Chapter 54: 54. Make-up classes South Bamboo Peak summit. Large clouds floated, the sky was clean and deep. The peaks stretched out one after another, each towering, with the air mixed with the distant fragrance of hundreds of flowers... In this dreadful chaotic world, today can truly be described as a leisurely and lovely day. Stone Master sat on a wheelchair with a smile, Bi Huayi stood behind him. The beautiful woman had a frightened look, her hands tightly clutching the wheelchair, as if she dared not let go. When Stone Master saw Song Yan arrive, he said, "Take a seat." Song Yan respectfully saluted, then walked to the front row. Wang Susu moved aside a little. Lu Haiyi took his sleeve and wiped the floor, then placed a cushion in the center when Song Yan arrived. Song Yan sat cross-legged. Stone Master, with a solemn expression, began to speak. "There is Profound Qi in heaven and earth, the key for a cultivator practicing profound arts is the Profound Root, harnessing Profound Qi to nourish oneself; you are all cultivators who have stepped into the Refining Profound, first layer, and are undergoing the tribulation of Fox Demons. As the Peak Master, I hope to nurture a new batch of Skin Masters and also hope each of you can live well. Now, who can tell me what is the most important thing in cultivating profound arts?" Saying this, Stone Master casually pointed at several people, his gaze fell on Song Yan, saying, "Little Song, you have a try." Song Yan was about to stand up, but Stone Master pressed down and said, "Speak while seated." Only then did Song Yan say, "I believe the emphasis lies in the three words ’nourish oneself.’ Refining Profound means refining this mortal body into Heaven and Earth Profound Body, breaking the shackles of mortals." Stone Master showed an appreciative expression, saying, "That’s right, Refining Profound is about forging the mortal body to break the shackles of mortals; once broken, lifespans can be doubled, reaching over two hundred years. The ten veins, skin bones, bloodline, organs, one Qi transforming into a flood dragon, riding the storm to expand the Dantian of Profound Qi, these... might be the levels you need to pursue all your life. Your Profound Root quality is not high, so if you wish to achieve something, you absolutely must not be distracted, every second counts in cultivation; only then... can you have the possibility of a breakthrough." As the words fell, there was a clamor below, prompting questions one after another. Stone Master answered them one by one. His teaching philosophy was, "Unveiling the subsequent realms for you, so you know the direction in cultivation, thereby avoiding a dead end." Some disciples who initially had differing opinions also understood after hearing Stone Master’s explanation. Song Yan posed a question, "Teacher, what realm follows after the Refining Profound Realm?" Stone Master smiled and said, "That’s too far ahead. Oh well, I’ll tell you. After the Refining Profound Realm comes the Crimson Palace Realm." "Crimson Palace Realm?" "One Qi transforming Jiao into a dragon, breaking the sea soaring into the heart. Why enter the heart? Because the core of the Crimson Palace Realm is your heart. Various cultivation methods are also centered around the heart. It’s said that at this realm, even your Divine Soul becomes no longer Qi but like liquid water, much more condensed and substantial. And your body will erupt with unbelievable power." "The heart?" "No need to ask further." Stone Master coughed twice; since even he hadn’t reached the Crimson Palace Realm, naturally there was nothing much to teach, then thought again and said, "You only need to remember, in the practice of profound cultivation, don’t be blinded by external things, forgetting the core of cultivation. Know that oneself is the priority. Alright, let’s talk about external things now. Though you may possess a strong body in the mortal world, in the Cultivation Realm, you are still merely toddlers taking tentative steps; even the aftermath of a battle between strong cultivators might easily kill you. In such times, learning to use external things, instead of one’s fists, becomes particularly important." ... As this was spoken, Song Yan listened carefully. He understood only half, entirely unlike a person at the "Ninth Layer of Refining Profound." Stone Master said, "First is, Profound Artifact. Profound Artifact to us is like a weapon to mortals. However, while Profound Artifacts are more varied, disciples from different sects are suited for different Profound Artifacts. For example, Nanwu Sword Sect, their Profound Artifacts are Flying Swords, for their cultivation technique system culminates in the Sword Array, mastering Flying Swords is fundamental. While in our Puppet Sect’s Five Peaks, each is different. Our Shadow Puppet Peak’s suitable Profound Artifacts are the simplest, being Shields and Flying Sabers. Because we do not need to attack, engage in Magical Battles, only need to use shields for self-protection, and control Shadow Puppets to attack, as for Flying Sabers, these are complements to the Shadow Puppets. Regarding these short-handled sabers, I imagine each of you is already very familiar, right?" There was a burst of laughter below. Whether it’s skinning knives or carving knives, they are all short-handled knives, things handled every day. Stone Master said, "As for the remaining four peaks... Paperman Peak likes heavy armor because it can constantly strengthen them, making themselves powerful, thus their paper figures also become strong; Blood Corpse Peak uses banners, for banners can usually stir up great winds, in the dust and sand, allowing them to hide among them, thus enabling blood corpses to kill; Mechanical Peak uses hammers because hammers are their tool for sustenance, they are very skilled with them, and the Profound Artifacts provided by our sect are generally made by them; Besides refining elixirs and poisons, Bizarre Poison Peak also requires dual cultivation in escape techniques and related talisman drawing skills." With that, he paused slightly. Wang Susu asked, "Peak