DIV Chapter 25: Hope for the Spiritual Beast's Advancement

Actually, Big Yellow had already followed Zheng Jinbao more than once.

The previous times, nothing unusual was discovered.

But this time was different.

Zheng Jinbao went to meet two people.

The auras of those two people were exactly the same as the two mid-stage Qi Refining bandit cultivators that Big Yellow had sensed last time!

"It really is Zheng Jinbao."

After receiving the news, Li Chang'an wasn't surprised at all.

After all, if no one was instructing them, why would bandit cultivators specifically target him?

"Continue watching, and be careful yourself. Don't let them discover you." Li Chang'an instructed Big Yellow.

Then, he took out the puppet and observed it carefully.

"Just looking at the appearance, it really is just an ordinary puppet of little value. I wonder where the inheritance is hidden."

The divination only showed that there was an inheritance in the puppet, but didn't say which part.

Li Chang'an could only search carefully.

After a moment, he began to carefully disassemble the puppet.

The puppet was already broken, so taking it apart was quite easy.

About a quarter of an hour later, there were many scattered components in front of Li Chang'an.

He had disassembled it as thoroughly as possible, but still hadn't seen anything containing an inheritance.

"No wonder the Zheng family's puppet master couldn't see any problems." Li Chang'an pondered for a moment.

"If that's the case, I can only take a slight risk."

He picked up a puppet component and shook it forcefully.

Crack!

The component shattered with the sound.

Fine fragments fell to the ground.

Li Chang'an shook his head slightly and picked up another puppet component, repeating the previous action.

As time passed, more and more components turned into fine debris.

Much later, when Li Chang'an once again shattered a component, a dim jade slip fell out from within.

It clattered as it hit the ground.

"Huh?"

Li Chang'an's eyes lit up, and he immediately picked it up.

He roughly scanned the contents of the jade slip, and his face immediately showed a smile.

"It really is puppet inheritance!"

This inheritance was actually hidden within the materials used to make the puppet.

If someone else had bought this puppet, they would have likely missed the inheritance within.

Fortunately, Li Chang'an had the divination's hint.

...

For the next month, Li Chang'an didn't study puppetry, but continued to research talisman skills.

His fourth layer of Qi Refining cultivation made drawing talismans much easier.

On this day, at noon, Li Chang'an looked with a smile at a talisman he had just drawn.

The quality of this talisman exceeded ordinary first-tier mid-grade talismans and was clearly a high-quality piece among them!

"Not bad, excellent quality!" Li Chang'an was particularly satisfied.

With this, his talisman skills had temporarily reached their limit.

He didn't know when he could obtain subsequent inheritance.

"Time to look at this puppet technique."

Li Chang'an put away the talisman paper and brush, devoting himself wholeheartedly to the path of puppetry.

Soon, he discovered that the path of puppetry and the path of talismans had some common aspects.

"The reason puppets can be controlled is because puppet masters carve patterns that guide magical power inside them."

This carving process was very similar to drawing talismans.

It was just replacing talisman paper with the puppet's body.

Therefore, Li Chang'an learned quite quickly.

He couldn't help but think of a rumor he had once heard.

"It's said that all methods lead to the same destination, and all paths, when taken to their end, converge on the same road."

Of course, such a realm was far too profound.

Far beyond what the current Li Chang'an could touch.

He shook his head, collected his thoughts, and continued studying.

...

A month later, Li Chang'an slowly put down the jade slip.

The contents about first-tier low-grade puppet inheritance in the jade slip had already been completely learned by him.

"For now, there's no need to learn subsequent content. First, let me try making first-tier low-grade puppets."

Li Chang'an purchased some materials for making puppets.

For some time afterward, he shut himself in his room, doing nothing but cultivating and making puppets.

All beginnings are difficult.

During his first attempt, he failed even at the most basic pattern carving, directly causing a large piece of material to be wasted.

"Making puppets is very time-consuming. It can't be done quickly like drawing talismans." Li Chang'an was very patient and didn't get discouraged, continuously trying according to what he had learned.

Before he knew it, two months had hurried by.

In the corner of his room, a large amount of discarded puppet materials had already accumulated.

Finally, on this night, Li Chang'an successfully created his first low-grade puppet.

This puppet was in the shape of a spider, not humanoid, because the method for making humanoid ones was more complex.

"Move!"

With Li Chang'an's mental command, this spider puppet began to move.

Its movements were smooth and agile, just like a real spider.

Li Chang'an nodded slightly, particularly satisfied.

"My puppet skills can basically be considered as having entered the door."

Next, Li Chang'an began trying to make more complex puppets.

During this time, Big Yellow had been continuously tracking those two bandit cultivators.

These days, those two hadn't returned to their base outside the market, staying within the market the entire time, and their location was very close to Li Chang'an's residence.

The two hid in the shadows, watching Li Chang'an almost every moment.

They didn't know that Li Chang'an was also watching them.

"After so long, they still haven't made a move." Li Chang'an thought briefly and made a judgment.

"It seems they don't dare to act within the market and can only look for opportunities, waiting for me to leave the market myself."

This was quite normal when he thought about it.

The Foundation Establishment ancestor was stationed right in Qinghe Market.

Moreover, the Zheng family's patrol teams continuously patrolled around the market day and night, searching for various suspicious individuals.

All of this was because of the struggle between the three major families.

But the bandit cultivators were affected by it.

During this recent period, quite a few bandit cultivators had been discovered.

Those who hadn't been discovered yet were all carefully hiding in the shadows, not daring to show themselves at all.

"This is also good. The longer time drags on, the more advantageous it is for me."

Li Chang'an had the divination's help.

His strength increased much faster than those two bandit cultivators.

In the following days, he occasionally went to stroll around the trading district.

He collected various materials for making puppets and looked to see if he could find any bargains.

...

A month later, on this night, just after midnight, a long-awaited auspicious divination appeared before Li Chang'an.

[Divination has been refreshed]

[Today's Divination: Auspicious]

[You go to the trading district to hunt for treasures and buy a seemingly ordinary brown stone. After shattering it, you unexpectedly discover an "Earth Element Pearl"]

"Earth Element Pearl?"

Li Chang'an raised his eyebrows, immediately feeling delighted.

This Earth Element Pearl was a precious earth element treasure.

It could be used to refine earth element magical artifacts.

But it had another more widely known use, helping earth element demon beasts advance!

The spiritual power contained within it was extremely gentle, with no side effects, making it an excellent treasure for assisting earth element demon beasts in advancing!

"With this pearl, Big Yellow can advance from first-tier mid-stage to first-tier late-stage."

Originally, according to Li Chang'an's estimate, Big Yellow would need several more years to advance.

This unexpected delight had moved up the timeline.

...

The next day, early morning, Li Chang'an hurried toward the market's trading district.

Behind him, two cold gazes kept staring intently at his retreating figure.

"This kid is really like a turtle. For so long, he hasn't left the market even once! He's barely even left his house a few times!"

The two bandit cultivators hid in the shadows, their hearts surging with killing intent.

Due to the Wu Yun brothers' disappearance, they had to personally watch Li Chang'an.

Several months of stakeout had made them extremely irritated, their patience nearly worn thin.

"Big brother, why don't we take a risk and act directly?"

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