Steady Mortal Path: Starting from Obtaining the Golden Core Inheritance

"This matter is of great importance, and I cannot make the decision on my own. Please wait a moment, Uncle Lin."

With a hint of apology on his face, Su Qin left Lin Changsheng's sight.

Lin Changsheng nodded slightly and did not stop him.

He knew that Su Qin must have been discussing this with the Nascent Soul senior behind him.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Su Qin returned.

Soon, a powerful aura containing the majesty of a Nascent Soul cultivator emanated from Su Qin.

This mere wisp of aura leaked out instantly stirred the surrounding spiritual energy within a small area, as if it resonated with this aura.

"As expected of a Nascent Soul cultivator, even the slightest leak of his aura can attract the spiritual energy of heaven and earth."

Lin Changsheng couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

This trace of Nascent Soul level aura was enough to make him feel a sense of unease.

If a Golden Core True Person is someone with powerful abilities, then a Nascent Soul True Monarch is a 'king' among men.

How can an ordinary person be compared to a 'king'?

Even a late-stage Golden Core cultivator like 'Heavenly Poison True Man,' far surpassing ordinary cultivators of the same level, was still easily killed by a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

"So it's you, this little talisman master, who wants to see this True Lord?"

In an instant, a pale purple light flew out from Su Qin's body, landing a few feet away from Lin Changsheng. It transformed into a tiny old man, barely an inch tall, who spoke arrogantly.

As he spoke, the tiny Nascent Soul cultivator stood with his hands behind his back, his features and expression solemn and dignified.

It floated silently in the air, slightly taller than Lin Changsheng, requiring one to look up slightly to communicate normally.

"Junior Lin Changsheng greets senior."

Lin Changsheng spoke respectfully, showing the deference due to a junior, and did not show the slightest disrespect to the old man who was only in the Nascent Soul stage.

"Hmm, you're not bad as a young talisman master. Although your personality is sometimes like a lump of dough, not straightforward or decisive enough, you're still a decent young man."

The Nascent Soul cultivator seemed quite pleased with Lin Changsheng's respect, gesturing wildly as he offered his comments, as if he were truly instructing a younger generation.

"You don't need to ask about my title, True Lord. As for the dangerous place in 'Fengyuan Kingdom,' I can't reveal too much before we officially enter. But I can allow you to ask three questions."

The Nascent Soul-level old man stroked his non-existent beard and spoke calmly, as if he were showing extraordinary mercy.

Upon hearing this, Lin Changsheng nodded and began to frown in thought.

But at that moment, a brown light suddenly flashed out from one of the spirit beast pouches at his waist.

The next moment, the enormous 'Nightmare Moth' appeared in front of them.

Along with that came a slightly disdainful voice.

"Old man, you're just a broken Nascent Soul cultivator, what are you pretending to be, some senior expert!"

The Nightmare Moth's eyes held a mocking glint.

"It's you!"

"You demon butterfly actually... found the 'Nightmare Moth' to possess, you're really lucky."

The Nascent Soul elder was taken aback at first, but when he sensed the familiar aura and immense divine sense emanating from the Nightmare Moth, he instantly recognized its identity.

"Demon Butterfly, you are merely a third-tier Great Demon, yet you dare to speak disrespectfully to this True Monarch!"

"Even at your peak, you were merely a newly ascended fourth-tier demon butterfly, and you have no right to be presumptuous in front of me!"

The old man, a Nascent Soul cultivator, spoke with a mixture of envy and exasperation.

"Haha. What a joke! You're nothing but a piece of trash stuck in the early Nascent Soul stage for years. If my demonic body were still intact, would you be so insolent!"

The Nightmare Moth paid no heed to the threat posed by this human Nascent Soul cultivator, and mercilessly mocked him to his face.

As fellow Nascent Soul cultivators, especially when they have lost the nourishment of a physical body, their condition is easily sensed by cultivators of the same level.

Moreover, Qingmu Wangdie was skilled in divine sense probing, and she quickly ascertained the situation of this Nascent Soul old man.

This human nascent soul's vitality is slightly weak, indicating that its lifespan has already exceeded half of its lifespan, but its magical power should still remain at the initial level, and it is still quite far from the perfect initial stage of nascent soul.

Such a level is almost at the bottom among Nascent Soul cultivators, even inferior to the two human Nascent Soul cultivators who besieged her back then.

"What nonsense!"

"You are merely a newly ascended fourth-tier demon butterfly, and one that is not skilled in combat at that. How could you possibly know the methods of a human cultivator?!"

"If I, the True Man, were still alive, I would annihilate you, you demonic butterfly, as easily as slaughtering a chicken!"

