Chapter 269: Chapter 268: Man-Demon Puppet, The Persistent Medusa
Xiao Ming had precisely controlled the temperature of the flames to expel the residual corpse Qi from the body without burning it.
Refining the body alone consumed a lot of time, but once he had completely expelled all the corpse Qi, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, he flicked his fingers, and two gusts of wind shot out, punching fist-sized holes in the chest and forehead of the corpse. No blood flowed out because the remaining blood had been evaporated by refining the corpse Qi. This was a small step in the refining process of the "Sky Demon Puppet."
Xie Bi Yan's body had shrunk several times over, with gray-white skin tightly adhering to the dry muscles underneath. The palms of his hands had become especially long and slender, like sharp daggers.
Following the recorded method of refining the Sky Demon Puppet, Xiao Ming refined the body slightly, and then, with a wave of his hand, a seventh-rank Monster Core containing a large amount of pure energy floated out, finally falling into the small hole in the corpse's chest.
After completing all of this, Xiao Ming calmly took out a jade bottle, from which emanated a powerful soul wave.
"Xiao Ming, what exactly do you want to do? Release this old man right now!"
Just as the jade bottle appeared, a resentful and angry voice came from within.
"Release you? How is that possible? You still have great use to me. But don't worry, you will soon be relieved," calmly shaking his head, Xiao Ming said.
With a squeeze of his hand, the jade bottle exploded, revealing a white soul. As soon as the soul appeared, it disregarded everything and rushed towards the door of the secret room, but Xiao Ming, who had already prepared, grabbed it back with one hand.
Glancing indifferently at the struggling soul of Xie Bi Yan, the flames in his hand surged and eventually enveloped him. In the next moment, Xie Bi Yan's eyes went lifeless as he stopped struggling.
After estimating the degree of refinement, Xiao Ming continued to increase the flame temperature. With this high refining temperature, Xie Bi Yan directly transformed into a pure soul with a faint sound.
Xiao Ming looked at this mass of soul power in his palm and immediately tossed it gently, the soul power turned into a white dragon Qi that lightning-fast drilled into the hole in the corpse's forehead.
With the entrance of the pure soul, Xie Bi Yan's tightly closed eyes snapped open, and the pupils of his eyes filled with a deep black hue.
As Xiao Ming watched the scene, he remained unfazed. He swiftly retrieved a collection of metallic objects with an unusual sheen from his storage ring, which he then made float in front of him using his ten fingers.
Surveying the many strange metals, Xiao Ming gave a small nod before flames burst forth from his palm like a blazing tongue, greedily drawing in the metals with a suction force.
Under the scorching intensity of the White Glazed Heart Flame, the metals began to display signs of melting, although they were not yet fully liquefied.
In the meantime, Xiao Ming had to split his focus in two: one side concentrated on controlling the flames to quench the body at a consistent temperature, while the other focused on using high temperatures to refine the strange metals.
This high-low flame temperature demanded exceptional flame control, but fortunately, Xiao Ming had always possessed formidable flame control, allowing him to handle it with ease.
Refining both the body and metals required a substantial amount of time, with the quenching of the body necessitating a certain degree of perfection for ideal compatibility with the Soul and the Monster Core inserted into it.
...
During the time that Xiao Ming spent refining the Sky Demon Puppet, quite some time passed.
Xiao Yi Xian woke up from her sleep and yawned, feeling a bit disoriented. She rubbed her eyes and stretched out her arms, looking for Xiao Ming's figure on the bed. Not finding him, she opened her beautiful eyes and looked around the room.
Soon, she spotted him in a corner of the secret room, his eyes closed in meditation.
She lowered her gaze and observed the blanket covering her body, then Xiao Ming sitting cross-legged, and the space barrier between them.
An indescribable feeling of happiness coursed through Xiao Yi Xian's body, and a sweet look shone in the depths of her eyes.
After staring at Xiao Ming for a while, Xiao Yi Xian seemed to have remembered something and got up from the bed.
As she rose from the bed, a slight twinge of pain shot through her lower belly, reminding her of the ecstasy she had experienced with Xiao Ming just hours before.
A blush spread across her cheeks as she relived the intense moments they had shared. Though she had the power to dispel the pain with a healing pill, she decided against it. The ache, however fleeting, was a reminder of the depth of her connection with Xiao Ming, and she cherished it.
With a flick of her wrist, she retrieved her clothes from her storage ring and dressed quickly, the fabric sliding over her smooth skin. As she folded the bedding neatly and put it away, a soft smile played on her lips.
