When it comes to cultivating immortality, it naturally starts with upgrading the herb garden.

The principle behind puppets casting spells is the same as that of cultivators: spiritual energy is filtered out through the spiritual root and condensed outside the body.

However, since the puppets lack spiritual roots, they use other complex methods, such as talismanic magic, array formations, or even more sinister insect magic, which is not impossible.

But in general, it is similar to the practice of monks.

What Song Chen was observing was the object through which the puppet cast its spells.

Once the essence of puppet spellcasting is understood, and the appropriate countermeasures and tactics are employed, the difficulty of victory will be greatly reduced.

Unfortunately, this puppet was meticulously designed and was crafted by a puppeteer who had attained enlightenment.

Song Chen, being an outsider, could never possibly see through it.

But his efforts were not in vain; he did gain something from them.

For example, this puppet casts spells from the openings in its body, and can only go straight through, unlike a cultivator who can cast spells at will.

For example, the fact that cultivators replenish the puppet's spirit stones after each battle indicates that it lacks the ability to fight for an extended period.

These two points are insignificant and can be ignored as a puppet; they are not even considered shortcomings.

However, it would be quite fatal in a battle of magic.

If a cultivator is willing, they can easily dodge the former's attack and gain an absolute advantage in offense and defense.

The latter can continue fighting until the puppets are exhausted, thus winning without a fight.

Song Chen composed himself and saw a Sword Sect cultivator on duty standing on the dueling platform, and his heart immediately tightened.

"This person is above me!"

The cultivator on duty glanced at Shen Yunge's location, immediately unleashing his aura and rebuking her:

"This is a place to select talent! Those who are fooling around, get out!"

Upon hearing this, everyone snapped out of their daze and lowered their heads, no longer looking at Shen Yunge.

Song Chen also felt a little pressured, so he lowered his head slightly and looked up.

Xu Guannan quickly stood up, cupped his hands to the cultivator on duty, tossed him a mid-grade spirit stone, and said respectfully:

"I have troubled your clan in selecting personnel and have offended you greatly. This is just a small token of my appreciation, a token of my apology. I will take my leave now!"

After saying that, he didn't care whether Shen Yunge agreed or not, and grabbed her by the hand and left.

"Let go! I can walk! You're just pretending!"

Shen Yunge cursed under her breath, but her lower body was severely injured and she had no strength. She bounced along the ground all the way, and the pain was excruciating.

"Shut up! At least for now, I can't let you do as you please!" Xu Guannan said sternly.

Shen Yunge did not respond.

Xu Guannan thought his words had worked, a slight smile playing on his lips. He thought to himself, "Yun Ge may be sharp-tongued, but she actually cares about me a lot!"

He glanced at her and realized that Shen Yunge had lost too much blood and had fainted.

"Yun Ge?"

......

The farce is over.

The cultivator on duty on the dueling platform took a large step proudly toward the crowd and shouted:

"Those who need to be selected, hurry up! Time is limited, so don't miss out!"

Upon hearing this, several cultivators quickly left the crowd and formed a long queue in front of the dueling platform.

Song Chen sensed the strength of the cultivators with a slight effort.

One is at the seventh level of Qi Refining, three are at the eighth level of Qi Refining, and one is at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

The puppet's cultivation level is Qi Refining Level 8.

In theory, cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refining have a significant advantage. Even if their strength is insufficient, they can still overwhelm others by their total spiritual energy and thus win by taking a shortcut.

but......

Song Chen looked at the puppet, sensing something was amiss. He wondered, "What is that attack that strikes directly at the mind?"

Suddenly, a large hand reached out, startling Song Chen so much that he broke out in a cold sweat. He pushed to the side to avoid the hand, but in doing so, he knocked a nearby cultivator away.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

After the cultivator's emotions were calmed down.

Song Chen looked in the direction of the hand from before, but before he could speak, the man spoke first.

"Brother? Why are you so nervous? Are you feeling guilty?"

A male cultivator with fair skin, squinting eyes, wearing a hair crown, holding a feather fan, and exuding a profound scholarly air, looked at Song Chen with a smile.

"What are you feeling guilty about? It's you who suddenly took advantage of someone's unpreparedness; there must be something fishy going on!"

Song Chen wasn't guilty and retorted directly.

To everyone's surprise, the scholar's expression stiffened slightly, but he immediately laughed and said:

"I was being presumptuous just now, please forgive me. I enjoy speaking, and I often find it very painful to be unable to speak. My servants are also busy, and I am surrounded by vulgar people. I feel like I have no one to talk to, and I find myself extremely bored. But I just happened to notice that you are quite extraordinary, and I would like to make your acquaintance!"

Song Chen was slightly taken aback.

These words would certainly have been fitting for Song Chen before his skin was altered, but how can he be a match for him now, with his face covered in pockmarks?

Furthermore, spiritual roots and cultivation levels are concealed by other factors, making it impossible to discern the truth. Therefore, it is not due to the evil influence of blood spiritual roots.

So is this just polite talk, or is there something else going on?

Song Chen lowered his head in thought for less than a moment, then cupped his hands and replied, "I see. I still don't know your name, friend?"

"My name is Yu Xin, also known as Shuxinzi!"

Yu Xin's lips curled up, his tone light yet forceful.

These words, like water falling into a pool, stirred up a thousand ripples.

Surprisingly, everyone ignored the intentional or unintentional sarcasm in Yu Xin's words and started discussing among themselves.

"A letter? Is it from that Qi Refining Level 10 cultivator? The rising star of the Yu family?"

"He could speak at ten, reached the sixth level of Qi Refining at fifteen, and the seventh level at eighteen. What is he doing at the dueling arena? With his talent, wouldn't it be better for him to just go directly to the Lower Sword Sect?"

