Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 769: Ten Puppets

[The Sky Puppet Imperial Art: A divine puppet-controlling technique that originates from the Ancient Sky Puppet Sect, allowing the wielder to create and command divine-grade battle puppets infused with the essence of heaven and earth. Unlike ordinary puppet arts, which rely on physical materials and manual control, this technique allows the user the ability to control puppets with pure soul power, eliminating the need for external strings or talismans. There are ten types of puppets that can be created, and each puppet has its own function.]

[Puppet types.]

1. Guardian Puppet: Often equipped with defensive formations, these puppets are usually used to safeguard sects, tombs, homes, or masters. The grade depends on the material used, such as wood, iron, steel, stone, bone, and many more.

2. Battle Puppet: These puppets are used to assist the master in battle, and they have seven grades, depending on the materials used to create them.

3. Trap Puppet: These puppets are commonly used to confuse, lure, and trap enemies. Their grade depends on the material.

4. Alchemy Puppets: This type of puppet is usually used by alchemists in alchemy, such as keeping the fire stable, preparing herbs, and others.

5. Crafting Puppets: This type of puppet is usually used to assist in forging weapons and refining artifacts.

6. Blood Puppets: These puppets are created using the userʼs blood essence, linked directly to the userʼs vitality.

7. Soul Puppets: The users need several materials, such as the Soulbound Mithril, the Soulwood Essence, the Soulforged Bone, and living beings souls to create them. These puppetsʼ power comes from the living beings and the userʼs soul as well.

8. Nine Yin Puppet: To create these puppets, the user needs female corpses that were born on the night when Yin was at its peak. The user must refine these puppets with various materials to increase their strength.

9. Cursed Puppet: These puppets are like a double-edged sword because the curse can drain vitality and reduce lifespan, including their creator.

10. Demonic Puppets: To create these puppets, the user needs demon or demon beast corpses and cores that have just died, and their strength depends on their demon ranks.

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ʼThe guardian puppet is not bad, but its strength depends on the materials. Therefore, I must find the best materials to make some, and I will use them to protect my residence.ʼ

[Master, Cheng Gaoji is one of the best artifact crafters in the upper realms, so I think you can discuss it with him first, and he might be able to help you with the materials.]

Zhang Xiaolong [3] gave a light nod. ʼEven though I have five clones, the battle and trap puppets are still useful for me, so I donʼt need to be directly involved in battle, and I can use them to deal with my enemies. Additionally, I want to make one for each of my women so they have a protector when Iʼm away.ʼ

[Your women are quite numerous now, so you need a lot of materials and money to give them one each. Moreover, creating one is definitely not easy and takes a long time, but itʼs not a big deal since you have five clones and your training space.]

ʼYou are aware that the women by my side are quite numerous now, yet you still want me to have a thousand women.ʼ

[Hehehe! Master, you are a lust demon, and your lust will become much higher once you evolve into a transcendent lust demon in the future. You may not believe me now, but you will realize that the number of women you have now will not be enough to quell your lust then.]

Zhang Xiaolong [3] raised an eyebrow after hearing that. He himself was aware that his lust had indeed become higher after he evolved into a lust demon lord, and he would still evolve once more. He ignored that because he still needed a very long time to evolve into a transcendent lust demon. ʼHey! I have to create the alchemy and crafting puppets as soon as possible, and my two clones wonʼt waste much time doing alchemy and blacksmithing. What do you think about the blood puppet, Mei?ʼ

[Ordinary cultivators might have a hard time controlling a blood puppet, especially since it links with the userʼs vitality. However, you are a lust demon, and your vitality is simply too high. Not to mention, you still have some abilities to increase your vitality, so I think itʼs fine if you want to create and use one. As for the soul puppet, your soul power is not yet sufficient to control one, and the three materials used to create it are extremely rare, so you still have to be patient to create it.]

ʼI see.ʼ Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded in understanding. ʼThe cursed puppet is too scary, so I will avoid creating it, at least for now. As for the Nine Yin Puppet, I donʼt understand why my senior brotherʼs grandfather forbade him from creating it, but I have a good feeling about it, so I must find a female corpse that was born on the night when Yin was at its peak as soon as possible.ʼ

Mei immediately spoke. [Isnʼt that easy, Master? There is a corpse demon by your fifth cloneʼs side now, so you can try asking Wang Yin about it, and she might be able to help you get that female corpse.]

