CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 57 DAOIST SOLDIER

"I wonder if Mom has come out of seclusion yet, and Dad not answering the Communication Stone... could he be fighting again?" Chen Jiuge worried as nobody answered the call after a long time.

Eventually, a figure appeared on the screen, shirtless with his back to the camera, as Chen Chen’s dull voice rang out, "Son, what’s up?"

"Uh, Dad, why are you facing away from me?" Chen Jiuge seemed puzzled.

"It’s nothing. What’s the matter? I’ve got urgent business to attend to soon," Chen Chen said, waving his hand impatiently.

"It’s not really a big deal. I just took on a Heavenly Immortal as my master. There’s a disciple ceremony ten years from now, and my master asked me to have our family attend it. I was discussing with you who should come," Chen Jiuge explained.

"What did you say?" Chen Chen’s face smashed against the Communication Stone.

Looking at those bruised eyes, Chen Jiuge twitched the corner of his mouth. "Dad, are your eyes okay?"

"That’s not important. Did you really take a Heavenly Immortal as your master?" Chen Chen exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes."

"Wife, Wife, our son has struck it rich!" Chen Jiuge watched as his father ran off, eventually disappearing outside the range covered by the Communication Stone.

About fifteen minutes later, Chen Jiuge heard their voices again.

"Chen Chen, if you’re lying to me, you’re dead this time. I’ll definitely beat you into a pig’s head," Hua Yu said coldly.

Looking at his still elegant mother and his father nodding and bowing beside her, Chen Jiuge held back a laugh. "Mother."

"Hmm, Jiuge, your dad told me you’ve taken a Heavenly Immortal as a master? And that we should attend your disciple ceremony ten years from now?" Hua Yu sounded a bit shaken.

"Yes, Mother. The ceremony is ten years from now. My master is the Third Elder of Hundred Herbs Peak," Chen Jiuge said.

"Good, good, good! I never expected Jiuge to achieve this much. Poor Little Yu is still in the Desolate World, unsure of whether he’s alive or dead," Hua Yu’s previously excited mood dampened instantly.

"Mother, don’t worry too much. I will ask my master about it," Chen Jiuge said as he looked at his saddened mother with sympathy.

After chatting about family matters for a while, they reluctantly ended the call.

...

In fact, when Wen Tianming came yesterday, Chen Jiuge had already asked during dinner. His master simply said not to worry too much. The disciples there hadn’t suffered many casualties. They seemed unable to return for the time being, though the danger wasn’t great. As for the specifics, even his master wasn’t sure, especially since his master’s Life Span Tribulation was approaching.

I still need to find a way to enhance my own strength. My Qi Cultivation needs more stabilization, while Body Refinement doesn’t have this particular requirement. Thankfully, Master sent a lot of resources. I also need to expedite the extraction of the newly born Spiritual Beast Bloodline and find time to study the Jade Scroll. I’m really so busy! Chen Jiuge lamented, before deciding he might as well learn to cultivate some Daoist Soldiers to handle miscellaneous tasks in Eden Garden.

Thinking of Daoist Soldiers, Chen Jiuge wasted no more time and headed straight to the Scripture Pavilion on Hundred Herbs Peak.

As the direct disciple of the Third Elder, the Scripture Pavilion was fully accessible to Chen Jiuge, allowing him to take whatever Cultivation Technique he wanted.

However, even though it was only the Scripture Pavilion of Hundred Herbs Peak, the sheer volume of books was staggering. It would likely take a lot of time to find what he wanted by himself.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

He knocked on the foremost bookshelf, only to see a small creature, about the size of an adult’s palm and looking sleepy, pop out from the top.

"Kid, what do you want?" The Book Spirit looked grumpy and visibly unhappy as it stared at Chen Jiuge.

Seeing the cute little fellow in front of him, Chen Jiuge simply smiled and asked, "Senior, I’m looking for the secret techniques for cultivating Daoist Soldiers. Do you know where they are?"

"Looking for a book? That’ll be ten Merits or twenty Upper Spirits." Hearing that business had arrived, the Book Spirit was no longer angry.

Chen Jiuge took out one hundred Upper Spirits from his Storage Ring and smiled. "Senior, could you also recommend a Daoist Soldier Secret Technique suitable for me?"

