"Thanks for reminding me, Elder Feng!" Zhao slightly bowed his head, his eyes never leaving the old man.

  His divine consciousness had been shrouding the surrounding area of over ten miles, and nothing unusual was found.

  This place is behind the Dazhu Peak, located in a remote area with few visitors, especially at midnight. This peak is where the cave of Mo Changlao, the leader of Qianji Gate, is located. There are very few other disciples living on this peak, and they all live on the other side of the mountain, about 30-50 miles away from here.

  Therefore, although the two of them had just exchanged blows in a fierce manner, making quite a commotion, they still hadn't disturbed the low-ranking disciples of Qianji Gate who were far away.

  Zhao did not realize that the old man had set an ambush and was slightly relieved in his heart.

  It seems that the old man is not stalling for time, but really wants to try his own strength. And from the fact that he left room in his first two moves, it can be seen that the old man does not want to fight him to the death, but rather just a test of skills.

  I don't know if this old man is concerned about the life of his fellow disciple, or if he really just wants to make a bet with Zhao Di!

  "Be careful!" The old man shouted in a low voice, but he didn't see him take out any treasure!

  Could it be that this old man's proudest final move can actually be performed without the aid of any treasure?

  Zhao Di's eyes narrowed slightly, and he became even more cautious.

  The old man pinched out a few strange hand seals with both hands, muttering to himself. After a while, the old man's face turned bright red and even had beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.

  Looking at the old man's extremely strenuous appearance, Zhao Di secretly felt shocked, and the power of this move was far beyond his imagination!

  At this time, Zhao Di not only activated a red light shield to protect his entire body with pure Yang energy, but also pasted several yellow talismans on it. Inside the red light shield, there was another thick layer of deep yellow light shield. In addition, he even mobilized a lot of mixed yuan primary air, forming a thin layer of purple gas protection in the innermost layer.

  This mixed yuan one gas defense seems to be extremely thin and faint, almost imperceptible, but it is actually controlled by the heart. As long as he has an intention, the purple gas can thicken several times in an instant, forming a strong defense.

  Seeing the old man's cautious appearance, Zhao Di suddenly prepared several plans in his mind to deal with the possible attacks that might come next.

  "Break!" The old man let out a low shout, as if he had finished casting a secret technique, but there was no other movement.

  But at this moment, the outermost red light shield of Zhao Di was easily pierced by an invisible object with a hole as thick as a finger, and then the thick deep yellow light shield was also the case. Immediately after that, the invisible object hit Zhao Di's right chest.

  This sudden attack happened in less than the blink of an eye, from the old man's shout to the invisible object hitting Zhao Di's chest, almost simultaneously completed.

  The multiple layers of defense carefully laid out by Zhao Di, which could withstand the full force of an ordinary cultivator's attack during the Condensation Period, were completely useless and didn't stop it at all!

  The intangible thing easily pierced Zhao Di's "body", but the old man was surprised to find that Zhao Di's body had turned into a ball of bloody shadow at some point. In an instant, Zhao Di's figure reappeared in front of the old man, only to shift several feet away.

  "What kind of attack is this! It's so silent and stealthy, ignoring all defense!"

  "What kind of escape technique is this! It's surprisingly similar to some secret techniques used by the Demon Gate cultivators!"

  The two almost spoke at the same time, both shocked by each other's sinister methods. However, Zhao Di was both surprised and frightened, while the old man was more surprised and delighted!

  Especially after using a Blood Jade Pill to perform the "Residual Shadow Flash" secret technique, Zhao Di narrowly escaped disaster and was even more fearful in his heart. If it were another cultivator who didn't possess this life-saving secret technique, and if the old man's attack had been aimed at the head or dantian instead of the right chest, wouldn't they have lost their life under that one blow?

  Zhao quietly grasped his trump card - the Fantian Pearl, a one-time consumable that he wouldn't easily use. If this old man continued to launch such powerful and sinister attacks, he would have no choice but to use this treasure to intimidate him!

  "This is the Mind Piercing Drill! One of our sect's secret skills, only the elders of our sect have ever possessed this technique! I've used it several times when facing enemies, but you're the first person to dodge my Mind Piercing Drill unscathed!" The old man stroked his beard and smiled, introducing himself to Zhao Di in a friendly manner.

  "It's indeed a legendary sect that has been passed down for thousands of years, to have such an overbearing secret technique. If one can wield it at will, wouldn't they be invincible?" Zhao couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. His initial disdain towards the Qianji Sect had vanished into thin air.

