Chapter 4061: Searching for the Heavenly Puppet God Lord (None Today)

Seven days later, early in the morning, just as dawn broke.

On a vast bluestone square, tens of thousands of cultivators gathered. Golden Immortal cultivators such as Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, Cang Feng, and Cao Yuanxing were seated near the front. Fine wines and delicacies were laid out on the green jade table in front of Wang Changsheng as he chatted with other Golden Immortal cultivators.

"Fellow Daoist Ye," a plump, pale red-robed Daoist said with a smile, reeking of alcohol after emptying his cup of spiritual wine, "your Ye family truly lives up to its reputation for generosity by offering Seven-Star Jade Nectar to guests." A red gourd hung from the red-robed Daoist's waist, and his eyes were narrowed into slits.

"If Fellow Daoist Sun likes it, please have a few more cups," Ye Guangting said with a smile. "This wine contains the core of a Golden Immortal-stage five-colored chaotic beast, which offers some assistance for Golden Immortal cultivators in opening their immortal apertures."

Golden Immortal cultivators enter the Mid-Golden Immortal stage by opening sixty immortal apertures and the Late-Golden Immortal stage by opening eighty-four. The higher one's cultivation, the more difficult it is to open an immortal aperture. Immortal elixirs and wines that aid in opening immortal apertures are highly sought after. The fact that the Ye family offered so much Seven-Star Jade Nectar to Golden Immortal cultivators clearly demonstrated their strength.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, I toast you," the red-robed Daoist said, raising his cup, "and also Fellow Daoist Cao, Fellow Daoist Cang, and Fellow Daoist Wang." He continuously offered toasts.

Wang Changsheng smiled faintly. The red-robed Daoist was Daoist Tianhuo, a Mid-Golden Immortal who had started as a rogue cultivator and now served as an honored elder of the Ye family.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a loud bell chime rang out, followed by a man's voice proclaiming, "Please welcome Patriarch Shengxuan!" The voice spread outwards, reaching more than half of Liuyun Island. As soon as the words fell, a large number of white snowflakes drifted down from high above. A cold wind blew past, sweeping the snowflakes together until they transformed into the likeness of Ye Shengxuan.

Cultivators like Wang Banyuan stood up one after another and bowed in greeting, saying in unison, "Greetings, Patriarch Shengxuan (Senior Ye)." Golden Immortal cultivators like Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan stood up and gave a slight nod as a form of acknowledgment.

Ye Shengxuan took his seat on the main platform, and Wang Changsheng and the others followed suit.

"The Shangguan family presents one bottle of second-tier immortal pills, one mid-grade immortal artifact, and twenty 3-million-year-old immortal herbs, congratulating Senior Ye on his further advancement.""The Mayfly clan congratulates Senior Ye on entering the Golden Immortal stage, presenting ten 3-million-year-old immortal herbs, one mid-grade immortal artifact, and a batch of artifact-refining materials.""The Cao family presents ten 3-million-year-old immortal herbs, one mid-grade immortal artifact, and one jar of second-tier immortal wine, congratulating Senior Ye on reaching a higher level."

Guest representatives successively presented their congratulatory gifts. Several forces with Grand Unity Golden Immortals in residence presented their gifts first, followed by forces like the Wang family and the Luo family. Wang Changsheng presented one mid-grade immortal artifact and five million-year-old spiritual herbs. It wasn't that he was unwilling to part with more, but there was no need to overshadow the major powers. Furthermore, he had little personal connection with Ye Shengxuan. If Ye Xuanji were holding a Golden Immortal ceremony, Wang Changsheng would certainly present a significant gift.

After the guest representatives finished presenting their gifts, Ye Shengxuan raised his cup and said with a smile, "Thank you all for coming to my Golden Immortal ceremony. I shall drink this first as a toast." Having said this, he emptied his cup of spiritual wine. Wang Changsheng and the others responded with toasts. After finishing their drinks, they started chatting, with cultivators exchanging cups, conversing and laughing.

