Chapter 583: Soldier Nest
Whether it was fate or just Meng Zhang's incredible luck, he used his Grand Evolving Fortune Calculation technique to determine the location of this rare treasure and collected it for himself.
As the saying goes, "heaven does not give what is not taken" and since the treasure was presented to him, Meng Zhang had no qualms about accepting it. As for any potential consequences of possessing this rare find, Meng Zhang did not concern himself with them at the moment.
Meng Zhang's use of Grand Evolving Fortune Calculation was to calculate new combat forces and reduce the losses of low-level cultivators in their ranks. After understanding the rough function of this rare treasure, he had a rough idea of how to use it.
In the world of cultivation, powerful sects have methods for raising and refining dao soldiers. Depending on the method and lineage, dao soldiers have complex sources and a variety of types. Humans, demon beasts, and even some spiritual beings can be used as materials to refine dao soldiers.
During its prime, the Taiyi Sect naturally had some unique dao soldiers. Strictly speaking, the Guardian Spirit General in the Taiyi Sect was also a type of dao soldier. However, many of Taiyi Sect's lineages have been lost over time, including methods for refining dao soldiers.
Meng Zhang obtained the Purple Gold Sect's inheritance in the small world, which included two methods for refining dao soldiers unique to the sect. However, refining dao soldiers requires a large investment of resources, including a vast amount of cultivation resources. Moreover, there are not many cultivators in the Taiyi Sect who practice the Purple Gold Sect's inheritance techniques. Therefore, Meng Zhang had not previously refined any unique dao soldiers of the Purple Gold Sect.
When this rare treasure was in the hands of the Fifth Rank Earth Spirit, it could be used to refine sand monsters, which are also considered a type of dao soldier. Sand monsters are puppets, not living beings, but they can serve as effective weapons of war.
Meng Zhang could also use this rare treasure to refine dao soldiers. With this rare treasure, the process of refining difficult-to-refine dao soldiers could be simplified, and the difficulty of refining them could be reduced.
Meng Zhang spent some time figuring out how to use this rare treasure. To use it to refine dao soldiers, two conditions must be met. First, a template for the dao soldier must be provided. For example, the Fifth Rank Earth Spirit created the sand monster by incorporating some features of the Earth Spirit race and adding his own creativity to create the template.
The second condition is to provide sufficient resources. Among them, spirit stones are an essential basic resource. The Fifth Rank Earth Spirit was adept at manipulating the earth and could easily extract spiritual energy from spirit veins to condense spirit stones. He could even communicate with the earth's veins and, at the cost of consuming spirit veins, create treasures like spirit marrow.The main components of sand monsters are sand and some minerals mixed in. With the Fifth Rank Earth Spirit's abilities, extracting various minerals from the earth's crust was a piece of cake.
Meng Zhang pondered for a long time to come up with the dao soldier template. He even consulted the most knowledgeable Extreme Sword Spirit General in the sect for advice. Meng Zhang did not hide his thoughts about the origin and function of this rare treasure from the high-level members of the sect.
Although the Extreme Sword Spirit General and the Shocking Thunder Spirit General only had a Foundation Building Period cultivation base, they were strong enough to sweep all Foundation Building Period cultivators and even exchange a few moves with Gold Core Period cultivators. However, Meng Zhang was afraid that using them to sweep low-level cultivators on the enemy's side would be too stimulating for the Fire Cloud Sect and Yellow Lotus Sect East River Branch, so he did not send them to the battlefield.
The Extreme Sword Spirit General, who had been staying in the sect, soon appeared in front of Meng Zhang. The Extreme Sword Spirit General did not disappoint Meng Zhang and provided many valuable opinions. The Extreme Sword Spirit General was practically a living fossil of the Taiyi Sect, very familiar with many of its lineages. He had seen and fought against many kinds of dao soldiers.
Meng Zhang dreamed of refining the Guardian Spirit General of the Taiyi Sect. Although he had the help of this rare treasure and the Extreme Sword Spirit General could provide detailed refining methods, the current Taiyi Sect was still far from being able to provide the necessary conditions for refining.
Meng Zhang could only settle for refining dao soldiers that could compete with Foundation Building Period cultivators. After discussing, weighing the pros and cons, and considering cost-effectiveness, Meng Zhang and the Extreme Sword Spirit General agreed on two dao soldier templates.
One was the sand monster created by the Fifth Rank Earth Spirit. The template of the sand monster was still in this rare treasure, but some adjustments needed to be made. First of all, the appearance of the sand monster needed to be changed and not copied exactly. Sand monsters had caused countless catastrophes in the past, and if Meng Zhang were to use them openly, it would attract too much attention and cause unnecessary trouble for the Taiyi Sect.
The other template was a type of phantom beast, called the Shadow Leopard. The Shadow Leopard was known for its speed and agility, and it was also a fierce predator. The Extreme Sword Spirit General had encountered this type of phantom beast before and had some understanding of its abilities and weaknesses. Meng Zhang believed that the Shadow Leopard would be a great addition to the Taiyi Sect's arsenal.
Meng Zhang used the rare treasure to refine the sand monster and the Shadow Leopard. The process was time-consuming and required a lot of resources, but with the rare treasure's help, it was much easier than traditional methods of refining dao soldiers.
Finally, Meng Zhang succeeded in refining the sand monster and the Shadow Leopard. The sand monster was now a humanoid figure made of sand and minerals, and its body was covered with a layer of golden light. The Shadow Leopard was a black leopard with shimmering silver stripes, seemingly made of shadows.
Meng Zhang was satisfied with the result and felt that he had made a significant contribution to the Taiyi Sect's strength. He had no intention of revealing the existence of these dao soldiers to outsiders, and even within the Taiyi Sect, only a few high-level members knew about their existence.
