Puppet

Li Yunfan stood atop the mountain peak, gazing motionlessly at a certain direction in the sky, letting the wind tousle his hair and clothes.

Chen Qiaoqian had already left by flying away, but her words still echoed in Li Yunfan's heart.

"Senior brother, Qiaoqian won't force anything, but she will definitely try her best to catch up with you in the future!"

He took a deep breath, kept those words to himself, and then turned back into his cave.

He did not cultivate the path of ruthlessness, so how could he not be moved by the beautiful women who expressed their feelings for him several times?

However, he is still just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Although he has Li Huayuan as his backer, who will recognize him once he leaves Huangfeng Valley?

Therefore, improving one's own strength as soon as possible is the most correct choice!

He sat cross-legged on the futon, suppressing all his emotions. Only after he had completely calmed down did he take out the jade slip he had obtained from Qi Yunxiao.

"This formation not only isolates spiritual energy but also blocks divine sense detection. Whether used in our cave dwelling or set up within our clan, it's an excellent method of concealment!"

As he pondered this, he placed the jade slip on his forehead, slowly infiltrating it with his divine sense and beginning to study it carefully.

Several dozen days later, Li Yunfan suddenly left his cave and went to the nearby Huangfeng Valley market. After purchasing a large amount of materials, he went to the Tianxing Sect market in Yuanwu Kingdom without stopping, where he also purchased a large amount of materials before finally returning to his cave.

However, several months later, he left the cave again, but this time he went to a remote mountain forest and stayed there for more than ten days before returning to the Taiyue Mountains.

After an unknown amount of time, the ground around Li Yunfan in the cave was now covered with various traps and mechanisms, and in front of him stood a humanoid puppet about three feet tall, holding a bow and arrow.

Looking at the puppet in front of him, Li Yunfan's somewhat tired face revealed a satisfied smile.

During this period, he first fully comprehended the records of formations in the jade slip, and then took out the jade slip containing the Great Evolution Technique and began to study the Puppet True Scripture within it. After making progress, he went to the market to buy a large amount of materials for refining puppets.

After that, he spent two months trying to refine puppet beasts. However, he failed several times even with the lowest-level puppet, the first-class puppet, before finally succeeding. After squandering most of the materials he had purchased, he finally refined a three-headed leopard-shaped puppet beast.

He then went to a remote mountain forest, where he used the Soul-Trapping Technique to capture the life souls of a large number of ordinary small beasts. After returning to his cave, he used the Soul Refining Technique to refine the life souls and then injected them into the puppet's body.

Today, he finally used the remaining materials to successfully create his first level-two puppet!

"According to the classification of puppet beasts, a level two puppet should be able to exert the strength of a Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivator. Once the Great Evolution Technique is cultivated to the second level, one can control nearly a hundred puppets. If these puppets attack simultaneously, even a Foundation Establishment early stage cultivator would not be able to withstand it easily!"

After thinking it over, he waved his right hand and put the puppet archer into his storage bag. Then he looked at the messy state of the cave, frowned, and waved his hand again to release a burst of spiritual energy, which swept the failed products into a corner of the cave.

He then slowly closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing. During this period, his mental energy had been greatly depleted. If he had not cultivated the first level of the Great Evolution Technique, which greatly increased his spiritual sense and strengthened his primordial spirit, he might not have been able to withstand it.

In this way, Li Yunfan spent several more days and nights fully recovering his condition. Then he went into seclusion again, preparing to first raise his cultivation to the peak of the mid-stage, and then cultivate the second level of the Great Evolution Technique.

Before we knew it, another four years had passed.

During this period, apart from Han Li coming to see him once, no one else came to bother him. Even the Chen family did not contact him again. It is likely that Chen Qiaoqian explained her situation to the elders of the family, which made them temporarily give up their plan to have him marry into their family.

And he finally completed his cultivation plan during this period.

However, we should thank Han Li for this. At that time, the other party came to ask for advice on some intermediate spells in order to draw intermediate talismans. For this purpose, he specially used cultivated spiritual herbs to refine some "Qi Refining Powder" and gave it to him.

It was precisely because of these Qi-refining powders and the several bottles of pills in his possession that he was able to rely on the Fire Spirit Body's cultivation speed, which was comparable to that of a Heavenly Spirit Root, to push his cultivation to the peak of the mid-stage in just one year and four months.

After that, he focused on cultivating the second level of the Great Evolution Technique. Perhaps it was because he had cultivated the first level and his divine sense had become stronger, but the Great Evolution Technique, which he had originally estimated would take at least three or four years to complete, was actually completed in just two and a half years.

Sitting cross-legged in the cave, Li Yunfan made a calculation with his right fingers and couldn't help but frown.

"It seems the time for the demonic invasion is approaching... Now that Father and the family have left Yue Kingdom, there are no more worries. The next step is to find an opportunity to escape to Xi Kingdom when Huangfeng Valley evacuates from Yue Kingdom!"

Li Yunfan thought to himself, then stood up and walked out of the cave.

"But before that, there's one more thing..."

After leaving the cave, Li Yunfan took out the Cloud Piercing Boat, jumped on it, and flew directly towards the northwest of the Taiyue Mountains.

Outside Han Li's cave, a scholar-official carrying a peculiar blue wooden board, with a grin on his face, was constantly examining the array set up by the other party. He then showed an eager look on his face, but after a moment, he shook his head dejectedly.

Then he took out a communication talisman and threw it into Han Li's formation. The talisman immediately turned into a streak of fire and rushed into the formation.

Seeing this, the scholar nodded in satisfaction, then tossed the wooden board in his hand upwards. Just as he was about to fly away on his weapon, his expression suddenly changed, and he turned his head to look in the east.

Li Yunfan stood on the Cloud Piercing Boat, looking in the direction of Han Li's cave. His eyes narrowed slightly. With his divine sense now that he had cultivated the second level of the Great Evolution Technique, he had already spotted the scholar five or six miles away. However, seeing that the scholar had not made any move, he did not speed up to fly over.

"Fellow Daoist, what are you doing here?" After flying to the outside of Han Li's cave, Li Yunfan looked the other party up and down. Seeing that the scholar was also at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, he cupped his hands and asked politely.

When the Confucian scholar saw Li Yunfan, he also sized him up, then a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes, and he asked uncertainly.

"Are you perhaps Li Yunfan, my junior brother?"

"We don't seem to know each other. How do you know my name, fellow Daoist?" Li Yunfan frowned. He was certain he didn't know the other person, but the other person seemed to know him, so he asked directly.

Upon hearing this, the scholar's face broke into a grin again. Pointing to himself, he said, "My name is Qi Tai. I am the second disciple of Master Li Huayuan. I suppose my senior brother Yu Kun has mentioned me to you."

After saying that, he added, "I travel a lot all year round, so it's normal that my junior brother doesn't recognize me!"

Li Yunfan was stunned. He had indeed heard Yu Kun mention his second senior brother's name, but he had never met him. However, he had met his other senior brothers and sisters at least once over the years.