Gou Dao and Cultivation of Immortals, Start from Farming

At the edge of the sky, a crimson, blood-red light of destruction slowly approached, reflected in Li Mu's deep eyes, as if all the cycles of reincarnation were contained within his gaze, and the end of the Dao was but a thought away.

The army has not yet moved, but there is still one matter to be resolved.

Li Mu shifted his gaze slightly, turning it towards the long-dormant ruins of the Golden Puppet Realm behind him.

Metal corpses lay scattered in the void, and broken colossi were strewn across the boundless sea of ​​stars like withered bones. The once glorious mechanical dynasty was now nothing but deathly silence.

Mingyue understood immediately. She stepped off the bridge and lightly touched the air with her toes, standing on the ruins.

Mingyue's silver hair cascaded down like a waterfall, interwoven with platinum and gold. Her golden eyes, opening and closing, reflected countless wrecks, cold as frost and exuding an abyss of pressure. The ninth-order Chaotic Puppet Spirit Domain quietly spread, silently, yet like a net of laws spanning heaven and earth, enveloping the entire remnant realm.

"In the name of the Ancestral Core, with Chaos as the catalyst..."

Mingyue's voice was not loud, but it was like a decree of heaven, penetrating time and space, reaching the core of every puppet that still retained its spirit.

"All weapons unite as one, order is rebuilt, heed my command!"

Om-!
A resonance originating from the soul of metal suddenly resounded throughout the realm of deathly silence.

In an instant, countless puppet remains scattered in the void and on the broken continent, regardless of size or shape, whether they were once ordinary war puppets or giant divine weapons comparable to immortal venerables, had their long-extinguished spiritual light forcibly ignited deep within their cores by strands of platinum divine radiance!

That was the supreme authority of the Ancestral Core, reshaped by the power of chaos, and transformed into an irresistible decree!

Click! Click! Click!

The incessant clanging of metal blended into a vast symphony of steel. Broken puppets struggled to their feet from the ruins, severed limbs reattaching themselves, shattered armor slowly melting and mending in the platinum glow. Golden spots, identical to those in Mingyue's eyes, lit up in their sockets—pure, cold, and utterly obedient.

One after another, puppet legions are reborn on the graves of the past. They all become extensions of the Chaotic Puppet Path, the embodiment of the will of the bright moon, and the manifestation of the unity of all machines.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a puppet army of over ten million people had already been assembled on the ruins of the Golden Puppet Realm. Each puppet possessed considerable combat power, and the millions of them stood in a solemn formation, silently suspended in the void. Their metallic bodies reflected the cold starlight, forming a steel torrent powerful enough to shake an immortal dynasty.

This is the Bright Moon New Army—the Puppet Guard Army!
The bright moon stood before the army, like the master of ten thousand puppets, like the god of order. With a gentle lift of her hand, the millions of puppet guards knelt on one knee in unison, their metallic bodies striking the void with a thunderous roar that shook the starry sky, offering the highest salute to their sole master.

After the ceremony, Mingyue's figure flashed, and she was back on the bridge of the Lieyu. Behind her, the massive puppet army followed closely, quietly stopping behind the Immortal Dynasty fleet, awaiting orders.

Inside the bridge, Xiao Jingtian and the others were dumbfounded and deeply shaken.

In the blink of an eye, he could incorporate the remnants of an army and transform decay into divine weapons. Such methods were almost divine intervention. The way they looked at the bright moon was no longer just awe, but also a deep sense of submission from the depths of their souls.

Li Mu remained calm, merely nodding slightly.

"Mingyue."

"Owner."

"You will be the vanguard, leading the Puppet Guard army to enter the Xuan Yuan Jin Jie first, clearing the entrance for ten thousand miles, and opening up a landing site for the army."

"Yes, sir!" Mingyue's golden eyes flashed slightly, her fighting spirit like lightning, without any hesitation.

Mingyue turned around, took a step forward, and stood in front of the puppet army. Platinum divine light flowed around her, and a cold will instantly spread throughout the entire army.

