Establishing a Clan in the Eastern Wilderness: A Daily Divination, Cultivating Longevity in a Grotto

Chapter 122 Grass Puppet, Demonic Relics, Another Page Opens

Li Changsheng took out a map and determined the direction.

The mine mentioned in the divination is located three miles ahead.

The three walked through a dense forest and came to a low stone mountain. At the foot of the mountain was a dark cave entrance, with a natural illusion array inside. If it weren't for the guidance of divination, they would never have discovered it.

The Qingqiu Array Plate in Li Changle's hand shimmered with spiritual light, and layers of runes lit up. She examined it carefully for a moment, then frowned slightly: "A low-grade second-tier array, severely damaged, with most of its spiritual power lost. Give me an incense stick's time, and I can break it."

Li Changsheng nodded, stepped aside, and kept watch over the surroundings.

Li Changle took out array flags from her storage bag and inserted them into the ground in specific positions. The Qingqiu array plate in her hand lit up, and runes transformed into beams of light that entered the stone wall at the cave entrance. Dense runes appeared on the stone wall, but they were already dim and broken in many places. She cast a spell into the array's core, and the runes flickered violently a few times before going out completely.

"Alright." She put away the battle flags and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

The light curtain at the cave entrance dissipated, revealing a deep, dark passageway behind it. The stone walls on either side of the passageway were covered with runes, but most had weathered and peeled away, obscuring their original appearance. A damp, musty smell permeated the air, mixed with a faint stench of blood.

Li Changsheng opened the Seven Treasures Glazed Umbrella, and a seven-colored glazed light curtain enveloped the three of them as he stepped into the passageway first.

The passageway was long and winding, extending downwards. After walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the view suddenly opened up ahead—it was a natural stone chamber, several feet in circumference, with a dome about two feet high, and several fluorescent stones embedded in the stone walls, emitting a faint light.

In the center of the stone chamber, a skeleton sat cross-legged.

The robes on the skeleton had rotted away, revealing a stark white skeleton beneath. The skeleton was intact, without any breaks or sword wounds. His hands were folded on his knees, a storage bag on his right and a silver token on his left. The token was engraved with the character "Cloud," a pass for entering the central area of ​​Five Dragon Mountain.

In front of the skeleton, a grass puppet crouched.

The grass puppet was about five feet tall, entirely woven from spiritual herbs, the stems as tough as iron, the leaves as sharp as knives. Its limbs were long and slender, their joints entwined with vines, allowing for flexible movement. Its head was a fist-sized grass ball, with two black stones embedded in it, resembling eyes. In its chest was a fist-sized green stone, within which a faint spiritual light flowed, like a beating heart.

Sensing the presence of living beings, the grass puppet abruptly raised its head. Its two black stone eyes gleamed eerily, staring intently at Li Changsheng and his companions. Its body leaned slightly forward, its limbs braced on the ground, like a ferocious beast poised to pounce.

"Brother, what is this?" Li Changle asked in a low voice.

Li Changsheng did not answer, and the Heavenly Book vibrated at that moment:

[Grass Puppet: Peak Tier 1. A product of ancient puppetry, with spirit herbs as its bones, spirit stones as its heart, and runes as its soul.]

The method of its creation has long been lost. This puppet is bound to its master by a "Concentric Pact." After the master's death, the puppet enters a protective mode, automatically attacking any intruders until its energy is exhausted. Its energy core is the "Heart of the Spirit Stone" in its chest; removing the Heart of the Spirit Stone will cause the puppet to cease functioning.

"Good stuff." Li Changsheng's eyes lit up.

"Red Feather, stop breathing fire." He raised his hand to stop Red Feather from breathing fire, then turned to Mo Yu and said, "Mo Yu, trap it."

Mo Yu emerged from the Hundred Ghost Banner, cradling a pipa, her delicate hands plucking the strings. The sound waves from the ghost pipa transformed into invisible ropes, tightly binding the grass puppet. The grass puppet struggled a few times, but the sound wave ropes were as tough as iron, and it could not break free.

Li Changsheng walked up to the grass puppet, squatted down, and carefully examined the spirit stone heart in its chest. The green stone was embedded in the chest cavity woven from grass stems, surrounded by intricate runes. He activated the ancient exotic seed in his dantian, and a red light surged from his palm, condensing into a thin red rope. The red rope, like a serpent, probed into the grass puppet's chest cavity, wrapped around the spirit stone heart, and was gently tugged.

The Spirit Stone Heart detached from the grass puppet's chest and fell into Li Changsheng's hand.

The grass puppet's movements suddenly stopped. It remained motionless in its struggling posture, as if its soul had been ripped away.

Li Changsheng put the Spirit Stone Heart into his storage bag, his gaze falling on a jade slip beside the skeleton. He picked up the jade slip and probed it with his divine sense.

The jade slip contains a method for controlling puppets, titled "The Puppet Contract of Plants and Trees".

"Puppets are made of grass and wood as bones, spirit stones as hearts, and runes as souls. The method of control lies in divine thought. Wherever divine thought reaches, the puppet goes. Those with strong divine thought can control multiple puppets as easily as moving their own limbs. However, controlling puppets requires one's own divine consciousness as a guide, spirit stones as a medium, and a contract as a bridge. Once the contract is formed, the puppet and its master are bound together for life—"

The text is obscure, but its core meaning is not difficult to understand. To control a grass puppet, one must use their divine sense to imprint their mark on the heart of a spirit stone, and then use their essence blood as a guide to sign a contract with the puppet. Once the contract is established, the puppet will be in perfect harmony with its master, acting as if it were its own arm.

