Jiang Ding sent a thin thread of magic power from his dantian through one full circuit of his meridians and felt a faint sting.
If he kept tempering and nurturing his body without pause for several decades, it would return to its former state, his body and magic power once again flawless.
That was ordinary enough. A Nascent Soul True Lord who suffered a severe injury generally needed about that long to recover.
"Senior Divine Mechanism, how is the battle going?"
Jiang Ding asked.
He had not forgotten that they were still in another domain, where immense dangers lurked. Things had not suddenly become safe.
"Everything is as usual. There have been no major changes."
Divine Mechanism Heavenly Lord said, "The eight Immortal Order experts and we have gained preliminary control over Flame Stone Great Emperor. We are carefully searching his soul, a process that may take several decades."
"The current plan is to use puppetry and corpse-refining methods to turn Flame Stone Great Emperor into a living corpse, then plant him among the emperors of the Horned Demon Imperial Clan as our pawn."
He described something extraordinarily cruel in a perfectly even tone.
"The requirements for this living-corpse puppet are extremely high. We must control him completely while leaving him with enough awareness that he does not know he is a puppet. He must also be able to deceive the Horned Demon Imperial Clan's emperors. That makes this a domain-wide research project undertaken jointly by the Nine Great Immortal Sects to develop the most suitable refining method."
"Flameflow Imperial Heir, Sinking Mountain King, and the others beneath Flame Stone Great Emperor will receive similar treatment."
"They will become our pawns and our eyes and ears, scattered in every direction."
"The preparations and planning should take between one and three