Ji Xia stood in the courtyard, digesting the gains from devouring tens of thousands of shadowy figures. After a long while, he exhaled deeply, stretched his body, and began to take in the view of the courtyard.
The first thing that caught his eye was the cluster of five or six houses with grand entranceways. The steps leading to the entrances were crafted from white jade. Ji Xia, examining the jade, detected no trace of spiritual energy, indicating that it was ordinary jade. Yet, it exuded an air of opulence.
The circular arches of the windows and the intricately carved stone corners conveyed elegance and grandeur. Additionally, the walls bore murals depicting various ancient beasts, imbuing the houses with a sense of primal wilderness.
These two vastly different styles blended harmoniously, forming a unique aesthetic that was both peculiar and pleasing. The addition of pavilions, flowing streams, and bridges winding through rock gardens made the estate even more luxurious.
Ji Xia sighed inwardly, "Even a random estate here is so extravagant, elegant, and well-designed. Back in Taicang, our royal palace is entirely built of stone, and the bed I sleep on is made from wood chopped in the outskirts of the Southern Forest. Comparing myself to this... it's truly disheartening."
He stepped into the main residence. The outermost living room was adorned with red sandalwood furniture and a magnificent chandelier made of a hundred lamps, evoking a sense of awe at its luxury. Beyond the living room lay a bedroom, presumably the master's, similarly dominated by intricate wood carvings.
"What is this bed made of?" Ji Xia mused as he observed the misty, jade-like bed before him.
Under the gaze of his Solar Spirit Eyes, the bed emitted faint traces of spiritual energy. Though the energy was not intense, long-term use of such a bed could indeed benefit one's cultivation.
After wandering through the estate, he found that all five or six houses were equally opulent.
"This place is enormous. Good thing I'm not staying here permanently; otherwise, I'd need to hire a few servants to maintain it," Ji Xia muttered.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. Taking out the talisman key, he infused it with spiritual energy. The key gleamed, and a nearby rockery abruptly opened, revealing a wooden humanoid puppet emerging from within.
The puppet had a flexible body and a spirit crystal embedded in its forehead. It stopped before Ji Xia.
"What is this?" Ji Xia wondered aloud, observing the puppet's lack of movement.
After some thought, he held the key and tentatively commanded, "Bring me a cup of water."
The spirit crystal on the puppet's forehead lit up. It turned and entered the house. Moments later, it returned with a tray carrying a teapot and a small jade cup.
Ji Xia's brows arched in understanding. Activating his Solar Spirit Eyes, he scrutinized the puppet, observing countless invisible runes coursing through its body, all converging on the spirit crystal in its forehead.
"The puppet is powered by these runes, with the spirit crystal serving as its energy source," Ji Xia noted, his intrigue deepening.
Circling the puppet, Ji Xia's gaze locked onto its chest, where a dense black mist swirled. Within the mist, he glimpsed a faint outline of... a black snow mountain.
"This puppet... it can cultivate? And it has already formed a Snow Mountain!" Ji Xia's curiosity turned to astonishment.
He knew that even with Da Fu's advanced rune techniques, enabling a puppet to cultivate and form a Snow Mountain was inconceivable. The anomaly must lie within the black mist.
"The black mist in the puppet resembles the shadows I just suppressed. Without the Solar Spirit Furnace protecting me, I might have succumbed to madness." Ji Xia analyzed, eyes glinting with interest.
Stretching out a finger, he touched the puppet's chest, sending a weak thread of spiritual energy into the black mountain. The black mist reacted instantly, coalescing tightly around the mountain to shield it. Ji Xia's energy dissipated on contact.
"Fascinating!" Ji Xia exclaimed. "This puppet is cultivating independently, and the black mist is protecting it!"
After some deliberation, Ji Xia grinned mischievously. "You're lucky to have met me. Forming a Snow Mountain is no easy feat; let me lend you a hand."
With a flick of his wrist, Ji Xia retrieved a small rune no larger than a fingernail, marked with a simple design resembling entwined crescent moons. It was a Spirit Gathering Rune, an artifact Ji Xia had once exchanged for from the Divine Tree. It significantly accelerated spiritual energy absorption and had been invaluable during the early stages of his cultivation.
Since his breakthrough to the Nine Heavens realm, aided by the Solar Spirit Furnace and the golden spiritual energy of the Taicang Edict, the rune had become redundant. Ji Xia had stored it away as a memento.
Ji Xia affixed the rune to the puppet's neck with a light slap. The rune seemed alive, embedding itself into the puppet's neck as a tiny brand.
"I placed mine on my neck back then; it's only fitting you do the same," Ji Xia remarked.
As the rune merged, the surrounding spiritual energy began flowing toward the puppet at a markedly faster rate. Satisfied, Ji Xia nodded.
"Legend has it that many great demons were once lifeless objects that stumbled upon fortuitous opportunities, awakened intelligence, and cultivated diligently until they achieved divine forms. Let's see if you have such luck," Ji Xia mused, grinning. "This rune is no ordinary artifact; it's a precious treasure for a fledgling cultivator. Consider it a gift from my curiosity today."
Waving grandly, Ji Xia chuckled at his own generosity, fully expecting the puppet to remain oblivious.
Suddenly, the puppet's spirit crystal lit up, and to Ji Xia's amazement, it raised its left hand to its chest, bowing in a gesture of gratitude.
Ji Xia stared, stunned. "Impossible... Has this puppet already developed intelligence just by forming a Snow Mountain? Or... could an old monster be inhabiting this body?"