45: Chapter 45 Puppet Inheritance

Su Xuanming was momentarily unsure how to explain. Actually, what he wanted to know more was what Ruan Ning was thinking now.

Would she blame him and his sister for deceiving her?

Or would she think that the two siblings were plotting some unspeakable secret, just like the two deceased Senior Brothers and Junior Sisters?

Su Xuanming could not be sure, so he and Su Xuanjing first proceeded to search the bodies.

Junior Sister Chen's Storage Ring was shattered in the explosion, along with everything inside it.

Only Senior Brother Li's Storage Ring was preserved.

Ruan Ning was silent for a moment, then took the initiative to speak, "You two take this Storage Ring. If you hadn't saved me, I would already be dead."

Su Xuanming didn't feign politeness and directly accepted the Storage Ring, probing it with his Divine Sense.

The Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, and Talismans were pitifully few. The only thing worth looking at was an ancient, brown-skinned scroll book.

Su Xuanming took it out in front of them and casually flipped through a few pages.

"This appears to be..."

Su Xuanming's eyes narrowed slightly in surprise, "A Puppet Legacy!"

One of the hundred arts of Cultivation, the rather obscure Puppetry Art.

This kind of technique was very rare in the Cultivation World; sometimes you couldn't even buy it, as it was simply too niche.

Moreover, the creation methods and techniques for every type of Puppetry Art were different, leading to a lack of orthodoxy in Puppetry Art. Consequently, what was sold outside were all incomplete Legacies.

Even if one luckily acquired the complete First Grade Puppetry Art, they wouldn't know where to find the Second Grade Puppet Legacy.

Yet, the Puppetry Art in Su Xuanming's hands was a complete Legacy spanning both First and Second Grades, its value comparable to a foundation establishment pill recipe!

"Puppetry Art? Senior Brother Li and I are both Utility Disciples of the Dao Xuan Sect. How could he possess such a Legacy?"

Ruan Ning's attention was drawn. After muttering this, she immediately recalled Senior Brother Li's actions just now, and she instantly understood.

This Puppet Legacy was most likely something Senior Brother Li had stolen after killing others...

"Huh? These methods of Puppetry are quite exquisite. They can even simulate death with a Puppet, and the self-detonation of that young lady just now is particularly similar to this Puppet Self-Destruct Spell..."

At this point, Su Xuanming paused.

He and Su Xuanjing exchanged a look, arriving at the same conjecture in their hearts.

Su Xuanming immediately flipped to the subsequent content and finally understood everything completely.

He hesitated for a moment before handing the scroll book over, "Miss Ruan, please take a look at this."

Ruan Ning's breathing suddenly became heavy. She took the scroll book, scanned it a few times, and couldn't help but tremble slightly in her hands before finally sighing deeply.

"Junior Sister Chen..."

During the recent fight, she had noticed that Junior Sister Chen's expression occasionally mirrored Senior Brother Li's exactly.

And this Puppetry Art recorded the technique for refining a corpse into a Puppet; Junior Sister Chen's performance was completely identical to the Puppet described in the book.

Without a doubt, Junior Sister Chen had been refined into a Puppet by Senior Brother Li at some unknown time, which is why she attacked Ruan Ning.

Senior Brother Li's initial move to attack Junior Sister Chen was merely self-directing and self-acting, deliberately luring Ruan Ning into the trap.

If the Su Family siblings hadn't appeared, Senior Brother Li's scheme would have succeeded.

"Why would this person want to attack and kill Sister Ruan? Just to kill a fellow Sect member and steal treasures?" Su Xuanjing asked doubtfully.

Ruan Ning was equally puzzled. She didn't possess any treasures, only ordinary Cultivation resources.

Recalling Senior Brother Li's strange behavior these past few days, she flipped a few more pages of the scroll book, her gaze finally settling on the Puppet Simulated Death technique.

"The Soul can inhabit a Puppet, allowing for a seamless disguise of the main body."

"After the Puppet is destroyed in battle, the main body's Soul cannot be locked onto by any Qi signature or Soul Spell, and one can also use this method to cleanse one's own Soul and Qi signature markings."

