Chapter 242: Chapter 211: Crafting a Tier 2 Puppet, Roster Controversy

Outside Broken River Castle, the various factions argued endlessly over who to send deep into the Wilderness. But deep within the castle, in a crude Artifact Refining Chamber converted from former Commander Liuu’s estate, the air was scorching and stagnant.

The Spirit Fire, ignited by an Earth Fire Stone, gathered beneath the Earth Flame Cauldron. Constrained by a Tier One Middle-Grade Fire Gathering Array Plate, it formed a blazing tongue of flame that licked at the cauldron’s heavy base.

Lu Zhao sat cross-legged before the cauldron, his Profound Daoist Robe spotless and his expression as serene as an ancient, cold pool. With his eyes slightly closed and his aura harmonious and restrained, he performed his final breathing exercises before beginning the Puppet Refining.

Half a day passed in silence. When he opened his eyes again, they held a sharp glint and his Divine Sense was clear. He had brought himself to his peak condition.

"Time to begin." A low whisper echoed in the quiet chamber.

With a wave of his hand, a flash of light appeared, and the entire corpse of the Earth-Splitting Mountain Bear materialized in the center of the stone room. The dense aura of a Tier Two Demon Beast instantly filled the air, mixed with the stench of blood and earth.

The Earth-Splitting Mountain Bear’s hide was tough and thick, covered in coarse, stiff fur. Its skeleton was massive and heavy, containing a ferocious power. At its very core was a Demon Pill the size of a pigeon’s egg, its surface swirling with patterns like mountain ranges.

Beside the bear’s corpse were piled several types of Tier One High-Grade Metal Spiritual Materials—Cold Iron, Red Fire Copper, and some Auxiliary Materials for balancing and stabilization.

Lu Zhao had his reasons for choosing this Earth-Splitting Mountain Bear as the material for his first attempt at refining a Tier Two Puppet.

The bear’s attributes were not a perfect match for the "Black Rock Fire Bear" schematic from his Puppet Bead’s legacy, but it was serviceable. More importantly, this corpse was the "worst" of the Tier Two materials he had on hand. Even if he failed, the loss would be acceptable.

Lu Zhao’s main goal for this refining session was to gain experience and test the Tier Two Puppet refining techniques described in the Hundred Refinements Technique.

HUUFF!

Lu Zhao took a deep breath. At his command, the light of the Fire Gathering Array Plate swirled, and the flames beneath the Earth Flame Cauldron surged with a HUM. The temperature skyrocketed.

He first tossed the Profound Iron, Red Fire Copper, and other metal Auxiliary Materials into the cauldron one by one.

The temperature inside the cauldron was extremely high. Licked by the flames, the hard metals rapidly softened and melted, finally becoming a pool of molten liquid that shimmered with a metallic luster.

At the same time, Lu Zhao’s hands formed a seal, and Magical Power gathered at his fingertips like a blade. He began to process the Earth-Splitting Mountain Bear’s hide.

Skinning, cleaning, removing impurities, soaking and tanning in a special medicinal solution... Each step demanded precise control. He had to preserve the Earth Element Demon Power and the natural defensive Runes within the hide, while also making it pliable and malleable for its eventual Fusion with the Puppet Body.

This process was tedious and long, and extremely draining on his Heart Spirit.

「Three days later.」

Lu Zhao stopped his work. As he looked at the fully processed bearskin before him, he felt his tension ease slightly.

The first step, processing the hide, had gone much more smoothly than he had anticipated, without any major mistakes.

’It seems my years of endless practice with Tier One Puppets have truly laid a solid foundation for my Divine Sense Manipulation and grasp of material properties.’ He thought to himself, feeling a bit more confident about the subsequent steps.

Next was processing the skeleton. The Earth-Splitting Mountain Bear’s bones were exceptionally thick and strong, and would form the main frame for the Puppet’s torso and limbs.

Lu Zhao carefully guided the molten metal, pouring it evenly over the main bones. His Magical Power permeated the mixture, guiding the metal to fuse deeply with the skeleton as it cooled and solidified.

The key to this step was "Bone Fusion." He had to ensure the Metal and skeleton combined perfectly, enhancing their strength and Spiritual Power conductivity, without destroying the natural Demon Power meridians inside the bones.

After it cooled and set, Lu Zhao took out his Tier Two Carving Knife—the Black Gang Blade.

The tip of the blade lightly touched the surface of the metal-fused skeleton, letting out a faint HISS. His gaze was as focused as a falcon’s, his Divine Sense highly concentrated. He guided his Magical Power through the tip of the blade to painstakingly inscribe complex and arcane Runes, stroke by stroke, onto the bone-and-metal composite.

These Runes were not random; they were the Core Spirit Patterns recorded in the Hundred Refinements Technique, used to strengthen the skeleton, channel Spiritual Power, and connect to the Puppet Core.

The depth and turn of every line, the timing and intensity of the Spiritual Power injection—everything had to be executed with absolute perfection. The slightest mistake could cause the Rune to fail, or worse, damage the materials or even trigger a Spiritual Power backlash.

Half a month slipped by silently, to the sound of the Carving Knife’s faint scratching against bone.

Fine beads of sweat had formed on Lu Zhao’s brow; the drain on his Divine Sense was immense. Before him, the main bones of the torso and limbs were now covered in dense, faintly glowing Runes.

However, on three of the lesser bones, the Runes’ Spirit Light was dim, and some even showed faint cracks—the evidence of three failures. Ultimately, he had only managed to successfully engrave most of the necessary bones.

"Three failures... but it should be just enough," Lu Zhao murmured. His voice was calm, laced with an imperceptible exhaustion, but it held a stronger sense of acceptance.

To achieve such a success rate on his first attempt at engraving Spirit Patterns on a Tier Two Puppet’s skeleton was already quite an accomplishment. With a wave of his hand, he stored away the processed bones.

After briefly regulating his breath, Lu Zhao’s gaze fell upon the earthy-yellow Demon Pill. This was the power core of a Tier Two Puppet, and this next part was the most critical step of the entire process: fusing the Pill into the puppet to refine its Puppet Core!

First, he placed the preliminarily assembled puppet frame before him. The frame already had the rough silhouette of a giant bear and exuded a heavy, earthen aura.

Then, he carefully placed the Earth-Splitting Mountain Bear’s Demon Pill into the space reserved for it in the Puppet’s chest cavity.

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