Steady Mortal Path: Starting from Obtaining the Golden Core Inheritance

"Hehe, let this old fellow try out our puppet."

Lin Changsheng smiled smugly and released the puppet 'Four Unlikes' from his storage bag.

This beast had two heads and seven legs, with wings on its back, and an aura as fierce as a ferocious beast swept out from it.

boom!

boom!

boom!

As it moved swiftly, the puppet, a creature of a different kind, overpowered the two puppets controlled by the elderly man, forcing them into a series of defeats.

The humanoid puppet was almost falling apart.

The beast-shaped crocodile puppet had its head bitten hard by the Qilin, and most of its tail was torn off.

In contrast, the Qilin, despite having only lost a small leg and had half of a wing torn off, still possessed seven or eight tenths of its fighting strength.

"Stop! Stop! Fellow Daoist, please stop! I admit defeat!"

The elderly man, his face contorted with pain, shouted loudly.

"Hehe, it seems you've changed your mind, fellow Daoist?"

Lin Changsheng chuckled lightly, and said smugly.

The old man's cultivation level was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment; most of his strength was concentrated in these three second-tier puppets.

Unfortunately, his own Qilin had already entered the ranks of mid-grade second-tier puppets, and it was made of the best metals and materials, making it expensive and naturally more powerful than ordinary mid-grade second-tier puppets.

"What a waste! So many rare materials have been used in just one puppet; that's enough for me to make three puppets of the same rank!"

The elderly man, in his seventies, looked at the strange creature with a pained expression.

"Hehe, it's a good thing I didn't run into you, old man, otherwise I wouldn't have wasted so many. You have some blank jade slips, right? If not, I've prepared quite a few here."

Lin Changsheng, disguised as a villain, smiled smugly, his expression suggestive.

Upon hearing this, the elderly man sighed deeply. However, due to the intimidation, he had no choice but to take out a blank jade slip and imprint the puppetry techniques he had mastered into it.

Before long, Lin Changsheng took the jade slip that the old man threw to him and examined it in person.

"Eh, you're from the Divine Mechanism Sect?"

A moment later, Lin Changsheng withdrew his divine sense and suddenly asked.

The jade slip handed over by the old man only recorded the inheritance of puppets below the second-tier mid-grade level, but it involved a lot of common knowledge about mechanical puppets and was very comprehensive.

Many of these passages mention the name "Shenji Sect," clearly indicating that this is a sect's legacy.

Lin Changsheng knew something about the Shenji Sect. Although its strength was not as great as the Qinglan Sect or the Nangong Family, it still had a fake Core Formation cultivator in charge and was one of the 'Eight Directions Alliance'.

"There's no need for you to trouble yourself with that, fellow Daoist."

The elderly man, his face ashen, retrieved the puppet.

Although it was just a copy of his own puppet inheritance, he didn't suffer any loss.

But no one would be happy to be threatened into handing over the puppet's legacy for no reason.

"We're still a bit curious about what this fleshy lump is. Judging from how familiar you are with this place, you must have scouted it out many times."

Lin Changsheng pointed to the 'piece of meat' in front of the elderly man and asked with a smile.

"This is a second-tier spiritual creature called 'Blood Illusion Mushroom,' which can decompose almost anything containing spiritual energy and convert it into its own nutrients..."

Seeing that the thug seemed to be pushing his luck, the old man's expression shifted between light and dark, but he eventually compromised and began to explain.

The elderly man, whose real name was Luo Hongtu, was in his seventies.

From the other party, Lin Changsheng learned that this 'meat chunk' was actually a type of fungus.

It can decompose and devour all spiritual energy to strengthen itself.

The hallucinogenic aroma is actually a type of dust produced by the 'Blood Phantom Mushroom' to protect itself.

However, as both are wood-type plants, the dust produced by the Blood Illusion Mushroom seems to be countered by the Everlasting Spring Technique and has no effect on Lin Changsheng.

Luo Hongtu came here to collect some Blood Illusion Mushrooms to refine a breakthrough pill that could help him advance to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

“Fellow Daoist Zhang Meng, if you are also interested in this Blood Illusion Mushroom, take only a small amount. Under no circumstances should you uproot it, otherwise it will trigger the restrictions here and alarm the people of the Li Huo Sect.”

At this moment, Luo Hongtu looked at the thug in front of him and couldn't help but remind him.

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Luo, don't worry, we'll listen to you and take only a portion."

Lin Changsheng chuckled, then suddenly changed the subject, saying, "But we came here for something else."

"Other things?"

