Demonic Demoness Training Project

Lu Li's words were not exaggerated. His face was expressionless, and his voice was devoid of any extra emotion. To others, he sounded serious and genuine.

Upon seeing this, Ying Wange nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied with Lu Li's answer.

"Yes, that's good. I hope all disciples will take him as an example and work diligently to improve."

Thus, the competition came to a final close.

……

Afterwards, Lu Li went to redeem his brilliant bet.

If we were to say who the biggest winner of this betting was, it would undoubtedly be herself, because she not only won by betting on herself to take the crown, but also placed the largest bet.

Three thousand spirit stones instantly multiplied nineteenfold, becoming fifty-seven thousand spirit stones, resulting in a net profit of fifty-four thousand spirit stones.

He had spent almost all his spirit stones on purchasing various spiritual materials and cores, but now he suddenly has plenty again.

In addition, the Holy Maiden receives a monthly stipend of one thousand spirit stones, plus a monthly reimbursement of two thousand spirit stones for spiritual materials. Lu Li can use the former freely, while the latter is subject to certain restrictions. He needs to report the specific types of spiritual materials he purchases to the sect, and any unused materials cannot be carried over to the next month.

Such an astronomical salary is something even some elders don't receive. The Holy Maiden and Holy Son have various privileges within the sect comparable to, and in some cases even surpassing, those of some elders.

Chapter 158 The Saintess Who Fell From Grace Upon Taking Office

Not to mention anything else, just the Heavenly Pavilion alone offers top-notch treatment. You can freely enter and exit the fourth and fifth floors without being charged any spirit stones.

In addition, there is the true teachings of the Lingtu Ancestor.

This is the reward for this competition, which can be considered as a form of support for the winning disciples. The support provided in previous years has varied.

Most of these supports are of the inheritance type and have extremely high upper limits, which is equivalent to providing the holy son or holy daughter with a lineage that can be comprehended, from which they can comprehend the three-stage and advanced puppet.

Lu Li received this inheritance from the sect's treasury. It took the form of several fragments of the Spirit Core, with a bright white surface and extremely complex and mysterious magic arrays engraved inside.

Many years have passed, and even though the Spirit Core has long been shattered, leaving only these scattered fragments, and the magic array within has been worn down, it still contains a mysterious power that invigorates those who see it.

This is a fragment of a fifth-stage spirit core. When a spirit core develops to the fifth stage, it involves the invocation of the laws of heaven and earth, making it very difficult to mass-produce. Most fifth-stage spirit cores are personally refined by cultivators, and depending on their purpose, the refining methods and processes are different, making them mostly difficult to replicate.

Lu Li was unable to refine it because he did not have the Yan Tu at all. The formation of the spirit core had a long history, and the major sects strictly controlled it.

The process used for the Spirit Core is special, and its production is divided into hundreds of steps. It is handed over to inner disciples to refine. Each disciple can only get involved in one or two steps. Moreover, most of these disciples indirectly produce it by manipulating puppets, and it is difficult for them to see the specific structure, magic array and principle.

Currently, given his position within the sect, he has access to the diagrams of these spirit cores, but only to spirit cores below the second rank and eighth type. Diagrams for higher-rank spirit cores above the second rank are controlled by various mid-tier sects.

Some sects have elders who can refine third-grade spirit cores, but only low-grade ones. Their performance is similar to that of high-grade second-grade spirit cores, but their cost is much higher. Mid-tier sects have a bottleneck in this area, and even the White Moon Palace has to rely on imports.

Lu Li carefully put away the fragment of the fifth-rank spirit core. Before leaving, the elder guarding the treasure vault mentioned something:

"This thing is not easy to comprehend. Even the ancestor couldn't see through it back then. As for how much you can comprehend, it all depends on your destiny in the future."

"Yes, thank you for your guidance, Elder."

Afterwards, Lu Li headed towards his cave dwelling.

