Chapter 51: Rise Again! My Brother Peso!
The crafting process for the Xuan Armor Puppet was even slower than Jiang Lin had anticipated. It took him nearly a month just to complete the first step: converting the corpse into a vessel.
Then, he spent another month repairing and adjusting the puppet's main internal energy meridians. Compared to the complex meridian system in a human body required for various movements, the puppet didn't need so many. As long as the twelve principal meridians were connected, allowing it to jump, run, and bounce, that was good enough. After all, Jiang Lin didn't need the puppet to make facial expressions or control things like its sphincters.
The soul-infusing step that followed was relatively simple. The soul-infusion skin paper that came with the inherited Xuan Armor Puppet Technique was itself a spiritual control system. Upon examining it, Jiang Lin discovered some mysterious symbols on it. He had already attached the soul-infusing paper to Peso's forehead when converting his body into the puppet.
Next, Jiang Lin followed the procedure, dripping his own blood onto the paper. The blood seeped through and merged into Peso's forehead, leaving behind a faint red soul symbol.
The final step: Jiang Lin placed the puppet on a raised platform inside a fire pit. Controlling the temperature within a precise range, he slow-roasted it for more than half a month. Eventually, the puppet's organs softened, and the silvery mercury-like blood inside its body fully integrated with the vessel, forming a special anti-permeation layer within its veins.
By the time Jiang Lin finished crafting the Xuan Armor Puppet, three months had passed.
During those three months, aside from crafting the puppet, Jiang Lin also studied the three Dou Artifact blueprints left behind by Peso. With the help of the corresponding three physical Dou Artifacts in hand, Jiang Lin quickly mastered the core principles behind the Qing Feather Bow, the Vajra Inner Armor, and the Xuanming Shield. Had he only possessed the blueprints, it might've taken him over half a year to fully comprehend them. But with the real items in hand to combine theory and practice, not only did Jiang Lin master the blueprints within three months, he also achieved mastery of the Qing Feather Archery Technique, a low-tier Xuan-level technique!
Swish swish swish!
In a peach blossom valley brimming with messy, chaotic beauty reminiscent of a forge workshop, Jiang Lin held a slightly damaged second-tier Dou Artifact—Golden Feather Bow. The bowstring vibrated slightly, and three golden arrows emerged in succession, connected head-to-tail like fish-dragons. A distant green boulder was pierced through with a bang, leaving a fist-sized hole in the half-meter-wide rock.
"No wonder Brother Peso was able to shoot through my Armor-Cleaving Sword with one arrow. This thing's utilization of Dou Qi energy... it's practically on par with my magic-core-powered firearms now."
Jiang Lin, who had hardly been seen over the past three months, looked a mess—his hair disheveled, clothes stained in patches of blue and yellow. It was unclear where he'd picked up the grime. Back at the Myriad Medicines Pavilion, Mr. Yao and Xiao Yi Xian occasionally checked on him, so Jiang Lin kept himself somewhat presentable. But in the peach blossom valley, whenever he immersed himself in studying blueprints and Dou Techniques, he would often fall into a meditative, tranquil state and lose track of time.
Though his hair was a mess, Jiang Lin's eyes were bright and full of spirit.
The Qing Feather Archery Technique had three mastery levels: Piercing the Wood, Breaking Metal and Stone, and Unwavering Resolve.
Brother Peso had reached the second stage, Breaking Metal and Stone, known for its incredible piercing power—it was how he had shattered Jiang Lin's Armor-Cleaving Sword with a single shot. In just three months, Jiang Lin, perhaps guided by Peso's unseen blessings, surpassed him and reached the third realm: Unwavering Resolve. His arrows now flew like serpentine dragons, exuding an effortless, free-flowing rhythm.
"I really am a genius!" Jiang Lin praised himself as he admired his Hidden Edge Arrows. While Peso could only fire three arrows at once, Jiang Lin had managed to fire three in rapid succession. Even the turtle-shell-like Xuanming Shield could be broken instantly with this method.
"Three months of work, and I've only advanced one star. I'm only a three-star Dou Fighter now... damn, I've become trash!" Jiang Lin's joy didn't last long before he spiraled into sudden sadness. But his gloom quickly faded. "But thinking about that other so-called genius whose cultivation is regressing, I suddenly feel much better... Truly, the best way to comfort yourself is to find someone worse off."
Jiang Lin glanced at the Golden Feather Bow in his hand. The fact that a Dou Artifact bow could deliver sniper-rifle-level performance left him speechless. "Magic-core snipers are heretics! Abominations! I should develop a native Dou Qi sniper. I need more bow blueprints. The future lies in a localized Dou Qi Sniper. Yes, future, I'm coming for you!"
He tossed the Golden Feather Bow aside, planning to dismantle it later and use it to forge a third-tier Dou Artifact: the Qing Feather Bow. Peso had already prepared the core materials but couldn't forge it himself. So, with tears in his eyes, he had gifted it all to Jiang Lin.
"Now then... it's time to resurrect Brother Peso!" Rubbing his hands together, Jiang Lin first washed his face at the pool, took a bath, and changed into a clean set of gray linen robes. Why gray? Simple—cheap and stain-resistant.
Neatly dressed, Jiang Lin made his way to a four- or five-meter-high earth kiln in the peach blossom valley. Using an iron fork, he opened the kiln, releasing a wave of searing heat. Circulating his Dou Qi, he shielded his eyes and looked inside.
Within the crimson-hot space, a dark silhouette was suspended from the ceiling of the furnace. Upon closer inspection, the figure was entirely dark blue, like refined steel, and completely hairless.
Once the temperature dropped a bit, Jiang Lin reached in with the iron fork and felt an oddly familiar thrill—as if yelling, "Hey! Fork down your most expensive designer bag for me!"
"Ugh, he's heavy!" Jiang Lin groaned as his muscles bulged from the effort. He forcefully lifted Brother Peso out while the puppet was still hot.
Clatter!
A red Dou Qi flame burst from Jiang Lin's hand.
"Rise again! My Brother Peso!!"
He pulled back his flame-wreathed fist and launched a cannon punch straight into the puppet's chest.
Explosive Flame Fist!
Boom!
With a resounding thud, the puppet's chest caved in slightly. The massive pressure instantly forced the liquid mercury blood in its heart to surge through its body. The high-energy liquid began to glow faintly, like a burning coal buried deep underground, slowly igniting the rest of the puppet from within.
At the same time, the soul-infusing skin paper wrapped around the puppet's head emitted a dim red light. Jiang Lin suddenly felt a mysterious connection and looked into the puppet's eyes—turned green from soaking in alchemical solutions.
The Xuan Armor Puppet emitted a wave of heat before cooling again. Its stiff neck turned slightly to look at Jiang Lin. Its gaze was icy and lifeless.
(END CHAPTER)
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