Time flew by, and a day passed.
The Wanbao Pavilion Auction officially concluded. Early in the morning, Manager Lin appeared at Ten Thousand Flowers Manor, greeting Li Mu with a beaming smile: "Great Master Li, you've waited long enough!"
After speaking, Lin Baoqing took out two storage rings and a Jade Slip, handing them to Li Mu with both hands. He introduced, "Great Master Li, these two storage rings, one contains the items you auctioned, and the other contains the items you obtained from the Auction. The Jade Slip records the detailed transaction accounts. After deducting the spiritual items you auctioned, there are still a lot of Spirit Stones left. Please review and verify if there are any discrepancies!"
Li Mu was delighted. He quickly took the storage rings and Jade Slip that Lin Baoqing handed over. With a quick sweep of his Divine Sense, he found that the detailed accounts recorded in the Jade Slip were clear. Every auctioned item was recorded, including detailed information such as the bidding price, quality, and attributes.
All the spiritual items obtained from the Auction were in the storage ring, not a single one missing. What pleased Li Mu the most was that the Sky Puppet Spirit Token was also in this storage ring!
The other storage ring contained the remaining 1.7 million High-Grade Spirit Stones. This number surprised Li Mu; he had originally estimated that the remaining Spirit Stones after the Auction would only be around one million. He didn't expect Lin Baoqing to be so meticulous and thoughtful in his work. This Auction actually refunded hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones more! This made him greatly admire Lin Baoqing's ability to handle affairs.
"Very good, no problems! Manager Lin is too meticulous!" Li Mu was overjoyed and praised Lin Baoqing.
"Great Master Li, you flatter me. This is all part of my duty. If you have any other needs for assistance, please don't hesitate to ask," Lin Baoqing replied respectfully, a slight smile appearing on his face upon hearing Li Mu's praise.
"Not for now, Manager Lin, you've worked hard. Go back and rest early," Li Mu said with a smile and a nod. He knew that after this Auction, Lin Baoqing still had a lot of work to do. During the Auction, he had to remain vigilant at all times to handle various emergencies, which was indeed very arduous.
"Alright. The Auction has just ended, and I still have many things to attend to, so I won't disturb you further. I'll find you another day for a chat," Lin Baoqing breathed a sigh of relief and bid farewell to Li Mu with a relaxed smile.
With that, Lin Baoqing cupped his hands at Li Mu and departed.
Watching Lin Baoqing leave, Li Mu eagerly took out the Sky Puppet Spirit Token from the storage ring.
Under Talent Divine Power - Identify Myriad Spirits, the attributes and functions of the 'Sky Puppet Spirit Token' all appeared on Li Mu's virtual panel.
【Sky Puppet Spirit Token (One-Eighth)】
【Grade: Seven-Rank Dao Artifact Spirit Treasure】
【Characteristics: Puppet Manipulation, Puppet Space, Puppet Heart Palace, Myriad Puppets' Deception, Puppet Spirit Control, Thousandfold Divine Puppet】
【Status: Incomplete artifact, missing artifact spirit, closed Puppet Palace.】
【The eight-faced suppressing puppet token, a seven-rank Dao Artifact, refined from numerous heavenly and life-and-death spiritual materials such as seven-rank spiritual rhinoceros jade crystal, seven-rank Chaos Beast Emperor bone, seven-rank Reincarnation spiritual spring, and eight-rank salo soul. This spiritual token is equipped with a Puppet Heart Palace. By completely passing the Heart Palace - Divine Sense refinement, one can obtain the sacred-tier Puppet Dao Legacy Cultivation Technique within it—"The Heavenly Puppet Crafting Dao Scripture." Consuming Divine Sense power allows one to control thousands of Puppets with this artifact. However, this artifact is a Puppet-controlling artifact, and its Dao principles are bizarre. After long-term dormancy, it carries a certain risk of mental confusion, so use with caution.】
Holding the Sky Puppet Spirit Token, Li Mu did not hesitate and immediately poured his Divine Sense into it.
The next moment, Li Mu's Divine Sense appeared in a huge labyrinth. This labyrinth seemed to be composed of countless giant jade tablets, piled densely together, boundless.
As soon as Li Mu's Divine Sense entered it, it was guided by a mysterious force to look at the giant jade wall in front of him. That force seemed to be guiding something, giving him an indescribable feeling.
Each jade tablet in the labyrinth was filled with mysterious power fluctuations, as if they were independent spaces. On the jade wall, countless Puppet patterns of various shapes were carved. These were the textures of Puppets and the runes for controlling Puppets.
Li Mu possessed Six-level Puppet Art, and at a glance, he recognized most of the Puppet spiritual patterns carved on the jade wall and understood their functions.
"Why are these Puppet patterns so familiar? Hmm! This is Spirit Suppression, and if I'm not mistaken, this is the Pressure Spirit function, this is Magnification..." Li Mu observed silently, his Divine Sense wandering over these Puppet textures, like a calligraphy master seeing an outstanding calligraphy piece, unable to resist speculating and simulating practice.
