Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Netherworld Envoy, Qi Bai.

The body was mainly black, with gray and white accents.

It stood six feet five, extremely thin. Its head seemed to wear a bamboo hat, but it was actually part of its body. The skull looked like a pitch-black conical hat, spreading out around it.

Beneath the shadow cast by the top of the hat, its entire grayish-white head was hidden, reminding one of pale human bones.

On its head, its eyes formed a black strip, horizontally placed above the bridge of the nose. A faint grayish-white line crossed the center of the strip, barely visible.

Its body surface was also engraved with talisman markings. The complex talisman patterns were outlined with grayish-white lines, faintly visible. If one didn’t pay close attention, it looked like ghostly figures were entwined around its body.

"What a marvelous machine!" Ning Zhuo excitedly ran forward.

Behind him, Sun Lingtong saw Ning Zhuo’s excitement and smiled faintly while shaking his head.

He knew: Ning Zhuo genuinely loved all kinds of mechanical creations.

When Ning Zhuo was only two or three years old, he lingered around small street vendors. When he started school, he still couldn’t let go of mechanical toys like “Er Lang’s Leg” and “San Mao.” Since Ning Zhuo had little money, he could only look and couldn’t buy anything.

It was only after Sun Lingtong observed this many times that, on Ning Zhuo’s birthday, he bought him a mechanical toy. Ning Zhuo was so excited and happy that he laughed foolishly for a long time.

"The frame seems to be made of Nether Blue Dark Iron, which is ideal for handling Yin-attributed mana."

"The joints are made of hundred-year Soul Wood, which is quite flexible and can also serve as a dwelling place for ghosts."

"The core is made of Yin Deficiency Spirit Jade. This natural special spirit stone can store a large amount of Yin-type spiritual power!"

Finally, Ning Zhuo grabbed the edge of the hat and lifted it at an angle to carefully examine Qi Bai’s eyes.

"It seems to be made of Deadlight Glass. That's just the primary material. The eye components must have used mixed materials!" Ning Zhuo declared confidently.

"If that’s the case…" Ning Zhuo suddenly clapped his hands. "This mechanical puppet should be able to use natural talent! The special structure of the eyes is prepared for using the Nether Death Gaze."

Thinking of this, Ning Zhuo abruptly turned his head, shifting his entire face backward, and said to Sun Lingtong, "Boss Sun, what information did you receive?"

Sun Lingtong responded, "Huh? I didn’t receive any information."

"My fault, my fault. I got too excited!" Ning Zhuo patted his wooden head, making a “thunk-thunk” sound.

The next moment, he summoned the Buddha Heart Demon Seal and activated Life Hanging by a Thread.

"I got a long piece of information," Sun Lingtong said.

Ning Zhuo nodded. "Just like what happened to me!"

Sun Lingtong relayed, "This mechanical puppet is called Netherworld Envoy. Underneath the mark on its forehead is the Mechanical Underworld Official’s Seal, which can summon ghosts and deities from various places."

"There’s a mechanism in the throat called the Soul-Shaking Drum, which can emit sound attacks that cause severe tremors in the souls of living beings."

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"Further down, there are components like the Booming Cavity and Sound Projection Bottle, which work together with the Soul-Shaking Drum."

"Scattered across the body are spray nozzles that, when activated, can eject Gold Thread Ghost Silk. The ghost silk can instantly form a black robe for protection."

As Ning Zhuo listened, he nodded slightly.

The puppet Qi Bai was clearly different from the Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng. The key distinction was the large number of mechanical components.

Ning Zhuo understood the reasoning behind this: "Before the refining process, Boss Sun incorporated the Underworld Ghost Seal, the Soul-Shaking Rattle Drum, and the shattered Golden Silk Robe into Qi Bai’s dantian."

"During the refining, the Lava Immortal Palace melted these treasures together and made them into corresponding mechanical components."

