Chapter 488 - 447: A Torrent of Wealth

Chapter 488: Chapter 447: A Torrent of Wealth

An Array Prohibition sealed off the room. Chu Mu waved his hand, and the shattered Puppet Core hovered before him. A multitude of Spiritual Materials also appeared, slowly descending to the floor.

Chu Mu pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and formed a series of seals. Array Flags emerged one after another. As he executed the Techniques, the flags settled in all four directions. In just a moment, a 360-degree, no-blind-spot Imaging Array took shape.

He took out a Sound Transmission Order and flicked his right hand. With a flash of light, the ordinary-looking Sound Transmission Order actually transformed into the core of this Imaging Array.

As a communication Seal on the Sound Transmission Order flickered, a two-way projection appeared.

The projection flickered, revealing a dimly lit scene with a faint blue candle flame. It was clearly the stone house where the Array Dao Nascent Soul resided.

Chu Mu stood silently, as if waiting for something.

After just a moment, the ethereal figure in white robes appeared in the projection.

"Senior!"

Chu Mu bowed deeply.

"I trust you, Young Friend. Why the need for such caution?"

The old man sat down on the Jade Throne and smiled faintly.

"Repairing the Soldier Puppet is a matter of great importance..."

Chu Mu bowed again, his voice firm.

’If he could, he would have preferred not to use this two-way projection.’

’Using such a projection was tantamount to revealing his puppet repair techniques, his refining methods, and even his consumption of Spiritual Materials—everything—to the Array Dao Nascent Soul.’

’But if he didn’t do this, and a hidden backdoor in the Soldier Puppet was activated later, causing a major incident, he would find it difficult to completely clear his name, even if he had taken precautions.’

’Only by doing this could he completely absolve himself of suspicion.’

’Of course, there was a better way: to perform the repairs and refining directly in the square, letting all the Artifact Refiners on Celestial Secret Island bear witness.’

’But that would undoubtedly be far too sensational.’

’After all, according to his plan, any surplus Spiritual Materials left over from his work repairing the Soldier Puppet were materials he needed for himself.’

’And every single one of these Spiritual Materials could be considered a rare treasure!’

’This was true even though it was a well-known custom that any surplus from material attrition belonged to the Refiner.’

’But with his skills, the amount of surplus Spiritual Materials he could generate would clearly be no small sum.’

’Being witnessed by a large crowd would certainly make him famous, but more likely, it would stir up greed in the hearts of others.’

’If he simply proved his innocence before this one Nascent Soul Great Power, someone of his status and Nascent Soul Realm Cultivation wouldn’t stoop to troubling him over some surplus Spiritual Materials, let alone grow envious.’

’Even if this Artifact Refining recording were to circulate in the future, it would at most be shared for study among the Artifact Refiners within the Chen Family. For him, the trouble would undoubtedly be much smaller.’

"Since that’s the case, it seems I’ll have the honor of witnessing Young Friend Chu’s Artifact Refining Skill firsthand today..."

Seeing Chu Mu’s firm attitude, the old man didn’t refuse further. He laughed heartily, and the flickering projected image stabilized completely.

A glint flashed in Chu Mu’s eyes. With a sweep of his sleeves, he sat cross-legged in mid-air. A wisp of Great Sun True Flame instantly enveloped the shattered Puppet Core.

Wisps of True Flame clung to the surface of the Puppet Core, burning fiercely. Within it, a great, crisscrossing net of True Flame followed a mysterious and highly regular network of pathways, extending bit by bit both inward and outward.

Chu Mu already had a detailed plan in mind for how to repair it.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion. As time passed, the old man in the projection, who had initially been nonchalant, grew more serious. His gaze became sharp, fixed on the completely focused Chu Mu.

The sun rose and set, and time flew by. In the blink of an eye, nearly a month had passed.

In the square, after a month, most of the damaged parts of the broken Soldier Puppet had been smelted and processed, awaiting further repairs.

At a glance, its former dilapidated and corroded state had transformed into the rough form of a puppet, looking less broken and more refined.

Inside the room, the True Flame had been extinguished, and the two-way projection had dissipated.

Chu Mu sat cross-legged, his eyes closed as he regulated his breathing.

After about an hour, Chu Mu slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of turbid air that was sharp as a sword.

His eyes became clear, yet a faint, fiery glint could be seen within them, reflecting an almost aesthetically perfect, jade-like blackness.

Before him now, the head-sized Puppet Core was completely and perfectly repaired.

Beneath its jade-like black luster, specks of fluorescent light glimmered, vast and profound like a starry night sky.

A single glance was enough to feel a soul-snatching sensation, as if it could draw out and devour a person’s very soul. It was beautiful and... evil!

Chu Mu guarded his Heart Spirit, and with a flow of Sword Intent, he unhesitatingly severed the soul-luring sensation.

This feeling was, of course, no illusion.

The refining of a Puppet Core used the soul of a living being as its main component.

And the most fundamental requirement for a soul to be used as a Puppet Core was that it be blank and pure.

But the soul of any living creature is inevitably chaotic, filled with emotions, desires, and memories.

To make it blank and pure required extremely cruel methods: washing the soul over and over again, grinding away all the emotions, desires, and memories within the Divine Soul.

The cruelty of the process was akin to placing a person on a millstone, grinding them to pulp over and over, restoring them, then grinding them to pulp again, repeating the cycle until all emotions, desires, memories, and Spiritual Wisdom were obliterated. Only then would it be a qualified puppet soul.

And the soul for this Puppet Core before him was forged by melting together multiple Tier Three souls.

The methods were even more brutal.

