Chapter Summaries

Yi Xuan learned that the Azure Cloud Sect preserved a puppet army created by a legendary Puppet Master sect master, to be used only if the sect faced annihilation. After Yi Xuan paid respects to the patriarch, the grand elder transferred something into his sea of consciousness, leaving him unconscious.

• The grand elder brought Yi Xuan into a hidden hall filled with puppets and explained that they belonged to the Azure Cloud Sect.
• The grand elder recounted how a Puppet Master sect master had used the High Antiquity Puppet Technique to expand the sect before rival powers crushed its rise.
• The grand elder told Yi Xuan that the puppet army was reserved for threats of annihilation and that he alone still knew the Puppet Technique.
• The grand elder led Yi Xuan to the Puppet Master patriarch’s statue, where Yi Xuan bowed three times and kowtowed nine times.
• The grand elder pressed his palm to Yi Xuan’s head, and points of light poured into the center of Yi Xuan’s sea of consciousness until he lost consciousness.

After receiving the Azure Cloud Sect’s Puppet Master inheritance, Yi Xuan eagerly tried to take the puppets for study, but the old supreme elder refused because they were the sect’s final trump card. The elder demonstrated a bird puppet, inspiring Yi Xuan to ask technical questions about its flight.

• Yi Xuan woke to find the old supreme elder, Xiao Anhe, and Li Yuntai beside him, then discovered the Puppet Master inheritance in his memories.
• Yi Xuan vowed to protect the Azure Cloud Sect with the Puppet Technique, and Xiao Anhe and Li Yuntai accepted his appointment as heir to the inheritance.
• Yi Xuan tried to put the puppets in the hall into his Storage Bag, but the old supreme elder stopped him and explained that the sect’s puppets were not part of the inheritance.
• The old supreme elder demonstrated his skill by making a small bird-shaped puppet fly and land on his palm.
• Yi Xuan asked how the puppet’s flight control and aerodynamic model worked, and the old supreme elder told him to speak plainly.

Yi Xuan absorbed the complete High Antiquity Puppet Technique and discovered that its principles resembled modern science. He tested the knowledge by building a puppet bird, which successfully flew around him.

• Yi Xuan returned to No. 1 Base with the old Grand Elder’s puppet bird, then spent ten days absorbing the Puppet Technique inheritance while Zhuo Ning and Liang Shi mistook his concentration for cultivation.
• Yi Xuan transferred the Puppet Technique knowledge into a Jade Slip backup and began studying it, realizing that its many cultivation disciplines had a core resembling modern science.
• Yi Xuan ordered No. 01 to absorb the backed-up knowledge and manufactured parts to test the Puppet Technique in practice.
• Yi Xuan assembled a puppet bird with simple formations printed by a formation engraving machine, and it flapped its wings and flew around his head.

Yi Xuan had No. 01 study the Puppet Technique, but conflicting knowledge systems caused a localized crash. No. 01’s analysis revealed that the Puppet Technique contained a framework from the natural sciences, leading Yi Xuan to conclude that science and technology had once taken root in this world.

• Yi Xuan showed Liang Shi and Zhuo Ning his puppet bird, and Zhuo Ning identified it as the product of the Puppet Technique.
• Yi Xuan told Liang Shi that No. 01 was interpreting information about the Puppet Technique for him to study.
• No. 01 warned of a data-reading malfunction, stopped reading on Yi Xuan’s order, and reported that a conflict between knowledge systems had caused a localized crash.
• No. 01 explained that its natural-science foundation could not process the immortal-cultivation knowledge in the Puppet Technique without errors.
• No. 01 found a natural-science framework within the Puppet Technique, and Yi Xuan ordered her to remove the inexplicable material and reorganize it.
• After No. 01 verified the results, Yi Xuan concluded that the seed of science and technology had once sprouted in this world.

Yi Xuan used the Puppet Technique’s cultivation methods to complete the design of a humanoid bionic robot, combining them with robotics engineering. After manufacturing ten robots, he recruited Liang Shi and Zhuo Ning to help assemble them, and the three finished the work in three days.

• No. 01 explained that the Puppet Technique’s basic framework was robotics engineering, and Yi Xuan ordered it to store the technique’s cultivation methods in the database.
• Yi Xuan instructed No. 01 to design a humanoid bionic robot using robotics engineering and the Puppet Technique.
• No. 01 completed the robot’s design and incorporated cultivation techniques to refine its functions.
• Yi Xuan ordered No. 01 to manufacture ten robots, then realized he would have to assemble and test them himself.
• Yi Xuan called Liang Shi and Zhuo Ning to help assemble the robots, and the three finished all ten in three days.

