Uncle Nine: Scattering beans to create soldiers? I'm using plants and trees to create soldiers.

The sound of chanting gradually came to a stop in the backyard.

Lin Xuan opened his eyes, a hint of undisguised excitement flashing in them.

"After so many days of careful nurturing, it's finally ripe!"

He had used up a lot of materials to cultivate this spiritual plant, and now he had finally reaped the rewards!

Lin Xuan suddenly stood up and quickly walked to the front of the Seven Star Pill Furnace.

The thick vines twined up the furnace handle and wooden frame, their roots still lush and green, full of vitality, nourished by the spiritual liquid.

Seven gourds were hanging among the vines and leaves.

Each gourd is about the size of an adult's palm, round in shape, smaller at the top and larger at the bottom, with a narrow waist, and a warm, pale yellow skin.

Lin Xuan focused his gaze on the control panel, silently chanting in his mind, "Harvest!"

The next moment, system notifications sounded one after another.

[Successfully harvested the exotic gourd vine.]

[Proficiency in Spirit Absorption Technique +600.]

[Your mastery of the "Spirit Absorption Technique" has reached the advancement requirement; your skill level has increased.]

Current level: Lv4 (gray).

boom!

With the notification sound, a flood of insights suddenly rushed into Lin Xuan's mind.

He stood beside the Seven Star Alchemy Furnace, slowly closed his eyes, and soon sank into it.

The "Spirit Absorption Technique" I acquired this time is very comprehensive.

It includes not only spells for calming the soul, nourishing the soul, and residing in the spirit, but also talismans to accompany them.

In addition, there is a set of techniques specifically for crafting spirit-infused artifacts!

Spells, talismans, and artifact crafting complement each other; when combined, they can keep the soul within an object for a long time.

If the rampaging soldiers are taken into the artifact, not only can their soul power be prevented from dissipating in the outside world, but it can also be continuously nourished by the runes, incense and spiritual energy inside the artifact.

When needed, the rampaging soldiers can be summoned simply by using a military token or incantation.

In the Xuanmen (Taoist school), this special object that carries the rampant soldiers is called a "soldier jar".

The term "soldier's pot" does not rigidly refer to earthenware pots made of clay.

Jars, gourds, wooden boxes, and even bamboo tubes, as long as their internal space is stable and can hold the spirits of the dead, can all be refined into weapon jars by adding soul-soothing, soul-nurturing, and troop-mobilizing talismans.

This is equivalent to a rampant army setting up camp in the mortal world.

On ordinary days, the soldiers would live there, receiving offerings of incense, food, and spirits.

When encountering evil spirits, one can open the jar to summon them to protect the altar, ward off evil spirits, patrol, or fight against enemies.

The better the quality of the weapon container, the more stable its internal environment, and the more soldiers it can hold.

If supplemented with suitable soul-nourishing items, it can even allow the rampaging soldiers to cultivate on their own within the weapon jar, gradually strengthening their soul power, and even developing strange spells.

After a long while, Lin Xuan finally finished digesting all the insights in his mind.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the seven gourds hanging on the vines.

These gourds of mine possess the qualities of nourishing the soul and storing the spirit, making them perfect for refining weapon jars.

Lin Xuan reached out and picked a gourd.

He first used a dagger to cut the vines connecting the gourd, then carefully cut a round opening at the top of the gourd, releasing a faint fragrance of herbs.

Lin Xuan removed all the pulp and seeds from the gourd and temporarily stored them in his system inventory.

While they were busy, Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai also snapped out of their trance.

When the two opened their eyes, the first thing they saw was Lin Xuan squatting beside the Seven Star Pill Furnace, his head down, working on the gourd in his hand.

Qiu Sheng, quick-witted as ever, immediately patted his bottom, got up, and went over to offer his help, saying ingratiatingly, "Senior Brother, what are you doing? Do you need our help?"

Wencai eagerly joined the group, staring curiously at the hollowed-out gourd. "Senior Brother, are you making a wine gourd? Are you going to brew wine?"

"No." Lin Xuan shook his head, then instructed, "You two go to the front yard and help me move out the table and utensils for drawing talismans and prepare them."

"Okay!"

Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai responded and immediately ran towards the room.

