Clan Cultivation: My Intelligence Updated Daily

Chapter 231 Recent Situation of the Clan, Experimenting with Puppets

Lingku Hall.

This three-story pavilion, located in a secluded spot in the western part of Tianliu Inner City, is no longer as deserted as it used to be.

The scene inside the hall was very busy, with more than a dozen Zhang family cultivators dressed in uniform indigo short shirts moving around in various areas.

"Only two snake puppets remain at counter number three!"

"Sir, defensive puppets need to be ordered three days in advance..."

"Please inspect the goods in the training ground in the backyard. Do not use your magic inside the main hall!"

As you can see, the multi-tiered display shelves behind the counter are mostly empty, with only some high-end items with astonishing prices or niche items with special functions that no one wants.

This lively scene is naturally closely related to the upcoming opening of the Spirit Puppet Sect.

In recent months, cultivators from all directions have flocked to Tianliu City like a tidal wave. The Spirit Puppet Sect is most skilled at crafting puppets, and in order to explore its mysteries, they all want to buy a puppet to study.

The ruins are fraught with danger; there must be many remaining guard puppets, traps, and mechanisms. Many people come to buy a puppet in order to understand its weaknesses.

By carefully dissecting and studying its joint structure and array arrangement, one can essentially master a living atlas.

The more you know now, the better your chances of success once you enter the market.

"Hmm, not bad, it's starting to look like a shop now."

Upon seeing this scene, Zhang Lingyu nodded unconsciously. In the past, the shop was always deserted whenever he came, hardly resembling a business.

When he reached the door, a member of the Zhang family standing there soliciting customers saw his distinguished bearing and immediately bowed:

"Senior, do you need to purchase puppets? Our Spirit Puppet Hall produces only the finest quality puppets; you can tell by the popularity. We'll definitely satisfy you!"

Although the apprentice didn't know why so many cultivators had started buying puppets recently, he knew that as long as he worked hard to promote them, the shop's business would get better and better. When that happened, Lin Qing and his wife would be happy and could reward them with more spirit stones.

"Oh, you don't recognize me?"

"But I know you. You're Zhang Yuanling, right?"

Zhang Lingyu's lips curled into a half-smile as he looked at the clansmen before him. He hadn't changed his appearance this time, so even if they hadn't met him in person, they should have seen his portrait.

How could they not even recognize him, the clan leader?

"This...forgive my poor eyesight, I really don't recognize you." Zhang Yuanling's heart skipped a beat, and he racked his brains but still couldn't remember who was in front of him.

Just then, another member of the clan came out of the shop to see off a customer. When he caught sight of Zhang Lingyu and his companion out of the corner of his eye, his smile vanished instantly, and he ran over with a serious expression, bowing and saying, "Junior Zhang Yuanmin greets the clan leader!"

"ah!?"

"Chieftain!"

Zhang Yuanling was stunned for a moment. When he saw the smiling man in front of him, he hurriedly bowed and said, "Junior Zhang Yuanling greets the clan leader... I... please don't blame me for what happened just now."

"No, Yuan Ling, how come you can't even recognize the clan leader..." Zhang Yuanmin, sweating profusely, though inwardly complaining, still defended his younger cousin, whispering:

"Clan leader, the shop has been quite busy lately, and my twentieth brother has been busy serving customers and is mentally exhausted. He didn't recognize me at first, so please don't blame him."

"When have I ever blamed Yuan Ling? There's no need to panic. It's alright if you neglect me, just don't neglect the other guests."

Zhang Lingyu waved his hand, not caring. On the contrary, he also bore some responsibility for this, as he had been in seclusion for many years and most of his clansmen had not had time to meet him.

Furthermore, with the clan's disciples now scattered across various regions developing their businesses, they have become quite rusty.

"Yes... Thank you for your understanding, clan chief."

"I wonder if Fellow Daoist Lin and his companion are present?"

"Senior Lin and Senior Chen are both here. I'll go and inform them right away."

Zhang Yuanmin immediately went inside to report, and Zhang Lingyu indicated that Zhang Yuanling should just do his own thing and didn't need to stay with him. Upon hearing this, the latter breathed a sigh of relief.

"Senior, look, this is a puppet at the peak of Qi Refining. It's excellent whether used as an assistant or given to disciples or children for self-defense."

"If combat is not required, we also have puppets for reconnaissance. They are not only extremely fast, but also contain dozens of small puppets inside, making them difficult to detect."

Upon entering the shop, cultivators from all over the country, accompanied by Zhang's apprentices, were selecting various puppets. When they saw him enter, they couldn't help but look over.

Now, every cultivator who enters could become a potential adversary for them in the ruins of the Spirit Puppet Sect.

Powerful divine senses swept towards him, but Zhang Lingyu remained unfazed, easily shutting out all the probing attacks, including those from late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Who is this person? His spiritual sense is incredibly powerful; could he be at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage?!"

