Cultivating the Dao, Starting with Farming

Li Mu took Mingyue to refine the composite source core of the puppet, but soon encountered an unsolvable problem. He carefully selected a variety of high-level spiritual materials and tried various fusion methods, but the refining of the composite source core could not achieve the expected effect.

The essences of spiritual materials with different properties repelled each other during the fusion process, resulting in extremely poor stability of the source core, which could not support the normal operation of the puppet; if it was refined, it would be difficult to exert the nature of the source core material and it would be difficult to nurture the spirituality required by the puppet,... Li Mu tried many methods, but encountered many problems. It was almost impossible to refine a composite source core for the puppet.

"Master, the refining of this composite source core is much more complicated than we thought! This direction doesn't seem to work." Mingyue looked at the failed source cores in his hand, frowned, and said with frustration.

"Indeed, the perfect fusion of the essences of spiritual materials with different properties without conflict is the key to refining the composite source core." Li Mu nodded, his eyes did not show too much disappointment, but thought about the solution.

"Yes! However, it is probably impossible to fuse multiple spiritual powers or spiritual materials with different attributes into a new spiritual essence with multiple attributes under certain conditions!" Mingyue sighed helplessly, gently turning the failed source core fragments in her hands, full of unwillingness.

Hearing this, Li Mu's eyes suddenly became deep, as if he had caught some inspiration, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Perhaps we should not be limited to the traditional fusion idea. If we do not force the spiritual materials of different attributes to fuse, but find a way to make them work together without fusion, and jointly provide Yuanli for the puppet?" Li Mu smiled at Mingyue and gestured.

Hearing this, Mingyue's eyes lit up, but then she showed doubts and asked in confusion: "Master, have you thought of a solution? If spiritual materials of different properties are not fused, how can they be used stably by puppets?"

Li Mu smiled and shook his head, explaining: "The reason why we think they must be fused is because we are used to the operation mode of a single source core. But all things in the world coexist, they complement and restrain each other, but they are also interdependent. If we can design a special puppet formation so that each spiritual material can play its maximum effect in the formation, and at the same time avoid conflicts between them through the adjustment of the formation, then the problem of composite source core may be solved."

Hearing this, Mingyue's eyes became more and more blurred.

Li Mu smiled, and did not continue to explain in depth, but took out a few low-level spiritual materials from the Tianxuan Ring and tried to refine them.

This method is not just about refining a puppet source core, but Li Mu has mastered refining, alchemy, talisman making, array, and practiced the Chaos Avenue, three thousand divine patterns, etc. He has integrated all the knowledge to create an unprecedented way of puppet construction.

In traditional puppetry, the core puppet protocore drives the puppet array of the puppet body, and uses the power of the spirit stone embedded in the puppet as the power to activate the puppet pattern and drive the puppet to move. However, this traditional puppetry has many defects.

First, the traditional puppet protocore is often made of a single spiritual material, and the elemental force attribute it can carry is single, which limits the diversity and adaptability of the puppet. In battle, facing enemies or environments with different attributes, this kind of puppet often finds it difficult to play the best effect.

Secondly, the traditional puppet array design is relatively simple and lacks sufficient flexibility and variability. When the puppet is attacked, the puppet array often cannot effectively disperse or transfer the attack force, causing the puppet to be easily hit or even collapsed.

Traditional puppetry relies heavily on spirit stones as a power source, and the quantity and quality of spirit stones directly determine the puppet's sustained combat capability and combat effectiveness.

Furthermore, the higher the level of the puppet, the more sophisticated it is, and the higher the cost of its refining and maintenance. This is not just a matter of spirit stone consumption, but also involves the collection of rare spirit materials, the hiring of senior refiners, and the mastery of complex refining processes. Even if many cultivators have the ability to refine high-level puppets, they are often unable to apply them on a large scale due to resource constraints.

In addition, the control method of traditional puppets is relatively simple, mostly relying on the direct control of the cultivator's spiritual consciousness or remote control through specific magic tools. This method often seems to be incapable of long-distance control or in the face of complex combat environments, and may even cause the puppet to lose control due to the distraction or mistakes of the operator.

