Gongshu Er placed his hands on his knees, sitting up straight. While he appeared to be resting with his eyes lowered, he was actually observing Xu Yi's expression.
He had no less expectation for Xu Yi than Gongshu Yi did, and thus, he was even more nervous. However, his nature did not allow him to show it, so he could only conceal his emotions in his own way.
Over the past thousand years, many cultivators had visited this place, yet only a handful had managed to pass Gongshu Yi's trial.
And all those cultivators possessed astonishing talent in artifact refining. Even so, they had all met their defeat at his hands.
Gongshu Er feared that Xu Yi might become one of them.
With this thought, Gongshu Er turned his face and cast a furtive glance behind him. He lowered his eyes again and remained silent.
Meanwhile, Xu Yi, standing before him, finally found the content she most wanted to know on the jade slip. Her relaxed features instantly tightened, and the aura around her underwent a drastic change.
Gongshu Er had anticipated Xu Yi's transformation and remained motionless.
"Hoo."
After an unknown period, Xu Yi withdrew her spiritual sense from the jade slip, let out a long sigh, and looked at Gongshu Er with an unreadable expression.
Gongshu Er raised his head and asked coldly, "Do you have anything to say?"
Xu Yi pondered for a moment, "I have a friend named Zhang Tianbao. Her ancestor also came to this secret realm and took back a finely crafted puppet. So, did she also cultivate the art of puppetry?"
"Surname Zhang?"
The cultivators who had arrived before Gongshu Er were few, and coupled with the surname, Gongshu Er immediately recalled the deeds of Zhang family's ancestor.
He nodded, "That's right. I also gave this jade slip to her back then, and the puppet was also taken from me. If you decide to learn puppetry, you can also choose from the puppets refined by the master."
The puzzle that had troubled Xu Yi for many days was finally solved.
When she had first seen the puppet Zhang Tianbao kept in the coffin, she had noticed something amiss.
Although she had never met Zhang family's ancestor, she had a general idea of their artifact refining level based on others' descriptions.
To be boastful, Xu Yi believed she had learned from various masters and was slightly superior.
However, that puppet was exceptionally exquisite. Even if Xu Yi learned the method of puppet refinement, she was not confident she could refine a puppet of such high caliber.
Therefore, Xu Yi had always harbored doubts about whether that puppet was made by Zhang family's ancestor. She had also come to this secret realm with the intention of finding out the answer.
Now, Gongshu Er's words confirmed that the puppet was not made by Zhang family's ancestor, but by the master of this secret realm, that great artifact refining master. No wonder Xu Yi felt inferior.
However, knowing the origin of the puppet only made Xu Yi's mood heavier. Although the technique for refining puppets was difficult, diligence could overcome clumsiness, and it was not impossible to master.
But to imbue a puppet with sentience required a method that could be considered self-mutilation.
Xu Yi even developed a sense of fear towards that great artifact refining master.
His dedication to artifact refining had reached a level of obsession.
Upon learning that puppets could possess sentience, Xu Yi's gaze towards Gongshu Er changed.
She now understood why Gongshu Yi and Gongshu Er looked identical. It was likely that other sentient puppets also appeared this way.
"Why aren't you speaking? Don't you have any other questions?"
Gongshu Er looked at Xu Yi with displeasure, very dissatisfied with her attitude.
"I..."
Xu Yi gave a wry smile. She genuinely didn't know what to say at the moment.
"Never mind. Since you don't have that question, I'll ask you one," Gongshu Er said, flicking his sleeve. "Now that you know the method of refining puppets, are you willing to cultivate it? If you agree, you can become a disciple of my master and receive the supreme inheritance. As for the price... you already know."
A sharp glint burst from Gongshu Er's eyes, and he stared directly at Xu Yi, pressing her, "What is your choice?"
Xu Yi recalled what was recorded in the jade slip, then glanced at Gongshu Er again, cupped his fists, and said, "Thank you for your favor, Senior Gongshu, but Xu Yi is unwilling."
"Say that again!"
Gongshu Er flew into a rage and stood up abruptly.
He hadn't expected to get Xu Yi's reply so quickly. He thought Xu Yi would at least hesitate for a moment.
Xu Yi shook her head, "I greatly admire Senior Gongshu, and I truly wish to cultivate the art of puppetry. However, if I must divide my soul to nurture the puppet's sentience, I will not!"
The soul is the fundamental essence of a cultivator. Any slight error could lead to eternal damnation.
How could Xu Yi have imagined that a cultivator would be willing to use their soul as a price to refine a puppet indistinguishable from a living person? In Xu Yi's view, this was clearly putting the cart before the horse, hoarding a treasure by discarding the more valuable item.
This was why she said that the great artifact refining master had become obsessed in his pursuit of refining a puppet that satisfied him.
"Pedantic! Although dividing the soul is dangerous, it allows you to possess a puppet clone whose combat power is no less than yours. What's so bad about that?"
As Gongshu Er spoke, he unexpectedly unleashed a palm strike.
The palm wind instantly reached Xu Yi. Xu Yi wielded her ruler to defend, but was struck with such immense force that she was embedded into the wall.
Xu Yi, stuck in the wall and aching all over, coughed twice before looking at Gongshu Er in shock.
Gongshu Er's casual palm strike had pinned her to the wall, so firmly she couldn't even be pried out. His strength was at least at the Mahayana stage!
A single puppet could possess Mahayana-level strength!
Coupled with Gongshu Yi, and the unseen Gongshu San, Gongshu Si...
Xu Yi's breathing suddenly grew rapid.
She was tempted.
Facing the pressure from the demon and beast races, Xu Yi's most urgent need was to increase her strength.
But at her current cultivation level, every slight improvement required thousands of times the time and effort. It was too slow.
Knowing that puppets could possess the same strength as their本体, Xu Yi found it difficult not to waver.
She could now understand why Zhang family's ancestor was willing to bear the risk of soul damage. Cultivating the art of puppetry, the generous rewards were truly hard to refuse.
Gongshu Er, seemingly feeling that his persuasion was not enough, added, "Moreover, once a puppet possesses sentience, it can cultivate autonomously without your supervision. Artifact refining and alchemy are also within its capabilities. You can have them do anything you wish."
Autonomous cultivation? Artifact refining? Alchemy?
Xu Yi swallowed with difficulty.
In her Sea of Consciousness, several puppet clones had automatically materialized, collaborating to manage a vast sect.
This art of puppetry was simply too heaven-defying!
"So, are you learning or not?"
Gongshu Er's cold tone was filled with temptation in Xu Yi's ears at this moment.
Xu Yi's pupils trembled a few times, her lips parted, her expression struggling. An icy aura suddenly surged from somewhere within her, instantly extinguishing the restlessness in her heart and bringing her spiritual platform back to clarity.
Xu Yi froze.
This unfamiliar power was...
Gongshu Er, perceiving Xu Yi's distraction as indecision and hesitation, suppressed his disappointment and intended to enumerate more benefits of puppets to completely win Xu Yi over.
But when he met Xu Yi's eyes, he became dazed.
In those eyes, he saw stars.
"No, I am unwilling."