Along the way, he encountered many disciples, all of whom treated him with utmost respect, constantly referring to him as Saintess Deer.

Lu Li felt embarrassed, her face flushed, and after giving a few perfunctory replies, she ran away as fast as she could.

Saintess? How shameful! Why isn't she a saint? Why isn't she a saint?

Previously, only outer disciples recognized her as the Glorious Saintess, but now even inner disciples call her that.

Back then, he carefully infiltrated the sect and witnessed his senior brother, who was disguised as a woman, being beheaded. Lu Li was terrified at the time. Now, as time has passed, his identity as a man has not only remained unexposed, but he has also become the sect's holy maiden.

The transformation and hardships involved are truly heartbreaking.

"Hehehe, this is called—having been in the sect for over a year, yet unaware that the Holy Maiden is a man."

"Shut up, you old geezer, what kind of rubbish are you singing? It's awful."

"Oh ho, now you know how to be shy? This isn't something you fought for, you unfilial disciple, just accept your fate. Anyway, you little brat don't have many days left to live, so just accept it, hehehe..."

"Goo~"

Lu Li returned to his cave in a huff, only to find several people standing at the entrance.

"Your Majesty, you've finally returned! This is a small token of my appreciation; please accept it. I'll be taking my performance evaluation next month, so please put in a good word for me with the elders."

"Congratulations, Senior Sister Lu, on becoming a Holy Maiden! And me too! I've prepared a small gift, and I hope the Holy Maiden won't find it offensive~"

As they spoke, everyone rushed forward, each carrying a fruit basket.

The fruit basket was filled entirely with pears, some the size of a pear and others the size of a watermelon.

Damn it, it seems like the whole clan knows she likes pears and they even need to ask her for favors?

Does he seem like the kind of person who would embezzle and accept bribes, the kind of person who would say things like, "This is a bit difficult for you, but it would be great if you had some premium pears"?

Lu Li recognized the pear, which was about the size of a regular pear; it was a Su Xin pear, and he had eaten quite a few of them recently. As for the pear, which was about the size of a watermelon…

"What kind of pear is this? It's so big! *gurgle*"

Lu Li couldn't help but swallow.

"This is the Hundred-Year-Old Jade Pear No. 30 from the premium fairy fruit series launched by Hecheng Chamber of Commerce. It is produced from a hundred-year-old spiritual plant. Only one out of every hundred catties of jade pears can be selected to become a spirit and transform into a Hundred-Year-Old Jade Pear."

"Such a miraculous effect! What does this 'thirty' mean?"

"It refers to the price. This item is priced at thirty spirit stones per piece."

"hiss--"

Lu Li gasped.

He wants thirty spirit stones for a pear? Why doesn't he just rob us?

He likes to eat pears, simply because they are relatively inexpensive, and only recently, with a little more money in his pocket, has he been able to enjoy plain pears occasionally.

Lu Li would absolutely not be willing to spend thirty spirit stones just for the sake of satisfying his appetite.

"Your Holiness, you may not know this, but the flesh of this Hundred-Year Jade Pear is like frost, and it doesn't leave any residue when you eat it. It can accelerate the circulation of spiritual energy in the body. Just one of these pears is equivalent to the effects of a hundred Pure Heart Pears."

"Oh, it even has an effect on cultivation?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Li wavered. Since it also had an effect on cultivation, perhaps it wouldn't be a bad thing to indulge in it occasionally on a small scale if he had some spare money?

Lu Li was torn between her inner thoughts and her own, and she made a token refusal:

"Hey, no, no, no! Take it away! What are you doing? You've made me suffer!"

However, Lu Li could not refuse the disciples' earnest invitation, so he had no choice but to reluctantly accept it.

After returning to his cave and closing the door, Lu Li realized that he seemed to have fallen into depravity and corruption. The new Holy Maiden had only been in office for less than three days, how could he have become corrupt?

I should have regretted it, I should have regretted it!

