Demonic Demoness Training Project

Immediately afterwards, the two elders engaged in a fierce battle, causing the cave to collapse and rubble to fall in a shower.

The more the battle raged, the more alarmed Hou Ze became. His opponent's body had only just broken through to the Creation Realm, while he was at the peak of the Creation Realm, wielding a fourth-rank puppet weapon, yet he was still unable to defeat his opponent.

“Junior Sister Duan, the Grand Elder will be here soon. If you hand over the Reversed Heavenly Dipper Instrument and Qingling’s Scroll, I can plead for you.”

Duan Xuanyuan knew that what the other party said was true; as long as the Grand Elder came, she would never be able to fight two against one.

"You're dreaming! I never intended to leave here alive. Reserve spiritual energy core, open it now!"

As she spoke, Duan Xuanyuan mobilized the remaining spiritual power in her body, and an ice lotus was spat out from her mouth. It was the spiritual core of this puppet.

boom!

With a loud bang, the ice lotus burst into bloom, causing not only Jade Brocade Peak to crumble and turn into an iceberg, but also causing the sixteen peaks of Qingyang Palace to tremble.

As the smoke and dust cleared, Hou Ze struggled to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Looking at the chaotic scene at Yujin Peak, his face turned ashen.

At this moment, Yang Jue walked over from a distance. Faced with such a scene, he was still shaken. After a moment's hesitation, he cautiously asked:

"Is that woman really dead?"

“Probably… no, that’s not right. I know her. My junior sister is very shrewd. I reckon she’s probably faking her death again, trying to trick some boy into making the Qingling female puppet so she can possess his body and be reborn. Find her for me. Even if you have to turn this Jade Brocade Peak upside down, find her for me.”

Chapter 5 Baby, shall we take out a loan?

On the gray street, a mechanical wooden crow fluttered up from a branch, startling the birds also on the treetops, and flew straight towards Lu Li.

"Quack, sir. You have a debt to repay, worth a total of thirty-six spirit stones and two thousand four hundred and twenty coins."

Judging from the sound and tone, this wooden crow didn't seem to be the same one from last night, but when Lu Li heard the string of numbers at the end, his heart skipped a beat.

"How come it's more than yesterday? Eighty more coins."

"Quack, interest is seventy-nine coins."

"You calculate interest daily?"

The cool morning air filled the boy's lungs, and he felt a strong sense of suffocation. He had been hoping to pass the assessment at the end of the month and work hard to get a raise so he could pay off his loan as soon as possible. But Lu Li was horrified to find that his daily salary was less than the interest.

"Quack, Qingyang Palace Law Enforcement Hall reminds you that your debt is about to become overdue. If you fail to pay it off by the end of the month, we will take special measures."

"But I really don't have any money."

"Quack, esteemed guest, our palace has recently launched the Five Organs Loan. If you have any unused organs at home, you can use them to offset your debts, up to two hundred spirit stones."

"God, which of your five internal organs is idle? Tell me, your heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys."

Lu Li almost cursed on the spot, but he swallowed the rest of his sentence. He thought about it and realized that a person's kidneys were indeed essentially unused, and selling one wouldn't kill him.

But has he really fallen so low as to sell his kidney to survive?

Faced with the choice between his life and his kidneys, Lu Li decisively chose the former. He swallowed hard and asked cautiously:

"Approximately what price range?"

"Quack, here are the reference prices for each organ. The specific price will vary depending on individual physical conditions."

"Blood costs 200 coins per pound, bone marrow costs 3,000 copper coins per pound, bones cost 16 spirit stones per set, each heart costs 12 spirit stones, each liver costs 5 spirit stones, each spleen costs 7 spirit stones, each lung costs 7 spirit stones, and each kidney costs 3 spirit stones..."

"Stop, don't rush, let me calculate it."

Leaving aside blood, bones, and skin, Lu Li had no idea of ​​the value of this piece. He first calculated the total price of his five internal organs, which was a whopping forty-four spirit stones. In other words, as long as he could sell his five internal organs, he would have more than enough to pay off his debts.

But if he wants to live, the most he can do is have his blood and bone marrow removed, or have his kidneys cut off, which is not enough to pay off his debts.

This was the first time Lu Li had realized that his body was so valuable. However, when all his flesh, blood, bones, and internal organs were put together to form a living person, they became worthless.

He rented his body to the landlord, selling his energy and lifespan for a mere eight hundred coins a month.

