“Alright then. Let's do it.” After a quarter of an hour, Qian Duoduo nodded.
He had convinced himself.
Before he started, he entered the cave and drank a bottle of Spirit Liquid to calm his nerves.
Before coming to the Ghost Head Secret Realm, Qian Duoduo had secretly gone to the Spiritual Tin Mine in the Chifeng Mountain Range and filled several barrels of Spirit Liquid, enough to use freely.
First, he replaced the jade box under the altar, then re-entered the cave, sealed the entrance, took out the Earthly Path Power, and swallowed it.
The third bottle of Earthly Path Power felt much gentler compared to the previous two.
It wasn't that it had improved, but rather that Qian Duoduo's Spiritual Vein had become strong enough.
Under the expansion of the Earthly Path Power, it had become much thicker and more resilient.
The Earthly Path Power surged wildly through his Spiritual Vein, but it no longer caused Qian Duoduo much pain.
When it passed through the Upper Spirit Sea, this Earthly Path Power was barely noticeable.
It was just like a slightly larger fish swimming through.
Upon reaching the Middle Spirit Sea, Qian Duoduo gritted his teeth and pushed the Earthly Path Power to the left, and a silver axe immediately appeared.
An excruciating pain instantly spread through him.
This pain seemed even worse than an axe chopping into his head!
Qian Duoduo's body began to tremble, not just his skin and flesh, but also his heart and bones.
Compared to the current pain, opening the Lower Spirit Sea felt like a tickle, and opening the Upper Spirit Sea at most felt like being hit by a few hammers.
The current pain drilled into his heart and pierced into his bones.
His heart pounded as if it wanted to leap out, to frantically escape.
“Ho ho, I didn't fall for it!”
Qian Duoduo sang loudly to himself in a voice that was almost crying.
“It's nothing, it's nothing, with three Spirit Seas opened, fighting three against one isn't a dream.
Once the Middle Spirit Sea opens, good fortune will roll in.
Reborn and transformed, a great deal.
A great deal, no one else can do it.
Only I, Qian Duoduo, will forever flourish…”
Sweat and tears streamed down his face incessantly.
Anyway, in the gloomy cave of this Secret Realm, no one was watching, so Qian Duoduo sang and danced, continuously pushing the power of the silver axe, turning round and round.
“Buzz!”
At some unknown point, a soft sound emanated from within his body, and both the Upper Spirit Sea and Lower Spirit Sea simultaneously emitted light.
A perfectly formed egg appeared in the position of the Middle Spirit Sea.
This egg was identical to the Upper and Lower Spirit Seas, emitting light.
That warmth permeated his bones, his skin, and every single pore.
The Middle Spirit Sea was also formed!
Once the Middle Spirit Sea was formed, the pain that had drilled into his heart and pierced into his bones vanished.
A sense of profound relief, originating from the depths of his Soul, suddenly surged forth, permeating every part of his body.
Old gone, new born; out of the depths, new heights.
Black substances, emitting a foul odor, seeped out from all over Qian Duoduo’s body.
He shed his robes, scooped up Spirit Spring water, and thoroughly washed his body, feeling a sense of rebirth, as if he had descended into the world anew.
Qian Duoduo clenched his fists, feeling the power in them. At this moment, even if his fist collided with the black tiger's claws, his fist would not lose to it.
He pushed aside the yin peach wood, lightly leaped, and jumped out of the cave.
His speed was also much faster than before.
Qian Duoduo took out his original high-grade Mortal Weapon, the Golden Rooster Sword, and forcefully chopped at his hand, leaving only a white mark on his skin.
Mortal Weapon Magic Treasure could no longer cause any harm to Qian Duoduo!
Opening the Middle Spirit Sea was too worthwhile!
Remembering what he had sung loudly in pain in the cave, Qian Duoduo couldn't help but laugh.
What he sang was indeed true—
Once the Middle Spirit Sea opens, good fortune will roll in. Reborn and transformed, a great deal!
As he laughed, Qian Duoduo started to cry again.
“This Immortal Cultivation Path, ah, it’s difficult! The Immortal Cultivation Path is a path of suffering, a path of pain, a path of danger!
Only by killing off old selves, shedding old shells, can one grow step by step.”
No matter how bitter, how painful, how perilous, Qian Duoduo still felt that in the end, it was sweet.
He had no idea that for a Cultivator to open three Spirit Seas in the Immortal Cultivation World, they must have a Half-God Cultivator as a Protector.
Without one, it was tantamount to suicide.
Qian Duoduo's rash attempt to open three and survive was, in fact, an attempted suicide.
Had it been an ordinary Cultivator, one who hadn't endured extreme hardship and pain, they would have long since suffered a mental breakdown and become a cripple!
After laughing and crying, he thought that the Spirit Sea could no longer be opened. He gently pushed open the cave door and walked out of the cave, preparing to reach out and cover the jade box on the altar, then put it into the Golden Toad.
The Spirit Liquid in this jade box contained the essence blood of a Purple Spirit Scorpion.
Although he didn't know how much had dissipated or how much remained, it was still a top-grade treasure and needed to be hidden.
Suddenly, an extremely dangerous sensation emanated from the jade box, instantly turning Qian Duoduo's extreme joy into solid ice.
