Chapter 178
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Chapter 178: Spirit Iron Alloy
Outside Hidden Spirit Island, the master and his disciple were chatting when they ran into the three youngsters heading out to hunt at sea.
Xu Fan watched as the trio struggled to subdue the still-thrashing Ice Lake Giant Shrimp and said, “Wouldn’t it be easier to just kill it and toss it in the storage bag? This is way too much effort.”
Xu Gang, using his spiritual energy to hold up the hundred-meter-long Ice Lake Giant Shrimp, grinned and replied, “Master, you always said seafood tastes best when it’s fresh.”
Every word Xu Fan had ever spoken since Xu Gang was a child had been etched into his memory.
“That’s thoughtful of you. Since the two seniors have already left, let’s save this giant shrimp for a feast for the whole sect.”
“Go catch a few more beasts, preferably crabs. We’ll throw a big seafood banquet for the entire sect tonight,” Xu Fan suggested.
“You got it!”
Xu Gang turned and dove back into the depths of the Ten Thousand-Mile Giant Lake, with the three little ones trailing behind him.
“Ah, to be young again,” Xu Fan mused as he watched the four figures disappear into the distance.
Just then, twelve turtles of various colors appeared at Xu Fan’s feet.
“Let’s head back; no fishing today,” Xu Fan said to the twelve turtles, who would likely stick with him until he ascended to the Immortal Realm.
“Awwooo~~” A red turtle let out a soft roar at Xu Fan.
“Your mother wants to see me?” Xu Fan asked, puzzled.
The surface of the lake began to churn, and the first thing to emerge was a small red flower, followed by a massive turtle head that looked like a dragon’s.
“Grr~~~”
A deep, resonant sound echoed, and Xu Fan immediately understood what the giant turtle was trying to convey.
“You need to take your twelve children back to receive their inheritance,” Xu Fan said.
The giant turtle nodded its massive head.
“You have an inheritance in the Endless Sea?” Xu Fan asked, intrigued.
The turtle nodded again.
“Alright, go ahead. I’ll give you twenty years at most. If you don’t come back, that little flower on your head will act up,” Xu Fan said, sending a thread of spiritual light into the small red flower on the giant turtle’s head.
The Transformation God-level giant turtle’s eyes flickered with a hint of fear.
“Go on, but remember to come back on time. I still plan to take you all with me to the Immortal Realm to enjoy life,” Xu Fan said with a smile.
“Awwooo~~”
With a low rumble, the Transformation God-level giant turtle set off with its twelve colorful children toward the Endless Sea.
“What a hardworking mother,” Xu Fan sighed.
That evening, all two thousand three hundred members of the Hidden Spirit Sect gathered in the sect’s cafeteria.
Seeing everyone in high spirits filled Xu Fan with satisfaction. He felt the sect’s size was just right, and now it was just a matter of waiting for these disciples to grow and flourish.
Currently, there were 221 Foundation Establishment Stage disciples in the Hidden Spirit Sect, with the highest cultivation reaching the late Foundation Establishment Stage. This rapid progress made Xu Fan wonder if he should increase the difficulty of the challenge puppet.
The banquet featured a hundred-meter-long giant shrimp, a fifty-meter-long giant crab, and a variety of dishes made from beast meat and spiritual vegetables—enough for the entire sect to enjoy a grand feast.
Late at night, Xu Fan lay down in his courtyard, gazing up at the starry sky, and began trying to connect with Grape’s clone in the Demon Spirit Realm.
After trying for half the day with no success, Xu Fan finally gave up and said, “Isn’t it because the Thick-Shell Honey Badger hasn’t found a suitable place yet?”
At that moment, in the territory of the Thick-Shell Honey Badger clan in the Demon Spirit Realm, a Nascent Soul Stage Thick-Shell Honey Badger was fleeing with over ten space rings. Its destination was the Wan Chong Mountain Range ahead, where the environment was harsh but rich in diverse spirit ore resources, making it a gathering place for scattered beasts to mine.
As soon as the Nascent Soul Stage Thick-Shell Honey Badger left the sect’s territory, it released a Precious Artifact Satellite. “The Wan Chong Mountain Range is the perfect place for the master to build a base,” it thought. “With these resources, I can support the Thick-Shell Honey Badger clan.” Determination shone in its eyes.
After learning that the Thick-Shell Honey Badger was once a top-tier clan of the beast race, Xu Fan began to consider supporting the Thick-Shell Honey Badger clan as an insider in the demon realm. He had a three-step plan: first, establish a base in the Demon Spirit Realm and use the Precious Artifact equipment produced there to support the Thick-Shell Honey Badger. Second, help the controlled Thick-Shell Honey Badgers become clan leaders, though this would be a long-term process. Third, absorb smaller clans in the area that lacked Great Ascension Stage beasts to gain more benefits.
Of course, these were long-term goals. For now, the priority was to collect unique resources from the demon realm and transport them back to the Hidden Spirit Sect.
The Nascent Soul Stage Thick-Shell Honey Badger used the hidden spirit pearls in its space rings to traverse dangerous areas without any trouble.
In the morning, after finishing breakfast, Xu Fan arrived at the underground space. Over a hundred thousand tool puppets were busy assembling Precious Artifact Satellites. “Not bad! You can now adjust the Production Line on your own,” Xu Fan said with a smile. In the past, he had to plan everything in detail before handing it over to Grape for construction.
“After advancing to a Dao Artifact, if I couldn’t even do this, I might as well self-destruct,” Grape said in its electronic voice, which Xu Fan found amusing.
“What else do we need?” Xu Fan asked.
“After multiple replacements and recombinations, we’re just waiting for the materials from Pang Fu. Once they arrive, we expect to finish within three months,” Grape replied. “The estimated cost is 1.26 billion spirit stones.”
Xu Fan was puzzled. “Are you sure it only costs this much?” In his mind, the Production Line for the Precious Artifact Satellite should cost between five billion to one hundred billion.
“Grape replaced all the parts and Production Line components that could use spirit iron ore,” it explained. “Plus, the recently developed spirit iron alloy formula has significantly improved the Production Line and Precious Artifact Satellites. That’s how we kept the costs so low.”
A shiny silver alloy metal floated in front of Xu Fan. “The hardness of this spirit iron alloy can match a third-tier Precious Artifact, and with special fusion, it can even forge fifth-grade Precious Artifacts.”
Xu Fan stared at the spirit iron alloy for a long time, thinking to himself, *How am I so amazing, and how did Grape turn out so incredible too?*
“What are the drawbacks of this alloy?” Xu Fan asked.
“Its spiritual conductivity isn’t strong, so it’s not suitable for core components of puppets or treasures,” Grape replied.
“That’s still impressive. This will make my plans in the demon realm even more solid,” Xu Fan said. “By the way, when you have time, design a few puppets using this alloy’s properties.”
As soon as Xu Fan finished speaking, a light curtain appeared in front of him, displaying four heavy armor sci-fi style puppets. “Transformation Stage heavy armor puppet, cost 20 million spirit stones. Establishing the Production Line requires 5.6 billion spirit stones.”
Hearing Grape’s quote, a thought crossed Xu Fan’s mind: *If I sell Xingci, would he hate me?*
