Chapter 311: Planting the Bean into the Puppet

"The complexity of this immortal puppet's construction is somewhat beyond my expectations. I had thought that with the help of the lightning array, I could forcibly alter its internal structure, but the result turned out contrary to my wishes," the Crab Immortal sighed and said.

"Forget it. It was just an attempt to begin with; there's no need to force it. If the opportunity arises in the future, I will naturally find a suitable puppet for you, Daoist," Han Li shook his head and said.

"That's fine. However, this time was not entirely without gain. Although I failed to modify this puppet, over these two hundred years I have studied it inside and out. If Han Daoist is willing, by spending just over a thousand years cultivating a suitable earth-attribute technique, I am confident I can enable you to unleash sixty percent of this puppet's power. Though it may not match a mid-stage Golden Immortal, it will definitely be a few points stronger than an ordinary early-stage Golden Immortal cultivator," the Crab Immortal changed the subject and said.

"Crab Daoist was once a complete immortal puppet yourself, so I naturally trust your expertise in this field. But let's discuss this matter when we have leisure time later," Han Li replied noncommittally.

While being able to control an immortal puppet with the strength of an early-stage Golden Immortal would be nice, he currently had no time to consider it.

On one hand, he did not believe he could rest easy in the Candle Dragon Sect and spend thousands or even tens of thousands of years in seclusion like other immortals. On the other hand, since he had already found two more suitable techniques, the True Word Wheel Sutra and the Great Cycle Star Origin Art, which needed cultivation, he naturally prioritized enhancing his own strength.

"There is one more thing. During this fusion process, I discovered that the clam pearl from before contained a trace of the origin power of lightning. I tried to swallow it into my abdomen and refine it. Now, within my core, the energy has become quite abundant," the Crab Immortal continued.

"No matter. That thing was of no great use to me anyway. Since that's the case, there's no need to keep this grand array running any longer, is there?" Han Li waved his hand, then looked at the lightning array on the ground and asked.

The Crab Immortal nodded.

Seeing this, Han Li raised his hand, and a green light flew out from his sleeve, dismantling the entire formation.

The Crab Immortal raised his two crab pincers and crossed them in front of his body. A purple electric light shot out and landed on the yellow-robed puppet.

Crack, crack!

The yellow-robed puppet emitted a crisp sound and a dazzling yellow light, transforming back into a yellow sphere. Together with the Crab Immortal, who had also turned into a golden sphere, they were collected by Han Li with a single gesture.

...

About an hour later.

Near the Grand Profound Hall, a streak of green light descended from the high sky and landed on a white stone square, revealing Han Li's figure.

Walking along the square to the end, a large area of connected courtyards appeared ahead. Above the vermilion gate in the center hung a plaque, with the four characters "Hundred Wines Mountain Villa" written in a flamboyant style.

Every time he came here, seeing those four crooked characters on the door, he couldn't help but want to laugh. They always looked to him like four drunken ghosts, leaning on and crowding each other.

Before he even reached the villa gate, he heard a creaking sound. The villa's main door opened inward, and two servants in blue carried out a large black jar.

"Greetings, Elder Li."

Both of them clearly recognized Han Li. As soon as they saw him approach, they immediately set down the jar, bowed respectfully, and called out.

"What is this you're carrying?" Han Li smelled a slightly sour odor coming from the black jar and couldn't help asking.

"Reporting to Elder Li, this is spoiled distiller's grains. Elder Huyan ordered us to pour them into the mountain stream," one of the blue-clad servants replied.

Han Li nodded, bypassed the two, and without needing to announce himself, walked in on his own.

He had just passed through the covered corridor in the front courtyard and entered the central hall when he saw the old Daoist Huyan also coming out from the inner courtyard.

Seeing his appearance, Han Li couldn't help but feel a bit curious.

The Huyan Daoist before him had his hair combed meticulously, his clothes were clean and neat, and his walking pace was even a bit larger than usual.

Hadn't seen him for over two hundred years—had this old man changed his ways?

"Haha, good lad, your nose is like a dog's, isn't it? I've just brewed a few jars of Hundred Flower Brew, and you've sniffed it out. You couldn't have timed it better," Huyan Daoist greeted him with a hearty laugh.

"Senior, has some great joyous event occurred?" Han Li asked with some confusion.

Huyan old Daoist was taken aback at first, then laughed and scolded, "You brat, were you just silently cursing me for being stingy, thinking that if I hadn't encountered some great joy, I wouldn't be so generous as to invite you for good wine?"

Han Li chuckled but said nothing.

"Come, come, sit down and talk," Huyan Daoist said, not minding, and beckoned.

After the two sat down, Huyan Daoist brushed his hand in front of him. A flash of light appeared on the table, and immediately a silver-patterned white jade pot and two peony-patterned cups appeared.

He grabbed the wine pot and tilted it slightly. The pale green liquid immediately flowed out in a trickle from the slender spout into the peony cup, and a refreshing fragrance of a hundred flowers spread through the air.

Han Li caught the scent of the wine and couldn't help but brighten his eyes.

"Have a taste..." Seeing Han Li's reaction, Hu Yan said with a smile.

