Starting with the consumables of the Demonic Sect, one can barely achieve immortality.

Before heading to Biyue Palace, Yan Cheng had spent time reading many books about ancient secrets—which he obtained by exchanging a large amount of corpse energy with Tian Tong.

The reason is simple: in this world, knowledge truly represents power.

The deeper a monk's understanding of history, the greater his spiritual attainment.

The benefits it brings are not limited to its use in this exploration.

Although the books that the Hall of Longevity allowed him to read must have undergone rigorous screening and review.

Ensure that every word and sentence aligns with the stance of the Immortal Sect and the Palace.

But isn't history like that everywhere? It's always better to know more than to know nothing.

As far as Yan Cheng knew, the art of mechanical devices was even more advanced in ancient times than it is today.

Throughout the Celestial Dynasty, large-scale mechanical armored personnel were deployed to guard key locations, allowing the direct lineage of True Lords and True Men to detach themselves from worldly affairs and focus on their cultivation.

As for why modern people's mastery of mechanical arts can never compare with that of ancient cultivators?

The answer is quite simple: besides the well-known fact that the lineage was lost, there is another crucial reason.

The ancient mechanical armored warriors were filled with cultivators who had been turned into corpse puppets.

The Northern Immortal Dynasty's crackdown on "wild cultivators" who delve into the Dao of the Netherworld does not mean they will hesitate to use the art of raising corpse puppets.

Conversely, in an era when the inheritance of talismans, arrays, pills, and artifacts far surpassed that of the present, the methods that could be manipulated within the Immortal Dynasty were only faster and more diverse.

Yan Cheng stared coldly at the armored giant before him:

Even in that prosperous era when achieving the Core Formation stage was as rare as a dog and Nascent Soul stage cultivators were everywhere, the number of lower-level cultivators was still insufficient to meet the enormous demand for armored warriors in various regions.

"The giants, born with the attribute of [Cold Qi] and a strong physique, and situated at the very bottom of the Immortal Abode's hierarchy of contempt, naturally became the best raw materials for crafting armored warriors."

"Damn it, the Taiyin Immortal Sect's mentality of treating lower-level cultivators like expendable resources is truly reminiscent of ancient immortal dynasties!"

The giant was a demon, and Yan Cheng was a human, so he didn't feel much sympathy for the former.

He was acutely aware that in the eyes of those high-ranking cultivators, he was no different from the guy in front of him, and far less useful.

"This guy... didn't revive under the stimulation of the [Whispering Bell]'s chimes; it seems his life force has been completely exhausted."

Even the ghoul-eating puppets whose souls have been taken by the Soul-Capturing Bell will still act according to their instinctive craving for souls.

"This guy's condition is probably worse than I imagined..."

Is it because it has lost its master?

Yan Cheng knew that the reason why a corpse puppet was a corpse puppet was because there was no soul remaining in its body.

Without a soul, there is no intelligence, which forces them to act like animals that also lack intelligence.

Tigers and leopards will eat any living creature they see, and the corpse puppets will devour any soul or vital energy they see—it's that simple and direct.

This also means that, without a cultivator controlling them, the harm they can cause is actually much smaller than that of the living corpses that retain more remnants of their souls.

However, this also means that if unforeseen circumstances arise, Yan Cheng will not be able to suppress the opponent's mind with the Black Gold Corpse Control Ring as he did when dealing with Wang Qing.

Even those with incomplete or damaged souls are classified into different levels.

When a person dies, their soul is reduced by three parts, and after the seventh day after death, it is reduced by another six parts.

Those whose physical bodies are awakened while only a fragment of their soul remains are called living corpses in the cultivation world.

At this point, the deceased has essentially lost the capacity for normal thought and reason.

The cultivators crafted corpse puppets and took away even the last remaining fragment of the soul.

However, since the physical body was once the place where the soul resided, a wisp of remnant spirit still remains, which is the reason why the corpse puppet still has the ability to hunt on its own.

The ring in Yan Cheng's hand can subdue corpse cultivators whose souls still remain, but it has no way to deal with living corpses and corpse puppets.

This is also why the Emperor felt at ease bestowing the warning upon him in the palace, not fearing that he would seize the corpse puppets stored in the palace in the blink of an eye.

"Right now, we can only hope that this guy behaves himself and doesn't cause any trouble..."

Yan Cheng formed the hand seals for the "Frost and Snow Body" escape technique in his palm and carefully walked to the guard of the palace.

But their attention was immediately drawn to the sight on her chest.

A long sword was deeply embedded in the armor of the guard, with the blade completely submerged and only the dark purple hilt protruding from the armor.

Yan Cheng's other hand was still holding the Moonlit Seal, and the Hidden Immortal Mirror was clearly visible. This sword was undoubtedly a Foundation Establishment level magic sword!

Name: Qingping

Category: Magic Sword

"Description: One of the famous swords of the Zhou Dynasty, forged in imitation of the ancient immortal sword [Floating Duckweed], and was once the sword used by the wandering immortal [Dancheng] when he was building his foundation."

"Forged entirely from extraterrestrial meteorite iron, it subtly embodies the imagery of the [Upper Yin], making it the finest choice among swords for casting corresponding spells."

[Upper Yin] Magic Sword!

The allure of this item to Yan Cheng was greater than any cultivation technique or method in the world.

Where in this world can one find any spiritual beings of the Yin realm?

Even when he was cultivating the "Shangyin Heaven Corpse Path Chapter", he could only use the Shangyue Gui Qingyin Xuanhua to condense Shangyin Star Flame by analogy.

Not to mention it's a gleaming magic sword that perfectly matches the imagery of "Upper Yin"!

Although Yan Cheng's current cultivation level is far from sufficient to control this thing.

Trying to suppress it into its Qi Palace would be tantamount to courting death.

However, this item will surely come in very handy in the future. Even if he can no longer find a suitable technique to use with this sword, simply holding a sword that matches his own lineage will be enough to elevate his combat power to a higher level.

It's perfect to store it in the Immortal-Hiding Mirror!

Yan Cheng's gaze was burning with passion.

The rank of the Hidden Immortal Mirror is undoubtedly far superior to that of a magic sword.

It can even contain the Unstable Mist at the Core Formation level, let alone the [Azure Lotus] at the Foundation Establishment level!

Moreover, given Deng Jian and Pei Yi's discerning eyesight, there was no way they could judge the value of this magic sword, saving them the trouble of killing someone to silence them!

Even the fierce aura that Yu Jiwei was brimming with uncontrollable energy reflected in the Hidden Immortal Mirror made him hesitate for a moment about the potential consequences of drawing his magic sword.

But the temptation was so great that it far outweighed any aversion to risk.

At this moment, Yan Cheng truly realized that no matter how much he usually criticized the conduct of the Immortal Sect, he was ultimately a true member of the Immortal Sect.

Schemes and scheming, meritocracy... these are merely the outward manifestations of the Immortal Sect's style of doing things.

The core of the Immortal Sect's thinking lies in the word "greed," in the endless pursuit of profit!

Yan Cheng reached out, grasped the sword hilt, and pulled it out with all his might.

With a clang, the armor plates on the giant halberd guard's chest shattered and fell to the ground, clearly broken instantly by the sword, but then frozen back together by the frost generated by the magic sword and the armor.

Yan Cheng looked at the magic sword in his hand, only to see that only a small part of the sword blade remained in front of the hilt.

The giant halberd guard in front of us, who possessed the combat power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, was actually killed here by a broken sword!