"The complexity of this Immortal Puppet is somewhat beyond my expectations. I thought I could forcibly alter its internal structure with the help of the Thunder Formation, but the results were…," Crab Daoren sighed.

"It's alright. It was just an experiment, after all. No need to be too demanding. If the opportunity arises in the future, I'll find you another suitable puppet," Han Li said, shaking his head.

"That's fine. However, this wasn't entirely without reward. Although I couldn't transform this puppet, I've thoroughly studied it inside and out over these past two hundred years. If Han Daoyou is willing, and spends over a thousand years cultivating a suitable earth-attribute technique, I'm confident that you can unleash sixty percent of this puppet's power. While it won't match a mid-stage Golden Immortal, it will definitely be stronger than ordinary early-stage Golden Immortal cultivators," Crab Daoren said, changing the subject.

"Crab Daoyou was once a complete Immortal Puppet himself, so I naturally trust his research in this field. However, let's talk about this later when I have more free time," Han Li replied noncommittally.

Although being able to control an Immortal Puppet with the strength of an early-stage Golden Immortal was good, he didn't have time to consider it now.

On one hand, he didn't believe he could rest easy in the Candle Dragon Dao like other Immortals, spending thousands, or even tens of thousands of years in secluded cultivation. On the other hand, now that he had found the *Zhenyan Transformation Wheel Sutra* and *Great Celestial Stellar Essence Art*, two more suitable techniques to cultivate, he naturally prioritized increasing his own strength first.

"There's one more thing. During this fusion process, I discovered that the pearl from before contained a trace of the origin of thunder and lightning, so I tried to swallow and refine it. Now, the energy within my core is much more abundant," Crab Daoren continued.

"It's fine, I didn't have much use for that thing anyway. If that's the case, there's no need to keep this formation running, right?" Han Li waved his hand and then looked at the Thunder Formation on the ground, asking.

Crab Daoren nodded.

Seeing this, Han Li waved his hand, and a green light flew out from his sleeve, dismantling the entire formation.

Crab Daoren raised his two crab pincers, crossed them in front of him, and a purple electric light shot out, landing on the yellow-robed puppet.

*Crack! Crack!*

The yellow-robed puppet made a series of crisp sounds and emitted a dazzling yellow light, transforming back into a yellow sphere. Along with Crab Daoren, who had transformed into a golden sphere, they were both collected by Han Li with a wave of his hand.

…

About an hour later.

A mountain near the Tai Xuan Hall. A stream of green light flew down from the sky and landed on a white stone square, revealing Han Li's figure.

Walking along the square to the end, a large, continuous courtyard appeared in front of him. Above the vermilion gate in the center hung a plaque with the words "Baijiu Mountain Villa" written in a flamboyant style.

Every time he came here, he couldn't help but smile at the four crooked characters on the door, which looked like four drunken wine buffs supporting each other.

Before he even reached the entrance of the villa, he heard a "creak" sound, and the gate opened inward. Two servants in green robes came out carrying a large black urn.

"Greetings, Elder Li."

The two servants obviously recognized Han Li. When they saw him coming, they immediately put down the urn, respectfully saluted, and greeted him.

"What are you carrying?" Han Li asked, smelling a slightly sour odor emanating from the black urn.

"Reporting to Elder Li, this is spoiled wine lees. Elder Hu Yan instructed us to pour it into the mountain stream," one of the green-robed servants replied.

Han Li nodded, bypassed the two men, and walked in without needing to report or be announced.

He had just passed through the front courtyard's covered walkway and entered the central hall when he saw Hu Yan Daoren walking out from the inner courtyard.

Seeing his appearance, Han Li couldn't help but feel a bit strange.

The Hu Yan Daoren before him had his hair meticulously groomed, his clothes were clean and simple, and even his pace was a bit larger than usual.

It had been over two hundred years since they last met. Had this old man changed his ways?

"Haha, good lad, your nose is as good as a dog's, isn't it? I just finished brewing a few jars of Hundred Flower Wine, and you've already caught the scent. It's really good timing," Hu Yan Daoren greeted him with a hearty laugh.

"Does Senior have some great joyful occasion?" Han Li asked with some doubt.

Hu Yan Daoren was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then scolded with a smile, "You brat, were you just badmouthing me for being stingy, thinking that unless I had some great joy, I wouldn't be generous enough to invite you to drink good wine?"

Han Li chuckled but didn't say anything.

"Come, come, come, sit down and talk," Hu Yan Daoren said, not minding at all.

After the two sat down, Hu Yan Daoren swept his palm in front of him, and a flash of light appeared on the table, immediately revealing a silver-patterned white jade pot and two *doucai* peony cups.

He grabbed the wine pot and tilted it slightly, and a light cyan liquid immediately flowed out of the slender spout, into the peony cups. A refreshing fragrance of a hundred flowers filled the air.

Han Li's eyes lit up when he smelled the aroma.

"Have a taste…" Hu Yan said with a smile, seeing Han Li's reaction.

Han Li picked up the wine cup, put it to his lips, and took a sip. He felt a rich, fragrant, and slightly sweet taste fill his mouth and cheeks, without any spiciness or burning sensation.