After reflecting for a full three seconds, he couldn't help but glance at the exquisitely decorated little fruit basket on the ground and began to ponder.

"Should we eat the huge Bailing Jade Pear first, or this tiny little pear?"

While talking to himself, Lu Li pointed to the small Su Xin Pear, then to the large Bai Ling Jade Pear, and finally to himself.

Lu Li, Lu Li, where is your conscience?!

Lu Li asked himself a question, his face flushed with shame and guilt.

But aren't these and those all mine? It doesn't matter which one I eat first, right?

After some thought, Lu Li finally understood. He picked up the Hundred-Year-Old Jade Pear, cut off a small piece, examined it carefully, and scanned it repeatedly with his divine sense. After confirming that there were no problems, he finally put it in his mouth.

His molars squeezed the crisp fruit flesh, and juice burst in his mouth in an instant! Whether it was psychological or not, Lu Li's spiritual energy surged, and its circulation rate was more than 30% faster than usual.

As expected, you get what you pay for. Thirty spirit stones per piece, almost the minimum cost of a first-stage crafting weapon.

Lu Li cut off one-eighth of the Hundred-Year-Old Jade Pear and placed it on the table. He then carefully sealed and refrigerated the remaining Hundred-Year-Old Jade Pear, intending to save it for later.

It's not that he can't eat more, it's that he's reluctant to eat more.

Then, he took out the fragments of the Spirit Core and carefully examined them. Before he could explore them, a wave emanated from these fragments, sweeping over his entire body.

Immediately afterwards, a voice suddenly rang in Lu Li's mind.

"After searching for eternity, I have finally found my kindred spirit; my path is not lonely."

The voice sounded very eerie, like a mouth that uttered both a male and a female voice at the same time, and only said this one sentence before falling silent again.

"What does this mean? What does it mean that 'I am not alone in my path'? Will other people have the same reaction when they comprehend these fragments?"

Lu Li was somewhat confused, but Duan Xuanyuan understood perfectly. He secretly sighed that it was indeed the work of the Spirit Map Ancestor, who even favored his fellow practitioners when leaving behind his true teachings.

The higher-ups of the White Moon Palace tried their best but couldn't figure it out, while Lu Li was just right. The puppet's design was also the work of the Spirit Map Ancestor.

Immediately afterwards, a piece of text was projected from the fragments. These texts had been blurred and obscured by the passage of time, but the three characters at the top were clearly visible to Lu Li—[Spirit Image Instrument].

Chapter 159 A single glance reveals the illusions of the mortal world; the true and false of all phenomena become clear.

"Lingtu Instrument? A mechanical device named after Lingtu Patriarch's own Dharma name? It looks very powerful."

Seeing this, Lu Li immediately became interested and began to read the contents carefully. The opening lines boldly stated—

A single glance reveals the illusions of the mortal world; truth and falsehood are clearly distinguished among all phenomena.

"Oh, it's not an ordinary mechanical device. With the help of this spirit chart instrument, it can also cast a pupil technique that can see through illusions."

Lu Li continued reading. Specifically, the so-called seeing through illusion can be broken down into three parts: checking for omissions, dispelling illusions, and recognizing people.

Finding loopholes means seeing through the flaws in formations and mechanisms. It is very useful whether you are checking your own deduced diagrams or seeing through the weaknesses of your opponent's supernatural abilities in a duel.

Breaking through illusion means distinguishing between reality and illusion. Lu Li had suffered from this more than once before. First, he fell into the illusion array set up by the Venerable, and then he fell into the mental tribulation, unable to break free in a short period of time.

As for judging people... there are some things to say about that.

When Lu Li first saw this term, he thought it meant to examine a person's character, but that was not the case. Here, "knowing a person" simply refers to distinguishing whether the other person is a living soul or a spirit created by a person.

