Immortality and Cultivation: This old man seeks enlightenment through mere survival.

Lu Zaian, dressed in a blue cloak, with silver hair and white eyebrows, walked over with his hands behind his back.

Like a hermit master, he appeared before the two of them with effortless grace.

"...Grandpa Lu! It's you?!"

Xu Yan'er opened her cherry-like lips and then noticed the immense pressure emanating from Lu Zai'an, leaving her stunned.

"It's you?!"

The old puppet demon standing to the side was equally surprised and uncertain, recognizing Lu Zaian.

However, Lu Zaian did not conceal his cultivation level at this moment.

The surging power of blood and qi was like billowing smoke, heading straight for the old puppet demon.

"Ah! You've already reached the Foundation Establishment stage?!"

The old puppet demon was terrified and his soul was about to die. He didn't care about the destroyed beauty scorpion and turned to flee!

He also pulled out several low-level puppets and placed them behind him as a shield.

He attempted to stop Lu Zai'an for a moment.

"Don't leave, I'm quite interested in your puppetry skills..."

Now that Lu Zaian has shown himself, he naturally cannot let the Puppet Demon Elder go.

He first gently touched Xu Yan'er's dantian with his inner energy.

Xu Yan'er's previously reversed dantian gradually calmed down.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Zaian's figure disappeared from the spot.

boom--! !

In an instant, a white streak tens of feet long was drawn across the surface of the marsh, a strong wind swept out, and waves crashed high along the way!

All the puppets were crushed into dust as soon as they came into contact with the strong wind!

Lu Zaian's shadow flashed in front of the Puppet Demon Elder, and he reached out and grabbed the old man's neck.

"No! Senior, spare me! I'll give you anything you want!"

Faced with such a huge gap, all other methods become a joke.

The old puppet demon, his fate gripped by the throat, immediately begged for mercy in terror.

"Kill you, and it will all be mine."

Lu Zaian's eyes were cold as he snapped the old puppet demon's neck with a "crack".

After checking his storage bag, the treasures inside were quite abundant for a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining.

Clearly, the Puppet Demon Elder had killed quite a few cultivators on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, Lu Zaian no longer looks down on most of them.

"This is it... the Heavenly Puppet Manual."

Lu Zaian pulled out a jade slip, which contained the puppetry techniques practiced by the Puppet Demon Elder.

"Using various rare materials and secret methods to refine them into puppets, they are divided into dead puppets and living puppets."

The Death Puppet needs to be controlled by the cultivator through hand seals. It cannot be too far from the main body, and its power is determined by the cultivation level of the main body.

A living puppet is created by infusing one's own soul or that of another living being into a puppet; it possesses self-awareness and immense power.

It turned out to be the case.

Lu Zaian understood perfectly; this "Heavenly Puppet Manual" did not have a clear grade.

It belongs to the category of secret techniques.

The strength is determined by the user's cultivation level and the puppet's materials.

The stronger the user's cultivation level and the better the materials used to create the puppet, the stronger the puppet will be.

"The puppets that the old man used to create were clearly all dead puppets..."

There is another very important factor in controlling a puppet.

That means the power of the soul must be strong.

This old puppet demon possessed only ordinary soul power, and could only control a first-tier top-grade beautiful scorpion, as well as a few other mid-grade trash puppets.

"Based on my current soul strength, I can control at least three or four first-tier top-grade puppets."

"If divine consciousness is developed, even a Foundation Establishment stage puppet should be controllable..."

Lu Zaian stroked his chin, quite satisfied.

This is amazing! The "Heavenly Puppet Manual" can even create a crossover with "The Ghostly Netherworld Tribulation".

After putting away his belongings, Lu Zaian used his Qi and Blood to create flames and burned the old man's corpse to ashes before returning to Xu Yan'er's place.

"Grandpa Lu...Grandpa Lu, you've broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage?"

Xu Yan'er was still in shock.

The old puppet demon, who had chased him relentlessly to the ends of the earth, was instantly killed in the blink of an eye.

Is this still the same taciturn, alchemist-focused Grandpa Lu I know, who never leaves the city?

Although Huangze City is said to be a holy land for rogue cultivators in the Northern Sky Domain.

Every year, countless Qi Refining stage cultivators come here seeking opportunities.

However, very few people can actually break through the Foundation Establishment stage.

It's estimated that only one like this might appear every ten years or so.

And now, someone he knew has become a Foundation Establishment expert?

"Haha, not bad, it's just body refinement and foundation building. I still have a long way to go..."

Is it just body refinement and foundation building?

Xu Yan'er's mouth opened slightly—a state that so many people dream of achieving!

It came out of Lu Zaian's mouth so casually.

Just a year and a half ago, they had come all the way to Huangze City.

Now, however, he has become someone that Xu Yan'er can look up to.

"Yan'er, what about you? Why were you being chased by the Puppet Demon Elder?"

I heard from you that Old Mo and your elder relative have both been murdered?

Mentioning this painful event instantly overshadowed Xu Yan'er's joy at surviving the ordeal.

Her beautiful eyes were filled with tears, and she nodded with pursed lips:

“That’s right. Ever since we offended the old puppet demon after entering the city, we’ve been careful to avoid him.”

This time, I entered the water swamp because of a fortuitous opportunity; Elder Mo wanted to participate in the competition.

That's when they bumped into the old puppet demon.

Old Mo and Aunt Hong told us to escape separately, but they stayed behind to hold off the Puppet Demon Elder, and as a result…

Xu Yan'er couldn't help but cover her face and sob.

Although they met halfway through their relationship, Old Mo treated her like an elder.

Needless to say, Aunt Hong was a true elder from the same family as her.

"Alas... Please accept my condolences. Cultivating immortality is all about 'struggle'."

Lu Zaian couldn't help but sigh softly.

He had no aversion to Lao Mo and Aunt Hong; in fact, he had a slight fondness and appreciation for them.

Although we can't call each other friends.

But when I heard that two people I knew had died on their path to immortality, I couldn't help but sigh.

This is why he dared not easily enter the marsh when his strength was insufficient.

Once you encounter a cultivator whose cultivation is stronger than your own.

What's the difference between that and encountering a ghost?

Whether or not they take your life depends entirely on their mood.

Even though Lao Mo had already reached the peak of Qi Refining, he was no match for the old puppet demon's methods.

Mortals all say that cultivating immortality is good, because immortal masters live long and carefree lives...

But only by experiencing it firsthand can one truly understand the hardships and helplessness of cultivators at the bottom of the cultivation world.

It seems that there are so many realms on the path of cultivating immortality.

Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation...

But in Lu Zaian's view, there are only three levels:

The realm of ants, the realm of fellow Daoists, the realm of seniors.

High-level cultivators regard low-level cultivators as ants, which they can kill at will and refine in an instant.

When encountering cultivators of equal rank, they are always friendly and amicable, and even if they plot against each other behind the scenes, they still address each other as "fellow Daoist" in public.

When a lower-level cultivator faces a higher-level cultivator, they must address them respectfully as "senior" and be extremely careful with their words and actions, bowing and scraping...

What are your plans now?

Back to Desolate Marsh City?

Or should I return to my family?

The death of her elder must have been a huge blow to Xu Yan'er.

Lu Zaian also wanted to see what choice she would make now.

The answer is to stay in the Wasteland City.

Like moths drawn to a flame, they strive for even the slightest possibility of foundation building.

He decided to return to his family.

Disheartened, he decided to spend the rest of his life as a Qi Refining cultivator.