If there were any righteous heroes in this world who enacted heaven’s will, then such methods would undoubtedly be considered utterly despised by man and heaven, the work of vile demons!

But clearly, in this Cultivation Immortal Realm, there were no such righteous heroes.

All Cultivators used every means possible, exploiting any available resource, to climb the arduous Immortal Path.

As for things like ethics, morals, and the goodness of human nature—they could all be cast aside, not even worth mentioning.

After examining it for a long time, Chu Mu carefully sealed the Soldier Puppet’s Heart. He inscribed layer after layer of Array Prohibitions, completely encasing the Puppet’s Heart.

’He could ignore the soul-snatching power of the Puppet’s Heart, but the moment he stepped out of the room, there would be hordes of Low Tier Cultivators.’

’If he took the Puppet’s Heart out without sealing it, legions of those below the Golden Core Realm would probably die instantly. The survivors, even if they were lucky enough to not perish, would absolutely suffer from damaged Divine Souls, turning into drooling imbeciles!’

After properly dealing with the Puppet’s Heart, Chu Mu turned his gaze to the dozens of Jade Boxes piled beside him—the surplus Spiritual Materials from his repair of the Puppet’s Heart!

Repairing the Puppet’s Heart had consumed a total of fifty-nine types of Spiritual Materials.

Every single type was above Tier Three, and thanks to his "Spiritual Radiance Blessing" skill, each had yielded a considerable surplus!

And among these fifty-nine types of Spiritual Materials, there were six that he had swapped out.

They were materials he needed, but were also extremely rare.

For instance, Shoushan Copper was one of the candidate materials he was preparing for refining a Sword Dao Supreme Treasure, and Celestial Phoenix Blood Gold was a famous Fire Attribute Spiritual Material.

While it couldn’t compare to Fire Attribute Supreme Treasures like Fiery Sun True Gold or Fusang Wood, the Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower didn’t require the same purity as a Sword Intent Supreme Treasure. Using this Spiritual Material to fill it and enhance its foundation would be more than enough.

As for Spiritual Materials like Nine Heavens Profound Gold, which belonged to the category of Pure Yang Gold, it wasn’t used for repairing the Puppet’s Heart. Instead, he had substituted it into the repairs for the puppet’s Long Sword.

The Soldier Puppet’s Long Sword and Shield were both mounted Top Grade Treasures, not integral parts of the puppet itself.

’And the refining of Top Grade Treasures was, of course, a job for none other than him.’

’A bountiful harvest...’

Chu Mu took a deep breath, and with a sweep of his sleeves, he placed all the Spiritual Materials into his storage.

’His choice, it seemed, had not exceeded expectations.’

’The Array Dao Nascent Soul was clearly more than satisfied with the substantial surplus of Spiritual Materials he had produced.’

’After all, a perfect repair completed in one smooth process was far better than a clumsy one full of fits and starts.’

’The former could be considered a perfect repair, while with the latter, the effectiveness of the Soldier Puppet’s Heart would likely have been significantly diminished.’

’With this matter settled and all these Spiritual Materials...’

Chu Mu pondered for a moment. A rough plan had already formed in his mind when he was swapping out the Spiritual Materials.

’He was an Artifact Refiner and a Puppet Master, so naturally, he had to look the part.’

’And if he successfully saved a surplus of all these Spiritual Materials, it would be enough for him to fully round out his own arsenal.’

’Puppets, Magical Treasures...’

Chu Mu thought silently for a moment, and after fleshing out the rough plan in his mind a bit more, he pushed open the door that had been shut for a month.

The moment he stepped out, gazes converged on him one after another.

The Puppet Core was of paramount importance, and the fact that he had single-handedly repaired it naturally drew attention.

At this moment, as he walked out of the residence, the dozens of Artifact Refiners in the square—whether they were Golden Core or Foundation Establishment—all stopped their conversations or work to look over.

Their gazes were expectant, indifferent, or anxious...

Sensing these gazes, Chu Mu smiled. With a wave of his right hand, the sealed Puppet’s Heart hovered before him.

The multiple layers of seals still couldn’t hide its breathtaking beauty.

Its jade-like blackness and the profound depth of a starry cosmos instantly captured the attention of everyone present.

"I am fortunate to not have failed my mission!"

Chu Mu’s smile was radiant. ’He was destined to gain a great deal from repairing this Soldier Puppet, but clearly, his rewards were not limited to just these immediate benefits.’

’He, Chu Mu, had personally overseen the full repair of a Tier Four Soldier Puppet.’

’This point alone was enough to make his name resound!’

’His title as an Artifact Refining Master would surely spread far and wide, no longer limited to the Foundation Establishment level, but would inevitably encompass beings of a much higher tier.’

’This alone was a reward no less valuable than the surplus Spiritual Materials he’d gained, and it was one that would keep on giving.’

’After all, even for the refining of a Lifebound Treasure, non-Artifact Refiners had to rely on others.’

’His fame soaring meant that once he entered the Golden Core Realm, he would open up a new source of income—and an incredibly lucrative one at that!’

"Congratulations, Daoist Friend!"

"Your skills are unparalleled, Daoist Friend! I am filled with admiration!"

"I’ve long heard that you, Daoist Friend, possess Pill and Artifact Dual Proficiency and that your Magic Can Reach the Divine. Seeing it with my own eyes today, I see your reputation is well-deserved! I, Chen, am truly impressed!"

"Congratulations, Senior!"

"Congratulations, Senior!"

In an instant, a clamorous wave of congratulations swept toward Chu Mu.

"Hahaha..."

"Let us celebrate together!"

...