Chapter 77: First Battle Victory
There was still half a month left.
Lan Chang'an checked for any overlooked areas and ensured that all sorts of materials and life-saving measures were prepared adequately.
A few days later.
The puppet master neighbor from across the street came back carrying a bamboo basket, looking travel-worn.
"Puppet Master Sang has also reached the ninth layer of Qi-Refining."
"His spiritual sense is much stronger than that of an ordinary late-stage Qi-Refining cultivator. Could he have encountered some opportunity?" Lan Chang'an squinted his eyes, watching the muscular middle-aged man enter his courtyard.
Puppet Master Sang was usually reticent and rarely interacted with people. However, after being neighbors for twenty years, some interactions were inevitable.
A few years ago, Puppet Master Sang bought top superior-grade talismans from Lan Chang'an, and was received by Guan Qiaozhi at that time.
The puppet master's strength mainly relied on his puppets. In some emergencies, talismans were more convenient and practical.
The next day, Lan Chang'an brought some small gifts and went to the opposite courtyard.
He knew that Puppet Master Sang had a reclusive personality and got straight to the point.
"Talisman Master Lan, what grade of puppet do you want to buy?" Puppet Master Sang's expression was somewhat wooden.
The two of them stood in the courtyard talking; he didn't even invite Lan Chang'an in for a cup of tea.
Lan Chang'an didn't mind and said:
"Do you have any second-rank puppets for sale?"
Puppet Master Sang's eyelids twitched as he looked at Lan Chang'an in astonishment, shaking his head:
"The best I can make are late first-rank puppets."
Lan Chang'an had his doubts about this.
Judging by the craftsmanship of Guan Qiaozhi's puppet dog and Puppet Master Sang's spiritual sense, it shouldn't be limited to just this.
"Puppet Master Sang, don't be modest. I've heard about your true skills from someone."
"Who said that?"
Puppet Master Sang's expression changed slightly, asking instinctively.
"It doesn't matter who said it. If second-rank puppets are too much, how about selling me two top first-rank bird puppets?" Lan Chang'an proposed.
Evergreen mana wasn't suitable for offense, so top superior-grade first-rank puppets could serve as supplementary combat power. At the very least, they could act as cannon fodder, it would increase their error tolerance.
With the Earth Burrowing Rat advancing to the second rank, it was no longer suitable for such dirty work.
Puppets had the advantage of not fearing death and being immune to most poisons.
Puppet Master Sang hesitated for a moment, reluctantly saying, "I only have one top superior-grade first-rank bird puppet. You'll need to exchange second-rank talismans for it."
"Second-rank talismans are incredibly precious, far exceeding first-rank talismans by several times..."
The two haggled for a while and reached a deal. Puppet Master Sang sold two top superior-grade first-rank puppets to Lan Chang'an.
One was a bird puppet, and the other was a heavy-armored humanoid puppet.
Lan Chang'an paid with a few low second-rank talismans.
These low-grade second-rank talismans were made when Lan Chang'an first came to Huanglong Immortal City and was limited by materials, so he simply discarded them to Puppet Master Sang.
This also matched his current talisman crafting level.
The cost of making a puppet was often twice that of a similar-grade magical weapon and could last for many years if not severely damaged.
Talismans, on the other hand, were consumables, with their value skyrocketing starting from the second rank.
"Talisman Master Lan, be aware that these two top superior-grade puppets can only exert the power of an ordinary late-stage Qi-Refining cultivator in most hands." Besides the two puppets, Puppet Master Sang gave Lan Chang'an a jade slip containing a puppet control technique.
"To exert peak first-rank strength, the controller needs a high level of spiritual sense and proficiency in the control technique."
"Thank you for the reminder, Puppet Master Sang." Lan Chang'an understood this well.
In this life, his spiritual sense was strong, and he had plenty of free time, making it suitable for delving into the art of puppets.
Controlling puppets could also unleash considerable power.
In his previous life, he had dabbled or taken an interest in more mainstream immortal arts like alchemy, formations, spiritual planting, and beast taming. Among them, he had some achievements in formations. But niche skills like puppetry were not among them.
Every cultivator's lifetime energy was limited. In his previous life, he managed to cultivate to the Core Formation Realm, elevate his talisman art to the third rank, care for a large family, and vie for Nascent Soul opportunities, leaving him utterly exhausted.
In this life, limited by the passing of ages, he had a lot of free time every day.
In the second life, he couldn't confirm if he could reincarnate again, so cultivation was his top priority.
In this life, he still didn't dare to ensure that there would be another reincarnation.
Only by advancing to the Nascent Soul Realm, with a qualitative change in his soul, could he explore the true secrets of the Nine Seal Stele.
...
Ten days later.
A flying boat carrying a man and a woman flew out of the northern gate of Huanglong Immortal City, heading towards the vast and endless gray mountains.
Zhao Siyao, in a white dress, elegant and serene, was steering the flying boat in front.
The cool breeze blew her three thousand strands of hair, making her fairy-like dress flutter backward, outlining her graceful figure.
Lan Chang'an, in a white robe, calm and peaceful, seemed like an ancient tree rooted in the flying boat.
He gazed at the faint mist over the distant mountains.
Information about the Black Fog Mountain Range surfaced in Lan Chang'an's mind:
"The Black Fog Mountain Range stretches across almost half of the Great Qing Realm, with numerous demon beast tribes, it is a formidable force that cannot be ignored in this Cultivation Realm."