“What is it?” Qian Duoduo reluctantly opened his eyes and looked at the jade box.
Inside the Spirit Liquid of the jade box, a small purple snake, about a foot long, was swimming freely.
It was drinking the Spirit Liquid while blowing bubbles.
“What kind of Spirit Beast is this? Why does its aura feel as terrifying as the Purple Spirit Scorpion's?”
Thinking of the Purple Spirit Scorpion, Qian Duoduo had an idea. While the purple snake was enjoying itself, he suddenly collected the jade box and placed it into the Formation that imprisoned the Purple Spirit Scorpion.
The purple snake sensed that something was wrong and violently struck the jade box, trying to escape.
However, how could it break free from the Formation set up by Liu Boli?
Qian Duoduo chuckled: He really guessed right; this purple snake, like the Purple Spirit Scorpion, is a spirit body.
Before long, the purple snake discovered the presence of the Purple Spirit Scorpion.
The snake and the scorpion confronted each other for a moment, found their strengths to be comparable, then each occupied a corner, coexisting peacefully.
Qian Duoduo's heart settled.
It was fortunate that he acted first; if the purple snake had made the first Move, he would have been out of the game immediately.
As soon as the jade box was put away, the rotation of the vortex in the sky immediately slowed down, gradually turning back into dark clouds.
The commotion caused by the altar had to be minimized.
More than ten days had passed since he entered the Secret Realm. For the remaining time, he would stay in this auspicious place and thoroughly study Mystic Arts and Puppets.
Sitting in the center of the Yin Peach Forest, Qian Duoduo took out a hundred Puppets from the tree hole and arranged them in two rows along the entrance of the Formation.
As long as a Sha Soul entered, these hundred Puppets would automatically activate and kill it.
And the process of killing would allow him to observe their structure and characteristics.
“Golden Toad Shedding its Shell, what kind of Mystic Art is it that almost no one has been able to comprehend it for tens of thousands of years?”
“One Hundred Ghosts Grinding is summoning grinding ghosts for one's own use. Battle Intent Thunder Fist is condensing a Thunder God behind one's back. Body as Soul Arrow is using one's body as Soul, and Soul as body... So what about Golden Toad Shedding its Shell? Where exactly is its secret?”
Qian Duoduo closed his eyes, spreading his Spiritual Awareness to every Puppet, carefully sensing their every Move.
His Spiritual Awareness at this time was more than ten times what it used to be.
At that time, he thought the Puppets he refined were perfect, but now he saw many problems and found many areas for improvement.
In a trance, Qian Duoduo felt as if he had transformed into a Puppet, mechanically waving his arms, moving his feet, performing fixed Moves, without a trace of emotion—
He was a Barbecue Puppet. A strange crow intruded into the Yin Peach Forest. Its long arm stabbed out, and a copper spike pierced the crow's neck.
He retracted the steel spike, intending to put the strange crow on the barbecue grill to roast it.
But halfway there, the strange crow had already turned into a ball of Spirit Liquid.
He looked up and opened his eyes, searching for the next target…
He was a Sword Cultivator Puppet, and his assigned swordsmanship was the Thirteen Forms of the Dragon's Movement.
When dozens of Spirit Snakes swam before his eyes, he used the “Slaying” technique.
Spiritual Qi transformed into sword light, specifically targeting the seven-inch mark of the Spirit Snakes…
He was a Long Whip Puppet. The long whip in his hand was like bamboo segments, also known as the Green Bamboo Long Whip.
His whip technique was like mountain winds caressing bamboo, continuous and unending.
No matter what Sha Soul he faced, the first whip strike would inevitably coil around its neck…
Qian Duoduo experienced all one hundred Puppets from beginning to end, and then from end to beginning, experiencing all the Dan artifact and Profound Weapons, yet he still couldn't find the entrance to the Mystic Art.
However, the Mystic Art clearly stated: “Golden Toad Shedding its Shell, comprehend through observing a hundred types of Puppets. The strength of the Mystic Art depends on one's Comprehension Ability and Opportunity.”
The Mystic Art belonged to the Refining Spirit Sect, and these hundred Puppets also belonged to the Refining Spirit Sect.
Where exactly was the connection between them?
Qian Duoduo used his Spiritual Awareness to simulate the Puppets one by one, imagining refining Puppets with his Spiritual Awareness, but still there was no result.
Spiritual Awareness has no form, while Puppets have form. It's impossible to refine Puppets with Spiritual Awareness; this path is a dead end.
In his mind, a hundred Puppets flashed rapidly.
In an instant, ten, twenty, thirty.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Qian Duoduo's mind: “If I combine these hundred Puppets, what kind of Puppet will they become? And will I be able to summon a Natal Puppet, just like summoning a grinding ghost?”
Natal! Qian Duoduo was struck by the word he had thought of.
“Caizhu Cultivates the Ghost Dao; he established the grinding ghost as his Natal, which is why he mastered One Hundred Ghosts Grinding.
Lei Hong is obsessed with the fist Dao; his Natal is the Thunder God, which is why he mastered Battle Intent Thunder Fist.
Nangong Nizi Cultivates the Soul Dao; she established the Soul Arrow as her Natal, which is why she can perform Body as Soul Arrow.
What about me? What should be my Natal!”