Chapter 220 – The Hundred Arts of Cultivation: The Dao of Puppetry!
by spirapiraSu Xing felt a sense of anticipation in his heart.
Soon, the meeting with Jin Congxue concluded successfully.
Su Xing disguised his appearance and concealed his aura, making his way covertly back to the school.
Converting the new week’s goods into simulation energy, Su Xing gained over a hundred million more simulation energy.
Currently, the Tarot Trading Company could provide Su Xing with just over a hundred million simulation energy per week, and this rate was still slowly growing.
Moreover, starting next week, the amount of energy the Tarot Trading Company could provide per week would reach an astonishing 150 million points.
A single second-order exotic metal mining zone dungeon could provide Su Xing with an additional 50 million energy per week!
“Next, it’s time to try understanding the Dao of Puppetry… Fasting Pills are only the most basic of pills, not difficult to refine. If I can truly succeed in crafting puppets with this capability, my pill-refining speed will increase several-fold, or even several dozen-fold!”
“By then, I could refine tens of thousands of Fasting Pills in a single week — that’s equivalent to gaining an extra second-order exotic metal mining zone dungeon per week!”
Su Xing’s heart pounded with excitement.
If he could accomplish all this, he would be fully capable of providing all the simulation energy needed for both the Body Integration stage and the Primordial Unity realm!
On December 9th, 2024 of the New Era, Su Xing prepared to begin a new round of simulation.
“Begin simulation!”
【Ding! This simulation consumes 6,500 energy points. Remaining energy: 3,025,330,000 points. Remaining simulations: unlimited.】
【Simulation begins!】
【Drawing a purple talent costs 100,000 energy points. Drawing a gold legendary talent costs 1,000,000 energy points. Would you like to draw?】
Su Xing thought it over. This time, he did not plan to draw a new talent.
First, a forty percent probability was too low — Su Xing’s chances of drawing a gold talent were slim.
Second, Su Xing currently had great need for a talent he had drawn before.
Talisman Master!
Regarding his comprehension of the micro spirit-gathering formation, Su Xing already possessed a certain foundation in the Formation Dao, and his mastery of the Five Elements method had already reached Major Mastery.
The only thing he lacked were some techniques for inscribing talismans. If his foundation in the Dao of Talismans was sufficient, he would be able to successfully learn the micro spirit-gathering formation.
At that point, cultivation after breaking through to Body Integration would progress much more rapidly.
“Beyond that… there’s another very important point. The art of puppetry seems to have some connection to the Dao of Talismans as well…”
Su Xing murmured thoughtfully:
“Use the talent pool lottery function!”
The next second, a translucent tiger-themed lottery machine appeared before Su Xing’s eyes.
Without hesitation, Su Xing attempted to draw a purple talent.
After more than thirty consecutive attempts, Su Xing finally drew the talent he needed — Talisman Expert!
【Talisman Expert】: Purple talent. You have exceptional talent for crafting talismans. You learn new talismans more easily than ordinary people, and your talisman-crafting success rate is slightly improved.
【Ding! You have successfully drawn the purple talent Talisman Expert. Remaining energy: 3,021,430,000 points. Would you like to begin the simulation?】
Su Xing mentally confirmed, then turned his gaze to the simulation panel.
【In the spirit field grotto-heaven, you become aware that you are in a simulation.】
【Over the next ten days, you dig a pond in the grotto-heaven blessed land, fill it with spirit spring water and spirit liquid, and purchase many fish fry to place inside.】
【You accumulate one day’s worth of Great Wisdom state bonus.】
【After completing all of this, you travel to the Luotian Assembly dungeon.】
In the Real World, Su Xing nodded slightly upon seeing this.
He planned to use this simulation to explore methods for removing the black qi from the spirit dragon.
As for cultivating the Dao of Puppetry and Talismans, Su Xing also needed to strengthen his abilities in that area.
Therefore, Su Xing chose to enter the Luotian Assembly dungeon once more, specifically to acquire knowledge related to these subjects.
“Use the immersive simulation function, duration twenty-four hours…”
Su Xing murmured silently.
【Congratulations on using the immersive simulation function. Cost: 2,400,000 energy points. Remaining energy: 3,019,030,000 points.】
As the simulator’s notification faded, Su Xing’s vision shifted and transformed.
The next second, Su Xing appeared in the great hall of the Luotian Sect.
The voice of the Luotian Sect’s Sect Master, Luo Ying, reached his ears.
“Good disciple, the Luotian Assembly is about to commence… Go to the rear mountain and invite your Senior Brother Shennong to come here…”
“Yes, Master!”
Su Xing acknowledged, but did not move.
