After Li Yan landed, he looked at Bai Rou who was in the wind on the top of the mountain and asked.
"Senior Sister Bai, please go ahead. I am just a junior brother whose cultivation is too shallow. If you want me to help you with something, I think it's better not to ask. I don't have any ability."
After hearing this, Bai Rou did not get angry because of Li Yan's rudeness. She slowly withdrew her gaze from the distance and looked at Li Yan again, but there was still evasion in her eyes.
She flipped her jade hand, and something appeared in her white palm.
It was a creature about an inch in size that resembled an ancient ape. It was dark black in color and looked like a wood carving, with a very lifelike shape.
The ancient ape had a pair of long arms that were slightly bent and hung down, almost as long as its entire height. Between the wrinkles on its face, there were a pair of fierce eyes. Its lips were slightly turned up, and its sharp teeth were staggered up and down. There were mottled and peeling colors on its body, as if it was very old.
After taking out the item, Bai Rou looked at it again, feeling a little reluctant. Then a decisive look flashed in her eyes. With a flick of her hand, the inch-tall wooden sculpture of an ancient ape turned into a beam of black light and flew towards Li Yan.
Li Yan was stunned. He didn't know what this was for, but when he saw that this thing was flying at a very fast speed, its force was gentle and did not contain any intention of attack, he couldn't help but feel something in his heart and had some vague guesses.
Li Yan raised his hand and grabbed the object. The object was cold to the touch, but still had the residual warmth from the girl's palm, and a faint fragrance emanated from it.
Li Yan was somewhat familiar with this smell. When he was in the free market, Bai Rou was always very close to him, and she exuded the same fragrance.
Spreading out his palm, Li Yan looked at the wooden sculpture-like object in his hand. It felt a little heavy. He raised his head again and looked at Bai Rou without saying a word, as he knew the girl would have an explanation.
As expected, when Bai Rou saw Li Yan looking up at her, her face flushed and she spoke softly.
"This thing is an ancient puppet. It was not made by me. I brought it from the sect. I am giving it to you today. If you send a bit of your spiritual consciousness to it every day, it can do some trivial things in the courtyard, such as cleaning and serving tea.
If used in combat, it is not weak either, with the combat power of an early stage foundation building, much stronger than the puppet I made."
Li Yan couldn't help but be shocked when he heard this, a puppet with the combat power of the initial stage of foundation building.
This kind of puppet is rare even in the hands of Jindan stage cultivators. Bai Rou gave it to herself like this. It is a very valuable gift.
"Sister Bai, what do you mean? Is there something important that needs my help? But I am still a junior brother, I am afraid..."
Li Yan played with the puppet in his hand for a while, narrowed his eyes and spoke.
He didn't believe that such a good thing would happen to him. Even if he had helped this girl in the market, there was no need to give her such a big gift. A puppet in the foundation-building stage was worth ten thousand spirit stones, which was an understatement.
Moreover, Li Yan could tell at a glance that this was the thing that Bai Rou had held tightly in her hand in the Free Market. Given her personality, if this thing was not valuable, she probably would not have fought with Sun Guoshu for it and would have sold it directly.
After hearing what Li Yan said, Bai Rou focused her eyes and looked at Li Yan seriously, but this time she was not shy at all.
“Junior Brother Li, this puppet was passed down to me by my master when I was in Muliu Sect. She said that this puppet was not used for fighting, but was passed down by the original sect’s Grand Elder of the Golden Core Technique.
She also said that this item might contain a secret related to our Mu Liu Sect's skills, but her master had spent her entire life searching for it, and had taken turns with several elders of the sect to do so, but to no avail.
Until the end of my master's life, she still hadn't been able to uncover the secret. Coincidentally, I was noticed by the sect I am in now. After discussing with the only two remaining elders in the sect, she passed this item to me and asked me to keep it with me.
He also said, "Rou'er, this item was held by the previous generation's great elder. There are secrets in it. Unfortunately, even the great elder could not figure it out, not to mention that now there are only your master and your two uncles left in the sect, and they are just at the foundation-building stage."
Therefore, you should carry this item with you. With your future fate in the Wuliang Sect, both your cultivation and opportunities will surely surpass your master's. Who knows, there will be a day when you will be able to unlock it.
If you are willing, you can return to the sect and pass on this skill to the sect so that the sect can flourish again. If it is impossible, forget it. Just treat it as a talisman for you. At least it will be of some use before you build your foundation.'"
