Mortal: I, Zhang Tie, started by joining forces with Han Li to kill a strategist.

Inside a wooden house on the back mountain of the Seven Mysteries Gate in the Yue Kingdom.

Zhang Tie opened his eyes, a hint of disbelief in them.

He was originally a transmigrator from Earth who encountered a car with malfunctioning brakes while crossing the street, which led him to this mortal world!

He thought he had just transmigrated into an ordinary minor character, but after sorting out his memories, he found that something was wrong; he had actually become Zhang Tie!

In the mortal world, Zhang Tie was a close friend of Han Tianzun in his childhood and possessed the aptitude of three spiritual roots. Unfortunately, he lacked the wood element spiritual root and could not sense the Everlasting Spring Technique, which is why he was turned into a puppet by the old ghost Mo Juren!

Thus, Zhang Tie's fate was truly tragic. In the end, he was possessed by Xuan Gu, resulting in his soul being scattered and him being unable to even enter the cycle of reincarnation!

According to the memories in his mind, Han Li has been cultivating the Everlasting Spring Technique for several years now. When that time comes, Mo Juren will definitely target him first and turn him into a puppet!

Just as Zhang Tie was getting restless, a pitch-black ancient book slowly opened in his mind's eye, revealing golden seal script.

[Entering the realm of cause and effect to glimpse destiny, the soul traverses the yin and yang realms to determine the path to immortality!]

[Host: Zhang Tie]

[Aptitude: Three spiritual roots (metal, fire, earth)]

[Technique: Elephant Armor Technique / Mortal Rank (Upgradeable)]

Causality value: 100

[Note: Changing the host's causal destiny will grant causal points, which can be used to improve cultivation techniques, break through bottlenecks, and deduce fate.]

Zhang Tie trembled slightly as he stared intently at the golden characters in his mind.

Is this his cheat code?!

They were still pondering whether to escape and save their lives, but now, with this incredible opportunity, the outcome is still uncertain!

Now that I've taken over your body, I, Zhang Tie, will absolutely not be someone else's puppet in this life!!!

Mo Juren must die, and we must also befriend Han Li, our powerful ally!

At this moment, the ancient book in my mind turned the pages again, and a new line of words slowly emerged.

Mo Juren's Puppet Project

[Remaining time: five days. Puppet refining process: Ingesting the Corrupting God Powder gradually erodes the soul. After thirty days, the soul completely dissipates, transforming the person into a human puppet.]

[Current Status: Soul integrity 95%, physical health 80%]

Zhang Tie's heart skipped a beat. In the original story, he was corrupted by Mo Juren's drugs and eventually turned into a human puppet!

The whole process will probably last about a month!

A ruthless glint flashed in Zhang Tie's eyes. Now that he had been reborn, he was determined to defy fate!

But how do we deal with Mo Juren?

It should be noted that although Mo Juren was seriously injured, he was still a rare martial arts master among mortals. Zhang Tie's Elephant Armor Technique was just a body-tempering technique among mortals, and he had only mastered it to a minor level. Trying to deal with Mo Juren with a minor level of Elephant Armor Technique was tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock.

Zhang Tie turned his gaze back to the ancient book: Elephant Armor Technique/Mortal Rank, can it be upgraded?!

How can I improve this Elephant Armor Technique, which I've practiced for many years? Is it by consuming karma points?

Zhang Tie glanced at the causality value: 100 points.

With a single thought, choosing to upgrade instantly clears all 100 points of causal value.

[Detected that the host possesses the foundational skills for cultivating the mortal-level martial art "Elephant Armor Technique"...]

[Elephant Armor Skill: A martial art that trains the skin, flesh, and bones; currently at the fifth level (out of nine)...]

[Deduction in progress... Deduction successful! Obtained the "Giant Spirit Technique," the technique has been imprinted in the sea of ​​consciousness!]

[Giant Spirit Technique: An earth-attribute Qi Refining stage cultivation method with twelve levels. Upon completion, it allows one to draw Qi into the body, using earth-attribute spiritual energy to temper the body, resulting in a surge in physical strength. Includes the Earth Spike Technique...]

A torrent of information flooded into Zhang Tie's mind. The mortal martial art he originally practiced, Elephant Armor Technique, was transformed into a true immortal cultivation technique under the deduction of ancient books and imprinted in his sea of ​​consciousness.

Zhang Tie, regaining his senses, looked on in disbelief!

He thought he could only deduce one top-tier mortal cultivation technique at most, but he never expected that the effect of the causal value would be a hundred times greater than he imagined, and he actually deduced a complete Qi cultivation technique directly!

