But for Su Xing, these four skills had to be fully mastered to become a true Puppet Master.
However, mastering all four skills was easier said than done.
"Sigh... the Dao of Puppets, who would have thought it required such stringent demands?"
"If I were to learn all four skills, I might waste a lot of time..."
Su Xing pondered carefully on the pros and cons of learning the Dao of Puppets.
Refining puppets naturally had its benefits, saving Su Xing a lot of time and effort.
For example, for refining low-level elixirs like the Nourishing Face Pill and the Fasting Pill, Su Xing wouldn't need to do it himself, allowing his puppets to handle it and saving him a vast amount of time, which could be quickly converted into simulated energy.
Su Xing estimated that if he let his puppets refine the Fasting Pill to exchange for the mining rights of alien metal mineral areas.
The quantity of simulated energy he could obtain in the coming months would increase several times, even tenfold!
Moreover, there were tasks that Su Xing might find inconvenient to perform himself, where he could let his puppets do the work.
For example, in trading with the Great Xia Military, Su Xing could let his puppets impersonate masters to conduct further transactions.
Finally, the puppets themselves constituted an extremely powerful fighting force.
These were the three major benefits of Su Xing learning the Dao of Puppets.
However, practicing the Dao of Puppets might require Su Xing to waste three to five simulation sessions...
This would significantly delay Su Xing's progress in becoming stronger...
After hesitating for a moment, Su Xing asked:
"Grandma, is there a shortcut to mastering the Dao of Puppets?"
The Ghost Grandma chuckled softly, looked profoundly at Su Xing, and asked:
"Are you thinking... of learning the Human Puppet Path?"
For some reason, hearing the Ghost Grandma's words gave Su Xing a fright, afraid that he might be mistaken for an evil cultivator...
Su Xing was about to explain, but the Ghost Grandma interrupted:
"To me, the Dao of Puppets has no distinction between good and evil!"
"If you are willing to do something for me, I am willing to teach you both the Human Puppet Path and the Instrument Puppet Path... How about it?"
Su Xing quickly responded: "I am willing!"
The Ghost Grandma said: "Since that is the case, a year from now..."
After stating her requirement, the Ghost Grandma pointed her finger towards Su Xing's forehead.
Su Xing felt a few secret techniques and knowledge related to the Dao of Puppets flooding into his mind.
The secret techniques were "Divine Soul Puppet Control Method," "Instrument Refinement Puppet Method," "Puppet Core Inscription Method," and "Puppet Core Formation."
These four secret techniques almost covered a large part of the knowledge from beginner to mastery within the Dao of Puppets.
Su Xing only needed to briefly recall to memorize the knowledge about the Dao of Puppets in his mind, but he was still far from being able to utilize it.
After teaching Su Xing the four secret techniques, the Ghost Grandma said:
"The Dao of Puppets requires more than just basic knowledge... Next, I will teach you the essentials to pay attention to in controlling, refining, and using puppets..."
With these words, the Ghost Grandma personally guided Su Xing.
Each pointer allowed Su Xing to gain immense benefits regarding the Dao of Puppets.
Additionally, in his Great Wisdom State, Su Xing's understanding of the Dao of Puppets skyrocketed as if he had a cheat.
Soon, the immersive simulation session ended, and Su Xing returned to the real world.
Back in the real world, Su Xing slowly opened his eyes, with a hint of amazement in them.
"The Ghost Grandma must be a reclusive mighty expert!"
"For the Dao of Puppets, the Ghost Grandma must have reached the pinnacle... With her guidance, my understanding of the Dao of Puppets has advanced by leaps and bounds!"
Su Xing opened the familiar simulation panel.
Just within a short immersive simulation session.
Su Xing's panel had a new ability, the Dao of Puppets, and it had already reached the beginner level.
"Tsk, tsk, with a few more sessions, I might soon achieve the Minor Achievement Level in the Dao of Puppets... By then, I should be able to control those eight Living Dead Puppets!"
Su Xing felt a hint of joy as he recalled the knowledge in his mind.
"The eight puppets left behind by the Damned Zong, I can now unlock the prohibitions on them..."
"But if I want them to refine elixirs or cultivate spirit plants, I need to modify their internal structure... I need to inscribe formation talismans into their puppet cores to give them the ability to refine elixirs and cultivate spirits!"
Su Xing planned to try this after the simulation ended.
"However, besides researching the Dao of Puppets in this simulation... I also need to figure out the identity of that mysterious person!"
For Su Xing, that mysterious person was like a sword hanging over his head.
If this crisis was not resolved, Su Xing might find it difficult to obtain the Spirit Vein Dragon.
The only thing Su Xing knew was that this puppet and Dragon Protector were somehow connected.
Therefore, to figure out the identity of this simulated person, Su Xing intended to go undercover in the Descending Sect during this simulation!
He looked at the simulation panel.
[After exiting the Luotian Meeting Instance, you gained a lot, and you began attempting to cultivate the Dao of Puppets.]
[You delved into the Dao of Puppets in the Spirit Field Cave for dozens of days, making some progress, but you were still unable to control those few puppets.]
[You knew that to master the Dao of Puppets, you needed to comprehend the Talisman Method as well.]
[So you took out a jade slip left by the Damned Zong, documenting the Talisman Method, and began cultivating it.]
[One day, you met Luo Shuying as promised.]
[After a month of not seeing her, Luo Shuying had already grown into a legendary-level expert, and under her leadership, you successfully joined the Descending Sect.]
[After joining the Descending Sect, you used your talent as a master of success to convince a large number of followers.]
[In this simulation, you didn't plan to directly betray the Descending Sect but to stay within and gather more clues...]