Eternal Life Begins with Learning
Chapter 239 - 229: Soul Condensation... Intelligence?
But it seemed he was a little too late.
Here in these waters, the Demon Beasts’ sensitivity to the scent of blood still surpassed Chu Mu’s expectations.
In just a few short moments, several more aquatic Demon Beasts appeared to attack one after another.
Crimson spread through the water with the current, and the grim look on Chu Mu’s face grew darker.
BOOM!
With another roar, a fish-like Demon Beast resembling a shark from his past life appeared. Before it could even get close, several Water Arrows, perfectly blended with the lake, shot toward him.
Chu Mu didn’t dare to let his guard down for a second. He swung the Giant Divine Arm, and its terrifying power instantly caved in the massive beast’s head. The Minghong Saber then appeared, and with a single downward slash, he decapitated it.
Thick plumes of blood spread, seeming to turn the entire stretch of water an eerie crimson.
Sensing the increasingly distinct, savage auras in the surrounding water, Chu Mu couldn’t worry about anything else. He kicked out, sending the beast’s carcass flying in the opposite direction.
"Go!"
Holding nothing back, he pulled Wangcai along and bolted across the lakebed. But after no more than a dozen steps, Chu Mu came to a sudden halt. He stared, speechless, at the ten-odd Demon Beasts that had abruptly appeared before them.
The only silver lining was that these Demon Beasts’ Cultivation wasn’t high; they were all just Tier One.
A bloody battle ensued. This time, however, though he cut through them with overwhelming ease, this advantage lasted for only a few dozen breaths before Chu Mu was forced to flee in disarray with Wangcai.
Behind him, a dense swarm of bizarre Demon Beasts followed. Some fought and killed each other, others battled over the corpses, and still others treated Chu Mu as their prey...
It was a vicious cycle: the stronger the scent of blood, the more Demon Beasts it attracted. No matter how confident Chu Mu was in his own abilities, he didn’t dare push his luck against such odds.
After fleeing through the water for nearly half an hour, he finally confirmed he had shaken off the Demon Beasts. Only then did Chu Mu slow to a stop, retract his aura, and use the Illusionary God Mask to conceal his presence as much as possible.
Surveying his surroundings, Chu Mu carefully tried to identify landmarks on the lakebed, comparing them with the information Zhao Shuang had left him about the Ancient Cultivator Cave Mansion.
Now, he no longer had any doubt about what Zhao Shuang had told him.
After all, the lake was at least several hundred meters deep. The immense water pressure, combined with being submerged, restricted a Cultivator in nearly every way.
Even for Body Refining Cultivators, the immense pressure was a major hindrance.
Add to that the endless stream of aquatic Demon Beasts with their keen sensitivity to blood.
This lakebed was practically a forbidden zone!
The only silver lining was that he hadn’t attracted the attention of any High Tier Spirit Beasts. These Tier One Demon Beasts had low Spiritual Wisdom; they only hunted him out of a simple desire for prey.
The moment a better target appeared, their attention was immediately diverted.
Otherwise, he would have been in real trouble.
A place like this... if one didn’t know for certain there was an opportunity to be had, an ordinary Cultivator would never come here just to look for trouble.
’It should be on the northeast side of the Ancient Cultivator Cave Mansion. That reef there is marked in the Jade Scroll.’
Identifying his surroundings, Chu Mu moved forward cautiously. His recent experience had been utterly terrifying.
If that happened again, who knew if it would attract a Tier Two Demon Beast.
He wasn’t willing to take that gamble.
"Hm?"
He took a few more steps before a strange sensation underfoot made him stop instinctively.
He took a step back. Where his foot had just been, faint glints of cold light were now visible.
"Stay alert."
Chu Mu patted Wangcai, then slowly crouched down. He brushed away the silt on the lakebed, and what came into view was... a Broken Sword?
Chu Mu paused, stunned. He grasped the tip of the sword and gave a gentle pull. Silt swirled as the entire Broken Sword was pulled free and floated before him.
The Broken Sword was only a few feet long. Its Array Prohibition was damaged, and even the material of the blade itself had been corroded by time.
And the hilt...
Clamped around the hilt was an iron hand, still gripping it tightly.
"...Is this... a Puppet?"
Chu Mu’s brow furrowed as he examined the Puppet hand before him.
