Translator: AnubisTL
Clang! Clang!
Inside Li Qing's cave abode on Nanyang Spirit Peak, the crisp metallic clanging echoed incessantly.
A puppet, forged entirely from various spirit golds, moved clumsily and stiffly under Li Qing's control.
"It's true what they say—every profession is like a mountain to climb. It seems there's a specific method to operating this puppet, not just imprinting it with a divine sense imprint."
Li Qing frowned deeply, abandoning his attempt to control the puppet.
Ever since acquiring this second-tier puppet, Li Qing had been trying to convert it into combat power.
Yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make the puppet unleash the same formidable power it had displayed during their battle in Sunward City.
The puppet's stiff, awkward movements just now were worlds apart from its performance in that earlier clash!
"Though it's a second-tier puppet, the refining techniques used were merely ordinary—a crude fusion of various spirit golds with no real skill involved."
"The only refinement lies in the precise assembly of its spirit gold components. But even that level of craftsmanship I could achieve back in the qi refining realm."
As an artifact refiner himself, Li Qing couldn't help but critique the puppet's strengths and weaknesses.
He even considered dismantling the puppet to meticulously study its intricate mechanisms.
"After all, it's a second-tier puppet. It would be a waste to just take it apart. What if there are aspects I don't understand?"
In the end, Li Qing rejected the idea.
Though the puppet's refinement techniques appeared crude, without formal training in Puppet Art, he couldn't truly grasp its underlying principles.
"I should keep an eye out for Puppet Art inheritances in the future. Perhaps I can find the proper method to control this puppet."
Regardless, the spirit gold used to refine this second-tier puppet was genuine. If all else failed, Li Qing could dismantle it and repurpose the spirit gold to refine magic artifacts.
Just as Li Qing was about to store the puppet in his storage pouch, his brow suddenly furrowed.
"A puppet... Hiss!"
"I remember acquiring a special puppet refinement secret technique years ago. I wonder if that counts as a Puppet Art inheritance!"
With that thought, Li Qing swiftly retrieved all his storage pouches and began rummaging through them.
After a long moment, he withdrew a thin booklet from a dusty storage pouch. The cover bore three large characters: Wooden Spirit Puppet Art!
Truth be told, Li Qing had almost forgotten about this obscure inheritance, it had been so long since he'd acquired it.
Back when he was still in the qi refining realm, he had resided at Azure Radiance Pool for an extended period, seeking an opportunity to obtain a foundation establishment pill from Daoist Qingyang.
During that time, Liu Hanyue had also sought Daoist Qingyang to refine a foundation establishment pill. She eventually consumed the pill at Azure Radiance Pool and directly began her foundation establishment.
It was then, while serving as a Guardian, that Li Qing had slain several remnants of the Shi Clan. Among their storage pouches, he had discovered this secret technique called Wooden Spirit Puppet Art.
"I've always dismissed this technique, as I never had any use for it and never studied it seriously."
"How careless of me."
With that, Li Qing flipped through the secret technique again, quickly reviewing its contents.
Wooden Spirit Puppet Art!
This was indeed a unique secret technique for crafting puppets, but unlike conventional puppets, it required sacrificing a living spirit tree. By draining the entire tree's life force, one could create a so-called Wooden Spirit Puppet.
Li Qing currently possessed no living spirit trees, though he had planted a Jade Locust Tree in the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm. However, it had been quite some time since he last checked on it, and he had no idea how the tree was faring.
"Although puppets refined using this secret technique could technically be called puppets, I doubt it's related to the so-called Puppet Art inheritance."
Li Qing frowned slightly. He found no methods for controlling puppets within the technique, and the puppet constructed entirely of spirit gold clearly didn't meet the requirements of the Wooden Spirit Puppet Art.
After confirming there was no connection, Li Qing finally stored both the secret technique and the puppet in his storage pouch.
Setting these matters aside for now, his greatest gains from this trip remained the Purple Mansion Spirit Liquid and a small bottle of millennial spirit milk.
"Though the quantities are small, it's an excellent start. I hope the black market will bring me even greater surprises in the future."
Li Qing narrowed his eyes, his voice brimming with anticipation.
However, neither he nor Shen Ningbing could afford to devote too much energy to managing the black market. Neglecting their cultivation for such matters would be counterproductive.
Moreover, the black market was deeply entangled in various affairs, and if it ever caught the Ghost Sword Sect's attention, it could face devastating consequences.
"In the end, I'll need to find some proxies. Being a hands-off shopkeeper behind the scenes is the safest approach."
"But for now, I'm unfamiliar with this place and don't know any trustworthy cultivators. I'll have to start with the orphans in Sunward City."
He planned to have the orphans maintain the black market's daily operations, which offered several advantages:
First, the orphans were all mortals without Spiritual Roots, making them easier to control.