"Good wine," Han Li praised, clapping his hands after swallowing the liquid completely.

Hu Yan Daoren couldn't help but reveal a complacent smile upon hearing this.

"However… the wine is good, but compared to the previous Red Mulberry Wine and Fire Saliva Wine, the taste is still a bit light. This doesn't seem like your usual preference," Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile.

"Hehe… this wine is brewed to be given away, not for me to drink," Hu Yan Daoren said with a smile on his face.

"Oh, is it for Yun Daoren?" Han Li asked casually.

"You brat… even good wine can't stop your mouth…" The smile on Hu Yan Daoren's face stiffened, and he grabbed the wine pot, feigning anger.

Han Li smiled but didn't speak.

Just then, Hu Yan Daoren's expression suddenly changed, and he said, "I didn't notice it before, but the aura on your body has strengthened a lot. It seems you haven't been idle all these years."

"I've had some fortuitous encounters and closed-door cultivation for a while. That's why I came to visit Senior as soon as I came out," Han Li said with a smile.

"Hehe, to have such progress in cultivation in just a few hundred years, it must be no ordinary opportunity, right? But I don't care about that. Tell me, you brat, you never get up early for no gain. What's the matter that you've come here this time?" Hu Yan Daoren looked at Han Li meaningfully and asked.

"Senior still understands me… It's about the Bean Soldier that I planted. For some reason, it bloomed two Mother Bean Flowers, which is different from what's recorded in Senior's notes. That's why I came to ask about it," Han Li asked seriously.

"Bloomed two?" Hu Yan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, a look of disbelief on his face, and asked.

"What… is there something wrong?" Han Li's heart tightened slightly, and he asked quickly.

"Wrong? It's practically perfect! Generally speaking, after a Dao Soldier Tree bears Bean Soldiers, there's only a fifty percent chance of blooming a Mother Bean Flower and bearing a Mother Bean. You not only bloomed a Mother Bean Flower but bloomed two. It's not that this hasn't happened before, but the probability is extremely low… How is your luck so good, brat? Even I can't help but feel jealous," The old Hu Yan leaned back, took a swig of wine from his gourd, and said with envy.

Han Li's thoughts swirled upon hearing this.

In fact, he had already guessed this in his heart, but only after receiving an accurate answer from Hu Yan Daoren did he finally feel relieved.

Moreover, with so many unexpected situations, he didn't think it was just his good luck. Most likely, it was due to the green liquid, but he naturally wouldn't tell Hu Yan.

"If the Dao Soldier Tree doesn't bloom a Mother Bean Flower, wouldn't the source be cut off?" He thought of a question.

"Of course. Do you think Mother Beans are something that can be obtained so easily? In the Dao Soldier system, the continuity of Mother Beans is a major problem that plagues all Dao Soldier Masters. You wouldn't understand these things even if I told you," The old Hu Yan snorted and said.

"So, I've encountered a great fortune, hehe…" Han Li chuckled.

The old Hu Yan rolled his eyes at Han Li and took another swig of wine.

"If there are two Mother Beans, after the second planting, they should be able to produce double the Bean Soldiers in another two or three hundred years," Han Li said excitedly, ignoring the old Hu Yan.

"If it were me, I wouldn't be so wasteful," Hu Yan Daoren suddenly said.

"Senior, why do you say that?" Han Li was stunned, then asked in confusion.

"If you can continue to maintain such good luck and cultivate Bean Soldiers, one Mother Bean will be enough. As for the other one, you might as well keep it and plant it inside a high-level puppet when you have the opportunity to obtain one in the future," Hu Yan Daoren scratched his head, looked at Han Li deeply, and said.

"Mother Beans can be planted inside puppets? Are the two compatible?" Han Li asked with some surprise.

"Puppets are originally a type of Dao Soldier source. As long as the attributes are compatible, the Mother Bean can be integrated into the puppet. After this integration is completed, the puppet will have many of the attributes that Bean Soldiers have, such as limb regeneration, damage repair, etc. As long as the core isn't destroyed, it's almost immortal. Moreover, because this type of puppet has the runes inscribed when refining the Mother Bean, even if it falls into the hands of others, they won't be able to refine and control it," Hu Yan Daoren said.

"It actually has so many wonderful uses? Does Senior have a fusion method? Can you teach it to me?" Han Li subconsciously thought of the Immortal Puppet that had failed to fuse with Crab Daoren and asked tentatively.

"What? You even have rare items like Immortal Puppets?" Hu Yan Daoren raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Senior, you said it yourself that they're rare items. How could I possibly have one? I'm just thinking of being prepared for the future, in case I get lucky and get an Immortal Puppet one day," Han Li said, his face unchanged.

"You have a good plan… This fusion method is rare and uncommon, but it's not some secret technique that can't be passed on. It's not a problem to teach it to you, but… I can't just let you get away with something for nothing, right?" Hu Yan Daoren's eyes rolled, and he said.

ps: Book friends, I am Wang Yu, recommending a free novel App that supports novel downloads, audiobooks, zero advertisements, and multiple reading modes. Please follow the Baidu public account: dazhuzaiyuedu (long press for three seconds to copy) book friends, please pay attention!