"I heard he's a handsome man..."

A murmur arose, and Yu Xin grew increasingly smug, seemingly enjoying the attention.

Song Chen had heard the gist of the story and concluded: "A genius similar to Zhang Jiu."

He replied, "So it's Fellow Daoist Yu! I am Song Ren. You can just call me Song Mazi. It is an honor for us to get to know such a capable person as you."

Yu Xin waved his feather fan, a hint of gloom in his eyes, and said, "Fellow Daoist Song, why belittle yourself?"

The two stopped there, exchanging a few more pleasantries before their gazes returned to the dueling platform.

On the stage was a Qi Refining Stage 7 cultivator. After several rounds of attacks from the puppet, his entire body was charred and covered in blood. Although he was seriously injured, he still had a good chance to counterattack as soon as he found an opportunity. However, he looked extremely disheveled.

Seeing the man's disheveled state, Yu Xin actually laughed mockingly and said:

"The cultivators nowadays are all too weak; they can't even defeat a puppet like this."

Song Chen didn't answer, but quietly moved to the side to maintain a safe distance.

Yu Xin remained sharp-tongued, saying, "If I were to do it, this puppet would be a piece of cake; I could take it down in ten breaths!"

Song Chen was slightly taken aback and looked at Yu Xin with a serious expression.

There was nothing special about it; it was just that Yu Xin's voice was quite loud, and it could still be heard within a few feet.

Song Chen and Yu Xin were standing closer to the front, so if they spoke a little loudly, the cultivators on the stage would hear them.

Sure enough, the cultivators on the platform were not deaf and heard everything clearly.

Upon hearing this, he awkwardly twisted his body, which inadvertently gave the puppet an opportunity to counterattack, and terrifying purple lightning was about to erupt from its right hand.

Seeing this, he disregarded his victory and shouted to the monk on duty, "Help me!"

The puppet hasn't made a move yet, so there's still room for maneuver.

The on-duty cultivator stopped the puppet and successfully saved the cultivator.

After being rescued, the cultivator immediately took out the pills he carried with him to heal his injuries.

Song Chen looked at the cultivator and felt sorry for him.

If it weren't for Yu Xin's interference, he would have a great chance.

Sure enough, the first thing the cultivator did after recovering from his injuries was to stride up to the crowd and roar at Song Chen and Yu Xin:

"That bastard who shouted that just now! Step forward, grandpa!"

All eyes were on that person and Yu Xin.

Yu Xin's face showed displeasure. He raised his feather fan, and a gust of wind blew out, carrying with it a terrifying storm that immediately intimidated the cultivator. He said:

"Me! A letter writer? What? You have a problem with that?"

Everyone burst out laughing when they saw the cultivator immediately deflate upon hearing the name of the letter writer.

Song Chen's lips curled up.

It's nothing, I was just really embarrassed.

But his smile was fleeting, and if one were to examine it closely, it certainly wouldn't be considered mockery.

But perhaps feeling that Song Chen and Yu Xin were standing close together, or for some other reason, as if he had seized upon something, the cultivator pointed directly at Song Chen and shouted:

"You pseudo-cultivator who doesn't even know his own level dares to laugh? You can't even tell your own worth, can you! Useless trash!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze fell upon Song Chen again.

Upon seeing this, Song Chen's smile vanished, his face turning ashen, but that was all; he remained silent and did not make any outrageous moves.

To fight in front of the Lower Sword Sect on their territory would be a disgrace to the entire sect.

Yu Xin retorted, "He's a promising cultivator I've chosen! What trash?"

The cultivator was slightly taken aback, then asked, "I have long heard of the reputation of the Letter-Writing Scholar. What is this person's name? If so, please tell me?"

"What's wrong with me considering him a nobody with low cultivation a piece of trash?"

"However, it seems that Shuxinzi has a discerning eye and is quite adept at recognizing people. Since this person has been chosen by Shuxinzi, he must have something extraordinary about him. Why not show him a thing or two?"

Yu Xin adopted a thoughtful posture, then smiled and said, "In that case, Fellow Daoist Song, why don't you go up on stage and demonstrate your abilities so that others can see your supernatural powers!"

Song Chen stared at Yu Xin's disgusting smile, then glanced at the on-duty cultivators and the people around him.

The on-duty cultivators, seeing the tense atmosphere, did not intervene, seemingly unsurprised and tacitly approving of it.

The others watched with expressions of amusement, showing no intention of interfering.

The gloom on Song Chen's face dissipated, and he burst into laughter:

"A bunch of ditch crawlers, all talk and no action, dare to be so arrogant towards me?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Xin's lips twitched, unsure whether Song Chen was insulting him.

As for the others, they attacked him en masse, and curses arose everywhere.

"How dare this pockmarked wretch act so arrogantly here? Doesn't he know his place?"

"It is your honor that the letter values ​​you; how could it be the root of your abuse and slander?"

"Young people are often hot-blooded. I advise you to rein yourself in quickly, lest you cause a major disaster!"

Song Chen ignored them, stepped over the crowd, and stood in front of the cultivators who were about to fight. He turned around in front of the dueling platform and said to Yu Xin and the cultivator:

"If I can defeat the puppet, you will all cut out your tongues; if I cannot, your lives are yours. Is that alright? Or not?"

The entire place fell silent, and everyone's gazes were unanimously fixed on Yu Xin and the cultivator.

Yu Xin's forehead was covered in beads of sweat, and he squinted his eyes, seemingly deep in thought.

The monk, however, had a fierce look in his eyes, licked his lips, and was extremely excited.