A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Rogue Cultivator

One of its drawbacks is that the puppet's range of movement cannot exceed ten miles, which is the limit of Wang Li's divine sense perception; otherwise, it will lose its ability to move, and the separated spirit will return to the main body.

The second flaw is that there is a time delay between the puppet receiving a command and taking action, preventing the pilot from acting at will. In direct combat, this can easily be exploited by strong, reactive fighters.

Over three years, after countless failures and wasting countless materials, Wang Li finally crafted more than twenty top-tier level one puppets. Furthermore, using inscription techniques, he constructed a second spiritual energy circuit within each puppet, thus creating puppet cavalry.

Puppet cavalry?

Not bad.

The puppet is good at long-range sniping and concentrated fire attacks, but why can't it fight in melee?

Who says that simple animal puppets and humanoid soldier puppets cannot be combined?

Why can't puppets be equipped with magical artifacts?

After exploring numerous ideas, Wang Li tried them one by one, and the results naturally pleased him.

Let's start with the combination problem.

The second mana circuit, outlined by inscription techniques, forms two closed loops of "two small and one large," thus almost perfectly solving this problem.

Let's talk about close combat.

The reason why puppets are not good at close combat and are not as agile as spirit beasts is mainly due to the insufficient soul and intelligence implanted in them, the time lag between the controller's command and the puppet's soul receiving the command, and the fact that the flow of spiritual energy inside the puppet is not rich, or rather, very monotonous, which affects the puppet's reaction speed and movement rate.

Therefore, Wang Li decided to drive himself.

So he tried to create a special precision chamber inside the puppet to house his own divided spirit; then he used the linking method to construct a more sensitive second spiritual energy circuit with inscription techniques, and like the nervous system of a living being, he covered the entire body of the puppet with the circuit.

The experiment was a success.

In this way, controlling the puppets in battle was no longer a simple matter of issuing commands, but rather a near-automatic control, much like a pilot operating a "Gundam." He transformed that wisp of his attention from the signal receiver and transmitter into that of a semi-pilot.

What is a semi-driver?

Because of the puppet's soul, Wang Lifeng can leave movement and dodging to the puppet beast without interference when necessary, allowing it to react automatically. However, if the puppet's soul is slow to react, he can take control of the puppet's body and perform more precise and agile micro-management.

Normal state: The puppet soul drives the car itself, while he mainly controls the energy cannon, controls the precise firing of energy arrows from the bow, controls the second, third, and fourth cannons added later, and controls the magical artifacts that the main body does not need, which are carried on the back of the puppet or clipped to the waist.

Special case: He took control of both ends and rode by himself.

And so, he almost became an ancient cavalryman.

No, it should be called a cavalry group.

Finally, there's the issue of battery life.

Also due to the inscription technique, an additional sealing technique is added.

The inscription technique lies in the fact that the puppet beasts and puppet soldiers have become a unified entity, thus allowing them to share the spirit stones embedded within each other's bodies. Furthermore, because the person in question is wealthy, the spirit stones used by the six puppet cavalrymen are all mid-grade spirit stones.

The sealing technique involved Wang Li attempting to seal some of his own magical power into the puppet. Although all attempts had failed so far, it did not affect his dream of unleashing the Ten Thousand Swords Return to One.

Ten Thousand Swords Return to Their Origin?

When hundreds or thousands of high-level puppets unleash a Qingyuan sword beam comparable to Wang Li's full-force attack, what else could it be but the Return of Ten Thousand Swords to the Origin?!

The only drawback is that the last three attempts to create a level-two puppet all ended in failure.

Otherwise, with a few level-two puppets protecting you, you can freely venture into the Crimson Forbidden Zone.

"Sigh, there are so many things to do, but so little time."

Chapter 62 The Great Sweep

With the pre-set deadline approaching and his strength having further improved, Wang Li decided to take action.

Unfold a map of the Yue Kingdom.

"The Giant Sword Sect and Tai Nan Valley, jointly established by the Xue family, the Hidden Moon Sect, and the Xu, Yang, Wang, and Li families..."

Based on the principle of minimizing time and trouble, Wang Li identified all the markets marked on the map and then connected them one by one. Before long, after some deliberation, the route forward and the corresponding escape route in case of an accident were outlined.

With a flick of his black robe, the hundreds of first-level high-grade puppet figures and puppet lynxes discarded in the corner swiftly entered a storage bag at Wang Li's waist.

The bag immediately bulged and became perfectly round.

"A 100-cubic-meter storage bag is still too small."

With another wave of his hand, the other twenty-one spotted leopards and six puppet cavalrymen riding spotted leopards also transformed into shrunken streaks of light and entered another storage bag.

As for any trace of his existence here, it was all burned to the ground.

The sound of a sword being drawn rang out.

After a few soft thuds, the passage that had been blocked by rubble was immediately wide open.

With a whoosh, his black robes billowed, dispelling the dust that had enveloped him. A flash of water followed, and the air felt fresh; with a swift movement, he rode away on his sword, heading straight for the nearest market town, Xuejiafang, to the southwest.

Several hours later.

In a misty valley where ordinary people would surely get lost, Wang Li, having restored his magical power to its fullest state, sent a transmission talisman into the valley. Soon, the mist began to surge and disperse, revealing a path, which he then swiftly entered.

The maze was designed to prevent ordinary people from accidentally stumbling upon it.

Although it was just a rudimentary formation that was hardly worth mentioning, Wang Li, who was in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, could almost ignore it. However, he didn't want to offend the local cultivation families right away. So he politely sent out a communication talisman and went through the "newcomer" formalities.

After entering the market, they found a "windwalker" to ask about the layout of the market, and then immediately began a large-scale sweep of the area.

