Chapter 490 - 449: Requests and Merit Points

Chapter 490: Chapter 449: Requests and Merit Points

Six months drifted by.

Although it was the height of summer, on the Demon Suppression Islands, a heavy snow had already been falling for several weeks.

The Cultivators on the islands were not surprised by this heavy snowfall.

The Demon Suppression Islands stood in this sea, fending off invasions from Demon Beasts. The bitter war had raged for years, yet there was no end in sight.

But after so many years of bitter fighting, the number of casualties and deaths—be it among the Vast Sea Cultivators or the Demon Beasts—had likely reached an unimaginably colossal figure.

The entire sea region, stretching for thousands of miles, was perpetually stained with gore. As the Blood Qi steamed upward, the sky itself was often a shade of blood-red.

Low Tier Demon Beasts were unintelligent and naturally drawn to the scent of blood. Such a thick, pervasive stain of gore would, of course, ceaselessly attract more of them to gather.

One could say that in this brutal war, the more ferociously they fought and the more lives were lost, the more Demon Beasts they would inevitably attract from the boundless Vast Sea.

This endless stream of reinforcements, even if they were only Low Tier Demon Beasts, was undoubtedly an unbearable burden for the Cultivators stationed here.

Therefore, every month or two, a Nascent Soul Great Power would cast a spell, manipulating the heavens to condense and seal the accumulated Blood Qi in this sea region. The physical manifestation of this was the heavy, goose-feather snow.

However, the snow was not a pristine, silver-white blanket. It was a blood-red that stained the world. The snowflakes were blood; the frozen landscape was also blood.

After the heavy snow had fallen for several days, the entire world was dyed a deep red. Yet, under the influence of this peculiar snow, despite the bloody stain, not a single whiff of gore could be smelled.

It was as if it were simply red snow, not the accumulated carnage from endless slaughter.

On Celestial Secret Island, due to the presence of the Soldier Puppet, an Array Prohibition completely sealed the island off from the outside. Not a single snowflake fell on it, making it an isolated sanctuary in this blood-red world.

In the island’s plaza, the Soldier Puppet still stood towering and majestic. Its form was identical to what had been recorded in the previous projection, with the sole exception that the mottled rust, corroded over countless years, had vanished.

However, the number of busy Cultivators in the plaza seemed to have grown. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

The Cultivators milled around the Soldier Puppet, some observing, others taking notes. Each person had their own task, and everything was in perfect order.

"Young Friend Chu, you deserve the highest credit for this matter."

Inside the residence, the old man was clearly in a good mood. He gazed at the towering Soldier Puppet, not holding back his praise in the slightest.

Chu Mu gave an awkward smile and offered a few humble words, placating the Array Dao Nascent Soul.

Ever since the day he had demonstrated his miraculous Artifact Refining Skill to the Array Dao Nascent Soul via a projection, the man’s attitude toward him had changed dramatically.

For the better part of a year, the Great Power would occasionally summon him for a meeting or visit his residence for a casual chat.

Although Chu Mu really didn’t want to get too involved with this Nascent Soul cultivator, the matter was clearly out of his hands.

Fortunately, the Array Dao Nascent Soul wasn’t trying to recruit him. Every time they met, it was to discuss the Soldier Puppet.

Topics like modifying the Soldier Puppet, improving its design, and brainstorming ideas for its repairs...

Perhaps because of this Soldier Puppet, the Array Dao Nascent Soul’s enthusiasm for the Puppetry Skill seemed to surpass even that of Chu Mu, a bona fide Artifact Refiner and Puppet Master.

Chu Mu was actually happy about this. Although the Chen Family’s skills had atrophied due to their bloodline, the foundation of a major power was naturally profound.

Whenever the Array Dao Nascent Soul came by to chat, he would often bring Puppetry Books related to his ideas. Any Puppetry Book that could pique the interest of an Array Dao Nascent Soul was naturally a repository of Tier Four, High Tier knowledge, which truly broadened Chu Mu’s horizons and brought him considerable gains.

"The Soldier Puppet is repaired. Have you decided what you want, Young Friend?"