"I understand!"

Ruan Ning was profoundly shaken; she finally grasped Senior Brother Li's true objective.

Killing fellow Sect members to steal treasures was merely incidental; Senior Brother Li's real goal was to defect from the Dao Xuan Sect!

Every Disciple of the Dao Xuan Sect leaves a Life Lamp within the Sect when they join. Only death causes it to extinguish.

And this Puppet Simulated Death technique could cleanse all Soul and Qi signature markings, naturally including the Life Lamp Spell from the Sect.

"According to the travel time originally planned for the three of us, we should currently be fighting Yao Beasts at the Guangling Border Pass, facing the possibility of death at any moment."

"Senior Brother Li killing me and Junior Sister Chen now would only lead the Sect to mistakenly believe we died at the border pass. This is also the perfect time to use this technique. From then on, Senior Brother Li could regain his freedom."

Upon learning the truth, Ruan Ning felt only pity.

Because if Senior Brother Li had told her about this, she wouldn't have reported him; she would have even used this method to leave the Dao Xuan Sect together.

But Senior Brother Li didn't trust her, or rather, Dao Xuan Sect Disciples never trusted their peers; they only harbored suspicion or plotted to stab each other in the back.

Thus, Senior Brother Li, possessing a method of escape, chose to eliminate the two Junior Sisters and fly away alone.

This was the Cultivation World Ruan Ning had encountered: nothing but deceit and selfishness.

Ruan Ning relayed her deductions to the Su Family siblings.

The latter were left speechless upon hearing it.

Mainly, the two couldn't comprehend why fellow Sect members would plot against each other. Wasn't the Sect supposed to be a larger family?

"Sister Ruan, you feel that Cultivators are heartless, and that's not your fault. My father also said that Cultivators outside are cold and ruthless, but our family is different; my father is a Cultivator full of human kindness."

Su Xuanjing saw that Ruan Ning was dejected and seemed to feel disgust towards Cultivators. She was afraid the Su Family would be misunderstood and implicated, so she quickly comforted and explained.

After all, the Su Family truly was different, completely unlike Cultivators outside.

"That is indeed the case. Third Sister speaks only the truth. If Miss Ruan visits the Su Family, she will know."

Su Xuanming smiled, "It's getting late. I see Miss Ruan has nowhere to go. Why don't you stay at the Su Family for now? If Miss Ruan wishes to leave the Dao Xuan Sect, perhaps you could try this Puppet Simulated Death technique."

Puppetry Art don't necessarily require corpses to make Puppets; wood, bronze, Immortal Gold, and so on can also be used.

It's just that the latter materials are expensive, and making wood or metal move requires the help of an Artifact Refiner.

"Then I shall impose upon you."

Ruan Ning nodded her head slightly. She suddenly realized that from the moment she was abandoned by the Dao Xuan Sect, she had nowhere to go.

...

A moment later, Ruan Ning had just arrived at the Su Family when she saw the maidservants and servants in the courtyard greeting them enthusiastically and proactively.

These people seemed to all be Mortals, but their enthusiasm wasn't feigned; it was a genuine welcome for the masters returning home.

This surprised Ruan Ning.

From this, it seemed the Su Family siblings' attitude towards Mortals was the same as hers.

As she walked into the inner courtyard, she saw a Big Black Ox slowly walking towards them, with a pretty little girl riding on its back.

Ruan Ning felt the scene was very bizarre.

A black ox crammed into a courtyard with beautiful scenery really ruined the aesthetic appeal, but upon careful investigation, she discovered that this black ox was actually a Qi Refinement Stage Yao Beast!

The Su Family Head was a Cultivator, the Su Family siblings were Cultivators, and even the ox raised at home was a Yao Beast.

For a moment, Ruan Ning had the illusion of having stumbled into a true Dragon's lair, feeling like everyone in the courtyard was deeply hidden.

The young man and woman chatting over tea under the pavilion, the little boy walking towards them, and even the maidservant tending to the flowers in the courtyard—they all looked like Cultivators...