The stalls were the first to be affected.

Using Taobao is a good habit.

Secondly, there are the ordinary shops.

Regardless of whether they are useful or not, let's take a look at the store's prized possessions first.

Finally, there is the most luxurious Tongbao Pavilion.

It contained many high-grade and even top-grade magical artifacts, as well as a considerable number of mid-grade and high-grade talismans. The majority of these were low-grade and mid-grade talismans and mid-to-low-grade magical artifacts used by low-level Qi Refining cultivators. But Wang Li had no need for any of these at the moment.

As a result, he only bought a few kinds of spirit herb seeds that he didn't have, plus a dozen low-level ten-times storage bags for beginner disciples, plus five hundred-times premium bags; then he sold some scraps, got four or five hundred spirit stones, and left dejectedly.

"What kind of junk is this?"

He finally felt the same way Nangong Wan did when she harvested the stone palaces in the forbidden area.

It feels empty.

He wants talisman treasures, top-tier rare magic artifacts, mid-level talismans, or powerful consumables.

But reality told him that he shouldn't have had too much hope for a place run by an ordinary cultivation family. Obtaining that Heavenly Thunder Stone was purely accidental, purely due to his precognitive advantage.

In the world of cultivation, families are divided into: "small cultivation families" with only Qi Refining stage members, "ordinary cultivation families" with Foundation Establishment stage members, and "large cultivation families" with Core Formation stage ancestors.

The Xue family was just an ordinary family.

Of course, families capable of opening markets must have at least a mid-Foundation Establishment stage member in charge, otherwise they won't be able to control the situation.

Next stop, Yanyue Zongfang Market.

Returning to this place, I suddenly felt an indescribable sense of familiarity: I'm here again, have you prepared everything?

Last time, I was too cowardly to bid on more than four Youth Preservation Pills, and I didn't get anything else of value, which was a huge regret. But this time, relying on my peak mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation, a small raid shouldn't be a problem.

As luck would have it, Wang Li happened to be there again at the monthly auction, which was scheduled for tomorrow.

Before that, he decided to make a quick buck.

With a smiling face, an ordinary mask, and a bamboo hat, and dressed in one of dozens of well-fitting outfits prepared from the mortal market, he casually walked into a talisman-making shop.

The markets run by major sects are indeed impressive; the quality of the goods there far surpasses that of small markets run by ordinary cultivation families. For one thing, even mid-level talismans are not something ordinary families would readily part with; they are more often kept as a form of reserve. And indeed, Wang Li, in his recent journey in and out, has quietly acquired several early-stage mid-level talismans.

And right after leaving that seemingly prestigious talisman-making shop, he ran to the nearest small shop.

While the shop owner, who was at the third or fourth level of Qi Refining, turned his back to lead the way, he quickly changed his coat and storage bag.

The shop owner, turning around, was naturally surprised: Where is everyone?

It turned out that in that instant, the face, clothes, and pockets were changed, and the speed was so fast that they had already reached the door, leaving only a wisp of air and a low-level storage bag containing abandoned clothes in the corner.

Next, Wang Li raided large pill shops with small stores, large weapon-refining shops with small stores, large herb shops with small stores, and shops selling spirit beasts, one by one, leaving no stone unturned. He employed a "one large, one small" or "two large, one small" harvesting pattern. It was absolutely impossible for the same person to enter numerous large shops, take away a large quantity of valuable items, and then be targeted by someone with ulterior motives.

In just two hours, the more than 5 low-grade spirit stones he had on him had shrunk by more than half.

Definitely a tycoon.

As night approached, Wang Li set aside about a hundred low-grade spirit stones for emergencies and quickly found a small shop to discuss a "big order".

The market usually operates all night.

It's just that there are far fewer customers at night.

Therefore, his move was not abrupt.

When the auction started the next day, he waved his hand and left two spirit stones for the parched shopkeeper before leaving without taking a single thread with him.

Zhaixing Tower, Old Man Xu, five years have passed, and we meet again.

One cycle, one beginning.

"Fellow Daoist, may these items be included in the upcoming auction?"

He took out two pieces of thousand-year-old spiritual materials for refining weapons and tossed them to Elder Xu, who was in charge of receiving guests.

“Senior, this thousand-year-old spiritual object is a rare and precious item, and should be classified as a treasure.”

Immediately, the old man handed Wang Li a jade token and summoned a pretty girl at the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refining, giving her a few instructions.

"Senior, this way please."

Led by the little girl, Wang Li entered a magnificent hall where more than a dozen people were already seated. His arrival naturally attracted the attention of many. However, upon sensing the aura of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator that he was intentionally displaying, those with insufficient cultivation immediately looked away; those with similar cultivation levels nodded politely; and the two old men with higher cultivation levels scrutinized him with curiosity for a moment.

Wang Li ignored the stares of the others and found a secluded corner to sit down.

In those few breaths, he also noticed that most of the cultivators attending the auction, like him, were wearing masks and bamboo hats. It seemed that no one was stupid and didn't want to be recognized, lest they attract unwanted attention; even members of the Hidden Moon Sect were no exception.

The hall was quiet, and everyone was able to calm down.

But as another fifty or sixty people came in one after another, the quiet became somewhat tense.

A quarter of an hour later, the one on the left of the two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators waved his hand, and the main hall door creaked shut. A middle-aged man then stepped out from behind a curtain.

"Welcome fellow cultivators to our shop for this trade fair. As usual, we will set a base price in spirit stones, and then everyone will compete using spirit stones. If you don't have enough spirit stones, you can pledge your belongings to continue bidding. The specific value of the pledged items will be fairly assessed by the two senior appraisers of the Hidden Moon Sect based on market conditions..."

In short, in an auction, the highest bidder wins.