The Puppet’s hand appeared to have been severed. Though the joint was corroded by time, the telltale signs were still faintly visible.
Like the Broken Sword, its Array Prohibition Patterns had long since failed. Only faint, blurry traces remained, and the material itself was corroded beyond recognition.
Clearly, this fragmented Puppet hand and the Broken Sword had been here for a very, very long time.
Otherwise, nourished by Spiritual Qi, the Array Prohibition Patterns should have easily lasted for several thousand years with only natural decay. Even if they were damaged, the Array Prohibitions shouldn’t have been completely destroyed.
To say nothing of the Broken Sword’s primary material—Spiritual Materials are born from the essence of heaven and earth, and the process of smelting and Refining elevates the material to an even higher level.
’Could it be...’
Chu Mu had a theory, but he didn’t dare to be certain.
He immediately began to search the surrounding area, inch by inch, within a radius of several dozen meters.
After just a few moments, more than a dozen different crafted items, all eroded by time, lay before him.
There were blades, spears, swords, and halberds, as well as broken Puppet components like hands, severed arms, severed legs, and half a head.
’So... a great battle once took place here in Sword Washing Lake?’
Chu Mu gazed around the gloomy lakebed, a flicker in his eyes.
After a moment, he could only push aside such meaningless speculation and turn his attention to the pile of junk before him.
The Array Prohibition Patterns and the materials themselves were all corroded. This junk clearly had no value left.
He gave the items a casual once-over and was about to discard them when he seemed to notice something. His gaze instantly locked onto the broken Puppet head in the pile.
"This is..."
Chu Mu pried open the Puppet’s head. The inside was a complete mess; its once-intricate mechanisms were entirely corroded.
But in the center of the head, a round, eyeball-sized Jade Stone, as black and lustrous as ink, was particularly conspicuous.
"It’s... a Soul Condensing Stone!"
The knowledge from his puppetry inheritance flooded his mind, and soon, this somewhat unfamiliar term locked into place.
Chu Mu’s eyes lit up, his gaze fixed on the Soul Condensing Stone with unconcealable fervor!
A Soul Condensing Stone, a Tier Two Lower Grade Spiritual Material.
A mere Tier Two Lower Grade Spiritual Material might not seem particularly rare.
But... the Soul Condensing Stone. The two words "Soul Condensation" explained a great deal.
Its Soul Condensation effect undoubtedly gave it a value—and a rarity—that far surpassed other Tier Two Lower Grade Spiritual Materials.
After all, in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, the value of any item related to the Divine Soul was bound to skyrocket, and such items were always exceedingly rare.
As far as he knew, this Soul Condensing Stone was an indispensable Spiritual Material for all Magical Artifacts related to the Divine Soul.
You simply couldn’t find Soul Condensing Stones on the market.
He hadn’t yet reached the level of Spiritual Artifacts, so he wasn’t certain, but since it was a Tier Two Spiritual Material, its properties would obviously be applicable to Spiritual Artifacts as well.
He didn’t have a great need for a Concentration Spiritual Artifact; after all, his Divine Soul Saber could take the place of any Divine Soul Spiritual Artifact.
However, another of the Soul Condensing Stone’s uses was extremely important to him—both as an Artifact Refiner and a Puppet Master.
According to his Puppetry Skill inheritance, the Soul Condensing Stone was also a vital Spiritual Material for Refining Puppets.
Within the art of puppetry, the Soul Condensing Stone’s function was to house a Divine Soul and serve as the Puppet’s core.
In other words, without a Soul Condensing Stone, an ordinary Puppet’s control hub could only receive extremely simple commands.
It was just like the four bamboo dragonflies he had refined; he had to control them personally for the most part. Even if he let them scout on their own, he could only issue the most basic of commands.
But if a Soul Condensing Stone was used as the foundational Spiritual Material to refine a control hub, it would be like installing an intelligent core inside the Puppet!
Its significance was like a mecha from his past life gaining a smart chip.
It would be the equivalent of a robot possessing a degree of logical Spiritual Wisdom!
The implications were self-evident.
As if handling a priceless treasure, Chu Mu took out a Jade Box and carefully placed the half-skull inside, sealing it shut.
As he looked out again at the dark lakebed, his eyes held nothing but an indescribable fervor...
...