Li Changsheng handed the jade slip to Li Changle: "Little sister, this is suitable for you."

Li Changle took the jade slip, probed it with her divine sense, and her eyes grew brighter and brighter. She was originally a formation master, possessing a natural affinity for things like runes, restrictions, and puppets. Controlling grass puppets required a certain level of formation knowledge, which was precisely what she had no shortage of.

"Brother, let me try." She sat down cross-legged, held the Heart of the Spirit Stone in her palm, closed her eyes, and probed into it with her divine sense.

Inside the Spirit Stone Heart was a complex space composed of runes. The runes were layered upon each other, densely packed, like a maze. Li Changle's divine sense navigated the maze, finding a blank area at the core—a place reserved for the owner to inscribe their mark. She focused her divine sense into a line and inscribed her mark in the blank space. The moment the mark took shape, the Spirit Stone Heart glowed briefly, then returned to normal.

She dripped another drop of her essence blood onto the Spirit Stone Heart. As the essence blood seeped in, the Spirit Stone Heart hummed, establishing a faint connection with her.

The black light in the grass puppet's eyes flickered briefly before dimming again. It slowly ceased its struggling posture, straightened its body, walked to Li Changle, and knelt on one knee, as if awaiting its master's command.

Li Changle opened his eyes, looked at the grass puppet in front of him, and reached out to touch its head. The grass puppet's stems were rough, but warm to the touch, as if it were alive.

"Get up," she said softly.

The grass puppet stood up, retreated behind her, and remained motionless.

Li Changsheng watched this scene with a slight smile. His family had gained another trump card.

Li Changmo had already begun to inventory Bai Gu's storage bag. He first emptied all the contents of the storage bag and spread them out on the ground.

The bottle of elixirs was empty, and the box of medicinal herbs was empty too; clearly, the person had exhausted all their healing supplies before dying. But some things remained.

Three talismans.

The first one is a second-tier, low-grade Heavenly Gang Thunderfire Talisman. It is the same as the one Li Changsheng used before. When activated, it summons Heavenly Gang Thunderfire, covering an area of ​​thirty feet in radius, with power comparable to a full-force attack from a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator.

The second one is a second-tier, low-grade Xuanwu protective talisman. When activated, it condenses a Xuanwu phantom to protect the body, capable of withstanding three attacks from a Foundation Establishment cultivator for the duration of a cup of tea.

The third one is a second-tier, low-grade Wind and Thunder Escape Talisman. Activating it transforms the user into wind and thunder, allowing them to travel hundreds of miles in an instant; it is a powerful tool for survival and escape.

All three talismans were of the second-tier, low-grade quality, in excellent condition, with their spiritual light contained within. Li Changsheng carefully put the talismans away, his gaze falling on a strange key. The key was entirely black, about three inches long, with a bizarre symbol engraved on its handle. The symbol was neither the script of the Great Zhou Dynasty nor ancient runes, but a twisted, unsettling pattern he had never seen before.

The Heavenly Book Trembled:

[Identification of a Demon Clan spy. This person is named Yun Yi, and is actually a spy planted by the Demon Clan within the Yun family. His purpose in entering Five Dragon Mountain is not for training, but to find the Earth-rank cultivation technique hidden within the ruins of an ancient cave. This key is crucial for unlocking the secret treasure vault within the cave ruins.]

[Family Luck Value +800, Current: 21000/20000]

[Conditions met. Shall we begin a new page in the Heavenly Book?]

Li Changsheng was shocked.

A demon spy? A low-level cultivation technique? A secret treasure vault? He glanced at the key in his hand, then at the skeleton, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him. A demon spy who had infiltrated the Yun family for years had finally died in this desolate mountain mine, unknown to anyone. His mission was unfinished, his identity remained unexposed, and his body rotted into bones here, with only a key proving he had been here.

Li Changsheng put the key into his pocket, not immediately opening a new page of the Heavenly Book. This place was not safe to linger; he would wait until they left the mine.

The next morning, in the open space outside the mine.

Li Changle sat cross-legged, with the grass puppet squatting in front of her. She closed her eyes and concentrated, connecting her consciousness with the Heart of the Spirit Stone, transmitting commands to the grass puppet through her consciousness.

"rise."

The grass puppet stood up.

"Walk."

The grass puppet took three steps forward.

"stop."

The grass puppet stopped in its tracks.

"attack."

The grass puppet's right hand transformed into a grass sword, its leaves sharp as blades. With a forward swing, a sharp sword aura slashed out, splitting a millstone-sized rock in two.

"Guard."

The grass puppet's hands were crossed in front of its chest, and the grass stems intertwined to form a shield, on which runes flowed and spiritual light surged.

Li Changle opened her eyes, her little face full of excitement. She stood up and patted the grass puppet's shoulder. The grass puppet obediently lowered its head, like a well-behaved dog.

"Brother, I can control it now!" She ran up to Li Changsheng, tugged at his sleeve, and smiled so hard her eyes curved into crescent moons.

Li Changsheng nodded and glanced at the Heavenly Book.

[Grass Puppet: Peak Tier 1. Controller: Li Changle. Status: Perfect. Energy Core: Spirit Stone Heart (Current Spiritual Power Reserve: 80%).]

"Not bad." He ruffled his little sister's hair, then turned to Li Changmo, "Pack up, let's go. Xingluoxi, we must get there today."

Li Changmo silently slung the medicine basket over his shoulder and followed behind Li Changle. The grass puppet walked at the very back, its steps steady, like a silent guardian.

The airship rose again and sped towards Xingluo Creek.

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