Chapter 682: The genius of puppetry, Qian Zhuyan!

Chapter 680: Puppet Dao Prodigy - Qianzhu Yan!

“So this is the puppet with divine soul consciousness that my husband encountered in the secret realm?”

Honglian’s clear and transparent beautiful eyes gleamed with a reddish light as she examined the puppet before her.

She didn’t know much about the path of puppetry.

But she had heard that some puppet dao factions possessed secret techniques for infusing spirits, allowing them to inject puppet spirits into puppets, granting them a degree of thought and consciousness.

Or, similar to cultivating spiritual treasures, they could cultivate a puppet spirit akin to an artifact spirit within the puppet.

But regardless of the method, both were extremely rare.

“That’s right, it’s this puppet.”

Lu Changsheng nodded, lightly raising his hand to remove the sealing talismans and rope magical treasures from the puppet.

“Husband, since this puppet possesses divine soul consciousness, you should first lay down a restriction on its divine soul, lest it have any hidden tricks later.”

Seeing this, Honglian immediately spoke up to remind him, her voice soft and melodious.

“You’re right.”

The situation was urgent at the time, and Lu Changsheng had only sealed the puppet before him, binding it with magical treasures, without employing too many other methods.

Immediately, he formed hand seals, and the golden little figure of his Taiyi divine soul emerged from his glabella, casting the 《Six Desires Heart Demon Art》 to lay down a divine soul restriction on the seemingly sleeping puppet before him.

After casting the 《Six Desires Heart Demon Art》, Lu Changsheng slightly furrowed his brow, feeling the effect was somewhat lacking.

He hadn’t spent time cultivating this technique, so the divine soul restriction he laid down was quite ordinary, only capable of affecting Core Formation cultivators.

He then cast a divine soul secret technique from the 《Ten Thousand Calamity Poison Spirit Secret Codex》.

Although Lu Changsheng hadn’t cultivated this technique either, his Chaos Body had merged with the [Calamity Poison Body], making it effortless to employ its secret techniques.

Instantly, yin and yang magic power circulated, and a mass of third-tier top-grade potent poison brewed within Lu Changsheng’s body, transforming into a small, eerie green poison worm.

“Whoosh!”

Lu Changsheng formed hand seals, his Taiyi divine soul shining brightly at his glabella, and the small poison worm instantly surged into the puppet’s body, slowly residing and coiling around the puppet’s divine soul like a bone-deep parasite.

This secret technique was called [Poison Spirit Restriction]. As long as Lu Changsheng had a thought, he could detonate the poison spirit, polluting and eroding the opponent’s divine soul.

Lu Changsheng wasn’t sure if it could kill a Nascent Soul divine soul, but polluting the divine soul of a Core Formation cultivator was certainly not a problem.

Honglian, watching Lu Changsheng’s methods beside him, was filled with amazement.

Among the many things about Lu Changsheng that defied common sense, one she was most curious about was how many divine abilities, secret techniques, and inherited skills he was proficient in.

After all, alchemy, artifact refining, talisman crafting, dragon seeking, and the array dao he had previously displayed, as well as various cultivation methods and spell techniques, would take even a Nascent Soul cultivator at least a hundred years to master.

“Alright.”

After completing the restrictive measures, Lu Changsheng nodded in satisfaction, then removed all the restrictions from the puppet’s body.

“Buzz buzz buzz—”

A moment later, a crisp sound emanated from the silent puppet body, as if a precise war machine was starting up.

Within the dark, empty eye sockets, two clusters of soul fire slowly burned, emitting a faint divine soul fluctuation.

“Ghost Dao puppet? No, it’s not the aura of a ghost cultivator, just similar…”

Honglian sensed this fluctuation, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, and she carefully examined the puppet before her.

However, the puppet’s aura only slightly revived before falling silent again, remaining motionless.

“?”

Lu Changsheng looked at the puppet before him and said calmly, “Since Your Excellency possesses divine soul consciousness, you must know your current situation. Why not speak and converse?”

The puppet remained completely silent, showing no reaction.

