CHAPTER 621: CHAPTER 620: PUPPET MASTER ENCOUNTERS PUPPET

"Mountain and River Map? Sounds like something good; let me take a look first." Jiang Yuan curiously took out the scroll issued by the system from the Storage Bag. Upon opening it, there were only four big characters—Quest Item.

No way? So stingy? Not even allowed a glimpse!

Unyielding, he immediately retreated from the Mysterious Cave, summoning the courtyard members to gather around.

Heh, I can’t see it, but proper cultivators surely can!

"Qingniao, open it up and see what’s inside?" Jiang Yuan handed it to the reincarnated big shot first, hoping she might discern something.

The other person casually took it, opened the scroll, tilted her head and asked, "Isn’t it just a painting? It’s rather beautiful and has some Spiritual Energy, but..."

She gestured, laughed, and said, "Other than being pretty, it serves no purpose; hang it on the wall as decoration!"

"Zhile, what do you think?" Jiang Yuan rubbed his eyes, unable to see any painting, and turned his gaze to the big fox.

"Qingniao is right, it’s indeed a beautiful landscape of mountains and rivers, but lacking any inscriptions or signatures; pretty as it is, of little use."

He glanced at the little fox beside him; Hu Jiu felt uneasy in her heart—is this some kind of test?

Luckily, I learned some treasure-appraisal techniques with Pavilion Master Cang at the Treasure Pavilion; ordinary paintings either have hidden spaces or are insights drawn by masters, offering enlightenment opportunities to the destined.

Using her best skills might reveal something unusual!

Nervous and excited, she stepped forward to touch and sniff but to no avail, shook her head in disappointment, saying, "No hidden mystery found, just a painting."

Yun Mo and Yun Shu couldn’t see anything remarkable either; Jiang Yuan, still unyielding, packed the painting away to wait for Xiao Bai to return for another glance.

He then used the Memory Stone to specifically record a video, sending it separately to his disciple far in the Otherworld and Lingdi.

Moments later, Wan Mingchuan’s reply arrived first, starting with heaps of compliments. He thought it was a Chinese ink painting by his master, racking his brains to find words of praise, but summed up with one sentence—a beautiful landscape painting.

The problem is the system surely wouldn’t send out a painting for no reason; there must be much hidden potential!

Lingdi vaguely guessed it might be some treasure, but having no destiny to discern, he looked at it for a long time without discovering anything unique, sighing in his response.

Shortly after, Bai Yunqi and Xie Chenyuan teleported back, and Jiang Yuan had them look at the painting as well. "Take a good look, does this painting have any special features?"

"Ink brush strokes are majestic, minimal yet impressive; what a splendid landscape painting!" The contracted pet examined closely; from the technique to the paper, everything is top-notch but just that.

Xie Chenyuan instinctively divined, and from the divination, this item is a great treasure. Unfortunately, despite straining his eyes, he couldn’t figure out where its treasure lies, comforting himself as being undestined.

"Sigh!" Jiang Yuan lost his temper completely; others could at least see the painting, whereas he was left staring at the four big characters.

Hearing his sigh, Bai Yunqi intuitively glanced at Hu Zhile, who had eyes full of disappointment, shaking his head helplessly.

The item from the Venerable Family is undoubtedly a good thing, yet none could comprehend it, leaving him quite disappointed, I suppose?

Qingniao wrinkled her nose angrily, thinking if she could reincarnate smoothly she wouldn’t even discern a painting’s subtleties? Enigmatic Mist Ridge, I’m willing to fight you! Advance in realm! Must strive to advance!

The courtyard’s other members shared similar thoughts, determined to not disappoint Jiang Yuan. Thus, upon hearing his suggestion to disperse, a swarm returned to their own small patches of land to immerse in cultivation.

"Not a bit of glory touched," Jiang Yuan defiantly packed the painting away.

Previously the reward was a cultivation technique which could let Xiao Bai learn first and then teach others, exploiting the system’s benefits; this time, it failed. He thought he must personally deliver it, curious to see what Gongxi Jin could discern.

But on second thought, perhaps waiting a bit would be better.

Gongxi Jin just received the Soul Nourishing Pill, her damaged spirit is not yet restored; delivering the Mountain and River Map now wouldn’t allow her to comprehend it quickly, better to wait a few days anyway since there’s no time limit on the side quest.

Safely storing the painting, Jiang Yuan walked to the Spirit Pool, examining Huang Hanying’s spirit in the Ink Jade Space.

[Do you wish to feed a Soul Nourishing Pill?]

Holding the Elixir, placing it into the space, the system prompted with an inquiry, making him frown, thinking what’s with this wording? Feed? It’s like feeding monkeys at the zoo, isn’t it?

Clicking to choose ’Yes’, the Soul Nourishing Pill dropped into the space, engulfed by the mist-like soul.

The progress bar completed in just over ten seconds, and a Soul Nourishing Pill was gone. The soul that could have dissipated at any moment became a bit more solid.

"Absorbed so quickly?" Jiang Yuan was somewhat puzzled. Weren’t elixirs supposed to be refined and absorbed? Why was the whole process skipped? With curiosity, he tossed in another pill.

After directly feeding ten Soul Nourishing Pills, Huang Hanying’s soul had fully formed. She drifted out from the Ink Jade Space and gave a bow, saying, "Thank you, my benefactor, for saving me. Though my Divine Soul is damaged and muddled, I am aware of the consumption of many precious elixirs. I have no way to repay this great kindness and noble virtue other than serving as your servant, even willing to die a thousand deaths!"

