My Years in the Folklore World

Chapter 682 Five Elements Puppet Boy

Jiang Xinghuo took a look at the three options given by the game. He didn't have time to stay here. Although Xishen City had unlocked many new sub-maps, if he stayed here, he would definitely waste a lot of time.

It would not be too late to come and explore again when he has some free time from the tasks at hand, especially since the Maoshan Sect should be hiding a lot of secrets. His cultivation at that time was too low and weak to touch more of the plot.

If I go back now, maybe I can find something new.

Jiang Xinghuo made up his mind and without much hesitation, he controlled the character to leave Xishen City and return to Guandong City.

"You have arrived at Kanto Castle."

Jiang Xinghuo found the magnetic field detector from his backpack, then clicked to use it.

"You have used the magnetic field detector."

"You buried the magnetic field detector in the soil veins under Guandong Castle. This way, you can more keenly detect abnormal magnetic field changes in the surrounding area. When the detector senses the power of magnetic field fluctuations, it will automatically lock the exact location of the magnetic field anomaly and transmit the coordinates of this location to your brain waves."

After dealing with this matter, Jiang Xinghuo was temporarily relieved. With the magnetic field detector, he could leave Guandong City first, and wait until this item reacted, and then come back for new exploration.

"Where are you going next?"

Jiang Xinghuo found the Shen Ji Order in the magic bag and was about to activate its teleportation function to send himself to the blacksmith shop of Taoist Shen Ji Bai Lian.

The game interface suddenly flashed and a new text popped up.

"The magnetic field detector responded. A strong magnetic field was sensed on Huangwai Mountain outside Guandong City. It should be emitted by some vicious monsters."

"You have obtained the corresponding coordinates. Do you want to go and investigate immediately?"

Jiang Xinghuo thought about it for a while and finally chose no.

The monster sensed by the magnetic field detector should be the powerful creature mentioned by the villagers of Huling Village, and it was also the source of evil spirit described in the game text when he entered Huangwai Mountain.

He thought that after he came out of the ruins left by the Beast Taming Immortal, he would still have to deal with the monsters and demons in the mountains for a while.

But when he came out, he found that there was no ambush outside, and those evil spirits lurking in the mountains seemed to have disappeared suddenly.

Now it seems that those monsters with weak cultivation may have sensed the existence of higher-level life forms, so they dare not show up in the mountains, for fear of angering the other party and losing their lives.

Jiang Xinghuo didn't take it to heart. Although their ultimate goal was the Zongbu Temple, they hadn't fallen out yet, so there was no need for him to take the initiative to provoke the other party.

"You activated the Divine Machine Order."

"You have arrived at the blacksmith shop of Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian."

"The blacksmith shop of Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian is now in the Longmen area. Several big figures in the Wulin Alliance invited him to come and forge a batch of weapons. It seems that they have something to do."

The Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian has come to the Wulin Alliance?
The Longmen area where the Wulin Alliance is located is the territory of the Martial Lord among the thirteen masters of the Dao. Outside forces basically cannot gain a foothold here, and those who can survive here are all martial arts masters.

Among the thirteen masters of Taoism, the only one who has clearly died is the Yellow River King, who was killed in his own royal city by the Mountain and River Sacrifice True Lord, and his wife and children also died there in battle.

However, based on Jiang Xinghuo's past exploration experience, the current situation of the Martial Lord does not seem to be particularly good. Every time the trigger is triggered or relevant clues are obtained, the Martial Lord is either seriously injured and missing, or leaves behind a dead cicada shell. As for the whereabouts of its body, there is no way to know.

But this is also an advantage. As long as the life or death of the martial arts master cannot be determined, the Wulin Alliance and the National Martial Arts Association in the south of the secular world can be preserved safely.

Other Daoist masters and their forces dare not act rashly. What if the Martial Lord is still alive and well and knows that you have committed a crime against his forces and disciples? The consequences can be imagined. A Daoist master who practices martial arts and can create thousands of clones is enough to become everyone's nightmare.

