Chapter 270 Core Formation Puppet (Please Subscribe)
Chapter 270 Core Formation Puppet (Please Subscribe)
Evergreen Pavilion.
After several days of celebration, Fang Xi returned to his secluded cultivation chamber.
Achieving Golden Core was certainly joyous, but the path ahead remained long and arduous.
Besides sending letters to Ruan Xing Ling and others to inform them of his Core Formation, he prepared to undergo another round of cultivation.
"On Dragon Fish Island, a second-order spirit vein isn't ideal for increasing magic power; it's twice the effort for half the result. . ."
"However, there are still several methods to enhance combat prowess that can be prepared."
Fang Xi fell into contemplation.
After entering the Core Formation stage, he found that his talisman-making skills had improved once again. He believed that with diligent study, he would soon advance from a quasi-third-order talisman master to a true third-order one!
Fortunately, he wasn't flustered at all. After all, he had obtained the key to open the Shard World, and in the future, he would surely gain insight into a large number of treasure glyphs, making it no problem to advance his formation cultivation.
"Magical treasures, talismans, puppets. . ."
"Most of my second-order puppets are pretty much ruined, and I can't return to Da Liang to replenish them for now. . . Besides. . . second-order puppets aren't very useful to me anymore."
"Aside from forming the 'Heavenly Wolf Battle Array,' they still hold some value, but even if they can move. . . their escape speed is far from as agile and swift as a true Core Formation cultivator. . ."
"So. . . a third-order puppet?"
Fang Xi pondered. He didn't possess any legacy for crafting third-order puppets, nor had he ever heard of one; it seemed to be extremely rare.
Fortunately, he did have suitable materials on hand, enough to barely assemble one.
A silver light flashed!
His body was teleported through space by the 'Nine-Nethers Profound Wood Grand Array,' appearing directly beneath the Demonic Tree of Primordial Beginning.
"Open!"
Fang Xi gazed at the gnarled roots of the Demonic Tree of Primordial Beginning, a smile appearing on his face as he cast a spell.
The roots of the Demonic Tree of Primordial Beginning parted, revealing the top-tier exotic treasure trapped by layers of black chains—the 'Nine Dragons Pearl'!
"Calling this pearl an exotic treasure doesn't quite do it justice; it's more accurately an External Core. . ."
After all, Fang Xi had more experience than the local cultivators and had witnessed the External Core techniques of the Primordial Demon Sect.
The so-called 'External Core'!
It is an item refined to resemble a Golden Core, capable of empowering a Foundation Establishment cultivator, granting them magic power and divine abilities comparable to a Core Formation cultivator!
Because it is an external object, it is named 'External Core'!
When Fang Xi accompanied Dan Ya to fight against that pair of Heavenly Demon senior and junior brothers, he had seen similar methods used by the demonic body cultivator junior brother who was comparable to a Core Formation cultivator!
"Since it's an external object, once lost, one would revert to their original state and wouldn't possess the long lifespan of a true Core Formation cultivator. . . But there's a trade-off; because one remains a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they can continue to improve their cultivation and attempt to break through the Core Formation bottleneck!"
"As for the so-called 'False Core cultivators,' they condense a Golden Core by borrowing the power of a demon core. Although their cultivation cannot advance further, they have indeed broken through to a higher realm and possess the lifespan of a Core Formation ancestor. . ."
"This 'Nine Dragons Pearl' is undoubtedly a type of External Core, far more precious than a mere demon core. . . Unfortunately, it contains a bloodline spirit restriction. Outsiders cannot refine it, and even rashly injecting magic power to refine it might cause one to fall into a hidden vicious trap, resulting in their Dantian exploding and death. . ."
Fang Xi sighed with emotion and clapped his hands.
A wooden puppet with a wrinkled face, white hair, and limbs as thin as kindling appeared beside him. It was none other than 'You Kun'!
After killing You Kun, Fang Xi, adhering to the principle of not wasting anything, had fashioned him into a wooden puppet.
While it was best to craft wooden puppets from living beings, fresh corpses that had just died were also perfectly acceptable.
However, when performing the soul-searching secret technique of the 'Withered Glory Chant,' the memories obtained were not as complete as You Chong's. This was likely due to the soul already beginning to dissipate. If the death occurred more than a stick of incense's time ago, even a wooden puppet would be unable to extract memories.
