Eternal Life Begins with Learning

Chapter 383: Chapter 353: 100 Puppets, Preparations for Going to Sea

For over ten days, Chu Mu recuperated quietly in his Cave Mansion. He spent the time studying the Pill Recipe tomes he’d obtained and taking a much-needed rest to recover from years of travel fatigue.

Day after day, he sat in the stone pavilion of the bamboo grove with a book and a pot of Spirit Tea.

Occasionally, he would tend to the Spiritual Plants in his Spirit Field, which added a pleasant, leisurely touch to his routine.

This leisurely life continued until the start of the month, at which point it finally came to an end.

A mountain spring trickled, its waters swelling into a river that flowed alongside the Spirit Field, following the contour of the mountain.

Chu Mu leaned against a large boulder by the river, gazing thoughtfully at the Jade Scroll in his hand.

After nearly a quarter of an hour, he seemed to stir from his thoughts. As he slowly got to his feet, an entrance appeared in the Array Prohibition that enveloped the Cave Mansion.

He took a single step out, and a Tunneling Light flared as he streaked down from the mountain peak toward the city below.

This time, he moved with clear purpose. Darting through the city, he visited shop after shop, spending a fortune in Spirit Stones to acquire a massive quantity of Spiritual Materials and Objects.

This shopping spree lasted for more than a month. After wandering the city for just as long, he finally returned to his Cave Mansion.

Dozens of Storage Talismans dimmed as a mountain of Spiritual Materials spilled out onto the floor of the Earth Fire Room.

He cast a Technique, and Earth Fire surged forth. The roaring flames instantly lit up the entire room.

Chu Mu gazed at the mountain of Spiritual Materials, his brow slightly furrowed in thought.

He had spent hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones on this mountain of Spiritual Materials, all for the purpose of Artifact Refining.

In the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, Demon Pills were not exactly rare, but they were certainly not common.

At the very least, despite searching all over Chixia City, he hadn’t seen a single Demon Pill being sold as a raw material.

From what he had managed to learn, raw materials from Demon Beasts were almost completely monopolized by the various factions of the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World.

Only a tiny fraction ever made it to the open market.

Most shops in the city displayed signs seeking to purchase Demon Beast materials. As far as he knew, the major Business Alliances had even set up shop on the islands of the Outer Sea, controlling the supply of raw materials right from the source.

If he hoped to simply sit in the city and purchase large quantities of Demon Pills for Alchemy, his chances as a newcomer were practically zero.

’As for painstakingly building a network of contacts like I did in Jingmen...’

’The method could work, but I’m a newcomer. Besides, Chixia City is nothing like East Lake back then.’

’It’s a chaotic place, and the web of factions is incredibly complex—far from the relative simplicity of Water Heaven Workshop in Jingmen.’

’With the time and energy that would take,’ Chu Mu thought, ’it’s better to just rely on myself.’

And this mountain of Spiritual Materials before him was exactly that preparation.

Idea after idea flowed through his mind as Chu Mu pondered for a long while.

Although he had already decided to hunt Demons at sea, he didn’t dare to be the slightest bit careless.

’After all, the Outer Sea is anything but safe.’

’The more trump cards and tricks up my sleeve, the better!’

As he mulled it over, a wisp of Great Sun True Flame appeared and merged into the surging Earth Fire. The crimson flames immediately swelled, and piece by piece, the Spiritual Materials began to twist and transform within the blaze.

He threw everything into his preparations for the sea voyage: the Spiritual Materials worth hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones, plus the numerous rare materials he had collected over the years, save for a select few.

The time he spent on this Refining session far exceeded any of his previous attempts at Artifact Refining.

「Spring gave way to autumn, and nearly two years passed before the surging Earth Fire in the room finally died out.」

And now, surrounding the Earth Fire Platform, rows of Puppets stood in neat formation like silent, battle-hardened soldiers inside the Earth Fire Room.

Chu Mu’s eyes were bloodshot. After two years of continuous Refining, even with his formidable Essence, Qi, and Spirit, he was on the verge of collapse.

But the sight of the Puppets before him instantly pushed back his overwhelming fatigue.

Two years of Refining, for one hundred Puppets!

These Puppets were unlike any he had designed before. He had conceived them during this session, specifically for the purpose of his trip.

His goal was to hunt Demons at sea, which meant the Puppets’ battlefield would most likely be the ocean.

Furthermore, their opponents wouldn’t be Cultivators but rather Demon Beasts, which act purely on instinct.

Considering all these factors, the many Puppet designs he had created in the past were clearly unsuitable for the task.

After all, he had previously operated inland, where his enemies were always other Cultivators.

’They need to adapt to the Vast Sea’s terrain and be durable enough to withstand the tough hides of Demon Beasts...’

Of the one hundred Puppets, twenty were Tier Two, and eighty were at Tier One Perfection.

They came in both humanoid and bestial forms, each designed for a specific purpose.

There were decoy Puppets to lure Demon Beasts, rear-guard Puppets to ensure his escape, and tank Puppets to act as meat shields for direct confrontations...

Combined with the intelligence he’d gathered on the Outer Sea, he had prepared as thoroughly as he possibly could!

