Long before deciding to refine Heavenly Demon Puppets, Lin Yuan had been consciously collecting bodies, souls, and Magic Cores.
Whenever he killed a Dou Ancestor-level opponent, he would separate and preserve both their body and soul.
The souls, in particular, served not only as materials for refining Heavenly Demon Puppets, but also as valuable research material for his soul studies.
After countless battles, Lin Yuan had already accumulated eight Dou Ancestor-class souls, along with numerous Seventh-Grade bodies and Magic Cores. He possessed more than enough materials to refine Heavenly Demon Puppets.
After giving Tang Ba's corpse a preliminary tempering, Lin Yuan flicked his finger.
A fiery-red Magic Core floated into the air before dropping precisely into the cavity in the corpse's chest.
He then flipped his hand, producing a pitch-black box.
Opening it, the soul of a young man floated out quietly. It was none other than Tang Shan, the Sect Master of the Myriad Weapon Sect.
At this moment, Tang Shan's soul had long since lost its former arrogance.
His gaze was vacant, as though he had already lost all intelligence.
"So, you've already lost your consciousness during my previous experiments?"
Lin Yuan smiled meaningfully.
Green flames surged forth, instantly enveloping the soul.
"Trying to be clever?"
"You think such a pitiful disguise can deceive my perception?"
As he spoke, he used the Heavenly Flame to temper the soul, its terrifying temperature steadily erasing Tang Shan's remaining consciousness.
Several minutes later, just before his consciousness completely disappeared, Tang Shan finally abandoned the act.
His eyes filled with venomous hatred as he glared at Lin Yuan.
"Lin Yuan... I curse you..."
Listening to his curses, Lin Yuan merely smiled indifferently. The wailing of the defeated was hardly worth his attention.
He snapped his fingers lightly.
The temperature of the flames instantly soared.
Moments later, accompanied by a faint crackling sound, the last trace of consciousness hidden within the soul completely vanished.
"Some steps simply can't be skipped."
"If I really allowed a soul with its own consciousness to control a Heavenly Demon Puppet, the outcome might actually be rather interesting."
Shaking his head, Lin Yuan discarded the whimsical thought.
With a wave of his sleeve, Tang Shan's now mindless soul drifted into the opening in Tang Ba's forehead.
The moment the soul entered, Tang Ba's tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped open.
His pupils were completely black.
At the same time, Lin Yuan willed several strange metals shimmering with unusual luster to fly out from the Nether Sea Storage Ring and hover before him.
He clenched his hand.
The Green Lotus Core Flame surged from his palm, condensing into a magnificent flame cauldron engraved with lotus patterns.
As the cauldron opened, an immense suction force drew all the strange metals inside.
The three-colored Heavenly Flame flooded into the cauldron.
As the flames intertwined and revolved, an astonishing temperature rapidly rose.
Before long, the strange metals began to melt. Afterward, Lin Yuan divided his concentration into two.
One part carefully tempered the corpse at the appropriate temperature.
The other refined the strange metals using the highest possible heat. Both refinement processes required considerable time.
The corpse tempering, in particular, had to reach a precise moment before the body, soul, and Magic Core could fuse into perfect harmony.
Grasping that fleeting instant was the most difficult aspect of refining a Heavenly Demon Puppet.
Lin Yuan remained completely unhurried.
Years of pill refinement had given him extraordinary patience.
Seated cross-legged upon the Green Lotus Platform, he quietly closed his eyes and waited for the perfect opportunity.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye.
All the metals had long since melted into a pool of dark golden liquid.
Wrapped within the flame cauldron, it radiated a dim golden glow.
At one particular moment, Lin Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.
A trace of delight flashed through his profound gaze.
"The time has come!"
"It's now!"
Without the slightest hesitation, his hands rapidly formed an intricate seal as he uttered a peculiar low shout.
As the shout echoed forth, Tang Ba's corpse suddenly trembled violently.
The soul residing within his head seemed to be shattered by an invisible force, dispersing into countless tiny specks of light that spread throughout every part of the body.
Meanwhile, the crimson Magic Core within his chest released violent energy.
Like a raging flood, it surged rapidly through every meridian of the corpse.
Body.
Soul.
Magic Core.
At this moment, all three fused together perfectly.
An emotionless aura belonging to a Dou Ancestor slowly rose from the corpse.
Seeing this, the corners of Lin Yuan's lips lifted unconsciously.
With a wave of his sleeve, the dark golden molten metal poured out from the flame cauldron.
Sizzle—
The instant the molten metal came into contact with the corpse's flesh, thick white smoke erupted, accompanied by the faint scent of burning flesh.
Lin Yuan's immense Spiritual Strength swept across the body.
The molten metal spread evenly over every inch of the corpse.
As metal and flesh fused together, continuous sizzling sounds echoed while more white smoke rose into the air.
Before long, the smoke gradually dispersed.
The corpse's icy gray complexion had completely transformed into dark gold.
Lin Yuan's expression became solemn.
His hand seals abruptly changed.