The cultivator who had failed immediately turned his head to look at the puppet again, afraid of being caught red-handed. Some were not afraid of trouble, and the more trouble they did, the more interested they became, and they insisted on continuing to test it.

Unfortunately... nothing was gained.

This domineering behavior was disrespectful to cultivators. Zhang Lingyu didn't hold back either, and his powerful divine sense swept over everyone, taking in their cultivation levels and everything else.

Seeing that they had been seen naked, many cultivators changed color, and some even wanted to step forward to question them, but then gave up after thinking about it.

No matter what, I was in the wrong first, and I can't compete with him. If I go up there, won't I just be laughed at?

The apprentices in the shop were unaware that these cultivators had just secretly engaged in a contest, but they recognized Zhang Lingyu as soon as he entered.

Many people were about to step forward to pay their respects when a voice echoed in their minds.

"No need to make a fuss, just focus on your own work."

"Yes... I understand."

Zhang Lingyu looked around but didn't see Lin Qing, so she simply found a place to sit down and watched the clansmen work.

It must be said that these clansmen have made great progress since arriving in Tianliu City. At least their behavior is not flawed, and their cultivation has also improved significantly.

After all, he remembered the name and cultivation level of every clansman who came here.

Regarding his mastery of puppetry, we don't yet know his skill level. We'll put him to the test after we've finished receiving him.

Before long, a man in blue came out from the backyard. He smiled at Zhang Lingyu, but did not say anything. He simply made a gesture of invitation.

There's no other reason than that shops these days are not like they used to be; there are too many people and too many eyes on the street, and most of them are Foundation Establishment cultivators, so it's better to be cautious.

Zhang Lingyu immediately got up and followed him to the backyard. There, she saw a woman fiddling with puppet parts, with several apprentices helping her.

Upon seeing his arrival, the apprentices immediately bowed. Chen Xiaomeng clapped her hands, stood up, and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, it's been a long time. You haven't come to Tianliu City even once in all these years. I thought you had forgotten about my wife and me."

"And your people, I thought we didn't need them either."

"Fellow Daoist Chen is too kind. I have been busy with cultivation, so I came to see you as soon as I came out."

"Let's go inside and talk. Yuanhai, you can study it yourselves first. You've already submitted everything that's due."

"Yes."

After giving the instructions, the three of them immediately went to the room. As they entered, the array set up in the room was activated to prevent outsiders from spying on them.

The fact that everyone in the Spirit Puppet Hall is currently at the Foundation Establishment stage is a last resort.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, congratulations! Your business is booming!"

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, you're joking. Isn't your shop the same?"

Lin Qing poured him tea and said with a smile:

"There are advantages to this liveliness, but it will only last for a few years. Once the matter of the Spirit Puppet Sect is over, things will return to normal. My wife and I prefer some peace and quiet."

Those who come to his shop to buy puppets are all there for the Spirit Puppet Sect. They are observing each other, but aren't the couple also observing them?

However, none of these people had a cultivation level lower than Qi Refining, which caused the two of them some distress.

Although the couple has now successfully advanced to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, they are confident that they will advance to the late stage before the Spirit Puppet Sect opens.

They had hoped to enter the core area to obtain the inheritance, but given the current situation... it would be better to just honestly scavenge the inner area.

The couple had noticed the commotion earlier and believed that with Zhang Lingyu and the puppet in their hands, they should still be able to gain something.

To be honest, it's not surprising that he could intimidate the cultivators in the shop; the rumors about the Water Moon Secret Realm are indeed true.

The couple sighed with relief upon hearing this, thankful they had befriended him early on, otherwise it would have been a huge problem.

Lin Qing held his teacup, exchanged a glance with his wife, and asked, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, you didn't come here specifically to see us, did you?"

"Indeed, I was just out running some errands and stopped by Tianliu City to check on the recent situation of my family's businesses. Since I'm here, how could I not pay a visit to you, fellow Daoist?"

"Also, let's take a look at the puppets..."

Two years ago, Lin Qing sent him a message saying that he had created a puppet at the Foundation Establishment level, but he had never come to pick it up because he was in seclusion.

Now is the perfect time to check on the progress.

The puppets were a great help to him. Once he had mastered the first volume of the "Spiritual Profound Soul Nourishing Scripture", controlling ten of them at the same time would not be a problem.

"Fellow Daoist, please look!"

With a wave of his long sleeves, Lin Qing conjured six puppets in the room. Four of them were humanoid and focused on defense, while the remaining two were beast-shaped, just like the ones Chen Xiaomeng had given to Zhang Lingyu, all used for reconnaissance.

After entering the Spirit Puppet Sect, one must not only face the threat from those cultivators, but more importantly, guard against internal threats.

Using divine sense to investigate is too mentally taxing, but having a puppet is much more convenient. Even if it is destroyed, it won't hurt, at least it preserves oneself.

"Fellow Daoists Lin and Chen truly deserve to be called geniuses in the art of puppetry; these puppets are indeed quite impressive!"

