Xu Yi felt afraid because she thought that if one day she were suddenly told she wasn't whole, just a wisp of soul from a higher being, she probably wouldn't be able to accept it.
Gongshu San placed a hand on the dragon head armrest of the throne, his voice chilling, "At that time, I was on the verge of annihilation from the unbearable blow, and in order to stabilize my divine soul, Master poured a lot of divine soul power into me, which allowed me to be preserved."
As Gongshu San spoke of this past, there wasn't much joy in his eyes, indicating that it wasn't a memory worth savoring for him.
If he could choose, he would have preferred to remain in the mortal realm, to be an emperor with supreme power, rather than being trapped within a puppet and becoming someone else's accessory.
"I survived, but it also cost Master more than he expected. He was too impatient; besides me, he also deployed several other soul fragments. He finally realized that nourishing puppets with divine souls wasn't the right choice, but by then, he had no way to turn back."
The subsequent development was that the great artifact refining master, exhausted from his divine soul and mental energy, was forced to attempt to ascend the Heavenly Ladder prematurely without being fully prepared.
Naturally, he failed.
He was unwilling for his painstakingly created puppet techniques to end up in such a state.
With his last strength, he constructed a secret realm, pouring all his puppets and years of effort into it, hoping that future generations could inherit his puppet techniques.
But he also knew that his puppet techniques still had flaws, so he set up three trials.
Those who couldn't resist the temptation could only become test subjects for the puppet techniques, while only cultivators who truly passed the three trials could obtain his complete inheritance.
"In the past, cultivators treated puppet techniques as the supreme divine forging art in the world, and all of them gave up halfway. Only you have come this far.
Xu Yi, are you willing to accept Master's inheritance and dedicate your life to perfecting the puppet techniques?"
Here we go again.
From initial shock and confusion to her current state of numb indifference, Xu Yi could only say that the three puppets had indeed perfectly inherited their Master's will, still refusing to abandon the puppet techniques that had clearly gone astray.
Xu Yi might have hesitated before, but this time, she refused decisively.
"I am not willing."
"Xu Yi!" Gongshu San roared, "My Master's title was Artifact Demon; he was the most astonishing artifact refining master in the Nine Continents. It is your fortune to be able to become his disciple. Do you really intend to refuse!"
When Xu Yi heard the name Artifact Demon, she was not surprised. After all, it wasn't difficult to guess the origin of this artifact refining master.
There were only a few renowned Mahayana Stage artifact cultivators on the Nine Continents a thousand years ago, and among them, this one's style was the most distinctive.
Xu Yi had heard much about the Artifact Demon after she began her pursuits in artifact refining and was somewhat familiar with his life.
The Artifact Demon was born into a cultivation family. From a young age, he was rebellious and disinclined towards cultivation, but he had a deep passion for artifact refining.
Later, his family sent him to the most renowned sect in the area for cultivation. Unexpectedly, he was unruly and frequently clashed with his masters, ultimately being expelled from the sect and disappearing.
When the Artifact Demon reappeared, he was already at the Out-of-Body Stage. His strength was not prominent among cultivators of the same stage, even considered to be at the bottom.
However, his endless and unpredictable magical artifacts caused many cultivators considerable suffering and even struck fear into their hearts. It was then that the title Artifact Demon began to spread.
One day, after roaming the Nine Continents for three hundred years, the Artifact Demon suddenly disappeared again, and no news of him came for a long time. Many believed he had perished.
Until he reappeared once more. At that time, he was only one step away from the Mahayana Stage, but with his various magical artifacts, he could stand his ground and fight on par with Mahayana Stage elders without being at a disadvantage.
For a time, the Artifact Demon's reputation once again spread throughout the Nine Continents.
But that appearance was also fleeting, and there was no more news of the Artifact Demon afterwards.
The Xuanji Sect housed an artifact refined by the Artifact Demon, a palm-sized hand drum that could entice the mind and cause uncontrollable laughter.
It was the first time Xu Yi had seen such a type of magical artifact, and she had specifically studied it for a few days, leaving a deep impression of the Artifact Demon's refining style.
When she learned the truth about the puppet techniques, the name Artifact Demon was the first to come to her mind. Only the Artifact Demon would devise such an extreme method.
"Senior Gongshu, as I said before, my ambition is to pursue the Great Dao of cultivation. Artifact refining is a method of cultivation for me on my journey, but I cannot dedicate all my thoughts to refining like Senior Artifact Demon, so I regret to decline."
Did Xu Yi not want to learn the Artifact Demon's artifact refining techniques?
Of course, she did.
But she knew more clearly that if she agreed, she would bear an indelible shackle, and she was unwilling to be bound by it.
"Xu Yi, if you accept the inheritance, then I and all the other puppets will be under your control. Aren't you tempted?"
Gongshu San's anger rose quickly and subsided just as fast. His expression had returned to normal, his demeanor imposing without anger.
Xu Yi smiled softly, "Senior Gongshu, while I may not be exceptionally intelligent, I am not entirely foolish. You have likely survived to this day precisely because you rely on this secret realm.
If I were to truly accept Senior Artifact Demon's inheritance, this secret realm would cease to exist, and you would likely vanish into the mortal world. What you just said would then become empty talk."
Puppets were nurtured by the divine souls of cultivators. Once the cultivators died, the divine souls within the puppets would also collapse, just like the ancestor of the Zhang family and his puppet.
Although Xu Yi was very covetous of the strength of puppets like Gongshu Er, she wasn't so arrogant as to wish to control these puppets and have them serve her.
Gongshu San's face darkened, his gaze sweeping over Xu Yi from head to toe, as if trying to see through her heart.
At this moment, Xu Yi no longer had any desire for the Artifact Demon's inheritance. With no desires, no demands, and no fear, she calmly accepted Gongshu San's scrutiny.
Then, Xu Yi heard Gongshu San say, "Xu Yi, congratulations. You have passed the true assessment."
Xu Yi: !
"Senior Gongshu, what did you just say..."
"Xu Yi, Master never intended to find a disciple to inherit his mantle. He had already discovered that his path was wrong as he was nearing his end; he did not wish to compound his mistakes," Gongshu San stated calmly.
"Then Senior Artifact Demon..."
In a flash, Xu Yi suddenly remembered that at the artifact refining platform, Gongshu Yi had once said that if his Master were alive, he would certainly consider her a kindred spirit.
So, from the very beginning, Gongshu Yi had actually been subtly hinting to her that the Artifact Demon was not looking for a successor, but for an artifact cultivator with whom she could resonate.
However, all the cultivators who entered this secret realm had been misled by the overt trials conducted by Gongshu Yi and the other puppets.
Xu Yi, due to various considerations, refused the inheritance and thus became the only cultivator to pass the test.
Having figured out the crux of the matter, Xu Yi didn't know how to react and could only offer a wry smile.