Jiang Yuan clicked his tongue in wonder. The Soul Nourishing Pill’s efficacy was indeed remarkable, but what could a soul in such a state accomplish?

The blueprints for the Puppet House décor had been obtained, but she would need to recover her strength to craft them.

"There’s no need to be so polite, granny. It’s merely a trifle to help since we met by chance. Now that your Divine Soul is restored to normal, you’ll have to endure residing in the Ink Jade Space temporarily. We’ll need to deliberate a long-term plan regarding a physical body." He pondered that without resorting to possession, how would the old lady find a suitable body?

Possession isn’t morally acceptable, but if we could find an evil cultivator for it, there’d be no psychological burden...

Huang Hanying hesitated briefly. In principle, she owed her current state entirely to her benefactor and should not conceal things from him. But this matter was grave; she had already encountered misfortune due to "longevity," requiring extreme caution.

"Yes, the matter of a body... certainly cannot be rushed." She lowered her gaze upon her soul, then glanced around and her eyes sparkled—such rich spiritual energy! Such a beautiful courtyard!

The Spirit Pool nearby emitted curling Spiritual Energy with blooming lotus flowers; a large tree with lush foliage was full of life; not far away stood quaint mushroom houses surrounded by flowing water, opposite a large field of farmland, a perfect pastoral view!

To stay in this courtyard for a while would be worthy even of death.

At this thought, Huang Hanying showed a faint bitter smile. The great kindness has yet to be repaid, and she was already thinking of freeloading in her benefactor’s home. Indeed, one grows shameless with age.

She quickly realized she needed to solve the problem of a body soon, unable to delay for too long.

As she pondered, her gaze swept over to the house’s living room, where Yun Shu was diligently painting talismans. Huang Hanying’s eyes widened in astonishment, "Her—her! Benefactor, you... you have a puppet? Can I take a look at her?"

This was her area of expertise, after all!

Jiang Yuan also hoped this puppet master could help Yun Shu unravel the mysteries surrounding her, instantly calling out, "Yun Shu, come here a moment."

"Coming!" Her voice was lively as she responded, cheerfully putting away her pen and ink, she walked out and discovered a soul beside her mentor, curiously blinking her big eyes in observation, "Is this granny the puppet master you mentioned, Granny Huang?"

The other’s semi-transparent soul form revealed a kindly old-fashioned granny, and with proper respects accorded by youth, Yun Shu offered a gentle smile and bowed, "Greetings, Granny Huang!"

Huang Hanying was so excited that her soul trembled. If she weren’t a genuine puppet master, she might not have been able to discern at a glance that this was not a real person!

Whether it be in language, mannerisms, or thought responses, there wasn’t a trace of a puppet’s rigidness!

"Oh, ancestor!" She exclaimed in an outburst, even doubting if in her damaged and muddled soul state, she was dreaming?

It was genuinely shocking; Huang Hanying floated forward for a closer look. Her expression grew more surprised, finally shifting to joyful ecstasy, "Such a perfect puppet! Completely indistinguishable from a real person!

Heavens, let me see how it was done... Oh, I see! It’s not like the way I designed it... Right, right! No wonder I always got it wrong, this indeed matches the form of the human body... My word! It’s perfect! Heaven has not treated me poorly, divine assistance is here!"

Yun Shu looked bewildered as Granny’s soul circled her, examining joints from time to time, lightly touching fingers and wrists, peeking here, peering there, mumbling to herself for quite some time before finally settling down.

"Young lady." Huang Hanying’s aged eyes sparkled with youthful light, eagerly asking, "Do you remember if you became a puppet soul of your own volition, or were you sealed here against your will? How long have you existed like this? Do you feel any abnormalities or discomforts? Can the fusion of a cultivator’s soul with a puppet truly achieve longevity?"

"I vaguely remember being captured..." She had mentioned this to Hu Zhile before, but no other memories remained. Yun Shu couldn’t explain who she was before becoming a puppet or why she had been taken.

"Don’t be sad, good child. Do you still have old memories? Was it as if when you first opened your eyes, you only knew yourself as a puppet, yet some skills were so familiar they required no learning to use?"

Yun Shu nodded, "Yes, that feeling is very contradictory. I vaguely remember being captured, but there’s an ingrained thought in my mind—that I am a puppet and must be useful, or I’ll be destroyed! Even without learning, I can paint simple talismans..."

"That’s it! Exactly! Good child, there’s no need to worry about past events. At least up until now, you are the most successful, the most perfect puppet, even possessing an undying body!"

The excited granny had no more reservations. With someone so much more perfect and mature than her own creation, she naturally was not concerned about others coveting her meager possessions.

She invited her benefactor and Yun Shu to sit down and candidly admitted, "To be honest, my current predicament arose because I was studying puppets that could house souls. Just recently, I made a significant breakthrough and, in my joy, told my disciple that I understood the Longevity Technique.

Believing he was my personally-raised child and the secret involved longevity, I thought he could cautiously keep it. Unexpectedly... this foolish old woman trusted wrongly and allowed the secret to be leaked, leading to my present plight.

Therefore, dear benefactor, please forgive me for not immediately addressing the matter of the body earlier, fearing further complications. As you already possess such a perfect puppet, I shall now fully disclose the background so you understand the cause.

Old people tend to ramble; please bear with me. Young lady, perhaps hearing this may ease your heart. Everything starts from a long time ago, when I was but a fledgling puppet master..."