Chapter 158: Chapter 158: Moonlight Secret Realm
The so-called Evil Technique was an Evil Skill that defied the morals of normal people.
This technique involved Refining other living beings—either dead or alive—into one’s own Puppets.
They could be controlled by one’s consciousness.
At the Initial Stage, one could control a single Puppet of an equivalent rank at most.
The Cultivation Technique even specifically noted that using a Cultivator of the same rank was ideal.
It was indeed a powerful Cultivation Technique for enhancing one’s combat strength.
But it sounded like nothing good.
’Then why wouldn’t he have practiced it?’
’He was willing to frame me and leave me for dead. Why would he draw the line at an Evil Technique?’
After carefully reading the Cultivation Technique, Song Jiulai understood.
It turned out his rank wasn’t high enough.
This technique had a minimum requirement of the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Compared to this, the Ice Blade technique seemed much more harmless and normal.
Song Jiulai was conflicted.
’This Cultivation Technique is useless to me; there’s no way I’d ever do something like that.’
The System suddenly said, "Look at you, being human, your first thoughts are so wicked. The Cultivation Technique never said it had to be a Cultivator. Can’t you practice on demon beasts?"
Song Jiulai froze for about three seconds.
Then, she slapped her forehead. "Damn, this Cultivation Technique is so insidious!"
Because it specifically mentioned that Refining a Cultivator of the same rank as a Puppet was ideal, she immediately thought of web novels she’d read before, with tropes like making your comrades into spirits for a Ten Thousand Souls Banner...
Her train of thought had been led astray.
But if she thought about using demon beasts, that was a whole other story!
If she could control demon beasts, the Cultivation Technique would be like gaining an extra combatant.
Just as the technique’s description implied, an equally powerful Cultivator would make for the best additional combatant. In the hands of someone with a wicked heart, this was undeniably an Evil Technique.
’But if used properly, would there really be a problem?’
And so, Song Jiulai’s thoughts turned to the corpse of the Fourth-rank Demon Beast, the Yin Sha Deer, that was still in her storage and hadn’t been sold.
’Isn’t that the perfect test subject?’
However, Song Jiulai didn’t touch the Yin Sha Deer.
It was her first time using this Cultivation Technique, and Puppet Refining had a failure rate. If she failed, the Yin Sha Deer’s corpse would be wasted. Naturally, she should practice on other demon beasts first.
After comprehending the Nine-Turn Puppetry Technique, Song Jiulai fully understood its applications.
This Cultivation Technique was self-contained in a single manual.
It wasn’t divided into Basic and High-level versions. From the moment one began practicing, the First Turn allowed for the control of one Puppet, though it didn’t state that was the absolute limit.
At the Second Turn, one could control a Puppet slightly stronger than oneself.
The further one progressed, the more numerous and powerful the controlled Puppets became.
’The Nine-Turn Puppetry Technique... that must mean there are nine "turns"...’
Song Jiulai mused, "It really is a powerful Cultivation Technique."
If mastered, a single person could possess several powerful allies.
It was precisely because this Cultivation Technique was so powerful, so sinister, and so unheard of.
Song Jiulai was a little suspicious. "Where did he get this from?"
This didn’t seem like an ordinary Cultivation Technique, nor did it seem like something a person like Jin Shu, the one who tried to harm her, would have the ability to obtain.
System: "Who knows? Finders keepers."
Song Jiulai fell silent for three seconds, then nodded emphatically. "You have a point!"
’Who cares? It’s in my hands now, so it’s mine!’
After familiarizing herself with the Heart Formula for the Nine-Turn Puppetry Technique, Song Jiulai eagerly rolled up her sleeves and went looking for demon beasts.
Her travel speed to and from First Mountain was much faster now, so she decided to practice on some First and Second Rank Demon Beasts along the way.
And then, Song Jiulai discovered the heaven-defying aspect of this Cultivation Technique.
