Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Harvesting the Talents of Demonic Beasts

Chapter 177 The Puppet Master's Entrustment, Three Great Legacy
"Boom boom boom!"

Just half a month before the scheduled start of refining the Foundation Building Pill, someone came to visit again.

"Brother Lin..."

The cave door opened, and a familiar female figure immediately appeared in front of it, looking forlorn with faint tear stains on her face.

"Miss Yan?"

Lin Changheng was slightly surprised. The person in front of him was none other than Yan Mingyi. The woman's condition was obviously not right. It seemed that something big had happened. The moment she saw Lin Changheng, her body went limp, as if she could no longer support herself.

Lin Changheng reacted swiftly, grabbing the man's waist to keep him from falling, and then with a flash, he brought him into the cave.

The door slammed shut with a bang, propelled by a gust of air.

"What happened?"

Lin Changheng placed Yan Mingyi on the seat, held her soft hand and briefly checked her pulse. He learned that she had exhausted her magical power, so he was relieved and fed her a high-grade rejuvenating pill.

Yan Mingyi quickly recovered, tears streaming down her face as she whispered hoarsely, "Grandpa passed away last night..."

"what?"

Lin Changheng was also taken aback, clearly not expecting this.

Wasn't Master Yan Kui's condition much better? Moreover, half a year ago, Yan Mingyi even came to ask for a new pill, saying that it would be effective. How could he have passed away so suddenly?

Lin Changheng was very puzzled and pressed for an answer: "What's the reason?"

Yan Mingyi wiped away her tears and recalled that during this period, her grandfather had not left the house and had been making puppets, and she had been purchasing the materials herself.

Just last night, she was cultivating in her room when she suddenly heard her grandfather's hearty laughter, but she didn't think much of it.

Because she knew that her grandfather often studied puppetry late at night, and that he would do this once he made progress.

This morning, as usual, I prepared a special meal for my grandfather to nourish him, but he didn't get up. When I opened the door, I saw him lying on the bed, completely silent.

She was immediately thrown into a panic, overwhelmed by grief, helplessness, and fear. With the death of her last relative and her lack of life experience, she was unable to discern the true cause of her grandfather's death.

After a period of extreme grief, I suddenly remembered Brother Lin and came to ask for his help.

"Please accept my condolences, Miss Yan. I will go with you to see her now."

Lin Changheng helped the woman up, offered her a word of comfort, and then summoned his magic boat, soaring into the sky.

Yan Mingyi, being a mid-level puppeteer, gradually calmed down from her pain and hurriedly reminded him, "Brother Lin, we cannot take to the air. Flying is forbidden in the Immortal City; only Foundation Establishment cultivators are permitted..."

"nothing."

Lin Changheng rubbed the girl's head and shook his head, saying, "This way it'll be faster."

Although his Foundation Establishment status has not yet been revealed, it is only a matter of time before it is exposed, so he no longer hides it. In fact, he had been flying by boat in the Immortal City all along.

Yan Mingyi nodded, her gaze towards Lin Changheng gleaming with trust. Clearly, she now regarded Brother Lin as her only support in the world.

Soon, the two returned to "Cloud Palace".

They entered the Yan family courtyard together.

During this process, Lin Changheng glanced back and saw that his former Qingyuan Xiaozhu had changed its plaque, which meant that it had a new owner.

The plaque of Cui Yinshi's "Qingyin Yunju" on the side remains unchanged.

It seems this woman paid rent for many years.

Could there be a discount for long-term rentals? Lin Changheng smiled to himself.

……

Soon the two arrived at Master Yan's room.

Many materials were placed randomly, while various puppet parts such as claws and feet were neatly arranged.

On the bed in front, an old man lay, already cold.

Lin Changheng had already used his divine sense to search the entire house after entering the courtyard, and found no ambush or trapping formation.

We must remain extremely cautious; only in this way can we ensure the ship's longevity.

"There were no signs of a struggle, nor any indication of an intruder breaking in."

Lin Changheng made a preliminary assessment: "He probably died of old age."

Hearing Lin Changheng say this, Yan Mingyi, who had been secretly shedding tears as soon as she returned to the small courtyard, felt a little better.

Arriving at the bedside, Lin Changheng quietly activated the "Evergreen Body of Azure Wood," secretly opening his body-refining cultivation. He then grabbed one of Yan Kui Shi's aged hands and poured his magic power into it.

It begins to roam and explore within the body.

Three breaths later, the "Evergreen Body of the Azure Tree" was quietly removed.

He opened his eyes after a long while and learned the cause of death.

The hidden injuries to Master Yan's body were indeed stabilized by the second-tier pills he had refined. Although they could not be cured, they would not worsen and cause his death.