In addition, traditional puppets lack the ability to repair themselves and learn. Once damaged in battle, they often need to be repaired by the cultivator himself, which is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also may increase the difficulty of repair due to the harsh battlefield environment. At the same time, the puppet's combat strategy is completely dependent on the refiner's preset, lacking the ability to flexibly adjust according to the actual situation, which is undoubtedly a huge disadvantage when facing unknown enemies or complex combat strategies.

It is precisely for these reasons that even though Li Mu has refined a lot of high-level puppets and stored a puppet army, he rarely takes them out to fight the enemy to avoid suffering heavy losses.

Traditional puppetry has too many flaws, so Li Mu decided to innovate puppetry, trying to break the convention and create a truly powerful puppet.

The nine spiritual materials in Li Mu's hand are not of high grade, all around the fourth grade, but each of them has a separate attribute, covering the five elements, yin and yang, time and space, and the power of time, which is the main cornerstone of the power of chaos.

Took out a piece of green vine wood that contained the vitality of wood. Its color was warm and full of vitality, representing the reproduction of life and the cycle of nature; the chaos fire in Li Mu's hand condensed and covered it. Instead of burning it, the flame stimulated the potential of the wood spirit wood, making its surface glow with a faint green light, and it was more full of vitality.

Li Mu used the power of chaos as a medium to transform this spiritual material and carve puppet patterns. Then, under the control of his divine mind, the fourth-level Taixuan refined gold flew into the chaos fire and soon turned into a metal solution flowing in the puppet spirit pattern. Then, the fourth-level Xuanming true water fell into the chaos fire and was not evaporated by the high temperature. Instead, it intertwined with the flames, forming a strange scene of water and fire blending.

Xuanming true water slowly penetrated into the puppet pattern, echoing with the previous Taixuan refined gold, one hard and one soft, complementing and helping each other, adding endless toughness and agility to the puppet,...

Soon, five fourth-level five-element spiritual objects successfully constructed a puppet body. Then, under the guidance of Li Mu, the Yin Ling Stone and Zi Yang Jade slowly floated above the Chaos Fire. Under the traction of the power of chaos, the two slowly approached each other and finally met in the air. The Yin and Yang Qi intertwined with each other, forming a unique energy field.

With the engraving of the Yin and Yang puppet pattern, this energy field was perfectly integrated into the puppet, giving the puppet the supreme ability to reconcile all things and create life and death.

Li Mu did not stop, and turned his eyes to the last two fourth-level magical spiritual materials-Time Realm Pearl and Xuanyue Crystal Core. These two spiritual materials contain the power of time and space and years respectively, and are the best choice for refining the eyes of this chaos puppet.

It has the effect of finishing touches.

Whether this creative puppet refining can succeed depends on the next step.

This puppet will no longer have a puppet body, but with the special properties of many spiritual materials, yin and yang, the balance of the five elements, and the gathering of other space-time forces, the power of time, and the chaos array engraved inside the puppet as a collection, it will eventually give birth to a chaos source core.

Li Mu took a deep breath, his expression solemn and focused, his hands quickly formed seals, the power of chaos flowed through his fingertips, jumping like a living thing, guiding this power, and began to refine the time boundary beads and the Xuanyue crystal core, integrating them into the puppet body.

The chaos power in Li Mu's body surged out, and the materialized divine patterns continued to flow into the puppet body as his technique accelerated. The chaos array gradually took shape, emitting surging waves.

When the chaos array was fully formed, Li Mu shouted fiercely, guiding the space-time and time forces in the chaos fire, as well as the five elements and yin and yang forces that had been integrated before, all into the array.

At this moment, the whole space seemed to be still. Inside the Chaos Array, various forces began to interweave, collide, and merge, and large waves of energy fluctuations burst out from the puppet body.

Mingyue's eyes were wide open, staring at the puppet body that Li Mu was refining, and she felt its extraordinaryness.

Now, she has understood the true meaning of the "composite source core" that Li Mu talked about. It is not only a theoretical innovation, but also a bold attempt in practice, a profound understanding and application of the laws of heaven and earth.

