162: 1.8 meters tall, 400 kilograms beauty

The Puppet Gu is absolutely not as simple as just turning someone into an idiot. As the sub-gu consumes the Divine Soul and digests the host's memories, a new consciousness and personality will slowly emerge.

The new personality possesses all of the host's memories, but the character changes drastically, losing the original desires and developing a consciousness that completely obeys the mother Gu.

If the mother Gu orders it to maintain the original identity, it would be difficult to spot any problems unless the observer is someone extremely close to the host.

However, this process is very slow. Decades of complicated memories are not easily digested, and the sub-gu does not develop a personal consciousness quickly.

The higher the Cultivator's cultivation base, the more time it takes for the sub-gu to completely replace them.

Given Xu Bin's Seventh Layer of Qi Refining cultivation, Liu Xuan estimated it would take at least three months for the sub-gu to reach a state where it could pass off as the real person.

The matter of the Soul Seizing Secret Art was urgent. Liu Xuan could not wait that long, so he had no choice but to use his Divine Sense to control Xu Bin, hide his identity, and make the trip himself.

The order in the Nether Fire Sect was far more chaotic, meaning secret arts of the Evil Path, such as Possession, should be easier to acquire.

The Nether Fire Sect belonged to the Nascent Soul Sect, the Cloud Top Sect. Even if True Person Xiao's influence was great, he could not manage affairs there, so Liu Xuan could confidently and boldly search for the secret art. After the convoy left the territory of the Red Pine Sect, Liu Xuan used his Divine Sense to look out of the carriage. It was a rare trip outside, and to an external Sect at that, so Liu Xuan was in high spirits.

By the roadside lay a vast expanse of farmland, planted only with the lowest grade of large yellow rice.

This type of rice only contained faint spiritual energy, and besides being used to refine Bigu Pills (Grain Abstinence Pills), it held no other value for Cultivators.

However, its planting requirements were simple; as long as the soil was fertile, it could survive, and the yield was quite large, making it popular among low-level Cultivators.

After all, low-level Cultivators couldn't eat Advanced spiritual rice every day, so being able to eat Bigu Pills refined from large yellow rice was quite good already.

"Smack~"

A man dressed as a Martial Artist struck an old farmer with a whip.

"How many times have I told you, no slacking off, no slacking off! Are you trying to die?"

"Please calm your anger, sir!"

"I wouldn't dare again! Never again!"

The old man knelt down and kowtowed in panic. Traces of blood seeped through the coarse linen clothes on his back, yet he seemed not to feel the pain.

"Get your ass back to work!"

The Martial Artist kicked the old man over, then cursed under his breath as he put away his whip and returned to the lounge chair nearby to rest.

"Thank you, sir!"

"Thank you, sir!"

The old man climbed to his feet, thanking the Martial Artist for his forgiveness while bending over to weed and tend the fields.

Liu Xuan frowned slightly. He had long heard that the status of ordinary Mortals in the Nether Fire Sect was like that of slaves, but seeing it with his own eyes still made him uncomfortable.

As far as Liu Xuan knew, all the land in the Nether Fire Sect was the property of Cultivators, and ordinary Mortals were also the private assets of Cultivators, possessing no freedom whatsoever.

That Martial Artist was likely a relative of a Cultivator, or a guard trained by a Cultivator Family.

To some extent, most places in the Cultivation world were slave societies: Mortals were slaves to low-level Cultivators, and low-level Cultivators were slaves to Advanced Cultivators.

The Red Pine Sect, in contrast, was an anomaly. Although the Mortals there still had to bear high taxes, they lived relatively freely; they were more like tenants of a Cultivation Family.

This was not due to the efforts of True Person Xiao, but rather the decree issued by the Nascent Soul True Lord of the Heavenly Sword Sect.

The Heavenly Sword True Lord believed that Mortals who lived orderly lives and had more hope could create more value, so he ordered that no Cultivator should arbitrarily oppress or slaughter Mortals.

Different societies had different rules, and Liu Xuan was currently just an insignificant part of this system of rules.