“In the secret realm at that time, Your Excellency saw your master die but was able to escape alone, even controlling twelve puppets to self-destruct, and you possess divine soul fluctuations, suggesting you are similar to us cultivators. Therefore, I am quite curious about your situation.”

“If you wish to continue living, then speak up. If you have the will to die, then I can also grant your wish.”

Lu Changsheng continued, speaking leisurely.

“It’s you!”

The puppet’s pupils burned with dark flames as it looked at Lu Changsheng, instantly recognizing him as the man who had killed Shi Xuan and captured it in the secret realm.

“Your Excellency captured me alive. How do you plan to handle me? Do you simply want to know about my situation?”

The puppet continued to speak, its voice like sandpaper, hoarse with traces of grimness, revealing it was female.

“That depends on how Your Excellency performs.”

Lu Changsheng smiled indifferently, but couldn’t help but wonder inwardly, could this puppet really be a woman?

If the other party was similar to the Thousand-Faced Fox Puppet, refined by a previous puppet dao genius from his own wife, would there be no possibility of reconciliation between himself and her?

However, judging by her words, she didn’t seem to harbor deep hatred…

Qianzhu Yan fell silent, not speaking.

If she could choose, she naturally wanted to live, to live well, and to avenge herself.

But now that she had fallen into the other party’s hands, how could she have any choice?

Through his previous methods and the bone-deep parasite wrapped around her divine soul, she knew she couldn’t even self-destruct.

“I also have some understanding of the path of puppetry, but at most I can cultivate simple consciousness in puppets, so I am quite curious about Your Excellency’s situation.”

“As long as Your Excellency can enlighten me, letting you go free is not out of the question.”

Lu Changsheng said calmly and casually, as if he was merely genuinely interested.

“I transformed half of my divine soul into a puppet spirit and perfectly fused it with this puppet, thus maintaining my divine soul consciousness.”

The puppet spoke, its hoarse, cold voice seemingly carrying a hint of chilliness.

“Transformed half of your divine soul into a puppet spirit!?”

Not only Lu Changsheng, but even Honglian was shocked upon hearing this.

What a ruthless person.

This was definitely a ruthless person.

To actually transform half of one’s divine soul into a puppet spirit.

One must know that a cultivator’s divine soul is extremely important.

Once severed or damaged, it would affect the divine soul’s origin, and even one’s lifespan and potential.

“Was Your Excellency a puppet dao cultivator in your previous life?”

Lu Changsheng inquired.

“Yes. If you are interested in this secret technique, as long as you let me go, I can give it to you.”

Qianzhu Yan saw Lu Changsheng’s surprise and spoke up.

“So, the man who attacked my spirit beast and was killed by me before was not your master? The one who controlled and displayed the puppet battle array was also not that person, but you.”

Knowing that the puppet before him was not a third-tier puppet refined by someone else, Lu Changsheng instantly realized that the previous twelve puppets were likely controlled by this puppet.

The puppet dao peerless prodigy he had thought was merely an ordinary late-stage Core Formation cultivator, not the master of this puppet.

“Yes.”

The dark flames in the puppet’s eye sockets burned as it responded hoarsely.

“Remarkable.”

Lu Changsheng praised, realizing this was a talent, a top-tier talent, and continued to inquire, “So, the previous puppets were also crafted by Your Excellency?”

His greatest gain from this trip to the secret realm was various heavenly and earthly spiritual materials.

Unless he fully armed himself or equipped his Core Formation wives and children with multiple magical treasures each, he wouldn’t be able to use them all.

But having him refine artifacts and magical treasures himself was simply impossible given his time and energy constraints.

If the puppet before him was a top-tier puppet master, subduing it would allow him to use these rare materials to refine third-tier top-grade puppets, increasing the family’s foundation!

“Yes.”

The puppet continued to respond.

“Listening to your words, Fellow Daoist, you seem to wish to survive. If that’s the case, let’s make a deal.”

“As long as Fellow Daoist crafts for me… hmm, a hundred puppets, and teaches your puppet techniques, and trains ten puppet masters for me, I can grant you freedom.”

