The bustling atmosphere of the first Artifact Forging Pavilion in White Float City deeply moved Ye Qin.

Trailing the throng of cultivators, Ye Qin entered the pavilion and was immediately greeted by an observant attendant, who was at the Foundation Establishment stage. A Golden Core cultivator was an absolute VIP in any shop or pavilion in White Float City.

“Senior, are you looking to purchase an artifact, or commission the forging of a magic tool? The Heavenly Ingenuity Pavilion is the premier artifact forging workshop in White Float City. As long as you bring the materials, regardless of grade—from low-tier to top-tier—or type—Five Elements Artifacts, Three Wonders Artifacts, Bone Artifacts, special artifacts, etc.—we can forge it for you.”

Ye Qin inquired, “Does your esteemed pavilion employ Puppet Artificers?”

“We do. Please come upstairs; the seventh floor is dedicated to forging puppet-type artifacts! Senior, you have come to the right place. While there are many large artifact forging shops in White Float City, those who specialize in forging puppets are rare. Our Heavenly Ingenuity Pavilion possesses the strongest capabilities; the only Puppet Artifact Forging Grandmaster in White Float City resides right here. If you wish to buy or commission a puppet, consulting this Grandmaster is your best bet.”

The attendant was clearly quite proud of the Heavenly Ingenuity Pavilion’s strength.

Ye Qin followed the attendant up to the seventh floor of the Heavenly Ingenuity Pavilion.

The seventh floor was exclusively for selling puppet artifacts, and clearly, few cultivators frequented this area.

Ye Qin glanced around; there were only a few dozen cultivators selecting puppets. Puppets were prohibitively expensive, difficult to control, prone to damage, and hard to repair—they had numerous drawbacks. It seemed that puppet artifacts were a comparatively niche category compared to other artifacts, Ye Qin mused inwardly.

He arrived at a hall dedicated to puppet artifact forging. The hall was filled with numerous low-tier puppets, but the highest grade on display was merely a Rank Six Foundation Establishment puppet artifact—an iron puppet shaped like a demon wolf.

There were no higher-grade Golden Core puppets in sight.

He couldn't tell if they simply didn't have any or were unwilling to display them for sale.

In the hall, only two middle-aged Puppet Artificers were engaged in desultory conversation. Ye Qin did not see the Puppet Artifact Forging Grandmaster the attendant had mentioned.

Upon spotting Ye Qin, a Golden Core cultivator, the two younger artificers immediately approached. “Senior, what rank of puppet are you looking to purchase? We have puppets for various uses: mining, guarding residences, and combat puppets. We also have special puppets; if you desire something custom, you can commission one, provided you supply the materials, though the price will be slightly higher.”

“There are no puppets here that suit my needs,” Ye Qin replied, glancing around casually. “Do you possess Mithril, and the crafting schematics for large, high-grade puppets? I intend to try forging one myself.”

“Mithril? I know of that material, but it is an anti-spell material, extremely precious. Who would use such a valuable material like Mithril to forge a large, high-grade puppet? The amount of Mithril consumed for a single puppet would be incalculable.”

“Senior, forging high-grade puppets is not something just anyone can attempt. Are you jesting?” The two young artificers paused, then spoke out in surprised chorus.

“Who uses Mithril to forge puppets?”

The curtain at the back of the hall was drawn aside, and a stooped, elderly man emerged, coughing a few times. This person was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator; although his complexion was not good, his gaze was sharp and penetrating.

Accompanying the old man was a middle-aged Golden Core cultivator whose expression was utterly detached. His divine sense swept over Ye Qin, encompassing the entire hall—clearly protecting the old man's safety while remaining utterly indifferent to everything else.

“Grandmaster, you have arrived!”

The two young artificers immediately became respectful. “This Senior said he wishes to purchase Mithril to forge puppets.”

The stooped elder nodded, glanced at Ye Qin, and asked faintly, “How much do you know about Mithril, Sir? And how much do you understand about artifact forging using Mithril as a material?” His indifferent attitude clearly lacked any particular reverence for Ye Qin.

Ye Qin was unperturbed. He understood that with the revered status of a Puppet Artifact Forging Grandmaster, there was no need to be overly polite to a mere Golden Core cultivator.

Ye Qin shook his head. “I don’t know much, which is why I intended to purchase a set of high-grade puppet forging schematics and try it myself. Does your esteemed pavilion have any high-grade puppet forging schematics for sale?”

The stooped elder sat down on a chair and said blandly, “Mithril is a top-tier material, and furthermore, it possesses anti-spell properties, giving it extremely strong resistance to magical arts, capable of greatly weakening spell effects. This rare material can only be found deep beneath the ocean, making it incredibly difficult and precious to acquire. Usually, only a small amount of Mithril, melted and incorporated into an artifact, is enough to create an artifact with anti-spell properties. Ordinary magical attacks will have their threat significantly reduced against such an artifact. Do you know what the greatest difficulty in forging with Mithril is?”

“Since Mithril has anti-spell effects and weakens spell effects, perhaps the fire-attribute flames cannot burn it. Naturally, it can’t be forged that way.” Ye Qin pondered for a moment, grasping the core issue.

“Precisely. You grasp it quickly. Even ordinary Master Artificers cannot melt Mithril, let alone use it to forge magic tools. That is why anti-spell artifacts, while seemingly easy to forge, are almost never seen on the market. Only a very select few Artifact Forging Grandmasters possess proprietary secret arts capable of refining Mithril for crafting. These unique secret arts are never shared publicly.”

