Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

"Add more money?" Zhu Xuanji laughed heartily, "That can be arranged!"

However, what came next caused Zhu Xuanji's expression to change when Zheng Shuanggou quoted the exact amount of spirit stones.

His expression was one of shock, and his gaze seemed to ask—Are you serious?

Thus, the second round of discussions broke down, as Zheng Shuanggou's price was too high. Both parties failed to reach an agreement and could only say they would reconsider before scheduling a third meeting.

"These local cultivation families…" Zhu Xuanji gritted his teeth in secret.

Ever since the recruitment order, his pressure had doubled.

More and more cultivators had flooded into Huoshi Immortal City, and the City Lord's Mansion had successfully "recruited" several Golden Core cultivators who possessed significant expertise in the art of puppetry.

These Golden Core cultivators entered the Lava Immortal Palace, working together closely, and were quickly catching up to Zhu Xuanji.

The gap between them was visibly shrinking at an alarming rate.

Zhu Xuanji was well aware that this was actually the work of the Meng family, using this method to bring in reinforcements and help Meng Kui compete for control of the Lava Immortal Palace.

The Meng family needed the Lava Immortal Palace as a stepping stone to seize control of the entire Huoshi Immortal City!

Zhu Xuanji's plan was to retrieve the lost Golden Core mechanical puppet demon general.

Through the Trace Back Art, he saw that the mechanical demon general was lost deep within Mount Huoshi, in the royal court of the Fire Fusion Demon Apes, ruled by a Golden Core-level demon ape king, with the possibility of other Golden Core-level demon apes present as well.

In such a situation, relying on Zhu Xuanji alone would never be enough to retrieve the mechanical demon general.

Therefore, he sought out the Zhou, Zheng, and Ning families to borrow the strength of five Golden Core cultivators to storm the lair of the Fire Fusion Demon Apes deep within Mount Huoshi and retrieve the mechanical demon general.

The first round of talks ended in failure, and the second round also encountered setbacks…

As a divine detective, Zhu Xuanji pondered for a while, finally realizing, "The three families' Golden Cores are deliberately stalling for time."

"After all, entering Mount Huoshi with me means risking their lives."

"They want to confirm whether they have another chance on a different path. If the opportunity is significant, they won’t agree to risk their lives with me."

"Judging by this, the reconstruction teams from the three families must be planning something big."

At the Zhou family.

In the underground hall.

All members of the reconstruction teams from the three families gathered together, attentively listening to Zheng Hua explaining the "Ghost Martial Divine Soldier Refining Art."

"Remember, using this technique will cut off thirty percent of your own soul. During this process, you will experience intense pain."

"Our family has already prepared the corresponding pills for you. If you can't endure it, you can take one to alleviate the pain."

"However, I don't recommend you do this."

"Because the intense pain signifies the close bond between the soul fragments. Maintaining this connection will be highly beneficial for the forging of the ghost weapon."

"But if you take the pill, it will greatly weaken this bond. Even if you manage to forge the ghost weapon, it won’t be perfectly compatible with your body."

"Of course, when necessary, you should still take the pill."

"If you pass out from the pain, the consequences will be even worse!"

Zheng Hua gave a detailed explanation and then demonstrated his own ghost weapon to everyone.

After that, he had a cultivator from the Zheng family's reconstruction team publicly cut a fragment of their soul, depleting their soul power to condense their own ghost weapon.

After understanding and mastering this special refining technique, someone began forging their weapon.

"It hurts so much, heavens!" The first person to try it, under the watchful eyes of countless people, stubbornly refused to take the pill.

As a result, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.

Fortunately, Zheng Hua and others were closely monitoring him, and seeing the situation deteriorate, they intervened early.

The unconscious cultivator was quickly stabilized with their treatment, preventing the backlash from endangering his life.

Witnessing this vivid example and the bloody lesson, the other members of the reconstruction team chose a more conservative approach.

Whenever they could no longer endure the pain, they immediately took the pill.

"Ah—!" Ning Yong screamed, his voice hoarse, yet he stubbornly refused to take the pill.

In contrast, Ning Chen swallowed the pill as soon as he felt a slight twinge from the soul-cutting pain.

Ning Zhuo carefully pondered the essence of the technique and had yet to act.

He looked at the other geniuses.

Zheng Jian, a member of the Zheng family, had long since practiced the Ghost Martial Divine Soldier Refining Art. He demonstrated his ghost weapon in the form of a bow and arrow.

Zhou Zhu and Zhou Zhenshen followed the technique one after the other. Zhou Zhu let out a muffled groan, while Zhou Zhenshen furrowed his brows, his face contorted in pain. Both of them managed to hold on without taking the pill.

Ning Xiaohui glanced at Ning Zhuo and sneered, "How long are you going to wait? Are you afraid? Ning Zhuo!"

Ning Zhuo smiled, "You are the main branch of the Ning family, and I am merely a branch member. Of course, I have to let you go first. Otherwise, if you lose to me again, wouldn't it be a disgrace to the entire main branch?"

Provoked by Ning Zhuo's words, this time, Ning Xiaohui laughed heartily.

She revealed a ghost sword in public, "Open your dog eyes wide and take a good look at this!"