The Lu family of Bilake Mountain was renowned for puppetry in its early years, but as time passed and they moved out of the Bilake Mountain area, their puppetry skills became somewhat insufficient.

Since the puppet before him was a top-tier puppet grandmaster, it could help his family cultivate puppet masters and forge top-tier puppets.

“I transformed half of my divine soul into a puppet spirit and cannot remain awake and conscious for long periods. At most, I can give you my puppet techniques.”

Qianzhu Yan suppressed the turmoil in her divine soul and spoke, her voice hoarse and grim.

She had faced a life-or-death crisis in her early years, and seeing her sect destroyed, in her haste, she fused her divine soul into a puppet.

The process, due to a strange coincidence, resulted in half of her divine soul transforming into a puppet spirit, allowing her to perfectly control the puppet.

However, the price was that the half of her divine soul that transformed into a puppet spirit became like a ghost cultivator, its personality gradually twisted, with only hatred and obsession remaining in her heart.

In this state, her conscious divine soul was constantly being eroded and influenced by the puppet spirit’s divine soul, requiring her to enter a state of deep sleep through a secret technique to dispel this influence and negative emotions.

“Cannot remain awake and conscious for long periods?”

Lu Changsheng slightly furrowed his brow, immediately feeling that the puppet’s value was ordinary.

After all, his family possessed the puppet technique inheritance of True Monarch Tianyuan.

With his status and strength as the City Lord of Great Dream City, it wouldn’t be difficult to obtain several puppet dao inheritances.

The reason he wanted to subdue her was that often, having cultivation methods and inheritances alone was useless; one needed guidance and instruction.

Since this puppet couldn’t help with teaching or crafting puppets, it had no value.

“How were your previous twelve puppets crafted?”

Lu Changsheng asked.

Since she couldn’t remain awake for long periods, where did the twelve third-tier puppets come from?

Qianzhu Yan was silent for a moment before saying, “Although I cannot remain conscious for long periods, I can extend my conscious time through soul dao rare treasures and secret artifacts.”

“Moreover, the person you killed was also a Third-tier puppeteer. Most of these puppets were crafted in collaboration with him.”

Though the puppet’s voice was calm, it grew increasingly chilling, like a whisper from the abyss of hell, sending shivers down one’s spine.

“Husband, this person’s soul, which transformed into a puppet spirit, is somewhat similar to the method of ghost cultivation. Therefore, I suspect her puppet spirit soul, like a ghost cultivator, must cultivate in a land of extreme yin. Otherwise, it will be invaded by the turbid yin energy between heaven and earth and turn into a malevolent spirit.”

At this moment, Hong Lian sent a telepathic message to Lu Changsheng: “However, her situation is different from a ghost cultivator’s. If she cultivates in a land of extreme yin, the other half of her soul might not adapt and will be continuously eroded by ghost energy.”

“Mm.”

Lu Changsheng also saw that the puppet’s emotional state was very unstable, as if forcibly suppressing the agitation of its soul.

He continued to speak leisurely to the puppet: “Since that’s the case, let’s make a deal. As long as you can craft puppets for me and train puppeteers, you can ask for any soul path treasures you need.”

The puppet fell silent, as if sinking into deathly stillness, emanating a chilling aura.

“There is no significant enmity between us. Since you can cooperate with others, I assume you can also cooperate with me.”

“Besides, the previous incident was initiated by you attacking my spirit beast.”

Lu Changsheng said lightly, his tone consistently relaxed and natural.

“I want revenge! As long as you help me avenge my blood feud, I am willing to craft puppets for you! I will teach you all my puppet techniques!”

The puppet, gleaming with a dark, cold luster, suddenly trembled violently, like a war machine powering up. Its voice was like a venomous snake or a night owl, full of pain, sorrow, and resentment.

“Don’t get agitated. Let’s talk things through slowly.”

Lu Changsheng saw that the puppet’s soul state was problematic. He immediately raised his hand slightly, and Yin-Yang spiritual power flowed, attempting to stabilize her condition.