The three Heavenly Flames surged forward, enveloping the body as the final stage of refinement began.
The most crucial step had already been completed.
Now all that remained was to wait for the Heavenly Demon Puppet to fully take shape.
As the intense heat continued its refinement, the dark golden molten metal gradually fused completely with the puppet.
Its color slowly shifted into a dark bronze hue.
From a distance, it resembled a statue cast from ancient bronze.
Looking at the puppet before him, Lin Yuan showed an expression that said everything had gone exactly as expected.
"As expected a third-Class Heavenly Demon Puppet."
Heavenly Demon Puppets were divided into three grades, Heaven, Earth, Human.
The simplest way to distinguish them was by observing the color of their skin.
Gold represented Heaven.
Silver represented Earth.
Bronze represented Human.
"The puppet's final grade is ultimately determined by the quality of the materials."
"Refining techniques merely provide the finishing touches."
After branding the puppet with his Soul Mark, Lin Yuan tested its combat strength.
Soon, he reached a conclusion.
"Approximately the strength of a Three-Star Dou Ancestor."
"Not bad."
"With this level of power and its straightforward fighting style, it'll make an excellent sparring partner for Zi Yan."
"Zi Yan's new toy is ready."
"Next, I'll begin refining guardians for the Academy and personal guards for myself."
"Before refining them, perhaps I should use the Hall of Souls' Soul Devouring Secret Technique to strengthen their souls."
"If I improve the quality of the soul materials. Perhaps I can produce even stronger puppets."
Soon afterward, the Green Lotus Core Flame once again blazed above the sea of magma as waves of mysterious aura spread outward.
Half a Month Later
Looking at the silver puppet standing before him, Lin Yuan flicked his finger.
A drop of blood carrying his Soul Mark shot from his fingertip before landing precisely on the puppet's forehead.
The blood slowly seeped inside, transforming into a crimson mark.
"An Earth Demon Puppet."
"Peak Seven-Star Dou Ancestor strength."
"In terms of combat ability, it should be no weaker than Earth Demon Ghost."
"Excellent."
"Using Earth Demon Ghost's soul, strengthening it by devouring other souls with the Hall of Souls' secret techniques, then refining it into a puppet while utilizing the Myriad Weapon Sect's forging methods, the results turned out to be unexpectedly impressive."
"With this Earth Demon Puppet protecting me, my safety is guaranteed."
"In that case..."
Lin Yuan looked toward the sea of magma below.
A faint smile slowly appeared on his lips as he murmured,
"It's time to head down there and bring Venerable Tian Huo back. His calls have become more and more frequent lately."
"It seems he has grown impatient from waiting."
Having made up his mind, Lin Yuan stored away the Earth Demon Puppet and released the Fallen Heart Flame from within his body.
"Shadow Clone."
His hands swiftly formed a series of seals, and a shadow clone immediately separated from his body.
Lin Yuan carefully sensed it for a moment before nodding in satisfaction.
"Connected through the Heavenly Network, it can maintain communication over an extremely long distance. It will serve perfectly as a positional beacon."
Hidden beneath this sea of magma was the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion. The situation below was unknown, its depth unknown, and its area unimaginably vast.
If he recklessly ventured inside and encountered an accident, getting lost was entirely possible.
And if he lost his bearings without a reference point to return to that would truly be disastrous.
After all, this magma sea was inhabited by an extraordinarily powerful tribe of Fire Lizards.
One could never overestimate the danger of a region bordering the Dou God Cave Mansion.
The current Lin Yuan would never become careless simply because he possessed knowledge of the future.
This was a matter of life and death.
After completing all his preparations, Lin Yuan willed the Fallen Heart Flame to expand.
The Invisible Flame rapidly swelled before wrapping around his body, transforming into a flaming shuttle that completely enclosed him.
Whoosh—
In the next instant, the flaming shuttle began spinning at incredible speed like a drill.
Splash!
Without any hesitation, Lin Yuan shot downward like a spinning drill, plunging into the viscous magma.
Feeling the terrifying heat and pressure converging upon him from every direction, he sighed softly.
"As expected of the place where that cave mansion lies."
"This sea of magma is far hotter than the magma sea where the Green Lotus Core Flame was born."
His eyes immediately sharpened.
After locking onto the direction sensed by the Fallen Heart Flame's Fire Spirit, he controlled the flaming shuttle and shot rapidly toward it.
Within the boundless sea of magma, everything in sight was crimson.
A flaming shuttle silently but swiftly descended into the depths.
Inside the shuttle, Lin Yuan maintained a solemn expression, doing his utmost to avoid making any unnecessary disturbance.
The Fire Lizard Tribe dwelling beneath this magma sea had severely deteriorated eyesight, but their hearing and perception were extraordinarily acute.
Not long ago, he had already encountered a patrol squad of Fire Lizards.
Fortunately, they consisted only of Dou Spirit- and Dou King-level lizardmen.
The moment they met, Lin Yuan struck with lightning speed, annihilating them all before they had any chance to expose his presence.
Several minutes later.