Seeing this, Luo Ying asked with puzzlement, “Good disciple, why aren’t you leaving? Do you have something to ask?”
Hearing this, Su Xing nodded and said:
“Master, I do have a question to ask…”
“Recently, in the Scripture Pavilion, I came across an ancient text that recorded information about the spirit vein dragon… It told a story.”
“It said that the spirit vein dragon is formed from the condensed essence of heaven and earth, but if it is trapped within a formation, its body becomes entangled with black qi…”
Su Xing naturally couldn’t say he had encountered this situation himself, so he pretended he had read about it in an ancient text.
After all, the Scripture Pavilion contained as many books as there were hairs on an ox — surely this cheap master of his couldn’t have read them all.
After a pause, Su Xing continued asking:
“Your disciple wishes to know — what is the source of this black qi, and is there any way to dispel it?”
Upon hearing Su Xing’s words, Luo Ying smiled and said:
“Heh heh, you certainly are a curious child…”
Luo Ying pondered for a moment before speaking:
“Regarding spirit vein dragons, they have always been quite mysterious… As for the black qi you describe, your master has never encountered it personally…”
“However, if the black qi was born from being trapped within a formation… your master does have a theory about its source.”
“Spirit vein dragons are freedom-loving by nature, and they are blessed with unique advantages favored by heaven and earth… If a heretical cultivator were to defy the will of heaven and earth and forcibly imprison a spirit vein dragon, it might trigger the intervention of a certain world’s will…”
“Combined with the spirit vein dragon’s own accumulated resentment, unable to dissipate… this would give rise to such black qi!”
After a pause, Luo Ying offered a tentative explanation:
“As for solutions… your master believes… the first would be to rescue the spirit vein dragon and nurture it carefully. Perhaps after hundreds or thousands of years, the resentment would resolve itself, and the black qi would naturally dissipate…”
“Of course, this method requires an extremely long time — it might even take ten thousand years, who can say…”
“Alternatively, if one could set up formations that dissolve resentment and shield against the world’s will, and keep the spirit vein dragon within them long-term, it might accelerate the dissipation of the resentment!”
Su Xing nodded slightly upon hearing this.
Formations to dissolve resentment and shield against the world’s will… That still didn’t sound fast enough.
Unwilling to give up, Su Xing pressed further:
“Master, are there any other methods? Something faster to dispel this black qi?”
Hearing this, Luo Ying hesitated for a moment before saying:
“On the fifth floor of the Scripture Pavilion, there is a secret technique… called Grafting. It can transfer the negative or positive effects of all things onto oneself… If one is willing, one could transfer this black qi onto one’s own body…”
“However, doing so may be detrimental to one’s own cultivation. It requires an extremely high level of mental fortitude to mitigate such effects… supplemented by the Clear Mind Technique and Clear Mind Pills to quickly dissolve the resentment within oneself…”
Su Xing’s eyes lit up upon hearing Luo Ying’s words.
Transferring the black qi onto himself and then dissolving it personally — this method seemed feasible!
But Su Xing still asked:
“Master, would such a transfer technique leave any lingering aftereffects?”
Hearing this, Luo Ying smiled and said:
“Spirit vein dragons are different from cultivators. Once they acquire resentment, it is extremely difficult to dissolve…”
“But for ordinary cultivators, even those who have achieved immortality, they inevitably possess the seven emotions and six desires, along with resentment and joy. It would merely cause some fluctuations in one’s emotions… If addressed in time, it should pose no major issue…”
Su Xing felt completely reassured after hearing Luo Ying’s explanation.
He had passed the five trials of Spirit Transformation. His mental state was transcendent, and he was confident that bearing this amount of resentment should be no problem.
He could give it a try afterward.
And so, Su Xing posed another question.
“Master, your disciple has recently been studying the art of puppetry. Does Master have any insights to share?”
After thinking for a moment, Luo Ying said:
“Your master is not particularly skilled in the Dao of Puppetry…”
“However, in the Scripture Pavilion, Ghost Granny has considerable expertise in the Dao of Puppetry. It’s just that Ghost Granny has a rather eccentric temperament… Perhaps you could try asking her?”
After hearing this, Su Xing nodded. He hadn’t expected Ghost Granny to be skilled in the Dao of Puppetry as well — perhaps he could freeload a puppetry technique from her!
With this thought in mind, Su Xing swiftly left the main hall.
Before long, Su Xing brought Senior Brother Shennong to the main hall. After completing the task procedures, Su Xing couldn’t wait to rush to the Luotian Sect’s Scripture Pavilion.
Inside the Scripture Pavilion, Su Xing made his way to the fifth floor and found a book titled 《Detailed Explanation of the Dao of Puppetry》, which he read with great relish.
