Chapter 87: Repairing the Golden Puppet
Inside a hidden crevice in the volcanic rock, Fang Hao sat cross-legged, his aura adjusted to its peak state. Before him, the severely damaged golden puppet stood quietly, the charred scar on its chest a shocking sight. Beside it lay a cold jade box containing "earth core jade marrow" and a jade bottle containing "void crystal dust."
"Let’s begin." Fang Hao took a deep breath, his eyes intensely focused. He first immersed his mind into the fragment of the heavenly craft puppet manual Jade Slip, repeatedly deducing every step of repairing the core Formation and every detail of the rune patterns in his mind until he was certain there were no errors.
Then, he performed hand seals and circulated the Chaos Evolution Dao Art, slowly channeling a strand of pure Chaos Qi. Like the most skillful carving knife, it carefully stripped away the carbonized and failed Formation lines from the damaged area of the golden puppet’s chest. This process was extremely delicate and required precise control; any slight mistake could cause secondary damage to the core.
Chaos Qi truly lived up to its reputation as the Origin of all things. Under Fang Hao’s exquisite control, the failed lines were successfully cleared, revealing the complex and precise internal core structure. Some tiny energy circuits were broken, flickering with unstable arcs of electricity.
Fang Hao held his breath and opened the cold jade box. The amber-colored earth core jade marrow, warm as jade and exuding vibrant vitality, appeared before him. Using spiritual power as a guide, he drew out a small clump of the jade marrow and applied it evenly to the base of the core. As soon as the jade marrow touched the core material, it immediately permeated inward like mercury spreading on the ground, emitting a soft light. It began to nourish and repair the damaged base, and the fractures slowly started to reconnect and heal.
Next, he took the void crystal dust. These fine powders, shimmering like starlight, were carefully controlled by his Divine Thought and precisely sprinkled onto the positions where the Formation lines needed to be re-engraved. The void crystal dust merged into the jade marrow, making the newly born energy circuits more stable and imbuing them with a hint of spatial attributes, greatly increasing conduction efficiency.
The most critical step arrived—re-engraving the core Formation!
Using his finger as a brush and his own pure seven-element spiritual power and Chaos Qi as ink, Fang Hao followed the Profound Truth in the fragment of the heavenly craft puppet manual. In the core area of the golden puppet’s chest, he sketched out new and even more profound and complex Formation runes, stroke by stroke!
Every rune he placed consumed a significant amount of Fang Hao’s mental energy and spiritual power. Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, but his eyes grew brighter. His understanding of Formations, his insights into the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Scripture, and his preliminary exploration of the path of Chaos were all integrated into this brand-new Formation.
Time passed bit by bit. The rock crevice was silent, save for the faint hum of Fang Hao’s spiritual power circulating and the dim light of the runes lighting up.
After an unknown amount of time, when the final rune was perfectly sketched, the entire core area suddenly erupted with a brilliant and dazzling light! The earth core jade marrow, void crystal dust, and the new Formation merged perfectly, forming a seamless and endlessly circulating energy core!
Buzz—!!!
The golden puppet’s massive body shuddered violently! The charred scar on its chest faded at a visible rate, revealing a brand-new core beneath, dark gold and flowing with new energy circuits! A Nascent Soul Level pressure, far more refined and majestic than before, slowly radiated outward like an awakening Dragon! Its originally dull eyes suddenly lit up with two clumps of blazing golden flames, filled with spirituality and power!
The repair was a success!
No, it was more than just a repair! After being enhanced by Fang Hao with Chaos Qi and the new Formation, a subtle change seemed to have occurred in the golden puppet’s core, and its potential was even greater than before!
"It’s a success!" Fang Hao breathed a long sigh of relief, a weary but extremely gratified smile appearing on his face. With a thought...
The golden puppet slowly knelt on one knee, its deep and respectful voice ringing out: "Master."
The voice was full of vigor, with none of the previous sluggishness.
Fang Hao nodded in satisfaction. With this fully restored and even stronger Nascent Soul Level golden puppet by his side, his sense of security increased greatly. Even if he encountered a Middle Golden Core Stage Cultivator like Gong Mingliang again, he wouldn’t be in such a sorry state as before; he could confront or even crush them head-on!
However, after the joy, his reason quickly returned. He stroked the golden puppet’s cold metal body, his gaze turning deep.
"Having Nascent Soul combat power doesn’t mean I can act without restraint," Fang Hao knew very well. "The Gongming Family is a true Great Family with a Nascent Soul Ancestor presiding over it. If I openly oppose them, it would be like an egg striking a rock. The terror of a Nascent Soul Cultivator is far beyond what a Golden Core can compare to."
Repairing the golden puppet was to have the confidence for self-preservation and negotiation, not to actively seek death.
He recalled the rumors he had occasionally heard in peripheral towns while using the Chaos Grotto-Heaven to travel and rest over the past few days. Recently, Qingzhou had not been peaceful, seemingly related to the Seventh Prince of the Mingling Empire who guarded this province—Seventh Prince.
This Seventh Prince, Seventh Prince, was said to be an extremely powerful and ambitious prince of the Mingling Empire’s royal Family. His cultivation was unfathomable, at least at the Late Nascent Soul Stage or even higher. He presided over Qingzhou, nominally maintaining the Empire’s order, but in reality, he was vigorously recruiting talents from all sides to expand his own influence. His relationship with the other princes of the Empire and even the Crown Prince was very delicate.
Recently, there were reports that the Seventh Prince’s estate was issuing a "recruitment order," regardless of background or cultivation level; as long as one had a special skill, they could go to the Prince’s estate for an examination. Once hired, the treatment would be extremely generous, and one could even gain the protection of the Prince’s estate.
"Seventh Prince Seventh Prince... recruitment order..." Fang Hao’s fingers lightly tapped his knee, his thoughts racing.
Perhaps this was an opportunity? A chance to temporarily escape the pursuit of the Gongming Family and obtain a relatively safe environment for development?
Joining the Prince’s estate would certainly mean being under someone else’s control, but it would also be equivalent to obtaining a protective talisman. No matter how arrogant the Gongming Family was, they wouldn’t dare to openly hunt down a talent recruited by the Seventh Prince. Moreover, the Prince’s estate had abundant resources, which might provide him with a better cultivation environment and channels to obtain higher-level information.
Of course, risks also existed. The internal factions of the Prince’s estate were complex and intertwined; one wrong step could lead to eternal damnation.
"But it’s better than being hunted everywhere like a stray dog." Fang Hao quickly made a decision. Instead of hiding passively, it was better to actively seek a way to break the deadlock!
"I’ll go to the main city of Qingzhou, ’Tianqing City,’ to check out the situation first. If this recruitment order is real, perhaps I can give it a try," Fang Hao set his goal.
He delayed no longer, put away the golden puppet (which could now change size at will for easy carrying), walked out of the rock crevice, and summoned the silver light shuttle. It turned into a streak of silver light, flying toward the heart of Qingzhou, the direction of Tianqing City.
This time, he was no longer simply fleeing, but stepping into the deep waters of Qingzhou with a clear goal and a preliminary plan. The road ahead was still treacherous, but with the golden puppet as his trump card, Fang Hao felt a bit more composure and confidence in his heart.