"A significant branch of it runs through the northern region of the Liang Kingdom, also referred to as the Black Fog Mountain Range by cultivators in Huanglong Immortal City."
"Most of this mountainous region is shrouded in mist all year round, which isolates the spiritual sense of cultivators. The deeper you go, the denser the mist, and the more dangerous it becomes."
Half an hour later.
The flying boat entered the outskirts of the Black Fog Mountain Range.
Lan Chang'an's spiritual sense was restricted by at least half.
The spiritual energy and mist here contained a quality more suitable for demonic beasts' cultivation.
Here, human cultivators felt a sense of difficulty whether cultivating or recovering their mana.
"We'll continue on foot."
Zhao Siyao put away the flying boat, and they landed on the ground.
"Flying in the sky in the Black Fog Mountain Range makes the magic fluctuations of human cultivators like a beacon in the night, easily attracting a wide range of demonic beasts' attention, especially flocks of birds!"
Lan Chang'an had read the records: some flocks of birds numbered in the hundreds or thousands. Even if most were first-rank demon birds, a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator would have to shed his skin even if he didn't die after getting caught up in it.
The two entered the outer area of the mountains for dozens of li.
They occasionally saw early and mid first-rank demon beasts.
Human cultivators' traces occasionally appeared, mostly wandering cultivators.
Some were in groups of three or five as hunting teams.
With Zhao Siyao being a Foundation Establishment cultivator, nearby cultivators would immediately avoid them with respect as they approached.
...
After going two hundred li into the mountain range, Zhao Siyao slowed down.
At this point, the mist in the sky was light gray, and the demon beasts they encountered had significantly improved strength and intelligence, mostly mid to late first-rank.
Some high-intelligence demon beasts not only didn't attack but also avoided them from afar.
Hunting demon beasts in the cultivation world wasn't as simple as pulling mobs in an online game.
A few or a dozen demon beasts posed no threat to the two of them.
But they had to be wary of demon beast hordes; numbers over a hundred could threaten even Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.
They just needed to avoid being surrounded by demon beast hordes in time.
At this point, they hadn't reached the territory of second-rank demon beasts.
The reason for slowing down was twofold.
First, to identify the direction and avoid any unnecessary dangers. Second, to search for precious herbs and spirit ores.
The auxiliary herb Illusory Heart Grass that Lan Chang'an obtained was picked by Zhang Tieshan from the Black Fog Mountain Range.
If they were incredibly lucky, finding the Xuanling Fruit deep in the Black Fog Mountain Range wasn't impossible.
...
A few days later.
Whoosh!
The leopard-like Earth Burrowing Rat darted over from a nearby mountain ditch.
In its mouth was a branch of blood-colored ink-like flower.
"A second-rank spirit flower, Blood Ink Flower."
Lan Chang'an took the flower branch, feeling pleasantly surprised.
The Blood Ink Flower was a primary ingredient for several second-rank pills and was quite beneficial for blood-path techniques.
It could also be mixed into talisman ink to enhance the quality of second-rank talisman ink!
"Fellow Daoist Lan, this Blood Ink Flower is at least four hundred years old. Your spirit rat has an incredibly keen sense of smell." Zhao Siyao marveled, praising.
Over the past few days, since Lan Chang'an let the Earth Burrowing Rat out to scout, they had found something every once in a while.
Mostly high-grade first-rank spiritual items.
This was the first time such a precious four-hundred-year-old second-rank Blood Ink Flower appeared.
"It's mostly luck! Also, because we've entered the second-rank demon beast area, the resources are richer." Lan Chang'an appeared humble on the surface but had already made a judgment in his heart.
Ordinary rat-type demon beasts had inherently keen senses.
After the Earth Burrowing Rat's bloodline mutation and enhancement, its senses became even sharper.
In the Black Fog Mountain Range, where human cultivators' spiritual senses were limited, the Earth Burrowing Rat thrived.
...
Half a month later.
A soul-stirring beast roar echoed through the mountains.
A three-zhang-tall second-rank bear demon, covered in scars, was being attacked by a male and a female cultivator.
The main attacker was the female cultivator in a white dress, wielding an iron umbrella magical tool.
The iron umbrella occasionally transformed into a spear, sometimes into a shield, and sometimes shot out a few steel needles.
The ground around the second-rank bear demon was sunken, with some ground spikes and walls scattered around.
There were also many deep holes.
It was unpredictable which hole might suddenly spring out a ferocious rat.
The bear demon roared continuously, leaving over ten bloody claw marks on its back.
In the distance, a man in white held a white bone bow, his magic power fully charged, and every now and then, he released a cold arrow.
To be precise.
The man in white used a tall heavy-armored puppet as a shield to guard against the bear demon's ranged stone throws.
In the sky behind him, a bird puppet hovered, responsible for covering.
With a thud, the enormous second-rank bear monster fell to the ground, pierced by two bone arrows that emitted black smoke from its ribs and hips.
"Luckily, I have Fellow Daoist Lan to help me. If I'd been alone, my magical power reserves would have been exhausted before I could kill this bear monster." Zhao Siyao's eyes gleamed with joy as she spoke.
"I was just providing support; it was mainly Fellow Daoist Zhao who suppressed it head-on."
Lan Chang'an looked at the huge bear demon's corpse, estimating the area of its beast hide. If used as the main material, it would be enough to make many second-rank talisman papers.
....
(End of chapter)