"You are standing at the door of the blacksmith shop. Before you even walk in, you hear a quarrel coming from inside the shop, and there seems to be the sound of metal clashing. What are you going to do now?"

"Will you choose to go in and see what happened, and try to rescue the Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian? Or will you choose to hide in a secluded place and wait until the matter inside is resolved before going in? After all, sometimes it is better to have less trouble than more, and there is no need to bring so much trouble upon yourself!"

Looking at the two options given by the game, Jiang Xinghuo pondered for a moment. Master Shen Ji Bai Lian must have run into trouble. After he had troubled him so many times, wouldn't it be a bit too unkind if he just turned around and left, pretending he saw nothing?

"You pushed open the door and walked into the blacksmith shop, and found that the Taoist Master of Divine Machines Bailian was surrounded by several martial artists, who were pushing and shoving each other, and seemed to be arguing with him."

"Although the Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian is good at forging various tools, he rarely fights with others. How could he be a match for these martial artists who wield spears and sticks all day? He was about to be beaten, so you went over to stop those martial artists, and used your dragon-catching hand to grab the collars of these martial artists and threw them outside the blacksmith shop."

"Master Shen Ji Bai Lian was able to avoid physical pain, and I am very grateful to you. If I had really been beaten by that iron-boned warrior, I would have lost half my life even if I didn't die."

"You ask the Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian what happened and why he came into conflict with these martial artists."

"Master Shen Ji Bai Lian said that it was not the fault of those martial artists. It was originally invited by several elders of the Wulin League to come here to forge weapons for those martial artists. Things were going smoothly. Those martial artists gave it the blueprints and materials of the weapons they wanted to forge, and it worked overtime to forge those weapons. But that night, a thief came to the blacksmith shop and stole all the forged weapons."

"The next day, when the warriors came to get their weapons, the Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian was unable to explain to them and could only tell them the truth about the situation. The warriors didn't say anything, but just gave him another batch of materials and asked him to continue forging weapons."

"But the result was still the same. The weapon he forged that day was stolen at night. Although those warriors were not satisfied, they still did not say anything and gave him another batch of forging materials."

Jiang Xinghuo knew without looking down that the weapon forged for the third time was probably also taken away by someone.

It would be fine if it happened once or twice, but this has happened three times in a row. Anyone would have to wonder if the Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian had secretly hidden him.

Sure enough, the following game text was exactly the same as he guessed.

"The Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian has forged weapons once again, and just in case, he plans to hold the weapons overnight. He doesn't believe that anyone can steal the things from him."

"But that night it fell into a confused sleep, and when it woke up the next morning, all the weapons it had worked so hard to create had disappeared."

"The Taoist Master Bai Lian of Divine Machines has lost the weapons he forged for the third time. The warriors of the Wulin Alliance are not happy about this. They have accused him of embezzling the materials they provided. The Taoist Master Bai Lian of Divine Machines has no way to defend himself. He got anxious and started arguing with the warriors. If you hadn't arrived in time to rescue him, he would have been beaten up today. But even so, he lost the things in his hands. Even if he had to use other materials, he had to forge the things he promised. Otherwise, if the news got out, his reputation would be ruined."

"What are you going to choose now?"

"Would you choose to ignore this matter and put forward your own request, asking the Taoist Master Bailian to help you build armor that can resist nuclear radiation? Or would you choose to help the Taoist Master Bailian and see if he can catch the thief who stole the things?"

Jiang Xinghuo opened the magic bag and looked inside. He found something and immediately had an idea in his mind. He then decided to help Taoist Shen Ji Bai Lian catch the thief.

"You expressed your willingness to help catch the thief and clear the injustice of the Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian. When the Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian heard your words, he was very excited and asked if he could help in any way."

"Which weapons do you want the Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian to continue making? Do you plan to use those weapons as bait to lure the thief into the trap?"

Afterwards, Jiang Xinghuo found another prop from the magic bag.

"Mountain Trap Device (Excellent Item), a cage specially used by demon hunters to lure and capture mountain monsters. It can automatically adjust its size according to the size of the target, and release a high concentration of anesthetic the moment it captures the monster, which can immediately make the target lose its ability to resist."