The old man, a Nascent Soul cultivator, was so angry that he glared and puffed out his beard, his Nascent Soul-level aura faintly emanating from his body.

For a time, the two crippled Nascent Soul level experts were at each other's throats, revealing each other's secrets and arguing fiercely.

Lin Changsheng stared blankly at this scene, and couldn't help but exchange a helpless glance with Su Qin.

He never expected to encounter such a situation.

Before long, after being persuaded by Lin Changsheng and Su Qin, the two stopped their attack.

After calming the Nightmare Moth, Lin Changsheng took the opportunity to ask the Nascent Soul Elder three questions.

First, is there any danger beyond the Golden Core level in that perilous place in Fengyuan Kingdom?

Secondly, does the dangerous place contain any spiritual objects that could assist in the future breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm?

Thirdly, what reward would Lin Changsheng receive if he agreed to go with Su Qin?

Having asked these three questions, Lin Changsheng waited quietly for the other party's response.

"Hmph, you little talisman master are really cautious. Very well, I, the True Lord, will reveal some truths to you."

The old man, a Nascent Soul cultivator, grunted twice before saying with slight dissatisfaction:

“There are indeed risks in that dangerous place that are beyond the capacity of a Golden Core cultivator to handle, but the place I am going to is not one of those dangerous forbidden areas. If we avoid it in advance, the chances of encountering a crisis above the Golden Core level are very small. Of course, if your ghost moth pet is willing to help, the chances will be even greater.”

"Furthermore, since there are dangers beyond the Golden Core level, there are naturally precious opportunities. Not to mention spiritual items for breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, there are plenty of genuine fourth-tier opportunities, as long as you have the courage to try."

The old man, who was at the Nascent Soul stage, spoke evasively and with a pointed implication.

Upon hearing this, Lin Changsheng frowned slightly, already leaning towards rejection.

Although the other party downplayed the severity of the situation, the risks involved were probably not low at all.

Even the old man's real purpose in inviting him was to have Aoki Ocho go along.

Although Lin Changsheng had advanced to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm and believed that his skills were comparable to most late-stage Golden Core cultivators, there was still considerable risk in venturing into such a dangerous place.

We haven't fully utilized our own resources and methods yet, so we won't have to worry about improving our strength for at least the next fifty years.

Therefore, even if it is an invitation from an old friend, there is really no need to take the risk if there is no benefit that can tempt him.

"Little Talisman Master, do you remember the 'Puppet Inheritance' that was traded to you back then? There's actually an even more precious sequel. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

Sensing that Lin Changsheng seemed to be having second thoughts, the Nascent Soul old man suddenly spoke leisurely in a seductive tone.

"Senior, are you referring to that puppetry technique...? Does it have a subsequent lineage?"

"Could it be that the senior possesses a complete fourth-order puppet inheritance?"

Lin Changsheng was slightly moved.

After acquiring the puppetry skills from Su Qin in a transaction, Lin Changsheng devoted himself to studying them for many years. Although he had not yet fully mastered and inherited them, he had some speculations about their future inheritance.

They even suspected that the portion of the inheritance Su Qin acquired through the trade was actually a fragment taken from the entire fourth-tier inheritance.

In retrospect, it seems that his initial prediction was correct.

At that time, Lin Changsheng's bargaining chips were far less than those of a fourth-order puppet inheritance, so the Nascent Soul old man intercepted the third-order inheritance and preserved the rest.

Now, they need to rely on the strength of Lin Changsheng and Nightmare Moth to use the subsequent inheritance as bait.

"You little talisman master, your cultivation level isn't high, but you're dreaming. Do you even know what a complete fourth-order puppet technique means?"

"It's not just puppetry. In the cultivation world, any skill involving the fourth rank or higher is almost always a closely guarded secret. Even Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the same rank would be tempted by it. I, True Monarch, am not familiar with the art of puppetry, so naturally I do not have the inheritance method of the fourth rank puppetry."

"You're just a rogue cultivator in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm. You're far from qualified to expect a complete fourth-tier puppet technique after only one attempt."

The old man with the Nascent Soul stage chuckled, his words dripping with sarcasm.

It seemed to be mocking Lin Changsheng's delusional dream.

Upon hearing this, Lin Changsheng's face showed a hint of disappointment.

His excited expression subsided somewhat.

"Little talisman master, what kind of look is that?"

"Although the puppet inheritance method in Benzhenjun's hands is incomplete, it does involve some fourth-order content. If one can master it, one can at least create a 'quasi-fourth-order' puppet that far surpasses the third-order."

The old man, a Nascent Soul cultivator, spoke with an arrogant tone.

"A 'quasi-fourth-tier' puppet."

Lin Changsheng was still somewhat surprised as he listened to the other party's introduction, and began to ponder.

