Volume 12: Awakening of the Machine Soul

After bidding farewell to the Puppet Venerable, Bai Qiuran hurriedly arrived at the Ghost Emperor Hall and met the Immortals sent by Le Zhentian.

"Greetings, Immortal Ancestor."

The visitor clearly knew Bai Qiuran's identity and quickly greeted him.

Bai Qiuran waved her hand, gesturing for him to get up, and then immediately asked, "How's the situation up ahead?"

"Not very optimistic."

The Immortals's complexion was not good.

"Our intelligence team discovered that the Puppet Legion has rapidly established Fortress near the Rift in the Consciousness Domain and is constantly expanding outwards, sweeping away any Consciousness Demon they encounter... Two fellow cultivators in the intelligence-gathering team had split into Consciousness Demon Clone, but their Consciousness Demon was unfortunately scanned away by the Puppet and attacked; they have now perished in the line of duty."

"..."

Bai Qiuran a moment, then asked, "Was it their Consciousness Demon Clone destroyed, or...?"

"They've all been killed."

The Immortals replied, "At first, the Puppet only attacked their Consciousness Demon Clone. But later they discovered that because of the Immortal Ancestor's Thought-Splitting Technique, as long as their physical bodies Souls were not destroyed, their Consciousness Demon Clone could be resurrected in their Sea of Consciousness no matter how many times they were destroyed. As long as their main bodies were not harmed, the lanterns used by the Puppet to collect their Power of Intent and concepts were useless against their Consciousness Demon Clone. So the Puppet attacked and killed them both."

What about the rest?

"They weren't killed, but they were all captured by the Puppet. Only one fellow Daoist, skilled in Escape Technique, managed to escape at the last moment and bring the news to His Majesty."

The Immortals replied.

"I understand."

Bai Qiuran said to him, "Thank you for your message. Please tell Immortal Emperor Le when you return that I will go to the Immortal Realm to see him after I finish dealing with matters in the Ghost Realm in a couple of days."

"Yes."

Two days later, after dealing with some trivial matters in the Ghost Realm, Bai Qiuran arrived in the Central Immortal Realm alone.

He first handed over the micro- Runes technique he had developed to the Book of Questions Librarian of the Central Immortal Palace's Treasury Pavilion, and then went alone to Le Zhentian's harem garden to find the Immortal Emperor.

When Bai Qiuran saw Le Zhentian, the man was entangled in a tender moment with one of his concubines. Upon seeing Bai Qiuran, Le Zhentian's face lit up with joy, and he quickly rose to greet her.

His concubine was slightly displeased, but she still graciously bowed to Bai Qiuran and withdrew.

"You're living quite comfortably, aren't you?"

Bai Qiuran walked to the stone bench opposite him and sat down.

"Mo Chen used to tell me that you were most like your master, and I was somewhat skeptical. But now it seems... you and him are practically identical, like two birds carved from Book of Questions."

"Grandmaster is joking. How could I be living a comfortable life?"

Perhaps thinking of his poor master, Le Zhentian sighed softly, "Middle age is inevitable; one has no choice but to soak goji berries in a thermos."

"Even goji berries can't stop the aging process, so we need to add angelica root."

Bai Qiuran Consciousness replied, then coughed under Le Zhentian's somewhat subtle gaze and asked, "I heard that two of your Spy were killed, and the rest were captured. What are you planning to do?"

"I am trying to find a way to rescue them."

At this point, Le Zhentian somewhat troubled.

"However, according to the strong man who returned, after capturing them, the Puppet seemed to be preparing to transfer them to the world on the other side of the Consciousness Barrier for imprisonment, and we know nothing about the situation there."

After speaking, the Central Immortal Emperor glanced at Bai Qiuran, seemingly unintentionally.

"You brat."

Bai Qiuran and scolded, "Don't try to play these roundabout riddles with me... Fine, I actually wanted to go and see what the social structure of that Puppet Civilization was really like. Leave this to me... However, I can't guarantee that I can bring them back intact."

Upon hearing this, Le Zhentian hurriedly replied, "It's already a great thing that Grandmaster is willing to go. The Immortal Realm Expansion is currently very busy, and manpower is scarce. I can't find anyone better than Grandmaster to do the job."

"Then I'll get ready and head over."

Bai Qiuran said to him, "I've recently come up with something new and sent it to the Treasury Pavilion. When do you have time, could you organize the Immortal Craftsman from the Heavenly Works Workshop to learn it and apply those new technologies to the manufacture of Ships and Fortress?"

"I understand."

Bai Qiuran by Haoting Xiaodu Heaven to visit her daughter and bought her some treats. When she returned home, she prepared to pack her bags and head to the other side of the river. But as soon as she entered the house, she saw Tang Ruowei lying in the yard, Sun like a salted fish.

The girl had somehow acquired a deck chair made of tiger skin and was lying in the middle of the yard, fast asleep. The afternoon sun shone on her, making her look warm and comfortable.

After being freed from the curse of the Steel Plate, the girl's figure became incredibly graceful. Although her current posture was somewhat unladylike, making her look like a salted fish, there's a saying that goes, even when a beautiful woman is picking her nose, she's still prettier than others.

As Your Highness the Princess of the Shangxuan Kingdom and Cultivators, Tang Ruowei's appearance was naturally impeccable. However, after spending so much time with Bai Qiuran, her behavior gradually lost its femininity and instead became more and more like Bai Qiuran's annoying manner.

Even her best friend, Zuo Yanfei, who was recognized as a tomboy by the younger generation of Cultivators in the Cultivator Alliance, was more feminine in some ways after taking off her armor and revealing her figure.

However, now, as the girl sleeps peacefully, she exudes a rare feminine charm.

"Instead of taking a nap, you should be practicing your cultivation."

Bai Qiuran looked at the girl's sleeping face, feeling a sense of disappointment and frustration.

It's like someone who can't fulfill their dreams watching someone with the means squander their time—the feeling is one of anxiety, anger, and resentment.

However, considering Tang Ruowei's current realm, which is already at the Ascension Mahayana Stage where she can Ascension at will, Bai Qiuran felt helpless. In terms of realm, he indeed no longer had the confidence to point fingers at Tang Ruowei —even though he had created these realms.

He looked and saw a clear liquid flowing down the corner of the girl's mouth, all the way down to her neck, even wetting a little of her clothes.

He doesn't sleep like a sleeper, he doesn't stand like a stander, and he doesn't even look like a cultivator when he's practicing.

He reached out and wiped the drool from his disciple's mouth and face, then smoothly moved upwards and grabbed her delicate earlobe.

With a gentle tug, Tang Ruowei cried out and jumped up from the recliner.

"What's wrong, Master?"

The girl covered her ears, still a little sleepy, but her mouth was contorted in pain.

You seem to have a lot of free time.

Bai Qiuran stared at her.

"In that case, why don't you come with me?"