Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Yang Chanyu had been hiding in a corner of the Immortal City of Huoshi ever since she dual cultivated with Ning Zhuo, relocating every so often.

Not only did she not leave, but she also frequented the Lava Immortal Palace more often, crazily accumulating contributions, becoming one of the strong contenders behind Zhu Xuanji.

When the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was briefing Ning Zhuo on the enemy situation, it also included Yang Chanyu.

The sudden appearance of Sun Lingtong caught Yang Chanyu by surprise.

“You actually came to find me personally. Haha, it must be something urgent that requires my help.”

Sun Lingtong giggled, “This time, I’ve come to seek cooperation, to make a big fortune together. Are you interested in a big deal?”

Of course, Yang Chanyu was interested and immediately inquired.

However, Sun Lingtong could not fully reveal the entire plan, only mentioning part of it.

This greatly dissatisfied Yang Chanyu, causing her to be wary.

“I need to know the entire plan; otherwise, I won’t participate easily.”

“I’m not someone who can be easily deceived.”

“If I don’t know the full plan, are you trying to use me as a tool?”

Sun Lingtong laughed mischievously, using all her eloquence to persuade.

Yang Chanyu merely sneered, completely unmoved.

Left with no choice, Sun Lingtong had to take a step back, “Alright then, we can sign an oath.”

“If you’re worried, we can set an agreement, can’t we?”

Yang Chanyu still shook her head.

“Our No-Void Sect specializes in making false oaths or finding loopholes in them.”

“What you’re saying makes you even less sincere.”

“You want sincerity?” Sun Lingtong gritted her teeth, her eyes firm.

“Fine, I’ll promise you this—after the Lava Immortal Palace matter is over, I’ll go back to the No-Void Sect with you!”

At these words, Yang Chanyu’s expression subtly changed.

She scrutinized Sun Lingtong seriously, “What kind of major event? What kind of benefits would make you make such a promise to me?”

“Sun Lingtong, you should know what saying such words means, right?”

Sun Lingtong’s small face turned serious and cold. She clenched her teeth, then relaxed, spreading her hands with a giggle, “Going back to see your master together means… I might die!”

Her gaze became even more determined, “But wealth comes with danger. This time, I’m risking death to make a huge gamble!”

“So, I’m betting this time.”

“You wanted sincerity? This is my sincerity.”

“Both of us are bound by a marriage agreement.”

“My promise is tied to that marriage. You should be assured now, right?”

Yang Chanyu was silent for a moment before nodding, “I am indeed reassured by that. Alright, tell me the details of the plan.”

…

The puppet Ning Zhuo used both hands to forcefully push open the third demon gate.

The checkpoint behind the third demon gate was unique.

In this checkpoint, the cultivator could operate the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique, and depending on their performance, they would be rewarded with a corresponding quality Blood Road Diagram Board.

Ning Zhuo was at the peak of the ninth layer of demonic cultivation. Although he had a puppet body, the earlier stages had allowed him to accumulate considerable blood energy.

At this moment, he selected a blank, smooth Blood Road Diagram Board and directly injected all his blood energy into it.

Although the diagram board seemed small, its capacity for blood energy was incredibly high.

Even after Ning Zhuo infused all his blood energy, it still hadn’t reached the board’s limit.

He operated the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique layer by layer according to the full technique.

Each time Ning Zhuo completed a layer, the cultivation route of the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique would imprint itself onto the diagram board, displaying blood road patterns akin to formation lines.

When he reached the eighth layer, his blood energy was depleted.

The Blood Road Diagram Board in his hands was covered with densely packed blood road patterns, layer upon layer, resembling a formation array.

Ning Zhuo sighed inwardly.

“My mastery of the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique is still lacking. I’m far from being as proficient as I am with the Five Elements Mutual Reinforcement and Restriction Technique! The Blood Road Diagram Board I created is far from top-tier quality!”

“Moreover, the amount of blood energy I possess is also a crucial factor.”

It was clear that with more abundant blood energy, even if Ning Zhuo was not as proficient in the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique, he could still imprint the diagram board to the ninth layer of the technique.

“How can I obtain more blood energy?”

Ning Zhuo quickly reviewed the various checkpoints and rooms he had passed through earlier.

