Under One Person: The Puppet Immortal in the Tang Sect

"It doesn't require close combat; it decides life and death silently, which suits me perfectly. Besides..."

Cui Ming changed the subject, opened the leather suitcase in his hand, took out a thick stack of design drawings, and presented them with both hands.

"The students did not come empty-handed. This is the complete design blueprint for the Shadow Spider, including the latest developed Blood Droplet manipulation technique and the essence of silk-drawing manipulation."

The complete blueprints, formulas, and forging processes for the assassination crossbow and five types of specially made arrows.

The student wishes to offer this item to the sect to enhance the skills of his fellow disciples, in exchange for a single opportunity to cultivate the Dan Shi technique.

The drawings are thick, the lines are precise, and the annotations are detailed, clearly showing that countless efforts have been put into them.

Tang Jiaren's attention, however, was completely elsewhere, not on those blueprints.

For the first time, his gaze was completely focused on Cui Ming's face.

Those always-squinting, smiling eyes slowly opened, revealing a sharp gaze hidden deep within, which locked onto Cui Ming.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, with only the crackling of the burning oil lamp.

Yang Lie stood to the side, keeping his eyes down and not daring to breathe.

He could feel the invisible pressure emanating from the master.

Tang Jiaren stared at Cui Ming for a long, long time, as if trying to see through his skin and into his deepest thoughts.

Cui Ming met his gaze calmly, his eyes revealing no hesitation or pretense, only pure longing and unwavering conviction.

Finally, Tang Jiaren slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again, resuming his smiling expression.

He uttered a single word softly.

"it is good."

"but."

Tang Jiaren then changed the subject.

"Dan Shi is no child's play; it should not be attempted by anyone without great perseverance, talent, and opportunity."

Although the sect rules do not explicitly prohibit outer disciples or specific disciples from practicing, it is by no means something that everyone can try.

If you want to learn, having the skills isn't enough; you also need to prove you have the qualifications and ability to handle it.

"Please enlighten me, Your Excellency!"

Cui Ming was overjoyed and answered without hesitation.

"To learn this skill, you must pass three hurdles."

Tang Jiaren held up three fingers.

First, be still.

Within three days, sit in meditation within the Tang tomb for three days, during which time you must neither drink, eat, nor sleep, resisting the onslaught of illusions, and your mind must not waver in the slightest. I will order Yang Lie to guard the entrance of the cave.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Lie's expression hardened, and he solemnly accepted the order.

"Yes, sir!"

"Second, control."

You have one month to disassemble and reassemble your Blood Droplet Puppet 999 times without damaging its core.

Every operation of the structure must be flawless, with an error not exceeding one millimeter.

I will check it myself.

Cui Ming's gaze was firm, and he nodded in agreement.

Third, enlightenment.

If you can persevere, I will give you a fragment of the general outline for the Dan Shi (丹噬) introductory chapter. It only contains the mental cultivation diagram, without specific methods of qi circulation or annotations.

You still have one month. As long as you can follow the instructions to draw upon a trace of the Dan Shi Qi and successfully circulate it through your meridians for one cycle without dying... then you will pass the test.

Tang Jiaren looked at Cui Ming, his voice calm yet heavy.

"These three tests assess your most basic qualities in cultivating Dan Shi."

The ultimate mental principles, impeccable precision control, and... the insight and destiny to face unknown dangers.

All three are indispensable; otherwise, practicing Dan Shi will undoubtedly lead to death.

Do you still dare to try?

Tang Zhong's mental anguish, the flawless control achieved in 999 attempts, the deadly risk of trying to cultivate Qi on his own with an incomplete technique...

Any one of these hurdles would be enough to deter anyone from even attempting it.

But Cui Ming knew that he was only a few steps away from success.

He took a deep breath, his eyes showing no fear, but rather a burning flame.

"Students, you will surely succeed!"

Chapter 10: The First Challenge, Like a Vacation

That afternoon, Cui Ming followed Yang Lie to the back mountain.