"Vanguard, follow me... break through the barrier!"

boom!
Golden light surged in the eyes of the millions of puppet guards, transforming into an indestructible torrent of steel. Guided by the bright moon, it charged fiercely toward the dark red boundary gate like a giant spear piercing through the heavens and earth!

Before the gate, the ash mist surged like a tide, mixed with violent spatial turbulence and shattered fragments of time, like the maw of a giant beast, ready to devour anyone who might be caught.

If an ordinary Mahayana cultivator were caught up in it, he would be torn to nothingness in no more than three breaths.

However, just as the puppet army was about to touch that violent energy, Li Mu slowly raised his hand on the bow of the Rift Universe.

With fingers spread wide, a chaotic flow of energy circulates in the palm, as if supporting a newly born universe.

"Certainly!"

A single word uttered carries the weight of law.

A colossal, chaotic hand, obscuring the sky and the sun, appeared out of thin air, ignoring time and space, and pressed directly onto the raging boundary gate. In an instant, the surging spiritual mist, the chaotic space, and the shattered time were all suppressed and calmed down!
The originally perilous and unpredictable gate was forcibly transformed by Li Mu with his supreme power into a stable and solid road leading to the heavens!

Without stopping, the puppet army surged into the Xuan Yuan Jin Realm through the newly opened safe passage.

Following closely behind, the massive fleet of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty, led by the Lieyu, slowly sailed in.

……

Upon entering the Xuan Yuan Jin Realm, a scorching heat that burns the soul and a deathly silence that penetrates to the bone come rushing in, a desolate realm without heaven or earth.

Above, the sky was an eternally burning dark red canopy, with lava fissures stretching across the horizon like scars on a giant dragon. From time to time, viscous fire meteors would fall and crash into the earth, creating fiery craters thousands of feet deep.

Beneath their feet lay an endless sea of ​​ash, fine as powder, its thickness immeasurable, silent underfoot, seemingly capable of devouring all life and sound. Beneath the ash lay scorching red earth, occasionally bursting giant bubbles that spewed out ashes containing deadly poison and the laws of destruction.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of burning sulfur and metal. The laws were twisted and violent. Ordinary cultivators could hardly exert even 30% of their magic power here, and they had to constantly resist the erosion of the burning energy. If they were not careful, their souls would be burned to ashes.

Standing atop the scorched earth, Mingyue's platinum gown fluttered in the ash storm. A domain enveloped her, repelling all violent laws. Behind her, millions of puppet guards, protected by this domain, rapidly adapted to the new environment.

"Spread out, establish defensive positions, and survey the surrounding area for thousands of miles," Mingyue coldly ordered.

The puppet army immediately sprang into action. Some ventured deep underground, constructing a foundation with their metallic bodies; others soared into the sky, forming a protective net; and still others advanced in standard battle formations, their metallic footsteps pounding on the sea of ​​ashes, producing a dull yet rhythmic roar that brought the first pulse of order to this desolate world.

However, danger always strikes silently.

A hundred-man puppet guard squad advancing eastward suddenly halted. The sea of ​​ash before them churned silently, wisps of barely perceptible gray smoke rising from the ashes.

These wisps of smoke are invisible and intangible, and even the most sophisticated psionic arrays of the Puppet Guard cannot detect them.

The next instant, the smoke, like a phantom lightning bolt, pierced through the alloy armor and disappeared into the core!

hum!
The invaded puppets shuddered violently, their golden eyes suddenly turning a frenzied crimson. They whirled around, their energy cannons and blades aimed directly at their comrades!
"Boom!" "Swoosh!"

Betrayal struck suddenly, attacks erupted abruptly, several puppets were instantly damaged, and chaos spread like a plague.

These gray wisps of smoke are none other than the native creatures of the Xuan Yuan Ash Realm—the Ash Spirits! After the fall of the Burning Heaven God and Demon, their lingering resentment merged with the laws of destruction, forming a formless and intangible entity that specializes in attacking the soul and the core of intelligence, making them the nemesis of intelligent creations!
"Unknown energy erosion detected, logic core disordered, identified as hostile possessed unit!"

