The reinforcements Liu Buli could call upon were obvious with a little thought.
Thus, upon hearing his words, Shen Muzhi frowned in disagreement. "Is it appropriate to ask Yun Xiang to rescue us? After all, this is Ghost City. Even if her cultivation isn't low, she's still just a young girl..."
"If it were just her alone, I certainly wouldn't ask her to be a rescuer," Liu Buli shook his head, interrupting Shen Muzhi's worry. "But the problem is, Yun Xiang is never alone. That dragon took my little disciple. Now that her master needs him, he can't possibly refuse to come, can he?"
The implication was that Yun Xiang was with Ao Lie from the very beginning of their plan.
Liu Buli was actually quite reliable as a master.
He wouldn't do something that would absolutely put his disciple in danger.
If it were just Yun Xiang, let alone coming to get them out, even breaking through the defenses of the ghost tribes in Ghost City would likely be a significant problem for her.
However, if Ao Lie accompanied her, as an ancient Dragon God, dealing with some ghost tribes, even if he couldn't wipe them all out, rescuing a few people from them shouldn't be too difficult for him.
Thinking this, Liu Buli exchanged glances with the others. They all pondered for a moment and then nodded, their expressions telling Liu Buli that they also felt his proposed method had no issues.
Since the plan was decided, the next step was implementation.
Shen Muzhi took out the puppets that Li Qingcheng had given him earlier from his Qiankun bag. Everyone looked at the puppets. From a craftsmanship perspective, they were no different from the ones Li Qingcheng had shown them before. Even with their eyes closed, their figures, appearances, and the meticulousness of their features left no room for doubt that they were not human.
Furthermore, the perpetual darkness of Ghost City, where sunlight never reached, was even more conducive to their plan.
Liu Buli asked Shen Muzhi to try controlling one first. Shen Muzhi nodded obediently.
Although he had briefly followed Tan Wu to learn about it out of interest, once he realized he had no talent in that area, he had given up and had no intention of forcing himself.
At this moment, Shen Muzhi was filled with regret.
He should have been more resolute in his attitude back then, and more diligent when facing difficulties. At least if he hadn't given up so quickly, perhaps at this very moment, he could have achieved what Tan Wu could, making the puppets act indistinguishably from humans.
However, regret was meaningless now, so after a brief moment of sadness, Shen Muzhi refocused his attention.
He had indeed spoken the truth.
Under his control, the puppet's movements were like that of a wooden doll. It moved in jerky stops and starts, looking awkward no matter how you viewed it.
Realizing this, Shen Muzhi felt a bit embarrassed. He coughed lightly and said, "This is the best I can do. Do you want to try? I can tell you how to control them, and then..."
"Forget it. You're the male lead, and you have no talent in this area. As supporting characters and villains, we naturally won't have more talent than you," Liu Buli waved his hand, showing no intention of trying.
After all, he was quite self-aware.
Since Shen Muzhi had already demonstrated his incompetence, Liu Buli, not being a fool, was unwilling to display his own lack of ability alongside him.
Shen Muzhi's lips twitched. Even though he knew what the other was thinking, he couldn't say anything was wrong. He just looked down at the puppet in his hand and asked hesitantly, "But just reaching this state probably won't be enough, will it?"
After all, the ghost tribes weren't fools. Releasing such a wooden doll, no matter how lifelike its features, they should still realize something was different.
However, Liu Buli waved his hand, clearly not concerned about Shen Muzhi's control issues. "Try infusing your spiritual energy into this puppet. As long as you make the ghost tribes believe it's a cultivator, they'll attack it without hesitation. You said it could transmit images to us. How does that work? Can only you see it, or can we all see it?"
This time, Shen Muzhi answered much more smoothly, a slight smile on his lips. "This was Si Qi's idea. I just tried it according to his plan, and I didn't expect it to succeed."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and conjured a screen in the air.
Within the screen was everything the puppet in his hand could see.
Seeing Shen Muzhi's action, You Siqi immediately became excited. He gestured towards Liu Buli with his chin. "A mobile surveillance device. How does that feel?"
Liu Buli raised an eyebrow.
This guy truly lived up to his modern origins.
At least in matters like this, he had never disappointed them.
With this technology, once the puppet entered Ghost City, everything it saw could be fully displayed to Liu Buli and the others.
In addition to this, Liu Buli asked Shen Muzhi for another puppet. The two puppets would cooperate. Shen Muzhi's would attract attention, while Liu Buli's task was to send the other puppet out of the Ghost Realm. Once it reached the cultivation world, the signal device on it would automatically contact Yun Xiang. Although that girl wasn't particularly intelligent, her intuition in such matters had always been accurate.
They were placing all their bets here.
Shen Muzhi only had two puppets in total. Other items couldn't carry Liu Buli's signal device, nor could they move their fingers like humans to send a signal.
Therefore, they only had this one chance for the plan to succeed.
"Don't worry, our luck has always been very good," Liu Buli smiled, reassuring everyone before they began. "This novel hasn't ended yet, and it's not the time to confront the Ghost King head-on. So, we can trust the Heavenly Dao a bit more. As long as he's here, he won't let our protagonist die here."