Chapter 557

Chapter 557: Paving a New Path

It was another leisurely day as Xu Fan lay floating freely above the Ten Thousand-Mile Giant Lake.

Before him was a light curtain displaying a puppet’s design.

"This is quite a puzzle. Even if I project my soul and possess this puppet, I can only reach the level of crafting a top-tier Taoist artifact at best," Xu Fan said, scratching his head. This puppet design was the most optimized crafting puppet he could think of.

"To break through, I either need to discover a new type of spirit ore that can fully simulate the Core Formation stage, allowing for the complete transfer of celestial script, or I have to devise a new type of Formation," Xu Fan said, feeling a bit of a headache.

"Grape, do you have any suggestions?" Xu Fan casually asked.

"If necessary, you could use demonic cultivator methods," Grape’s voice replied, carrying a hint of experimentation.

"No side effects, safe, healthy, and comprehensive—those are my principles," Xu Fan replied.

"If that were the case, I wouldn’t still be waiting here," Xu Fan said.

"It seems that this thing is just as I expected; it won’t be done without spending at least a few decades."

Xu Fan waved his hand gently, and the puppet in the light curtain was instantly disassembled into parts, eventually reverting back to the state of spirit ore.

At that moment, a streak of light dashed through the sky, and Zhang Daqi, Xu Fan’s newly registered disciple, appeared beside him, holding a spirit sword.

"Master, here is the spirit sword crafted according to your requirements. Please take a look," Zhang Daqi said respectfully, his eyes gleaming with a hint of enthusiasm.

Xu Fan waved his hand, and the spirit sword in Zhang Daqi’s hand flew out, plunging directly into the Ten Thousand-Mile Giant Lake.

Confused, Zhang Daqi watched as a humanoid spirit beast formed from a massive amount of lake water and water spiritual energy emerged on the lake’s surface, wielding the spirit sword.

Then, the Ten Thousand-Mile Giant Lake erupted with a giant wave, revealing a colossal beast formed from the spirit iron ore beneath the lake.

The two spirit beasts then charged at each other, and the battle was about to begin.

"Guess who will win?" Xu Fan asked with a smile.

"My disciple bets on the water spirit beast; it wields the alloy spirit sword I crafted, giving it a strategic advantage," Zhang Daqi replied.

"Spirit alloys of water do not conflict! Additionally, the spiritual energy you used was quite ordinary," Zhang Daqi thought aloud.

As the battle commenced, the humanoid water spirit beast gained the upper hand, wielding Zhang Daqi’s alloy spirit sword and achieving an undefeated state.

Xu Fan did not focus on the battlefield; instead, he concentrated on the light curtain before him, beginning to change his approach to designing the artifact crafting puppet.

Before long, the battle concluded, and the spirit sword returned to Zhang Daqi’s hand.

"Take a close look; do you notice any differences?" Xu Fan asked.

"There is some wear and tear; it just needs a bit of repair," Zhang Daqi observed the spirit sword closely.

"Go back and fetch some spirit iron alloy from the treasury. Although this spirit sword is excellent, it still hasn’t fully demonstrated the properties of the spirit iron alloy."

"This is the first task I’m giving you; whenever two spirit beasts fight and the spirit sword comes back unharmed, you’ll have passed this first challenge," Xu Fan explained.

Just as Zhang Daqi was about to ask for guidance, Xu Fan spoke first, "Go and reflect on this. If you can’t figure it out, come back to find me."

"Understood, Master." Zhang Daqi said as he left with the spirit sword.

At that moment, a flash of light suddenly sparkled in Xu Fan’s mind.

"Why does it have to be a puppet? Wouldn’t it be easier to use a spirit body instead?"

This thought sparked a new idea in Xu Fan’s mind.

"Grape, prepare the first batch of the five elemental origins for me," Xu Fan said, his voice filled with excitement, as if he had just cracked a tough problem.

Five streaks of colored light shot across the sky, transforming into five clusters of elemental spiritual energy that hovered in front of Xu Fan.

Xu Fan made a series of hand seals, causing the five clusters of five elemental origins to merge and transform.

Soon, a man who looked exactly like Xu Fan appeared before him.

"Due to the limitations of my abilities, I can only create a Transformation Stage spirit body for now. But that’s okay. If this experiment works, there are plenty of ways to boost its cultivation."

At that moment, a hundred Core Formation Stage Puppets appeared overhead, forming a protective circle around Xu Fan.

More puppets arrived, carrying various refined spirit ores, from basic spirit iron ore to the highest-grade celestial tool-level spirit ore.

The Second Clone flew over.

He took one look at the setup and immediately understood what Xu Fan was up to.

"Creating the perfect environment for soul projection," the Second Clone said.

"Nice work, my clone! Keep it up!" Xu Fan said, giving the Second Clone an approving look.

"Just doing my part; no need to get all hyped up," the Second Clone replied.

He tossed a handful of golden powder into the air.

The powder burst into a brilliant golden light, forming an intricate formation within a mile radius of Xu Fan.

Instantly, Xu Fan felt his soul yearning to leave his body.

"Let’s sync up sometime soon. After all these years without syncing, there’s quite a gap between us," Xu Fan said with a smile.

"As long as you can handle the pain. And don’t worry, I’m not interested in the divine abilities you’ve come up with," the Second Clone said before flying off.

Xu Fan watched the Second Clone leave and chuckled.

Once the formation was fully active, Xu Fan’s soul left his body and entered the spirit body formed from the five elemental origins.

A flame of spirit fire appeared in the spirit body’s hand, and several pieces of spirit iron alloy flew over from the pile of spirit ore.

In no time, a sleek black third-tier precious artifact spirit sword floated in the air.

"Feels good, even smoother than using artifact crafting puppets. This is definitely a path worth exploring," the spirit body Xu Fan said, examining the black spirit sword.

"I’ll craft a few artifacts specifically to enhance the spirit body and refine the spiritual energy condensation technique."

"My goal is to create the first Great Ascension Level puppet in our sect within 60 years."

Saying this, Xu Fan felt a surge of determination.

He knew that if he could overcome this challenge, he’d be able to live a carefree life for a long time.

The thought gave him a major morale boost.

"First Clone, Second Clone, come here! We need to discuss some big plans!" Xu Fan transmitted.

"What big plans? Can’t we take a break after finishing such a huge task?" the First Clone grumbled.

"You’ve been resting for months. It’s time to step up and contribute to the sect," the spirit body Xu Fan said, holding up the newly crafted black spirit sword.

Both the First and Second Clones were master craftsmen at the top of their game. With just a glance, they could see the depth of energy within the spirit sword.

"Not bad, but it’s better than what you’d get from controlled puppets," the First Clone commented.

"Luckily, our sect has some celestial tool-level spirit ore. If the three of us work together, we can craft it in just six months," the Second Clone added.