The art of making puppets is notoriously demanding, as it requires extremely high precision and durability in external parts, joints, and other components, often necessitating the sourcing of many rare materials.

Once all the parts are ready, they still need to be forged with spiritual fire and sculpted with divine sense, and repeatedly adjusted until they are perfectly accurate.

This is still in its embryonic stage. The key to truly giving the puppet action lies in the interconnected array of spirit gathering, control, and sensing techniques engraved all over its body.

If anything goes wrong, this material will have to be refined again.

Therefore, even a puppet that is only at the Foundation Establishment stage would cost between 20,000 and 30,000 spirit stones, comparable to a high-quality Foundation Establishment-grade magic weapon.

The six puppets before us were uniform in design and coordinated in their movements, with array patterns faintly visible, clearly not crudely made.

Even if an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator were to exhaust all their wealth, it would be difficult to gather all the necessary materials. Even a cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment would find it difficult to successfully refine the material without profound puppetry skills and immense mental support.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, please observe."

Lin Qing introduced it with great pride:

"Aside from the two puppets we were given to repair, these four were crafted by us at the cost of our entire fortune. The main bones were all taken from the entire spiritual bones of the fourth-tier demonic beast, the Stone-Splitting Ape. This ape was born by drinking stone marrow, and its bones are as hard as black iron, making it most adept at bearing pressure and absorbing force."

"The outer armor is forged from gold-based iron, which is very hard. Fellow Daoist should have heard of this material."

As he spoke, he suddenly drew his longsword and swung it. The sharp sword energy suddenly struck the puppet's arm armor, but only a sharp "clang" was heard, leaving only a light white mark on the armor.

"I'm not exaggerating, but in terms of sheer strength, it's enough to hold its own against an ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if the opponent attacks with a magic weapon, it can withstand an attack for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn without sustaining any damage."

Since their last meeting, the three families have agreed on the direction of creating puppets.

Even if Lin Qing and his companion are highly talented, the puppets they create at this stage cannot kill Foundation Establishment cultivators. Firstly, the puppets require a massive amount of spiritual energy to move, and even if they are inlaid with mid-grade spirit stones, they cannot sustain continuous high-intensity attacks.

Secondly, cultivators have endless tricks up their sleeves, such as protective magic artifacts and escape techniques and talismans. Often, when the puppet launches a fierce attack with all its might, the opponent's multiple layers of defense fail to break through, and the spiritual energy inside the spirit stone will be depleted. In addition, since cultivators cannot transfer their magic power in real time, the spirit stone will eventually become as useless as scrap metal.

Unless they have high-grade spirit stones, but even Foundation Establishment cultivators can't possess those.

Therefore, after discussion, it was decided to focus on entanglement and defense.

"In that case, why don't we let Zhang give it a try?" Zhang Lingyu immediately became interested. Lin Qing's words were so eloquent, why not put them into practice and test the results?

"this..."

Upon hearing this, the couple hesitated. Zhang Lingyu was no ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator; a single blow from him was comparable to a late-stage cultivator. If he were damaged, they would have to expend a lot of effort to repair him.

But after thinking about it, I agreed.

After all, these things were prepared for the trip to the Spirit Puppet Sect. There are many powerful people this time. If we can't even withstand Zhang Lingyu's attack, then there's no point in competing with others.

The room was definitely not suitable, so they went to the training ground at the back.

To prevent other Foundation Establishment cultivators from spying on them, array formations are essential.

Since it concerned whether he could seize the opportunity from other cultivators, Zhang Lingyu would not hold back at all, and immediately used the Burning Yuan Heart Flame and six Xuan Ting Flying Swords.

Of course, the puppet wasn't just standing there for him to hit. Under Lin Qing's control, it went straight through the sea of ​​fire and threw a punch at him.

Six flying swords arrived one after another, sparks flying off the puppet's body.

Upon closer inspection, the Xuan Ting Flying Sword, whose full-force attack was enough to pierce through the protective spiritual shield of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, only left a few light white scratches on the puppet's chest and arm armor, the deepest of which was no more than half an inch, and was being slowly smoothed out by the flowing golden patterns at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"good!"

Zhang Lingyu was not surprised but delighted; the puppet's toughness far exceeded his expectations!

Just as the fist was about to strike, he pulled back, but the puppet suddenly sped up and almost grabbed him.

If an ordinary cultivator were to be approached so closely, they would surely panic and retreat. But Zhang Lingyu was different. He first summoned the Soul-Devouring Bees to envelop his entire body before unleashing the Blood Demon Mighty Body and punching at the enemy.

The power of this punch was enough to injure a late-stage cultivator, but the puppet only took a few steps back, and only a shallow dent appeared on its surface.

Seeing that the puppet was about to continue fighting, he quickly called for a stop: "Fellow Daoist Lin, that's enough. I already know the power of your puppet. There's no need to fight anymore."

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