Within this vast sect, there are tens of thousands of inner disciples, and it's unknown how many puppets are mixed in among them. First-stage puppets can be easily identified by their appearance alone due to their craftsmanship, but second- and third-stage puppets are even more finely crafted, and their appearance alone may not be enough to distinguish them.

Take Mu Sixian for example. If Lu Li hadn't known the information beforehand, he wouldn't have been able to tell that this guy was a puppet.

Many cultivators have modified their bodies. For example, Lu Li replaced his outer skin with Qingming Painted Skin, which at first glance could be mistaken for a puppet.

Furthermore, some cultivators, although their bodies are entirely puppets, are not spirits of the artifacts, but rather souls that have been possessed.

Looking across the entire cultivation world, there are many such examples.

The principle behind the Spirit Chart Instrument is not difficult. It doesn't care about the appearance of the object, but directly probes the spiritual fluctuations emitted by it. If the object is a spirit, it can be seen through at a glance with the Spirit Chart Instrument.

"With this, it will be much easier for me to use the Token of the Past in the future. At least I can tell at a glance who the spirit is... It's a perfect match."

"This artifact ranges from level two to level five. The higher the level, the better the effect. I've crafted quite a few level two Soul Dao artifacts recently, so I'll try crafting one."

Lu Li continued reading and found that the second-stage sculpted diagrams were basically complete, but the diagrams for the third and fifth stages were incomplete. It might be difficult to restore and refine them in the future.

The reason is simple: Lu Li only obtained fragments of the Spirit Core. It is a miracle that so much content could be preserved in just a few pieces. It also indirectly proves that the Spirit Diagram Ancestor's mastery of the Dao is remarkable.

After organizing the second-stage sculpted diagram, Lu Li put away the fragments, left the cave, went to the fifth floor of the Heavenly Pavilion, and ordered a third-stage, nine-type ice spirit core.

He had no way to buy the Taixu version; the Three-Turn Nine-Type Spirit Core had long been sold out. Even after placing an order, it would take at least four months to refine it. Fortunately, Lu Li had the status of a sect's Holy Maiden, otherwise she wouldn't even be qualified to buy a Three-Turn Nine-Type Spirit Core.

The full amount is 32,000 spirit stones, and the deposit is 3,000 spirit stones.

This spirit core was purchased in the name of the sect's holy maiden, and the sect was aware of this. Lu Li was even able to get part of the expenses reimbursed by the sect.

"That's great, the Saintess's taste is really good. She reimburses me two thousand every month. Over time, how much money will that save me?"

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but hum and groan. Considering it this way, the price of being called "saintess" by others didn't seem so bad.

Lu Li clearly remembered that when he was in the form of a future body, there were three spirit cores embedded in the frozen machine: a three-stage nine-type ice spirit core, a two-stage six-type Taiyin spirit core, and a three-stage eight-type water spirit core.

Among them, the most crucial one is the Ice Spirit Core. As long as it can be equipped, it will undoubtedly provide the greatest boost to him.

The Taiyin Spirit Core is extremely special. Although it is a second-stage spirit core, it is not available for sale. Its attributes are too special and do not fall under the Five Elements. Lu Li plans to try to deduce it himself.

As for the remaining water spirit cores and the third-stage spirit cores of other organs, we'll deal with them when we have more money later.

"This is really expensive. To put it all together, it would take at least tens of thousands of spirit stones."

Once this set of equipment is assembled, the improvement in his strength will be immediate.

This matter aroused a sense of absurdity in Lu Li's heart. Could it be that when cultivators fight, if they are of the same realm, use the same type of puppet, and have similar combat skills, the only thing left to compare is who has a higher spiritual core configuration?

No wonder Mu Sixian was overlooked during her lifetime. If she had no start-up capital, no matter how talented she was, could she have surpassed the Great Dream Profound Pivot, which has four cores running in parallel and a single core with a maximum deduction speed of eight times?

……

A month later, Lu Li successfully crafted the Spirit Chart Instrument.