Chapter 927: Chapter 406: Fourth Rank Middle-grade Puppet Refining Success_3

However, Xu Ping achieved these feats consecutively with astounding success rate and speed.

Among these, his vast Divine Sense, comparable to that of a late-stage Great Cultivator, provided the most fundamental support.

The "proficiency panel" that offered extreme optimization for each step of the refining process and almost error-free control was the key to his miracles.

"Let’s test its power!"

Xu Ping suppressed the surging joy in his heart, his eyes sharp.

With a wave of his sleeve, gleaming lights flickered instantly.

Seven additional Fourth Rank Lower Grade puppets, each different in shape, appeared alongside the first Middle-Grade puppet.

Ten puppets!

Three of Fourth Rank Middle Grade, seven of Fourth Rank Lower Grade.

They stood silently in the Artifact Refining Room, and just the natural interweaving of their Spiritual Pressure formed a terrifying force field as heavy as a mountain and as sharp as a divine weapon.

The air seemed to solidify, creating an invisible pressure that slightly distorted the void, daunting any ordinary Mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator who might find themselves here.

"Rise!"

Xu Ping’s eyes flashed suddenly, and he shouted softly.

The Qi and blood within his body surged and quickly spread, connecting with the core of the ten puppets.

Buzz!

The auras of the ten puppets were instantly linked by an invisible force, forming an intricate whole -- the Puppet Array, accomplished!

A vast and solemn power far beyond the simple addition of individual puppets exploded, its might breaking through some invisible threshold, standing steadily at the Late-Stage Nascent Soul level.

Powerful, tyrannical, filled with a destructive sense of force!

Xu Ping, positioned at the core of the array, could clearly sense the surge and control of this power.

Its attack power, without a doubt, had reached the late stage.

And due to the material of the puppets and the joint defense feature of the array, its defense capabilities were even more formidable than those of ordinary Late-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivators.

Of course, the enhancement of power did not come without a cost.

Xu Ping could feel that his Qi and blood and physique were bearing a tremendous strain, with his meridians slightly aching, reaching the current limit his physical body could endure.

If he were to add another Fourth Rank Middle-Grade puppet, although the array’s power could grow further, his Qi and blood and physique might not hold out first.

"It seems the tempering of the physique must not slacken for an instant." Xu Ping’s mind was as clear as a mirror.

The Dragon Blood Fruit had not yet been completely exploited, and if his physique could progress another step, reaching the peak of Tier Four Middle Grade, it should barely support the addition of two more Middle-Grade puppets.

However, replacing the core of the array entirely with ten Fourth Rank Middle Grade puppets would require an extremely high demand on the physique, likely needing to reach at least the threshold of the Late-Stage Nascent Soul!

"A physique at the Late-Stage Nascent Soul... difficult!"

Xu Ping shook his head inwardly; the path of the Body Cultivator is even more difficult and long than that of the Cultivator, "I can only hope that after the Golden Spirit Mouse breaks through to Fourth Rank Upper Grade, it can feedback more origins, assisting the Dragon Blood Fruit in its mutation, and increase its potency again."

"By then, perhaps, I might propel my physique to that legendary late-stage threshold."

Swiftly pondering, Xu Ping already had a clear plan for future cultivation.

"With the rampant Ancient Demons, it seems to have reached its peak frenzy. The storm is coming... but who knows how the Golden Spirit Mouse tribe is prepared." Xu Ping’s eyes were deep.

The Water Lake Mouse tribe had long been honing and refining, with cultivation polished to the peak of Fourth Rank Middle Grade, only lacking that final breakthrough opportunity and Spiritual Objects.

Then, with a thought, he dissipated the array, and with a wave, he stored away the ten painstaking puppets.

Feeling the significantly reduced stock of rare materials within his storage Magical Artifact, even with his wealth, Xu Ping could not help but feel a twinge of heartache.

Over the years, the consumption for refining these high-tier puppets had been enormous.

"However, with the Ancient Demons, there’s no worry of lacking material sources." His eyes flashed with a frosty light, suppressing that thought.

...

One month later.

The scheduled message from the Golden Spirit Mouse tribe did not arrive, but instead, an urgent Communication Talisman was received from Yun Weifeng.

The message was brief but heavy: Rush to the God Burial Bend, Ancient Demons have moved, unprecedented scale, a great battle is about to begin.

"A major move?"

Xu Ping’s eyes narrowed slightly, putting aside a core soul jade he was nurturing at the moment.

For Yun Weifeng, a Great Cultivator with Nascent Soul Perfection, to personally sit at God Burial Bend, using the words "major move," it showed the seriousness was by no means comparable to those scattered demon tides of the past.

However, there was no fear on Xu Ping’s face, instead a glint of determination flashed.

With his current strength, as long as he doesn’t actively plunge into the core of the Ancient Demon Army’s encirclement, he has more than enough to safeguard himself.

Thus, he had no intention of retreating from the battle.

Of course, if something uncontrollable indeed occurs, he is surely ready to escape.

After briefly instructing the Water Lake Mouse and Duan Shuang, Xu Ping’s figure flickered, transforming into an almost transparent Escape Light, silently merging into the horizon.

...

Five days later.

After several transitions through long-distance Teleportation Arrays, Xu Ping once again stepped foot in God Burial Bend.

As he emerged from the Teleportation Array, a repressive, violent, and destructive demonic aura overwhelmed him, far more intense than ever before.

Looking up, he saw the towering and ominous Ancient Demon Hall in the distant sky, its Demonic Qi surging like an erupting black volcano, with rolling demonic clouds shrouding the sun and sky.

Below on the ground, the Ancient Demon Army was arrayed in a forest of formations, so numerous that a rough sweep counted no less than tens of thousands.

Among them were a large number of lower-tier Demon Soldiers, massive demon beasts, and high-level Ancient Demons with Qi clearly above the Nascent Soul stage.

More unsettling were the several vague yet immensely powerful presences deep within the demon army, like unfathomable abyss. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

One of which sent Xu Ping’s spiritual intuition into a frenzy of warning, with a faint sense of unease.

Moreover, the Ancient Demon Army in front of him was not the disorderly, bloodthirsty rabble as seen in the past.

They were arranged into battle formations, moving with coordination, their Demonic Qi intertwined, evidently under a unified and extremely stringent control and command.

This level of discipline was previously unattainable even when several Late-Stage Nascent Soul Ancient Demons appeared simultaneously.

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