Master, how do our Shadow Puppets from Shadow Puppet Peak compare to Papermen and Blood Corpses?" Everyone was quite curious about this answer. Although the Puppet Sect has Five Peaks, its puppets are of three types: Shadow Puppets, Papermen, and Blood Corpses. Which is superior or inferior? Everyone wanted to know the answer. Stone Master seemed to know what they wanted to ask and said with a smile, "Let’s take your senior brother as an example. The Paperman is like a weakened version of little Song, with far less physical strength, but only slightly inferior magic power. The Blood Corpse is made from little Song’s body through special production to become a monster controlled by a Corpse-Driving Profound Cultivator. However, with your senior brother’s current realm, even if the Peak Master of Blood Corpse Peak personally took action, they could at most create a second-to-last-ranked Purple Corpse. Of course, the physical strength of this Purple Corpse would certainly be stronger than your senior brother’s, but it wouldn’t be able to use profound artifacts or spells. As for Shadow Puppets, they are essentially beasts under control. If a Shadow Puppet is formidable, it can even be stronger than when the demon beast was alive, and may even develop new magic due to the divine soul and the techniques of the controller. So... Who is strong or weak depends not on power, but on the person." Stone Master spoke with great enthusiasm. As they watched the evening gradually approach, Stone Master quickly pulled out two Jade Scrolls from his robe and said, "Little Song, starting with you, those of you who’ve entered the realm can now learn these two spells. Previously, you had to wait, but now... the sect has made an exception to let you learn earlier because the current world is not safe, and learning a bit earlier gives you a bit more power for self-defense. As for the ’Qi Arrow Technique’ and the like from the mountains below, they’re just to hoodwink loose cultivators; these two spells are more suitable for you. Once you reach the Fourth Layer of Refining Profound Realm, and learn ’Skin Control Technique’, controlling two Shadow Puppets, that is when you truly become a profound cultivator of Shadow Puppet Peak." Song Yan quickly stepped forward and absorbed the spells from the two Jade Scrolls. One: "Profound Qi Shielding Technique" One: "Profound Blade Transformation Technique" Meanwhile, Bi Huayi stood at a small stone table at the cliff’s edge, not knowing when he had gotten there, piling half-arm-sized dark shields and palm-length sabers on the stone table’s legs. Bi Huayi flicked his hand, clearly retrieving egg-sized pouches from his storage space. Stone Master looked from afar at Song Yan, who had finished absorbing the spells, and said, "Starting today, each of you will receive one small Profound Jade every six months in addition to your original benefits. The use of small Profound Jade is quite special; it’s the third absorption channel for enhancing a Human Profound Root’s realm. Apart from dual cultivation and elixirs, small Profound Jade provides the equivalent of half a year’s cave mansion cultivation, and this power doesn’t conflict with Profound Stones. Main Peak’s disciples use it consistently. This greatly speeds up cultivation. Because of its properties, Profound Jade is also known as Empowerment Jade. Little Song, take one. Remember, practice with the shield and flying saber as well, these are the sect’s allocations for you." Song Yan nodded, received the pouch from Bi Huayi, weighed it slightly, and estimated it to contain about a hundred Profound Jade Beans, which could exchange for the ten lowest-grade pieces of demon beast skin at the Snake Corpse Market previously. Indeed, cultivation truly is a costly affair... And the Puppet Sect, facing the Fox Demon invasion, has started allocating resources to speed up disciple development. "Thank you, Mistress." "Mm..." Bi Huayi responded nervously, then timidly handed small Profound Jade to the disciples coming up from behind. Song Yan bowed his head, picked a shield, a flying saber, and walked away into the distance. For these two spells, he didn’t plan to use life span calculation but to train alongside his junior brothers and sisters as an ordinary cultivator... ... ... Several days later. Piff... Crack, crack, crack... Wang the demoness showed an excited expression, shouting, "It’s up, it’s up." In front of her, a practice flying saber was rising. She pinched a technique, causing the flying saber to shoot forward suddenly, but unfortunately, it fell to the ground with a "pop" not far away. In the distance, Lu Haiyi and Shangguan Jian didn’t make a sound, as neither had mastered it yet. As for the senior brother... Initially, Lu Haiyi and Shangguan Jian thought "even the senior brother is just talented in skin skills," but now they realized senior brother’s magic talent was also high. Two days ago, senior brother had already achieved today’s result of Wang Susu, and even the flight distance of the flying saber was farther. This made them finally grasp that "senior brother will always be senior brother," and they ought to cling to his coattails well. Stone Master was similarly attentive to Song Yan’s progress, and the bodiless phantom crow hidden in the treetop also nodded frequently after observing Song Yan’s progress, thinking: Wang Susu has talent, but this Song kid is even more impressive. Though his talent in attack techniques isn’t as high as in skin skills, it is still barely considered genius within the sect, but... For some reason, an ominous shadow suddenly loomed in Stone Seat Elder’s heart. He gazed north. Few in the sect truly knew that the battle against the Fox Demon had actually ended in defeat... and now the Fox Demons had infiltrated the mountains far and wide. But he couldn’t speak of it. Because the Sect Leader himself had issued a gag order to him. Interestingly, Sect Leader’s confidant in the Puppet Sect, Gu Tianyang, didn’t know about this. He didn’t know what Gu Tianyang intended, and even more so, he didn’t know what the Sect Leader... had in mind.