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

Three years later, after damaging three or four phantom crystals, they finally succeeded in refining the control system, marking a crucial step forward in the project. Although it took longer than they had anticipated, their breakthrough in core technology boosted their confidence, and they resolved to produce a late-stage Foundation Establishment puppet within the next year. To celebrate, they even pulled out some spirit wine and drank a toast.

The most important aspects of a puppet are the control system, energy system, and spirit fusion. The energy system is Qian Yuan's forte, having developed it a year ago, and Liu Xing has also mastered this skill. Spirit fusion primarily depends on the strength of the spirit and the power of the refiner's consciousness, which is Liu Xing's forte. Therefore, the most critical control system has now been achieved through the two's day and night efforts. Next comes the refining and assembly of the puppet's components, which is much simpler. Both are experts in puppet making, so they both have the basic skills of refining equipment. It's just that Liu Xing's master refiner is more powerful. Therefore, the refining of various materials and assembly will be mainly Liu Xing's, with Qian Yuan as a supplement. They decided to refine the puppet into a gorilla, as they are both more familiar with the structure of primate monsters.

A year later, a majestic gorilla, ten feet tall, stood in the cave. The gorilla was covered with black hair as hard as steel needles, which was as hard as a top-grade magic weapon and could withstand the full force of a fellow cultivator in the late stage of foundation building. His eyes were piercing, and he glared at the front, looking extremely aggressive. He had a strong back and strong muscles, thick arms and thighs, and the explosive power to tear apart a third-level monster. He held a huge mace, and when it came down, it had the power of a full-force attack from a cultivator in the late stage of foundation building. He was seen jumping up and down in the cave, extremely fast, dodging and moving, and extremely flexible. Qian Yuan personally fought with the gorilla and found that its strength was comparable to his. His eyes lit up and he was surprised and delighted. It was worth it that the two of them had worked hard for four years to finally refine this big guy. However, with his late-stage Foundation Establishment consciousness, he could only control a single puppet. However, with this puppet as a helper, his combat power doubled, allowing him to fight even a master at the Fake Pill level. Liu Xing was extremely satisfied. He had refined most of the artifacts himself, while Qian Yuan provided more technical support. Therefore, he was now confident in independently refining a late-stage Foundation Establishment puppet, which was the reason he was willing to give the finished product to Qian Yuan.

Liu Xing watched with a chuckle as Qian Yuan continued to caress the gorilla, grinning foolishly, seemingly unable to let go. With a wave of his hand, Liu Xing gathered up the mess in the cave and reduced the garbage to ash, instantly making the cave feel much cleaner and fresher. He set up the table, chairs, and benches, then, like a magic trick, pulled out a set of wine utensils, a bottle of spirit wine, and even some snacks like peanuts. He had made these during his previous outing with Su Yingying and stored them in a storage bracelet, ready for use at any time.

"Senior Brother Qian, are you satisfied with the results this time?" Liu Xing said to Qian Yuan with a smile, sitting at the edge of the table.

"Satisfied, very satisfied! With the insights gained from refining the puppet this time, I should be able to cultivate to the peak of the late foundation-building stage after three to five years of seclusion when I go back." Qian Yuan completely trusted Liu Xing, so he finally retracted his gaze and sat down at the table.

"Brother Qian, cheers to our success!" Liu Xing raised the glass in his hand.

"Junior Brother Liu, cheers!" Qian Yuan said nothing, picked up the wine glass, clinked it with Liu Xing's, and drank it all in one gulp.

Over lunch and conversation, the two brothers summarized their learnings and consolidated any difficult points. They also each proposed new ideas and thoughts, exchanging views on energy conservation, maintenance, and iterative upgrades. Finally, the two brothers compiled the theory and process of refining a gorilla puppet, along with some thoughts on future upgrades, into a book titled "Methods for Refining a Gorilla Puppet for the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment," each keeping a copy.

"Brother Qian, please keep this gorilla." Liu Xing said to Qian Yuan with a smile, fulfilling his promise.

"Thank you for your generosity, Junior Brother Liu. In the past four years, you have contributed more effort, money and advice than I have. To be honest, I still feel guilty about this." Qian Yuan's eyes were filled with tears and his voice was choked with sobs.

"Brother Qian, please don't say that! Without your practical experience and solid foundational skills, this project wouldn't have been successful in such a short time. You're the primary contributor to this project's success. Without further ado, we're brothers from now on! Come on, let's go!" Liu Xing was also quite moved. He was touched by Qian Yuan's dedicated work throughout the project. His rapid progress in puppetry was largely due to Qian Yuan's unwavering dedication, so he fully recognized his strength and character.

"Good brother, cheers!" Qian Yuan wiped away his tears. He knew Liu Xing was a wealthy man with plenty of money. Once he gathered the necessary materials, refining another puppet would be no problem. He cared more about Liu Xing's integrity, his tireless pursuit of learning, and his exceptional talent for studying. These qualities made him feel that Liu Xing's future achievements were limitless.

"Brother Qian, I suggest that we keep the fact that we have refined the gorilla a secret and use it as your trump card for emergencies." Liu Xing kindly reminded him that there are always dangers in the path of cultivating immortals, and having more backup plans will give you more room to maneuver.

"That's what I was thinking. Let's keep it a secret together." Qian Yuan also had this plan.

The two of them drank together and got drunk. The next day, Qian Yuan said goodbye and left. He wanted to go back to seclusion immediately. His cultivation method was closely related to the way of puppets, so a major breakthrough in refining puppets would also help him improve his understanding of the cultivation method.

After seven years of dedicated study and research in the Puppetry Department, Liu Xing had reaped immense rewards. Satisfied, he left Puppet Peak and returned to his cave. He then spent all his accumulated points to purchase the necessary materials and forged four late-stage Foundation Establishment wooden ape puppets. He equipped each with a top-grade magical weapon, a black iron staff and a black tortoise shield. The wooden apes, armed with a shield in their left hand and a staff in their right, seemed even more formidable than Qian Yuan's gorillas. He refined the wooden apes to the size of a normal human, making them less vulnerable to attack and significantly enhancing their flexibility.

Su Yingying's retreat finally ended. With the help of two bottles of elixirs, she successfully broke through to the late Foundation Establishment stage. After consolidating her cultivation, she immediately sent a message to Liu Xing to announce the good news. Liu Xing was delighted. He immediately set out to find her and gave her a late Foundation Establishment wooden ape puppet for self-defense. After not seeing each other for so many years, they missed each other deeply. The man's feelings for the woman were intense, and the fire between them ignited at the slightest touch.