Although the scene before him made him uncomfortable, he did not step forward to champion the old man.

What could he do? Punish the Martial Artist, or kill him outright?

If he did that, not only would he cause trouble for himself, but the old man would definitely meet a bad end afterward.

The old man slacked off on work, and the Martial Artist guard only gave him a whipping—this was considered merciful behavior in the territory of the Nether Fire Sect.

Along the way, Liu Xuan occasionally saw instances of Mortals being oppressed, and some Martial Artists even took pleasure in tormenting Mortals.

Without the constraints of morality, order, and law, human nature was far more evil than imagined.

After seeing it often enough, one got used to it. Humans truly were prone to becoming numb!

...The convoy traveled for a full two hours before finally stopping at a Cultivation market called 'Fallen Leaves'.

Liu Xuan, using Xu Bin's identity, arranged for everyone to carry on with their duties as usual, and then controlled Xu Bin to fly together toward the Nether Fire Sect's largest Immortal City, Nether Fire City.

Like the Red Pine Sect, Nether Fire City was located right next to the Nether Fire Sect, built relying on the Sect's branch vein, and primarily used for external communication.

"Senior Brother Xu, who is this?"

Xu Bin and Liu Xuan walked into the largest shop in the city, Linlang Pavilion, which was the official store of the Nether Fire Sect, equivalent to the Red Pine Sect's Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Xu Bin was a Personal Disciple of a Sect Foundation Establishment Ancestor and also an executive of the Nether Fire Merchant Alliance, so the person in charge of the shop recognized him.

"His name is Fang Li, he is a friend of mine," Xu Bin said.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Fang Li!"

"Stop wasting time. I have urgent business with your manager this time. Quickly take me to see her," Xu Bin interrupted impatiently.

"Yes!"

He suppressed his discomfort, smiled, and led the way, taking Xu Bin and Liu Xuan up to the second floor of the shop.

"Senior Brother Xu, Fellow Daoist Fang, please wait a moment. The manager will be here shortly."

A moment later.

A robust young woman walked in. Liu Xuan was startled. What a muscular woman!

The young woman was over 1.8 meters tall, not much shorter than him, and covered in flab, estimated to weigh no less than 400 pounds.

Despite such a formidable physique, she had a round face and fair skin. Judging by her face alone, she was not ugly; she could barely be considered a beauty.

A 1.8-meter, 400-pound beauty! Liu Xuan felt as if insects were crawling on him, experiencing extreme discomfort.

Checking Xu Bin's memories, this woman was named Liu Hong, a direct descendant of a Foundation Establishment Ancestor in the Nether Fire Sect, possessing Qi Refining Perfection cultivation.

None of that was the main point. The main point was that she practiced a Dual Cultivation Technique, which was reportedly an Advanced Cultivation Technique from the top Sect, the Joyous Union Sect.

Like Liu Xuan, Liu Hong had countless male consorts. Many handsome male Cultivators within the Sect had been half-seduced and half-forced into Dual Cultivation with her.

Unlike Liu Xuan, she did not have children; her Dual Cultivation was pure, seeking the ultimate pleasure of the Soul ascending during the merging of Yin and Yang.

"Xu Bin? What is it, have you finally come around?"

Liu Hong smiled, "I told you a long time ago, you have humble origins. If you follow me, I guarantee you won't regret it!"

A chill ran down Liu Xuan's spine. He hadn't expected Xu Bin to have this kind of relationship with her.

"Senior Sister, you misunderstand. I came to see you this time because I have a favor to ask," Liu Xuan controlled Xu Bin to speak, trying hard to maintain the expression on his face.

"Oh?"

"Tell me about it."

Liu Hong was curious what kind of matter would make Xu Bin come to her for help. Didn't this boy usually try his best to avoid her?

"I'd like to ask Senior Sister to help me search for a secret art. The price is negotiable!"

"What secret art?"

"The Soul Seizing Secret Art!"

"The Soul Seizing Secret Art?"

Liu Hong frowned, "Why are you looking for this thing? You have no use for it."

"Senior Sister doesn't need to worry about that. I have my own uses for it!"