Chapter 719: Upgrading the Puppet, Entering the Abyss Secret Realm!

After discussing the secret realm of Immortal City with Hong Lian and Ling Zixiao, Lu Changsheng arrived at Qian Zhuyan’s Puppet Hall.

The grand hall was spacious, filled with a jumble of various sized puppets, parts, and several forging furnaces.

Qian Zhuyan, her movements somewhat stiff, was polishing a pair of arm guards.

“Master.”

Upon seeing Lu Changsheng, she called out in a somewhat hoarse voice.

As a top-tier third-grade puppet, she didn’t require food or drink, so aside from sleeping, she had been crafting puppets and studying puppetry in the hall.

Lu Changsheng nodded slightly, his expression warm as he said, “Qian Zhuyan, during my trip, I gathered some fourth-grade materials. They might speed up your progress to a fourth-grade puppet.”

In fact, Lu Changsheng had gathered enough materials for a fourth-grade puppet right after clearing out the Storage Ring of True Lord Zicang and True Lord Tiancang from the Mirage Domain.

However, if he made it look too easy, he was worried Qian Zhuyan might think it trivial.

Moreover, he wasn’t in a hurry to assist her with her upgrade.

Currently, he was preparing to head to the Starry Sea, intending to leave the Abyssal Sea Dragon Whale in charge for a while, so he thought to enhance his own strength in other ways.

Qian Zhuyan appeared to be a great choice for that.

As a top-tier third-grade puppet, she could control multiple third-grade puppets to form a battle formation, making her an elite under the Nascent Soul level! Even facing a Nascent Soul True Lord or a shapeshifting demon king, she could hold her ground for a few rounds.

If he helped Qian Zhuyan advance further, once she formed a puppet battle formation, she might even entangle a Nascent Soul practitioner for a moment.

“Fourth-grade puppet!”

Qian Zhuyan’s eyes sparkled with the fire of her soul at his words.

Her lifelong aspiration was to ascend to the fourth-grade and then avenge her grievances.

She never expected that just a few years later, Lu Changsheng would bring in materials for a fourth-grade puppet.

“Take a look at these materials and see which ones are useful for you, then propose an upgrade plan,” Lu Changsheng instructed.

He raised his hand, and shimmering spiritual lights flew out of the Storage Belt.

Besides the rare earthly materials he had acquired years ago from True Lord Loushan, True Lord Zicang, and True Lord Tiancang, he also had a bunch of fourth-grade materials from hunting the fourth-grade Flood Dragon King and the two-headed demonized lizard in the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons.

The entire hall was suddenly aglow with a dazzling treasure light, filled with fourth-grade spiritual materials, along with a faint pressure from fourth-grade demon kings.

“So much!”

Qian Zhuyan was stunned, staring at the wealth of earthly materials before her, as if she stood before a mountain of treasure.

In the past, she had gone to great lengths to gather scarce fourth-grade materials.

But now, it seemed like they were piling up as if they were free.

Not to mention upgrading herself to a fourth-grade puppet, she could even forge another one if she wanted.

“Thank you, Master!”

Elated, Qian Zhuyan bowed and then eagerly examined the earthly materials, analyzing their properties and considering how to upgrade herself.

“After you advance to fourth-grade, how confident are you against Nascent Soul practitioners?”

Lu Changsheng asked Qian Zhuyan.

Normally, puppets wouldn’t stand a chance against cultivators.

They were primarily used to delay and exhaust opponents of the same level.

But Qian Zhuyan was no ordinary puppet.

“If I can upgrade this puppet body to fourth-grade, I should be able to hold my ground against Nascent Soul practitioners for a while. But to truly confront and defeat them, I must enhance the puppet spirit to fourth-grade and then forge multiple top-tier third-grade puppets.”

Qian Zhuyan had witnessed the methods of Nascent Soul practitioners and knew that even if she advanced to fourth-grade, she wouldn’t be a match for a Nascent Soul True Lord.

That’s why she was willing to collaborate and submit to Lu Changsheng.

However, once her soul and puppet spirit reach the Nascent Soul level, she would be able to command more puppets and form a stronger puppet battle formation, giving her confidence to fight a Nascent Soul True Lord.

But achieving that was incredibly difficult!

“Puppet spirit.”

Lu Changsheng knew that Qian Zhuyan’s biggest distinction from other puppets was her soul having transformed into a puppet spirit, allowing her to control puppets perfectly.

In this process, she could also enhance her soul just like a cultivator enhances their own.

However, the gap between a Core Formation soul and a Nascent Soul soul was nothing short of a chasm.

Even after acquiring a small shard of fourth-tier Soul-Rearing Wood to nurture her puppet’s brain component, it would take at least a hundred years for her spirit to have a chance at reaching the Nascent Soul level.

“That should be enough. When upgrading, your puppet body should focus on control and support techniques.”

Currently, Lu Changsheng’s battle power was sufficient to suppress many early-stage Nascent Soul practitioners.

But if the opponent was determined to flee, it would be hard for him to catch them.

Thus, he wanted Qian Zhuyan’s combat ability to lean more towards control to help intercept and disrupt the enemy.

At that time, he could take the lead while Qian Zhuyan and the Golden-Winged Roc could flank and assist.

“Understood.”

Immediately, Qian Zhuyan began devising an upgrade plan in accordance with Lu Changsheng’s requirements.

During this process, Lu Changsheng also shared suggestions based on his knowledge of artifact refining.

For instance, he had previously acquired a bunch of top-tier artifacts from True Lord Loushan and True Lord Zicang.

These artifacts could be reforged and integrated into Qian Zhuyan to enhance her abilities.

Though doing so might seem wasteful.

Currently, Lu Changsheng didn’t have time to reforge these artifacts, leaving them idle was also a waste.

If not for the chaos that Yangming Zhenren had caused earlier, making him worry about these ill-gotten treasures leaking out and drawing attention, he would have disposed of these artifacts long ago.

Thus, in the grand hall, the man and woman continued to discuss the puppet upgrades.

Meanwhile, after finalizing the modification plan for the Abyss of Da Mengze, Hong Lian and Ling Zixiao notified the four great sects of the Jiang Kingdom participating in the Core Formation.

They indicated that it was merely an ordinary Core Formation secret realm, devoid of rare resources, intending to use it as a trial medicine garden secret realm, open to the four great sects and Jiang Kingdom practitioners.

The condition was that half of the secret realm’s harvest would go to Immortal City of Damengze, hoping the four great sects could grant a few trial slots to the City Lord’s Mansion.

Hearing that there were no fortuitous encounters in the secret realm, Immortal City of Damengze was even willing to fully open the secret realm to Jiang Kingdom. The Core Formation practitioners from the four great sects were then dispirited.

However, with the opportunity to sharpen their disciples, they agreed but stated that they needed to report to their sects.

“Good.”

Without waiting for a response from the four great sects, Ling Zixiao took several array masters, geomancers, and spirit herbalists alongside Lu Ping’an to the Da Mengze secret realm for modifications.

After all, the secret realm pertained to her son’s chance of Core Formation, so she naturally didn’t want to delay and wanted to complete it as soon as possible.

Heavenly Sword Sect.

“Immortal City of Damengze wishes to open such a secret realm; it seems they intend to integrate into our Jiang Kingdom.”

“In that case, granting a few trial slots to Immortal City of Damengze wouldn’t affect anything.”

The four great sects of Jiang Kingdom were closely connected, and such a matter primarily depended on the Heavenly Sword Sect’s opinion.

The Heavenly Sword Sect nodded, and Axios Sect, Luoxia Sect, and Beast Spirit Sect naturally couldn’t refuse.

From the Heavenly Sword Sect Master’s perspective, Immortal City of Damengze’s willingness to open the secret realm signaled a friendly gesture, so they naturally wouldn’t embarrass them.

However, the previous True Lord Juejian had instructed to report any developments regarding Immortal City of Damengze, so he decided to comply.

“Based on our analysis, these two won’t stay long in Jiang Kingdom or Immortal City of Damengze. What could they possibly need secret realm slots for?”

True Lord Juejian raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

Yet, considering that this City Lord had a son, or possibly for personal reasons, he didn’t pursue the inquiry further and turned to the Heavenly Sword Sect Master, “Tie Jian, have you received any news about Qingluan Zhenren?”

The war in Liang and Yue was currently at a stalemate, and he received news that the wars in Yuan Kingdom, Qi Cloud Nation, and Tianluo Sect had ceased. Qi Cloud Nation had been divided between Yuan Kingdom and Tianluo Sect.

Yuan Kingdom planned to sustain the war through conflict, and they were already infiltrating Wu Kingdom, likely aiming to intervene in the Liang and Yue war in the future.

Under these circumstances, Jiang Kingdom couldn’t stand idly by, allowing Yuan Kingdom to act against Yue Kingdom or Liang Kingdom and disrupt the balance.

But regardless of what Jiang Kingdom did, they only had two Nascent Soul practitioners — him and True Lord Xuanjian. Thus, he wanted to invite Qingluan Zhenren, with whom they once forged an alliance, for assistance.

However, since the Mirage Domain, there had been no news of Qingluan Zhenren.

“Reporting to True Lord, there has been no news of Qingluan Zhenren for these years,” the Heavenly Sword Sect Master replied, shaking his head.

“What about Yangming Zhenren?”

True Lord Juejian inquired again.

Based on the situations surrounding the Frontier War and Mirage Domain, it was evident that Yangming Zhenren had a close relationship with Qingluan Zhenren.

“Since the Mirage Domain, there has been no news of Yangming Zhenren either,” the Heavenly Sword Sect Master continued to shake his head.

Numerous forces in Southern Desolation and Northern Region had been closely observing Yangming Zhenren, and the Heavenly Sword Sect had also been tracking him.

“Hmm.”

True Lord Juejian nodded lightly, his calm, deep gaze staring towards the direction of Immortal City of Damengze as he murmured, “If worse comes to worst, I will have to make a trip to Immortal City of Damengze myself.”

During the earlier Whale Hunting banquet, he had a pleasant conversation with the City Lord of Dameng City, who claimed he would do his best to lend a hand to Jiang Kingdom.

However, given the choice, he would still trust Qingluan Zhenren, who was well aware of the circumstances of Jiang Kingdom.

But with Qingluan Zhenren now missing, if Wu Kingdom were to be infiltrated by Yuan Kingdom and form an alliance with Liang Kingdom, he would have no choice but to invite those two mysterious City Lords of Immortal City of Damengze for help.

At this moment.

In the Eastern Region of Southern Desolation, deep within a scorching magma lake that could almost incinerate everything.

A giant crimson cocoon resembling a phoenix’s egg silently lay still, its surface adorned with intricate golden patterns, pulsating with life, as if it were a living being, breathing in and out.

Just then, a stunning azure bird burst through layers of void, carrying several fire seeds, flying into the magma lake and piling the fire seeds beside the giant cocoon that looked like a phoenix’s egg.

The golden patterns on the cocoon intertwined and spread, absorbing the energy from the fire seeds, intensifying the crimson glow.

Seeing this, the azure bird didn’t linger but continued to split the void, seeking more primal fire seeds for the cocoon.

Simultaneously, in the central region of Southern Desolation, there was a secluded mountain village.

“Granny, big brother still hasn’t returned. It’s been two years! Did he forget about Little Sparrow?”

On a bumpy little path, a girl of around four or five years with two pigtails was carrying a bundle of firewood, looking at the wrinkled, stooped old woman beside her, and asked.

The little girl wore tattered clothes patched in many places, but her face was as white as jade, and her bright black eyes resembled a cute porcelain doll.

“How could that be? Your big brother was chosen by an immortal. Once he masters the immortal techniques, he’ll return. At that time, not only will he bring you candied hawthorns and delicacies, but he can also fly through the skies and take you with him!”

The old woman replied lovingly, her eyes reflecting a hint of longing.

Who would have thought that among the two babies she raised as a lonely old woman, the elder child would actually be favored by an immortal and taken for training.

“Mm-hmm.”

Little Sparrow nodded obediently, her eyes filled with expectation.

“Little Sparrow is so lovely. When she grows up, she might also be favored by an immortal and taken for training.”

The old woman gazed at the porcelain-like girl and said kindly.

Compared to the elder child, she felt that the little girl had a more celestial quality.

Not only had she been healthy and free of troubles, but her body was even healthier than that of ordinary children, and her skin was as tender as a rich young lady’s. She never had scars from any falls.

“Little Sparrow should stay with me until big brother returns.”

Though young, the girl was quite sensible, having always relied on her brother for care.

Now that her brother was absent, she resolved to take good care of her grandmother.

“You’re such a good child, Little Sparrow.”

The old woman beamed upon hearing the girl’s words, reaching out her bony hand to ruffle her pigtails, and the two chatted and laughed their way back to the village.

Time flew by, and before long, over half a year had passed.

One day, Immortal City of Damengze suddenly issued a notice, announcing the opening of the Abyss Secret Realm six months later.

All Core Formation and lower practitioners from the Jiang Kingdom were allowed to enter the secret realm.

Shortly after Immortal City of Damengze released the news, the four great sects began to publicize it.

In a flash, news about the Abyss Secret Realm swept through the Jiang Kingdom’s cultivation world like a whirlwind.

“Abyss Secret Realm? Isn’t that the realm that appeared in Da Mengze previously? Why is it being opened to the public now?”

The Abyss Secret Realm was the name given by Immortal City of Damengze to the deep sea secret realm of Da Mengze.

On one hand, it was because this secret realm was hidden in the depths of the ocean.

On the other hand, it hoped the Lu family’s youth could rise and leap out of the abyss.

“No need to think too much; it must be that the secret realm has been explored and yielded no great opportunities, thus they’re opening it to let us explore the realm.”

“From the introduction, this secret realm seems quite decent, somewhat similar to the Ziyou Secret Realm, with plenty of spirit medicines and rare treasures, with only half of the harvest required to be submitted.”

“Wait a moment. Isn’t it strange? Why can False Core practitioners enter if it’s only for those below Core Formation?”

“No way! False Core practitioners can enter this Abyss Secret Realm! How does this even work?”

“Isn’t this completely opening it up to those major powers?”

However, when many practitioners went to inquire about the secret realm and found that only those below Core Formation could enter but that False Core practitioners were excluded, they were bewildered.

After all, no matter how one looked at it, False Core practitioners still bore the word ‘Core’.

They were certainly not comparable to Foundation Establishment practitioners.

Though there were numerous tales of Foundation Establishment practitioners defeating False Cores.

But which of those were not renowned characters of exceptional standing? A rarity!

“Whatever! Since the secret realm does not impose many restrictions, it’s worth a visit.”

“Exactly! False Core practitioners are influential figures; as long as we don’t provoke them, it shouldn’t lead to slaughter.”

“Brother Lv, shall we go together to Immortal City of Damengze and check out this Abyss Secret Realm?”

“Let’s go! Since the four great sects are all helping with publicity, it must not be too bad.”

Even though the lack of restrictions for False Core practitioners deterred several cultivators, many Foundation Establishment practitioners still chose to head to Da Mengze.

After all, for ordinary scattered cultivators, secret realms were opportunities! Now that a free secret realm was opened, even if they knew Immortal City of Damengze and the four great sects might have ulterior motives, they were still willing to participate.