A 'quasi-fourth-order' puppet can be considered to have transcended the third-order category, and its power is barely comparable to that of a human Nascent Soul True Monarch.

If one can successfully create a 'quasi-fourth-tier' puppet, and combine it with other methods, then even if one encounters a true Nascent Soul True Monarch, one will have a way to deal with it.

Thinking about this, Lin Changsheng was somewhat tempted.

"To be honest, senior, I am quite interested in that subsequent puppet inheritance, and it is only right that I take some risks for it. However, if we encounter any unavoidable crises or accidents later on, I will still prioritize my own safety and may even withdraw at any time."

"Hehe, that's natural. I know a bit about your personality, little talisman master. I never expected you to take too many risks. In most cases, I'll just be assisting from the sidelines."

"This is only a small part of the subsequent inheritance. After the matter is completed, I will hand over the rest of the parts to you."

The old man with the Nascent Soul stage chuckled as he spoke, and at the same time took out a brand-new jade slip that he had prepared beforehand and handed it to Lin Changsheng.

……

The two agreed to depart six months later, but Su Qin left first to prepare for the trip.

"Using the inheritance of a 'quasi-fourth-tier' puppet as a bargaining chip, the operation six months from now will probably not be so simple. We need to prepare well before then and maximize our means of self-protection."

Looking at the exquisite jade slip in his hand, Lin Changsheng frowned slightly, pondering.

In the past six months, Lin Changsheng has reviewed all the methods he has mastered.

In particular, the third-tier spell symbols were carefully categorized and stored properly.

Commonly used magical artifacts, magical treasures, and puppets are all kept in convenient storage bags.

Originally, Lin Changsheng wanted to take this opportunity to reforge the three corpses left behind by the Three Corpse Immortal and refine them into his own puppets.

However, after starting the process, they discovered that these three corpses had been refined by the Three Corpse Immortals for many years, accumulating a dense aura of malevolent energy within them. This energy repelled Lin Changsheng's magical power, and it would take at least several months to eliminate it.

With limited time, Lin Changsheng had a choice: to rework the original puppet spirit child and replace many important parts with higher-grade materials.

When creating the puppet spirit child, Lin Changsheng had limited third-tier materials, so he had to save as much as possible, giving up the advantage of size and pursuing lightness and agility.

With ample materials at hand, and under Lin Changsheng's sweeping reforms, the puppet spirit child's form hasn't changed much, but its overall power has been elevated to the mid-stage of the third tier.

Comparable to a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator in humans.

Although it is still a lightweight mechanical puppet, its surface strength is no less than that of an ordinary third-tier magic weapon, and it can withstand a certain degree of attack.

In addition, he also made improvements to the 'Water Cloud Boat' that had been in use for many years.

Not only have the precious materials been replaced, but over the years, Lin Changsheng's skills have also improved by leaps and bounds, greatly optimizing the flying effect of the 'Water Cloud Boat'.

half year later.

A strangely shaped spirit boat glided across the sky, speeding over the territory of the Nangong family.

Two men dressed in white were riding inside.

"Uncle Lin, your flying spirit boat is not only fast, but also extremely stable. It is a rare flying treasure."

Su Qin looked at the flying boat beneath his feet with great curiosity and envy.

"Just a little trick to get somewhere quickly."

In contrast to Su Qin's emotional reaction, Lin Changsheng calmly controlled the 'Water Cloud Boat' and responded with a nonchalant expression.

……

Qinglan Sect.

The sect's main gate, usually quiet and deserted amidst towering mountains, was unusually lively today.

"Why can't you be reasonable? I've already said that among the three Golden Core cultivators of our sect, there is no elder with the surname Lin. Don't make a fuss or cause trouble again, otherwise when the next senior brother who takes over the shift comes, he won't be as easy to talk to as I am."

A young man dressed in the robes of a second-generation disciple of the Qinglan Sect faced off against the gaunt old man with a look of utter helplessness.

"How can you be so inflexible, young man? No wonder you were sent out to guard the gate."

"Let me tell you, my disciple, the Golden Core True Person Lin Changsheng, came to your Qinglan Sect as a guest six or seven years ago. You have no contact with the core of the sect, so naturally you don't know about this. Just call your chief elder or the core Foundation Establishment disciple, and they will know."

The gaunt old man stroked his mustache with a smug look, his words seemingly expressing great dissatisfaction with the young disciple before him.

“Fellow Daoist, the elders of the sect hold a very high position. How could I, a second-generation disciple guarding the main gate, dare to disturb them at will? If you truly have a disciple who is a Golden Core cultivator, why don’t you contact that cultivator yourself and ask him to come out and meet you?”

Looking at the withered, thin-faced old man before him, the young disciple's face was full of doubt.