"I don't know how much time, effort, and resources I spent, but I finally broke through to the mid-stage of Core Formation," Yuan Ming slowly opened his eyes, a sharp light swirling within them.

This breakthrough was largely due to the Earth Core Fire Lotus which played a significant role.

However, compared to before, the enhancement to mana from consuming the Earth Core Fire Lotus had significantly weakened.

"It seems the remaining fire lotuses should be taken back and refined into elixirs," Yuan Ming thought to himself.

At the Magma Lake, aside from the eight or nine fire lotuses seen by Golden Cloud Fairy and Daoist Qian Bao, he secretly took away the remaining dozen or so while Hong Ling and Blood Shadow were capturing the Fire Crocodile King. Now, all were stored inside the Stealing Heaven Tripod Space.

Earth Core Fire Lotus was exceptionally rare. After the competition in the Secret Realm ended, Yuan Ming had no plans to take them out.

With so many Earth Core Fire Lotuses, he should be able to refine numerous elixirs, enough to elevate his mana to the late stage of Core Formation.

Black impurities flowed out of Yuan Ming's skin once again—this was the result of a second refinement process by the Earth Core Fire Lotus.

Unlike the enhancement to mana, the refinement effect of the Earth Core Fire Lotus had not weakened, and his tendons, bones, and flesh had been strengthened once more.

During this day and night, two showers of star rains had fallen, both intercepted by the Purple Star Nine Dragon Spear.

The star pattern on Yuan Ming's bones became clearer, vaguely connecting with the vast stars above, giving him a sense of embodying the Star Body.

Yuan Ming's mana flowed out from his body, shaking off the black stains, and he got up and went outside.

"Congratulations, Master, your cultivation has greatly improved!" Hua Zhi had been waiting outside, and she knelt to the ground, while Lei Yu flapped its wings and cried out.

"You are considerate. Here's a reward!" Yuan Ming, in high spirits, waved his sleeve.

A green and a blue demon pill, both Level 3, flew out.

Hua Zhi and Lei Yu opened their mouths to catch and swallow the pills, refining them.

Yuan Ming stored Heavenly Ghost Wanderer and other Ghost Slaves into the Night Parade of Hundred Demons, then commanded Lei Yu and Hua Zhi to fly back into the Spiritual Beast Bag. Afterwards, he took down the two arrays surrounding the cave mansion and retraced his original path, soon returning to the bottom of the canyon where Long Chong and others were in seclusion.

The cave mansion opened by Long Chong and others shimmered faintly with the light of forbidden spells, clearly showing that they were still inside cultivating and had not come out.

The same was true for Wulu's cave mansion, surrounded by even more exquisite forbidden spells, impenetrable even by Yuan Ming's Divine Sense.

With a thought, Yuan Ming controlled the Divine Sense of his first soul split to descend easily and peer inside.

Wulu had already restored his original appearance and was cultivating inside the cave mansion. His body flickered with red light from time to time, refining the Earth Core Fire Lotus just like the others.

Hanging on the wall beside him was a dark red full-body armor made of countless jade pieces the size of fingernails.

Yuan Ming examined it closely, and his expression subtly changed.

The face part of the dark red armor eerily revealed a human face, which was none other than Hong Chang's visage transformed by Wulu on Blood Bird's Nest Island.

The expression on Hong Chang's face was slightly changing, particularly the eyes that slowly turned as if alive.

This dark red armor, resembling a magic treasure, emanated a strong fluctuation of magic power, mixed with pulses of Divine Soul. It was unclear what it was.

"What did you see?" Xi Ying, sensing Yuan Ming's change in emotion, asked.

Yuan Ming described everything he had seen in detail.

"This dark red armor must be Blood Puppet Armor. How is that possible? Are you sure that armor was hanging on the wall?" Xi Ying asked incredulously.

"Absolutely certain," Yuan Ming replied.

"It shouldn't be like this..." Xi Ying still couldn't believe it.

