Chapter 3: The Winged Immortal

Mu Zishuo looked at Ji Ning and finally nodded: "Alright, I'll go with you, Senior Brother."

"Haha, that's more like it." Ji Ning laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

Mu Zishuo looked at Ji Ning and smiled too, but deep in his heart he remembered this kindness, keeping it etched in his mind.

…

The one-hour rest period was over.

The gray-robed men emerged from their respective quarters, and Mu Zishuo came out as well, his hair still disheveled.

"Hurry up."

"All of you, hurry."

Black-robed men were already urging them on, but the puppet masters remained calm, completely ignoring them. After all, they were puppet masters; even if they didn't put their full effort into crafting, there would be some punishment, but taking a normal one-hour rest was something no one could fault.

"In this mysterious force, the black-robed men are of low status. Those at the Wanxiang and Yuan Shen levels are 'demon slaves,' while those at the Earth Immortal and Sanxian levels are 'demon servants.'" Mu Zishuo's earlier explanation before the operation gave Ji Ning some understanding of this mysterious force.

"Hum~~~"

A hazy light enveloped the ancient castle. The gray-robed men filed in one by one, and Mu Zishuo entered as well.

Ji Ning's 'field of vision' shifted. At the entrance of the castle stood a man in bronze armor, whose aura was clearly much stronger.

"Bronze guards? Demon guards? I wonder how many demon guards are in this stronghold." Ji Ning thought to himself.

Demon slaves were at the Wanxiang and Yuan Shen levels.

Demon servants were at the Sanxian and Earth Immortal levels.

Demon guards were extremely powerful among Sanxians. From his observations, Ji Ning estimated that each one was on par with 'Evil Ancestor.'

Above them... were demon generals!

Demon generals, or 'generals,' were at the Celestial Immortal level.

…

Inside the ancient castle, the passage was deep and dark, branching off into large spaces where some puppet masters were working. Mu Zishuo and the others continued deeper in.

"Here they come." At the end of the passage, a bronze demon guard said with a smile, "Open the door."

"Yes."

The black-robed demon servants immediately pushed open the massive doors. With a rumble, the doors swung open, and the gray-robed men entered one after another. Ji Ning, transformed into a strand of hair, naturally followed Mu Zishuo inside.

"Whew." Mu Zishuo breathed a sigh of relief. "Senior Brother's transformation technique is truly remarkable. The castle is filled with heavy restrictions, yet it still didn't detect him."

Once through the doors, they entered an enormous independent space.

This space was ten thousand zhang in circumference. The gray-robed men stepped onto the clouds and gathered around a 'giant puppet.' Scattered around were large quantities of refining materials. The puppet masters immediately began their work.

"So big."

The strand of hair that was 'Ji Ning' observed the giant puppet. "Although I heard about it from Junior Brother, seeing it with my own eyes is still overwhelming. No wonder a Celestial Immortal piloting it can be nearly invincible below the level of 'Heavenly God or True Immortal.'"

According to Junior Brother's earlier introduction:

The most important puppet in this forbidden area was called the 'Divine Demon Puppet,' codenamed 'Divine Demon.'

Its main body was a full thousand zhang in size, pitch black, and resembled a crab. It had eight slender, sharp claws and two massive pincer claws. The dense array of countless runes forming a 'formation diagram' on its main body made Ji Ning dizzy just by looking at it. It was incredibly complex.

"So ferocious. Just by its appearance, it's a natural weapon."

The aura emanating from the incomplete formation diagrams on this giant black crab-like Divine Demon Puppet already far surpassed that of an ordinary Celestial Immortal.

"This place gathers experts in the art of puppetry from hundreds of commanderies around." Ji Ning thought to himself. "Just one stronghold can forge such a terrifying puppet. According to Junior Brother, it takes over ten years to forge one. Then how many strongholds are there across the three thousand six hundred commanderies of the Grand Xia Dynasty and the Four Seas? How many puppets of this level can be forged every hundred years?"

Ji Ning also knew that the math couldn't be done that way.

After all, forging such a puppet required precious materials. Besides needing a large number of puppet masters, it also required a massive supply of materials.

"This is only in the last thirty years."

"What about the even longer time before they came to the Grand Xia?"

Ji Ning couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.

Unfathomable!

No wonder even Patriarch Bodhi, who could 'dream of the Three Realms,' was so worried.

"Swoosh!"

Suddenly, Mu Zishuo stopped his work and flew directly toward the entrance of the space, where two black-robed men stood.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you working?" one of the black-robed men shouted.

"I want to see my Dao companion." Mu Zishuo spoke up.

"See your Dao companion?" The black-robed man frowned.

"I haven't seen her this month yet." Mu Zishuo said. "I'm allowed to see her once a month."

"Alright, fine. So many demands. Wait here, I'll go inform the大人." The black-robed man said.

Mu Zishuo obediently nodded and stood there.

…

In another, smaller space in the castle, a group of gray-robed men surrounded a large puppet, caressing it reluctantly. This puppet had cost them immense effort, and now that it was completed, it was about to be taken away. Although they also wore gray robes, their status was lower than Mu Zishuo's.

