Chapter 1 The Origin

After venting the pent-up pain and despair with cries, Mu Zishuo gradually regained his composure. He let go of Ji Ning: "Senior apprentice-brother, I'm fine now. I lost control just now; I made a fool of myself in front of you."

"Are we brothers still saying such things?" Ji Ning looked at Mu Zishuo. "Junior apprentice-brother, tell me, what exactly happened?"

"It's nothing."

Mu Zishuo gently shook his head. "What had to happen has already happened."

Then Mu Zishuo looked at Ji Ning: "Senior apprentice-brother, how did you get here? This is a forbidden area, heavily guarded; even a Celestial Immortal couldn't break in."

Ji Ning looked at his junior apprentice-brother, now weary and even dispirited, and felt great pity. Even at this point, his junior brother still refused to speak out. He immediately said: "I know this is a forbidden area, and I also know... this is within the Donglin Mountains of Huoshan Commandery. With my abilities, I could enter without anyone knowing. Junior apprentice-brother, tell me... what exactly happened?"

"Don't ask." Mu Zishuo shook his head.

"If I faced such a predicament, would you not ask?" Ji Ning countered.

Mu Zishuo was stunned.

Indeed.

As brothers, if Ji Ning were in danger, he too would risk his life.

"Tell me." Ji Ning said earnestly.

"Senior apprentice-brother." Mu Zishuo looked at Ji Ning. "Telling you would harm you. I've already been deeply harmed; I truly don't want you to be harmed too."

Ji Ning understood that the matter must involve great stakes. Just from the many loose immortals he saw in the ancient castle, he knew that the forces at this single stronghold in the Donglin Mountains were already no less than those of Anchan Beishan Clan, and might even be stronger. Not to mention the entire powerful force behind it.

"Junior apprentice-brother, don't underestimate me either. You know very well that this forbidden area is nearly impossible to break into, yet I managed to enter. That's because I am no longer the same person I was." Ji Ning said earnestly. "After the Immortal Destiny Convention ended, I became a disciple of a Dao Ancestor."

The old ancestor only forbade Ji Ning from revealing that he was his disciple; as long as Ji Ning didn't mention the name 'Patriarch Subhuti', he wouldn't be violating his master's orders.

"What?" Mu Zishuo was startled.

"After more than thirty years of cultivation, my strength greatly increased, and I finally received my master's permission to leave and return to Great Xia." Ji Ning looked at Mu Zishuo. "Even if I truly encounter danger, my master will come to rescue me. The Great Xia world is indeed turbulent now, and hidden forces can even confront the 'Great Xia Emperor', but if my master acts, saving my life would be effortless. So you need not have any concerns."

Mu Zishuo was dumbfounded.

"Don't believe me? Look here." Ji Ning waved his hand, and instantly around him appeared numerous top-grade immortal flying swords, densely packed and piled up because they had to be placed inside the room.

"These..." Mu Zishuo sensed the power emanating from the top-grade immortal flying swords.

"Your insight should be considerable now." Ji Ning said.

"Top-grade immortal flying swords?" Mu Zishuo guessed.

"Yes." Ji Ning nodded. "There are a thousand of them here."

Mu Zishuo swallowed hard. Even though he was in this forbidden area and had seen the 'tip of the iceberg' of this terrifying mysterious force, he was still shocked by Ji Ning. Top-grade immortal flying swords... each one was extremely precious; a thousand of them was simply unbelievable!

"When I left my master to descend the mountain, this was what he bestowed upon me." Ji Ning looked at Mu Zishuo. "And I could easily enter this forbidden area. Do you believe me now?"

Mu Zishuo was already wavering.

"Look again." Ji Ning shook his body.

Swish.

He directly transformed into another Mu Zishuo, the same gray robe, the same weary appearance, with a few white hairs.

"This, this..." Mu Zishuo looked at Ji Ning in disbelief. "The aura is exactly the same, even the karma is identical. How is this possible?"

"How could it be impossible? Change again."

Ji Ning then transformed successively into the Mad Immortal Wu Feng, the ancient Fiendgod Xiangliu Fang, Shaoyan Nong, Celestial Immortal Yan Wang... After changing into more than a dozen beings that both recognized, Ji Ning reverted to his original form.

"Are you still worried about me?" Ji Ning looked at Mu Zishuo.

"I believe you have become a disciple of a Dao Ancestor. I've never even heard of such a transformation technique." Mu Zishuo nodded, then said gloomily, "I know you must get to the bottom of this. Alright, I'll speak."

Ji Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

Mu Zishuo sat down: "There's still half an hour... Let me start with Yu Xia and me. Back in Anchan City, I met Yu Xia. She was a disciple of the Thousand Rivers Sect, but she was also very interested in the art of puppetry. Of course, her skill in puppetry was far inferior to mine."

After Mu Zishuo's master died, Mu Zishuo was considered the foremost in the art of puppetry at the Black-White College. First, because few in the sect studied puppetry, and second, because his talent in puppetry was indeed high.