Furthermore, Fang Xi had not found a way to lift the 'Nine Dragons Pearl' restriction within You Kun's storage pouch.
This was quite normal; he even suspected that the You family simply didn't possess such a method! After all, they would only complain that the restrictions on the 'Nine Dragons Pearl' weren't strong or strict enough; how could they possibly research a way to break it, thereby causing trouble for themselves?
'Such a treasure, yet it has fallen into outside hands. . . '
'If it weren't for the great war in the cultivation world at that time, the You family would probably have dispatched their entire force to seek revenge on me, wouldn't they? '
'Even now, they must still be coveting it. . . '
Fang Xi casually pointed a finger.
You Kun immediately stepped forward, forming hand seals, as drops of dark red blood fell into the 'Nine Dragons Pearl'!
That's right!
This was Fang Xi's material for his Core Formation puppet!
However, Fang Xi was still somewhat skeptical whether the 'Nine Dragons Pearl' would recognize the bloodline of a 'wooden puppet,' which was why he was attempting it now.
But for him, even if it failed, it would only mean the loss of one wooden puppet, which was nothing significant.
Buzzing!
The next moment, the 'Nine Dragons Pearl' burst forth with brilliant light. Runes flickered on the spirit pearl's surface, and streams of fire dragons emerged from within, drawing the fire-attribute spiritual energy between heaven and earth, then swiftly burrowing into You Kun's body.
Roar! Roar!
You Kun opened his mouth and swallowed the 'Nine Dragons Pearl' into his abdomen. His aura surged explosively, with nine fire dragons accompanying him, his magic power clearly reaching the Core Formation level!
"Not bad. . . it actually succeeded? !"
Fang Xi rubbed his hands in excitement: "My first Core Formation puppet!"
Seeing this, he no longer hesitated and formed a hand seal.
A wisp of Divine Consciousness flew out, transforming into a grain-sized stream of light, and burrowed into You Kun's mind.
This was one of the eight Divine Consciousness thoughts he had separated after cultivating the 'Thousand Threads Puppet Control Art' to the third layer!
One Core Formation puppet was enough for him to make his choice.
With his spiritual sense submerged within You Kun's body, Fang Xi's control over the puppet instantly advanced to a new level, no longer experiencing the stagnation caused by routing through the Demonic Tree of Primordial Beginning.
You Kun's own expression changed repeatedly, from stiff, twisted. . . to expressionless. . . then a wicked smile, as he let out a hoarse, low voice: "I am the Grand Elder of the You family. . . You Kun! Little junior, prepare to die!"
Roar! Roar!
As the man's hands formed a spell, nine fire dragons instantly lunged out, continuously spewing scorching flames capable of melting metal and calcifying stone!
Their momentum was astonishing!
Even their escape speed was quite swift!
"However. . . puppet arts also have their limits. The maximum distance for controlling a puppet cannot exceed the controller's Divine Consciousness limit. . . In other words, if the You Kun puppet's distance from me exceeds twenty li, it will directly 'disconnect'? !"
Fang Xi then controlled 'You Kun' to perform tests such as flying, defending, and attacking, and he generally understood the puppet's shortcomings.
"Even though I control it with the art of consciousness-splitting and thought-avatar, making it far more flexible than a wooden puppet. . . it still can't compare to a true Core Formation cultivator."
"Moreover, the inherent physical weakness of human puppets was also inherited. . ."
Most true third-order puppets are crafted from magical treasure-grade materials, and their own hardness is comparable to magical treasures, thus daring to clash head-on with cultivators' magical treasures.
While Fang Xi's wooden puppet was simple in its materials, the puppet's inherent strength was merely the strength of its former physical body.
Presently, You Kun's physique was even weaker than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment body cultivator due to his extreme old age.
During combat, a large portion of its magic power would have to be diverted to protect its physical body, otherwise it could easily be struck down if an opponent of the same stage seized an opening.
"Strictly speaking. . . demon king puppets are still superior!"
"A third-order demon beast, then?"
Fang Xi stroked his chin, beginning to consider the Myriad Beast Mountain Range.
"Too bad. . . I don't dare venture deep into the mountain range. If only a demon king would emerge and happen to be alone. . ."
With his current divine abilities, confronting a third-order demon king wouldn't be a big problem; at the very least, he could escape.
Before undergoing their transformation heavenly tribulation, demon beasts of ordinary bloodlines were always slightly inferior to cultivators of the same stage.