“Every demonic puppet with blood energy can have its blood energy seized by me for my own use.”

“I indeed wasted some puppets before.”

“Additionally, in the preparation room, spirit stones can be exchanged for blood energy.”

Previously, Ning Zhuo had used this blood energy as material for creating mechanical puppets.

Now, he discovered another use for the blood energy.

“Lastly, there are the rewards from the Five-faced Stone Pillar Leaderboard.”

Ning Zhuo recalled that one of the rewards on the Essence Refining Leaderboard was blood energy, which wasn’t available on the other leaderboards.

However, Ning Zhuo wasn’t satisfied with the Blood Road Diagram Board he had created, which only reached the eighth layer of the technique.

After glancing at the portal ahead, he pondered for a moment before turning back and pushing open the door he had entered through.

Another cheat.

He invoked the Buddha Heart Demon Seal to return to the third central hall.

At this point, Ning Zhuo had mastered the full “Life Hanging by a Thread” divine ability. When he resonated with the Buddha Heart Demon Seal’s power, the energy loss during the transfer process had decreased to just one-tenth of the original.

Moreover, Ning Zhuo’s cultivation had increased greatly—three techniques at the peak of the ninth layer—far surpassing his previous state!

All of this made it much easier for him to open the doors of the Lava Immortal Palace trial’s later stages, allowing him to enter and exit freely.

Ning Zhuo returned to the preparation room and collected a large amount of blood energy rewards from the leaderboard.

Currently, the four major factions of Huoshi Immortal City were engrossed in diligently practicing the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art, from the fourth to the sixth layer, and hardly anyone ventured to explore the palace.

However, many wooden puppets still roamed the trial checkpoints within the palace.

By now, many ordinary cultivators had refined the Five Elements Qi Regulation Art to the peak of the third layer, gaining the qualifications to enter the palace.

If they discovered that Ning Zhuo was freely re-entering the checkpoints, it would definitely cause a commotion.

Therefore, Ning Zhuo always had the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, lead the way before retreating.

Dasheng rampaged through, destroying any mechanical puppets they encountered, clearing the path and ensuring Ning Zhuo wouldn’t be discovered by others.

Why was this mechanical ape in such a frenzy?

This behavior was completely inconsistent with the rules previously deduced by the exploration teams of the four major factions.

Ning Zhuo couldn’t be bothered with this; he could only leave it to those people to guess and speculate.

The situation was too tense for him to worry about such minor details.

After receiving the blood energy rewards from the leaderboard again, Ning Zhuo made some modifications to his body and to Dasheng’s in the preparation room.

Soon, he led Dasheng back to the special checkpoint behind the demon gate.

Just as Ning Zhuo was about to use this more abundant blood energy to create a Blood Road Diagram Board, a sudden thought struck him.

“Dasheng, you do it,” he called.

“At your command,” Yuan Dasheng stepped forward.

Receiving the influx of blood energy, Yuan Dasheng operated the demonic technique in place of Ning Zhuo, channeling it into the blank Blood Road Diagram Board.

In an instant, almost all of Dasheng’s blood energy surged into the board.

This was completely different from Ning Zhuo’s earlier blood energy infusion.

“It turns out that when one’s mastery of the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique reaches a certain level, it’s possible to pour all one’s cultivation into the board in an instant!” Ning Zhuo’s eyes lit up as he observed and learned.

It was clear that Yuan Dasheng’s understanding of the technique was far more profound than Ning Zhuo’s.

As a result, the speed at which the Blood Road Diagram Board was created was more than ten times faster than when Ning Zhuo had done it.

First layer, second layer, third layer…

The blood road patterns of the technique quickly appeared, layering themselves onto the diagram board.

In just the time of about twenty breaths, the Blood Road Diagram Board had already reached the sixth layer of the demonic technique.

Starting from the seventh layer, the creation speed noticeably slowed down.

At the seventh to ninth layers, the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique required a vast accumulation of blood energy.

However, Yuan Dasheng’s speed in creating the diagram board was still much faster than Ning Zhuo’s had been for the first six layers.

Seventh layer, eighth layer, ninth layer!

After completing the ninth layer, the Blood Road Diagram Board still had a large surplus of blood energy.