"What is the origin of this armor that surprises you so much?" Yuan Ming asked.

"Blood Puppet Armor originates from a secret technique called the Blood Puppet Technique, somewhat similar to the Fur Cloak Skill of Biluo Cave. It refines a person into an armor, allowing both mana and Divine Soul to be stored inside. Anyone else who wears it can assume that person's appearance without showing any flaws," Xi Ying explained, regaining her composure.

Yuan Ming suddenly understood. No wonder Wulu's transformation had fooled even Nascent Soul cultivators; it was because he had used such a secret technique.

"Where did the Blood Puppet Technique originate from? Could it also be from the Southern Border?" he then asked.

"Blood Puppet is a secret technique from the East Sea, passed down from the Lank Jade Book. It has long been lost, and I wonder where Wulu got it from," Xi Ying said thoughtfully.

"Lank Jade Book? Previously, Luo Wanshan mentioned that the Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique came from the Golden Sunflower Heavenly Book. Both are related to Three Immortals Island; could there be some special origin to this?" Yuan Ming recalled and asked.

"That's a long story. The legend of Three Immortals Island has persisted in the East Sea for tens of thousands of years, enduring through the ages due to three books: the Golden Sunflower Heavenly Book, Lank Jade Book, and Penglai Immortal Book," Xi Ying explained.

"Golden Sunflower Heavenly Book, Lank Jade Book, Penglai Immortal Book..." Yuan Ming muttered to himself.

"These three books, having originated from Three Immortals Island long ago, contain many incredibly exquisite Magic Power Divine Abilities, each with unbelievable effects, far surpassing the legacy of other East Sea sects. Among them, the Golden Sunflower Heavenly Book is the most widely spread, containing twenty-four pages with each page documenting one secret technique, covering Five Elements Magic, Artifact Refining, Alchemy, talismans, Beast Taming, and cultivation of Spirit Plants. Fusang Island once obtained three pages of the Golden Sunflower Heavenly Book, one of which recorded the Beast Taming Secret Technique. It was with this technique that Fusang Island managed to make the Level 5 Golden Crow settle on the island, establishing its exalted status as the number one island in the East Sea," Xi Ying said.

"And the other two pages of the Golden Sunflower Heavenly Book?" Yuan Ming nodded slightly, no wonder Luu Changfeng had mastered the complete Golden Sunflower Beast Taming Technique, he asked.

"I wouldn't know about that, but if you want to find out, you just need to catch the Golden Cloud Fairy and perform a Soul Search," said Xi Ying.

"You only mentioned the Golden Sunflower Heavenly Book—what about the Lank Jade Book and the Penglai Immortal Book?" Yuan Ming changed the topic and asked.

During the battle at the Magma Lake, the Golden Cloud Fairy did not exhibit exceptional strength but she gave him an inexplicable sense of danger. Unless absolutely necessary, he did not want to conflict with her.

"The information about the Lank Jade Book and Penglai Immortal Book is very limited. The Lank Jade Book is alright; there are several secret techniques that have been leaked, with the Blood Puppet Technique being one of them. Originally called the Jade Puppet Technique, the effect is not as I just explained to you. The Jade Puppet Technique is actually a formula for refining artifacts, using a precious material called Innate Bone Jade to craft a set of Jade Puppet Armor. This armor has an incredible effect. Once worn, the wearer will fall into a slumber. Their life will be preserved, even if they are on the brink of death. No matter how much time passes, whether thousands or tens of thousands of years, as soon as the armor is unsealed, the person inside can wake up again as if from a long dream," said Xi Ying.

Being able to preserve life? That is indeed magical. This Jade Puppet Technique must be a powerful sealing skill, capable of completely sealing vitality!" Yuan Ming exclaimed, trying to understand.