Through the imprint in his mind, Zhang Tie also learned the details of the Giant Spirit Skill. It may have been derived from the Elephant Armor Skill. It is a skill that focuses on body tempering. With each level, the physical body will become stronger. When it is perfected, one can withstand 10,000 jin (5,000 kg) of force, and the physical body's defensive strength is comparable to a mid-grade magic weapon!

Most importantly, Zhang Tie's years of training in the Elephant Armor Technique had laid a solid foundation for his physical body, making him seem very suitable for cultivating this Giant Spirit Technique.

Thinking of this, Zhang Tie quickly closed his eyes and began to cultivate according to the technique in his sea of ​​consciousness.

The first step is to sense spiritual energy!

The Giant Spirit Skill is an earth-attribute skill, and he happens to have an earth-attribute spiritual root among his three spiritual roots, which is compatible with him.

After sitting for a moment, the cultivation technique imprinted in his mind started to operate automatically, and a slight tremor came from his dantian.

Then, Zhang Tie sensed an extremely faint earth-attribute spiritual energy seeping out from the ground and directly entering his body.

At that moment, Zhang Tie shuddered.

The worldly spiritual energy is meager, but the feeling of this trace of spiritual energy entering the body is like the first spring rain on parched land that has been dry for a long time!

Within his body, spiritual energy circulated along the meridians of the cultivation technique. Wherever it reached, the flesh and bones greedily absorbed this trace of spiritual energy. Although it was quickly absorbed, Zhang Tie could clearly feel the changes taking place in his physical body.

Little by little, the earth's spiritual energy seeped out from the ground, and a very faint yellow sheen appeared on Zhang Tie's skin.

This is the symbol for the first level of the "Giant Spirit Skill".

Several hours later, Zhang Tie opened his eyes.

Qi Refining Level 1!!!

From this moment on, he was no longer a mortal, but a cultivator!

In my mind, the ancient book shimmered with golden light:

[Successfully guided Qi into the body, embarking on the path of cultivation! Karma value +50, current karma value: 50 points.]

Zhang Tie stood up excitedly, his bones cracking and popping as a result of his body undergoing intense tempering.

Clench your fist and feel the spiritual energy within your body; although it's not much, it's definitely there.

He tried circulating his energy, palms down, with spiritual power slightly emanating from his palms.

But nothing happened...

Zhang Tie frowned immediately. This won't do!

Although he had become a cultivator, he had no magic techniques. He was just a Qi Refining Level 1 cultivator who had spiritual power but didn't know how to use it. He was enough to deal with ordinary people, but he had no confidence in dealing with Mo Juren!

You should know that in the original novel, the old ghost Mo Juren almost defeated Han Li, who was at the sixth level of Qi Refining, with his Demon Silver Hand!

By the way, this "Giant Spirit Skill" seems to come with a few additional techniques!

Thinking of this, Zhang Tie quickly searched his mind.

[Giant Spirit Skill Complementary Techniques: Earth Spike Technique (Learn at Qi Refining Level 1), Stone Skin Technique (Learn at Qi Refining Level 4), Earth Shaking Technique (Learn at Qi Refining Level 7)]

[Earth Spike Technique: Requires 30 Karma Points to learn. Do you want to learn it?]

The basic Earth Spike Technique requires 30 points of karma value. I currently have 50 points left, so learning a self-defense technique is definitely worth it!

Zhang Tie answered without hesitation: "I'll study!"

[Earth Spike Technique mastered, remaining karma points: 20!]

In an instant, countless insights about the Earth Spike Technique flooded into Zhang Tie's mind, and these insights were firmly imprinted in his consciousness as if he had practiced them hundreds or thousands of times.

Zhang Tie raised his right hand, palm down, and spiritual energy surged out along his meridians, flowing into the ground beneath his feet.

"Pfft!"

A burr, as thick as an arm, suddenly pierced out of the ground without warning, its tip sharp as a blade, and it was more than a foot long!

Withdrawing his spiritual power, the earth spikes shattered into powder.

Zhang Tie took a deep breath to calm his agitated emotions.

He is currently at the first level of Qi Refining, but he doesn't have much spiritual power. Using the Earth Spike Technique once consumes most of his spiritual power.

However, now that he has the Earth Spike Technique as a killing move, although he may still not be a match for Mo Juren, he has a certain ability to protect himself!

Most importantly, he wasn't fighting alone; there was another Han Li in the back mountain who shared the same fate!