Spirit Nourishing Dust, Puppeteer

I'm sorry, I've never heard of it.

"This junior is Chen Guan."

"Mm. I have watched your performance closely, and it has been very good. Even in my era, there were only a few among the Younger Generation who could compare to you. More importantly, your Soul Perception far surpasses that of your peers. You are a fine prospect."

"You flatter me, Senior."

Chen Guan was almost blushing from the praise.

He had confidence in his own talent, but he was not so arrogant as to believe he was the greatest of them all.

Leaving aside everything else, Special Physiques such as the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and the Poison Body of Misfortune could not be judged by common sense.

As for him, he was still within the bounds of common sense.

"Hehe, Little Chen, have you ever heard of Puppeteers, or Puppet Mastery?"

"I would not dare hide it from you, Senior. I have never heard of Puppeteers. In today's Dou Qi Continent, alchemists are the only special profession that still thrives. The inheritances of others, such as Artifact Forgers and Spirit Wine Masters, have nearly been severed. Some methods of Puppet Mastery do remain, though. As far as I know, certain great factions still possess methods for refining Heavenly Demon Puppets."

Heaven Puppet Sect, Heavenly Demon Puppet.

Chen Guan did not know whether the two were connected, so he deliberately mentioned it.

Having received no warning from the suicide note, and judging from their interaction, Chen Guan had lowered his guard against this Versailles old man somewhat and gained a little more trust in him.

Mostly because he had no choice. The old man clearly looked incredibly formidable. If he truly had designs on Chen Guan, could Chen Guan possibly resist?

He did not possess some heaven-defying cheat. He was merely an ordinary person with relatively better talent.

Upon hearing that only the profession of alchemists had continued its inheritance, Shu Tianhe felt slightly disappointed. Yet he soon let out a contemptuous snort.

"Heavenly Demon Puppets? They are merely some unorthodox side path. How could they be called true Puppet Mastery? My Heaven Puppet Sect possessed even more powerful unorthodox techniques than Heavenly Demon Puppets, yet they still could not be counted among the orthodox path. The path of Puppeteers is righteous and proper. Back then, even alchemists treated us with great courtesy. After all, no matter how extensive one's connections were, they could not be called upon at any moment. Puppets were different. Carry one refined by my Heaven Puppet Sect, and your sense of security would be completely maxed out."

Shu Tianhe had opened the floodgates. Like pouring out beans, he babbled on without stopping, boasting that the path of Puppeteers was capable of anything.

Have you ever seen such a talkative master? The young man's impression of him quietly changed.

Still, it had to be said that it sounded truly enticing. According to the old man, some high-level puppets could even be refined to look exactly like ordinary people. They could speak, act independently, and possessed formidable combat strength and abundant spirituality. They were practically like avatars, impossible to distinguish from the real thing.

In the current Dou Qi Continent, no one would likely believe it if they heard it. It had already surpassed the scope of comprehension.

"What divine craftsmanship. Such puppets surely cannot be refined by ordinary Puppeteers. Senior, back then—"

"Cough, cough. You think too highly of me. Although I possessed a Heaven Realm Soul in my youth, I still could not refine such Divine Puppets. Even gathering the required Grade 9 Materials was difficult. According to the records of my Heaven Puppet Sect, only the first Sect Master ever succeeded. After that Sect Master passed away, outsiders continued to regard the Divine Puppet as the Sect Master. It was not until more than a thousand years later that they discovered the problem, but by then, our new generation's Sect Master had long since grown up."

"Sadly, no inheritance lasts forever. When an Imperial Clan expanded, my Heaven Puppet Sect bore the brunt of it. Puppeteers were nearly wiped out. Left with no choice, the Sect Master could only divide the inheritance and have everyone flee separately. The portion concerning the refinement of Divine Puppets was known only to the Sect Master. Now that this old man is dead and gone, the others must be gone as well. The true inheritance of Puppeteers will never again be gathered in full."

Shu Tianhe sighed with emotion. Yet his sorrow was not especially deep; after such long years, he had already come to terms with many things.

"Still, even if that is the case, as long as you grasp part of the essence of Puppeteers, it will be enough to benefit you for life. Little Chen, are you willing to join my Heaven Puppet Sect and inherit the path of Puppeteers on my behalf?"

They had finally reached the main point. Only a fool would refuse at a time like this, and the situation did not allow him to refuse anyway.

Chen Guan acted decisively. He immediately bowed down in worship, answering with his actions.

"Disciple Chen Guan pays respects to Teacher."

Clinging to a powerful backer was not important. Chen Guan simply could not bear to let the other man—no, the other soul—remain alone at the lightless bottom of this lake, suffering the torment of time. Really.

Unfortunately, the tree wished for stillness, but the wind would not cease; the child wished to care for his parent, but the parent would not wait. Chen Guan's filial intentions were destined to come to nothing.

