Chapter 492: Weird Soulless Golden Man (Part 2)

The book was filled with dense writing.

"First-grade Soul-less Golem: A special puppet crafted by Soul Oracles. It possesses an independent consciousness and can also be controlled by a soul invasion. Its body contains a spiritual stone array, eliminating the need for cultivation. When several golems work together under unified control, they possess immense offensive power. Disadvantages:..."

"Independent consciousness?"

"What does that mean?"

"Could it be that this thing isn't dead, but alive? Otherwise... how could it possess independent consciousness?"

He continued reading.

"...Disadvantage four: The consciousness is voluntarily extracted from the body, leaving only a trace of undying flame within, making it unable to awaken. Disadvantage five:..."

"Could it be..." Zhang Xuan's expression suddenly darkened as a thought struck him.

Legend had it that Soul-less Golems were refined from living people by Soul Oracles. He had found it hard to believe before, but now it seemed highly likely.

Forcibly extracting the soul while leaving a trace of undying flame within was meant to keep the person alive and prevent their body from decaying. This was akin to a vegetative state: though appearing no different from a corpse, the body retained vitality, meaning it was still a living being.

Otherwise, without a soul, the person would be dead, and the body couldn't be preserved. How then could it be refined into a golem?

Aside from everything else, just permeating the entire body with metal to achieve this form would take a considerable amount of time. If the physical body weren't kept alive, it might rot away before the refinement was even complete.

His fist clenched as he considered the immense cruelty of the Soul Oracles. Then, he shook his head. "Wait, it says the consciousness was *voluntarily* extracted from the body. Could it be that these people willingly faced death?"

The text indicated the soul was voluntarily extracted.

This meant that the soul's extraction wasn't forced by the Soul Oracle; rather, the golem's original owner agreed to it. Only under such conditions could the undying flame remain. Otherwise, resistance would lead to total destruction, obliterating the entire soul.

Not only would it be impossible to create the golem, but even the body itself might not be preserved.

Legend stated that some major powers could raise loyal deathsworn, individuals willing to die for a cause. He speculated that these golems might be similar: raised by Soul Oracles, their ultimate purpose was to transform into golems and pledge complete allegiance.

If major powers could raise deathsworn, there was no reason Soul Oracles couldn't. Furthermore, given their expertise in souls, it was plausible that they could brainwash cultivators into willingly allowing their souls to be extracted.

Terrifying!

Bizarre!

To refine puppets from living people, and to make them willing participants, truly showed how terrifying Soul Oracles were.

He had initially considered capturing a few himself to refine and enhance his cultivation, but seeing their cruel methods, he shivered. He decided against it.

He continued reading, quickly finishing the entire book.

The rest of the content was unremarkable, primarily detailing the Soul-less Golem's weaknesses and methods of use.

"Unfortunately, I can't use it..."

After finishing the content, Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly.

Soul Oracles were proficient in soul arts and could project their souls out of their bodies to control these items, but he could not.

Up to this point in his cultivation, he had yet to encounter any soul cultivation methods. This meant that although his strength had reached the Half-Transcendent realm, his soul was still fused with his physical body and could not operate independently.

It was like driving a car: to take it where you wanted to go, you first had to get inside. If his soul couldn't leave his body, it couldn't enter the golem. How then could he control it?

He had previously considered that once he bought it and could control it, he would effectively possess a Transcendent realm deathsworn. Now, however, it was clear that this was not the case.

His soul was bound to his physical body and unable to leave, rendering him unable to use it. In other words, the golem would simply lie there, utterly useless.

Of course, if he ever encountered real danger, he could still bring it out and use it as a human shield.

*Cough, cough*. To spend so much time bidding and pay such a high price just for a shield... the thought was quite exasperating.

"Store!"

After looking for a while longer and finding no more useful information, he stored the golem in his storage ring. Then, with a flick of his palm, a spherical object appeared.

It was the Heavenly Ingenuity Box, the item Elder Chen had given him as compensation when he lost their bet and couldn't pay him back.

"There's a flaw here, and here, and here..."

Caressing the round, lead-ball-like object, he infused it with *zhenqi* through his fingers, tapping each flaw as recorded in the library.

There were seventeen flaws in total, which he quickly tapped.

*Click!*

The sound of a mechanism springing open echoed, and the sphere in his hand suddenly transformed, as if a box had been opened.

"This..."

From its appearance, the object was indistinguishable from a lead ball, with no seams or joints whatsoever. He had previously suspected it was just a solid lump of iron.

He never dreamed it could actually open.

"How exquisite..."

He looked down and couldn't help but exclaim, "Could this so-called Heavenly Ingenuity Institute be a gathering place for Heavenly Engineers, similar to the Beast Hall or the Alchemist Guild?"

After finishing all the books in the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, though he hadn't fully mastered the knowledge, he had learned about a very formidable profession: Heavenly Engineers!

This profession didn't emphasize martial power; instead, it focused on mechanisms and ingenuity, placing it among the 'lower nine professions.'

Legend had it that they could design the world's most precise hidden weapons and most complex puppets, particularly armor. While artifact forgers crafted armor that fit the body, achieving greater effectiveness required seeking out individuals from this profession.