ʼWell, youʼre right, but I still have to be careful of Wang Yin because she doesnʼt have a soul, so I donʼt know whether sheʼs truly good or evil.ʼ Zhang Xiaolong [3] then thought about the last puppet. ʼDemonic Puppet, huh? The strength of the puppet depends on the demon rank, so I have to look for the corpse of a demon or demon beast of at least King Rank. However, it requires the corpse of a demon or demon beast that has just died, so I have to kill it myself to turn it into a puppet. Are there many demon kings or queens in this realm, Mei?ʼ

[Master. There are ten demon kings and five demon queens, and they are spread out in several other areas. They should be the subordinates of Wang Yin and the three demon emperors, and their strength is higher than yours because their cultivation is at the early stage of the Divine Manifestation Realm, so you must be careful if you want to fight any of them.]

ʼYeah, youʼre right, Mei.ʼ

”Have you started studying the technique?” Lin Moxian, who had just finished swallowing the pills, asked.

Zhang Xiaolong [3] turned his head to his senior brother. ”I plan to create some puppets, especially the guardian and battle puppets, to protect my residence and all my family members. Unfortunately, I donʼt have their materials, so I have to look for them first.”

”I see.” Lin Moxian nodded in understanding. ”Unfortunately, I donʼt have the materials to create them, and I usually create my puppets in my clan. If you want to try creating those puppets, I think we can drop by the Xianjin Realm, and you can buy all the materials you need there.”

”Is the Xianjin Realm closer than the Void Heaven Realm?”

Lin Moxian immediately explained to him. ”The Xianjin Realm is the main trading center in the upper realms because of its location right in the middle, and itʼs a monthʼs journey from here. As for the Void Heaven Realm, its location is almost at the edge of the upper realms, so the journey there takes a long time.”

”In that case, we will go to the Xianjin Realm first, Senior Brother.” Lin Moxian immediately changed the direction of his flying artifact after Zhang Xiaolong [3] said that. ”Iʼm not only wanting to buy materials to create puppets, but I want to look for herbs and forging materials as well.”

”Forging materials? Donʼt tell me that you are also a blacksmith.”

Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded with a smile. ”I am a spirit-rank blacksmith, Senior Brother. Soon, I will become an earth-rank blacksmith, especially since I have almost succeeded in forging a perfect earth-grade weapon.”

”Is there anything you canʼt do?” Zhang Xiaolong [3] told Lin Moxian that he was also a Rank-4 array master, causing him to massage his forehead. ”I have no words for your absurdity, and you are the first person to walk so many paths at once. By the way, you can find all the materials you need for alchemy, formation arrays, blacksmithing, and other things in the Xianjin Realm. However, the prices of most materials, particularly the rare and extremely rare ones, are astronomically high. Furthermore, you have to compete with countless people from the upper realms, so you might have a hard time getting important materials and might have to queue for a long time.”

Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded in understanding. ”My three ranks are still low now, and I still canʼt create high-rank pills, arrays, or weapons, so I donʼt really need the rare and extremely rare materials. Senior Brother, is the blacksmith union headquarters in the Xianjin Realm?”

”The blacksmith union headquarters is in the Jiangong Realm, but their main shop is in the Xianjin Realm, and Ji Changlan is often there.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] naturally remembered the man, especially since he had heard about him from Duan Zhao, Hong Xinxin, and the others. ”Do you want to meet Old Ji? If youʼre lucky, you might be able to meet him there. As long as you show our masterʼs badge, he will definitely be willing to meet you.”

Zhang Xiaolong [3] naturally wouldnʼt waste such an opportunity. ”Since we are going to the Xianjin Realm, I will try to meet him to talk about blacksmithing so I can improve my skills in that area.”

”In that case, weʼll try looking for Old Ji there first, but you donʼt need to be disappointed if he isnʼt there.” Lin Moxian then took out the doll that held Xi Hongyanʼs soul replica, and a playful smile appeared on her face, making Zhang Xiaolong [3] laugh. ”Hahaha! That woman would definitely never think of this!”

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After he had absorbed the things in the pond and the wandering souls above them for quite some time, Zhang Fei [5] decided to stop his activities and opened his eyes. However, only Wang Yin was there, and she sent Shou Fubai somewhere else. ʼMy soul power is already getting closer to the half-perfection stage of the earthly soul level, and it might break through if I continue to absorb them in the next few days.ʼ

”Are you finished?” Wang Yin suddenly asked.

”Yes.” Zhang Fei [5] nodded at her. ”My soul power has been increasing and is close to breaking through, so I will rest for some time before continuing. Can you tell me about a female corpse born the night Yin peaked, Big Sis?”