"Please note that this trap can only capture demons and monsters with physical bodies. It will not work at all for demons and monsters without physical bodies."

"Moreover, the ultra-high concentration anesthetic stored in the device can only be used twice at most, and it needs to be reloaded after each use."

This was the prop he bought in order to capture the door god, but the door god did not fall for it and instead caught a big wild boar. After that, he made a contract with the door god, and this thing was thrown into the magic bag and gathered dust. It just so happened that it could be used now.

Jiang Xinghuo waited until after five in the afternoon.

A follow-up text message came from within the game.

"Master Shen Ji Bai Lian has finished forging the weapon. What are you going to do next? Are you going to use it as bait on the tiger trap?"

Jiang Xinghuo chose yes without hesitation.

"The tiger trap has been set up."

Next, just wait quietly.

Jiang Xinghuo didn't know when the thief would appear, so he simply left the game in a semi-idle state.

This wait lasted for more than six hours. Late at night, at 11:30, a new text message popped up in the game.

"The tiger trap is effective."

"A golden creature was trapped in the trap. A large amount of anesthetic was also injected into the creature's body. After just a few twitches, the creature of unknown species passed out."

"Also, you noticed that the swords and weapons used as bait have become tattered. Not only are they covered with teeth marks, but even the metallic luster has disappeared. Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian said that this is because the metal essence in them has been sucked away by the unknown creature. Even if they are recycled, they cannot be forged into weapons, or even farm tools. At best, they can only be made into small incense burners or small ornaments."

"You looked at the unknown creature lying there paralyzed, and you were very curious about what kind of creature could feed on gold and iron and devour the essence of metal."

"You have triggered the Tathagata's talent."

"You observed the paralyzed creature through the vision of Tathagatagarbha and discovered the secrets and mysteries hidden beneath its surface."

"You have discovered it, Golden Puppet Boy."

"Golden Puppet Boy (Rare), one of the Five Elements Puppet Boys, the Gold Puppet Boy has the power of metal and can devour all the essence of gold, iron and stone in the world. It can also transform into various gold and iron weapons for its master to use. Its power is enough to rival those divine weapons. Moreover, due to years of devouring gold, iron and stone, it has developed an indestructible body, so it can transform into a shield to protect its master."

"What are you going to do with this golden puppet boy now?"

"Will you choose to kill it with one strike and take the essence of gold and stone in its body to forge various magical weapons or upgrade the level of various weapons? Or will you choose to let it go to avoid offending the people behind this golden puppet boy?"

"The Five Elements Puppet Boy is not an ordinary monster, but a man-made monster, evolved from the essence of the five elements. To be able to cultivate it to this level, the person behind it must be extraordinary."

Jiang Xinghuo thought that he couldn't kill it. It would be such a pity if he just killed it. He definitely couldn't let it go. There was no reason to give back something he had already obtained. The best option was to keep it for himself.

Jiang Xinghuo opened his magic bag, found the cinnabar talisman paper used for drawing talismans, made a god-binding and immortal-commanding talisman on the spot, and secretly injected it into the body of the golden puppet boy.

"You have used the God Binding Immortal Talisman."

"Under the effect of the Binding God and Commanding Immortal Talisman, the Golden Puppet Boy quickly acknowledged you as its master, but you did not put the Golden Puppet Boy into the Prison of Calamity. Instead, you planned to wait until tomorrow to clear the injustice of the Taoist Master Shen Ji Bai Lian, and then find a way to let the Golden Puppet Boy go. Then, follow the clues to find the remaining four Five Elements Puppet Boys and take them in as your own."

This is Jiang Xinghuo's main purpose. A mere golden puppet boy cannot satisfy his appetite. What he wants is the entire five elements puppet boy. Although he doesn't know the specific abilities of the five elements puppet boy now, since it is related to the power of the five elements, it must be correct.

He had been coveting Lin Tianshou's Qimen Wushu for a long time. The power of the five elements is mutually reinforcing and restraining, and the power that can be exerted is much stronger than that of a single power alone.

(End of this chapter)