Yi Xuan tested ten humanoid bionic robots built with robotics engineering and Puppet Technique technology, while Liang Shi recognized their scientific foundations. After one robot followed a dismantling order by smashing a Nüwa robot, Yi Xuan ordered No. 01 to activate its control module.

• Zhuo Ning asked how Yi Xuan had found a Puppet Technique inheritance, and Yi Xuan said he had been lucky.
• Liang Shi observed that the robots' design relied on natural-science robotics rather than only cultivation methods, and Yi Xuan confirmed that the Puppet Technique contained robotics engineering frameworks.
• Yi Xuan told Liang Shi he had entered the Puppet Technique into the database, then began debugging the ten robots.
• Yi Xuan controlled a robot with Method Formulas and watched it perform basic movements successfully.
• When Yi Xuan ordered the robot to dismantle a toolbox, it instead smashed the toolbox and the Nüwa robot carrying it to pieces.
• Yi Xuan explained that puppets prioritized combat and had poor control, then told No. 01 to activate the control module.

Yi Xuan activated Pangu No. 1 and tested its assembly skills, combat abilities, and adaptability, then deployed ten Pangu robots to build the Firmament. After they completed the ship in a week, Yi Xuan boarded it with three Pangu robots to try it out.

• Yi Xuan approved the control program upload, and Pangu No. 1 awakened, responded to his voice, and dismantled a Nüwa with exceptional care.
• Liang Shi explained to Zhuo Ning how Pangu No. 1 had outperformed them, then took him to No. 01's main control room for training.
• Yi Xuan loaded Pangu No. 1's language system and tested its combat mode, ordering it to capture and destroy a Nüwa.
• Yi Xuan judged that Pangu could assemble the Firmament and fight powerful opponents, despite having relatively weak defenses.
• No. 01 debugged the other nine Pangu robots, and all ten assembled the Firmament at No. 2 Base in one week.
• Yi Xuan boarded the completed Firmament with three Pangu robots to experience it.

Yi Xuan tested the Firmament by having its onboard artificial intelligence launch it from No. 2 Base and then handing control to No. 01. As the aircraft accelerated to Mach 9, Yi Xuan had to buckle in while the Pangus remained steady.

• Yi Xuan boarded the Firmament with three Pangus and confirmed that its artificial intelligence and backup mechanical controls were ready.
• No. 07 opened a passage from No. 2 Base, and the Firmament rose through it to hover inside the valley.
• Yi Xuan ordered No. 01 to pilot the Firmament and instructed him to keep the test flight low-profile.
• The Firmament accelerated smoothly to Mach 4, and Yi Xuan ordered No. 08 to test its maximum speed while the other Pangus checked the cabin.
• At Mach 9, Yi Xuan sat down and fastened his seat belt while the Pangus continued walking steadily through the cabin.

Yi Xuan finished testing the Firmament and began producing more Pangu robots, but an idea about placing a human soul in a puppet was interrupted when Shi Zhenghao arrived asking for money. Yi Xuan invoked their master Xiao Anhe’s wish for Shi Zhenghao to return and cultivate, and Shi Zhenghao asked for two more years, which Yi Xuan said Xiao Anhe would not accept.

• Yi Xuan tested the Firmament’s systems, confirmed its performance, and returned it to No. 2 Base.
• Yi Xuan assembled fifty more Pangu robots with No. 07’s help and considered injecting a real human soul into a puppet.
• Liang Shi told Yi Xuan that Shi Zhenghao had arrived, and Yi Xuan found his senior brother drinking wine in the courtyard.
• Shi Zhenghao admitted he was short of money after Yi Xuan accused him of wanting funds for prostitutes.
• Yi Xuan told Shi Zhenghao that Xiao Anhe wanted him to cultivate and return to the sect after reaching the Golden Core Realm.
• Shi Zhenghao asked for two more years to enjoy himself before returning, but Yi Xuan said Xiao Anhe would not agree.

Yi Xuan tried to bring Shi Zhenghao back to the Azure Cloud Sect by proposing a speed contest, then trapped him at No. 2 Base after the Firmament outraced him. Shi Zhenghao ended up begging to leave a cave guarded by Zhuo Ning.

• Yi Xuan told Shi Zhenghao that their master had retired as sect master, reached the Nascent Soul Realm, and wanted Shi Zhenghao to return to the sect.
• Yi Xuan challenged Shi Zhenghao to a speed contest, offering him two more years in the mortal world if he won and requiring him to cultivate until forming a Golden Core if he lost.
• Shi Zhenghao agreed to race Yi Xuan, but Yi Xuan revealed the Firmament and had Pangu No. 08 pilot it after him.
• After two hours, Shi Zhenghao was inside a cave in the valley above No. 2 Base, with Yi Xuan and Zhuo Ning standing guard outside.
• Yi Xuan told Shi Zhenghao he could leave if he got past Zhuo Ning.