He took out a stack of Storage Talismans. There were too many Puppets; the space in his Storage Ring was simply not enough. He had no choice but to use the talismans to carry them for now.

After putting away all one hundred Puppets, Chu Mu finally stepped out of the Earth Fire House, which had been sealed for almost two years.

Two years had brought no change to the Cave Mansion. Features like dust removal, soundproofing, and air purification were standard, exceedingly common effects for a B-Class Cave Mansion.

Not to mention, the Cave Mansion was rich in Spiritual Qi, and anything nourished by it would only teem with vitality.

He had already expanded the Spirit Field significantly. Before entering seclusion for Artifact Refining, he had also taken the time to plant numerous new Spirit Medicines.

Over the past two years, thanks to the Spirit Field and the dense Spiritual Qi, the growth of these Spirit Plants and Spirit Medicine was quite impressive.

Of course, this was all thanks to Wangcai.

After all, as Spirit Medicine grows, even in seclusion, it can spontaneously generate harmful Spirit Insects and detrimental Spirit Grass that clash with the nature of the Spiritual Plants.

While he was in seclusion for Artifact Refining, he had no time to care for the Spirit Medicine. Although Wangcai’s Spiritual Wisdom wasn’t high, they had developed a strong rapport over time. After being given instructions, it had handled these chores quite well.

Seeing Chu Mu emerge, Wangcai, who had been tormenting a Spirit Insect out of sheer boredom, instantly shot to its feet. As it leaped up, it casually flicked its tail, smashing the squirming Spirit Insect into a pulp.

"Alright, alright. We’re heading out to sea soon. You can run as wild as you want then!"

Chu Mu laughed and ruffled Wangcai’s fur. With a wave of his hand, a pale green Puppet appeared beside them.

The Puppet was quite ordinary, only at Tier One Perfection.

But its Puppet Core was anything but simple.

For a single Tier One Puppet, he had used a Soul Condensing Stone and a Foundation Establishment Soul to forge its core.

The purpose of this extravagant use of high-grade materials was due to the Puppet’s unique function.

It was not a combat Puppet, but a Support Puppet—a Spirit Plant Puppet created to tend to the Spirit Field and its Spiritual Plants.

Into its specially forged Puppet Core, he had imbued all of his knowledge concerning Spiritual Plants, Spirit Medicine, and Spirit Fields.

Furthermore, the Puppet’s very framework was designed specifically for tending to Spiritual Plants.

To that end, he had even gone out of his way to learn several Magic Techniques used by Spirit Plant Masters and inscribed them onto the Puppet.

These included the Spirit Rain Skill and the Moonlight Skill...

This Puppet was born for the sole purpose of caring for Spiritual Plants.

It might look unassuming, but if sold on the open market, the value of this one Puppet would likely surpass even that of a Tier Two combat Puppet.

Of the hundred Puppets he had refined, it was this single, seemingly insignificant Tier One Puppet that had cost him the most time and energy.

"Go on."

Chu Mu activated the Spirit Plant Puppet. At his command, the pale green automaton strode to the edge of the Spirit Field. It raised an arm, and with a flash of light, pearlescent droplets of Spirit Rain materialized and showered down upon the field.

As the Spirit Rain fell, all the Spirit Plants and Spirit Medicine in the field seemed to grow even more vibrant.

Immediately afterward, the Puppet spread its fingers. Streaks of pale green light descended upon the Spirit Field, and every Spirit Insect caught in the glow was instantly annihilated.

Once the pale green light faded, the Puppet seemed to scan the Spirit Field for any remaining Spirit Insects. After a slow, circular sweep confirmed that none had escaped, it proceeded to the next step of its routine.

Chu Mu watched the Puppet’s every action. After observing for a moment and confirming that everything was proceeding exactly as planned, he averted his gaze.

He glanced around the Cave Mansion, and after a moment of thought, a Jade Scroll containing a detailed map of the coastal and Outer Sea regions appeared in his grasp.

After examining the map for a moment, he swapped it for another Jade Scroll.

This new Jade Scroll was the *Demon Beast Atlas*, touted as an essential item for anyone hunting Demons at sea.

He had purchased it from Yun Xiao Pavilion for nearly a thousand Spirit Stones. According to the Shopkeeper there, this Demon Beast Atlas was the most comprehensive record of Demon Beast species in the entire Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World.

He had skimmed through it once before his seclusion, though it remained to be seen if it was as comprehensive as the Shopkeeper had claimed.

However, the information recorded within the Jade Scroll was indeed exceptionally detailed.

It contained information on nearly three thousand species of Demon Beasts, clearly detailing each one’s habits, appearance, weaknesses, and the general sea regions where they lived.

The claim that it was "essential for Demon Hunting at sea" was clearly not an exaggeration.

If he was going out to sea, he would have to commit the contents of this Demon Beast Atlas to memory.

After a moment of thought, Chu Mu glanced one last time at the Spirit Plant Puppet. With a wave of his hand, the Array Prohibition Gate appeared. He stepped through, and Wangcai followed closely at his heels.

As the Array Prohibition Gate vanished and the barrier returned to normal, Chu Mu and Wangcai leaped down from the mountain, setting foot in Chixia City once more...

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