Their numbers were larger, but their skill in puppetry was relatively inferior.

"大人, the Winged Immortal has been completed." Not far away stood an old man in a red robe, and a black-robed man beside him said respectfully.

"Mm." The red-robed old man smiled. "So slow. These little fellows from the Grand Xia world are really poor at puppetry. So many people working on one 'Winged Immortal puppet' and still so slow."

The black-robed man beside him muttered inwardly.

Slow?

You old fool don't understand puppetry. You're low in status within the sect, only able to curry favor with the general, who put you in charge of overseeing these puppet forges. If a formal disciple of the sect's 'Puppetry Path' came, you'd probably be kneeling and licking their toes!

"Move aside." The red-robed old man walked over and shouted loudly.

The gray-robed men immediately stepped back.

The red-robed old man waved his hand with a smile, and the huge winged 'Winged Immortal puppet' was directly stored into his storage bracelet. "Another Winged Immortal completed. This is second only to the Divine Demon puppet. Hmph, the number of 'Winged Immortals' forged in the forbidden area I oversee ranks in the top ten within the sect. Once the 'Divine Demon' is completed, the higher-ups will probably grant me a generous reward."

"大人, 大人." Suddenly a voice interrupted the red-robed old man's daydreaming.

The red-robed old man glanced impatiently at the lowly black-robed man who had rushed over, and said coldly, "You waste, can't you see I'm busy here? Shouting and yelling, what is it?"

"It's that Mu Zishuo, he wants to see his Dao companion." The black-robed man quickly said, inwardly cursing the old man.

Demon slaves, demon servants, demon guards...

This was based on strength.

Strictly speaking, the red-robed old man was also one of the 'demon servants,' but because he had gained favor, he wore a red robe and oversaw the puppet forging in the castle. In terms of actual strength, he was on par with the other black-robed men. The black-robed men were annoyed by his arrogance and all hoped for the day he would fall.

"Mu Zishuo?" The red-robed old man curled his lip. "So much trouble. Let's go, go see him."

There were only so many puppet masters in the castle, so he remembered every name clearly.

…

Soon, the red-robed old man saw Mu Zishuo.

The strand of hair 'Ji Ning' also saw the red-robed old man. Mu Zishuo had told him in advance that this red-robed old man, named Qu Huan, was an important figure in the forbidden area, specifically overseeing their puppet forging. As for the souls, they were also hidden somewhere in the castle by this red-robed old man.

Mu Zishuo immediately said, "I want to see my Dao companion."

"Let's go." The red-robed old man said impatiently. "Seeing family once a month, we certainly allow that. But you must work diligently. If you're not serious or don't put in effort, hmph... you know the punishment."

Mu Zishuo nodded: "I know, I know."

The red-robed old man walked ahead, through a wide passage, then turned into a narrow side passage, and soon led them into a secret chamber.

"Wait here. I'll be right back." The red-robed old man said.

"Alright." Mu Zishuo sat cross-legged on a cushion. The chamber was very quiet, with only a black-robed man watching at the door.

After a moment.

The red-robed old man reappeared, entered the chamber, and also sat cross-legged. He snorted, "You have the time it takes to burn one incense stick." With a flip of his hand, a crystal ball appeared beside him. Inside the ball was a female figure, slender and graceful, with a hint of sorrow.

"Xiao Xia." Mu Zishuo immediately said excitedly.

The woman in the crystal ball looked over and also said excitedly, "Zishuo." The voice of the soul, transmitted through the crystal ball, echoed in the chamber, audible to the ears.

The strand of hair 'Ji Ning' marveled.

Normally, souls couldn't directly produce sound; it must be due to the crystal ball. Similarly, Yu Xia's soul was trapped inside the ball.

"This Yu Xia and Junior Brother truly have deep feelings." The strand of hair Ji Ning observed.

"Zishuo, I know you're very tired." The woman in the crystal ball drifted, worried. "Every time I see you, you seem more tired and haggard than before. Don't worry about me. Don't let me exhaust you."

"Hmph." The red-robed old man snorted. "Truly deep affection."

Mu Zishuo looked at the woman in the crystal ball and said urgently, "Xiao Xia, I will definitely take you away from here. I will."

"That's right. Serve the general well, and within a thousand years, you'll be granted freedom." The red-robed old man said from the side.

Tears glistened in Mu Zishuo's eyes as he looked at the woman in the crystal ball. Suddenly, he transmitted to Ji Ning via elemental energy: "Senior Brother, kill Qu Huan and seize the soul."

"Alright."

One of the strands of Mu Zishuo's disheveled hair vanished.

Then a white-robed man appeared out of nowhere. As he appeared, his massive hand had already unleashed the power of 'Star Picking Hand,' striking the startled and terrified red-robed old man. With a bang, the red-robed old man was instantly reduced to ashes. The white-robed man waved his hand, collecting the crystal ball, storage bracelet, and magic treasures.