  The old man sighed and shook his head, saying: "If it were possible to drive at will, our sect would not have fallen to this state! This Mind Drill requires extremely high mental power, generally only cultivators in the Yuan Ying period can quickly cast it. I, with my late-stage foundation-building cultivation, can barely control it, and each time I need to prepare beforehand. Moreover, every time I cast it, the consumption of spiritual energy is enormous, and without several days of rest, it's hard to recover, let alone continuous casting!"

  The old man seemed to be hiding nothing from Zhao Di, explaining in great detail, even revealing the shortcomings of the secret technique without hesitation.

  "Heh heh, although the Daoist techniques you've mastered are extremely mysterious and profound, I couldn't understand them at all. However, it's certain that they're indeed Daoist techniques. But what's surprising is that you can also cast demonic secret arts, and have high-ranking ghost slaves and spirit beasts to assist you. Your actual strength is definitely not comparable to ordinary Golden Core stage cultivators! Looking at it this way, if you agree to help our sect, it's possible that we might be able to complete the task that has been passed down in our sect for over ten thousand years!"

  In the end, the old man's eyes showed an excited gaze, staring straight at Zhao Di, and his expression was similar to He Dawei's expression towards his granddaughter Xianxian!

  Zhao Di cupped his hands and bowed, saying coldly: "Feng Lao, three moves have passed, I don't know if this counts as me taking the next move!"

  The old man was taken aback, and hastily said: "Of course, of course! Your cultivation is extraordinary. The outcome of these three moves far exceeded my expectations. You have won this bet! I will keep my promise to you and will not go back on my word!"

  "However, there is an inconvenient aspect to this. The secret art of refining the foundation period puppet can only be continued by a master who has reached the completion of elixir stage within our sect. This is a rule set down by our predecessors! This makes things a bit difficult for me!" The old man's tone changed, and he revealed a sly smile at the corner of his mouth.

  "What does 'Feng Lao' mean?" From the old man's words and previous behavior, Zhao Di vaguely guessed the old man's purpose.

  "Hehe, no other meaning, you are a rare talent, exactly what my Thousand Machines Gate lacks. I wonder if you have any interest in taking on the role of elder in our sect? If so, I will naturally teach you this puppet refining technique and other secret methods of our sect!" The old man spoke with a smile, his eyes filled with expectation as he looked at Zhao Di.

  Unfortunately, Zhao Di replied coldly and concisely: "I'm used to being a loose cultivator, free and easy-going, and I don't want to be restricted by others or the sect. Elder Feng's kindness is appreciated! Please, Elder Feng, don't disappoint me, hand over the method for refining the Foundation Establishment puppet!"

  The old man saw Zhao's refusal was very decisive, leaving almost no room for persuasion or retention. He let out a long sigh and said with great regret: "Since you don't want to have anything to do with our sect, I won't force it on you! But I also can't just hand over the sect's secret techniques to you directly. I'm also considering the sect's reputation and don't want to lose credibility or offend you. Now it seems there's only one way left!"

  After finishing speaking, the old man took out a long and narrow jade box with seven or eight prohibition symbols from his bosom, and his expression also became serious.

  The old man did not shy away from Zhao Di, and directly removed the prohibition symbol. He opened the jade box, took out a golden scroll with some grayish-black aura surrounding it.

  Just from the spiritual energy fluctuations emitted by this scroll, it's even stronger than any treasure Zhao Di has ever seen!

  The old man took out the scroll and said "Next!" before slowly throwing it towards Zhao Di.

  Zhao Di used his divine sense to repeatedly detect the scroll, confirming that there were no hidden traps or mechanisms on it. Only then did he lightly touch it, and the golden scroll floated in front of him about a zhang away, gradually unfolding. On the surface of the golden silk fabric, one by one, bright red characters appeared before Zhao Di's eyes.

  "This is a treasure of our sect, a Soul Imprint Book, forged by a great master using the golden silk threads spat out by the Golden Silkworm King and the soul branding technique of the Ghost Sect. The old man's tone was solemn and dignified, with a hint of pride, as he paused for a moment before continuing: "Since its creation, this book has been kept safe by our sect's Great Elder. Every time a high-ranking cultivator emerges in our sect, they must write their name and blood lineage on it, and only then can they be taught the secret manual of our sect. More than ten thousand years ago, only those who had reached the Nascent Soul stage could leave their mark on this book, but over the past few thousand years, as our sect has declined, even cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage must leave their name on it and receive the ultimate technique of our sect."

