Unlike the puppets of Steel Heavenly Pillar, the puppets of Secret Heavenly Pillar are not driven by mechanical energy. The core power of the puppets originates from malevolent spirits.
And malevolent spirits have no concept of lifespan.
"Steel Heavenly Pillar, Secret Heavenly Pillar, their individual combat strengths are unknown, but the creations born from their hands alone possess incredibly divine and great power."
He recalled the information about Secret Heavenly Pillar.
Secret Heavenly Pillar, likely female, ranked sixth among the National Pillars of Kandra Town, bearing the honorary title "Thousand Eyes, Thousand Hands," rumored to be a master of puppets.
Further information was scarce.
He examined the Secret Puppet before him.
The puppet was dusty, its clothes somewhat tattered, only vaguely revealing the style of a maid outfit from the Kandra Empire.
But as he unearthed this Secret Puppet and brought it back into the daylight, faint wisps of light began to appear in its dim eyes.
"Beep~"
"System detected current target is human, first-level judgment passed."
"Beep beep~"
"System detected..., second-level judgment passed, authentication complete."
"Welcome to Secret Heavenly Pillar's Number Zero puppet, I am Xiao Ling."
A mechanical voice emanated from the puppet's unmoving lips.
The light in its eyes grew brighter and more vivid. Suddenly, it stood upright.
The dusty grime on its body rapidly fell away, leaving it spotless in an instant.
Its torn clothes began to mend, its dry hair became smooth and lustrous, and its puppet-like cheeks gradually became lifelike. In a short while, it was indistinguishable from a real person.
"Xiao Ling is at your service, please proceed with basic settings."
Fang You fumbled for a while before he began to understand the situation.
The puppet of Secret Heavenly Pillar had been sealed for many years, and likely due to the complete demise of the Kandra Empire's citizens, he had, through a series of coincidences, obtained the right to use this Secret Puppet.
However, this Number Zero puppet had been formatted. Its personality, attire, appearance, and stored data had all been reset. Upon its reactivation, Fang You needed to configure it.
Only after completing the basic settings could the puppet truly operate.
These basic settings included clothing style, appearance, height, physique, voice type, and behavioral logic.
Clothing options included maid outfit, qipao, gothic... and custom.
Voice options included mature female voice, loli voice, middle-aged woman's voice... and custom.
"..." Fang You.
Something felt off.
His focus was not on these aspects, but the puppet could only be truly activated after the basic settings were finalized.
After a long while,
Instructor Fang wiped his sweat. "Finally finished tinkering with it."
He could now begin to research the Secret Puppet more deeply, discovering that this puppet also suffered considerable damage. However, crafted by Secret Heavenly Pillar, this puppet was like a true lifeform, possessing the ability to autonomously absorb knowledge and heal itself.
If it hadn't been formatted earlier and only recently reactivated, after tens of thousands of years, the Secret Puppet would have long since healed itself.
"Tell me about your combat capabilities."
"As you command, Boss. Xiao Ling is equipped with an auxiliary combat system, which possesses..."
It rambled on about a great many things.
Fortunately, Instructor Fang was now a highly educated individual; otherwise, he might not have understood.
Even now, he only understood half of it.
The puppets of Secret Heavenly Pillar frequently spouted obscure jargon, which was quite a challenge for Fang, who had only lived in Kandra for three years.
"The shell of this Secret Puppet itself possesses peak-level divine combat power. However, the purpose of its existence is not combat, but sealing. The puppet seals one or more powerful malevolent spirits within it, drawing energy from them to unleash formidable power."
This was entirely different from the puppet system, perhaps best described as a 'Jinchuriki' system.
Uh... Puppet Jinchuriki.
Fang You couldn't help but marvel at Secret Heavenly Pillar's ingenious ideas and exquisite craftsmanship.
"Unfortunately, there is no technical data related to Puppet Jinchuriki to be found here. Not even a shred. Perhaps, unlike puppet manufacturing, this is not a widely applicable technology, but a difficult and profound inherited art, requiring certain abilities."
At the command of Boss Fang, Secret Puppet Xiao Ling began its demonstration.
From its body, wisps of ominous black mist diffused, solidifying into numerous ferocious tails. Each tail alone was hundreds of meters long.
Xiao Ling manipulated the malevolent spirit tails to strike the ground, creating waves of terrifying power.
"This combat power is roughly in the mid to high ranks of demigod level, about 0.7 of a Liu Feng. Not bad."
And this was not the full extent of the Secret Puppet's power.
"To unleash the full power of Secret Heavenly Pillar's puppet, one requires Secret Heavenly Pillar's exclusive secret methods, or the ability to control malevolent spirits."
This was understandable.
Without a special method of control, fully unleashing the power of the malevolent spirits within the puppet could easily lead to the puppet Jinchuriki losing control and going berserk.
External assistance was required.
And external assistance...
He didn't have the secret methods for special manipulation, but the ability to control malevolent spirits...
