Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Chapter 1411: Chapter 562: Song of the Furnace

Some cultivators familiar with the deeper secrets of the black market couldn’t help but shake their heads upon hearing about the Nine Fire Dragon Lord’s borrowing behavior.

But there were also some who marveled at the Nine Fire Dragon Lord’s determination!

The deadline had arrived, and the Nine Fire Dragon Lord ceased his artifact refining.

He slowly stood up, remaining in place, his expression weary, but his eyes were fixed on the Nanming Fire Furnace.

The next moment, the Vermilion Bird Artifact Spirit poked out its bird head, looked at the Nine Fire Dragon Lord, "Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp."

Four calls?

Four calls!

The Nine Fire Dragon Lord’s eyes gleamed, startling the Vermilion Bird Artifact Spirit into retreating.

"Good! Good! Good!" He showed no outward sign but laughed heartily within, saying, "At the cost of borrowing from the black market and expending numerous treasures, I’ve achieved results!"

"I made the Vermilion Bird Artifact Spirit call four times, surpassing the performance of everyone in the previous round."

"The key is, I rank ahead now, and those who wish to surpass me will have to pay an even greater price. Because the Nanming Fire Furnace is becoming more perfect, and the Vermilion Bird Artifact Spirit’s evaluation of repairs will become increasingly high!"

The Nine Fire Dragon Lord’s thoughts were naturally echoed by others.

Chun Yangzi’s expression remained calm, but his fingers clenched slightly.

The Red Robe Guest snorted coldly.

Cang Yazi, expressionless, subconsciously stroked the neck of his pet beast, the crane.

Zhong Limei’s gaze deepened somewhat.

These Nascent Soul cultivators all paid a hefty price and were determined to win the Nanming Fire Furnace. The Nine Fire Dragon Lord’s initial performance with four calls made them feel pressured.

The next Nascent Soul cultivator to step up was Cang Yazi.

His Daoist robe used to feature seven or eight small pouches, which were bulging and would produce a dull sound upon collision.

Now, these small pouches were deflated.

His right cheek was slightly sunken—a residual mark from his wisdom teeth extraction during the previous round.

The Nine Fire Dragon Lord’s high-stakes gamble and performance brought immense pressure to Cang Yazi.

This time, he came with several times more precious treasures, for which he set aside pride, visited many old friends, expended a lot of favors, and even committed to Transformation Pill orders for decades to come.

Cang Yazi laid out a storage pouch, summoned his demon pet.

Apart from the Blue-eyed Water Ape, the Frost Horned Celestial Deer, and the Red-capped Black Feather Crane, there was also a Green-Eyed Golden-Eyed Beast, a Six-winged Flying Python, and a Wood Spirit Turtle.

The Green-Eyed Golden-Eyed Beast was two zhang long, covered entirely in golden scales with green patterns around the edges. Its limbs were as stout as pillars, and its claws were sharp as hooks. It was the main pet beast of an elder on Ten Thousand Beasts Peak.

The Six-winged Flying Python was three zhang long, covered in cyan-black scales, with six wings as thin as cicada wings on its back. When spread, the wings spanned two zhang wide. Its eyes were red, and a poisonous mist subtly leaked as its tongue flicked. This creation was the careful work of a guest elder who raised it for many years on Ten Thousand Beasts Peak.

The Wood Spirit Turtle was enormous, with a turtle shell measuring one zhang square. The shell was bluish-brown, adorned with dense wood patterns like the rings of ancient trees, layer upon layer, overlapping densely. Its neck was long and thin, skin bluish-green, and eyes amber, with a gentle and profound look that carried a millennium’s tranquil vicissitudes.

It was the most powerful among all demon pets, its wood-element spiritual power could nurture all things.

The Wood Spirit Turtle had an extremely long lifespan with Peak of Nascent Soul Level strength. It had already outlived its master, now half-free in Ten Thousand Beasts Peak. Through favors and pleas to other important figures, Cang Yazi indirectly invited it to join today’s small trial.

The six demon beasts surrounded the Nanming Fire Furnace, cooperating with Cang Yazi in artifact refining.

Cang Yazi produced the Nine Heavens Thunderstruck Wood, Ten Thousand Years Jade Marrow, and even used a millstone-sized Seven-Colored Heaven Repairing Stone!

In addition, there were also a large amount of auxiliary materials.

After the repairs ended, the Nanming Fire Furnace was supplemented with another piece. This section of the furnace wall bore many fine thunder patterns. Around the surrounding cracks, faint seven-colored light circulated. Clearly, the Seven-Colored Heaven Repairing Stone had not yet fully exerted its power.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp." The Vermilion Bird Artifact Spirit called three times in response to Cang Yazi.

Cang Yazi’s expression changed slightly, experiencing the previous round’s Nine Fire Dragon Lord expectation-falling-short feeling.

Only three calls, not four, indicating Cang Yazi lagged behind the Nine Fire Dragon Lord.

Among the crowd, many cultivators frowned, sensing a higher level of difficulty from Cang Yazi.

Cang Yazi returned despondently, with the Nine Fire Dragon Lord, arms crossed, giving a glance and a silent chuckle.

When Chun Yangzi took action, he, besides employing multiple times more treasures, also utilized the palace’s treasured possession—the Pure Yang Golden Pill!

The Pure Yang Golden Pill was the size of a dragon eye, red gold in color, with fine pill patterns on the surface, layered and overlapping like clouds and mist, and faint golden light emerging from the pill patterns.

This was the supreme treasure passed down by the ancestral masters of Pure Yang Palace, with only three pills possessed by the entire palace.

He added the Pure Yang Golden Pill into the furnace. As the pill entered the furnace, the flames within suddenly surged, and red-gold light skyrocketed, dyeing the entire Void Eaves Courtyard a warm shade of red gold. The Pure Yang Pill melted slowly at the furnace’s core, transforming into red-gold spiritual mist, quickly absorbed by the pill furnace.

The dao and logic contained within the Pure Yang Golden Pill also merged into the pill furnace, imbuing it with light, warmth, and the power of life.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp." The Vermilion Bird Artifact Spirit called four times for this.

The Nine Fire Dragon Lord’s expression changed.

This round’s results—he and Chun Yangzi were already tied for first.

The Red Robe Guest emerged from the shadows.

A moment later, he couldn’t conceal his disappointment and returned to the crowd.

He spent resources valued at over ten times those of the previous round but ultimately received confirmation of only three chirp calls.

The Nanming Fire Furnace was already more than half repaired; as the process continued, the possibility of getting a high evaluation became increasingly smaller.