18: Gather Materials

“Hmm, a golden treasure chest again!”

Last time he encountered it, because his strength was insufficient, the System didn't give too many hints.

It just told him that entering would mean certain death.

This made Mu Feng feel uncomfortable for a long time.

The feeling of seeing something but not being able to get it was the hardest.

He originally thought it would be difficult to encounter it again.

Because every time he explored a Cave Secret Realm and came out, the light gate would refresh.

So far, besides this Immortal Cave with the golden treasure chest, he hadn't encountered two identical Immortal Caves.

According to Mu Feng's guess, they should be among many Immortal Caves.

Then each exploration would move one step further in or out.

The Immortal Cave that he didn't enter before was thus missed.

Looking at it now, the Cave World was even more mysterious than he imagined.

So, the question arose.

Should he choose this Cave Secret Realm now?

Because his strength was still not quite enough and the System didn't give many hints, Mu Feng didn't know what dangers lay inside.

But he was reluctant to just let it pass.

That was a golden treasure chest!

Besides, his conditions were almost met.

His Realm was at the Peak of Qi Refining fifth level, not far from the sixth level.

As for the Puppet, he was only missing the ironwood Material.

“I'll risk it!”

“I'll choose it!”

Having tasted the sweetness of treasure chests, Mu Feng was truly unwilling to give up this golden treasure chest.

“But there's no rush to explore it right now.”

“Anyway, it's almost dark, so let's stop exploring for today.”

In the early stages, it was very difficult to explore ten Immortal Caves in one go.

It was good to pause the progress.

This way, he would also have time to do other things and organize his items.

“System Reminder: You have a reply in your private messages. Do you want to view it?”

“View!”

He had only sent a private message to one person, and that was Li Chenxi, the owner of the ironwood.

It seemed the other party had seen his message and replied to him.

Mu Feng quickly opened the private message.

A dialogue box popped up.

The avatar was precisely Li Chenxi, to whom he had left a message earlier.

Li Chenxi.186: “I didn't expect the famous Senior Mu Feng of our area to send a private message to a humble girl like me. I thought I saw it wrong.”

Mu Feng.186: “...”

Mu Feng.186: “Do you still have ironwood in your possession?”

Ignoring the flattery in the other party's tone, Mu Feng went straight to the point.

Li Chenxi.186: “Senior, could you tell me what this ironwood is used for?”

The other party didn't answer his question; instead, she asked about the use of ironwood.

“Tsk, I didn't expect her to be an old fox.”

He naturally wouldn't tell the other party the use of ironwood; that would be clearly telling her that he had a Puppet manufacturing blueprint and desperately needed ironwood.

Although the other party would know he needed ironwood even if he didn't say it, not knowing what it was for would prevent her from making exorbitant demands.

Mu Feng.186: “First, tell me if you have any ironwood in your possession.”

Mu Feng directly played Tai Chi with the other party.

Turning passive into active.

Li Chenxi.186: “Yes!”

Li Chenxi.186: “Now, can you tell me what this ironwood is for?”

The other party was not sidetracked by Mu Feng.

She was clearly also a master negotiator.

“Actually, it's nothing much, just a Material for manufacturing some items,” Mu Feng said vaguely.

“What exactly it is, I can't tell you conveniently!”

“And even if I told you, you wouldn't be able to manufacture it without the blueprint.”

“Let's talk about our trade. How much ironwood do you have right now?”

“I saw you exchanged food with me before, so you should be quite short on food, right? How about this, I can give you a discount: two pieces of wolf meat for one.”

Li Chenxi.186: “Thank you, but I'm not a pig; I can't eat that much. The wolf meat I exchanged for today is already enough for me.”

Li Chenxi.186: “Moreover, that wolf meat didn't taste very good. I don't want to eat it a second time.”

wolf meat was sour and astringent; it would be a ghost if it tasted good...

Mu Feng chuckled inwardly.

Li Chenxi.186: “How about this, I still have three pieces of ironwood. If you offer a suitable price, you can take them.”

The other party's words were well-calibrated.

Most people, hearing her say that, would probably offer her a high price.

Unfortunately, she met Mu Feng.

Mu Feng.186: “Let's go by the market price, 6 Spirit Stones per piece.”

Two pieces of wolf meat were roughly this price.

Li Chenxi.186: “Too low. If you're willing to give me two Bigu Pills, you can take this ironwood.”

“Okay.”

Mu Feng was too lazy to bargain anymore.

He urgently needed ironwood to improve his strength.

A difference of one or two Spirit Stones was acceptable to him.

The transaction was completed.

“System Reminder: Transaction complete, obtained ironwood x3”

“Finally, all the Materials are gathered!”

Mu Feng opened the Workshop and brought up the Puppet manufacturing blueprint.

“Lizard Puppet: Soul 1/6, ironwood 3/4, Copper 5/8, Spirit Stone 10/60”

All four Materials had been gathered.

“System Reminder: Do you want to manufacture the Lizard Puppet?”

“Manufacture!”

Mu Feng nodded.

“System Reminder: Since you do not have an Artifact Refining furnace, do you want to use the Qi Refining furnace attached to the Workshop? Using it once requires one Spirit Stone.”

“Use.”

Mu Feng put in one Spirit Stone.

“System Reminder: Please put Soul x1, ironwood x3, Copper x5, and Spirit Stone x10 into the Artifact Refining furnace in order.”

The process of manufacturing the Puppet was basically no different from the previous Alchemy sessions.

Having had two Alchemy experiences, Mu Feng was familiar with the process and put the various Materials into the Artifact Refining furnace.

While putting in the Materials, Mu Feng suddenly had a thought and pulled out a silver Ore.

It was the Mithril obtained from exploring the Ore Cave Secret Realm earlier.

“I wonder if this stuff is useful for the Puppet?”

“Should I put it in and try?”

This thought made Mu Feng's heart itch.

Logically speaking, since Mithril could enhance the hardness of Magical Artifacts and Magic Treasures, it should naturally also be able to enhance the hardness of Puppets.

But he was a little afraid to take the risk.

These Puppet Materials were hard-won.

If the manufacturing failed because he randomly put in Materials, he would truly be heartbroken.

“I'll risk it! A gamble to turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!”

For the golden treasure chest, Mu Feng felt it was worth the gamble.

It was still difficult for him to advance from Qi Refining fifth level to sixth level in a short time.

Now, the only way to maximize his strength was this Puppet.

If it worked, great; if not, he could give up the idea of exploring the golden treasure chest.

He couldn't keep stalling the progress here.

Gritting his teeth, he threw in the Mithril.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Hammering sounds echoed within the furnace.

About ten minutes later, the hammering sounds stopped.

This meant that the result was about to be revealed.

Mu Feng's heart was in his throat at this moment.

Was it a Genius's idea or a foolish decision?

It all depended on this one attempt!