Time passed by quickly.
Wangdan Pagoda remained the most famous spot in Donglai County.
Although Chen Jingzhai had stopped trading with Wang Tong, he did not refuse those who had approached him to ask for elixirs.
However, he had increased his requirements.
Not only did they now have to prepare their own ingredients, but he would also need sea beasts as payment.
If they wanted Chen Jingzhai to make Grade 2 elixirs for them, they would have to pay with a Grade 2 sea beast.
Yet, the requirement wasn’t too much for the celestial families, which was why cultivators still gathered at Wangdan Pagoda, albeit quieter than before.
On the contrary, Puppet Pagoda was thriving.
In just a few months, it had expanded its business to 33 counties.
A lot of their Grade 1 and Grade 2 puppets had received praise from cultivators.
The normalization of the phone bug helped as well.
The good phone bugs were considered treasures by people, while the normal ones were sold to mortals.
One would feel a little exhausted after using it, but it was a fair trade for the ease of communication.
The Puppet Temple of the Luo Sheng Sword School was now known throughout the entire Pulao Kingdom.
It had meant a lot of things, but Chen Jingzhai had no idea of that yet.
Qing Mu left after making the puppets for his junior brother.
He even took all of his casual disciples with him to Puppet Pagoda in another city.
The only people who remained in Wangdan Pagoda were Chen Jingzhai, his four maids, and the eight servants that the Commandery Prince had sent over.
If Chen Jingzhai was not making elixirs, studying formations, or teaching the 12 Zodiac puppets battle formations, he was helping the maids with their cultivation.
The four beauties had now reached Level 7 of the Meditation Plane.
The eight servants had also reached Level 3 of the Mediation Plane, but it would still take a long time for them to advance.
Cultivators with no talents would be considered fast if they were able to raise one level in ten years.
Chen Jingzhai had planned to free the eight female servants, but none of them wanted to leave.
They were all orphans with no families to rely on. Leaving would mean that they might live a tragic life.
His four maids also begged Chen Jingzhai not to make the eight servants leave, and he finally agreed not to do that.
There was a piece of good news when autumn came. Two-thirds of the spirit silkworms had successfully undergone their metamorphosis.
Even the four maids had never heard of such a high success rate, as the silkworms were extremely fragile throughout that process.
If they failed, it would only result in their deaths.
After looking into it, they came to the conclusion that it might be because of the water essence stone.
The other one-third of the silkworms had not come into contact with the water essence stone as much as the others.
It was just a guess, but if they were correct, it would help them a lot in the future.
After the metamorphosis, the spirit silkworms started to lay eggs.
These eggs were important as they were the offspring of Grade 2 spirit silkworms.
The maids were hopeful that the offspring might undergo another metamorphosis in the future.
They were extremely cautious when they took care of the eggs, worrying that any big movement would break them.
They had already taught the eight servants how to take care of the silkworms that weren’t graded, while they took care of Grade 1 and 2 silkworms as if they were their babies.
Once the silkworms started to produce silk, they would need to give it to Chen Jingzhai to create Grade 2 spiritual item magic apparel.
As the autumn wind blew, Jiang Lin, who wore a green robe, descended from the sky on his wine calabash.
Chen Jingzhai had sensed his arrival and waited for him on the fifth floor with a smile.
“Master-Uncle!” Jiang Lin bowed.
“Who would’ve thought that you would be the first to arrive?”
“Maybe it’s because I don’t have the Dragon Qi?” Jiang Lin grinned.
“Come on in.”
Chen Jingzhai was not surprised by Jiang Lin’s visit as Zhang Kui had already notified him through Puppet Pagoda.
Not many cultivators from the Luo Sheng Sword School were allowed to search for the remains in the Eastern Ocean.
Jiang Lin was the only one other than Chen Jingzhai and Chu Jingsong.
“How did you get rid of the Dragon Qi?” Chen Jingzhai curiously asked.
“Since I hadn’t decided which side to support, the Dragon Qi only had a few instances to enter my body,” Jiang Lin explained. “Also, we have a unique wine talisman that can get rid of it.”
“I see!” Chen Jingzhai exclaimed. “Can you help others with the talisman?”
“No. I’m not strong enough.” Jiang Lin shook his head. “I could barely cure myself.”
The Wine Celestial lineage was proficient in curing their own Dragon Qi but lacked in helping others.
That was because of the unique traits of their scripture. It was something that others could not learn.
The two remained close even though it had been some time since they last met. They talked about the current situation as they sipped on spirit wine.