Sun Lingtong suddenly widened his eyes. "Six levels of spiritual consciousness, capable of using Nether Death Gaze twelve times? Each time this talent is activated, it damages the eye structure. The components must be replaced in time for it to be used again."

"Netherworld Envoy Qi Bai possesses both the Nine Nether Formation and the Spirit Communication Formation. The former can draw on Yin-type spiritual power to replenish itself or enhance the power of its spells. The latter can communicate with intelligent lifeforms within a certain range."

"Netherworld Envoy Qi Bai retains the Soul-Devouring Golden Core. Using the Nine-Turn Soul-Devouring Art, it can absorb the enemy’s soul, enhancing its own state or supplementing its Yin Army of ghost creatures."

This point wasn’t unexpected for Ning Zhuo, as the mechanical puppet Dasheng could also use the Demonic Blood Tendon Technique.

"There are twelve Ghost Raising Jars placed within the body. If filled with the ashes of ghosts in life, the effect of raising ghosts will be even better."

"There are thirty-six spell talismans in total, including…"

Sun Lingtong trailed off.

Ning Zhuo, who had been deeply engrossed, quickly asked, "Boss Sun, what’s wrong?"

Sun Lingtong’s voice trembled. "This…is a bit terrifying."

"What do you mean?" Ning Zhuo inquired.

Sun Lingtong scratched his head. "Little Zhuo, you know about the Burial Spirit Sect, right?"

Ning Zhuo immediately nodded. "Yes, a demonic sect, very powerful, but they sacrificed lives and buried the spirits of all things, seeking only spirituality."

"Because of their extreme cruelty, they were besieged and wiped out."

Sun Lingtong nodded. "The Burial Spirit Sect sacrificed tens of thousands of lives just to extract spirituality, and they were besieged by the righteous path, demonic sects, and heretical factions."

"Now, look at the Lava Immortal Palace!"

"Not only can they extract spirituality, but they even thoughtfully arrange a mechanical body for the spirit to inhabit."

"Although Netherworld Envoy Qi Bai is limited by its structure and is frail, with only three key mechanical components, its potential for development could definitely reach Golden Core-level combat power."

"If outsiders discover that the Lava Immortal Palace has this capability, Little Zhuo, what do you think will happen?"

Ning Zhuo’s heart trembled slightly, and he immediately fell silent.

Back then, the Burial Spirit Sect was targeted by almost the entire cultivation world just for extracting spirits from sacrificed lives. They were annihilated entirely before it ended.

Now, the Lava Immortal Palace not only extracts spirits but even thoughtfully provides a mechanical body for the spirit to use.

What would happen if this were discovered?

Ning Zhuo thought for a moment, referencing the fate of the Burial Spirit Sect, and couldn’t help but shudder.

Sun Lingtong raised his head and sighed. "Tsk tsk, the strength of the Three Sect Lords is truly remarkable. It seems he once participated in the campaign to annihilate the Burial Spirit Sect."

"He even joined the Demonic Sect and practiced there for quite some time."

"Look at the mechanical puppets they’ve refined, full of demonic nature!"

One of the fundamental differences between the demonic path and the righteous path lay in that the demonic path’s cultivation resources came from the cultivators themselves.

The Lava Immortal Palace, refining mechanical constructs using corpses as materials, was clearly a demonic practice.

Ning Zhuo shook his head. "Boss Sun, these are all just tools. Used for good, they are good. Used for evil, they are evil."

"Just like when we ruled the black market and reorganized it, we eliminated countless crimes and ugliness. That was a righteous act!"

Sun Lingtong laughed. "Little brother, weren’t we originally doing it for revenge?"

"Later, as our influence grew, we fought many battles to gather information and profit, eventually becoming the overlords of the black market and finally its masters."

Ning Zhuo coughed twice. "We did indeed prevent a lot of bloodshed and indirectly saved many innocent lives. Boss, wouldn’t you agree?"

"You…" Sun Lingtong chuckled, "Right, right, right!"

