Chapter 674: Gold Armors A, B, C, D, E, and F

This desolate wilderness was naturally a vast, sparsely populated area. However, if Ji Yuan wished, he could, of course, reach a populated settlement in a very short time; he simply wasn't in a hurry to do so.

The blurred appearance of ordinary scenery did not diminish the wonder in Ji Yuan's eyes. Although Da Zhen and Zu Yue were in a life-and-death war that would determine their national destiny, for nature and all its myriad things, humans were merely a part of it. It was early spring, and the harsh cold had not yet completely receded. Yet, Ji Yuan could see vast stretches of spring's vitality brewing within the withered grass and tree trunks, marking the beginning of a brand new year.

After walking for a while in the wilderness to aid digestion, Ji Yuan, strolling leisurely, arrived at a sparse grove of small trees. Here, the trees were tall with high canopies, but one could see through the woods from front to back, making it an ideal spot to rest.

Upon reaching the spot and stopping, Ji Yuan did not immediately sit down. Instead, he took a human-shaped paper talisman from his sleeve and tossed it forward. Immediately, a flash of golden light streaked across, and a towering Golden Armored Warrior appeared beside him.

The little paper crane, which had been flitting about, immediately flew back from a distance upon seeing the Golden Armored Warrior appear, landing on its head.

“Honored One!”

The Golden Armored Warrior saluted meticulously as Ji Yuan slowly walked in small steps, circling around it once.

“Your situation is a bit special, but since you have gained sentience, it’s truly not right to keep you hidden in my sleeve. After all, you are different from the lesser ones; you had almost no consciousness when you were just a talisman paper.”

Earlier, within the Ghost Mansion of the Netherworld, Ji Yuan had, of course, noticed some of the Golden Armored Warrior’s gazes. While to ghost cultivators like Xin Wuya, the Golden Armored Divine General still appeared aloof, as its master who understood it perfectly, Ji Yuan knew that although the Golden Armored Warrior was often indifferent to most things, it was now clearly developing curiosity.

After circling the Golden Armored Warrior, Ji Yuan stopped in front of it again, looked up at its red face, and pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Let’s give you a name first. How about ‘Jin Jia’ (Golden Armor)?”

The little paper crane looked at Ji Yuan, then down at the Golden Armored Warrior. The warrior bowed to Ji Yuan, saying in its usual authoritative voice:

“Thank you, Honored One, for bestowing a name!”

Ji Yuan smiled. While it might seem like he was being lazy, he didn’t think the name was bad at all. Although the Golden Armored Warrior's reaction was calm, the aura around it fluctuated, indicating it was clearly excited deep down.

‘Naming the Golden Armored Warriors sequentially, like Jin Jia (First), Yi (Second), Bing (Third), Ding (Fourth), and so on, would be quite convenient.’

As he thought this, Ji Yuan stroked his chin and continued to observe the Golden Armored Warrior closely. He noticed the little paper crane repeatedly pointing to itself with its wing, which made Ji Yuan chuckle.

“I haven’t forgotten you. Your name is Hetong’er (Crane Child). If you find it too childish later, you can remove the ‘er’ from the end.”

Ji Yuan looked at the Golden Armored Warrior again.

“Remember the feeling that follows.”

With that, he extended his hand and pointed it remotely at the Golden Armored Warrior’s forehead. A faint magical light shone upon its forehead. Within a few breaths, the Golden Armored Warrior’s appearance gradually began to change: its height slowly decreased, its brilliant golden armor blurred, and even its fiery red complexion faded significantly, becoming less exaggerated while still remaining reddish.

After Ji Yuan withdrew his hand, what stood before him was a tall, red-faced man, about half a head taller than himself, dressed in rough linen clothes. His physique was as formidable as an iron tower, and he still exuded a powerful presence.

The little paper crane had already flown to Ji Yuan’s shoulder when the Golden Armored Warrior began to transform, observing the entire process. Once the transformation was complete, it immediately descended from Ji Yuan’s shoulder, circled the Golden Armored Warrior, and finally landed on its shoulder, attempting to peck Jin Jia’s neck.

At this moment, Jin Jia, uncharacteristically, displayed more varied movements. It looked down at itself, extended its hands to examine them, and even tried clenching its fists, producing a series of crisp cracking sounds from its bones and muscles. Then it tilted its head to look at the little paper crane on its shoulder.

“How was that? How much did you remember?”

Ji Yuan’s question made Jin Jia’s movements visibly pause, and it turned to look at Ji Yuan.

“Honored One, I… didn’t remember.”

“Then try again. First, concentrate on manifesting the form in your mind, then exert power throughout your body.”

Ji Yuan showed no displeasure; he already understood that the Golden Armored Warrior was not particularly adept at learning.

Upon hearing Ji Yuan’s words, the man immediately took them as a command. His entire body trembled, and the surrounding aura underwent a sudden drastic change.

“Boom…”

A resounding thud, like a giant hammer striking a drum, shook the soul.