Yi Xuan subdued Shi Zhenghao by confining him in a cave and using a video of their master, Xiao Anhe, to keep him there. After returning to his stall, Yi Xuan was summoned to the sect’s main hall and gave the nervous new disciple Qiu Nian a grenade before entering.

• The Firmament caught Shi Zhenghao as he tried to flee, and Yi Xuan confined him in a cave under Zhuo Ning’s watch.
• Shi Zhenghao tried to escape and later pressured Liang Shi for indulgences, but Zhuo Ning held him in the cave and Yi Xuan stopped Liang Shi from serving him.
• Yi Xuan played a video of Xiao Anhe at the cave entrance, prompting Shi Zhenghao to retreat inside and begin death seclusion.
• Yi Xuan returned to selling goods at his stall until the new disciple Qiu Nian arrived to summon him to the sect master.
• Before entering the main hall, Yi Xuan gave Qiu Nian a grenade and told him to ask his senior brothers how to use it.

Yi Xuan learned that the Azure Cloud Sect had obtained a map to the Artifact Ruins Secret Realm and watched Cui Yan display an image of its entrance. Recognizing the display as a holographic projection, Yi Xuan rushed off to pursue an idea, leaving the sect’s decision to Cui Yan.

• Cui Yan gathered Yi Xuan and the sect elders to discuss news brought by Liu Xing.
• Liu Xing thanked Yi Xuan for selling him a triangular bayonet, which had helped him defeat an Evil Dao cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
• Cui Yan revealed that Liu Xing had found a map to the Artifact Ruins Secret Realm, and explained how its thirty maps opened the ruins once every thirty years.
• Cui Yan used the Imaging Technique to show the elders an image of the secret realm’s entrance.
• Yi Xuan recognized the image as a holographic projection, laughed, and hurried away to enter seclusion, telling Cui Yan to make the sect’s decision without him.

Yi Xuan realized he could use the Imaging Technique as a holographic projection, but he needed Mu Anqing to cast it for him. He set up equipment in his courtyard, where its sudden activation startled her and interrupted the spell.

• After realizing the Imaging Technique resembled holographic projection, Yi Xuan returned to his base but found nobody there who could cast it.
• Yi Xuan went to find Mu Anqing, who agreed to help after learning he had resolved the Puppet Master matter.
• Yi Xuan brought equipment from his bedroom into the courtyard, then remembered the Storage Bags at No. 1 Base and used several to carry more equipment.
• Yi Xuan asked Mu Anqing to project his image onto a platform, and she began casting the Imaging Technique.
• Several pieces of equipment activated and pointed their arms at Mu Anqing, startling her and interrupting the spell.

Yi Xuan studied Mu Anqing’s Imaging Technique so he could create a solidified array for holographic projection, but his repeated experiments exhausted her True Essence and caused her to collapse. After she recovered, Yi Xuan revealed the finished projection, leaving Mu Anqing amazed and wondering whether he had reached Foundation Establishment.

• Yi Xuan used No. 01’s equipment to record Mu Anqing repeatedly casting the Imaging Technique and analyzed the resulting data.
• Mu Anqing continued casting until her True Essence ran out and she fainted, prompting Yi Xuan to carry her to bed and give her an Origin Returning Pill.
• Yi Xuan asked No. 01 to monitor Mu Anqing and went to No. 1 Base, where he completed the solidified Imaging Technique array and holographic projection device.
• Mu Anqing woke to find Yi Xuan beside her, then discovered her hand passed through his body and asked whether he had advanced to Foundation Establishment.

Yi Xuan used his new holographic projection to communicate with Mu Anqing, then developed practical applications for the technology at No. 1 Base. After redesigning the base’s main control room, he created a lifelike hologram of Da Mimi that startled him into shutting it off.

• Yi Xuan explained that the projection device, not an Imaging Technique he had cast himself, let him communicate with Mu Anqing.
• Yi Xuan scolded Mu Anqing for exhausting her True Essence, reassured her about the Origin Returning Pill, and left her a bottle before switching off the projection.
• Yi Xuan resumed his research and developed a bracelet that projected a responsive virtual screen.
• Yi Xuan overhauled the main control room at No. 1 Base over the next two days.
• Yi Xuan saw a secretary-like hologram of Da Mimi approach him and ordered No. 01 to stop it.

Yi Xuan upgraded No. 1 Base with holographic projection technology, then hurried to the mine after No. 01 reported finding possible High-Grade Spirit Stones. He returned to No. 1 Base in the Black Tortoise mech with eight unusually powerful Spirit Stones and fifteen lesser ones, still uneasy about their safety.