With everything in order, she moved to the corner of the secret room and stretched out her slender hand to touch the spatial barrier that Xiao Ming had set up. As she did so, she felt a strange energy emanating from the barrier.
It was at this moment that Xiao Ming seemed to sense something and slowly opened his eyes,
"Xian'er..." Looking at his lovely partner in front of him, a fond smile appeared on his face.
"Xiao Ming..." Xiao Yi Xian's gaze was filled with undisguised affection as she returned the smile, her face flushed with a heady blush.
"Aren't you going to rest a little longer? After all, we may have... overdone it a bit earlier."
Xiao Yi Xian's blush deepened. "... Don't worry, I feel fine. I'll go find Sister Zi Yan while you finish your work."
She actually wanted to stay longer with him, but she couldn't help feeling extremely shy at this moment. Besides, he was busy. So she decided to go out and spend some time with her sister.
"Understood. It will be a few days before I'm done here, oh, and don't let Medusa take Zi Yan too far away from the tribe." Although he didn't think Medusa was going to leave the tribe at this time, it was always better to be sure.
"Mhm!" Xiao Yi Xian hummed in agreement, and after one last affectionate look, she quickly left the secret room. If someone who knew Xiao Yi Xian saw her at this moment, they would notice that her gait was a bit awkward.
As Xiao Ming watched her go, he couldn't help but feel amused. This little succubus had been quite bold before, but now she was back to being shy again.
After clearing his mind of other thoughts, Xiao Ming closed his eyes again and continued to refine the corpse as well as the strange metals.
...
This time, Xiao Ming spent three full days refining the strange metals until they were completely melted into a dark gold liquid that flowed slowly in the flames, emitting an inexplicable shine.
The metal refinement was complete, but the perfect match for the body, soul, and monster core was still missing.
Xiao Ming was not impatient because he knew that impatience would cause him to miss the fleeting moment of perfection.
In that case, not only would the body be ruined, but also the monster core and even the soul it contained would be instantly ruined. This was the most difficult part to control when it came to refining the "Sky Demon Puppet."
Xiao Ming kept his mind in a calm state, and another day passed.
At a certain point, three days later, Xiao Ming's body, which was sitting in meditation, trembled violently, and his eyes, which were tightly closed, opened wide.
There was a flash of joy in his coal-black eyes, and then a strange seal quickly formed in his hand and he shouted an unusual sound.
As the shout echoed, Xie Bi Yan's body suddenly trembled, and the soul floating in its brain was forcibly shattered by an invisible force, turning into countless tiny points of light and spreading densely throughout all parts of its body.
At that moment, the monster core that had been lying in its chest emitted a faint humming sound, and a violent energy surged out like a rushing lake, flowing through its body's meridians.
As the soul and monster core changed, the gray-white color on the body's surface became darker, and the body gradually shrank. A majestic aura slowly emanated from the corpse, comparable to a three-star Dou Ancestor powerhouse.
Feeling the powerful aura, Xiao Ming's eyes lit up as he moved his hand. The dark gold liquid floating in front of him poured slowly onto the cold corpse.
Hiss! Hiss!
When the extremely hot dark gold liquid was poured over the corpse, a white mist appeared, and a faint smell of smoke was emitted. However, the skin that came into contact with the liquid did not show the slightest sign of damage.
The soul power swept over the puppet's body like water waves, and the dark gold liquid was slowly applied to every part of its body. For a while, a pungent white mist emanated from the puppet's body, and the hissing sound produced by the contact between the high temperature and the skin was somewhat chilling.
When the liquid was fully applied to the puppet's body, the eerie gray-white color was replaced by a dark gold color that shimmered with a strong and strange feeling of firmness.
Glancing at the puppet covered in the liquid, Xiao Ming breathed a sigh of relief and then waved his sleeve. The white flame once again burst out, wrapping the puppet completely and exuding a terrifyingly high temperature.
As the high temperature continuously roasted the puppet, the dark gold liquid also began to slowly corrode into the puppet's skin. With the intensification of this corrosion, the color of the puppet's body gradually became dark brown, resembling copper.
"¿Man-Demon Puppet...?"
The Sky Demon Puppet was divided into three grades: Heaven, Earth, and Man. The best way to distinguish these three grades was to observe the color of their skin. Heaven was gold, Earth was silver, and Man was copper. The color displayed by this puppet was obviously the last grade of the three.
Xiao Ming was not particularly disappointed with this, after all, Xie Bi Yan was only a three-star Dou Ancestor. It was a pipe dream to want to refine an Earth or Heaven puppet.