Second, precisely because they were mortals, their activities in Sunward City wouldn't attract undue attention.
Third, and most crucially, these orphans had been displaced by the Ghost Sword Sect, ensuring their backgrounds were absolutely clean.
Of course, there were drawbacks as well.
The black market primarily served immortal cultivators, and ordinary mortals alone couldn't maintain order.
"Even though I've cultivated a mysterious persona, the black market will inevitably attract a steady stream of immortal cultivators. Some clueless individuals will inevitably cause trouble—that's unavoidable."
"It seems the time has come to introduce the new martial path of the World of Eternal Night here."
Over ten days passed.
The black market in Sunward City's north district gradually began to operate at a steady pace.
As Li Qing had predicted, some people who had obtained the Black Iron Tokens exempting them from transaction fees couldn't resist the urge to engage in trade.
One after another, simple stalls and shops began to spring up in the underground plaza.
Initially, the goods for sale were rather ordinary, mostly items used by cultivators in the qi refining realm—nothing that caught Li Qing's eye.
But this was just the beginning. If the market continued to operate smoothly, it would eventually become a treasure trove, drawing in a steady stream of spirit stones.
To secure this stable source of wealth, Li Qing and Shen Ningbing finally selected several orphans from the north district with exceptional willpower and aptitude for the Martial Dao.
In a nondescript alleyway in the north district, Li Qing, his head covered by a black hood, gazed at the dozens of orphans standing before him, their expressions slightly uneasy.
He knew it was time to deliver a rousing speech to brainwash these children.
Stepping forward, Li Qing spoke in a deep, resonant voice:
"Do you want to truly live?"
"No more starving one day and feasting the next, no more wandering homeless, no more living at the mercy of others."
"To hold your own fate in your hands!"
"Do you want to live as I've described?"
As Li Qing spoke, he channeled a sliver of his divine soul power, imbuing his voice with overwhelming charisma.
The orphans before him nodded in unison, and a few even showed a glimmer of longing in their eyes.
"Immortal Master," one of them asked, his voice tinged with resentment, "how can we control our own fate? We lack Spiritual Roots and cannot cultivate. No matter how hard we strive, we'll remain mere mortals our entire lives!"
The boy made no attempt to conceal his ambition for power.
Hearing this, Li Qing nodded in satisfaction. He wasn't afraid of ambition; he was afraid of apathy.
These orphans, carefully selected by him, were proving to be exactly what he needed.
Earlier, he had openly distributed food to many orphans in the north district, deliberately making them targets for other hungry children.
Most of them, fearing harm, had silently surrendered their food, continuing to endure their hunger.
However, some fought back, desperately protecting their food, knowing that starvation meant certain death.
Predictably, these resisters met a grim fate. They lost their food, suffered near-fatal beatings, and were only saved by Li Qing's personal intervention.
A few, however, showed remarkable restraint. They obediently surrendered their food during the day, avoiding a beating, but carefully memorized the faces of their tormentors. That night, armed with sharpened iron tools, they exacted their revenge, one by one.
The first group—those who surrendered without a fight—were not Li Qing's target. Only the latter two groups—those who fought back or bided their time for revenge—possessed the qualities he sought.
In martial arts, valor is paramount!
This was the most profound truth Li Qing had grasped as a Grandmaster of the Martial Dao. A martial artist without valor, no matter how skilled, was nothing more than a coward.
Furthermore, martial artists must possess intellect. Mere passion and courage alone cannot carry one far.
The group before Li Qing now consisted entirely of individuals with valor. Their journey along the new martial path of the qi blood nine revolutions would undoubtedly be smoother than most.
"Lacking a Spiritual Root merely means you cannot cultivate immortality," Li Qing declared. "It does not mean you cannot wield power."
"The Heavenly Dao may have closed one door for you, but it has also left a window open."
"By practicing martial arts, you can indeed master power!"
Upon hearing the words "martial arts," many of the orphans showed disappointment. Now that they knew about the immortal dao, the Martial Dao seemed clearly inferior.
No matter how strong their martial arts became, how could they possibly contend with the Immortal Masters in the city?
"Immortal Master, even the most powerful Grandmasters would be helpless against flying swords and various mystical magic artifacts."
Li Qing chuckled softly. "Paths are forged by those who walk them," he said. "Do you truly believe the Grandmaster Realm is the pinnacle of the Martial Dao?"
"No, others have already paved a longer path. The Martial Dao extends far beyond the Grandmaster Realm."
"The next stage is called the Qi Blood Nine Revolutions. If you can master this path, even ordinary qi refining realm cultivators will be no match for you!"
The orphans' eyes lit up with excitement.
"Immortal Master, is this truly possible?"
Li Qing adopted a mysterious tone. "Why not try it for yourselves? Do you have any other choice?"
(End of the Chapter)
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