Lin Xuan held the prepared gourd in his palm and, following the refining method in "The Art of Spirit Preservation," slowly warmed the inside of the gourd with Daoist Qi.

Gentle Daoist Qi seeped into the palm of the hand, gradually dissipating the residual dampness from the grass and wood on the inner wall of the gourd, and the internal space became more stable under the cleansing of the Daoist Qi.

After dealing with the gourd, Lin Xuan found a small piece of peach wood in the woodshed.

He cut the peach wood into the appropriate size, polished it repeatedly, and made a wooden stopper that could seal the mouth of the gourd perfectly.

After he finished doing all that, Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai moved the things needed for drawing talismans to the front yard.

Lin Xuan first washed his hands, then rinsed his mouth and face with water.

He then went to the wooden table in the front yard, spread out the talisman paper, and arranged the cinnabar, talisman brush, and magic seal in a neat order.

He closed his eyes and regulated his breathing for a moment. Once his mind was completely calm, Lin Xuan took out his dagger and gently made a cut on his fingertip.

The three drops of essence blood were forced out by the Dao Qi and fell into the cinnabar ink. The originally bright red cinnabar immediately shimmered with a faint spiritual light.

After that, imperial edicts were issued for paper, ink, and brushes...

After doing all this, Lin Xuan picked up the talisman brush and dipped it in talisman ink.

As the pen tip touched the paper, streaks of runes rapidly extended across the yellow paper.

He needs to draw three talismans this time.

A soul-soothing talisman, a soul-nurturing talisman, and a military talisman used for bestowing names and organizing troops.

The first two talismans are used to strengthen the gourd, giving the inside of the gourd the effect of calming the soul and nourishing the spirits.

The final military tally will be used to bestow names and organize battalions upon the soldiers who will soon be brought into the military jar, thus truly placing them under Lin Xuan's command.

As for why he only forged two powerful soldiers, it's because Lin Xuan currently only has two souls available for use.

One was Dong Xiaoyu, and the other was the vengeful spirit retrieved from the Xuan Turtle Water-Suppressing Stone.

As for the white-robed scholar in the Soul-Collecting Talisman, he has been in a deep sleep since Lin Xuan brought him back to the mortuary, and cannot be refined for the time being.

Lin Xuan twisted his wrist, and the talisman brush moved across the paper like a dragon and a snake. In no time, three talismans were completed.

He put down the talisman brush, took out the magic seal, and pressed it heavily onto the core of each of the three talismans.

Snapped!

As the seal was applied, a faint red glow appeared on the surface of the talisman.

Lin Xuan picked up the processed gourd and, following the refining method in his mind, began to formally refine the weapon jar.

He first folded the soul-soothing talisman and put it inside the gourd.

He forms a mudra with his right hand and whispers a mantra.

"When the spirit is at peace, the spirit returns to its resting place."

"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"

call!

Suddenly, a flame appeared inside the gourd, and the soul-soothing talisman spontaneously combusted without fire.

The talisman turned to ashes in the blink of an eye, but the runes on it did not disappear.

A pale red talisman emerged from the flames and slowly adhered to the inner wall of the gourd, merging with the gourd itself.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Xuan followed the same method and put the Soul Nourishing Talisman into it.

The talisman also spontaneously combusted, and a second blood-red talisman emerged, intertwining with the soul-soothing talisman and covering the inside of the gourd.

After doing all this, Lin Xuan bit his fingertip again.

He used his fingers as a pen and his own blood as ink to outline strange patterns along the outer wall of the gourd.

The patterns on the gourd are mysterious and interconnected, extending from the mouth of the gourd all the way to the bottom.

Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai, who were standing to the side, were completely dumbfounded.

"Senior Brother can actually forge weapons?!" Wen Cai rubbed his eyes and muttered under his breath. "And his technique looks even more skilled than those old Taoist priests! Come to think of it, Master never taught him weapon forging, so where did Senior Brother learn it from?!"

Qiu Sheng's eyes were filled with admiration for his senior brother. "Senior brother doesn't need to learn! I bet he figured out this weapon-refining technique on his own while cultivating plants!"

"That's actually quite possible..." Wen Cai gasped, his face full of admiration. "Senior Brother's natural Dao body is just too domineering. Is this even fair for anyone else to live with...?"