The next moment, a faint golden light on Jin Jia's body intensified from dim to bright. Amidst the sounds of bones, muscles, and metal friction, Jin Jia instantly transformed back into its true form as the Golden Armored Warrior.

During this surge of aura, Ji Yuan’s long hair stirred slightly, but his body remained perfectly still. He found the Golden Armored Warrior’s process of returning to its true form quite imposing.

“Try not to overthink it. Feel how my magical energy flows within you; it’s precisely like drawing a talisman. Alright, pay close attention.”

After saying this, Ji Yuan allowed Jin Jia a few breaths to prepare, then remotely pointed at its forehead once more.

The next moment, Jin Jia’s form began to change again, just like before, swiftly transforming into a red-skinned, burly man dressed in coarse linen clothes.

This time, Jin Jia didn’t look himself over from top to bottom. Instead, it immediately fell into frowning contemplation. Ji Yuan didn’t disturb it. After waiting for quite some time, Jin Jia finally spoke.

“Honored One, I… didn’t remember it well.”

Ji Yuan had already anticipated this and nodded, saying,

“It’s alright. Let’s try again. No one is born knowing everything.”

“I obey your command!”

Jin Jia straightened its body and gave a slight bow. Ji Yuan’s relaxed demeanor didn't mean Jin Jia was relaxed; in fact, Jin Jia was under great pressure, although it didn’t yet understand the concept of pressure itself.

It revealed its true form again, then transformed its appearance once more…

Ji Yuan was quite patient. After repeating this cycle for half a day, losing count of how many times they had tried, he asked again.

“How is it?”

Jin Jia was silent for two breaths, not daring to evade Ji Yuan’s question and answering honestly.

“Honored One, I… still didn’t remember it well.”

“What about compared to the very beginning? Do you feel you’ve made any progress?”

Jin Jia frowned and thought carefully for over ten breaths before replying in a muffled voice.

“I… don’t perceive any progress.”

On top of Jin Jia’s head, the little paper crane propped up its wings and gently patted its head.

Ji Yuan finally gave up for the time being, offering a comforting word.

“Just try more in the future. For now, simply walk with me. Perhaps by seeing and experiencing more, you’ll make more progress.”

As Ji Yuan spoke, although he was looking at Jin Jia, his peripheral vision and most of his attention were on the little paper crane on Jin Jia’s head.

After comforting Jin Jia, the little creature itself showed a faint change in color and light, briefly appearing to transform its feathers, but quickly reverted.

“You, however, grasp things quickly, but you’re still missing a tiny bit.”

With that, Ji Yuan reached out and lightly tapped Jin Jia’s head, specifically touching the little paper crane’s head. The crane flapped its wings but swayed as if drunk, unable to fly. After wobbling in the air for a moment, it landed in Ji Yuan’s palm.

Ji Yuan folded the little paper crane, put it back into the brocade pouch at his chest, then glanced at Jin Jia. He stepped forward, heading northeast. Although Jin Jia’s form had changed, everything else remained the same, and it immediately kept pace with Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan’s walking speed grew faster and faster. Although his pace remained unhurried, each step covered a remarkably long distance, as if shrinking the ground. Jin Jia, however, could easily keep up with this method of travel, a stark contrast to its previous state of struggling to learn transformation.

Similar to Ji Yuan’s first visit to Zu Yue, he still saw some abandoned villages along the way. However, because the area was close to Wuya Ghost City, he didn’t find any places infested with deathly or ghostly aura, meaning there wasn’t even a lone wandering spirit.

Since a good deal of time had been spent on Jin Jia’s transformation practice, night soon fell. After Ji Yuan ascended a small knoll, a light different from starlight appeared in the distance. Through the blurry view, a faint reddish glow could be seen on the horizon, indicating the combined light of human lanterns and human vitality.

The distant light clearly belonged to Nandao County City. Ji Yuan looked at the knoll where they stood and chuckled.

“Hey, it’s this place again. This is where I first encountered that brute ox. I wonder how the two of them are doing now. Let’s rest here for the night.”

As it was late, Ji Yuan had no intention of entering Nandao County at night. Instead, he found a large rock nearby, hopped onto it, and lay down with his head propped, gazing up at the starry sky.

Jin Jia, meanwhile, stood motionless beside the rock.

“Learn to be human. If you’re not used to lying down, you can sit. No one rests standing up with their eyes open.”

“Honored One, Jin Jia does not need rest.”

Ji Yuan turned to face him and smiled.

“I didn’t say you needed rest; I just told you to learn.”

Hearing this, Jin Jia bowed slightly and cupped its hands.

“I obey your command!”

With that, it immediately sat cross-legged on the ground. This was its first time sitting down since gaining self-awareness, or perhaps since its very creation. However, its eyes remained wide open, not blinking even once.

“Oh, you still have so much to learn…”

As Ji Yuan sighed, the clothes at his chest subtly stirred. The little paper crane, now fully awake, emerged from the brocade pouch again, stretched its body, flapped its wings, and flew up. After looking around and seeing that Ji Yuan wasn’t paying attention to it, it confidently flew off into the distance.