After some more pleasantries, the old man suddenly changed the subject.

Chu Mu was taken aback for a moment, then his expression grew thoughtful. He bowed with his hands clasped and said, "This junior requires Celestial Cyan Amethyst."

"Celestial Cyan Amethyst..."

The old man looked slightly surprised, but the look quickly vanished.

"Are you preparing to refine a Lifebound Treasure, Young Friend?"

Chu Mu replied respectfully, "This junior already has a design in mind."

"As for Celestial Cyan Amethyst, our clan’s Treasure Vault does have some in its collection. I will have someone deliver it to you in a few days."

The old man didn’t hesitate, agreeing readily.

"Thank you, Elder."

Chu Mu bowed, unable to help but feel a sense of relief.

He had agonized over this request for a long time.

After all, the things he most urgently needed were his two Lifebound Treasures: the Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower and the Sword Intent Supreme Treasure.

The Sword Intent Supreme Treasure required absolute purity. The small amount of Shoushan Red Copper and Nine Heavens Profound Gold he had saved by substituting other Spiritual Materials was but a drop in the bucket compared to what was needed to forge it.

As for the Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower, its basic form was already forged. Thanks to the Soldier Puppet repair project, he had also collected a large quantity of Top-Grade Fire Attribute Spiritual Materials. Since purity wasn’t a strict requirement for it, he could melt them all down to bolster the tower’s foundation.

By refining it further with the Celestial Cyan Amethyst, it could be upgraded into a Big and Small Ruyi treasure.

As for this "request," even if the Array Dao Nascent Soul before him held him in high regard, it was obviously impossible that he would provide massive amounts of Nine Heavens Profound Gold and Shoushan Red Copper for Chu Mu to forge his Sword Intent Supreme Treasure.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, as they say.

Rather than pursuing the still somewhat ethereal Sword Intent Supreme Treasure, it was better to temporarily shift his focus to the Nine Dragon Prison Suppression Tower. He would refine it further and elevate its mighty power to the next level.

"Celestial Cyan Amethyst grants the Big and Small Ruyi ability. It’s best to refine it in a place with a dense Spatial Attribute."

"Take this token. When you’re ready to refine your Lifebound Treasure, bring this to Chixia and find Qingmu. He’ll make all the arrangements."

The old man tossed out a token and lingered no longer. His white-robed figure slowly dissipated, vanishing from the residence.

Chu Mu stared at the token in his hand. The two characters ’Qian’ and ’Kun’ were engraved upon it—the title of this Array Dao Nascent Soul.

He pursed his lips, his expression growing complicated.

After a long moment of silence, he suddenly let out a self-deprecating laugh.

’I actually did him a favor.’

’The backdoor in the Soldier Puppet was originally so well-hidden that one could have seized control of it completely undetected, turning the tables on its master.’

’And while I did hide another backdoor within that one, and had my own intentions, I also deliberately made the first backdoor lose its perfect stealth. Once activated, the Array Dao Nascent Soul would immediately notice, so he wouldn’t be caught completely off guard.’

’If he handles it properly, he’ll even have a chance to salvage the situation.’

’For the Array Dao Nascent Soul, that’s undoubtedly a huge favor.’

’As for the backdoor *I* left...’

’If the Soldier Puppet still gets stolen after all that, well, then it’s no one’s fault but his own.’

As his thoughts churned, he looked toward the towering Soldier Puppet in the plaza. After more than six months, the truth was that the puppet’s repairs had been completed several months ago.

This recent period has been more about testing and researching the Soldier Puppet. The Chen Family clearly wanted to document every step of the repair process in order to reverse-engineer the complete refining method.

As the Artifact Refiners responsible for the repairs, they were naturally unable to avoid being involved.

Of course, without any benefits, it was unlikely any of them would be willing to just sit around and waste time with the Chen Family on Celestial Secret Island.

As soon as the Soldier Puppet was repaired, the Chen Family had offered a monthly salary of two thousand Merit Points and ten Upper Grade Spirit Stones to successfully retain all the Golden Core Refiners on Celestial Secret Island, asking them to cooperate with further research on the puppet.

