The West Empress was fully prepared for Jiang Fan to produce only two pills, or perhaps even just one. To her surprise, his Alchemy skills were far beyond her expectations. He had successfully refined three! This was an absolute steal!
A short while later.
Jiang Fan walked out of the main hall, exhaustion etched across his face. Holding three jade bottles in one hand and a set of ingredients in the other, he said, "I didn’t let you down. Three Golden Soup Soul Medicines have been successfully refined.
"As for the materials, unfortunately, there is only one set left."
Seeing his exhausted state, the West Empress felt a twinge of guilt. She wondered if she had been too harsh on Jiang Fan.
"Thank you for your hard work," she said sheepishly. "You can keep the remaining materials. I will also fulfill my promise to let you view the Five Magnet Immortal Mountain.
"Besides that, if there is anything else you want, I will gladly give it to you as long as I have it."
Jiang Fan was secretly thrilled. Everyone had heard it—the West Empress herself said the remaining materials belonged to him. He comfortably pocketed the full twenty sets of materials and smiled. "There is indeed one thing I would like to request from you.
"That is a golden feather capable of bringing the dead back to life."
He had been waiting to refine the corpse of the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis into a Puppet. However, this method required an intact corpse. He first needed to restore the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis’s battered body.
The West Empress frowned slightly. She had fewer than ten of these golden feathers on her. They were meant for healing critical injuries in moments of extreme peril, and she had never given one to anyone else. However, looking at the three Golden Soup Soul Medicines in her hand and then at Jiang Fan’s exhausted appearance, she gritted her teeth and unfurled her nine pairs of wings. Reaching deep into the center wings, she gave a hard yank.
A bloodstained golden feather was plucked out.
"It’s yours."
The golden feather floated into Jiang Fan’s hand. It felt incomparably holy to the touch, brimming with the most intense Angel Sacred Power. Its effects would be vastly superior to the feathers Xia Chaoge had preserved for years.
"Thank you, West Empress!"
Satisfied, the West Empress said, "Tomorrow is the day we test the results of the mentoring program.
"Xia Chaoge, whom you’ve been guiding, will spar with the other younger generation members.
"I hope you win."
With a playful glint in her eyes, she departed via Instantaneous Movement.
Her second personality had played a massive trick on Jiang Fan. The trace of Tai Chu’s power awarded at the end could only be inherited by someone with an Angel Bloodline. Even if Jiang Fan won, he wouldn’t be able to obtain it. He was essentially providing free labor to help the Northern Heavenly State cultivate their talents.
Jiang Fan stroked his chin, having nearly forgotten about that matter. He wondered what realm Chaoge’s cultivation had reached by now. He returned to the secret chamber and discovered that the Holy Blood in Xia Chaoge’s mouth had shrunk to the size of a thumb. Her aura was also skyrocketing, violently breaking through the bottleneck between an Angel Leader and a Great Angel.
"Is she already breaking through to become a Great Angel?" Jiang Fan’s mouth twitched.
Comparing his own grueling journey to break through to the Virtuous Realm with Xia Chaoge’s progress, he could only smile bitterly. He sat cross-legged opposite Xia Chaoge, acting as her protector while simultaneously taking out the battered corpse of the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis and inserting the golden feather into it.
The feather immediately melted into flowing, radiant light that seeped into every inch of the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis’s flesh. The missing arms and legs regrew at a visible rate. The horrific, melted wound on its abdomen also rapidly repaired itself.
Half a day later.
The riddled corpse of the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis completely returned to its peak condition. A shriveled, elderly, yet overwhelmingly oppressive and terrifying corpse reappeared.
Jiang Fan’s face lit up with joy. "It actually worked!
"According to the Emperor Heart Poison Sutra, one needs a Saint Realm corpse to cultivate and refine a Puppet that acts as a War Corpse in its solid state and battle armor in its liquid state.
"Hopefully, the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis’s Half-Saint Body will succeed as well."
He took out over a dozen Space Storage Devices. These contained the highly toxic materials he had obtained from Jiang Yitian during the Ancient Hunt. He had used a portion of them when refining his poison body, but more than half remained. They were perfect for refining this brand-new Puppet. Without separating them by type, he brought out all the toxic materials and directly smelted them into a ball of venom. He then injected the venom into the various major meridians of the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis.
A short while later.
The Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis’s meridians were entirely filled with venom. Jiang Fan circulated the Emperor Heart Poison Sutra, forcing the venom to course rapidly through the meridian network. Under the effects of the Quasi-Immortal Technique, the venom successfully seeped into every inch of the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis’s muscles. The body gradually turned black and softened, showing faint signs of melting.
Half a day later.
Jiang Fan was drenched in sweat and panting heavily, his Sage power completely depleted. Before him lay a puddle of black slime.
"This is just a Half-step Saint Realm body," Jiang Fan gasped. "If it were a true Saint Realm body, with my current cultivation, there’d be no point in even attempting to refine it.
"Fortunately, it was ultimately a success.
"Even if it’s just a semi-finished product!"
After resting for a moment to regulate his breathing, he formed a Seal Technique from afar and struck the black slime. "Rise!"
A miraculous scene unfolded. The black slime slowly stood up, condensing into the body of the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis. Not only was its Physique as powerful as the Half-Saint Realm, but its body also exuded a potent, venomous aura.
Jiang Fan’s eyes gleamed with excitement. "This is a Half-step Saint Realm Physique!
"Across the Hundred Realms of All Heavens, who could withstand the might of its punch at close range?"
This was an earth-shattering killing move, second only to the Tai Chu Prison Sky Gourd. As long as he was given the chance to attack at close range, anyone below a Semi-Saint would be dead or crippled!
Moreover, the body of the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis was now highly toxic. Because the smelted materials weren’t toxic enough, it didn’t pose a significant threat to a Sage. However, if more potent toxins could be smelted into it during the Late Period, the toxicity would upgrade accordingly. In other words, this body had room for growth!
Just as he was rejoicing, a sharp pain suddenly shot from the depths of his soul. His face turned deathly pale, drained of all color. This was a warning sign that his Soul Power was on the verge of collapsing. Startled, Jiang Fan hastily stopped controlling the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis, and only then did the intense pain gradually subside.
He looked surprised. "Controlling the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis puts an immense drain on the soul.
"This Puppet can only be used as a surprise weapon for brief periods."
Nevertheless, its power was already more than enough to satisfy him!
Losing its control, the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis dissolved back into a puddle of slime. Jiang Fan’s eyes flickered. With a grabbing motion from afar, the slime landed on his neck and then spread across his skin, covering his entire body. It formed something akin to a skintight suit of armor. It was the equivalent of a Half-step Saint Realm expert blocking all attacks for him.
This was somewhat similar to the Mystic Sky Battle Armor he had fleeced from the Big Black Dog. The difference was that the armor was merely a Magic Artifact, whereas the thing before him was a Puppet that could morph into a liquid state.
"Offensive in solid form, defensive in liquid form." A smile touched Jiang Fan’s eyes. "The Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis is a treasure trove from head to toe!"
Whether it was the body or the soul, everything had ended up benefiting Jiang Fan!
At almost that exact moment, Xia Chaoge, who was sitting in front of him, suddenly erupted with Holy Light. Streaks of resplendent golden profound light, wrapped in faintly visible Law Chains, cascaded down from the void and entered her body. The five Little Angels above Xia Chaoge’s head shattered into golden light, dyeing her snow-white wings gold.
A brand-new pair of golden wings was born!
Within the Angel Clan, golden wings symbolized the highest realm.
A Great Angel!