasure Idea, Convention

Chapter 483: Chapter 443: Magical Treasure Idea, Convention

"Fellow Daoists, do you have any differing opinions?"

Chu Mu rubbed his forehead, seemingly to alleviate the fatigue from a short period of intense thought. He asked the question casually.

Having read the fragmented records on the Refining method for this Soldier Puppet, Chu Mu felt that if he could, he could repair this Soldier Puppet on his own. It would just be a matter of time.

But since the Array Dao Nascent Soul wanted everyone to pool their efforts, he naturally couldn’t cast aside these fellow Cultivators.

As for the reason behind the Array Dao Nascent Soul’s arrangement...

It was not difficult to see.

After all, given the Soldier Puppet’s immense size and complex structure, it wouldn’t be difficult for someone to tamper with it during the repair process and leave behind an imperceptible flaw.

Given the Soldier Puppet’s importance, the Chen Family would obviously not allow such a thing to happen. Having everyone work together was equivalent to mutual supervision—a most effective preventative measure.

After he spoke, there was a moment of silence before the Golden Core Cultivators began to speak up one by one, raising a series of probing questions from tricky angles.

Although they were inquiries, they were also clearly testing Chu Mu’s Artifact Refining Skill to see if he could truly bear the responsibility of being "fully in charge."

Chu Mu’s expression was calm and his voice was steady as he answered their questions fluently.

In just a quarter of an hour, the sudden clamor in the hall gradually subsided under Chu Mu’s seamless responses, returning to silence.

"Since you fellow Daoists have no further objections, I will now explain my specific repair plan for this Soldier Puppet."

"The Soldier Puppet is of great importance. I hope all of you will lend me your full support."

The hall had just fallen silent when Chu Mu spoke again, breaking the quiet once more.

"Fellow Daoist Chu’s Artifact Refining Skill is superb. I am truly humbled. If there is any use for me, Fellow Daoist, please feel free to give me any task."

"Fellow Daoist..."

The other Golden Core Refiners spoke up one after another. After a round of pleasantries, the somewhat heavy atmosphere seemed to lighten instantly.

Everyone chimed in, discussing the Soldier Puppet’s repair. Chu Mu gradually took the lead. A simulated projection of the Soldier Puppet appeared in the hall, and Chu Mu laid out the specific repair plans one by one for everyone to discuss in detail.

The Golden Core Refiners present might have varied in skill, and perhaps none could match the depth of Chu Mu’s foundation in Artifact Refining.

However, to have reached the Golden Core Realm while also mastering Artifact Refining Skill up to Tier Three, they undoubtedly each possessed extraordinary strengths.

Throughout the discussion, even Chu Mu himself had moments of sudden insight.

Compared to Chu Mu’s occasional flashes of understanding, for the other Artifact Refiners present—whether they were at the Foundation Establishment Realm, the Qi Cultivation Realm, or even his fellow Golden Core Cultivators—the way they looked at him had undergone a complete transformation as the discussion continued and Chu Mu revealed the depth of his knowledge in Artifact Refining.

Their expressions varied—some showed reverence, others admiration, and some sighed with emotion—but not a trace of scrutiny or doubt remained.

The discussion lasted for nearly a full day and night before finally concluding under Chu Mu’s guidance.

The Low Tier Cultivators filed out of the stone house. Surrounded by the crowd, Chu Mu engaged in another round of social pleasantries, during which several new Seals appeared on his Sound Transmission Order.

By the time Chu Mu returned to his residence, the sky had darkened, and the moonlight was bright and clear.

He glanced at the dilapidated Soldier Puppet shrouded in twilight, then his attention returned to the Jade Scroll that recorded the fragmented Refining method for the Soldier Puppet.

He pondered for a moment before his Divine Sense delved into the Jade Scroll again, perusing the Soldier Puppet’s Refining method recorded within.

According to the fragmented records, the direction of his own deductions and conjectures was not wrong. The only difference lay in the details.

For instance, the structure of the Flesh and Blood Demon Puppet he had speculated about was also clearly described in these fragments.

After cross-referencing these fragmented Refining methods with the Soldier Puppet’s structure that he had pieced together and deduced, at least eighty percent of this Tier Four Soldier Puppet’s design was now completely clear to him.

With these fragmented methods as a foundation, figuring out the remaining twenty percent would undoubtedly be much simpler.

It was just a matter of following the clues to deduce the rest and then spending a little time to verify his findings.

If he were to do it alone, this process would likely take a very long time. But now, the repair of this Soldier Puppet was clearly not a one-man job.

As his thoughts flowed, paper and brush reappeared. With a flourish of his brush, Chu Mu once again sketched the Soldier Puppet, filling in the structural details that had previously been uncertain.

This process continued for nearly an hour before it slowly came to an end.

On the Spirit Paper, the lifelike Soldier Puppet seemed to have undergone a qualitative change, taking on a more vivid, creature-like feel.

Chu Mu gazed at the drawing of the Soldier Puppet, a fervent heat rising in his eyes.

’To have thoroughly figured out a Tier Four Soldier Puppet... This is undoubtedly a quantum leap for my foundation in both Artifact Refining Skill and Puppetry Skill.’

’And next, I’ll be fully in charge of its repair. That’s equivalent to the Chen Family providing me with a massive amount of rare Spiritual Materials to squander as I practice.’

’Given the Soldier Puppet’s immense size and the vast quantity of rare Spiritual Materials required, this opportunity is in no way inferior to the Immortal Dao Sect’s Refining Illusion into Truth.’

’It might even be rarer than Refining Illusion into Truth.’

That Refining Illusion into Truth technique had significant limitations. Some of the rarer Spiritual Materials simply couldn’t be simulated.

