“The seven warrior-level puppet bodies refined by the temple can be controlled by thought to fight enemies—that’s just one aspect; the second is the human body’s meridian network, which exists between the tangible and intangible. Without a certain level of cultivation, it’s hard to perceive, but the puppet avatar can project it as it truly is. The reason the meridians inside your puppet avatar haven’t appeared yet is because there’s no flow of vital energy or true essence between your bones and meridians. Otherwise, the puppet body’s meridians would emit light of varying shades.”

“So that’s how it is…” Henry Brooks finally understood the connection between the puppet body and martial cultivation.

Whether from the “Dao Soldier Profound Supplement” or Edward York’s fragmented memories, Henry Brooks knew that martial cultivation required mastering the profound martial arts that contain the true meaning of martial arts to a consummate level, so as to guide vital energy to flow through the body’s meridians, making it more refined and abundant. Once the vital energy is sufficient to break through the blockages in the meridians and enters the mysterious aperture between the kidneys, merging with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth drawn in by secret breathing techniques, only then can true essence be cultivated.

But ordinary martial disciples cannot sense the meridians within their bodies, let alone perceive the flow of vital energy. Therefore, determining when one’s martial arts have reached true mastery is like a blind man feeling an elephant or a blind person crossing a river.

Many talented disciples, lacking a good teacher’s guidance, often spend half their lives in bitter cultivation without even touching the threshold of martial arts.

But the puppet avatar is like a mirror. Through this mirror, the cultivator can clearly see the flow of vital energy and true essence within their body’s meridians—undoubtedly a massive cheat code…

“That’s about right. Your comprehension is quite good.” Earl Lefton could understand what Henry Brooks was thinking and was quite comforted by his insight.

Henry Brooks knew there was no such thing as a free lunch and asked:

“Senior Earl Lefton, what exactly are the Heavenly Martial Divine Guards?”

“Although the passage connecting the Rakshasa Domain to the Blood Cloud Wasteland hasn’t fully formed, some low-level ghosts still manage to slip through some cracks, and it’s your job to clear them out…” Earl Lefton said.

Chapter 8: Driven Down the Mountain

Henry Brooks already knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. Since Earl Lefton had given him such a great benefit, naturally he was expected to serve the temple in return.

Looking at the Divine Guard puppet body that resembled a blood corpse, Henry Brooks thought, since it’s classified as warrior-level, it probably isn’t especially powerful, so he asked worriedly:

“Can I really stop the Rakshasa ghosts that break in? Aren’t you worried I’ll mess up your plans, senior?”

“You don’t need to worry. Right now, the laws of heaven and earth in the Blood Cloud Wasteland are still in effect. The first Rakshasa ghosts that can break in won’t be much stronger than you. As you’ve seen, these seven puppet bodies are actually refined from the tendons, bones, and flesh of Rakshasa ghosts. Next, although the temple will sink with me into the depths of the Blood Cloud Wasteland, if you can keep killing Rakshasa ghosts, you’ll naturally be able to comprehend the secret methods to continuously strengthen your puppet avatar!”

Henry Brooks cried out in his heart—what kind of golden finger is this?

Shouldn’t a real golden finger let him summon the puppet body to fight for him whenever he’s in danger?

Now, not only is his puppet body left in the Blood Cloud Wasteland, but with the great hall sinking underground, he’ll have to face any Rakshasa ghosts that might break in at any time, and he’ll have to figure out how to improve the puppet avatar himself.

What kind of golden finger is this?

And from Earl Lefton’s tone, the puppet avatar he’s been given now might even be the weakest kind!

Looking at the ground outside the great hall, littered with grim, withered bones, Henry Brooks thought that if Rakshasa ghosts really did break in one day, it wouldn’t just be one or two—it could be thousands or tens of thousands at once. If his weak puppet avatar dared to show itself, wouldn’t it be torn to shreds instantly?

Henry Brooks gritted his teeth and voiced his doubts: “Since you’re already taking desperate measures, senior, why not just refine a more powerful Divine Guard puppet? Why waste your power making seven that don’t seem to be the strongest, and isn’t it a waste to have six extra Divine Guard puppets?”

“Ordinary Daoist cultivators can only cultivate external avatars after developing a second soul. Your soul is so weak, yet you can already possess a warrior-level puppet avatar—this shows how precious the serpent bracelet and Divine Guard puppet body are. But that doesn’t mean that, with the external consciousness split from the serpent bracelet, you can control a stronger puppet avatar. Whether you can eventually upgrade the puppet avatar to the martial marquis level or even the divine marquis level ultimately depends on whether your soul is strong enough.”

Earl Lefton said.

“Your soul is too weak right now. If it weren’t for George King’s insistence, I wouldn’t have bothered with you at all. But even this warrior-level puppet body requires your physical body to truly open the spiritual sea before you can control it at will. Also, if you feel too weak on your own, I’ll leave the other six warrior-level puppet bodies outside as well. The serpent bracelet can connect up to seven people’s souls and consciousness to the Blood Cloud Wasteland at once…”

Henry Brooks hadn’t expected that he’d be able to bring up to six people into the Blood Cloud Wasteland in the future, but looking at the miserable state of the place, who would want to come in with him unless he could take the six puppet bodies out of the Blood Cloud Wasteland?