Sister An had it, which meant Instructor Fang had it.
Fang You borrowed the power of the Underworld Emissary and, with his control authority over the Number Zero puppet, quickly found a hidden entry point.
He established a mental link.
*Ding—*
His vision instantly synchronized with the puppet, and with a thought, he drew out the full power within the Secret Puppet.
Like a volcanic eruption... no, like the energy generated during the destruction of a world, an extremely violent power surged forth, accompanied by chilling madness and defilement.
However, the Underworld Emissary itself had the effect of suppressing the influence of malevolent spirits, so Fang You was not significantly affected even though his mind was linked to the Secret Puppet.
The Secret Puppet hovered in the air.
Endless energy poured out, weaving together outside its body, constructing a majestic and terrifying colossal figure.
It was the malevolent spirits! A collective of several fearsome malevolent spirits.
As this colossal figure appeared, Fang You's perspective also elevated, allowing him to overlook everything, as if possessing omnipotent power.
This was...
"High-level perspective!"
Without a doubt, the fully unleashed Secret Puppet possessed the combat power of the Ninth Realm! And he could control it without strain, with a considerable duration.
The organization now had another constant Ninth Realm combatant!
Team Spark, Number of High-Level Ninth Realm Combatants: 2!
Although neither was alive.
...
He still hadn't let Shallow Red fight the Secret Puppet.
The Secret Puppet was still in a damaged state and needed thorough repairs. Otherwise, if the seal collapsed due to some minor issue, it would be a huge loss.
Fang You returned.
The repair method for the Secret Puppet was not difficult; feeding it materials would suffice. In this regard, it was somewhat similar to Shallow Red.
However, Shallow Red, as a god-slaying weapon, had an extremely high ceiling, capable of even injuring evil gods. As for Secret Puppet Xiao Ling, it was merely an ordinary Ninth Realm puppet, a maid of Secret Heavenly Pillar.
... Not!
Currently, the importance of the Secret Puppet was not much less than that of Shallow Red.
The National Pillars of the Kandra Empire were truly wealthy.
Two damaged universal puppets were immediately sent to Master Wang Chui's workshop for repair.
The value of these universal puppets was not much less than that of the Secret Puppet.
They were versatile forging puppets, capable not only of auxiliary work but also of leading the forging of evil artifacts and the manufacturing of large equipment.
Universal puppets could even independently craft legendary evil artifacts, equivalent to two master blacksmiths who could no longer improve but possessed considerable skill.
They also mastered many special forging techniques of the Kandra Empire.
With the assistance of two universal puppets, Master Wang Chui's team could already manufacture Glorious Blade puppets. However, Instructor Fang did not place much value on these mythological puppets – his organization already had over a hundred mythological figures. He valued the fact that they could independently manufacture legendary vehicles like the White Shark-class airship.
The technological strength of Team Spark had taken a significant leap forward.
...
Time passed, and the two high-level combatants of Spark were steadily undergoing repairs.
During this period, no major events occurred in the Spirit Realm, except that the disasters caused by evil gods became increasingly commonplace.
The Eastern Spirit Realm, Northern Spirit Realm, and Western Spirit Realm had all clashed with the servants of evil gods.
However, the more intense confrontations were between the major evil god factions. He learned from Thousand Faces that, apart from the Unnamable Evil God, whose forces had not directly clashed, the battles between the attendants and servants of evil gods had become increasingly fierce.
More so than the battles between the Blood Moon faction and the Eternal Night faction in previous times.
The attendants of evil gods were fighting ferociously.
More than one high-level being had fallen.
During this period, Thousand Faces, alongside the Blood-Colored Emperor, achieved remarkable feats – they disrupted the plans of multiple evil god factions, forcing the cessation of energy absorption by the Unnamable Evil God, thus delaying its awakening.
This was a great victory for the Blood Moon faction.
And in this, Thousand Faces provided many clues and disrupted several key nodes, contributing exceptionally well.
Thousand Faces was promoted again.
For the human world, this was a double victory – not only was the awakening of the evil gods delayed, but multiple disasters were also averted.
From the perspective of human forces, the fierce fighting among the servants of evil gods created more space for them to survive.
Yet, even so, the major human overlords had seen signs of the evil gods awakening and had gradually come to believe it, becoming increasingly urgent.
Among these, the secret messages spread by Spark Academy through the seven great nations played a significant role, but not the entirety.
The signs of the evil gods' awakening were not entirely unknown to the human overlords.
The Four Overlords, including the Ancient Moon Dynasty, were already investigating.
The Seven Great Nations, the Overlord of the Western Spirit Realm, and the Overlord of the Northern Spirit Realm had also vaguely discovered some clues earlier. However, they either refused to believe it or did not have a direct enough understanding of the disasters.
Now, most of them believed.
Regardless of how much they believed, the major overlords entered a state of preparation.
The Seven Great Nations, for instance, began to fully cultivate mythological figures, making every effort to promote one or two demigods.