But the Spiritual Materials needed to repair this Tier Four Soldier Puppet...

Chu Mu looked at the dense list of materials needed for the repair displayed on the Spirit Paper. Without exception, they were all Tier Four or even higher-tier Spiritual Materials.

Moreover, if he remembered correctly, the Array Dao Nascent Soul had promised that once this matter was concluded, he could make one request of the Chen Family.

Chu Mu’s eyes flickered, and his mind couldn’t help but wander.

’A "request," obviously, can’t be something outrageous.’

’But having just reached the Golden Core Realm, I’m starting from scratch and need far too many things.’

’But if I break it down, the things I need that are also difficult for me to acquire on my own aren’t that numerous.’

’The most important thing is my Lifebound Treasure.’

His Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower, despite its impressive Mighty Power, was still just a prototype. It needed to be filled with various rare Spiritual Materials and, more importantly, have the souls of nine Fire Attribute Flood Dragons smelted into it.

But that was obviously not a request he could make to the Chen Family.

Asking the Flood Dragon Race for Flood Dragon Souls... if he really opened his mouth to ask that, he probably wouldn’t make it off Celestial Secret Island alive.

’The rest... ’

Chu Mu pursed his lips, having already reached a tentative decision in his heart.

First was the Celestial Cyan Amethyst. If he obtained it, he could refine the Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower into a treasure that could shrink and grow at will. He could then store it in his Dantian for better nourishment, and it would also lay the foundation for the Jiezhi Space skill later on.

Second was his other Lifebound Treasure.

He had comprehended the Sword Domain, and his sharp Sword Intent could manifest in reality, forming a domain without needing any physical vessel. It was a powerful Divine Technique.

But clearly, if the Sword Intent at the core of his Sword Domain was also refined into a Lifebound Treasure, combining the Unrivaled Attack power of the Sword Intent itself with the amplification from a Lifebound Treasure would create a synergistic effect where one plus one was greater than two.

And according to what that Sword Dao Nascent Soul had said, a "pure" material was needed to perfectly house the sharpness of the Sword Intent...

"A ’pure’ material..."

Chu Mu pursed his lips.

’The purity of Sword Intent lies in its sharpness.’

’And the Spiritual Materials that are compatible with that pure sharpness... ’

In an instant, a string of names surfaced in Chu Mu’s mind.

There were many compatible materials, but very few were suitable for a Lifebound Treasure.

The word "pure" seemed to be the greatest restriction for this Lifebound Treasure.

For a Lifebound Treasure meant to house Sword Intent, the ability to shrink and grow at will was clearly the most basic requirement.

Only if it could change size at will could this treasure enter his Sea of Consciousness and merge with his Sword Intent, rather than simply being a vessel for his Sword Intent to manifest in the physical world.

Since he already possessed the Sword Domain Divine Technique, a treasure that merely acted as a physical vessel for his Sword Intent didn’t hold much meaning.

And to make a Magical Treasure that could shrink and grow at will, not to mention the necessity of Celestial Cyan Amethyst Stone, the other Spiritual Materials needed for Refining would have to be in enormous quantities to condense enough Spirit Essence.

Furthermore, the Sword Intent Treasure was restricted by the need for purity.

This meant that the Sword Intent Treasure could only be refined from a single type of Spiritual Material, unlike the Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower, for which he could seek out other materials to meet the requirements for changing size, even with the intention of making it do so.

As his thoughts swirled, Chu Mu couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

’The Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower is still just a prototype, a complete mess.’

’And this Sword Intent Treasure, with its requirement of "purity"...’

’High Tier Spiritual Materials... and in large quantities... ’

’These two conditions... ’

’Fulfilling either one seems as difficult as ascending to the heavens.’

Combined, there was no way the Chen Family would agree to such a request.

"I’ll just... take it one step at a time..."

Chu Mu took a deep breath. ’There’s no rush for now. I’ll take it slow. If all else fails, I’m still the Ninth True Inheritor of Longevity. There’s always a chance...’

His gaze shifted, and he looked again at the lifelike drawing of the Soldier Puppet before him. Staring at the dense list of required Spiritual Materials, he suddenly froze as a thought struck him.

’This Soldier Puppet... It needs repairs, which requires a huge amount of various rare Spiritual Materials...’

’In repair and Refining, who could claim there’s no waste?’

In the Cultivation Immortal Realm, whether commissioning an Alchemist or an Artifact Refiner, it was a well-known custom for the client to prepare multiple sets of Spiritual Materials for any commissioned Refining.

The repair of this Soldier Puppet might not be measured by the usual customs of the Cultivation Immortal Realm, but the Chen Family would absolutely prepare extra Spiritual Materials to cover any waste generated during the process.

This was a certainty; it was impossible to prepare the exact amount down to the last gram.

If they truly prepared the exact amount of materials with no surplus, then this repair would be impossible to complete.

Of course, besides the Artifact Refiner handling the materials, no one would know if they were actually wasted or not.

Take him, Chu Mu, for example. He could guarantee that he could achieve the most perfect result with the least amount of Spiritual Materials, succeeding on the first try.

But it was obviously impossible for other Artifact Refiners to reach that level.

Potential waste—whether it was actually wasted or not—was something the client had to prepare for. It was both a certainty and a necessity.

It was precisely because of this "waste" that he had been able to use his Alchemy and Artifact Refining skills to reap huge profits time and time again.

After all, with the Spiritual Radiance Blessing, every time he was commissioned for Alchemy or Artifact Refining, he could guarantee the client’s utmost satisfaction while minimizing waste and making a hefty profit...

And now, this Soldier Puppet...

...