"At that time, I could refine a third-order wooden puppet, and also a demon core. . ."
"Wait, after extracting the demon core, the power of a third-order demon beast puppet would also plummet, wouldn't it? Perhaps it could only be called a 'quasi-third-order puppet'?"
"No. . . I'm still 'imprisoned' right now. . . unless a third-order demon king directly rushes into Dragon Fish Island. . ."
"However, it can be listed as a future option."
Fang Xi suddenly thought of Ruan Xing Ling, wondering how she was doing.
'Unfortunately. . . Core Formation is a major hurdle for any cultivator, even a False Core! '
'Even refining a demon king's inner core carries a chance of failure; it's not guaranteed to succeed. . . '
'Of course, a third-order inner core with compatible attributes would increase the success rate almost as much as a Five Elements Spirit Fruit. Coupled with the cultivator's own foundation and the aid of miraculous elixirs, the possibility of condensing a False Core is still very high. . . '
After handing the 'Three Yangs True Fire Cover' to You Kun, Fang Xi calmly emerged from his seclusion.
Now, he not only possessed two life-bound magical treasures—one for offense and one for defense—but also a Core Formation-grade puppet.
Even if he encountered an ordinary mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, he would dare to contend.
In the Three Kingdoms cultivation world, he was already powerful enough to roam unchecked.
If he were within the 'Nine-Nethers Profound Wood Grand Array,' even if three Core Formation sect ancestors combined forces to attack, he would remain utterly fearless!
Thus, his state of mind was exceptionally peaceful, imbued with a sense of tranquility and detachment.
...
Evergreen Pavilion.
"Young Master has emerged from seclusion. . ."
Yan Ying's demeanor was respectful, yet held a hint of familiarity: "Previously, Guest Elder Hong sent someone to inquire. . . when will the Island Master hold his Golden Core Grand Ceremony?"
Achieving Golden Core was a major event; in the cultivation world, such grand ceremonies were typically held to widely announce it.
'I haven't sealed off Dragon Fish Island since I formed my Core. . . By now, everyone who should know, probably knows, right? '
Fang Xi pondered for a moment, then replied indifferently, "I'll consider it further. . ."
The Three Kingdoms cultivation world was simply too small. Besides Zhang Zhu Sheng and Qing Laogui, was he also supposed to send an invitation to that Old Ancestor Yan from Ethereal Valley Sect?
...
Outside Myriad Islands Lake.
A five-colored flying ship was currently streaking across the sky.
Upon the flying ship, there was the mark of the Black Heaven Sect.
On the deck stood a person with a mighty, yet sickly, countenance. It was precisely Old Ancestor Zhang, who had originally been in seclusion recuperating in the Black Heaven Sect!
His arm had already been reattached, but he occasionally coughed, causing Xuan Xuan Zi great worry: "Old Ancestor. . . even if that person has formed their Core, I could simply represent our sect in offering congratulations. Why trouble you to go in person?"
"Cough, cough. . . Since Baifeng, another rogue cultivator has achieved Core Formation. . . Such a grand event, how could I not go. . ."
Zhang Zhu Sheng coughed twice, his expression unreadable: "I've reviewed this person's intelligence. . . He began his cultivation journey from Green Bamboo Mountain, possessing poor aptitude yet a resilient nature. He reached Foundation Establishment before his sixtieth year limit and then achieved Core Formation just before the Foundation Establishment deadline. . . truly extraordinary. Moreover. . . this person is also a third-order formation master, and he has slain a great enemy for our sect!"
"Indeed. . . With such a low probability for Profound Water Liquid, could he have really hit it? " Xuan Xuan Zi felt immensely dejected.
In his mind, Fang Xi must have consumed the 'Profound Water Liquid'.
But for someone with such a low probability to actually achieve Golden Core, it could only be said that Heaven was unfair!
He thought of several Foundation Establishment Perfected cultivators in his Black Heaven Sect, whose external conditions for Core Formation were significantly better than with 'Profound Water Liquid,' yet they still failed!
"Heh. . . Profound Water Liquid is only a minor aid. To say it's enough to condense a Golden Core would be quite a stretch. . ."
Zhang Zhu Sheng shook his head: "Could it be that you've forgotten about the 'Nine Leaves Sect' ruins in Myriad Islands Lake?"
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