"Warning! A breach has appeared in the lines!"

Alarms blared in Mingyue's consciousness.

Mingyue stood in the center of the position, data streams flashing at light speed in his golden eyes, instantly "seeing" the essence of the Ember Spirit—how to bypass physical defenses and directly attack the spiritual imprint.

"Hmph, remnants of the scum, how dare you be so presumptuous."

Mingyue's voice was icy and utterly emotionless. She raised her right hand, her fingers loosely clenched, and gently squeezed it towards the direction of the chaos. "Chaos Puppet Seal, Purification Decree!"

In an instant, a complex mark composed of miniature gears and chaotic runes appeared between the brows of all the possessed puppet guards. The moment the mark appeared, a platinum-gold radiance erupted, mixed with a trace of chaotic Daoist energy that suppressed all laws!

"what--!"

A piercing scream emanated from the puppet's body. Wisps of gray smoke were forcibly expelled, twisting and struggling in the air like ghosts being branded with a hot iron.

These Ember Spirits are spiritual energy entities, while the Chaos Puppet Seal is the soul law that points directly to the origin!
"Analyze, extract, trace the source!" Mingyue's golden eyes shone brightly.

The forced-out Ember Spirit was not annihilated, but instead captured by an invisible web of laws. Countless platinum energy threads pierced into it, frantically analyzing its composition and reading its origin.

Soon, a shattered scene flashed in Mingyue's sea of ​​consciousness: towering gods and demons roared in the sea of ​​stars, divine fire scorching the heavens, until finally, exhausted, they perished, their unwilling will turning into billions of fragments, scattered across the scorched earth...

“So that’s how it is, the lingering resentment of the Burning Heaven Demon God…” Mingyue said knowingly, “Since it has no master, it can be used by me.”

With a thought, Mingyue tightened the net of laws, crushing all the scorched spirits and extracting the most primordial spiritual imprint, which was then integrated into the Chaos Puppet Dao.

Mingyue immediately ordered: "Activate 'Purification Mode' for the entire army! With the Puppet Seal activated, any foreign energy that intrudes will be executed without mercy! Continue the advance!"

As the chaos subsided, the puppet army transformed into a torrent of steel, continuing its march into the depths of the Sea of ​​Ashes.

At the same time, the main fleet of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty entered the territory and set up a sky-covering defensive formation above the landing point.

“Master of Burning Heaven Valley!” Li Mu’s voice came from the flagship.

"I am here!" The Valley Master of Burning Heaven stepped forward, his body engulfed in raging flames, feeling a strong affinity for the fire-based laws of this realm.

"Lead your troops deep into the earth's veins to find the core of this world's fire source—the Ember Marrow. Wherever there is Ember Marrow, there will be powerful beasts guarding it."

"Haha, just what I wanted! Watch me wipe out their lair!" The Valley Master of Burning Heaven laughed, transforming into a crimson rainbow and leading tens of thousands of fire-elemental disciples like meteors straight into the earth.

They traversed layers of ash and scorched earth, entering a vast underground world of lava. The magma was as viscous as blood, and the intense heat was terrifying. In the center of the lava sea, a dazzling vein of crystal ore shone brightly, its interior seemingly flowing with liquid flames, its fire elemental essence extremely pure.

"The Ash Marrow Mine! We've found it!" an elder shouted excitedly.

Before the words were even finished, the entire sea of ​​lava suddenly boiled!

Roar--!
A roar erupted from the depths of the mine, and a colossal creature, tens of thousands of feet tall, slowly rose from the magma. Its entire body was composed of obsidian and lava, its eyes were like burning suns, and a piece of top-grade ash marrow the size of a head was embedded in its chest, pulsating like a heart.

Lava Giant Golem! Built with ash marrow as its core and drawing power from the earth's veins, its strength is approaching that of a peak Immortal Venerable!

"Form the formation! Seize the Fire Formation!" The Valley Master of Burning Heaven was filled with boundless fighting spirit.

Tens of thousands of disciples quickly formed an array, their magical power linked together, activating the laws of fire. A vast red net composed of billions of fire runes descended upon them.