"Eh! What kind of Puppet pattern is this? It's somewhat similar to a reverse function pattern!" Li Mu's Divine Sense stopped on a relatively unfamiliar Puppet texture. He faintly felt that this Puppet texture seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn't recall where he had seen it.
Li Mu tried hard to recall, but his mind was blank, confirming that he had never learned this special spiritual pattern.
However, Li Mu didn't care. Instead, he continued to pour his Divine Sense into it, more seriously 'copying' this unfamiliar Puppet spiritual pattern.
Soon, as Li Mu poured in a large amount of Divine Sense, the Puppet spiritual patterns carved on that jade wall began to glow with spiritual light, constantly moving. These spiritual lights seemed to have a life of their own, leaping and rotating until they formed a complete spiritual pattern.
Li Mu's mind shook. He immediately understood what this 'Heart Palace' trial was all about. This trial required him to pass by identifying and tracing Puppet spiritual patterns.
These Puppet spiritual patterns were like doors. Only by correctly depicting the spiritual patterns could one open that door and continue forward. Li Mu poured his Divine Sense into these Puppet textures, and following the spiritual path of the spiritual patterns, he injected Divine Sense power, completing a full circuit of the spiritual path of the returning spiritual patterns.
Li Mu dedicated himself to it, and soon 'walked' through the spiritual path of a Puppet spiritual pattern once.
The jade wall suddenly burst into brilliant spiritual light, then dissipated within the huge labyrinth.
Seeing this scene, Li Mu revealed a 'just as expected' smile. This 'Heart Palace' Divine Sense trial was indeed as he had guessed; he had to trace tens of thousands of Puppet spiritual patterns in the labyrinth to pass this trial.
With the successful experience, Li Mu continued to immerse himself, dedicating his whole being, constantly identifying Puppet spiritual patterns, and jade walls kept disappearing one after another.
As time passed, Li Mu gradually adapted to the rhythm of this trial. His Divine Sense became increasingly sharp, and his tracing of Puppet spiritual patterns became more and more proficient. Each time he successfully traced a Puppet spiritual pattern, he could feel his strength improving.
Li Mu was completely immersed in it, as if he had fallen into an inescapable state, absorbed in those Puppet spiritual patterns, constantly tracing each one, like a passionate challenge.
After an unknown number of jade walls disappeared into the labyrinth, Li Mu suddenly felt an inexplicable force surge from the Sky Puppet Spirit Token into his Primordial Spirit. His Primordial Spirit seemed to be pulled by a huge force, his consciousness returned to his body, and he instantly woke up from that state of immersion.
"Lord Li, that's great, you're finally awake! I thought something happened to you!"
Xue'er's anxious voice rang in Li Mu's ears.
Li Mu turned to look at Xue'er, a hint of blankness and confusion flashing in his eyes. He looked up at the window and found that night had already fallen, and time seemed to have passed unknowingly.
"So fast, it's already dark!"
Li Mu said somewhat blankly. When he entered the Sky Puppet Spirit Token for the Heart Palace trial, it was still a bright and sunny morning. However, in just this short while, the sky had already turned pitch black.
"What do you mean! It's been three days! I saw you standing here blankly before I started Cultivating, and you're still standing here when I came out, your posture hasn't changed at all! Lord Li, are you alright!" Xue'er looked at Li Mu worriedly, asking with concern.
Hearing Xue'er's words, Li Mu was stunned. He looked down and checked himself, and indeed, as Xue'er said, his Divine Sense was greatly consumed, and a layer of dust had accumulated on his body, indicating that a significant amount of time had passed.
He clearly remembered only trying to challenge the Heart Palace trial in the Sky Puppet Spirit Token for a short while, but he didn't expect that three days had already passed.
Li Mu frowned, feeling the abnormality of the 'Heart Palace'. However, this time he learned many new Puppet spiritual patterns, and at the same time, his Divine Sense, which had been stagnant for a long time, seemed to have condensed a bit more.
Thinking of this, Li Mu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Lord Li!" Xue'er looked at Li Mu, calling out worriedly.
Li Mu smiled at Xue'er, comforting her: "I'm fine, I just learned a Cultivation Technique, no need to worry!"
Upon hearing this, Xue'er couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and said concernedly: "That's good, Lord Li, do you need to rest? I can prepare some spiritual meals for you."
"Hmm, go ahead!" Li Mu nodded with a smile, watching Xue'er leave.
After Xue'er left, Li Mu turned to look out the window again, a strong surge of thoughts welling up in his heart.
During these three days, Li Mu continuously traced Puppet spiritual patterns. The disappearance of each jade wall represented his progress, and his Divine Sense was greatly honed and improved.
However, to pass the 'Heart Palace' trial in one go and obtain the Heavenly Puppet Legacy, his Divine Sense was far from enough.
Could it be that he needed to collect all eight Sky Puppet Spirit Tokens to obtain the complete Puppet Dao Legacy! Li Mu looked at the Sky Puppet Spirit Token in his hand, feeling a bit unwilling.
If the Star Cloud Contemplation Method could continue to improve, and the second chapter reached Perfection, perhaps his Divine Sense power could meet the demands of the 'Heart Palace' trial.
Therefore, to obtain this Saint-tier Legacy, he still had to continue farming and improving his Cultivation. That was the key!