When countless powerful individuals forged weapons, they would often invite both Heavenly Engineers and artifact forgers to design them personally. Frequently, a single weapon would contain countless intricate methods, making it unpredictable and difficult to defend against.

Take Zheng Yang's spear, for instance. It was a common model that had to be tediously folded section by section. If a Heavenly Engineer had designed it, it could have mechanisms allowing it to be as short as chopsticks when held, yet with a gentle press, extend to over three meters, possessing immense power.

Then there was this Heavenly Ingenuity Box. The flaws recorded in the library must be its weak connection points; only by touching them could it be fully opened.

Otherwise, even immense strength would be futile, and a forceful attack would only completely destroy the contents within.

"What valuable item could be stored in something like this?"

He casually pulled open the Heavenly Ingenuity Box.

When he first touched the object, he had received a judgment: "Crafted by the Heavenly Ingenuity Institute, unparalleled in its intricate design. It cannot be opened without a specific method and is designed to hold important, confidential treasures!"

Given that it was stored within such an ingenious device, it certainly couldn't be ordinary.

Inside the opened box lay a thin piece of beast hide. Its material was unknown, but it was exceptionally tough and had been preserved for an unknown number of years, yet it was completely intact, without the slightest damage.

He casually unfurled it.

"Red Dust Heaven-Treading Steps? What is this?"

At the very top of the beast hide were five large characters: "Red Dust Heaven-Treading Steps," whose meaning was initially unclear.

As he continued reading, a line of poetry appeared before his eyes.

"Three thousand *li* of red dust, with a smile, tread upon the azure sky!"

Following the poem, the origin of the item was described.

"The Red Dust Heaven-Treading Steps were created by Saint Zhong, a disciple of Master Kong. Upon its mastery, he could carry a great mountain, traverse three thousand *li* in a single stride, and soar into the nine heavens. Our lineage received Saint Zhong's benevolence, and this scroll of the Heaven-Treading Steps was passed down to our descendants, with the hope that it would be cherished. To prevent unforeseen circumstances, it was specifically placed within the Heavenly Ingenuity Box, which cannot be opened without the blood of our direct descendants..."

"It's a movement technique?"

Zhang Xuan understood, his eyes brightening.

Created by a disciple of Master Kong, the immense value of this movement technique was self-evident.

No wonder it had to be stored within the Heavenly Ingenuity Box.

Logically, this item had a specific opening method, as stated: it could not be opened without the blood of a descendant from their lineage. Zhang Xuan was, of course, not one of their descendants, nor did he even know what this lineage was.

The reason he could open it was that he had discovered its inherent flaws.

This was akin to passwords from his previous life: knowing the password allowed access, but if forgotten, one could enter the administrator interface and use the administrator password to open it just the same.

He was now using that very method.

The Library of Heaven's Path had directly penetrated the essence of the ingenious box, attacking it at its very foundation. No matter how intricate or secure it was, it became effortlessly vulnerable.

"A cultivation technique left by a disciple of Master Kong, I wonder if it has any flaws!"

Holding the secret manual, Zhang Xuan mentally prompted for its flaws.

By now, it had become his habit to first check any cultivation technique for flaws.

This item was personally created by a disciple of Master Kong, so its high level was imaginable. However, even high-level things surely had flaws. He decided to check first.

An identical book appeared in his mind, which he casually opened.

"Only forty-two flaws?"

He quickly finished flipping through the book, dumbfounded.

As expected of a movement technique created by a disciple of Master Kong, it was truly formidable. Having only around forty flaws was relatively few among martial techniques.

The martial techniques he had seen previously typically had hundreds of flaws. This was precisely why each complete cultivation technique required supplementing with thousands of secret manuals to become truly flawless.

This martial technique, with fewer than fifty flaws, was powerful enough to cause a bloody storm if word of it got out.

"With so many flaws, I wouldn't dare cultivate it..."

It would have been fine if he hadn't known the flaws, but knowing them, Zhang Xuan's face crumpled in dismay.

It was like seeing countless worms crawling inside an otherwise delicious fruit; one would immediately lose all appetite.

He was accustomed to cultivating flawless cultivation techniques and martial arts. Knowing this one had over forty flaws made it somewhat hard to accept.

"That's right, the Heaven's Path Movement Technique is also a type of footwork. Let's see if they can be integrated!"

The Heaven's Path Movement Technique was formed by integrating countless footwork and movement secret manuals he had collected. Though it was only foundational, it represented the profound simplicity of the Grand Dao. Perhaps the two could be integrated.

"Merge. Correct!"

He placed the two books together, and his mind stirred once more.

A new book appeared.

He opened it once more.

"Only three flaws? Excellent! Even with three flaws, it's now suitable for cultivation..."

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

While three flaws were still a notable number compared to his other cultivation techniques, it was certainly worth cultivating. At worst, he could collect more footwork secret manuals later and find a way to integrate them again.

Knowing he could cultivate it, he no longer hesitated and began to read the contents of the secret manual.

Upon seeing it, his pupils constricted, and his lips instantly turned pale.

"Red Dust Heaven-Treading Steps—Heaven-Reaching Scroll, could it be... flight?"