As he read, Su Xing also kept a covert watch on his surroundings.
Because based on previous patterns, Ghost Granny would soon come looking for him.
Sure enough, after Su Xing had been reading for an hour or two, Ghost Granny’s voice reached his ears.
“You were looking for me?”
Su Xing’s heart jolted at the sound. He hurriedly turned around and bowed respectfully, saying:
“Yes, Ghost Granny… this junior disciple has something to ask, regarding the Dao of Puppetry… I’ve heard that you have considerable expertise in this art?”
After hearing Su Xing’s words, Ghost Granny asked with interest:
“Oh? Not many young cultivators these days are willing to study the Dao of Puppetry… Most consider it the way of deviant cultivators…”
“However, the Dao of Puppetry also has its righteous and deviant branches. Which would you like to learn?”
Su Xing raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, thinking to himself that Ghost Granny was willing to offer guidance. He hastily replied, “Please instruct me, Granny!”
Ghost Granny nodded slightly and spoke in an unhurried manner:
“The Dao of Puppetry is regarded as a heterodox art among the hundred crafts of immortal cultivation…”
“And the reason for this is the existence of the Dao of Human Puppetry!”
“The Dao of Puppetry is broadly divided into two categories: the Dao of Human Puppetry, and the Dao of Construct Puppetry!”
“The so-called Dao of Human Puppetry involves refining living people into living corpses, and ultimately converting them into puppets…”
“Compared to the Dao of Construct Puppetry, the Dao of Human Puppetry has many advantages… For instance, it saves on materials needed for refining puppets, the puppets are exceptionally powerful, and they can retain most of the cultivator’s abilities and techniques from when they were alive…”
“But the Dao of Human Puppetry is also scorned by righteous cultivators… Precisely because it is so simple to practice, many puppet masters end up falling into the ranks of deviant cultivators!”
After a pause, Ghost Granny continued her explanation:
“In contrast, the Dao of Construct Puppetry involves using rare metals and treasures of heaven and earth to refine puppets… They are then powered by spirit stones, trained, and have fixed spirit talismans inscribed into their puppet cores, ultimately enabling the puppet to learn to perform a specific task…”
“Therefore, masters of the Dao of Construct Puppetry… are often also masters of artifact refinement!”
“Furthermore…”
Ghost Granny went on at length, and Su Xing listened carefully throughout, grasping the general meaning of her words.
The so-called Dao of Puppetry was, in essence, a synthesis of artifact refinement, talismans, formations, and the Dao of divine soul!
Of course, this didn’t mean that one needed to cultivate all four disciplines to an advanced level in order to refine a single puppet.
Typically, a puppet master would refine the puppet’s body themselves, then have a talisman specialist inscribe the talisman core, a formation master assemble the spirit-driving formation and spirit-gathering formation along with the spirit stones… and finally, the puppet master themselves would control it using their divine soul.
When these four disciplines merged into one — that was the Dao of Puppetry!
After hearing Ghost Granny’s words, Su Xing’s expression immediately turned somewhat grim.
In the cultivation world, an ordinary puppet master could naturally operate this way, with division of labor and collaboration…
But for Su Xing, he needed to master all four skills himself in order to become a true puppet master.
Yet wanting to achieve mastery in all four disciplines — how could that be easy?
“Sigh… The Dao of Puppetry — I didn’t expect its requirements to be this demanding.”
“If I were to learn all four disciplines, I’m afraid it would waste a considerable amount of time…”
Su Xing carefully weighed the pros and cons of studying the Dao of Puppetry.
The benefit of refining puppets was, naturally, that Su Xing could save a great deal of time and energy.
For example, refining low-grade pills like Beauty-Preserving Pills and Fasting Pills — Su Xing wouldn’t need to do it himself at all. He could have puppets handle it entirely, saving the vast majority of his time and thereby rapidly accumulating simulation energy.
Su Xing estimated that if he had puppets refine Fasting Pills to exchange for mining rights at the exotic metal deposit, the amount of simulation energy he could acquire in the coming months would increase several-fold, perhaps even tenfold!
Beyond that, there were situations where Su Xing himself might find it inconvenient to act personally, and could have a puppet stand in for him.
For instance, when trading with Great Xia’s military, Su Xing could have a puppet impersonate a powerful expert, thereby facilitating even deeper transactions.
And finally, the puppets themselves represented formidable combat power.
These were the three major benefits of Su Xing learning the Dao of Puppetry.
But at the same time, cultivating the Dao of Puppetry might cost Su Xing three to five simulation attempts…
This would slow down the pace of his own growth…
After a moment of hesitation, Su Xing pressed further:
“Granny, is there perhaps a shortcut to the Dao of Puppetry?”
