Chapter 453 Puppet Making (1)
Ji Rong stood with her paws on the pillow lamp, listening to Shi Ming tell stories; her days were quite pleasant.
Just as Shi Ming was about to finish recounting the few noteworthy things he had learned in his tedious cultivation journey, Ji Zhuang finally arrived carrying the eight-eyed, eight-legged multi-eyed immortal lord Qing Zhizi. Accompanying them were Gu Qingqing and a hundred armored soldiers equipped with aquatic magical cages.
Kiyoko attained immortality through mechanical puppets; her puppets were exquisitely crafted, with an inner core made only of iron and wood.
She then used spider silk as veins and fur as decorations to create puppets that seemed almost alive. These puppets could be activated by spirit crystals or by her own spiritual power, but she did not keep this masterpiece this time.
As soon as she landed, she called out loudly towards Ji Rong, "Junior Sister, where is my wicked disciple?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Rong immediately flew to Qing Zhizi's side and said, "Senior Sister, this place has been sealed off by Jue Jun's authority. Not even a bird or a fish can get out."
We haven't seen each other for years, why don't we rest a bit before going in?
Qingzhi shook her head and said, "Before I came, Senior Brother Wanfa gave me some instructions. Let's take care of the important business first."
Seeing that Qing Zhizi was unusually using the puppet without transforming into her celestial form, Ji Rong knew she must be very unhappy. So she didn't try to persuade her. She released Shi Ming and Zhen Deng from her claws and said, "Zhen Deng, Shi Ming, your chance to live has come. Quickly lead us inside to find Sui Ye."
Pillow Lamp and Shi Ming led Ji Rong and her group onto the island as instructed. When they arrived at Sui Ye's cave, Qing Zhizi glanced at Pillow Lamp and Shi Ming and asked, "Junior Sister, what should we do with these two aquatic creatures?"
Ji Rong said solemnly, "They besieged an innocent cultivator to fertilize his seed. They may be spared the death penalty, but they will not escape punishment. Why don't you give them a rope to tie them up, and let my brother Ji Zhuang keep an eye on them for now? We can deal with them after we've finished our own business."
Kiyoko nodded and said, "Alright." Then she opened her mouth wide and spat out strands of silvery white silk threads, which wrapped around the head of the pillow lamp and Shi Ming.
The silk thread was covered with tiny white beads that melted upon contact. The pillow lamp and Shi Ming were covered by the silk thread and soon fell into a deep sleep.
After binding the two of them into white cocoons and throwing them to Ji Zhuang, Qing Zhizi called out loudly to the stone cave where Sui Ye lived: "Good disciple, why don't you come out to greet me?"
As soon as these words were spoken, not a breath, not a second breath... not even half a moment later, Suiye did not come out to greet them. As time went by, Qingzhizi's dark face grew colder and colder.
Seeing that Suiye did not come out, she snorted coldly and suddenly transformed into a celestial being who was six feet tall, with two ears like holes, eight eyes on his face, and eight hands and feet on his body.
She made empty gestures with her eight hands and feet in the air, and soon clusters of silvery threads appeared in the air and floated in the water. Finally, all the silver threads went into the soil behind the cave.
Kiyoko looked at the layer of soil and laughed, "Good disciple, so you were hiding here."
A long thread shot out from Qingzhizi's mouth, wrapping up Suiye, who was hiding in the soil, and brought him to her feet. Qingzhizi stared at him and said, "Good disciple, I am your master. Even if you make a mistake, I will discipline you. What are you feeling guilty about? If you want to hide, you should hide further away. Why are you still hiding outside the cave like you did when you were young?"
Upon hearing this, Suiye's eyes widened in alarm. Ignoring the silver threads clinging to his body, he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, saying, "Master, Master, you and Uncle Wanfa have both said that unorthodox paths are also paths."
"Please let me stay. If I can master the art of merging with divine puppets, then all living beings in the world can enter the Dao through our puppetry techniques. This would be a magnificent feat for the revival of our puppetry path!"
Kiyoko shook her head and said, "If you had come out when I called you, I would have handed you over to Kiyohime. She might have spared your life out of consideration for me, but you didn't come out."
Good disciples, I have said before that I don’t care what kind of puppetry you practice, but I have also said that you must make the materials for making puppets yourselves. You must not take shortcuts, because you cannot achieve the Great Dao by taking shortcuts.
Over the years, under the guise of studying spider silk, you've used all the spider silk you've acquired to do such shady things. Even if you were going to do it, you should have informed me, but you've never said a word.
If I were to give you another chance to attain enlightenment, would it be so that you might later use your claws to turn against me and slaughter me?
After saying that, she exhaled a breath of gray air towards Suiye's face. This breath, like a viscous liquid, clung to Suiye's brow and seeped in little by little, causing Suiye to scream in agony.
One by one, fine threads with flowing silver inscriptions shot out from Qingzhizi's mouth, burrowing into Suiye's brain, limbs, and body, then emerging from his flesh and settling on Suiye's crown chakra.
These threads, leaving a tail, then burrowed back into Suiye's body. Like a tangled web, they connected Suiye's Dao Dan, heart chamber, and Dantian, and using this thread as a fulcrum, they spread out in all directions, enveloping Suiye's muscles, skin, and bones.
The intricate weaving continued all night, and by the next morning, the last thread, like a serpent, ended on its own and broke off at Kiyoko's foreleg. Kiyoko tugged on one of the threads, and Suehiro immediately opened his eyes, fear flashing in his sockets, but he was completely unable to move.
As Kiyoko gathered the loose threads and pinned them to the top of Suiye's head, she muttered to herself, "Suiye, you're blind and heartless, destined to be a puppet for half your life."
Your master's mastery of the puppet technique is far superior to yours; he simply doesn't want to use it to prove his Dao.
You are Xiong Xiu, and you have no innate silk threads in your body. Instead of focusing on how to make puppet threads, you have come to this remote and desolate place to show off your power.
"From now on, you will stay obediently by my side for a hundred years. After a hundred years, if you sincerely repent, I will consider letting you go."
Then, she gathered up all the loose threads with satisfaction and smiled at Ji Rong beside her, saying, "Junior sister, do you think my puppetry skills are comparable to our master's?"
Ji Rong stroked her paw and praised, "Exquisite craftsmanship! Senior Sister can control the puppet without harming its mind. She should be the number one puppeteer in the world today."
Although I have never witnessed how Master made puppets in the past, I have been fortunate enough to see the puppet world within the Octagonal Palace. Junior Sister believes that none of the puppets currently existing in the Octagonal Palace can compare to what Senior Sister made today, achieving the state of unity between soul and body.
When Qingzhi heard Ji Rong praise her, she was so happy that she stood there dancing with joy. She said happily, "Junior sister speaks so well. She only says what senior sister likes to hear."
The highest level of puppetry is to bring inanimate objects to life. This puppetry technique looks impressive, but it is actually a trick.
"To be honest, if you hadn't brought back Odd and Even, I wouldn't have been able to figure out this Divine Puppet Fusion Technique; I might have had to take a shortcut."
Ji Rong looked at the silver thread in her hand and said, "Senior Sister, your skills are unparalleled. Why be modest? I have a favor to ask of you."
Completely absorbed in her work, Kiyoko said happily, "Junior sister, please speak freely."
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