Lin Yuan placed several crimson energy pearls filled with abundant energy into his Storage Ring before letting out a long sigh of relief.
He withdrew the Spiritual Strength that had sealed off the surrounding area and stored away his three Demon Puppets.
However, his expression became even more serious.
"Damn it. Is today some special occasion?"
"Why are there so many Fire Lizard patrols?"
"Fortunately, I sealed off the battlefield with my Spiritual Strength the moment the battle began."
"Still, I'm almost there."
He continued descending.
Not long afterward, the Invisible Flame surrounding Lin Yuan emitted a beam of fire, illuminating a patch of magma not far below.
Immediately afterward, that section of magma slowly began to writhe.
A transparent barrier radiating a faint glow gradually emerged from the swirling magma.
"Oh?"
"A barrier?"
Lin Yuan smiled faintly.
His gaze pierced through the barrier, where the skeleton of a long-dead expert came into view.
Without hesitation, his figure flashed forward, rushing straight into the barrier.
As he passed through it, a strand of Spiritual fluctuation briefly swept across him.
Upon sensing the Fallen Heart Flame, it voluntarily withdrew, allowing Lin Yuan to enter without obstruction.
Landing beside the skeleton, Lin Yuan deliberately revealed a trace of surprise.
"This is the remains of a powerful expert?"
"And another Fallen Heart Flame?"
"A juvenile form?"
The Fallen Heart Flame before him was still in its infancy.
Although it possessed the essence and status of a Heavenly Flame, it lacked the accumulation of countless years.
Its power was far inferior to the mature Fallen Heart Flame in Lin Yuan's possession.
It was even weaker than the Fallen Heart Flame Seed Flame he had previously nurtured.
Staring at the young Fallen Heart Flame, Lin Yuan softly asked, "So are you the one calling out to the Fallen Heart Flame?"
"Another Fallen Heart Flame?"
"No, it was this old man."
As the words fell, brilliant white light suddenly erupted from the glowing skeleton.
The white radiance gradually gathered together. Moments later, a translucent figure appeared before Lin Yuan.
The man was dressed in white robes.
His hair and beard were snow-white, and his aged face bore a calm expression. A faint gleam shone within his tranquil eyes.
Once his figure completely solidified, a gentle yet imposing aura quietly spread outward.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan respectfully performed a junior's salute.
"What a fortunate encounter."
"This junior, Lin Yuan, greets Senior."
The old man did not immediately reply.
Instead, he beckoned toward the Fallen Heart Flame beside Lin Yuan.
However the Fallen Heart Flame did not move in the slightest.
"Hm?"
The white-robed elder closed his eyes and carefully examined it.
A trace of confusion appeared on his face.
"It is indeed the Fallen Heart Flame..."
"But..."
"How strange."
"It is indeed the same flame, yet not the same one as before. It appears to have been subdued, yet it has not been refined."
"This truly is..."
As the former master of the Fallen Heart Flame, he instinctively attempted to summon it.
Yet the Heavenly Flame gave him no response whatsoever.
Hearing his words, Lin Yuan smiled faintly.
Because his soul was connected to the Fallen Heart Flame, he naturally knew exactly what the old man had attempted.
However, he paid it no mind.
The current Fallen Heart Flame had become almost like Lin Yuan's own flame avatar.
It was completely under his control.
Without his permission, no one could command it.
"Senior seems extremely familiar with the Fallen Heart Flame."
"May I ask your honored name?"
Lin Yuan asked.
Hearing the question, the white-robed elder stopped trying to summon the Heavenly Flame.
A trace of pride appeared on his face as he smiled.
"This old man is Yao Tianhuo."
"Some also call me Venerable Tian Huo. I was once the master of this Fallen Heart Flame."
"A Venerable?"
Lin Yuan cupped his fists respectfully.
"I never imagined I would encounter a Venerable Senior in a place like this."
"Please forgive my discourtesy."
Although Lin Yuan's words were respectful, his expression remained composed and tranquil.
Sensing that Lin Yuan was anything but ordinary, Venerable Tian Huo decisively abandoned the various probing methods he had originally planned.
A trace of loneliness flashed across his face as he sighed.
"'Venerable', that is merely a title of the past. The world changes without warning."
"Now i am nothing more than a remnant soul beneath this sea of flames. I possess only a tiny amount of Soul Power that is nearly exhausted."
"With your strength you could erase me completely."
"Senior, you needn't think that way."
Lin Yuan waved his hand gently.
"I've long heard of the name Venerable Tian Huo. And I have always held you in great respect."
"Oh?"
Venerable Tian Huo was momentarily stunned before smiling.
"I never expected that anyone still remembered my name."
"How nostalgic."
Lin Yuan chuckled.
"I can't speak for everyone else. But as far as this junior is concerned, your name has long thundered in my ears."
"After all I have always admired your famous technique..."
The Five-Ring Flame Expelling Technique.
As he spoke, he raised a finger.
The Fallen Heart Flame obediently gathered upon his fingertip.
----
For additional chapter's
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu