dāng chū lǐ fán dì yī cì yǐ chū shēng de wǔ xíng dòng tiān jié yīng de shí hòu ， xīn zhōng jiù yǐn yǐn yǒu gǔ yì yàng de gǎn shòu 。
当初李凡第一次以初生的五行洞天结婴的时候，心中就隐隐有股异样的感受。
Initially, when Li Fan first condensed his婴灵 (soul embryo) in the Primordial Five Elements Cave Heaven for the first time as a newborn entity, he had a vague sense of something different.
bù guò bǐ shí ， wèi le zhuā zhù dòng tiān jiàng lín shì jiè de nà yī shùn jiān chéng gōng jié yīng ， lǐ fán bìng méi yǒu shí jiān kǎo lǜ tài duō 。
不过彼时，为了抓住洞天降临世界的那一瞬间成功结婴，李凡并没有时间考虑太多。
However, at that time, to seize the moment when the cave heaven descended into this world and successfully condense his soul embryo, Li Fan didn't have much time to ponder too deeply.
gù ér jiāng nà xì wēi de bù tóng gǎn shòu hū lüè guò qù 。
故而将那细微的不同感受忽略过去。
Thus, he ignored those subtle differences in feeling.
zhí dào qián bù jiǔ ， shēng jí le huà dào shí de lǐ fán ， yòu yī biàn huí wàng zì jǐ suǒ jīng lì de měi gè xì jié 。
直到前不久，升级了化道石的李凡，又一遍回望自己所经历的每个细节。
It was only recently, after upgrading the Dao Stone, that Li Fan revisited every detail of his experiences.
zhè cái chóng xīn yǒu suǒ fā xiàn 。
这才重新有所发现。
Only then did he rediscover something.
“ rú guǒ bù chū suǒ liào ， tiān líng zhōu 【 tiān dì zhī gēn 】 zhōng ， yīng gāi hái huì dàn shēng xīn de wǔ xíng dòng tiān 。 dào shí hòu yī shì biàn zhī 。”
“如果不出所料，天灵州【天地之根】中，应该还会诞生新的五行洞天。到时候一试便知。”
"If my guess is correct, a new Primordial Five Elements Cave Heaven should be born within the Heavenly Spirit Region [天地之根]. I can test it out when the time comes."
“ bù guò cǐ shì yuán běn de wǔ xíng dà dòng tiān ， shì bèi wǒ xī shōu jìn shēng le 。 tiān dì yǒu suǒ sǔn hào ， yùn yù xīn de dòng tiān hái xū yào yī duàn shí jiān 。”
“不过此世原本的五行大洞天，是被我吸收晋升了。天地有所损耗，孕育新的洞天还需要一段时间。”
"However, the original Primordial Five Elements Great Cave Heavens from this world were absorbed and promoted by me. The heavens have suffered some losses, so it will take a while to nurture new cave heavens."
“ rú guǒ yàn zhèng zhī hòu 、 wǒ de cāi cè shǔ shí ， nà me wǒ de kě yòng máo diǎn shù liàng 、 jiù yīng gāi néng zài zēng tiān jǐ gè le 。”
“如果验证之后、我的猜测属实，那么我的可用锚点数量、就应该能再增添几个了。”
"If my hypothesis is verified, then the number of anchor points I can use should increase accordingly."
lǐ fán mù guāng zhōng hán guāng shǎn dòng ：“ chū shēng dòng tiān suī rán bù hǎo zhǎo ， dàn ruò dà de xuán huáng jiè 、 zǒng guī shì yǒu bù shǎo de 。”
李凡目光中寒光闪动：“初生洞天虽然不好找，但偌大的玄黄界、总归是有不少的。”
Li Fan's gaze flashed with cold light: "Although newborn cave heavens are hard to find, there must be many in this vast Xuanhuang World."
“ gèng jí duān yì diǎn ， jiāng dòng tiān yān miè 、 zhí jiē jìn xíng zhòng sù ……”
“更极端一点，将洞天湮灭、直接进行重塑……”
"Going even further, if we could annihilate a cave heaven and directly reconstruct it..."
“ zhè yě bù shī wèi yī zhǒng hǎo bàn fǎ 。”
“这也不失为一种好办法。”
"This would also be an effective method."
céng jǐ hé shí ， lǐ fán xiǎng yào xiū shì jīn dān yǐ zēng jiā máo diǎn shù liàng ， dōu yào tōu tōu dì xún zhǎo jiàn bù dé guāng de zī yuán 。 hái yīn cǐ wù dǎ wù zhuàng ， jiàn dào le ruò mù 。
曾几何时，李凡想要修士金丹以增加锚点数量，都要偷偷地寻找见不得光的资源。还因此误打误撞，见到了若木。
Once upon a time, Li Fan had to secretly seek out hidden resources just to increase his anchor points by cultivating Golden Core. This led him to accidentally meet Fangmu.
rú jīn de tā ， què yǐ jīng néng gòu sì wú jì dàn de suí xīn huǐ miè xuán huáng jiè dòng tiān le 。
如今的他，却已经能够肆无忌惮的随心毁灭玄黄界洞天了。
Now, he was already bold enough to casually destroy the Primordial Five Elements Cave Heavens in Xuanhuang World without any qualms.
dào bú shì lǐ fán xīn tài péng zhàng ， ér shì xuán huáng jiè néng gòu duì tā chǎn shēng wēi xié de ， shí zài yǐ jīng bù duō le 。
倒不是李凡心态膨胀，而是玄黄界能够对他产生威胁的，实在已经不多了。
It wasn't that Li Fan's mindset had expanded; rather, there were few threats left for him from this world.
jiù zài lǐ fán qián xīn wèi bāng zhù tiān xuán jìng tuō kùn ér zuò zhǔn bèi de shí hòu ， qiǎo gōng jū shì nà biān jū rán yǐ jīng yǒu le shōu huò 。
就在李凡潜心为帮助天玄镜脱困而做准备的时候，巧工居士那边居然已经有了收获。
While Li Fan was focusing on preparing to help Tianxian Mirror escape, the Crafty Sage actually made some progress.
tā xìng chōng chōng de pǎo lái zhǎo lǐ fán ， xiǎng yào jiè zhù 【 yuán lì jīng cuì 】。
他兴冲冲的跑来找李凡，想要借助【源力精粹】。
He came running to find Li Fan excitedly, wanting to use the Essence Core of Origin Power.
“ duō kuī le fāng dào yǒu ， tā liàn qì shuǐ píng suī rán chà le diǎn 、 méi yǒu shòu guò shén me zhèng ér bā jīng de xùn liàn 。 què yě yīn cǐ tiān rán méi yǒu sī xiǎng jìn gù ， zǒng néng mào chū xiē tiān mǎ xíng kōng de diǎn zi ！”
“多亏了方道友，他炼器水平虽然差了点、没有受过什么正儿八经的训练。却也因此天然没有思想禁锢，总能冒出些天马行空的点子！”
"Thanks to Fellow Daoist Fang. Although his craftsmanship is lacking and he hasn't received formal training, this also means he has no mental constraints. He always comes up with some wild ideas!"
“ bāng zhù tiān yáng chóng xīn liàn zhì kuǐ lěi shēn qū de fāng àn wǒ yǐ jīng chū bù nǐ dìng le ， shàng shǐ qiě kàn ！”
“帮助天阳重新炼制傀儡身躯的方案我已经初步拟定了，上使且看！”
"I have drafted a preliminary plan for re-forging Tianyang's puppet body. Please take a look!"
shuō zhe ， qiǎo gōng jū shì cháo zhe xū kōng zhōng yì diǎn 。
说着，巧工居士朝着虚空中一点。
Saying that, the Crafty Sage pointed into the air.
yí gè sì hū chuān zhe hēi sè jīn shǔ zhàn jiǎ 、 kàn shàng qù wēi fēng lǐn lǐn de kuǐ lěi xíng xiàng ， dùn shí chū xiàn zài lǐ fán miàn qián 。
一个似乎穿着黑色金属战甲、看上去威风凛凛的傀儡形象，顿时出现在李凡面前。
A figure clad in black metal armor appeared before Li Fan, looking imposing and powerful.
“ cān kǎo le 【 zǔ 】 dāng chū de bù fèn wài mào ， yǐ jí tiān yáng běn rén de yì yuàn ， cóng ér shè jì chū le zhè bǎn wài mào 。 wǒ gēn fāng dào yǒu yě jué de hěn shì mǎn yì 。”
“参考了【祖】当初的部分外貌，以及天阳本人的意愿，从而设计出了这版外貌。我跟方道友也觉得很是满意。”
"Based on part of the original design and Tianyang’s own wishes, I've designed this appearance. Fellow Daoist Fang and I are quite satisfied with it."
“ bù guò wài biǎo néng gòu suí yì biàn huàn ， zhè què bú shì zhòng diǎn 。”
“不过外表能够随意变幻，这却不是重点。”
"But being able to change appearances at will isn't the main point,"
qiǎo gōng jū shì yòu shì líng kōng yī zhǐ ， kuǐ lěi de yǐng xiàng shùn jiān zài dù fàng dà 。
巧工居士又是凌空一指，傀儡的影像瞬间再度放大。
The Crafty Sage pointed again, and the puppet's image instantly grew larger.
kuǐ lěi nèi bù de jié gòu yīn cǐ zhǎn xiàn chū lái 。
傀儡内部的结构因此展现出来。
The internal structure of the puppet was revealed, resembling human blood vessels running throughout its body.
fǎng fú rén tǐ xuè guǎn de tōng dào ， biàn bù kuǐ lěi quán shēn 。
仿佛人体血管的通道，遍布傀儡全身。
Golden Essence Core flowed ceaselessly like a river within.
jīn sè de yuán lì jīng cuì rú tāo tāo jiāng hé ， zài qí zhōng bēn liú bù xiū 。
金色的源力精粹如滔滔江河，在其中奔流不休。
"Compared to ordinary puppets, the key difference with immortal puppets is that they can absorb external forces and continuously evolve and strengthen themselves."
“ xiān jiā kuǐ lěi ， gēn fán jiān kuǐ lěi zhī jiān zuì zhí jiē de chā bié ， jiù shì xiān guī néng gòu rú tóng zhēn zhèng de shēng líng yì bān ， xī shōu wài lì 、 bù duàn jìn huà biàn qiáng 。”
“仙家傀儡，跟凡间傀儡之间最直接的差别，就是仙傀能够如同真正的生灵一般，吸收外力、不断进化变强。”
"Fellow Daoist Tianyang has transformed his body into a puppet. He's both a cultivator and a puppet. In some way, he already meets the hardest conditions for becoming an immortal puppet."
“ tiān yáng dào yǒu ， yǐ shēn huà wù 、 shēn tóng kuǐ lěi hé yī 。 jì shì xiū shì ， yòu shì kuǐ lěi 。 jìng rán míng míng zhōng jiù mǎn zú le chéng wéi xiān guī de zuì nán dá chéng de tiáo jiàn 。”
“天阳道友，以身化物、身同傀儡合一。既是修士，又是傀儡。竟然冥冥中就满足了成为仙傀的最难达成的条件。”
"So all we need to do now is add something to him!"
“ yīn ér jiē xià lái bù guò shì àn bù jiù bān 、 zài tiān yáng běn shēn shàng zēng jiā diǎn dōng xī bà le ！”
“因而接下来不过是按部就班、在天阳本身上增加点东西罢了！”
Li Fan frowned: "Is it just about stacking material? Can this really enhance Tianyang’s strength? With his current Condensation Realm cultivation, what stage will he reach after completing the puppet forging?"
lǐ fán tīng zhe què shì zhòu qǐ le méi tóu ：“ zhǐ shì dān chún de wù zhì duī dié me ？ zhè yàng néng tí shēng tiān yáng de shí lì ？ tā rú jīn yǐ jīng shì hé dào xiū wèi ， wán chéng kuǐ lěi liàn zhì zhī hòu ， néng dào nǎ yī bù ？”
李凡听着却是皱起了眉头：“只是单纯的物质堆叠么？这样能提升天阳的实力？他如今已经是合道修为，完成傀儡炼制之后，能到哪一步？”
The Crafty Sage was confident: "Absolutely no problem! Tianyang's current state is like a cultivator who has met all the criteria for promotion but lacks the necessary resources, hence why he hasn't completed his transformation yet."
qiǎo gōng jū shì xìn xīn shí zú ：“ jué duì méi wèn tí ！ tiān yáng cǐ kè de zhuàng tài ， jiù xiàng shì yí gè yǐ jīng mǎn zú jìn shēng tiáo jiàn de xiū shì ， zhǐ bù guò quē shǎo le xiāng yìng de zī yuán ， suǒ yǐ cái chí chí méi yǒu wán chéng tuì biàn 。”
巧工居士信心十足：“绝对没问题！天阳此刻的状态，就像是一个已经满足晋升条件的修士，只不过缺少了相应的资源，所以才迟迟没有完成蜕变。”
"Since he’s both a puppet and a cultivator, why should he seek out new methods from Xuanhuang World?"
“ tā jì shì kuǐ lěi zhī qū ， yòu yǒu xiū shì líng zhì 。 jì rán yǐ jīng yǒu le yī tiáo xiān guī de shēng gé dào lù ， yòu hé bì zài qù zhuī xún xuán huáng jiè xīn fǎ ne ？”
“他既是傀儡之躯，又有修士灵智。既然已经有了一条仙傀的升格道路，又何必再去追寻玄黄界新法呢？”
The Crafty Sage's excitement was evident. "After completing the creation, we can’t determine exactly how powerful he will be, but it will definitely not be weaker than an immortal realm cultivator in Xuanhuang World!"
qiǎo gōng jū shì zhè me yī shuō ， lǐ fán dùn shí míng bái guò lái 。
巧工居士这么一说，李凡顿时明白过来。
Li Fan’s eyes flashed: "In that case, you may go ahead."
xuán huáng jiè xiū shì xiǎng yào xiū xíng tū pò ， quán dōu yào zūn shǒu chuán fǎ tiān zūn lì xià de guī jǔ 。
玄黄界修士想要修行突破，全都要遵守传法天尊立下的规矩。
As he spoke, Li Fan sent a body filled with golden Essence Core to follow him.
dàn tiān yáng zài jī yuán qiǎo hé zhī xià ， chéng wéi le bàn shì kuǐ lěi 、 bàn shì xiū shì de cún zài 。
但天阳在机缘巧合之下，成为了半是傀儡、半是修士的存在。
The Crafty Sage's gaze was immediately captured by the golden劫身 (trial body).
tā chú le kě yǐ zǒu xiū shì de jìn shēng zhī dào ， tóng yàng yě kě yǐ zǒu qì wù de shēng gé zhī dào 。
他除了可以走修士的晋升之道，同样也可以走器物的升格之道。
"If your idea works, wouldn’t this mean we can mass-produce immortal realm combat power?"
qiǎo gōng jū shì de yǎn zhōng yǒu xiē xīng fèn ：“ wán chéng dǎ zào zhī hòu ， tā jù tǐ yǒu duō qiáng mù qián hái wú fǎ què dìng 。 bù guò kě yǐ kěn dìng de shì ， jué duì bú huì ruò yú xuán huáng jiè de cháng shēng xiū shì ！”
巧工居士的眼中有些兴奋：“完成打造之后，他具体有多强目前还无法确定。不过可以肯定的是，绝对不会弱于玄黄界的长生修士！”
"I have some knowledge of Tianyang’s Body Transformation Technique. As long as he cultivates this secret technique and transforms into a half-puppet, half-cultivator existence, then with the help of Essence Core, he will be promoted..." Li Fan thought of something and asked.
lǐ fán mù guāng dùn shí yī shǎn ：“ jì rú cǐ ， nǐ men biàn jǐn guǎn fàng shǒu qù zuò ba 。”
李凡目光顿时一闪：“既如此，你们便尽管放手去做吧。”
The Crafty Sage was still focused on the golden trial body.
shuō zhe ， lǐ fán fēn chū yī jù zhuāng mǎn le jīn sè yuán lì jīng cuì de jié shēn gēn suí qí zuǒ yòu 。
说着，李凡分出一具装满了金色源力精粹的劫身跟随其左右。
After a while, he realized what Li Fan meant.
qiǎo gōng jū shì shùn jiān bèi láo láo xī yǐn le yǎn shén 。
巧工居士瞬间被牢牢吸引了眼神。
He shook his head, directly dismissing Li Fan's assumption: "I had the same idea before. However..."
“ rú guǒ nǐ de xiǎng fǎ kě xíng de huà ， nà qǐ bù shì yì wèi zhe wǒ men néng pī liàng dǎ zào cháng shēng jìng zhàn lì le ?”
“如果你的想法可行的话，那岂不是意味着我们能批量打造长生境战力了?”
"After asking Tianyang about the details of Body Transformation Technique, I know it’s not that easy."
“ tiān yáng de shēn huà dào ， wǒ yě lüè zhī yī èr 。 zhǐ yào xiū xíng cǐ mì shù ， zhuǎn huà chéng bàn kuǐ lěi 、 bàn xiū shì de cún zài 。 rán hòu jiè yóu yuán lì jīng cuì zhù qí shēng gé ……” lǐ fán yǎn jīng yī zhuǎn ， xiǎng dào le shén me ， bù yóu wèn dào 。
“天阳的身化道，我也略知一二。只要修行此秘术，转化成半傀儡、半修士的存在。然后借由源力精粹助其升格……”李凡眼睛一转，想到了什么，不由问道。
"Transforming one’s body into something else, especially into a puppet, can easily lead to self-forgetfulness. Losing human nature and truly becoming a puppet requires great willpower and spirit. Fellow Daoist Tianyang's resilience is rare in this world," the Crafty Sage praised.
qiǎo gōng jū shì de zhù yì lì réng jí zhōng zài jīn sè jié shēn shàng 。
巧工居士的注意力仍集中在金色劫身上。
Li Fan thought of the Eternal Remembrance from Tianyang’s bones and nodded silently.
zú zú guò le hǎo yī huì ， cái fǎn yìng guò lái 。
足足过了好一会，才反应过来。
"This is just one constraint. The greater limitation is still the Essence Core."
tā yáo le yáo tóu ， zhí jiē fǒu dìng le lǐ fán de yì xiǎng ：“ wǒ cǐ qián yě shì zhè me xiǎng de 。 bù guò ……”
他摇了摇头，直接否定了李凡的臆想：“我此前也是这么想的。不过……”
The Crafty Sage pointed at the golden trial body: "I know these are already precious, but they can only meet basic requirements."
“ zài xún wèn le tiān yáng yī fān shēn huà dào gōng fǎ de xì jié zhī hòu ， jiù zhī dào zhè jué fēi yì shì 。”
“在询问了天阳一番身化道功法的细节之后，就知道这绝非易事。”
"The gap between immortals and mortals is too great. Without the洗礼 (ritual) of immortal spirit essence..."
“ yǐ shēn huà wù ， yóu qí shì shēn huà kuǐ lěi 、 jí qí róng yì mí shī zì wǒ 。 shī qù le rén lèi běn xìng ， zhēn de biàn chéng le yī jù kuǐ lěi 。 fēi yǒu dà yì lì 、 dà jīng shén zhě ， bù kě wèi zhī 。 tiān yáng dào yǒu yì zhì zhī jiān rèn ， dāng shì hǎn jiàn 。” qiǎo gōng jū shì zàn tàn dào 。
“以身化物，尤其是身化傀儡、极其容易迷失自我。失去了人类本性，真的变成了一具傀儡。非有大毅力、大精神者，不可为之。天阳道友意志之坚韧，当世罕见。”巧工居士赞叹道。
The Crafty Sage paused, considering his words: "Even ten times more might not be enough."
lǐ fán xiǎng dào lái zì tiān yáng yí gǔ zhōng de 【 yǒng héng yí niàn 】， mò mò dì diǎn le diǎn tóu 。
李凡想道来自天阳遗骨中的【永恒遗念】，默默地点了点头。
"Forging a single puppet requires such a huge amount of Essence Core; how can we mass-produce them?"
“ zhè hái zhǐ shì qí yī 。 gèng dà de zhì yuē ， hái shì zhè yuán lì jīng cuì 。” qiǎo gōng jū shì zhǐ zhe jīn sè jié shēn shuō dào 。
“这还只是其一。更大的制约，还是这源力精粹。”巧工居士指着金色劫身说道。
Li Fan didn't agree.
“ wǒ zhī dào shàng shǐ ná chū de zhè xiē yǐ jīng mí zú zhēn guì le ， dàn zhè yě jǐn jǐn shì néng mǎn zú zuì jī běn de liàn zhì yāo qiú bà le 。”
“我知道上使拿出的这些已经弥足珍贵了，但这也仅仅是能满足最基本的炼制要求罢了。”
To him, these two constraints weren’t issues at all. As long as the base was large enough, he could always find those with exceptionally strong willpower.
“ xiān 、 fán zhī jiān ， chā jù shí zài tài guò jù dà 。 méi yǒu le xiān líng zhī qì de xǐ lǐ ， zhǐ kào yuán lì jīng cuì ……”
“仙、凡之间，差距实在太过巨大。没有了仙灵之气的洗礼，只靠源力精粹……”
And if there were enough believers and time, he could accumulate sufficient Essence Core.
qiǎo gōng jū shì dùn le dùn ， zhēn zhuó dào ：“ gū jì zài lái shí bèi de liàng ， yě wú fǎ mǎn zú 。”
巧工居士顿了顿，斟酌道：“估计再来十倍的量，也无法满足。”
As long as he could cultivate immortal realm combatants, it would be worth it.
“ guāng shì liàn zhì yī jù kuǐ lěi ， jiù xiāo hào rú cǐ jù dà 。 yòu hé lái pī liàng jiàn zào ne ？”
“光是炼制一具傀儡，就消耗如此巨大。又何来批量建造呢？”
The only concern was whether such a massive use of Essence Core might attract the attention of the True Immortal without a face.
lǐ fán wén yán ， què méi yǒu fù hè 。
李凡闻言，却没有附和。
Although theoretically, True Immortals no longer showed interest in Essence Core, the Dao Flower was still very close to the root of the Dao that True Immortals sought.
duì tā ér yán ， zhè liǎng gè zhì yuē tiáo jiàn 、 gēn běn bú shì wèn tí 。
对他而言，这两个制约条件、根本不是问题。
If he reached a certain level and attracted the True Immortal's attention, it wouldn't be unexpected.
zhǐ yào jī shù gòu dà ， zǒng néng zhǎo dào suǒ wèi de xīn zhì yì cháng jiān rèn zhī bèi 。
只要基数够大，总能找到所谓的心志异常坚韧之辈。
(End of Chapter)
Initially, when Li Fan first condensed his婴灵 (soul embryo) in the Primordial Five Elements Cave Heaven for the first time as a newborn entity, he had a vague sense of something different.
However, at that time, to seize the moment when the cave heaven descended into this world and successfully condense his soul embryo, Li Fan didn't have much time to ponder too deeply.
Thus, he ignored those subtle differences in feeling.
It was only recently, after upgrading the Dao Stone, that Li Fan revisited every detail of his experiences.
Only then did he rediscover something.
"If my guess is correct, a new Primordial Five Elements Cave Heaven should be born within the Heavenly Spirit Region [天地之根]. I can test it out when the time comes."
"However, the original Primordial Five Elements Great Cave Heavens from this world were absorbed and promoted by me. The heavens have suffered some losses, so it will take a while to nurture new cave heavens."
"If my hypothesis is verified, then the number of anchor points I can use should increase accordingly."
Li Fan's gaze flashed with cold light: "Although newborn cave heavens are hard to find, there must be many in this vast Xuanhuang World."
"Going even further, if we could annihilate a cave heaven and directly reconstruct it..."
"This would also be an effective method."
Once upon a time, Li Fan had to secretly seek out hidden resources just to increase his anchor points by cultivating Golden Core. This led him to accidentally meet Fangmu.
Now, he was already bold enough to casually destroy the Primordial Five Elements Cave Heavens in Xuanhuang World without any qualms.
It wasn't that Li Fan's mindset had expanded; rather, there were few threats left for him from this world.
...
While Li Fan was focusing on preparing to help Tianxian Mirror escape, the Crafty Sage actually made some progress.
He came running to find Li Fan excitedly, wanting to use the Essence Core of Origin Power.
"Thanks to Fellow Daoist Fang. Although his craftsmanship is lacking and he hasn't received formal training, this also means he has no mental constraints. He always comes up with some wild ideas!"
"I have drafted a preliminary plan for re-forging Tianyang's puppet body. Please take a look!"
Saying that, the Crafty Sage pointed into the air.
A figure clad in black metal armor appeared before Li Fan, looking imposing and powerful.
"Based on part of the original design and Tianyang’s own wishes, I've designed this appearance. Fellow Daoist Fang and I are quite satisfied with it."
"But being able to change appearances at will isn't the main point,"
The Crafty Sage pointed again, and the puppet's image instantly grew larger.
The internal structure of the puppet was revealed, resembling human blood vessels running throughout its body.
Golden Essence Core flowed ceaselessly like a river within.
"Compared to ordinary puppets, the key difference with immortal puppets is that they can absorb external forces and continuously evolve and strengthen themselves."
"Fellow Daoist Tianyang has transformed his body into a puppet. He's both a cultivator and a puppet. In some way, he already meets the hardest conditions for becoming an immortal puppet."
"So all we need to do now is add something to him!"
Li Fan frowned: "Is it just about stacking material? Can this really enhance Tianyang’s strength? With his current Condensation Realm cultivation, what stage will he reach after completing the puppet forging?"
The Crafty Sage was confident: "Absolutely no problem! Tianyang's current state is like a cultivator who has met all the criteria for promotion but lacks the necessary resources, hence why he hasn't completed his transformation yet."
"Since he’s both a puppet and a cultivator, why should he seek out new methods from Xuanhuang World?"
The Crafty Sage's excitement was evident. "After completing the creation, we can’t determine exactly how powerful he will be, but it will definitely not be weaker than an immortal realm cultivator in Xuanhuang World!"
Li Fan’s eyes flashed: "In that case, you may go ahead."
As he spoke, Li Fan sent a body filled with golden Essence Core to follow him.
The Crafty Sage's gaze was immediately captured by the golden劫身 (trial body).
"If your idea works, wouldn’t this mean we can mass-produce immortal realm combat power?"
"I have some knowledge of Tianyang’s Body Transformation Technique. As long as he cultivates this secret technique and transforms into a half-puppet, half-cultivator existence, then with the help of Essence Core, he will be promoted..." Li Fan thought of something and asked.
The Crafty Sage was still focused on the golden trial body.
After a while, he realized what Li Fan meant.
He shook his head, directly dismissing Li Fan's assumption: "I had the same idea before. However..."
"After asking Tianyang about the details of Body Transformation Technique, I know it’s not that easy."
"Transforming one’s body into something else, especially into a puppet, can easily lead to self-forgetfulness. Losing human nature and truly becoming a puppet requires great willpower and spirit. Fellow Daoist Tianyang's resilience is rare in this world," the Crafty Sage praised.
Li Fan thought of the Eternal Remembrance from Tianyang’s bones and nodded silently.
"This is just one constraint. The greater limitation is still the Essence Core."
The Crafty Sage pointed at the golden trial body: "I know these are already precious, but they can only meet basic requirements."
"The gap between immortals and mortals is too great. Without the洗礼 (ritual) of immortal spirit essence..."
The Crafty Sage paused, considering his words: "Even ten times more might not be enough."
"Forging a single puppet requires such a huge amount of Essence Core; how can we mass-produce them?"
Li Fan didn't agree.
To him, these two constraints weren’t issues at all. As long as the base was large enough, he could always find those with exceptionally strong willpower.
And if there were enough believers and time, he could accumulate sufficient Essence Core.
As long as he could cultivate immortal realm combatants, it would be worth it.
The only concern was whether such a massive use of Essence Core might attract the attention of the True Immortal without a face.
Although theoretically, True Immortals no longer showed interest in Essence Core, the Dao Flower was still very close to the root of the Dao that True Immortals sought.
If he reached a certain level and attracted the True Immortal's attention, it wouldn't be unexpected.
(End of Chapter)