  "Once one's name is left on this book, the soul's mark will fall on this Soul Seal Book. One must strictly abide by the agreement of this book, otherwise, lightly, they will receive a curse and their cultivation will be unable to advance even an inch; severely, demonic energy will invade and their cultivation will be completely ruined! Unless one's cultivation is extremely high, surpassing the power limit of this treasure, only then can they ignore its existence!"

  "If you are willing to write your name in blood on this book, from now on you cannot be an enemy of the Qianji Gate again. Only then will I dare to teach you the ultimate skills of the Zhenpai sect, not just the method of refining puppets during the foundation-building period, but also the art of refining puppets during the Dan-forming period, as well as the mysterious and unparalleled Mind-Drilling Secret Art that I just used, all can be given to you!"

  The old man put forward a condition that was extremely tempting for Zhao Di, making it difficult for him to refuse! He then added:

  "I previously begged Your Excellency to take on a task for our sect, and only after you wrote this book did I dare reveal the secrets within it to you. As I said before, I am willing to stake the reputation of our sect that this task will bring numerous benefits to you, far beyond your imagination!"

  Zhao's heart was in turmoil, and he thought that even if he couldn't master the mysterious technique, it would be okay. Although the technique was profound and powerful, with his current cultivation level, he might not be able to use it yet. However, the method of refining puppets during the foundation-building period, or even the core-formation period, was extremely important to him. This directly affected whether he could efficiently hunt and kill 6th or 7th-level demonic beasts in the high-level demonic beast-infested sea area by himself, which also meant that his cultivation level might be able to advance further instead of being stuck at the initial stage of core formation!

  "You two, Yu Lan and Yu Ruo, help me take a look as well. What kind of agreements and curses are recorded in this Soul Seal Book?" Zhao Di instructed.

  Two women flashed out from Zhao Di's body and floated in front of the golden scroll, carefully examining it. From time to time, they even released some dark energy to probe the book.

  The old man didn't bother to stop or obstruct him, letting this person and the two ghosts slowly study the scroll. With the quality of this Soul Seal Book, it's not something that a Foundation Establishment cultivator can destroy, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would find it difficult!

  The Golden Silkworm is one of the most famous spiritual insects in ancient times. The adult form of the Golden Silkworm is equivalent to a fifth-grade demon beast, which is comparable to a human cultivator at the initial stage of forming an elixir pill. Although the Golden Silkworm's attack power is ordinary, the golden silk it spits out is incredibly tough and resilient, making it difficult for ordinary magical artifacts to cause any damage. It is an excellent material for refining defensive treasures such as cloaks and handkerchiefs. The Golden Silkworm King is extremely rare, with only one born every million Golden Silkworms.

  The strength of the Golden Silkworm King is no less than that of a human infant-stage cultivator. The spiritual silk it spits out is incredibly resilient to the point where it's hard to imagine! This Soul Imprint Book is entirely made from the Golden Silkworm King's spit-out spiritual silk, its solidity and defensive capabilities are unimaginable! Even in today's cultivation world, whether there exists a treasure that can damage this scroll is also a topic of debate!

  Before long, Zhao Di and Er Nu finally studied this golden scroll repeatedly for several times, and came to the same conclusion.

  The agreement on this scroll is indeed as the old man said, making it impossible for anyone to be an enemy of the Thousand Machines Gate! The agreement has only two clauses: First, no harm shall be inflicted on the disciples of the Thousand Machines Gate! Second, the secret manuals "Puppet Thousand Machines Technique" and "Mind Divine Technique" of the Thousand Machines Gate shall not be revealed to outsiders. Otherwise, one will suffer from soul backlash, reversal of vital energy, and at best, their cultivation will stagnate, or at worst, their cultivation will be completely destroyed, even leading to death!

  "This book has not been handed over, and you must serve the Qianji Gate for life. If you shed blood here, as long as you don't violate these two agreements, you can come and go freely, and I can also put my mind at ease! Moreover, this way, although you are not under the management of our sect, you will become a nominal cultivator of our sect, and I can rest assured to pass on the skills to you!" The old man stroked his white beard and smiled.

  "Are you not aware that Mo Shidi's divine consciousness has a part of his memories that cannot be searched by soul, this secret technique is very mysterious? In fact, this is one of the insignificant divine abilities attached to our sect's ultimate skill 'Nian Shen Jue', and the Nian Shen Drilling Secret Technique is also like this! If you are sincere in writing the Soul Imprint Book with your heart and blood, I can immediately impart this technique to you!"

  The old man's intention to win over Zhao Di was very clear, and he kept proposing various favorable conditions. This attitude made even the most enthusiastic shopkeeper in the market feel ashamed!

  （）