Seeing this, Zhou Zhenshen's pupils contracted. He became even more convinced that the Ning and Zheng families had grown close and had already begun cooperating.

Ning Zhuo was slightly startled, then let out a mocking laugh, "You got the refining technique in advance, and only cared about yourself, forgetting about the rest of us in the reconstruction team."

"You secretly refined it and took the pill in private without anyone knowing. Clever, very clever."

Ning Xiaohui's face turned pale with anger, "How dare you! You’re just a branch member, yet you dare to slander the main branch."

Ning Zhuo responded, "Then prove to everyone that you didn’t secretly take the pill when refining your ghost weapon."

Just as Ning Xiaohui was about to retort, Ning Xie finally couldn't bear it anymore, "Enough! There’s no need to argue about this. Ning Zhuo, why haven't you started yet?"

"Or do you need my help?"

Ning Zhuo laughed and stopped wasting words, immediately activating the refining technique in public.

His body trembled slightly as thirty percent of his soul was cut off, causing excruciating pain. But outwardly, he merely furrowed his brows, his gaze unwavering, showing no signs of hesitation.

"I did it, I did it!"

"Look at my ghost hammer! Uh, why is it so small?"

"I clearly intended to make a sword, but ended up with a little knife?"

Zheng Jian, Zheng Hua, and others witnessed various results from the ghost weapon refining process, their expressions unchanged as they had anticipated such outcomes.

This technique required cutting thirty percent of the soul body, consuming soul power, and condensing it into a ghost weapon.

If the cultivator's soul wasn’t strong enough and their soul power was weak, the ghost weapon created would be much smaller than planned.

"Hmm?!"

"What’s going on!"

"Ning Zhuo, you, this, this…"

Ning Zhuo successfully completed the refining process, and in front of him floated a ghost axe.

This axe was massive, almost like a door had been taken off its hinges.

The size of this gigantic ghost axe stood in stark contrast to the miniature ghost weapons of the others.

Zheng Jian and Ning Xiaohui's ghost weapons were instantly overshadowed. Their ghost weapons were only of normal size.

"Brother Zhuo is mighty!" Ning Yong was the first to raise his arm in celebration.

Soon, the cultivators of the Ning family branch laughed and shouted, sincerely celebrating Ning Zhuo's success.

Zhou Zhenshen looked at the normal-sized soul fan in his hand and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Ning, why is your soul so vast and powerful?"

"Thanks to the contribution of the Soul-Devouring Sect cultivators," Ning Zhuo certainly didn’t reveal his true thoughts and merely said, "I only realized it recently—after each exploration of the Immortal Palace, my soul was depleted, but when it fully recovered, it seemed to be slightly larger than before."

Everyone was speechless.

After a few breaths of silence, someone suddenly asked, "Brother Ning, what exactly is your talent?"

"I do not know either," Ning Zhuo spread his hands.

Having an unidentifiable talent was his best and most convenient excuse!

Ning Xiaohui snorted coldly and turned her head away.

After obtaining their ghost weapons, Zheng Hua distributed various pills, mainly for healing the soul or accelerating its recovery.

Then, under the guidance of another elder of the Zheng family, everyone actively practiced using their ghost weapons.

Afterward, they practiced mechanical refining, trained for three major tactics, and so on.

A few days later.

The entire reconstruction team was completely transformed! Their combat power had skyrocketed!

The three family patriarchs urged them repeatedly, and the reconstruction team, without resting, headed straight for the Immortal Palace.

Lava Immortal Palace.

The pupp

ets arrived at the first door.

They lined up in an orderly manner to receive their rewards for passing through.

Everyone's movements were swift and without hesitation. This was because the options and quantities of the rewards had been discussed and predetermined long ago.

Room one, room two, room three.

"No mechanical apes found!" the crowd cheered.

They happily entered the first preparation room.

The cultivators divided the work, with Ning Zhuo and Zheng Jian leading the effort to manufacture various mechanical creations with all their strength.

Room four, room five, room six.

In the second preparation room, the cultivators purchased higher-grade materials and made another batch of items.

Room seven, room eight!

The Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, appeared.

"Finally, we’ve encountered it."

"The eighth room is much deeper than we anticipated."

"This time, we must win!"

The joint forces of the three families were filled with high morale.

Yuan Dasheng roared and charged directly at the group.

The three families' joint forces were on full alert, as if facing a formidable enemy!

"Thunderbolt crossbows, fire!" Zheng Jian shouted.

In the ranks, eight crossbow machines were instantly activated. The arrows were covered in lightning and shot out.

Eight bolts of lightning shot straight forward, striking Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng.

The Golden-Blooded Battle Ape, Dasheng, froze in place, pierced by eight thunderbolt-wreathed arrows, each eight feet long, which buried themselves deep into the ground, pinning Dasheng in place.

Yuan Dasheng struggled, but the result was him twitching uncontrollably from the strong electric current, as broken mechanical parts spilled from his wounds.

"We… we did it!"

"Hahaha, who would've thought it would be a one-hit kill."

"The thunderbolt crossbows are incredible, even if they can only fire once. The power is exceptional, definitely worth it."

The crowd cheered.

"Hurry, dismantle the mechanical ape."

"Don't let the electric current damage the internal parts; we need to gather more information!"

Several cultivators quickly rushed forward.

Boom!