Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

His spiritual power easily controlled a dozen Qi Refining puppets, but he could clearly feel it slowly draining. These puppets wouldn't be of much use to him in future battles, but they were perfect for exploring paths or luring enemies. After testing the newly refined puppets, Liu Xing felt unsatisfied. He pulled out the Foundation Establishment puppet he'd acquired at the auction and began to study it carefully.

He studied the five puppets from the auction, one monkey and four lizards, one by one. After nearly six months of research and extensive data, he finally figured out some key points. The main material for these puppets is a spiritual tree called iron thorn wood. While not expensive, its limited use means that it's rarely stocked in major material markets in Seaside City. Liu Xing paid a high price for it and commissioned various material markets to keep an eye out. After six months, he finally acquired three pieces, spending over a thousand spirit stones. Three pieces of iron thorn wood, used sparingly, were barely enough to repair the puppets. The other auxiliary materials were relatively common and easily collected.

For the next six months, he devoted himself to researching how to repair these mechanical puppets. He used his spiritual sense to gradually explore the puppets' structures, even disassembling a lizard piece by piece to study its structure and material composition. Since there were only five of them, each one was invaluable, Liu Xing was extremely cautious, fearing even the slightest bit of carelessness for fear of damaging them. He preferred to proceed slowly, only beginning when he was at least 80% confident. His dedication paid off, and by disassembling them piece by piece, he finally restored the puppets' exteriors to like-new condition.

Next came the soul fusion stage. Foundation Establishment puppets required the spirits of Level 2 or higher demonic beasts. He only had the spirits of three that met the requirements: the Black Blood Spider, the Desert Lizard, and the Horned Python. So, taking advantage of a trip to the Tongda Chamber of Commerce to refine elixirs, he bought two Level 2 demonic beast spirits from Chang Qing at a high price. His powerful spiritual awareness gave him an advantage during the soul fusion stage, and the refining process went smoothly, completing the entire process in just three days. He then imprinted his spirit mark on each puppet one by one and loaded it with mid-grade spirit stones. Five brand-new Foundation Establishment puppets stood proudly before him. Liu Xing was overjoyed. His three years of research on puppetry had paid off; he had finally reached a minor success. While he couldn't yet independently refine a Foundation Establishment puppet, he could easily create a Qi Refining puppet. Furthermore, his experience repairing Foundation Establishment puppets laid a solid foundation for refining Foundation Establishment puppets in the future.

Liu Xing couldn't wait to run to a sparsely populated area in the suburbs, set up restrictions, and prepare to test the puppet's power. He also woke Jiao Jiao to use as a target. Jiao Jiao ate a dragon scale fruit every once in a while. Although she was still a long way from becoming a Level 3 monster, her dragon bloodline power and cultivation were steadily improving, so defeating an average Level 3 monster should be no problem.

Jiao Jiao was intrigued by the five vivid puppets before her. The wooden ape, infused with the spirit of a horned python, exuded the aura of a third-level demonic beast. The other four lizards exuded the aura of second-level demonic beasts, and the five puppets surrounded it. Jiao Jiao was eager to try, eager to learn the puppets' true strength.

"Jiao Jiao, are you ready?" Liu Xing asked jokingly.

"Master, I'm ready," Jiao Jiao said confidently, figuring defeating a few puppets wouldn't be a problem. He cast a light shield, covering his entire body as the first line of defense. Three of his natal scales grew larger, ready to deploy, forming the second line of defense. His entire body glowed a faint red, forming the third line of defense.

Seeing it fully prepared, Liu Xing, though somewhat underestimating the foe, nonetheless fully prepared, commanded the puppets to launch an attack. Four lizards unleashed a stream of blue light, each with the force of a full-strength attack from an early Foundation Establishment cultivator. They instantly shattered Jiao Jiao's primary defensive barrier, then were blocked by its own scales, though the attack was still painful. It didn't use its natal scales, primarily to defend against the wooden ape's attacks. The wooden ape now grasped a black iron rod in both hands—a supremely fine magical weapon, specifically equipped by Liu Xing. The rod hummed. Jiao Jiao felt immense pressure from the full-strength attack of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, and her expression darkened, fearing even the slightest hint of disrespect. With a furious roar, a dragon's roar transformed into a visible wave of air, it met the attack. With a fierce twist of its body, its massive tail lashed out at the rod. With a resounding thud, Jiao Jiao tumbled several times and fell, while the wooden ape remained motionless.

"I'm sorry, master, I disappoint you." Jiao Jiao climbed up, lowered his head, and said in a shameful voice.

"It's okay. Don't underestimate the enemy next time. Are you hurt?" Liu Xing gave it a light tap, which would be good for its future. He also asked with concern because he saw blood oozing from its tail.

"It's just a superficial wound, nothing serious." Seeing that his master didn't blame him and was concerned about his injuries, Jiao Jiao felt a little better. However, looking at the wooden ape in front of him, a hint of fear appeared in his eyes.

After briefly testing the power of the five puppets, Liu Xing was very satisfied. With these helpers, his overall combat effectiveness should be doubled. Among the Foundation Establishment cultivators, no one should be able to stop him, he thought silently.

During this time, after more than two years of waiting, he finally acquired two more Level 4 demon pills. Liu Xing refined them into Soul-Nourishing Pills, and both furnaces were successful, yielding a total of twelve high-grade elixirs. Level 4 demon pills were incredibly difficult to obtain. It wasn't just a matter of price, but rather a market that was truly outstripping supply. He now had to consider a second option: hunting Level 4 demon beasts himself. So, he commissioned Nie Xiaoqian to gather information on Level 4 demon beasts on behalf of the Huanxi Sect, paying an advance of over 10,000 yuan.

At the same time, he also had to make full preparations for his monster-hunting expedition. First, he asked Chang Qing for leave to retreat for two years, using it to refine the Soul-Sustaining Pill and improve his cultivation. No Foundation Establishment cultivator had the luxury of taking a Soul-Sustaining Pill every month. After seventeen months, Liu Xing's cultivation had improved significantly, but he was still far from achieving perfection in the early stages of Foundation Establishment. His spiritual roots were truly poor, and without the elixir, his cultivation had stagnated again, Liu Xing sighed helplessly.

After emerging from his retreat, he sent a sound transmission talisman to Nie Xiaoqian, agreeing to meet at a specific location. Xiaoqian, with her extraordinary abilities, had collected for him the remains of a dozen or so Level 2 and 3 monsters, as well as information on four or five Level 4 monsters. It was a tremendous harvest.