To reach the heavily guarded Tang Tomb, one must first pass through numerous traps and secret passages.

Without the guidance of a Tang Clan disciple, one cannot enter without paying some "tuition fees".

Finally, under the watchful eyes of several guards, Yang Lie led Cui Ming to the entrance of the Tang Tomb.

Cold and silent, an aura that seemed capable of devouring all life emanated from the cave.

"This is it."

Yang Lie's expression was serious as he pointed into the cave.

"The master instructed me to stay and guard the cave entrance."

"It's said that inside... it can corrupt the mind and breed inner demons and illusions. Ah Ming, be careful."

"If you can't hold on, you can come out at any time, but that also means you've failed."

His gaze toward Cui Ming was somewhat complicated, a mixture of admiration for his courage and a sense of madness.

"Hehe, Young Master Yang, don't worry."

Cui Ming smiled at Yang Lie, his face showing absolutely no sign of nervousness.

Instead, they seemed as relaxed and carefree as elementary school students on a spring outing, and with a quick crouch, they slipped through the gate and went inside.

The cave wasn't deep, but it was unusually dark and damp, with only a faint light filtering in from the entrance.

In the center is a huge, smooth-surfaced rock, clearly polished by people who have sat here in meditation throughout the ages.

The air seemed to freeze, carrying a heavy pressure.

Cui Ming sat cross-legged on the stone, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing.

Cui Ming's Five Treasures Protective Technique is now running almost constantly, and the harm it causes to himself is getting smaller and smaller.

Calming his mind, Cui Ming focused intently on activating the Five Treasures Protective Technique, a rare occurrence for him.

But almost the instant he became absorbed in his thoughts, the surrounding environment began to distort and deform.

A chilling wind suddenly rose from nowhere, carrying with it mournful howls and curses, as if the roars of countless souls who died here or at the hands of the Tang Clan.

Various terrifying hallucinations appeared before Cui Ming's eyes:

A hideous ghostly claw reached for his face, and the gruesome spirit of the dead crawled out from the ground, even flashing back to the moment when his past life's great fortune suddenly appeared on his face...

If it were an ordinary person, or even an extraordinary person with a weak will, under such a continuous mental assault, they would probably quickly lose their composure and fall into madness or self-doubt.

However, Cui Ming only frowned slightly.

It's not because these illusions are so terrifying, but...

It's noisy!

The reversal system had already been quietly activated.

The negative spiritual energies that tried to erode his mind and create fear and chaos touched him the moment they touched him.

Instead of causing any harm, it was quickly transformed by the system into a strange and nourishing substance.

This did not make Cui Ming feel tired or depressed; on the contrary, it made him more clear-headed and his mind more focused.

His mental resilience is also increasing at an incredible speed.

For most people, the so-called inner demons and illusions are like experiencing a supernatural horror movie firsthand.

But for Cui Ming, it was like watching a poorly made horror movie through a thick glass window.

Aside from being a bit annoying, it's completely harmless.

"That's it?"

Cui Ming was even a little disappointed.

"I thought it would be really powerful, but it was easily defeated by the system."

It seems the system has determined that the negative effects of Tang Zhong's illusion array are reversible.

In that case, these three days of trials were like a forced vacation for him.

He simply stopped paying attention to those pointless illusions, calmed his mind, and began to seriously think about the future.

"There are only five years left until 1940."

A sense of urgency arose spontaneously.

"Given the current situation, Dan Shi is practically a sure thing. Passing the first and second trials is just a matter of time for me."

"We must upgrade our overall equipment level as soon as possible."

Cui Ming felt that he needed something that could comprehensively improve his physical fitness and mobility, and it would be even better if it could assist in circulating Qi and accelerate the recovery of Qi.

Thinking of this, Cui Ming couldn't help but think of the black-tailed armor.

This is a rare protective technique of the Tang Clan, not only offering high defensive capabilities.

With advanced cultivation, one can even manipulate the black-tipped armor into weapons, and with the aid of object manipulation techniques, becoming a sword immortal wouldn't be too much of a problem...