If it were anyone else being so hypocritical, Sun Lingtong would have rolled his eyes, maybe even spat in their face.

Too dishonest, too hypocritical.

But since it was his good brother Ning Zhuo saying this, he let it slide.

Sun Lingtong could only shake his head with a fond smile, silently thinking, “I see through it but won’t say it.”

"In fact, this isn’t entirely Little Zhuo’s fault."

"Think about the so-called righteous figures he encountered when he was young."

"Ning Ze, Wang Lan, Ning Ji, and Ning Xiaoren…weren’t they all saying one thing and doing another?"

"So, in Little Zhuo’s early understanding, the righteous path was supposed to be like this."

Ning Zhuo mused, "With only sixty percent spiritual consciousness, we should aim to raise it to one

hundred percent next!"

"Spirituality is the most valuable and precious part of this mechanical puppet."

"We need more information on Qi Bai."

"That’s a bit difficult," Sun Lingtong spread his hands. "I’m already wanted throughout the city, and we’ve lost the black market. Most of our former information channels are gone."

Ning Zhuo sighed. "Well, we’ll have to take it one step at a time."

Sun Lingtong said, "Now that Qi Bai is dead, the Soul-Devouring Sect will definitely respond. We should lie low and not rush to investigate Qi Bai’s matters; otherwise, it’ll be easy for people to pick up our trail and track us down."

"Mm, I’ll follow your lead, Boss." Ning Zhuo nodded repeatedly.

This exploration of the Immortal Palace yielded great rewards for Ning and Sun. They successfully dealt with the hidden danger of Qi Bai—keeping him sealed wasn’t a viable long-term solution.

Imprisoning Han Ming previously had already been a painful lesson.

Next, Sun and Ning used the checkpoint to test the power of Netherworld Envoy, Qi Bai.

However, Qi Bai’s combat power turned out to be much lower than they had imagined.

Netherworld Envoy Qi Bai was made of ordinary materials, so when its Golden Core power was activated, the mechanical body couldn’t handle it.

This was rather awkward.

Qi Bai’s two main components were the Underworld Official’s Seal and the Soul-Shaking Drum.

The Underworld Official’s Seal could summon ghosts and deities. The ghosts and deities weren’t controlled by Sun Lingtong but by Netherworld Envoy Qi Bai. With only sixty percent spiritual consciousness, Qi Bai couldn’t communicate with the summoned ghosts and deities, even weaker than Dasheng had been.

Although the Soul-Shaking Drum was powerful, the puppets in the checkpoint had no souls. It was like earlier when Qi Bai tried to shake Dasheng’s soul, only to find there was no soul to shake.

Qi Bai could still use the talent Nether Death Gaze, but with only sixty percent spiritual consciousness, it could only be used twelve times.

Moreover, since this talent was mainly for reconnaissance, Ning and Sun had no desire to test it.

Ning Zhuo also noticed that Sun Lingtong’s control over Qi Bai was much weaker than his control over Dasheng.

The two speculated that it might be because Boss Sun was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, while Qi Bai had retained its former Golden Core. The servant was stronger than the master, making it disobedient.

Sun Lingtong pondered, "The purpose of the Three Sect Lords in setting up the three Buddha checkpoints might be to ensure that each trial disciple gains a fairly sophisticated mechanical construct."

"This mechanical construct can serve as the main general. Initially, the materials are ordinary and cheap."

"I suspect that in the upcoming checkpoints, there will be many opportunities to gradually modify and enhance the main general puppet."

"Through this process of assembling and upgrading the main general, the trial disciples’ proficiency in mechanical skills will steadily increase!"

No matter what, the combat power of Netherworld Envoy Qi Bai still had immense potential. It would require future investment to truly realize its Golden Core-level power.

"Time’s almost up, Little Zhuo. We should head back," Sun Lingtong reminded.

Ning Zhuo, however, said, "We still have a little time. We must make the most of every opportunity to explore the Immortal Palace! I have a good idea now."

"Oh? Let’s hear it."