His true cause of death was emotional turmoil.

At the same time, he carefully searched the room again with his divine sense, but did not find anything special.

This has led to the question: what caused his emotional turmoil?
The answer might be in that bulging storage bag at his waist.

But Lin Changheng naturally wouldn't take it without permission.

Instead, he informed Yan Mingyi of this conclusion and related speculations.

Then, Yan Mingyi took the storage bag from her grandfather's waist, but couldn't open it, so she looked at Lin Changheng.

When the master dies, the magical imprint will slowly dissipate rather than collapse instantly.

Lin Changheng simply reached out and wiped the opening of the storage bag, and the solidified magic mark instantly dissipated, allowing Yan Mingyi to open it with ease.

"Thank you very much, Brother Lin."

She whispered something and began to examine it. Soon, her face paled and her pupils contracted sharply as she saw a gigantic creature.

"This is."

Before the murmur had even finished, a beam of dark light slammed into the ground hardened by the [Soil Stabilization] spell, sending shards of stone flying everywhere.

—It was a completely black metal puppet, standing nine feet tall!
The dark purple patterns at the joints shimmered faintly like blood vessels, and the body was clad in heavy armor, casting a shadow.

The strangest thing was that iron mask; it had no facial features, only a horizontal crack that looked like an open mouth.

Second-tier puppet!
To be precise, it's a second-tier puppet with a completion rate of over 90%!
The core processes have just been completed, and only some follow-up finishing work remains, so it doesn't have a high level of value.

These were all things that Yan Mingyi told Lin Changheng.

This also means that Master Yan has basically entered the second-tier puppetry path and become a second-tier puppeteer.

Lin Changheng's eyes flashed as he looked at this astonishing, fearless humanoid weapon puppet, and he basically guessed the reason.

Most likely, Master Yan was overjoyed at successfully breaking through to the second level of his skill, but he neglected his physical condition, which resulted in his heart meridian surging and causing his death.

In short, it's a case of extreme joy turning into sorrow.

Just like the old woman at the mahjong table in her past life, who collapsed because she won a big hand.

The realm that Master Yan pursued his entire life became his death knell at the very last moment.

It is embarrassing.

After offering a few more words of comfort to Yan Mingyi, Lin Changheng prepared to step out, giving the woman a final farewell.

The woman's exclamation of "Eh!" stopped him in his tracks.

A jade slip was placed in the hand of the nine-foot-tall humanoid puppet. Because the hand was so large and attracted attention, Lin Changheng did not notice it at first.

Perhaps it was a dying wish?

Lin Changheng guessed.

Clearly, the incident happened suddenly, and Master Yan knew something was wrong. He immediately stuffed a pill into his stomach in an attempt to save himself, but when he found it was useless, he struggled back to bed and passed away gracefully, leaving behind his last words.

The cultivator's movements were swift, completed in just a few breaths. Unlike ordinary people, who, in sudden situations, lose consciousness without any time to react, or even if they did, are unable to perform any actions.

Just now, Lin Changheng did find dissolved but unused medicinal solution in his stomach, which corroborates this guess.

Yan Mingyi took off the jade slip and began to examine it against her forehead.

Before long, a strange color appeared on the woman's extremely pale face.

Lin Changheng raised an eyebrow, seemingly lost in thought.

Soon, Yan Mingyi stepped forward and placed the jade slip in Lin Changheng's hand, then quickly went to handle the aftermath.

"Brother Lin, this is the last message Grandpa left for you."

"For me?"

Lin Changheng was taken aback, then thought of a classic scene, "Could it be that Master Yan is going to 'entrust his son' to someone else?"

Lin Changheng probed the jade slip with his divine sense, quickly examined it, and then withdrew his divine sense with a strange expression.

No wonder Yan Mingyi had a strange expression on her face just now; it turns out that her grandfather had truly entrusted her to Lin Changheng.

"It would be good to keep her as a maid."

This is the original text from the jade slip.

If Master Lin feels this is unacceptable, then we earnestly request that Master Lin take care of Yan Mingyi for twenty years, or wait until her granddaughter breaks through to the Foundation Establishment stage before driving her away.

Furthermore, it emphasizes Yan Mingyi's excellent practical skills. She is adept at cooking, brewing wine, and managing the medicinal fields. She can take good care of Master Lin and keep the cave dwelling in good order, allowing Master Lin to concentrate on alchemy without being disturbed by worldly affairs.

Moreover, she possesses remarkable talent in puppetry, enabling her to be self-sufficient and not become a burden to Master Lin.

Upon seeing this, Lin Changheng nodded in agreement.

This isn't the end of it.

Yan Kui Shi then promised further benefits.