The Star Cloud Contemplation Method-Star God Chapter requires the star source spiritual plant attribute to continue improving Cultivation. However, this star source attribute can only be obtained by planting six-rank spiritual plants - Mou Xing Spirit Grass.
This requires waiting until he leaves the Southern Wilderness Spirit Domain, finding a supreme spiritual land, a spiritual mountain to live in seclusion, with spiritual fields suitable for large-scale planting of six-rank spiritual plants - Mou Xing Spirit Grass, only then can it be achieved.
This is a rather arduous task!
However, the most urgent matter at hand was to help the Double-Horned Azure Moon Flood Dragon successfully undergo Tribulation. Only if it safely passes the seven-rank True Dragon Lightning Tribulation will the Five Elements Grand Formation, composed of five Five Elements Beast-Controlling Beasts, a powerful protective force, not collapse.
After thinking through these issues, Li Mu sighed, put away the Sky Puppet Spirit Token, and decided to temporarily give up trying this Legacy. He would try again when he had time later! The most important thing now was to ensure that the Double-Horned Azure Moon Flood Dragon could successfully pass the Lightning Tribulation.
After eating the spiritual meal prepared by Xue'er, Li Mu plunged into the Painting World Treasure Mansion, beginning to refine high-grade Spirit Pills for the Double-Horned Azure Moon Flood Dragon to enhance its Bloodline Power and increase its chances of Undergoing Tribulation.
Time flew by, and half a month passed in a flash.
After handling all matters related to the Auction, Lin Baoqing appeared again at Ten Thousand Flowers Manor to see Li Mu off.
The Auction achieved unprecedented success. The spoils of war were completely swept away. High-grade spiritual materials, a large batch of High-Grade Spirit Stones, and nine storage spiritual pearls were almost overflowing. Li Mu was satisfied, and it was time to leave.
Next, Li Mu needed to find a suitable place for the Double-Horned Azure Moon Flood Dragon to undergo Tribulation.
"Great Master Li, the journey to the Central Continent Spirit Domain is millions of miles and extremely perilous. Are you truly unwilling to take our pavilion's merchant ship?" Lin Baoqing looked at Li Mu, persuading him again.
"This time, we have reached a closer cooperation with Xuantian Sword Sect and Taiyi Sect. They will provide full support for the safety of the merchant ship. If the Nine Demon Sect still dares to set an ambush midway, they will only be courting their own demise. You really don't need to worry excessively!" Lin Baoqing looked at Li Mu, sincerely extending the invitation again.
After speaking, Lin Baoqing continued to reveal more information to Li Mu.
It turned out that after the successful hosting of this Auction, the relationships between the major forces became even closer. To resist the Nine Demon Sect, they reached multiple cooperation agreements, forming a vast community of shared interests.
Hearing this, Li Mu remembered something and asked concernedly: "What did Xuantian Sword Sect and Taiyi Sect say about the soul gathering bottle matter?"
Lin Baoqing's expression darkened as he explained: "It has been found that 'Zhuang Baolun' was actually an inside agent of the Nine Demon Sect. Regarding this matter, Xuantian Sword Sect and Taiyi Sect have already discussed it, and they plan to fight fire with fire."
"Fight fire with fire?" Li Mu frowned slightly, asking in confusion.
"Yes," Lin Baoqing explained, "They plan to pretend to dispatch a merchant ship along a route where the Nine Demon Sect has set an ambush, luring them to attack, and then launch a counter-ambush."
Upon hearing this, Li Mu's heart stirred. Such a strategy could indeed draw out the people of the Nine Demon Sect, exposing them to the attacks of Xuantian Sword Sect and Taiyi Sect. Moreover, if the timing was right, he might be able to seize the opportunity to reclaim that mass of seven-rank Purple Rhythm Heavenly Fire.
The seven-rank Purple Rhythm Heavenly Fire had fallen into the hands of the Nine Demon Sect. Taking advantage of the counter-ambush launched by Xuantian Sword Sect and Taiyi Sect against the Nine Demon Sect, Li Mu wondered whether he should find an opportunity to retrieve this Heavenly Fire.
However, the Double-Horned Azure Moon Flood Dragon's Undergoing Tribulation was imminent, making it truly inconvenient to get involved in this matter.
After weighing the pros and cons, Li Mu finally politely declined Manager Lin's kind offer, saying: "Let's not! I've acquired a good spiritual ship, and traveling alone makes for a smaller target!"
With that, Li Mu cupped his hands at Lin Baoqing and solemnly bid him farewell: "Manager Lin, if fate allows, we shall meet again in the Central Continent!"
"Indeed, Great Master Li, once you return to the Central Continent, remember to report your safety to Wanbao Pavilion immediately. Additionally, there are many Wanbao Pavilion branches on the spiritual islands along the way. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask," Lin Baoqing said sincerely.
"Alright!" Li Mu smiled and nodded, then ascended into the sky with Xue'er. Their figures instantly turned into a black dot and disappeared above Barren Ancient City.
Watching Li Mu's disappearing figure, Lin Baoqing felt a sense of loss, as if he had lost a rare treasure.