Shu Tianhe laughed heartily. "Hahaha, get up quickly. To receive an inheritor before my soul completely dissipates means I have no regrets in this life. It is only a pity that I cannot be a good teacher and personally instruct you. All I can leave you are some experiences and insights from my life, along with a few things of little value."

As though afraid Chen Guan might change his mind, Shu Tianhe acted with lightning speed. He tapped Chen Guan's glabella with a finger, pouring the entire inheritance into his mind.

Then, the ring on the skeleton's hand slipped off and floated before Chen Guan.

After doing all this, Shu Tianhe's already transparent soul became even more illusory, almost unable to maintain its human form.

An enormous amount of information flooded into his mind: how to refine every kind of puppet, experiences and insights, and even a Soul Cultivation Method.

Its value was self-evident, but Chen Guan had no mind to inspect it carefully at the moment.

Holding the dark-blue storage ring, he noticed a small bottle made of special material inside. More than ten pale-yellow grains of dust rose and fell continuously within it.

In today's Dou Qi Continent, this item was even more precious than an ordinary Grade 8 medicinal pill! "Teacher, this should be Spirit Nourishing Dust, right? It should be quite useful for the soul. Teacher, you—"

"It is useless. Spirit Nourishing Dust is not omnipotent. It is indeed useful for maintaining and restoring the soul, but its main purpose is to nurture the soul and strengthen the spiritual essence within it, making it easier to step into the Spirit Realm. It is best used when one has touched the threshold of the Spirit Realm, though using it early does no harm."

"Your teacher had already reached the Heaven Realm Soul back then, so it had limited effect on me. When I was young, thanks to the formula controlled by the Heaven Puppet Sect, I recruited a Grade 8 Alchemist as a guest elder. Because of that, I used quite a bit of Spirit Nourishing Dust. After my death, I used several more grains, but the effects grew weaker and weaker until they eventually became completely ineffective. Keep it for yourself. With it, you can enter the Spirit Realm faster. We Puppeteers have no lower requirements for the soul than alchemists."

Chen Guan felt somewhat unwilling to accept it. This result was truly frustrating.

The teacher he had just acknowledged was about to disappear, and he had no Psychological Preparation at all. If he had initially only wanted to gain a powerful backer, then now he felt genuine respect and wanted to keep him here.

A drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring. This teacher had truly treated him exceptionally well.

"Teacher, I once read in a book that an alchemist whose Physical Body had been destroyed, leaving his soul in a situation similar to yours, could slowly recover by absorbing dou qi. Teacher, why not absorb mine as well? Once we get out, I can find medicinal ingredients to repair your soul."

"Good disciple, your intentions alone already make me very happy. But that method is useless for me. My soul should have dissipated long ago. Over these years, I had lingering regrets, so I exhausted every possible method to endure until today. My soul has long since become unbearably fragile, like a piece of porcelain weathered for countless years. It will shatter at the slightest touch. There is no way to save it."

"You need not feel sorrow for me. Your teacher has already been satisfied with this life. Now that even my final regret has been remedied, heaven has treated me well."

"While I can still hold on for a few days, begin learning Puppet Mastery. I can guide you a little and help you reach the level of a Fourth Tier Puppeteer as soon as possible. Only then will you be able to leave this place."

Chen Guan looked up, confusion in his eyes.

Shu Tianhe revealed an embarrassed smile and awkwardly explained, "Back when my soul was still strong, I was proud and arrogant. I left behind an imprint outside. This was a test I left for my future inheritor. At the time, I firmly believed that anyone who could not even become a Fourth Tier Puppeteer was unworthy of being an inheritor of my Heaven Puppet Sect and need not go out and disgrace us. I simply never expected that after so many years, apart from you, only that little snake would discover this place."

Shu Tianhe was extremely embarrassed. From a certain perspective, he had set his own disciple up.

The imprint had been left behind, but when he wanted to remove it, he no longer had the ability to do so. That was quite awkward.

"Can't it be broken by force? I saw that there are still some puppets in Teacher's storage ring."

"Cough. The entire Stone Chamber was cast with Outer Heaven Profound Iron mixed with Copper Essence. Without the strength of a Dou Zong, forcibly breaking it is almost impossible. As for the remaining puppets, the strongest can only match a Three-Star Dou Huang. So this path will not work. Unless you can break through to Dou Zong very quickly, this is the only way."

Chen Guan opened his mouth, rendered speechless by this rather unconventional teacher.

So all those arrangements had ultimately fallen upon him alone. The sorrow in his heart was diluted considerably by his speechlessness. "Teacher, you really had too much free time."

"Cough, cough. Cultivate, Little Chen. I believe in you. With your Soul Strength and the assistance of the Spirit Nourishing Dust, if you continually improve your puppet-refining skills, becoming a Fourth Tier Puppeteer will not be difficult. You will reach it very soon."