The sun shines brightly in the sky, causing flowers to blossom with joy.
The Silver Sword Peak once again welcomed another beautiful morning filled with clear mountains, lovely waters, as well as the fragrant smell of birds and flowers.
Chu Liang stepped out of his small wooden house, stretched out his waist, and loosened his limbs.
With his master not around these past two days, he held the power of the Peak Master of Silver Sword Peak. This gave him a certain sense of authority. Of course, even if Empress Feng returned, he would still be the Deputy Peak Master.
After basking in the sun for a while, he retreated into his room again, carefully shutting the door behind him.
There was still more to do.
Ever since he returned from Zhennan Region's Mountain last night, it was late, so after parting with the disciples from Jade Sword Peak, he returned to Silver Sword Peak by himself and went straight to sleep.
Now, it was time to reward himself.
With a deep sense of divine consciousness, he arrived within the White Pagoda. The golden phantom image of the Human-faced Mandrill's large brain was hanging in the iron cage. Chu Liang approached and pressed the character for "refine".
Boom——
A flash of red light.
Chu Liang caught the emitted radiance with his hand, and his mind immediately started receiving thoughts.
[Zhou Tian Puppet]:
The puppet is for assisting with daily cultivation, during the day it consumes one Spirit Gathering Pill and at night two Spirit Gathering Pills, allowing it to cultivate continuously throughout the day. All the benefits gained from its cultivation will be transferred to the host. Please note, this puppet can only be used to assist with cultivation. Any other inappropriate uses may risk damage.
"Eh?"
Chu Liang held the three-foot-tall Big Head Baby in his hands and suddenly felt a surprise.
Its appearance was very similar to the Human-faced Mandrill, both of them were made of jade-like material with a large head devoid of facial features.
Maybe due to its expressionless face, it looked quite cute.
But Chu Liang's excitement was not due to its adorableness.
It was rather because... an aid that could serve his cultivation 365 days a year non-stop, and all the cultivation growth that it obtained could be counted towards himself. Didn't this mean that his rate of cultivation could double?
No, not just double.
Among the Ninth Realms of the Three Levels and Nine Boundaries, the three major realms of Heaven's Gate focus on comprehension, where achieving enlightenment once can be compared to decades of hard cultivation. While in the three realms of Earth Barrier, the focus is mainly on resources, with individual cultivation being secondary. But in the initial three human realms, one's own hard work is the most important.
The Body Refining Realm is for tempering one's physical body, the Qi Condensing Realm is for expanding one's Qi Sea, the Divine Consciousness Realm is for concentrating divine sense... becoming stronger in this stage is just about meditation, contemplation, and cultivation, or what is referred to as running Zhou Tian.
However, the time each person can cultivate is limited. Taking into account daily activities, one can usually only cultivate for eight hours per day. But it's impossible to only cultivate True Qi. There must also be time for learning divine skills. Like Shu Mountain disciples, there must also be time for completing tasks to exchange for magical treasures and elixirs...
In normal circumstances, if a cultivator can maintain four or five hours of daily cultivation over many years, it already qualifies as very diligent. For people like Chu Liang who frequently embark on tasks, they probably only average two to three hours per day.
You need to understand, the time spent on cultivation must be real. If you sit there while slacking off, no one is going to count it for you.
But...
With this Big Head Baby, he can cultivate for an extra twelve hours per day.
The speed at which his cultivation increases might increase by four to five times!
Moreover, this meant that he could focus more time and energy on slaying monsters and eliminating demons, which was exactly what he needed right now.
With this thought, Chu Liang was eager to set the Big Head Baby down, sat down cross-legged in front of it, and gave it a Spirit Gathering Pill.
Then he placed his hand on its big head.
Running Zhou Tian.
The cultivation technique Chu Liang used was Shu Mountain's most orthodox "Nine Heavens Mysterious Heart Technique - Divine Will Chapter".
Shu Mountain's cultivation techniques are known for being plain and stable. As long as one cultivates seriously in the same realm, the overall strength of Shu Mountain disciples often surpasses others.
During Chu Liang's Zhou Tian, the body of the Big Head Baby became transparent other than a number of white lines which were flowing along a complex path, revealing light as they moved.
By the time Chu Liang finished running Zhou Tian and withdrew his palm, the Big Head Baby's facial features had all changed into his likeness! The body was still glowing continuously, showing that it had already entered into a state of cultivation.
Chu Liang realized that this baby from the inside to the outside now bore his appearance.
Three Spirit Gathering Pills per day. The consumption was significant but not excessive. Compared to the benefits of cultivating all day long, it was definitely worth it.
Chu Liang secretly resolved that he absolutely must not let the Big Head Baby stop working.
If need be, I will go out and slash Lantern Monsters to feed you.
There was something strange, however. This Zhou Tian Puppet clearly had no spiritual intelligence, it was simply a mindless cultivation machine. Yet, it still required different amounts of Spirit Gathering Pills depending on the time of day.
One pill during the day, two at night... it seemed like working overtime required double pay.
Sigh, this clearly disregards the laws of nature.
As he thought of all this, he suddenly felt that if this Big Head Baby were a real person, things would be better...
That way he could set impossible performance goals for it, such as reaching the Golden Core Realm in three days, or else Spirit Gathering Pills would be deducted. If it failed, it would have to work overtime on its own, and that would have nothing to do with him.
He wouldn't need to give double pay, or even the standard amount. Only one Spirit Gathering Pill was necessary so that it could work a full twelve hours.
If quotas aren't met, then even more would be deducted.
In the end, it might have to work laboriously only to end up owing him Spirit Gathering Pills.
...
Chu Liang made the decision to leave the Big Head Baby in the space of White Pagoda to work for him.
This thing did look a bit odd after all, and it wouldn't be good if someone saw it if he took it out. Might as well just keep it inside all the time.
The space inside the White Pagoda was very mysterious, Chu Liang hadn't fully studied it. He only knew that it could be used similarly to a magical storage tool, but only items that had been obtained from the White Pagoda could go in and out.
Afterward, he set out for Tontian Peak.
After completing the mission at Zhennan Region's Mountain, the disciples of Jade Sword Peak all thought that Chu Liang had suffered a big loss. Actually, he had profited greatly.
Although the Spirit Cat Leaping Talismans he used were precious, they didn't cost him anything. In exchange, he got a few doses of Hundred Flowers Powder that could counter all sorts of poisons, as well as such a useful Zhou Tian Puppet. It could definitely be said that he made a killing.
Besides this, he also received a reward of fifty Sword Coins.
The reward for one mission was usually around ten Sword Coins. He wouldn't have received so much if the others hadn't given him their shares. Chu Liang had never held so much money in his hands before.
From poor to rich, it was only natural to splurge a bit.
First, he went to Pill Furnace Hall and bought a Spirit Gathering Pill gourd, enough to sustain the Big Head Baby for a while. Then he left, turned left, and arrived at Chuan Jian Hall.
Chuan Jian Hall managed the magical artifacts and flying swords of Shu Mountain. Upon entering, Chu Liang directly headed for the area specifically designated for sword sales inside the hall.