The stooped elder, in a talkative mood, chuckled, “So, Sir, I suggest you abandon the idea of forging a Mithril puppet yourself. Even the Samadhi True Fire of a Golden Core cultivator cannot melt this Mithril. If you bought the Mithril material and the puppet forging schematics, it would be a waste of money and utterly useless.”

Ye Qin felt a surge of respect for this Grandmaster.

“So, you mean I can only request the Grandmaster’s assistance to forge this Mithril puppet. Is that correct?” Ye Qin asked, weighing his words carefully, his inquiry extremely cautious. This matter was of great significance, and he could not afford carelessness.

Unexpectedly, the stooped elder shook his head. “Even I cannot manage it. Forging a single Mithril artifact, I can manage. But to forge a large Mithril puppet requires tens of times the material used for an artifact; it cannot be completed in less than several years. The mental strain required is too immense, and the forging process cannot be interrupted. It would cost me half my life force. I have been forging artifacts for too long recently, and my vital energy is depleted; I will need to rest for a while. If you wish to forge a Mithril puppet, you must seek a more capable expert elsewhere.”

Ye Qin was astonished. “If even the Grandmaster cannot forge it, then is there no one in the entire East Sea capable of crafting a Mithril puppet?”

“In the East Sea, very few artificers bother using Mithril to forge large puppet artifacts. However, there is one exception: a cultivator from an Immortal Palace who happens to favor using rare, top-tier materials like Mithril to forge puppets.” The stooped elder smiled.

“Oh? Which Immortal Palace?” Ye Qin asked.

“The Sacred Emperor Palace!” The stooped elder said solemnly, his eyes shining with a vivid light, seeming to hold deep admiration for the Sacred Emperor Palace.

“The Sacred Emperor Palace?” Ye Qin was suddenly shocked, his heart giving a jolt. Did the East Sea also have a Sacred Emperor Palace? Who was the Palace Master of this Sacred Emperor Palace? The Mithril puppets he possessed had been obtained from the Sacred Emperor in the Chaotic Lands!

The stooped elder stated, “If it were for forging other artifacts, other Immortal Palaces excel. But when it comes to forging puppets, the Sacred Emperor Palace is number one. We puppet artificers hold the Sacred Emperor Palace in the highest regard. If you wish to learn puppet forging, you must seek out someone from the Sacred Emperor Palace. However, the Sacred Emperor Palace was destroyed a thousand years ago. Only a small number of descendants remain now. After such a long time, I don’t know if they can still be found.”

Hearing this, Ye Qin understood. The Sacred Emperor Palace being destroyed a thousand years ago suggested it was the Immortal Palace of the Sacred Emperor from the Central Land’s Chaotic Lands, judging by the timeline.

He paused before asking, “Where was the Sacred Emperor Palace located?”

“Heh, the Sacred Emperor Palace was naturally in Immortal Palace City. The Sacred Emperor, once the foremost among the five giants of the Heavenly Demon Alliance, was famous throughout the East Sea; no one dared to challenge his might. Alas, a thousand years ago, the Sacred Emperor fell out with the other giants and sect masters, engaged in a great battle, and then vanished. The position of the foremost among the five giants was taken by another. After the Sacred Emperor disappeared, the Sacred Emperor Palace rapidly disintegrated. Now, very few cultivators know how to forge artifacts using Mithril,” the stooped elder lamented with emotion.

As the supreme holy land in the eyes of puppet artificers, its decline to this state weighed heavily on him.

Ye Qin conversed with the stooped elder for a long time, learning a considerable amount about the Sacred Emperor Palace in Immortal Palace City. He left the Heavenly Ingenuity Pavilion with a grim expression, unfortunately having failed to gain sufficient clues from this Puppet Artifact Forging Grandmaster.

This series of setbacks had left him feeling frustrated.

Previously, he lacked the requisite raw materials for the Great Five Elements Sword Array, and now, the Silver Armored Guard he had treasured in his storage bag still had no apparent method of repair.

This Silver Armored Guard was a Rank Nine puppet, ranking second in strength among the four armored guards in the Sacred Emperor’s Tomb, possessing combat power comparable to a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.

If he could repair the Silver Armored Guard, coupled with the Golden Core Skeleton Demon in his possession, he would effectively command the strength of three Golden Core cultivators. Even facing a late-stage Golden Core cultivator would pose little threat to him.

When his strength was lower, and opportunities nonexistent, he had never dealt with this Silver Armored Guard. Furthermore, he dared not let anyone know he possessed a Rank Nine supreme-grade puppet, the Silver Armored Guard; otherwise, the cultivators hunting him would line up from the East Sea all the way to the Central Land.

Now that he had achieved the Golden Core stage in the East Sea, possessing some ability to protect himself, it was time to find an opportunity to repair this Silver Armored Guard.

Moreover, to prevent other cultivators from discovering he owned a Rank Nine Silver Armored Guard puppet, he had to repair it himself; he could not impose upon others.

With this Rank Nine Silver Armored Guard, his strength would directly multiply several times over.

It seemed that no matter what, he needed to take time out to visit the Sacred Emperor Palace in Immortal Palace City, hoping to find the inheritance left behind by the Sacred Emperor Palace and discover a method to repair the Silver Armored Guard.

Ye Qin made up his mind.

The World Cup stage was littered with cups.