"The Skin-Painting Art isn't merely about painting skin. At its highest levels, it isn't about worldly beauties or peerless celestial maidens, either, but about bringing forth the countless ordinary people of everyday life."
"Combined with my path of artificial intelligence, this seems to have considerable potential to explore. If I created more virtual personalities, installed them in puppets clad in painted skins, and gave each of them a mission..."
"Could I simulate a real human community, or even a small society?"
"If that small society expanded into a nation and a civilization, then..."
Every great Dao and divine ability could transform from something small into something vast. Illusions of painted skin and arts of disguise also had far-reaching uses.
This method of passing the false off as real was likewise a form of "cultivating truth."
Heavenly Pivot's voice rang out in Li Chen's mind. "Recommendation: incorporate real humans and conduct social experiments."
Li Chen came back to himself, then chuckled despite himself. "Let's leave that for later. With only a Master Artisan's attainments, doing all this now wouldn't mean much."
In truth, Li Chen wanted to follow the Qi Family Army's example and establish "Mirage," the embryonic form of his own Sky City.
With Mirage, he could build a city and a Market District, welcome guests from every quarter, and mingle with visiting cultivators. It would be an excellent aid in accumulating wealth and resources.
But all of this would be better undertaken after he advanced to Core Formation and became a Puppet Master Grand Artisan.
Only Core Formation cultivators could command the power of the Dao of Space and use methods of solidifying primordial energy to obtain boundless magic power, supplying the operation of an entire city.
True Puppet Master Grand Artisans would not let cities and Market Districts