The puppet body in front of her, under Li Mu's careful refining, is gradually showing a powerful force beyond the conventional puppet. As the fusion of the internal forces of the Chaos Array reaches its peak, the light on the surface of the puppet body becomes more and more dazzling, as if a small universe appears in the body and is nurtured.

Suddenly, the puppet body shook violently, and an unprecedented powerful breath burst out from it, rushing straight into the sky. This breath contains many forces such as the five elements, yin and yang, time and space, and years. They are intertwined and interdependent, forming a perfect whole.

Mingyue watched Li Mu's amazing refining process, and an indescribable admiration surged in her heart. Such a bold and exquisite attempt, through a clever array, perfectly combined many spiritual materials that seemed impossible to fuse, to form a brand-new life form with endless potential.

However, the puppet of this new puppet was like a dead object. Although it exuded a strong breath, it had lost its power and showed no signs of waking up.

Li Mu stopped casting spells and silently stared at the puppet he had just refined, frowning, as if he had encountered a problem.

"Failed! Why did it fail! I think the master's method is feasible! With the puppet body, many element arrays are gathered together to nurture and give birth to a fusion source core, how could it fail!" Mingyue stared blankly at the "dead" puppet, and asked Li Mu incomprehensibly.

In Mingyue's eyes, the puppet refined by Li Mu had almost perfectly integrated all the required power. It should wake up like a real life and show amazing power.

However, the reality was very different from their expectations.

With his innate magical power - Identifying All Spirits, Li Mu had already found the real reason why the puppet failed to be refined. There was no sign of dejection on his face. After deep thought, he showed a hint of joy on his face.

Noticing the change in Li Mu's expression, Mingyue couldn't help but feel curious and asked, "Master, have you found any turning point?"

Li Mu smiled slightly, with a gleam of wisdom in his eyes: "Yes, this puppet seems to have failed to wake up as expected, but in fact, it did not fail. On the contrary, it gave me an unexpected revelation."

"Revelation? What revelation!" Mingyue was even more puzzled. She widened her eyes and waited for Li Mu's explanation.

"During the refining process, I was too focused on the perfect fusion of power, but ignored the puppet's essential 'soul'. Although this puppet has a strong body and the foundation for the birth of the source core, it now lacks a soul strong enough to drive itself." Li Mu introduced slowly, with a hint of enlightenment in his tone.

"Master, this is not right! It already has the qualifications to 'move', it is complete, how can it lack spirituality!" Mingyue frowned, obviously a little confused about Li Mu's statement. In her opinion, this puppet already has a complete puppet body, puppet formation, and a special source core transformed, and has all the characteristics of a finished puppet.

Li Mu smiled and introduced: "Yes, this puppet does have the ability to move on the outside, and it can even be said to be a complete existence. However, just like an adult's body, no matter how strong it is, without a soul, it is just an empty shell; and an embryo, although not in full shape, already contains the essence of life, which is its soul."

Li Mu continued to explain: "Although this puppet has a strong body and source core, it is like an adult's body without a soul, with only strength but lacking real vitality."

Hearing this, Mingyue fell into deep thought and roughly understood what Li Mu meant.

"Then, Master, how can we give this puppet spirituality! In the case that the source core has not been born!" Mingyue looked up at Li Mu, with a gleam of knowledge in his eyes.

The puppet source core is the puppet's soul, the key to carrying spirituality.

The puppet that Li Mu refined this time used a powerful puppet body to stimulate the composite source core. However, without first gathering the puppet source core, it was impossible to activate its spirituality. This has become a contradiction and a difficult problem to solve.

"Mingyue, your question hits the key point." Li Mu smiled slightly, and after deep thought, he answered: "Indeed, according to the conventional refining method, it is necessary to condense the source core first and then activate the spirituality after the puppet body is built. But this time, the refining method of Rongdao is used to stimulate the source core with a powerful body, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty of refining. However, it is not impossible!"

"Master, do you have an idea?" Mingyue's eyes lit up and couldn't help asking.

Li Mu smiled and nodded, waved his hand, put away the "dead" puppet in front of him, and then summoned several high-level spiritual materials to prepare to refine another puppet. (End of this chapter)