"The way you're saying it, I'm less valuable alive than dead."

"Sir, that's not the case. We only accept fresh organs. If your body has decomposed, we won't accept it."

Why are kidneys so cheap?

"Quack, as the saying goes, scarcity makes things valuable. There are too many people selling kidneys, so of course they're cheap. If you don't sell, there are plenty of others who will."

The eyes of the wood jay are blood-red, gleaming coldly in the morning mist. Deeper in the fog, many more wood jays perch on branches or in corners, motionless, like true scavengers, waiting for him to die so they can come up and peck at his entrails.

"Quack, what's your decision?"

"I...I don't want the five-organ loan, I won't give you anything."

As soon as he finished speaking, the wooden crow's flapping wings faltered, and it immediately fell to the ground, beginning to convulse violently.

"Glitch, quack, glitch..."

"I told you, I won't give you my organs. You don't need to react like this. Hey, don't try to extort me. I didn't touch you. You broke yourself."

Sensing something was wrong, Lu Li first distanced himself from the situation, then turned to run away. He didn't know the value of the wooden crow, but it was definitely not something he could afford to pay for.

As Lu Li ran, he heard someone talking behind him. The voice was hoarse and indistinct, and the content of their conversation left Lu Li completely bewildered.

"Cough cough cough, damn it, we finally escaped! You wicked disciple, just you wait! Humph! When I get back, I will definitely clean house."

Escape?

A wicked disciple?

Clean house?

Although Lu Li didn't know what was going on, the more he knew, the more dangerous it would be. He had a strong premonition that the wooden crow seemed to be acting strangely.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

I heard a soft flapping sound from behind, and it was getting closer and closer.

"Child, don't run away, stop right there for this old woman."

"I told you, I don't want that 'five organs loan'. I won't give you anything. Your price is outrageous. You want to buy half of my kidney for three spirit stones? No way! I'd rather starve to death than take out a loan from your mother."

"Three spirit stones for half a kidney? Wow, such a low cost price, and they sell it to me for five spirit stones right after turning around. How can this black-hearted sect even cheat the elders?"

The wooden crow's voice sounded somewhat surprised. Lu Li ran wildly down the street without looking back, and the wooden crow's voice came from behind him again.

"We don't need your three spirit stones. Kid, stop for now. We have other services, and the price is negotiable."

"Nobody believes that. You just want my kidneys? I'd rather die than give them to you."

As soon as he heard the price of the kidney, Lu Li had already made up his mind. He would go back, pack his things, and run away. At worst, he would leave Nanyang Town to hide from his debts and never come back. He didn't believe that the whole world was under the control of Qingyang Palace.

If he can't pay it back, can't he at least avoid me?

A deadbeat? That's exactly what a deadbeat is!

You all forced me to do this!

As Lu Li thought this angrily, he heard the bird's call growing fainter and fainter until it disappeared completely. He looked back and finally breathed a sigh of relief, but he dared not linger any longer. He turned and left the town, walked for half an hour, and returned to his home, locking the wooden door behind him.

The sun had already risen. Lu Li leaned against the door, his body slumping to the ground as if all his strength had given way. A figure landed right on his face. He looked up slightly and noticed that a woman was hanging from the rafters of his house, swaying gently in mid-air.

This wasn't the first time Lu Li had seen a dead person in this life, but it was the first time he had seen someone hanged. Strangely, he felt neither fear nor sadness; he didn't even want to cry.

Lu Li felt that he should have a good cry at this moment, but after trying to gather his emotions, he found that he couldn't cry at all.

Not only could he not cry, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Hahaha……"

He was like an outsider; the woman swinging on the swing had nothing to do with him. It was as if this wasn't his home, but a dilapidated temple. He was on the run from debt collectors and happened to stop here, and happened to see this corpse he had never seen before.

Lu Li took the woman's body down from the roof beam, dug a hole in the backyard, and hastily buried it. He wanted to pack his things and escape as soon as possible, but his body wouldn't obey him. After working all night, he felt a tightness in his chest.

So he lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed) and fell into a deep sleep. He didn't know how much time had passed when he was awakened by a soft noise at the door.

Knock knock knock~

It sounds like someone, no, it sounds like something is knocking on the door.

"Son, how about a loan?"

Chapter 6: I'll never take out a loan in this lifetime.

"Son, how about a loan?"