The Ye family held a competition open only to True Immortal cultivators. The first-place prize was a Nine Marvelous Profound Origin Pill and a low-grade Chaotic Armor. All the guests sent representatives to participate. Ye Haitang and Wang Banyuan also participated. The Shangguan family, Cao family, and Mayfly clan all sent clan members to participate, including several True Immortal Grand Perfection cultivators.

Ye Yishan flicked his sleeve, and a small, golden-glowing pagoda flew out. He cast a spell into it, and it instantly expanded, landing in the center of the square. Participants would draw lots for one-on-one matches, with winners advancing to the next round. Guests could clearly see what was happening inside the giant golden pagoda, ensuring fairness and impartiality.

There was little worth watching in the juniors' sparring matches, so Golden Immortal cultivators like Wang Changsheng started chatting among themselves.

"Fellow Daoist Ye," Wang Changsheng asked casually, "have you ever heard of the Heavenly Puppet Divine Monarch?" Jiang Yuqing had asked the Heavenly Puppet Divine Monarch to help refine a flesh-and-blood spiritual puppet that was identical to herself. She cultivated it to the Golden Immortal stage and usually let the fake body appear in public. Wang Changsheng could also refine flesh-and-blood spiritual puppets, but the ones he created were not identical to himself. He wanted to find the Heavenly Puppet Divine Monarch to inquire about the techniques or to ask the Divine Monarch to help refine a flesh-and-blood spiritual puppet.

"Heavenly Puppet Divine Monarch? I haven't heard of him!" Ye Shenghong said, shaking his head. Ye Guangting and Ye Xuanji also shook their heads, neither of them having heard of the person.

"Fellow Daoist Wang is looking for the Heavenly Puppet Divine Monarch?" Shangguan Yiming asked, full of curiosity.

"I'd like to ask for his help. Does Fellow Daoist Shangguan know him?" Wang Changsheng asked.

"Yes, I do. He is currently an honored elder of our Shangguan family, and he has rarely been active in recent years," Shangguan Yiming explained.

Wang Changsheng suddenly realized. No wonder he had sent people everywhere to search for the Heavenly Puppet Divine Monarch but had received no news of him.

"Fellow Daoist Shangguan, could you introduce me? I'd like to ask for his help," Wang Changsheng said sincerely.

"I can help introduce you," Shangguan Yiming suggested. "However, his temperament is a bit peculiar, and as for whether he's willing to help you, I cannot guarantee it. He is very interested in artifact-refining materials, so if you can provide some high-quality ones, there's a high probability he will help you."

"Thank you for the reminder, Fellow Daoist Shangguan," Wang Changsheng said gratefully. "If you help me with the introduction, I'll handle the rest."

Shangguan Yiming nodded and agreed. While they chatted, they also watched the juniors' sparring matches.

Ye Haitang, relying on her True Immortal Grand Perfection cultivation, along with her ghost and puppet beasts, overcame many obstacles and defeated numerous True Immortal cultivators. Her opponents either had lower cultivation levels than her, did not possess multiple True Immortal-stage puppet beasts, or certainly no True Immortal-stage ghosts.

After less than half an hour, six participants remained, including Ye Haitang. Wang Banyuan had already been eliminated. All six remaining participants were True Immortal Grand Perfection cultivators, and their strength was considerable.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, Fellow Daoist Cang, Fellow Daoist Cao, Fellow Daoist Wang, Fellow Daoist Luo," Shangguan Yiming proposed, "each of us has a clan member who has entered the final round. How about we make a bet? Let's see whose junior can advance to the next round."

Wang Changsheng and the other five had no objections and each took out their stakes. Wang Changsheng offered a mid-grade immortal artifact as his stake. The other five, including Shangguan Tianhong, offered either second-tier immortal wine, artifact-refining materials, pill-refining materials, talisman-crafting materials, or formation-arranging materials.

The six participants, including Ye Haitang, drew lots for their matches. Her opponent was a graceful young woman in a green dress, with exquisite features and skin as white as snow. This was Luo Yuqing, a True Immortal Grand Perfection cultivator from the Luo family.

As soon as the match began, Ye Haitang immediately summoned two True Immortal-stage puppet beasts. With a quick incantation, they unleashed spells to attack the young woman in the green dress.