"Yu Xia often consulted me, and I would guide her." A trace of a smile appeared on Mu Zishuo's face. "Over time, we got together and became Dao companions. Those were the happiest days of my life—carefree, studying puppetry together with my Dao companion. How pleasant, how free."

"Yu Xia and I built a house on a lake in a remote wilderness, living by the lake in peaceful days."

"How I wished..."

"Those days would last forever." Mu Zishuo closed his eyes. "But that day came. A group of black-robed men, all loose immortals and not ordinary ones. Yu Xia was only a Wanxiang Adept, and I had just broken through to become a Primal Daoist. Yu Xia and I had no power to resist."

"I was captured, Yu Xia died, and her soul after death couldn't reincarnate; they captured it too."

Ji Ning's pupils contracted.

Yu Xia died, and her soul was captured?

"I was brought here." Mu Zishuo said. "Brought to this forbidden area. The people here made us help them create puppets."

"Creating puppets?" Ji Ning understood instantly. "The other gray-robed men were also captured, all skilled in puppetry?"

"Yes, all masters of puppetry from the surrounding hundred commanderies." Mu Zishuo said. "All gathered here. I suspect the Donglin Mountains... is a stronghold of this mysterious force in these hundred commanderies."

Ji Ning frowned: "A stronghold of a mysterious force? Do you know of more strongholds?"

"I'm guessing." Mu Zishuo said. "During my years in the forbidden area, I once saw seven generals come here. 'General' is a high-ranking position in this force, each at the level of a Celestial Immortal. In the Donglin Mountains, one general is permanently stationed, and several times other generals escorted treasures here. In total, I've seen twelve different generals!"

Ji Ning was secretly alarmed.

Twelve Celestial Immortals?

This was just the tip of the iceberg.

"They make you create puppets?" Ji Ning asked. "What kind of puppets?"

"Very powerful puppets." Mu Zishuo's eyes showed disbelief. "This force's research in the 'art of puppetry' is extremely profound, far surpassing the puppet techniques recorded in our Black-White College's scriptures by millions, billions of times!"

Ji Ning was somewhat stunned.

Millions, billions of times?

That was too exaggerated.

"Don't think I'm boasting." Mu Zishuo quickly said. "I consider myself highly talented in puppetry, but when I first arrived, they taught me a method to create a puppet that, to them, was 'low-grade'. While creating it, I absorbed the various mysteries contained in the puppet, and my insights into puppetry continuously improved."

"As my level increased, they gradually had me create stronger puppets, and also bestowed upon me immortal liquid, allowing me to reach the Earth Immortal level of the Void Return stage."

"Now, I'm considered among the top hundred puppet masters in the forbidden area." Mu Zishuo said. "Currently, I and many other puppet masters are jointly refining an extremely powerful puppet, which should be the most powerful divine-fiend puppet in this forbidden area."

"Puppet master?" Ji Ning couldn't believe it.

His junior brother had grown so fast?

"Senior apprentice-brother, you don't know what life is like here." Mu Zishuo said. "Here, all our strength is squeezed out, forcing us to frantically refine puppets! And every powerful puppet opens our eyes wide. The most powerful divine-fiend puppet we're now refining is especially terrifying."

"How terrifying?" Ji Ning asked.

"Nearly invincible below True Immortals and Heavenly Gods." Mu Zishuo said solemnly. "If a Celestial Immortal controls it, even ten or a hundred Celestial Immortals联手 couldn't withstand it."

Ji Ning was extremely shocked.

"Don't be surprised. Even the slightly inferior puppets we previously refined, when controlled by a loose immortal, can match a Celestial Immortal in combat." Mu Zishuo sighed. "You can't imagine how profound this force's research in the 'art of puppetry' is. Those puppet formation diagrams are extremely mysterious. For those of us studying puppetry, each diagram is a treasure. But here, I've already seen over a thousand puppet formation diagrams..."

Ji Ning nodded lightly: "So this forbidden area is for making puppets. But is everyone willing to do it?"

"How could anyone be willing?" Mu Zishuo said sorrowfully. "No one is willing. Creating these top-tier puppets is extremely difficult, greatly draining our mental energy. Yet we are still exploited, given very little rest time."

"They captured us, and we all hate them. Many wanted to die; I initially wanted to die too."

"But... Yu Xia's soul is in their hands." Mu Zishuo said. "If I diligently refine puppets, I can see Yu Xia once a month and talk with her. But if I dare to kill myself, they will torment Yu Xia's soul for millions of years, never allowing her to be reborn."

Ji Ning shuddered.

Never be reborn?

"I dare not kill myself." Mu Zishuo smiled bitterly. "Moreover, their general even voluntarily made a Heavenly Dao oath that if we stay here and diligently refine puppets, within a thousand years, we will be set free and allowed to take our loved ones' souls away."

Freedom?

A thousand years?

Ji Ning understood. This was a carrot-and-stick approach. Even though they were tormented and mentally drained here, they had hope in their hearts, so they kept persevering.

...