The old man, Luo Hongtu, was slightly taken aback, then suddenly exclaimed in astonishment, "You... want to take the earth vein source energy of this place? No, no, the earth vein source energy is sealed below the restriction. Forcibly breaking the formation will attract the attention of the Li Huo Sect."

"Fellow Daoist Luo, are you perhaps afraid of exposing your identity as a cultivator from the Divine Mechanism Sect? Hehe, we can't worry about that now."

Lin Changsheng chuckled, unmoved, and produced a 'Restriction-Breaking Talisman' in his hand.

Upon hearing this, Luo Hongtu's eyes flickered, clearly indicating that Lin Changsheng had hit the nail on the head.

However, when he saw the barrier-breaking talisman, a different look appeared in his eyes.

"A barrier-breaking talisman? No wonder Fellow Daoist Zhang Meng dared to covet the earth vein's source energy; it turns out he has such a precious talisman in his possession."

After pondering for a moment, Luo Hongtu suddenly changed his mind and suggested, "Fellow Daoist Zhang Meng, I can help you intercept the Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Li Huo Sect later, but we will split the earth vein source energy after we succeed."

"Half for each of us? Fellow Daoist Luo must be dreaming. Do you even know the value of my 'quasi-third-tier' barrier-breaking talisman?"

Lin Changsheng chuckled and teased.

After some debate, the two reached a consensus.

Two people each take one portion of the second-tier spirit plant, Blood Illusion Mushroom.

The earth's source energy was extracted by Lin Changsheng using a barrier-breaking talisman, and Luo Hongtu helped to resist the Foundation Establishment Master of the Li Huo Sect.

The profits will be split 30/70 afterwards.

……

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

A muffled boom suddenly came from inside the entire mountain.

It was as if the entire earth was trembling faintly.

"Oh no! The seal on the spiritual vein has been broken!"

Outside the bronze stone gate, the Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Li Huo Sect stationed there suddenly looked up, as if sensing something, and a fierce look appeared in his eyes.

"Quickly report to Senior Brother Li Huo, someone has trespassed into the secret realm!"

After transmitting his voice to the outside world, the Foundation Establishment cultivator instantly formed a layer of flame shield around his body and entered the bronze stone gate in a flash.

……

“Fellow Daoist Zhang Meng, hurry up! If those two Foundation Establishment cultivators come in, I, Luo, will not be able to hold out for more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.”

Looking down, Luo Hongtu saw the huge commotion caused by Lin Changsheng activating the barrier-breaking talisman and urged him on.

He even felt a little regretful. He had come here to steal some Blood Illusion Mushrooms, so why did he inexplicably cooperate with this Tribulation Cultivator to obtain the Earth Vein Source Qi?

Before he finished speaking, a pure fire-attribute aura wafted from outside.

"You audacious thief, how dare you covet the possessions of my Li Huo Sect!"

As they were speaking, the Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Li Huo Sect flew over.

Immediately, a raging flame condensed into a giant hand and slammed towards Luo Hongtu.

Seeing that the opponent was only one person, Luo Hongtu breathed a sigh of relief and immediately activated his second-tier puppet to engage in a fierce battle and buy time.

In an instant, flames filled the cave, and bursts of sharp aura emanated from the two of them…

……

As the earth continued to tremble, Lin Changsheng successfully collected the earth vein source energy born from the spiritual vein.

Seeing that Luo Hongtu was engaged in a fierce battle with the Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Li Huo Sect, he immediately circulated his Qi and blood power to blast the opponent back.

"go!"

Lin Changsheng wasted no time; as he spoke, he instantly appeared several feet away.

Not to be outdone, Luo Hongtu quickly put away his mechanical puppet and they both ran wildly outwards.

Soon, the two of them leaped out of the crevice in the mountain where the ruins were located, one after the other.

Before the two could even catch their breath, they suddenly froze.

Before them stood four Foundation Establishment cultivators, who were on high alert, and a dozen or so Qi Condensation Peak disciples.

The leader, dressed in a fiery red robe, had a dignified expression and an aura far surpassing that of everyone present; he was clearly a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

True Man Lihuo!

Upon seeing this person, Luo Hongtu immediately recognized him and his face turned ashen.

A late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator's cultivation and magical power have reached near perfection, far beyond what an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator can handle.

Moreover, there were four other Foundation Establishment cultivators around.

"This time we've really failed."

Luo Hongtu immediately lost heart and had no intention of resisting.

"Fellow Daoist Luo, here is the earth vein source energy we promised you. Take it."

At this moment, Lin Changsheng suddenly handed a sealed, exquisite porcelain bottle to Luo Hongtu in full view of everyone.

Before the latter could react, he activated a 'Minor Void-Breaking Talisman' in his hand, and his entire body was instantly enveloped in a beam of light and disappeared.