Because the ruler of Pulao Kingdom was successful in extending his own life, the situation had gotten even more serious.
It wasn’t much to say that the current kingdom was like an egg that could be broken easily.
The Eastern Ocean Ruler remained quiet, and the Seventh Prince already had a stable ground.
However, other princes couldn’t sit still, and the fights where people could not see remained strong.
The fights between the Fourth Prince, whom the Soaring Cloud Clan supported, and the Eighth Prince, who was supported by the Mystic Evil Clan, were the most intense.
Because of that, even deaths have occurred inside the imperial city.
“The Mystic Evil Clan? I’ve heard of them. I think they are physical cultivators,” Chen Jingzhai said. “They utilize the evil energy to strengthen their bodies, which in turn allows them to awaken their spirits and gather their Blood Qi Core. Once that happens, they will be able to gather evil light in an instance. It’s also said that they can defend against an attack from a magic treasure with just their bodies alone?”
The clans in Pulao Kingdom had their own uniqueness.
The Mystic Evil Clan was no different.
“You’re right. The Mystic Evil Clan is made up of a group of physical cultivators. They are like most of us before they gather their core,” Jiang Lin replied as he took a sip of his wine. “We induce Qi into our bodies to activate our spiritual roots and refine our spiritual power, while they induce Qi into their bodies to refine their whole body and activate the Blood Qi. The celestial clans classified the Mystic Evil Clan as a clan that walked the path of protectors. It’s somewhat similar to Sky Whale Peak and Divine Tower Peak.”
Jiang Lin knew a lot of things because he was part of the Jiang family and from joining Wine Celestial Peak.
That was why he knew more about the Mystic Evil Clan than others.
“I would like to have a chance to have an exchange with them.” Chen Jingzhai smiled.
Since he cultivated both his body and mind with his Foundation Establishment passage, his body was stronger than most cultivators at his level.
That was why he couldn’t find any suitable opponents now.
He was even able to easily capture Grade 3 sea beasts now.
Chen Jingzhai couldn’t help but wonder what kind of experience he would get from exchanging blows with a cultivator from the Mystic Evil Clan.
“You’re just like them.” Jiang Lin chuckled. “The cultivators of the Mystic Evil Clan love to fight before they have successfully gathered their cores. Some even expressed their wish to meet you after hearing of your achievements. They might even ask to spar with you.”
Sparring was normal between cultivators. People wouldn’t even find it weird if a cultivator were to die in a secret duel.
What surprised Jiang Lin was that his Master-Uncle had become such a battle maniac after not seeing him for three years.
He always thought that Chen Jingzhai was a cultivator who only focused on his own cultivation.
However, it didn’t mean it was a bad thing for Jiang Lin, as he was sure that he would be able to enjoy a good show.
He knew that many disciples from other celestial clans were also interested in Chen Jingzhai.
Other than the Mystic Evil Clan, the geniuses from the Will Celestial Clan and the Serenity Hollow Clan have expressed their interests too.
Jiang Lin had heard of his Master-Uncle’s achievements without pause for the past two years.
Even those who knew what happened were shocked when they learned Puppet Pagoda had gone viral.
That had only added another line to Chen Jingzhai’s legendary resume.
“That’s great!” Chen Jingzhai exclaimed.
Besides Pulao Kingdom’s current situation, Jiang Lin also briefly told Chen Jingzhai what the other disciples were doing.
Some were outside the imperial city, others in other states, and some were hiding in small cities.
Everyone had made different choices. Some were still waiting, while others had already started to make their move.
The most unique out of all of the disciples were Lin Feiyang and the others from Divine Flame Peak.
They had started to use their skill to convince the people to stand by the Royal Prince’s side.
As quite a few people were convinced by them, they were starting to get famous now.
“Lin Feiyang has racked up quite an achievement as well. He’s the most outstanding of the disciples of Divine Flame Peak. He would’ve been very successful now if he had not run into you,” Jiang Lin said. “He finally has the chance to vent his anger now that he’s in Pulao Kingdom.”
Hence, as the scripture of each peak was different, their cultivation conditions were different too.
Divine Flame Peak focused on their speaking manner, and Lin Feiyang was best suited for it.
Having endured humiliation in the clan, it was natural that he would do anything he wanted once he had arrived in the mortal world.
And because of that, he was able to improve his mental state.
He also wasn’t affected by the Dragon Qi because of the scripture that the Divine Flame lineage learned.