"Fight fire with fire? Foolish!" The lava golem spoke in a human voice, its roar like a volcanic eruption: "Before the primordial fire, you are all but firewood!"

With a wave of its giant arm, the entire sea of ​​lava erupted, transforming into a thousand-foot-long fire dragon that counterattacked the fire-seizing formation. A world-shaking battle of fire erupted deep underground.

On the ground, the vanguard army led by Mingyue also encountered a real enemy.

As they ventured deeper, the sea of ​​ash suddenly parted to the sides, revealing a bottomless, massive chasm—the "Abyss of Burning Gods"—that stretched out before them.

Woo——!
A mournful horn sounded from the abyss, and in the next instant, an endless torrent of dark red water gushed out from the abyss, forming an army of countless "fire demons" of various shapes!

There are colossal lava beasts thousands of feet tall, whose every step sets the earth ablaze; there are fiery phantoms, elusive and invisible, immune to physical attacks; and there are beings with human bodies and animal heads, wielding flaming weapons, their eyes burning with a pure desire for destruction!
The fire demon army, numbering in the tens of millions, roared and charged furiously at the puppet guard army with the will to incinerate everything.

The world instantly turned apocalyptic crimson.

"The enemy's numbers exceed our expectations. Requesting tactical instructions!" A calm report came from the Puppet Guard Commander through the divine sense network.

Mingyue stood at the rear of the formation, her golden eyes cold as she watched the destructive wave sweeping in.

"Use local materials to build barriers."

With a thought, Mingyue instantly decomposed and reshaped the damaged puppet remains and spare metal materials on the battlefield by an invisible force!
Metal fragments shot into the sky, flying, piecing together, and combining under the control of the Bright Moon's will!
Rumble!
In the blink of an eye, a "barrier of ten thousand machines" that was thousands of feet high and stretched for hundreds of miles rose from the ground, like an insurmountable chasm, blocking the path of the fire demon's charge!
Above the fortress, cannons stood in rows, and energy nodes flickered, instantly forming an impenetrable steel defense line.

"Fire." Mingyue uttered two words softly.

Buzz buzz—!
Thousands of guns fired!

Billions of energy beams intertwined to form a deadly net, instantly engulfing the fire demon ahead. The explosive flames and the fire demon's flames mingled, illuminating the world as if it were daytime.

The fire demon, however, remained fearless, charging forward over the remains of its companions, relentlessly ramming, tearing, and bombarding the barrier. The sturdy metal was quickly covered with dents and cracks.

Mingyue frowned slightly.

These fire demons were more ferocious and troublesome than expected.

With a swift movement, Mingyue stood atop the Barrier of Ten Thousand Machines, facing the endless torrent of fire demons.

At this moment, Mingyue is a supreme being of the ninth rank who wields the Chaos Puppet Dao, the master of all puppets, and the embodiment of order and destruction.

Platinum divine radiance erupted from Mingyue's body, soaring into the sky and staining the dark red heavens with holy golden light. Her silver hair danced wildly, each strand seemingly containing a supreme law.

"Chaos - Edict of All Machines..."

With a gentle wave of her slender right hand, Mingyue unleashed a pure white-gold light curtain that swept out like a fan towards the endless army of fire demons in front of her!

As the light curtain passes, time and space seem to be erased.

The lava behemoth instantly decomposed into the most basic particles, leaving no trace.

The fiery phantoms, like melting ice and snow, evaporated in an instant.

Tens of thousands of fire demons were wiped out from the world in an instant!
As the light screen swept across, a fan-shaped vacuum zone, tens of miles wide, suddenly appeared on the battlefield ahead.

Dead silence.

Absolute silence.

The surviving fire demons felt as if they had been strangled. For the first time, their bloodlust was replaced by fear. They stopped and looked at the slender figure standing on the barrier, surrounded by divine light like a platinum deity, and unconsciously retreated.

One strike, and tens of thousands were annihilated!

One strike, enough to terrify millions!

The power of the ninth-tier Chaos Puppet Spirit is beginning to show its strength in this realm! (End of Chapter)