Some people think so. The Jade Puppet Technique is used by some powerful cultivators near the end of their lives to extend their lifespan and works very well. Hence, some major forces from the East Sea traveled across the continent, frantically collecting Innate Bone Jade, and managed to refine a few pieces of Jade Puppet. Unfortunately, Innate Bone Jade is incredibly rare and was quickly exhausted. Those who were undeterred tried to use similar materials to make Jade Puppets but always failed. No matter what material they used, they couldn't form the armor properly, and it would disintegrate at the last moment, leading people to gradually forget the Jade Puppet Technique," Xi Ying stated, pausing briefly as her mouth went dry.

"What happened later?" Yuan Ming asked, engrossed.

"Until about four or five thousand years ago, a refiner from the East Sea, obsessed with the Jade Puppet Technique, spent his entire life trying different materials to refine the Jade Puppet, but to no avail. He was also a genius and, as his lifespan was nearing its end, he used a large amount of his essence blood, soul, and over a dozen yin attribute materials, to create a material very similar to Innate Bone Jade, which he called Blood Demon Jade. Blood Demon Jade could also be used to make puppet armor, only the color turned blood red. He renamed the original armor to Blood Puppet, and the Jade Puppet Technique was thus renamed to the Blood Puppet Technique. Once the Blood Puppet Armor was worn, it also had a life-preserving effect, though the wearer wouldn't fall into slumber but could move normally. However, this armor also had a flaw—it would merge with the body once worn and could not be taken off," Xi Ying explained.

"That powerful? In that case, isn't the Blood Puppet even more useful than the original Jade Puppet? Although being unable to take it off can be troublesome, someone on the brink of death probably wouldn't mind," Yuan Ming said.

"Initially, as you say, the cultivators from the East Sea indeed had seven or eight Nascent Soul cultivators with lifespans nearing their end, who approached the Blood Demon Ancestor to buy the armor. The Blood Demon Ancestor readily agreed and refined a batch of Blood Puppet Armor, selling them at a high price. Those Nascent Soul cultivators successfully extended their lifespans using the Blood Puppet Armor, creating a huge stir in the East Sea. Others who were skeptical had to believe and competed to buy Blood Puppet Armor. However, afterward, the Blood Demon Ancestor mysteriously disappeared for no known reason, couldn't be found by anyone, leaving many deeply regretful. Then, decades later, an anomaly occurred. Those Nascent Soul cultivators who had extended their lives with the Blood Puppet began to be slowly consumed by their armor, eventually completely merging into it, leaving no remains," Xi Ying continued.

"Indeed, everything has its price," Yuan Ming wasn't surprised.

"The relatives of those Nascent Soul cultivators were furious and searched everywhere for the Blood Demon Ancestor, but he had vanished many years ago, forcing those people to reluctantly let go of their grievances. However, they later discovered by chance that the magic power and divine souls of the Nascent Soul cultivators devoured by the Blood Puppet still lingered within the armor. Others who wore the Blood Puppet could transform into the appearance of the previous person and inherit their magical abilities and divine skills. This discovery delighted the forces of those Nascent Soul cultivators immensely. A major force cannot deter others without high-level cultivators. The reason those Nascent Soul cultivators had wanted to use the Blood Puppet to extend their lives was also to continue their dominion over their islands. If a Blood Puppet could permanently retain the power of a Nascent Soul, it would also be a good thing. However, the development of events was beyond anyone's expectations; the second generation of Blood Puppet Armor bearers were all Core Formation Stage cultivators who, after controlling the power_attribut of a Nascent Soul for decades, were also consumed by the Blood Puppet Armor. Furthermore, the situation inside the armor drastically changed, the originally sealed Nascent Soul power vanished into thin air, replaced by the magic and souls of those Core Formation Stage cultivators. These forces, undiscouraged, tried several more times, finally confirming that the Blood Puppet Armor could only retain the divine skills of the previous user," Xi Ying continued to explain.

"So it turns out, Blood Puppet Armor is rather useless," Yuan Ming shook his head and said.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.