Chapter 15: The Puppet of the Universe - Young Noble Be Monster Slaying

Chapter 15: The Puppet of the Universe The sun was shining bright, and the flowers were blooming with joy. Silver Sword Peak welcomed another beautiful morning with clear skies and chirping birds. Chu Liang stepped out of his small wooden cabin, stretched lazily, and loosened his muscles. With his master away for a few days, he was technically the peak lord of Silver Sword Peak, feeling a sense of authority and power. Of course, even when Empress Phoenix returned, he would still be the deputy peak lord. After basking in the sun for a while, he returned to his room, carefully closing the door behind him. There was work to be done. After returning from the Southern Domain Mountain last night at a late hour, he had parted ways with the disciples of Jade Sword Peak and returned alone to Silver Sword Peak to rest. Now it was time to reward himself. His consciousness sank into the white tower, where the golden shadow of the large-headed humanoid demon floated in the iron cage. Chu Liang stepped forward and pressed the "Refine" character with his palm. Boom— A flash of red light. Chu Liang caught the glowing object that floated out, and an immediate thought entered his mind. [Heavenly Circuit Puppet]: A puppet doll used to assist with Heavenly Circuit cultivation. It consumes one Qi Gathering Pill during the day and two at night, enabling uninterrupted cultivation. All progress will be credited to the host. Note, this puppet is for cultivation assistance only; any other misuse may result in damage. "Huh?" Holding the three-foot-tall large-headed doll, Chu Liang felt a wave of surprise. Its appearance was similar to the humanoid demon, with a small body resembling white jade and a featureless large head. Its expressionless visage gave it a slightly cute appearance, but Chu Liang's surprise was not due to its cuteness. Rather, it was because this auxiliary device could cultivate day and night without rest, meaning all progress it made would count towards his own. This essentially meant that his cultivation speed could double. No, it would more than double. In the three gates and nine realms of cultivation, the Heavenly Gate's three major realms required moments of enlightenment, where one epiphany could outweigh decades of hard work. The Earth Gate's three realms depended primarily on resources, with personal cultivation secondary. However, at the Human Gate's three realms, personal effort was crucial. The Body Refining Stage tempered the physique, the Qi Condensing Stage expanded the dantian and qi sea, and the Divine Intent Stage refined one's spiritual awareness. At these stages, cultivation progress relied on meditation, contemplation, and qi exercises, a practice known as the Heavenly Circuit. But everyone's daily cultivation time was limited—excluding daily activities such as eating and drinking, one could train for, at most, eight hours a day. Furthermore, one must balance the cultivation of mystical powers, tasks, and the earning of treasures and pills. Thus, a practitioner maintaining four to five hours of daily training year-round was considered diligent. For someone like Chu Liang, who frequently undertook missions, it averaged to about two to three hours a day. Importantly, the time dedicated to cultivation had to be genuine; merely sitting without truly practicing didn't count. However... With this large-headed doll, he could add twelve more hours of cultivation each day. This meant his cultivation speed might increase by four or five times! Moreover, he could devote more time and energy to slaying demons, which perfectly aligned with his current needs. With this in mind, Chu Liang eagerly placed the doll on the ground, sat down before it, and fed it a Qi Gathering Pill. He then pressed his palm onto its large head. Commenced the Heavenly Circuit. Chu Liang practiced the Shushan School's most orthodox technique, the "Nine Heavens Profound Heart Sutra: Divine Intent Chapter." Shushan's techniques were renowned in the cultivation world for being unremarkable but solid and reliable. Provided they truly cultivated to the same level, Shushan disciples often outmatched others in overall strength. As Chu Liang activated the Heavenly Circuit, the doll's body turned transparent, with white lines tracing complex paths, revealing a luminous glow. When Chu Liang completed the Heavenly Circuit and withdrew his palm, the doll's face had changed to feature his own likeness! Its body still emitted a flashing light, showing it had entered a cultivation state. Chu Liang understood that the doll, inside and out, now mirrored him. Three Qi Gathering Pills a day—this consumption was considerable but not prohibitive. Given the output from all-day training, it was undoubtedly profitable. Chu Liang resolved internally never to let the large-headed doll stop. At worst, I'd slay the Lantern Spirits to sustain you. However, there was something curious: despite the Heavenly Circuit puppet having no intellect and being merely a soulless cultivation machine, its consumption of Qi Gathering Pills differed between day and night. One pill during the day, two at night... implying double pay for overtime. Alas, what an unreasonable law. Pondering this, he suddenly wished that the large-headed doll were a real person... If that were the case, he could set an impossible performance target, like reaching the Golden Core stage within three days, or else deduct Qi Gathering Pills. If it failed, it would have to voluntarily work overtime, making its extra hours self-initiated and unrelated to him. That way, he'd not only avoid paying double, but wouldn't even have to pay single, just needing a single Qi Gathering Pill to make it work twelve hours. At the deadline, if it didn't meet the target, a further deduction could ensue. Eventually, it might even owe him Qi Gathering Pills despite working hard for so long. ... Chu Liang left the large-headed doll inside the white tower to work for him, not retrieving it. Given its strange appearance, it wasn't ideal to let others see it, so keeping it inside seemed best. The space where the white tower resided carried a mysterious air, which Chu Liang hadn't fully explored. He only knew it could function like a storage artifact, albeit solely for objects obtained from the white tower. Afterward, he headed to Tongtian Peak. Upon completing the Southern Domain Mountain mission, the Jade Sword Peak members thought Chu Liang had come out on the losing end, but he had, in fact, won big. Though the Spirit Cat Leaping Talismans he'd used were precious, they had come at no cost. The rewards included several doses of Hundred Flowers Powder, capable of neutralizing all toxins, and an immensely useful Heavenly Circuit puppet, making it a massive win. In addition, he had earned fifty sword coins. Typically, his task earnings hovered around ten sword coins. If not for the others giving up their share, it wouldn't have been this much. Chu Liang had never held so much money in his hand before. Suddenly wealthy, he naturally desired to spend a little. He first went to the Elixir Pavilion, purchasing a gourd of Qi Gathering Pills—enough to sustain the large-headed doll for a while. Then he took a left turn and arrived at the Sword Pavilion. The Sword Pavilion managed Shushan's mystical artifacts and flying swords. Entering, Chu Liang headed directly to the section specializing in sword sales.