Meng Zhang knew that possessing such powerful dao soldiers could bring both benefits and risks to the Taiyi Sect. He would use them cautiously and only when necessary. After all, the Taiyi Sect's ultimate goal was to achieve peace and stability, not to dominate the world through force.Meng Zhang doesn't have that ability, even with the help of rare treasures, it can only greatly weaken this aspect of ability. Meng Zhang and the Extreme Sword Spirit General chose a special template for the dao soldier, which uses specially made yellow soil as the main material and incorporates various spiritual materials, such as scarlet copper and mysterious iron. After being strengthened by this rare treasure, the dao soldier created is named the Yellow Earth Strongman by Meng Zhang. The Yellow Earth Strongman mainly takes on a human form, but can also transform into other forms when necessary. Compared to sand monsters, the Yellow Earth Strongman's combat instincts are weaker and it appears more rigid, with poor independent combat capabilities. In Meng Zhang's plan, the Yellow Earth Strongman serves as a servant to the disciples of the sect and collaborates with them in battle. It can serve as a meat shield or cannon fodder and its main role is to enhance the disciples' combat power and survival ability.
The materials for refining the Yellow Earth Strongman are not difficult to find and are mostly found in the Demon Wind Gobi region. The most valuable material is the spiritual stone used to activate the Yellow Earth Strongman. Although the Demon Wind Gobi region does not produce high-quality spiritual stones, middle-grade and low-grade spiritual stones can still be occasionally found. For the production of the Yellow Earth Strongman, middle-grade and low-grade spiritual stones are sufficient.
Taiyi Sect has close trade relations with Great Wind City, and various materials can be obtained from there. Especially after Taiyi Sect and Fire Cloud Sect went to war, Great Wind City intentionally or unintentionally increased its supply of materials to Taiyi Sect.
This rare treasure looks like a beehive on the outside and its main function is to refine dao soldiers. Meng Zhang named it Soldier Nest. When folded up, the Soldier Nest is only the size of a human head. Once it is refined with True Essence and placed on a spirit vein, it can slowly expand after absorbing enough spiritual energy. The Third Rank spirit vein in Hundred Grass Slope has been strengthened by the Deep Earth Spirit General and has a stable supply of spiritual energy from an underground river. In addition to meeting the spiritual energy needs of Hundred Grass Pavilion, it can also support 2-3 Gold Core Daoist Masters.
Now, placing the Soldier Nest on this Third Rank spirit vein and with no Gold Core Daoist Masters in the sect, it doesn't take long for the Soldier Nest to absorb enough spiritual energy and start expanding. In a small valley, a huge building resembling a beehive appears, squeezing the nearly hundred-acre flat land full. Various materials for refining dao soldiers are quickly collected and put into the Soldier Nest. The Soldier Nest is highly spiritual and as long as the dao soldier template is set in advance and enough materials are provided, it can automatically start refining.
At the beginning, all the Yellow Earth Dao Soldiers produced were First Rank dao soldiers, and their forms were incomplete, with missing limbs. Meng Zhang, after gaining experience, controlled the operation of the Soldier Nest and slowly adjusted it until the situation began to improve. It didn't take long for the Soldier Nest to manufacture Second Rank Yellow Earth Dao Soldiers. In terms of strength, the Second Rank Yellow Earth Dao Soldier is at least as strong as a typical Foundation Building cultivator. Its preset combat mode and magical skills are not too bad either.
Meng Zhang intentionally recruited Foundation Building cultivators who were staying in the sect to try to command these Yellow Earth Strongmen in battle. After some testing, they gained a better understanding of the Yellow Earth Strongman's combat power.
Taiyi Sect had previously purchased various puppets from the Clever Machine Sect in the Jiuqu League, which played a huge role in battle. Unfortunately, relying on external purchases of puppets was not very convenient and was subject to restrictions. Taiyi Sect also tried to cultivate a group of mechanical engineers in the sect to learn how to refine mechanical puppets, but so far, they could only refine First Rank mechanical puppets. Meng Zhang did not know the cost of Clever Machine Sect for refining Second Rank puppets, but the cost of producing a First Rank Yellow Earth Strongman with the Soldier Nest was only one-tenth to two-tenths of the cost of producing a First Rank puppet in Taiyi Sect. The cost of producing a Second Rank Yellow Earth Strongman was even less than one-tenth of the cost of purchasing a Second Rank puppet.
What's more important is that Yellow Earth Strongmen can be mass-produced. As long as the materials are sufficient, the Soldier Nest can operate at high speed and continuously produce Yellow Earth Strongmen. Although the Yellow Earth Strongman has a single type and limited combat methods, and is not very intelligent, it has the advantage of low cost and is produced independently by Taiyi Sect. Furthermore, after many tests, Meng Zhang and the disciples of the sect have also summarized many tactics for using the Yellow Earth Strongman. The best way to take advantage of the Yellow Earth Strongman isto use them as a supporting force in battle. They can serve as a distraction, draw the enemy's attention away from the main force, and create opportunities for the disciples to attack the enemy's weaknesses. In addition, the Yellow Earth Strongman's physical strength is formidable, and it can also serve as a shield to protect the disciples from harm.
Overall, the Yellow Earth Strongman is a valuable asset for Taiyi Sect, and it greatly enhances the sect's combat power. With the Soldier Nest, Taiyi Sect can produce a large number of Yellow Earth Strongmen, which can be used in various battles and expeditions. As Meng Zhang and the disciples of the sect continue to improve their tactics for using the Yellow Earth Strongman, they are confident that their sect's strength will only continue to grow.
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