This was not an unreasonable hope.
More than half of the Seven Great Nations were guarded by only one demigod, but it was not that they were entirely incapable of cultivating a second one. It was just that, most of the time, the Seven Great Nations would not invest excessive resources into nurturing a second or third demigod.
Having a demigod as a guardian was enough to ensure the continuation of a nation.
The geniuses ranked second or third were only afforded training conditions two or three tiers lower.
The remaining resources could be used during a dark period of national decline, where there were few geniuses, to go all out and build a demigod.
And now, the Seven Great Nations began to spare no expense, increasing investment in outstanding mythological figures.
This is what the Seven Great Nations told the outside world.
"They may not have truly spared no expense; they might still be making contingency plans, but at least the Seven Great Nations are now going all out and fully preparing for battle."
"Moreover, the Seven Great Nations have also produced top-tier geniuses far surpassing those of the past during this period, which might be the world's impetus."
The Spirit Realm, with 'Spirit' in its name.
But this world was not originally like this, nor is it now completely dominated by the power of evil gods and malevolent spirits. Oases represent the last resistance.
Fang You had some guesses.
On the other hand, under pressure, the major human overlords began to engage in closer cooperation and exchange. Spark Academy, as a 'newly promoted overlord,' made its mark in this human alliance conference.
It is worth noting that the Central Holy Court did not participate in the Human Federation Conference.
The Seven Great Nations also had considerable grievances with the Holy Court.
—While they were indeed affiliated states of the Holy Court, they were not mere cheerleaders. The Seven Great Nations themselves possessed formidable military power.
During this period, Spark Academy collected a large amount of resources along the way, finally landing near the domain of the Overlord of the Western Spirit Realm and beginning a new round of recruitment.
Fang You paid little attention to this.
The organization had ample manpower, allowing each department to operate in an orderly fashion.
His mission was to develop more trump cards and to cultivate and enhance his own strength.
Instructor Fang had been diligently studying the Law Stele.
It is worth mentioning that he had performed hundreds of gacha pulls during this time, ultimately obtaining two World Odd Stones and two new Stele.
"Law Stele of Strength"
"Law Stele of Earth"
After mastering the Nirvana Sacred Fire, Fang You primarily focused on comprehending the 'Sword' and 'Wood' steles.
The Myriad Transformation Sword Art, focused on offense, and the Tree of Life, focused on control, were his two main signature skills. However, these two legendary skills did not complement each other well, which troubled him.
Furthermore, as the number of legendary skills he had mastered increased, even using cultivation cards left Fang feeling drained, as if his body were hollowed out.
But cultivating legendary skills, even non-basic ones, brought him immense 'passive' improvements.
His swordsmanship reached the Dao.
Nirvana power continued to accumulate.
His affinity for wood elements rapidly increased.
After the 'refresh' of the Years Time Secret Realm, Instructor Fang immediately entered it, engaging in a fierce competition with Old Brother Black Blade, and discussing cuisine with An Jianyou... Pfft, the path of cultivation.
His mythological realm steadily advanced until, through his diligent efforts, he condensed the sixth strand of divinity, reaching the peak of the mythological realm.
Once prepared, Instructor Fang began his advancement.
The process was smoother than he had imagined, as if he were not advancing to demigod for the first time.
"Already a demigod?"
"It seems... it's just like this."
He felt little excitement.
After all, he had long experienced the power of the high-level beings. The gap between high-level and demigod was like that between heaven and earth.
With his newly acquired demigod strength, he was certainly not enough to challenge a high-level being; he wouldn't last a single round against the Great Emperor Yu Jin.
However, advancing to demigod and forging a demigod physique meant he could withstand more pressure.
He could now draw upon more world power.
"I've become stronger, but I still feel as weak."
"Well, I hope this method won't be needed; the world power of Blue Star cannot withstand too many draws."
Another change brought about by advancing to demigod was that his control over Destiny Points and Destiny Power became more profound.
He had previously been able to subtly adjust 'Guidance: Awakening,' manipulating the threads of fate in the process, but now, he clearly saw the power of destiny.
It was like threads, like rivers, like the world, surrounding him.
However, for the most part, he could only observe, not touch.
He vaguely understood the operational mechanisms of the various modules on his panel; their core was destiny.
Everything was a choice of destiny.
Suddenly, he frowned, noticing a river of destiny gently swaying.
"Is this... destiny calling?"
Following the trajectory of destiny, his gaze continuously traced, eventually settling on the Apostle interface, the list of secondary apostles, and the person at the top.
—Chi Yan!
Her avatar was still covered in dust as before, but a faint glow flickered upon it, indicating signs of life.
And at this moment, the faint glow of life seemed to brighten slightly.
Was it an illusion?
No, it wasn't!
*Ding!*
"Prompt: Do you wish to consume 1,000,000 Destiny Points for an enlightenment on the current situation?"
A ripple appeared in the tributaries of destiny.