Under the balance of Yin-Yang spiritual power, the puppet’s state gradually calmed down a bit. It then spoke with a touch of sorrow and pleading: “Revenge, as long as you help me get revenge, I can be your puppet, doing anything for you…”

Qian Zhuyan knew that having fallen into Lu Changsheng’s hands, it was almost impossible for him to let her go.

She entered the [Vast Sand Illusory Realm] precisely to help Shi Xuan break through to Nascent Soul, and then to advance herself to a Fourth-tier puppet, thereby avenging her blood feud.

The person before her was far stronger than herself, so with no other choice, she decided to seize this opportunity.

Looking at the puppet’s disordered state, Lu Changsheng spoke in a calm, low voice, asking her what happened.

After a while, Lu Changsheng understood the puppet’s situation.

She came from the Endless Desert, from a Core Formation level force called the [Thousand Bamboo Sect].

When her spiritual root was tested in her youth, she displayed a Heavenly Spiritual Root phenomenon and possessed a powerful divine sense. She was therefore taken in as a disciple by the Master of the Thousand Bamboo Sect and given the name Qian Zhuyan.

At the age of twenty-one, she successfully broke through to Foundation Establishment without needing a Foundation Establishment Pill, astonishing the entire Thousand Bamboo Sect.

Subsequently, under the guidance of the sect, she diligently studied puppet techniques.

Compared to cultivating with a Heavenly Spiritual Root, her talent in the puppet path was even more terrifying.

In just two and a half years, she crafted a Second-tier puppet and became a Second-tier puppeteer, hailed by her master as the first genius since the founding of the Thousand Bamboo Sect.

In the following time, she focused all her attention on the puppet path. In just ten years, she crafted a high-grade Second-tier puppet.

What hindered her continued deep study of the puppet path was not talent, but cultivation.

Her master also told her that she should prioritize cultivation, as only by breaking through to Core Formation could she craft a Third-tier sect-guarding puppet.

Because she spent too much time on the puppet path, she only reached the peak of Foundation Establishment at the age of ninety-one.

With the Thousand Bamboo Sect’s nurturing and resource preparation, she crafted a Third-tier puppet at the age of ninety-eight and broke through to Core Formation in one go.

At this point, the sect’s ability to help her was limited. She began to give back to the sect, focusing on studying the sect’s puppet legacy.

Over a hundred years, she not only crafted a high-grade Third-tier puppet but also improved the sect’s Puppet Path Scripture, causing the Thousand Bamboo Sect to flourish.

However, the Thousand Bamboo Sect’s rapid development and puppet business attracted the covetous eyes of others, especially the Ancient Puppet Sect, one of the top powers in the Endless Desert!

The Ancient Puppet Sect, like the Thousand Bamboo Sect, was also a force primarily focused on puppets.

Seeing the Thousand Bamboo Sect’s situation, they wanted to make them a vassal, demanding they hand over their puppet path legacy and ninety percent of their profits.

How could the Thousand Bamboo Sect agree? They negotiated with them.

Unexpectedly, the Ancient Puppet Sect’s offer of vassalage was just a facade. They had already agreed with several other forces to divide up the Thousand Bamboo Sect.

One day, the Thousand Bamboo Sect faced the disaster of annihilation.

Although Qian Zhuyan was extraordinarily talented and a master of the puppet path, capable of contending against peak Core Formation cultivators with puppet formations, her cultivation was only at the mid-Core Formation stage, far from being a match for the Ancient Puppet Sect.

Watching the sect be destroyed and facing imprisonment by the Ancient Puppet Sect cultivators, she chose to self-detonate her Core Formation.

However, at that instant, she thought of a conjecture she had researched years ago regarding puppets: using the method of ghost cultivation to turn herself into a ghost spirit, merging it into the puppet core, and becoming a puppet spirit.

But a cultivator turning into a ghost cultivator is like being reborn, almost completely different from their former self, and can be considered a completely new life.

Moreover, not every cultivator can successfully transform into a ghost cultivator. It requires the right time, place, and conditions, such as a land of extreme yin, turbid yin ghost energy, and ghost path treasures.