Such a generous reward was likely more than what even the Cultivators on the front lines earned, who fought Demon Beasts day in and day out, risking life and limb.

Profit is a powerful motivator. Thus, including Chu Mu, the several Loose Cultivator Golden Core Refiners had all chosen to remain temporarily on Celestial Secret Island.

Their daily duties were remarkably relaxed.

After all, in order to repair the puppet, he had combined his knowledge with the fragmented refining manual and had already figured out its entire structure.

What the Chen Family was doing now was merely an extension of the repair plan he had initially submitted, an attempt to deduce the puppet’s complete refining method.

But this was something he had already accomplished long ago.

He had figured out the complete refining method for this Tier Four Soldier Puppet way back when he first drafted the repair plan.

But naturally, he wasn’t about to reveal that.

Occasionally strolling over to the plaza to offer a pointer or two was more than enough to justify the pay he received from the Chen Family.

As his thoughts shifted, Chu Mu swiped a hand through the air, and another token materialized in his palm.

The token was perfectly square and pale blue. Though clearly solid metal, its surface rippled like water.

He pointed a finger, and as his Magical Power surged, the token’s pale blue ripples instantly froze.

A pulse then seemed to emanate from the square token, connecting with the outside world. An image then appeared upon the frozen blue surface.

The Merit Points system, established by the Vast Sea Chen Family for the war against the demons, was displayed within this image.

The Merit Treasure Vault, his current Merit Points, and mission rewards and penalties—all of it could be accessed with a single thought.

It was similar to the Contract Contact Order he had used back in Jingmen, but the Vast Sea Chen Family’s control over the Vast Sea was clearly far more rigorous.

One could clearly see the rigor of their rule just by looking at the identity verification system that spanned the entire Vast Sea.

After all, establishing an isolated identity verification system is easy. It’s just a matter of assigning people to stand guard, record identities, and perform verifications.

But when its scale expands to cover the entire Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, the difficulty skyrockets, becoming as hard as ascending to the heavens.

Even in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, information transmission has its limits when it comes to distance.

Take simple sound transmissions, for example. They range from ordinary Sound Transmission Talismans, to superior ones, to Sound Transmission Orders...

The farther one wanted to send a message, the greater the cost.

The same was true for any other form of information transfer.

The system the Chen Family built must have involved laying countless information-relaying and storage artifacts across the entire Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, then linking them all together to weave an information net that enveloped the realm.

Only then could the Chen Family’s system of control be realized, ensuring that all Cultivators in the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World were under their watch.

The manpower and resources required for such a massive system were naturally on an unimaginably vast scale.

And a merit system like this, simply by being embedded within that information network, could easily be implemented and interconnected across the entire Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World.

It was far more advanced and convenient than the contribution system of the Righteous Alliance, which had been limited to and reliant on a single region.

This made it much easier and more efficient for the Chen Family to integrate and mobilize its various subordinate powers in the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World.

The image flickered, and the list for the Merit Treasure Vault, along with the number of Merit Points he possessed, appeared before Chu Mu’s eyes.

Eighty-six thousand Merit Points.

A rather considerable sum.

These Merit Points came from two sources: first, the reward for repairing the Soldier Puppet and assisting the Chen Family, and second, his growing fame as an Artifact Refining Master.

Just as he had predicted, repairing a Tier Four Soldier Puppet was enough to make his reputation soar.

The reality was just that, and perhaps even more dramatic than he’d expected.

In the half-year since the Soldier Puppet’s Heart was repaired—and despite him being on the semi-isolated Celestial Secret Island—the number of fellow Cultivators who had come to visit and make his acquaintance was already more than he could count on both hands.

While most of them just wanted to get acquainted and exchange contact information, several fellow Golden Core Cultivators had come because of his reputation and gotten straight to the point, asking him to help refine Magical Treasures for them.

For him, the payment in Merit Points and Spirit Stones was secondary. The real prize was the collection of Spiritual Materials prepared according to the Artifact Formula for him to use in the refining.

Refining any one of those Magical Treasures would be a guaranteed windfall...

...