Yuan Dasheng showed no signs of stopping and continued the process.

Before long, the Blood Road Diagram Board even began to etch the blood patterns corresponding to the Foundation Establishment stage of the technique.

Early Foundation Establishment, Mid Foundation Establishment, all the way to Late Foundation Establishment!

At this point

, the blood energy was finally exhausted, and Yuan Dasheng had no choice but to stop operating the technique.

Ning Zhuo was overjoyed and immediately took the Blood Road Diagram Board into his hands for close examination.

He had only obtained the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique, but only up to the Qi Refining stage. He had no knowledge of the technique’s Foundation Establishment stage.

But now, Yuan Dasheng had created this.

This validated what the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had said before.

The original scripture of the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique had already merged with Yuan Dasheng, becoming part of his instincts!

“Yuan Dasheng, can you write down all of the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique?” Ning Zhuo asked.

Yuan Dasheng hesitated for a moment before half-kneeling and cupping his hands, “Master, I am incapable of fulfilling your command.”

Upon further questioning, Ning Zhuo realized that Yuan Dasheng could only use the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique but did not understand it.

He had been refined by the Lava Immortal Palace and retained no memories, only purified spirituality.

The full scripture of the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique had become part of his instincts. To articulate it in words was beyond his ability.

“Even so, I may still be able to use this special checkpoint to have Yuan Dasheng complete the recording of the entire Demonic Blood Tendon Technique!”

Ning Zhuo immediately thought of a new plan, leveraging the Blood Road Diagram Board.

“But this would require too much blood energy.”

Ning Zhuo made some quick calculations regarding the total amount of blood energy he could collect within the checkpoint.

He compared the amount of blood energy used during both of his Blood Road Diagram Board creations.

To his regret, he realized that the total amount of blood energy he could gather fell short of the requirement for a Golden Core-level technique.

“Forget it.”

“When I seize the Lava Immortal Palace in the future, won’t I be able to access the full content of the Three Sect Lords’ techniques?”

“For now, I should focus on clearing the Demon Gate path first!”

This task was crucial to him.

It was directly tied to whether he could overcome the current crisis.

“First, let’s install the Blood Road Diagram Board.”

The puppet Ning Zhuo sat on the ground, lowering his head as he opened the small door on his chest, revealing the mechanical structures within.

In preparation for installing the Blood Road Diagram Board, he had already made modifications in the preparation room.

He held the Blood Road Diagram Board and inserted it into the middle of his spine.

There, a slot he had specially crafted awaited it.

With a click, the Blood Road Diagram Board was smoothly installed into the slot.

The slot’s base closed tightly on both ends, firmly securing the diagram board in place.

Since Ning Zhuo had no blood energy left, he couldn’t activate the Blood Road Diagram Board to verify if the installation was successful.

Ning Zhuo speculated internally, “The next checkpoint must reward blood energy! Otherwise, the Blood Road Diagram Board would be useless.”

“The Three Sect Lords must have had a purpose for creating this special checkpoint. They wouldn’t waste effort on something pointless.”

Ning Zhuo gently tugged at the Blood Road Diagram Board, confirming that it was securely fixed in place and wouldn’t come loose from violent movement.

He then closed the small door on his chest and patted it with his hand to ensure it was completely locked.

Ning Zhuo repeated the process on the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, inserting the other Blood Road Diagram Board into his chest.

The mechanical structure of Dasheng was tightly packed.

The temporary slot Ning Zhuo had crafted couldn’t be placed at chest height, so Ning Zhuo had to compromise by positioning it in the abdomen, where there was a small amount of space.

Due to the limited space, the slot for Dasheng was much simpler than the one Ning Zhuo made for himself.

Installing Dasheng’s Blood Road Diagram Board required extra care.

Ning Zhuo carefully held the sides of the diagram board, aligned it with the slot, and gently but firmly pushed it in.

Dasheng’s slot had a different locking mechanism than Ning Zhuo’s. Ning Zhuo had to manually engage the locks on both sides.

After completing this step, he followed the slot’s wires upward, inspecting the connections to Dasheng’s heart components.

After confirming that there were no issues with the two wires and their connections, Ning Zhuo finally closed Dasheng’s chest.