"Teachable and sensible, young man. Watch this." The Book Spirit happily took the Upper Spirits, closed its eyes, and when it opened them again, three Jade Scrolls appeared before it.

"Myriad Wood Daoist Soldier: Lower same-rank combat ability, requires relatively fewer resources, belongs to the Magic Cultivation Daoist Soldier type. Its special ability is to accelerate the growth of Spirit Grass and Spiritual Medicine—it’s the most popular Daoist Soldier at Hundred Herbs Peak.

Green Vine Daoist Soldier: Medium same-rank combat ability, requires more resources, belongs to the Body Refinement Daoist Soldier type. Its special ability is self-repair.

Purple Blood Daoist Soldier: Upper same-rank combat ability, requires a great amount of resources, belongs to the Body Refinement Daoist Soldier type. Its special ability is also self-repair.

"Kid, you’re cultivating the Green Vine Immortal Body. These three Daoist Soldiers are the most suitable for you. Of course, the latter two are more suitable than the first. If none of these satisfy you, you can only check the Main Hall," the Book Spirit said in an old-fashioned tone.

After reading the brief introductions, Chen Jiuge pondered for a moment, immediately ruling out the "Myriad Wood Daoist Soldier." I’m not a Spiritual Plant Master, and there are plenty of Plant Elves in Eden Garden—that’s enough for me, he thought.

"Senior, which of the last two do you think would be suitable for me?" Chen Jiuge was somewhat undecided.

"You must be Wen Tianming’s new disciple, right? That old guy has a bad temper, but he’s rich and generous. Of course, choose the most expensive one: ’Purple Blood Daoist Soldier.’ It can fight and endure. If you’re lucky, it might even awaken the Purple Pattern and become a top-tier Daoist Soldier. It’s just about spending more resources," the Book Spirit advised.

"Then I’ll follow your recommendation," Chen Jiuge said, accepting the Book Spirit’s advice.

"Kid, do you want the materials for the ’Purple Blood Daoist Soldier’?" The Book Spirit called out to Chen Jiuge, who was about to leave.

After some haggling, Chen Jiuge left the Scripture Pavilion without a word, his face sullen, leaving only the Book Spirit staring at the Spirit Stones with eyes full of gold.

When he returned to Eden Garden, Chen Jiuge’s expression instantly transformed. He said with a smile, "I didn’t expect this Book Spirit to be quite the sly old creature! The materials it sold me are probably priced from a long time ago; they’ve increased several times over now. What a huge profit!"

After preparing the materials, Chen Jiuge planned to first refine a Daoist Soldier to see the results.

Actually, refining a Daoist Soldier is quite simple. The quality primarily depends on the spiritual materials used. The technique has some impact, but not a major one, he mused.

Looking at the nearly three-meter-tall Daoist Soldier clad in purple armor before him, Chen Jiuge felt a bit pale. Goodness, refining one Daoist Soldier has completely drained my Spiritual Energy!

Next, I need to drip a drop of my essence blood to establish ownership and activate it, he thought. Chen Jiuge’s already pale face turned even paler as the pale blue essence blood merged into the Daoist Soldier’s body.

The Purple Blood Daoist Soldier’s eyes opened, and countless streams of Spiritual Energy merged into its body. To prevent a shortage of Spiritual Energy, Chen Jiuge directly carried the Daoist Soldier and placed it in the Spirit Lake, where the Spiritual Energy was most abundant.

Qi Cultivation

Foundation Establishment

Golden Core

Nascent Soul

Perfect Nascent Soul

So strong? I’m only at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, but this Daoist Soldier has already reached the Perfect Nascent Soul Realm? Chen Jiuge was astonished.

He didn’t consider that buying materials for one hundred Daoist Soldiers had cost one-third of the resources Wen Tianming had given him. This sum of resources would probably make even those in the Mahayana Realm envious. Exchanging them for one hundred Perfect Nascent Soul Daoist Soldiers was actually a bargain.

"Master."

The Purple Blood Daoist Soldier leaped out of the Spirit Lake and knelt on one knee.

"From now on, you’ll be called ’Big Purple.’ You are the Commander of the Purple Blood Daoist Soldiers," Chen Jiuge said with satisfaction, looking at the Daoist Soldier that was still taller than him despite kneeling.