Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

As the artifact cracked apart, its once imposing structure crumbled to the ground before dissolving into a gentle mist made entirely of pure qi. Where the imposing structure that had made him feel somewhat uneasy had once stood, Xuan Hao now saw something entirely unexpected suspended in the air where the core of the strange artifact had once been.

Looking closer, a small, round creature could be seen hovering gently in the air, pulsing with a soft, bioluminescent glow.

Its body a semi-transparent, jelly like blob, somewhere between a polished pearl and a drifting cloud, while color scheme was anything but ordinary, constantly shifting between a soft ocean blue, a gentle pink and occasionally a brilliant gold.

Observing closer, the surface wobbled slightly with each movement, causing tiny ripples to travel across its form as though it was made of some kind of liquid.

Although, it had no distinct limbs so to speak, he did spot a few small tendrils emerging from its surface every now and then, though they wouldn’t remain for long, as they would soon melt back into its body. All the while its two round, bright eyes blinked up at Mui, its eyes glistening with a childlike curiosity.

And as it began floating closer to Mui, its movement slow and deliberate, like a droplet of water suspended in a slow-moving current, Xuan Hao could faintly make out a strange bubbly sound somewhere between a bird chirping and the soft pop of a raindrop landing in a pond of still water.

Even the air around it felt… Different.

The ominous and dangerous presence that had once radiated from the strange artifact had completely disappeared. Instead, it was replaced by a pure, untainted qi that radiated off the floating blob. The qi so rich that it surpassed anywhere found on the Shattered Star Peaks, while at the same time being gentle enough that even the surrounding plants and vegetation could easily absorb it, causing them to perk up as they began a process of rapidly evolving in the direction of becoming spiritual plants. Creating an almost immortal presence around the floating blob.

Boop~

Then, with no hesitation, Xuan Hao watched as it booped Mui’s forehead with a tiny wobbly tendril in a somewhat childish and playful greeting.

If not for the fact that he could clearly sense that the strange creature posed no threat to his disciple, he would never have allowed it to get anywhere close to her. However, no matter how much he analyzed the strange creature with his divine sense, he simply couldn’t see it as a threat.

Even as it began to gently pat Mui’s head, he was unable to see it as a threat and decided that he would have to ask his disciple more in depth about this creature, as from her reaction it seemed like she had already been expecting the strange yet intimidating artifact to hatch something this…. Adorable…

Blinking her eyes at the floating creature in front of her as it wobbled in the air, its jelly-like body pulsing with a warm glow, Mui smiled with joy as it let out another gentle, bubbly chirp before booping her forehead again with a tiny tendril, as if impatient for acknowledgment.

”You’re far cutter than I anticipated…” Mui muttered to herself as the little creature wiggled, its body shifting from a soft pink to a contented golden hue.

She had expected something far more noble and terrifying to come out… And yet, it turned out completely different from what she had expected. Turning into something small, round, and undeniably cute.

It was a being born from the countless rare materials she had gathered over a period of more than three years together with Song Jia, absorbing the countless materials and a vast amount of spiritual energy until it could take form.

Of course, even if it turned out to look a bit different from what she had expected it to, she didn’t care that much, as it clearly still had the attributes that she had wanted from. Able to absorb spiritual qi and refine it into a far higher quality, something that would not only be helpful to the sect and her master, but also her own cultivation.

Although… The main reason she had decided on creating something to purify the qi in the sect did not have much to do with something like that, but more so because she thought it would be interesting to see if she could create something living, something that she had succeeded in.

Smiling triumphantly to herself as she thought about this, Mui reached out before lightly tapping the bouncy surface of the creature floating in front of her.

”Hm… You will need a name… What about Baobao?” Muttering this to herself as she looked at the little creature, Mui saw how it jiggled happily in response to her words before letting out a delighted sound, spinning once in the air before landing on her shoulder, snuggling close to her.

”Baobao it is! From now on, your name is Baobao!” Seeing the cute little creature and feeling it snuggeling up against her, Mui smiled happily as its name was officially chosen.

”…”

At the same time, Xuan Hao kept his attention fully focused on the strange creature, now named Baobao.

The main reason why he only observed and didn’t take any action so far was because the creature was doing what she had just exclaimed to have been the original purpose of the artifact when it had seemingly failed earlier, it absorbed and refined the qi around it before expelling qi of a far higher purity and quality from its body.

On another note, analyzing the strange creature with his divine sense, he discovered that the cultivation of this seemingly harmless creature had already reached the Early Stage of the Dao Seed Realm. Meaning that it might not be as harmless as it looked on the surface.

Even then, as his full attention remained focused on Mui in case something happened, it became clear that the strange floating blob, Baobao, showed a lot of affection towards Mui. Potentially even viewing her as its parent, as she had in a sense been the one to create it...

Whoosh~

With that in mind, Xuan Hao decided to personally go down. Landing next to Mui and the strange floating blob-

Boop~

And as a result, he was similarly booped by a tiny tendril, something that the nearby Song Jia also experienced after she got closer.

Is this perhaps some way to show friendship…?

Thinking this to himself, Xuan Hao kept his gaze focused on the strange blob as it gently lifted off the shoulder of Mui before floating through the air without a care in the world.

”Master? Is something wrong?” And it was at this time Mui finally turned her attention away from the floating blob to ask her master.

”Yes… Would you mind explaining what this… Blob is?” Hearing his disciple’s question, Xuan Hao didn’t beat around the bush and directly asked her what was on his mind while pointing towards the floating blob that was slowly floating into the distance at a speed that made him think it might be some kind of floating snail.

”Master! It’s not a blob! It’s Baobao! And Baobao is a living artifact that is designed to take in spiritual qi and purify it to a higher quality. Making it easier to absorb.

Baobao naturally absorbs qi from its surroundings, then condenses and refines it into a purer and more potent form. The longer it processes qi, the richer it becomes. So… Any cultivator who stays near Baobao will have their cultivation speed increased. Not just that, but floating around, Baobao will make the environment around it richer and better suited for cultivation, even helping the growth of spiritual plants.”

”This… is amazing, but, what is a living artifact…?” Listening to what Mui said, Xuan Hao could not help showing a surprised expression on his face, the abilities of the little blob called Baobao was actually far more amazing than he had expected. Not just that, but she also mentioned something he hadn’t heard of before, a living artifact.

”What it is… Hm… I don’t know? I just wanted to create an artifact that wasn’t boring like the ones senior brother Bai Ning makes, thus, a living artifact! Look at how cute it is! It can even spin in the air~!”

As Baobao let out a soft, bubbly chirp in agreement before making a few spins in the air, Xuan Hao could not help closing his eyes.

He had expected too much from his youngest disciple, she had no idea what a living artifact was and just called it that because the artifact she had created was alive. Not giving him a chance to understand if there existed other living artifacts like Baobao or how they might come into existence.

However, the existence of Baobao did confirm the existence of living artifacts, something that still felt beyond the scope of the current Star Shattering Sect’s blacksmiths. Perhaps even beyond the scope of a Saint Realm Blacksmith…