Moreover, it wasn't as if this copper puppet could only remain as a copper puppet, it could evolve by devouring the Pill Lighting, and at the end of its evolution, it could be comparable to a Dou Venerate.
Xiao Ming would have plenty of time to refine pills in the future, so sooner or later, this Sky Demon Puppet would evolve.
Thinking like this, Xiao Ming did not stop the roasting of the flames. The terrifying high temperature continued to penetrate, slowly dissolving the liquid into the skin and dry muscles of the puppet.
The method of refining the "Sky Demon Puppet" involved the use of metal materials to enhance a person's physical strength. If a living person were subjected to this transformation, they would likely have died instantly due to the intense pain. However, in a painless and unconscious state, the puppet could endure the process. Once successfully refined, the puppet, despite lacking knowledge of Dou Techniques, would possess the ultimate killing weapon within its flesh.
With the dark gold liquid gradually absorbed by the puppet, the Man-Demon Puppet suddenly burst out with a powerful aura.
...
Outside the secret room, in the cave, Medusa was sitting next to Zi Yan and Xiao Yi Xian when a powerful aura caught their attention.
"This aura... Dou Ancestor? But it seems a bit strange," A hint of surprise appeared on Medusa's face. Compared to a few days before, her complexion had improved significantly.
Xiao Yi Xian, who was sitting next to her, also stood up abruptly. In her perception, this aura was not weaker than hers, and it came from the secret room where Xiao Ming was in.
But when she thought of the corpse that Xiao Ming was refining when she came out, Xiao Yi Xian had an idea in her heart.
"This should be caused by Xiao Ming. He should be coming out of seclusion."
Upon hearing that Xiao Ming was about to come out, Zi Yan's face lit up with joy.
"Hee hee hee, Xiao Ming is finally coming out. I haven't seen him for several days. Let's go and meet him!"
After saying that, Zi Yan bounced towards the direction where the aura was coming from.
Xiao Yi Xian and Medusa exchanged glances and followed suit.
When the two of them arrived outside the secret room, they found Xiao Ming and Zi Yan surrounding a bronze-colored humanoid creature that was walking.
Every time the humanoid creature landed, cracks resembling spider webs would spread on the ground, its powerful force surprising both of them.
'This thing's aura doesn't seem to be weaker than Yun Shan's, and it's even stronger! But it doesn't seem like a living being; it looks more like... a puppet?' Queen Medusa's heart had just shown a glimmer of doubt when she heard Zi Yan's question.
"What is this, Xiao Ming?"
"This is a Man-Demon Puppet, with the strength equivalent to that of a three-star Dou Ancestor," he said.
"Three-star Dou Ancestor?" Hearing this, Zi Yan's eyes lit up. With this thing, she wouldn't have to worry so much when she went out to "collect" herbs in the future.
Thinking of those heavenly treasures, Zi Yan couldn't help but swallow saliva.
"Xiao Ming, can I borrow this to play with for a couple of days?" Zi Yan asked eagerly.
Xiao Ming knew exactly what she meant. With a helpless nod, he gave Zi Yan control of the Man-Demon Puppet.
"You can play with it, but remember to return it to me when I need it," Xiao Ming said.
The Man-Demon Puppet would be what Xiao Ming would use to block the Pill Lightning. Without other materials, he couldn't make another one, so he didn't mind lending it to Zi Yan.
In fact, if circumstances allowed, he would have liked to make a few more and leave one for the Xiao family to keep.
However, there were no Dou Ancestor experts who were his enemies to kill for the moment.
Hearing Xiao Ming's agreement, Zi Yan happily began playing with the Man-Demon Puppet.
Watching from the side, Queen Medusa was envious. If the Snake-People Tribe had such a puppet, they could definitely leave the harsh Tager Desert.
Despite her envy, Medusa knew that it was impossible for the Snake-People Tribe to obtain such a puppet, so her thoughts strayed to her own evolution.
Medusa had never given up on evolution, and after the incident with the Chu Yun Empire, she had become even more eager for strength.
Without strength, she could not protect her people.
But she was aware that conventional methods of evolution would no longer work for her, and Xiao Ming would not refine the Snake Sacred Soul Advancement Pill.
Therefore, she could only focus on evolving through the use of the Heavenly Flame.
Just providing the Heavenly Flame was not a difficult task for Xiao Ming. If the reward was sufficient, he might be able to agree to it.
Just as Medusa was hesitating how to ask, a loud explosion suddenly came from outside, and the whole cave shook.
"Xiao Ming, I know you're inside, please come out for a bit!"
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