Han Li lifted the cup, brought it to his lips, and took a small sip. He felt a rich, slightly sweet flavor fill his mouth and teeth, without any hint of spiciness or burning sensation.

"Good wine." Han Li clapped his hands in praise after swallowing the wine completely.

Upon hearing this, Daoist Hu Yan couldn't help but show a smug smile.

"However... the wine is good, but compared to the previous Red Mulberry Wine and Fire Saliva Wine, the flavor is ultimately lighter. This doesn't seem like your usual preference?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile.

"Hehe... this wine was brewed to give away, not for me to drink myself." Daoist Hu Yan's face showed a hint of a smile as he spoke.

"Oh? Is it for Daoist Yun?" Han Li asked casually.

"You rascal... even fine wine can't stop your mouth..." Daoist Hu Yan's smile stiffened, and he put away the wine pot with a feigned anger.

Han Li smiled and said nothing.

Just then, Daoist Hu Yan's expression changed slightly, and he said, "I didn't notice earlier, but your aura has grown much stronger. It seems you haven't been idle these years."

"I've indeed had some opportunities these years, plus I spent some time in seclusion. As soon as I came out, I came to visit you, Senior." Han Li smiled and said.

"Hehe, to have such progress in just a few hundred years of cultivation, it's probably no ordinary opportunity, right? But I don't care about that. Come on, you rascal, you never get up early without profit. You must have something to ask of me this time, don't you?" Daoist Hu Yan looked at Han Li with a meaningful glance and asked.

"As expected, Senior knows me well... It's about the bean soldiers I planted. For some reason, two mother bean flowers have bloomed. This is different from what was recorded in your notes, so I came especially to inquire." Han Li asked seriously.

"Two blooms?" Hu Yan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, his face showing an incredulous expression as he asked.

"What... is there something wrong?" Han Li's heart tightened slightly, and he quickly asked.

"Improper? It couldn't be more proper! Generally speaking, after a Dao Soldier Tree bears bean soldiers, there's only a fifty percent chance of producing a mother bean flower and then a mother bean. Not only did you produce a mother bean flower, but you produced two—this has happened before, but the probability is extremely low... How is it that you're so lucky? Even I can't help but feel envious." Old Man Huyan leaned back, took off his gourd, and took a swig of wine, saying with undisguised envy.

Upon hearing this, Han Li's mind turned.

In truth, he had already guessed as much, but only after getting a definitive answer from Daoist Huyan did he finally feel completely at ease.

Moreover, with so many unexpected occurrences, he didn't think it was due to his own luck; it was most likely because of the green liquid, though he naturally wouldn't tell Huyan about it.

"If the Dao Soldier Tree hadn't produced a mother bean flower, wouldn't that cut off the source?" He thought of a question.

"Of course. Do you think mother beans are so easy to come by? In the Dao Soldier system, the continuity of mother beans is a major problem that plagues all Dao Soldier masters. Even if I told you about these things, you wouldn't understand." Old Man Huyan snorted and said.

"So I've encountered a tremendous stroke of luck, heh heh..." Han Li chuckled.

Old Man Huyan shot Han Li a glance and took another swig of wine.

"With two mother beans, after a second planting, it should take another two or three hundred years to produce double the number of bean soldiers." Han Li, ignoring Old Man Huyan, said excitedly.

"If it were me, I wouldn't be so wasteful of such a precious thing." Daoist Huyan suddenly spoke up upon hearing this.

"Senior, why do you say that?" Han Li was taken aback, then asked in confusion.

"If you can maintain such good luck, one mother bean is enough for cultivating bean soldiers. As for the other, you might as well keep it for now. When you later have the chance to obtain a high-level puppet, you can plant it into the puppet's body." Daoist Huyan scratched his head, gave Han Li a deep look, and said.

"Can a mother bean be planted into a puppet's body? Can the two be compatible?" Han Li asked in surprise.

"Puppets are themselves a source of Dao Soldiers. As long as their attributes match, the mother bean can merge into the puppet. After this fusion is complete, the puppet can possess many attributes of bean soldiers, such as limb regeneration, damage repair, and so on. As long as the core is not destroyed, it is nearly immortal. Moreover, because such a puppet has the talisman inscriptions inscribed when the mother bean was refined, even if it falls into others' hands, they cannot refine and control it." Daoist Huyan said.

"There are such wonderful uses? Senior, do you have the method of fusion? Could you teach it to me?" Han Li immediately thought of the immortal puppet that had failed to merge with Crab Daoist and asked tentatively.

"What? You even have such a rare thing as an immortal puppet?" Daoist Huyan raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Senior, you yourself said it's a rare thing. How could I possibly have one? I was just thinking, after hearing what you said, that it's better to be prepared. If I'm lucky in the future, I might just obtain an immortal puppet." Han Li said without changing his expression.

"You're quite good at scheming... This fusion method, though obscure and rarely seen, is not some secret that cannot be passed on. Teaching it to you is no big deal, but... I can't just let you get something for nothing, can I?" Daoist Huyan's eyes rolled as he spoke.