A hoarse hooting came from outside, as if an old man was speaking outside the door.

Lu Li's sleepy eyes widened instantly. He sat up abruptly, got off the kang (a heated brick bed), and walked nervously to the door. Through the narrow gap in the door panel, Lu Li could vaguely see a wooden crow standing outside his door.

The debt collectors are at the door?!

"You can leave now. I don't sell kidneys anymore, but I will definitely pay you back."

Lu Li said that he planned to get rid of Mu Ya first, and then pack his things and run away as soon as possible.

"Child, I have a good business opportunity for you. Don't rush to refuse. Let me finish."

Lu Li was quite certain that any good thing wouldn't happen to him; this guy just wanted his kidneys, his internal organs, and his spiritual root.

"I'll install a mechanical puppet for you now. If you can forge an identical puppet within a limited time, it's yours."

"A mechanical device?"

Lu Li had heard of this mechanical device. Cultivators in this world relied on mechanical arts for training and had all modified their bodies.

The suffering of flesh and blood versus the ascension of machinery—how can the frail flesh and blood we are born with compare to the mechanisms forged by craftsmen?

Mechanical devices are the source of power for cultivators. With these devices, cultivators can break through the limits of mortals, ascend to the heavens and descend to the earth, and move mountains and fill seas.

The cultivators spent all their wealth and painstaking efforts to develop even more powerful magical artifacts, hoping to one day ascend to immortality through them.

How could such a good thing exist in this world? Lu Li didn't believe that such a good thing would fall into his lap. His struggles in two lifetimes had taught him to question any pie that fell from the sky.

There must be something fishy going on here.

"What's the price? What is the price?"

"The price is that you mortgage your original organs. If you fail to forge the corresponding mechanical organs within a month, as the price for breach of contract, I will keep your organs and take back the mechanisms."

"Get the hell out of here, I knew it wouldn't be anything good."

Are you kidding me? Asking him to forge mechanical artifacts?

Only a puppeteer can forge puppets. A puppeteer must be proficient in both welding and clamping techniques. Welding is responsible for welding magic arrays, while clamping is responsible for shaping components.

In the words of my past life, the former is equivalent to soldering circuit boards in an electronics factory, while the latter is equivalent to working in a machine tool factory, hammering iron and screws.

Only those who are proficient in both welding and clamping, and who have honed their skills to the highest level, can be called puppet masters. Only then can they independently craft puppets. In the words of the previous life, this is called an all-rounder.

The stamping workshop where Lu Li works only produces some mechanical components. The various stamping workshops cooperate with each other to assemble the parts together. After further processing, they can finally be assembled into the mechanical device.

Doesn't this still require his kidneys?

He felt it was better to simply flee to another place to escape his debts. Even if he had the weapon, what could he do? He couldn't very well use it to rob a bank.

“You all want me dead. I will never take out a loan in my life. Forget about it.”

"Ah, I will guide you on how to refine it."

"I don't believe you for a second. You think you'd be kind enough to help me?"

"Hehehe, you'll come looking for me soon, oh, they should be here by now."

"What's here?"

The wooden crow didn't answer, but suddenly flew into the woods. Lu Li didn't know what it was saying, but he felt inexplicably uneasy. He slept from morning until evening.

Since he is destined to be unable to repay the money, he cannot stay in this place. People from Qingyang Palace may come at any time. Rather than waiting for the debt collectors to come to his door, he might as well run away now.

Lu Li quickly packed his luggage. He rummaged through his belongings and found a string of copper coins, totaling fifteen coins. This was all his possessions.

Then came a change of clothes and a pair of straw sandals. Lu Li didn't know where he was going or how far he would have to go, so he didn't dare to bring too much stuff.

Then, there were only five green pears left at home. This was his food before he reached the next town. From then on, he planned to find some wild fruits on the road or do odd jobs to make a living.

Lu Li packed these things up, slung them on his back, and was about to leave when he turned back. He took a wood-chopping knife from the wall and a kitchen knife from beside the chopping board, hanging them on his waist.

If he encounters danger, these two knives will be his last resort to fight for his life.

Lu Li was somewhat confused. Although the technology of the puppetry system in this world was quite advanced, no less than that of his previous life, the lives of ordinary people had not improved. They still used kitchen knives to cut vegetables, firewood to cook, and heated beds to keep warm. People worked themselves to the bone but still couldn't get enough to eat or wear, and were dirt poor.