Ghost Granny chuckled and gazed at Su Xing with a meaningful look, challenging him:
“You want to… learn the Dao of Human Puppetry?”
For some reason, hearing Ghost Granny’s words sent a jolt through Su Xing’s heart, and he feared being labeled a deviant cultivator…
Su Xing was about to explain himself when Ghost Granny cut him off:
“To me, the Dao of Puppetry has no distinction between righteous and deviant!”
“As long as you’re willing to do one thing for me, I’ll transmit both the Dao of Human Puppetry and the Dao of Construct Puppetry to you… How about it?”
Su Xing hastily agreed, “This disciple is willing!”
Ghost Granny said, “In that case, one year from now…”
After stating her condition, Ghost Granny pressed a finger to the center of Su Xing’s brow.
Su Xing felt several secret arts and a wealth of knowledge related to the Dao of Puppetry flood into his mind.
The secret arts were: “Soul-Puppet Control Method,” “Construct-Puppet Refinement Method,” “Puppet Core Inscription Method,” and “Puppet Core Formation Method.”
These four secret arts covered most of the knowledge needed for the Dao of Puppetry, from beginner to expert level.
Su Xing only needed to briefly recall the information to commit the knowledge of puppetry in his mind to memory. Of course, there was still a long way to go before he could actually apply it.
After transmitting the four secret arts to Su Xing, Ghost Granny said:
“For the Dao of Puppetry, foundational knowledge alone is not enough… Next, I will instruct you on the key points to note during the process of controlling, refining, and using puppets…”
And so, Ghost Granny personally guided Su Xing.
Each piece of advice yielded tremendous insight for Su Xing regarding the Dao of Puppetry.
Combined with the enhancement of his Great Wisdom state, Su Xing progressed as though he had a cheat code activated, his comprehension of the Dao of Puppetry shooting upward at a remarkable rate.
Before long, the immersive simulation time ended, and Su Xing returned to the Real World.
Back in the Real World, Su Xing slowly opened his eyes, a look of amazement in them.
“Ghost Granny is likely a mighty hidden expert of extraordinary power!”
“Her mastery of the Dao of Puppetry has probably reached the pinnacle of perfection… With her guidance, my progress in the Dao of Puppetry has been advancing by leaps and bounds!”
Su Xing opened his familiar panel.
In just a single session of immersive simulation, a brand-new ability had appeared on Su Xing’s panel — the Dao of Puppetry — and it had already reached the Beginner level.
“Tsk tsk, if I do this a few more times, I’ll probably reach Minor Mastery level in the Dao of Puppetry soon enough… At that point, I should be able to control those eight living-dead puppets!”
Su Xing was somewhat elated as he recalled the knowledge in his mind.
“The eight puppets left behind by Old Dog Zong — I can already break the restrictions on them…”
“But if I want them to refine pills or cultivate spirit plants, I’ll need to modify their internal structure… I’ll need to inscribe formation talismans into their puppet cores so they can gain the abilities of pill refinement and spirit cultivation!”
Su Xing planned to give it a try once this simulation run was over.
“However, in this simulation, aside from researching the Dao of Puppetry… I also need to figure out the identity of that mysterious person!”
For Su Xing, that mysterious individual was nothing less than a sword hanging over his head.
If he didn’t resolve this threat, Su Xing would have a hard time obtaining the spirit vein dragon.
The only thing Su Xing currently knew was that this puppet had some connection to Protector Dragon.
Therefore, to uncover the mysterious person’s identity, Su Xing planned to go undercover in the Advent Cult during this simulation!
His gaze turned to the simulation panel.
【After emerging from the Luotian Assembly dungeon, you benefited greatly. You began attempting to cultivate the Dao of Puppetry.】
【You spent dozens of days in the spirit field grotto-heaven devoted to researching the Dao of Puppetry. You made slight progress, but still couldn’t control those puppets.】
【You realized that to successfully master the Dao of Puppetry, you would also need to comprehend the art of Talismans.】
【So you took out a jade slip left behind by Old Dog Zong that recorded the Dao of Talismans, and began cultivating the art of Talismans.】
【One day, you went to meet Luo Shuying as promised.】
【Having not seen her for a month, Luo Shuying had now grown into a Legendary-stage powerhouse. Under her lead, you successfully joined the Advent Cult.】
【After joining the Advent Cult, you leveraged your Self-Help Guru talent to successfully dupe a large crowd of devoted followers.】
【In this simulation, you did not plan to immediately betray the Advent Cult. Instead, you intended to stay within the cult and dig up more clues…】