• Yi Xuan and the Pangu robots replaced No. 1 Base’s screens with holographic projection equipment, and No. 01 admitted it had enjoyed providing him a suggestive holographic service.
• No. 01 told Yi Xuan that miners had found Spirit Stones deep in the mine whose Spiritual Qi content suggested they might be High-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Yi Xuan traveled to the mine, where No. 01’s Nüwa Robots escorted him to a guarded cavern containing a glowing Spirit Stone that made the Spiritual Qi detector explode.
• Yi Xuan ordered mining robots to extract the stones, and after two hours they recovered eight exceptionally powerful Spirit Stones and fifteen with more Spiritual Qi than Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.
• Yi Xuan returned to No. 1 Base inside the Black Tortoise mech, taking the newly mined Spirit Stones with him.

Yi Xuan upgraded the Spiritual Qi detector to measure High-Grade Spirit Stones and discovered that a haloed Spirit Stone overwhelmed even its increased capacity. After the detector exploded, he stored both stones and hurried toward the mountain behind the sect.

• Yi Xuan returned to No. 1 Base and locked a small box and his remaining soul spheres inside the storeroom’s secure room.
• Yi Xuan redesigned the Spiritual Qi detector, increasing its output and improving its cooling system.
• Yi Xuan built a detector capable of measuring up to one hundred thousand times the Spiritual Qi in a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone.
• Yi Xuan tested a Spirit Stone without a halo and found it contained ten thousand times the Spiritual Qi of a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone.
• Yi Xuan tested a haloed Spirit Stone, but the detector failed to produce a reading and exploded after half an hour.
• Yi Xuan put both Spirit Stones away, locked the secure room, and rushed toward the mountain behind the sect.

Yi Xuan asked Xiao Anhe to identify two Spirit Stones and learned that one was a Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone, worth at most a hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones. He then discovered that Xiao Anhe had agreed to let him lead a team to the Artifact Ruins, leaving Yi Xuan dismayed at his master’s decision.

• Yi Xuan showed Xiao Anhe two Spirit Stones, and Xiao Anhe identified them as a High-Grade Spirit Stone and a Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone.
• Xiao Anhe activated the residence’s defensive formation and worried Yi Xuan had stolen the Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone after causing trouble, but Yi Xuan said he had found it in a cave.
• Yi Xuan guessed that a Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for ten thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones, but Xiao Anhe corrected him that it was worth only a hundred.
• Xiao Anhe told Yi Xuan to speak with Cui Yan, who explained that the sect had chosen Yi Xuan to lead a team to the Artifact Ruins.
• Yi Xuan learned that Xiao Anhe had already agreed to the assignment and protested in disbelief.

Yi Xuan agreed to lead Azure Cloud Sect’s disciples into the Artifact Ruins after learning why his unusual abilities made him the best choice. After three days of preparation, he arrived with numerous Storage Bags, prompting Cui Yan to ask whether he intended to come back.

• Cui Yan told Yi Xuan that the sect’s elders and Grand Elder Xiao wanted him to lead the group into the Artifact Ruins, and Yi Xuan reluctantly agreed.
• Cui Yan explained that the glowing maps would reveal the entrance in at most three days, and that Yi Xuan’s combat strength and Rootless Person status made him uniquely suited to protect the disciples.
• Yi Xuan returned to the base and worked nonstop with Liang Shi and Zhuo Ning to prepare for the expedition.
• Three days later, nine Grain Avoidance Perfection disciples gathered outside the Azure Cloud Sect’s main hall, and Yi Xuan arrived just as the others began to worry he would not come.
• Cui Yan pointed to the many Storage Bags hanging from Yi Xuan’s waist and asked him honestly whether he was coming back.

Yi Xuan set out for the Artifact Ruins with nine Azure Cloud Sect disciples, carrying many supplies and traveling aboard the Firmament. As the group flew toward the secret realm, He Hongfei questioned Yi Xuan’s authority, while Yi Xuan secretly held back the aircraft’s speed to match them.

• Cui Yan appointed Yi Xuan to lead nine Grain Avoidance Perfection disciples into the secret realm and warned him that past trips had cost the sect half its participants.
• Yi Xuan followed the newly clear map toward the Artifact Ruins aboard the Firmament, leaving the Azure Cloud Sect elders astonished by its speed.
• Two days into the journey, Chu Hong praised Yi Xuan’s Law Treasure, but He Hongfei dismissed it and doubted the sect’s decision to put Yi Xuan in charge.
• Qiao Yu and Yan Siruo defended Yi Xuan, reminding He Hongfei that the sect must have had its reasons for appointing him.
• Yi Xuan played a game aboard the Firmament and privately complained that the disciples flew too slowly, though he had deliberately matched their pace.