This second-tier puppet, which was over 90% complete, was given to Master Lin Dan for protection. Mingyi knew how to complete the remaining part and was also capable of doing so.

Furthermore, once Master Lin fulfills his promise, Yan Mingyi's memories, which are locked away by a powerful secret technique, can also be given to Master Lin.

The words also implied that this powerful secret technique had an extraordinary origin and could not be fathomed by anyone other than a Core Formation cultivator.

It must be said that these benefits, coupled with the conditions, tempted Lin Changheng.

It's likely that Master Yan didn't make these arrangements on his deathbed last night, but rather that he had been planning how to secure a future for his granddaughter for some time.

However, Lin Changheng's pills gave him hope of living a little longer, but they were suddenly taken away by the second-tier puppet path.

"May break through to the Foundation Establishment stage in twenty years..."

Lin Changheng's eyes flickered slightly; clearly, the former was easier to achieve.

Twenty years is nothing to him.

According to the slow cultivation progress of the "Jade Void Bright Scripture", in twenty years, under ideal circumstances, he should be in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment...

It's not a big problem for him to break through the three hundred-year lifespan limit; it's just a small stage.

In exchange, she received a capable "maid," a second-tier puppet, and a second-tier high-grade puppetry inheritance.

Regardless of personal feelings, from a purely financial perspective, it's definitely not a bad deal.

Having made his decision, Lin Changheng gave Yan Mingyi time to say goodbye before helping with the aftermath.

Funerals in the cultivation world are not complicated. Lin Changheng has also arranged funerals for many of his immortal friends, and he is quite efficient in doing so.

The most important point is that cremation is mandatory.

In the world of cultivation, corpses are also a resource, and they are generally not buried directly.

Otherwise, it is very likely that the corpse will be used for other evil purposes, such as refining corpses or taking materials from corpses.

There is no peace even after death.

……

Two days later, in the evening, Yan Mingyi packed her things in the courtyard and returned to the cave dwelling located in the outer lake with Lin Changheng.

Of course, Lin Changheng had also communicated with the woman beforehand and asked for her opinion.

He wouldn't force her if she didn't want to.

The answer was obvious. Yan Mingyi agreed without hesitation and showed a certain dependence on Lin Changheng.

The Yan family, grandfather and grandson, lived a secluded life and didn't have many true friends.

Lin Changheng is one of them, having gained the approval of both his grandfather and grandson.

Otherwise, Master Yan would not have entrusted this task on his deathbed.

"Mingyi, you may choose any room in the cave that you like to stay in, or you may choose an unused room to convert into a puppet-making room."

"Don't be too reserved."

Lin Changheng smiled and said that he did not really treat her as a maid or servant.

"Thank you for taking me in, Brother Lin."

Yan Mingyi looked much better, but she was still sad. Accepting the separation from loved ones is a slow process.

“Apart from the medicinal herb field behind the cave, where some precious medicinal herbs are protected by an array that I have placed there and cannot enter, I will take care of them myself. You can go to most of the other places as well.”

After thinking for a moment, Lin Changheng still gave a brief explanation.

The news of these elixirs must not be leaked, especially since it involves the outward application of the true meaning of the [Rongsheng Divine Power], which must be kept even more secret.

Even if this woman were at the sixth or ninth level of Qi Refining, she would not be able to break through the concealment formation set up by Lin Changheng.

“Mingyi knows.”

Yan Mingyi nodded obediently, keeping it in mind.

"By the way, take this time to familiarize yourself with the environment. After a while, you can start filling in the gaps in the second-tier puppets. When you do, just make a list of what materials you need and give it to me. This place is not like the inner city of the Immortal City; it's quite far away, and it's not safe for you to go shopping alone."

After saying this, Lin Changheng turned around and went into seclusion.

When he came out at noon the next day, the cave had been cleaned and tidied up, much better than the previous silver puppet.

At the same time, a spiritual food was also served.

The aroma lingers, making one's mouth water.

"Brother Lin, come and eat!"

"Thanks for your hard work."

Seeing Yan Mingyi smiling at him from the table, Lin Changheng finally felt a touch of warmth in this rather large cave dwelling.

Not bad.

Previously, he had been burying himself in fasting pills and rarely touched spiritual food, truly practicing "asceticism".

"Chirp..."

The black-armored ground tortoise suddenly cried out.

It turns out this turtle also had its share of spiritual food, and it was showing off in a corner, making satisfied noises.

This tortoise was quite familiar with Yan Mingyi. When they were neighbors, Yan Mingyi would often come over to tease it and bring some spiritual food to feed it.

Lin Changheng shook his head and chuckled, then sat down and began to feast.

……

Time continued to pass, and in the blink of an eye, the agreed-upon day for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill arrived.

(End of this chapter)