Wang Yin raised her eyebrows in surprise. ”What do you want to do with it?”

”I have long obtained a puppet technique, and I need such a female corpse to create one.” Wang Yin didnʼt expect that Zhang Fei [5] would want to do that. ”However, I donʼt have any information about it, so I asked you because you are a corpse demon, and I thought you would know something about it.”

Wang Yin immediately told him. ”I do know about it, but such a female corpse is very hard to find because they are too rare. If you want to try looking for one, you can go to my Demon Purgatory Realm or other demon realms.”

”Is such a corpse only available in the demon realm? Canʼt I look for it in the human realm?” Zhang Fei [5] raised an eyebrow in response.

”Not really.” Wang Yin answered with a shake of her head. ”You can try looking for it in the human realm, but you will have difficulty finding it. Basically, the bodies of female demon cultivators are much stronger than those of female human cultivators, and their bodies will rot longer, so your best choice is to go to the demon realm. I donʼt know about your puppet technique, but I advise you not to create a puppet from such a corpse.”

”What do you mean by that, Big Sis?” Zhang Fei [5] asked in confusion, especially since Lin Moxian also didnʼt know the reason his grandfather forbade him from creating the Nine Yin Puppet.

Wang Yin let out a soft sigh before explaining. ”All women born at the time when Yin is at its peak are extremely lustful, and they need a large amount of Yang Qi to satisfy their lust. Even though they are dead, I believe their nature still lingers in their corpses. If you create a puppet from their corpse, you must prepare a large amount of Yang Qi. Otherwise, it will probably get out of control, and it will attack men because of their instinct to obtain their Yang Qi. Usually, their families will destroy their corpses so other people cannot use them for such a purpose, especially since it will endanger too many people.”

Zhang Fei [5] didnʼt expect it to be so terrifying, but something confused them. ”Big Sis, how can their nature and instinct linger on their corpses if they are already dead?”

”Itʼs hard for me to explain it in words, but itʼs the truth.” Wang Yin then pointed to herself. ”A simple example is me. I am dead, and I have no soul, but I can still think and do many things. Have you ever met another living creature like me?”

”No.” Zhang Fei [5] shook his head. ”Honestly, this is my first time meeting a corpse demon, so I donʼt have any information about it.”

Wang Yin then told him something else. ”Your puppet technique may be slightly the same as my corpse puppet technique. I turned Shou Fubai into my puppet, but his nature still lingered inside his corpse even though he was dead, and he fought me at first because his instincts considered me his enemy. Fortunately, my control was stronger, and I managed to control him completely. If you created such a puppet and couldnʼt control it, it would become a terrible enemy for many people, so you should think twice before creating it.”

”I see.” Zhang Fei [5] nodded in understanding. ”All right, I will think about it carefully first. So, are you going to leave this pond, Big Sis?”

”Yes.” Wang Yin then came out of the soul pond. ”The other demon emperors summoned me, so Iʼm going to meet them now. Do you want to join me?”

Zhang Fei [5] immediately refused. ”Big Sis, they are too strong for me, and they may not be as kind-hearted as you, so I wonʼt go there to seek death. Moreover, my soul power is almost breaking through, so I will stay here to cultivate my soul.”

”Youʼre right, they are indeed not as good as me, especially that Mo Long. If he sees you, he might eat you alive right away, so you must stay here and cultivate your souls.” Zhang Fei [5] sneered inwardly upon hearing that because he was sure that no one would be able to catch him, but he also didnʼt want to take the risk. Wang Yin hurriedly got dressed. ”Iʼll come back here after my business with them is finished, and you should be careful of these wandering souls, especially since theyʼll become more aggressive once Iʼm gone.”

As Wang Yin said, those wandering souls became aggressive and attacked Zhang Fei [5] as soon as she and her subordinates left. However, he did not think too much about them and activated his light element immediately, forcing them to retreat.

”Foolish souls! You will become food for my sword!” Zhang Fei [5] then summoned the demon extermination sword, which immediately flew away and attacked those wandering souls. ”Jian Heiʼan and Jian Guangʼan! You two can absorb them to your heartʼs content!”

*Zing… Zing…*

The demon extermination sword answered Zhang Fei [5] with excited vibration, making him smile. He then looked into the pond to search for the mysterious thing inside it, but he still couldnʼt feel its presence. ʼI think Iʼll have to dive into it to look for it.ʼ

- To Be Continued -