But perhaps due to the hatred and obsession in her heart, she succeeded.

At the moment of self-detonation, through the technique of soul transfer, she merged her soul into this puppet and then escaped the Ancient Puppet Sect’s pursuit.

To maintain consciousness and avenge her blood feud, she only transformed half of her soul into a ghost path puppet spirit.

However, puppets are different from people. They cannot improve through cultivation; only the puppet spirit and the quality of the puppet can be enhanced.

And with half of her soul transformed into a ghost path puppet spirit, her soul constantly endures the invasion of turbid yin energy and the influence of the puppet spirit’s obsession and hatred, continuously assimilating and transforming towards a malevolent spirit.

For this, she used her self-created cultivation method, the “Minor Evolution Technique,” to alleviate this situation through sleep.

But this also meant her conscious time was limited, and she couldn’t do many things herself, only through the help of others.

The man killed by Lu Changsheng in the previous [Vast Sand Illusory Realm] was one of her main collaborators.

They made a Heart Demon Oath: as long as she helped the other party obtain the Nascent Soul opportunity, the other party would fully assist her in advancing to the Fourth-tier and getting revenge on the Ancient Puppet Sect.

“Good heavens…”

After understanding Qian Zhuyan’s situation, Lu Changsheng was momentarily speechless.

To say she had means? She believed in the idea of a Nascent Soul cultivator helping her reach the Fourth-tier.

To say she was foolish? Yet she could improve the Thousand Bamboo Sect’s cultivation methods and puppet legacy, create her own cultivation method, and even accomplish the feat of merging her soul into a puppet while maintaining consciousness.

“It’s a good thing you met me.”

Lu Changsheng sighed inwardly.

Qian Zhuyan’s soul state was currently disordered, so based on the soul fluctuations, he could tell that her words were not false.

In this situation, as long as the other party genuinely submitted, he didn’t mind helping her get revenge.

If she was obedient, he could even help her reconstruct her physical body if he obtained a treasure like a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Embryo in the future.

“Your soul state is not good right now. Sleep well first, and we’ll discuss the details when you wake up.”

“As long as you can show your value, helping you advance to the Fourth-tier and avenge yourself against the Ancient Puppet Sect is not a difficult matter.”

Lu Changsheng said lightly.

Although he wasn’t sure about the Ancient Puppet Sect’s specific strength, based on his guess, they would have at most one or two Nascent Soul cultivators.

As long as he broke through to Nascent Soul, this wouldn’t be a difficult matter.

“Thank you…”

The puppet seemed unable to suppress its state, its body trembling constantly, as if it could riot at any moment and attack Lu Changsheng and Hong Lian.

Hearing Lu Changsheng’s words, it instantly relaxed. The soul fire in its pupils gradually receded, and it fell silent, like an ordinary puppet.

“Buzz!”

Lu Changsheng watched for a moment, then flicked his finger, forming a barrier with flowing Yin-Yang spiritual power. He then asked Hong Lian next to him: “Hong Lian, what do you think?”

“This person’s words have a high degree of truthfulness, but one cannot believe everything.”

Hong Lian, wearing a simple and elegant crimson robe, her cloud-like hair neatly pinned up, said with graceful and dignified posture.

“However, talent in the puppet path cannot be faked. Husband can verify it later. If her words are true and she can be subdued for Husband’s use, it can also add a helper.”

Although she no longer had a physical body or the talent of a Heavenly Spiritual Root.

Her talent in the puppet path, however, would not be affected. With the improvement of her cultivation and soul, she might even advance further.

“Mm, later I’ll have Zixiao check the situation of this Ancient Puppet Sect. Moreover, regarding this kind of incident, there should be relevant information. A simple check will reveal the truth.”

Lu Changsheng held his wife’s soft, boneless white jade hand and said with a smile.

He currently possessed quite a few Fourth-tier Heaven and Earth spiritual materials.

If Qian Zhuyan’s words were true, he didn’t mind helping her advance to the Fourth-tier right now.

As long as she advanced to a Fourth-tier puppet, he would essentially gain another Fourth-tier combat force!