If she killed a demon beast before Refining it, the success rate was much higher. The "Puppet" was then controlled by a sliver of consciousness that Song Jiulai separated from herself.
This demon beast could then be stored inside her Sea of Consciousness.
Once released, it required a large amount of Spiritual Energy to sustain.
With her current power, Song Jiulai could release three Second-rank Demon Beast Puppets at once, but their combat strength was far weaker than when they were alive.
Furthermore, they were obviously corpses—the demon beasts’ eyes were completely lifeless.
If she tried Refining them while they were still alive, however, the failure rate was extremely high.
But if the Refining was successful, the demon beast was indistinguishable from a real one. Its combat strength wasn’t diminished, and with Song Jiulai’s consciousness directing it, it was perfect for infiltration.
It’s just that the failure rate was terrifyingly high.
Before entering the Secret Realm, Song Jiulai Refined a large number of demon beasts, and only succeeded in Refining a living one a single time—a Second-rank Demon Beast at that.
’Well, I can forget about trying to Refine a Fourth-rank Demon Beast for now.’
This Second-rank Demon Beast that Song Jiulai had successfully Refined—it was now her Puppet.
It was a Second-rank Demon Beast, the Iron Armor Bat.
Like many demon beasts, the Iron Armor Bat had a horrifying appearance.
From a distance, it looked like a large bat, but a closer look revealed an abnormally large mouth, its sharp teeth dripping with slime.
There were even other insects crawling on its body.
Song Jiulai felt her skin crawl just controlling it, and she felt like withdrawing it into her Sea of Consciousness would defile the place.
In the end, she couldn’t overcome her mental block. Song Jiulai decided to give up, only briefly experiencing the world from the Iron Armor Bat’s perspective before releasing her control.
System: "A germaphobe can’t survive on the Yunzhou Continent! How are you supposed to grow and become powerful like this!"
Song Jiulai: "No way. The Yin Sha Deer, when it was alive, was at least presentable. I guess I’ll reluctantly settle for controlling the Yin Sha Deer."
’It doesn’t matter if its combat strength is lower, and I can forget about trying to control it while it’s alive.’
The Yin Sha Deer might be a skeleton.
But skeletons are way cooler than bugs!
’Just imagine pulling something dripping with slime and crawling with maggots back into your own mind...’
’You’d kill yourself on the spot!’
It wasn’t as if she planned to conquer the world with the Nine-Turn Puppetry Technique. It was fine to be a little picky.
However, considering the success rate, Song Jiulai decided to wait until she was inside the Secret Realm to assess the situation before trying.
After all this messing around, the System finally notified Song Jiulai, "The Secret Realm is about to open. I can feel the fluctuations. You and the players get ready. Don’t move. I’m going to exploit a bug, so be careful you don’t get glitched out of existence."
Song Jiulai: "..."
For a System to use the word "bug" felt a little strange, but it made its own kind of sense!
At the same time, the System reminded the players to completely relax their consciousness and enter the new bodies Song Jiulai had prepared for them.
The players all felt the new bodies were even uglier than the default system-generated faces, wondering if the modeler’s skills had declined.
「Meanwhile, in another place countless miles away.」
"The Moonlight Secret Realm is about to open! All disciples who are entering, remember this: the Secret Realm contains not only Cultivators from other Sects, but also Demon Cultivators who have infiltrated it. You must be extremely careful!"
"Although anyone below the Golden Core Stage can enter the Moonlight Secret Realm, once a conflict begins, you will be pulled into the Moonlight Space. There, both of your ranks will be compressed to an average combat power, and you will be allowed to choose a Magic Treasure. Remember, you must choose a Magic Treasure with strong offensive capabilities!"
"For this opening of the Moonlight Secret Realm, it’s not just disciples from the various Major Sects attending. Disciples from super Major Sects, like the Xue Cang Sect, will also be entering. Unless it is absolutely unavoidable, you are to proactively steer clear of them..."
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