Speaking of this, Bai Rou's face showed sadness, as if she was thinking of the distant sect and her master with a kind face.
Li Yan just listened quietly and still didn't say anything. After Bai Rou slowly spoke, a firm look gradually appeared in her eyes.
"Since then, I have kept this puppet with me. In addition to practicing and refining, I have been studying it all the time. However, after fifteen years, I still have gained nothing. Even at the current foundation-building stage, I still can't find anything.
During this time, I also sought out my current master, Elder Chi Gong. After he took a look, he also couldn't see anything special about this puppet other than its higher level."
When she said this, there was a hint of strangeness in Bai Rou's eyes as she looked at Li Yan.
"Until today when your consciousness appeared, I was holding this puppet in my hand and felt the fluctuation of the formation on it. Although it was very subtle, I could still feel it.
According to my research on puppets, this is impossible before there is any method to control them. This is why I asked my junior brother to come here.
However, just now when you used your spiritual sense to release the flying sword again, this puppet no longer showed any abnormality. Now, can you please use your spiritual sense to attack this puppet again so that Bai Rou can see it?"
After listening to it, Li Yan roughly understood the cause and effect. However, there were still some unclear points in Bai Rou's words just now. For example, even if he could cause a reaction in this thing, why would she give it to him? At most, he would have to spend some money on it, etc.
However, Bai Rou’s request now is not excessive. She just needs to release her spiritual sense to investigate. So I will help her once.
What's more, he also wanted to see what kind of unusual movements his spiritual consciousness could cause in this puppet.
Thinking of this, Li Yan nodded to Bai Rou, and his powerful spiritual sense stretched out and shot directly at the ancient ape puppet in his hand.
After a moment, Li Yan withdrew his consciousness and looked at Bai Rou who was looking disappointed.
"Senior Sister Bai, I think you may have made a mistake. Maybe it was just an illusion when it was in the free market."
Li Yan felt that such an incredible thing would not happen to him by chance. Even the Great Elder of Muliu Sect and the Elder of Chigong of Sixiang Peak could not figure it out. How could there be a result as soon as his consciousness came out? Looking at the ancient ape puppet in his hand, which did not move at all, Li Yan shrugged.
"Senior Sister Bai, I'm sorry I can't help you."
After saying this, he wanted to send the puppet back.
Although Bai Rou's face was full of disappointment, when she saw Li Yan wanted to send the ancient ape puppet back, she quickly spoke.
"Junior Brother Li, this puppet is still a gift to you."
Li Yan stopped what he was doing, feeling somewhat confused. He had already used his spiritual sense to investigate, and found that he could not help her. Although she had said before that it was a gift to him, it was precious, and he did not want to accept it.
"Junior Brother Li, you and I are both practitioners. We have to believe in some inexplicable inductions. Maybe it is an illusion in the free market, but I still firmly believe that it is not an illusion.
It’s just that some things may require various opportunities to occur, just like a mechanism array, which must trigger certain conditions before it can work.
If I keep it here, I estimate that in another fifteen years, the result may still be the same. Therefore, I still want to give it to you. I only hope that if you can get a glimpse of the secret of this puppet in the future, you can tell me about it.
Second, after you obtain the secret of the puppet, you can also use this skill, but I hope you don't tell others. Of course, if you feel that the second condition is inappropriate, you can remove it and just tell me the secret of the puppet."
After saying this, Bai Rou's eyes showed a pleading look.
After hearing this, Li Yan remained silent for a while.
Getting a puppet comparable to that of a foundation-building cultivator for nothing is something many cultivators dream of, but Li Yan hesitated.
Li Yan is the kind of person who will repay many times over for anyone who treats him well, and will treat anyone who trusts him with even more sincerity. If anyone has bad intentions towards him, he will definitely take revenge, and he will do his best to retaliate as quickly as possible.
Although Bai Rou wanted to use him, she also trusted him. What's more, the last condition was almost given for free.
Li Yan hesitated as he considered what he had already planned.
Once he has established his foundation, he will go back to visit his parents and relatives, and then look for the "Youwuqiong" tree. He doesn't know when he will be able to return.
Moreover, even if he returned to the sect, if a Tianli person came to test him and failed, he would have to flee to the secret realm and would not dare to come out until he reached the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages, which might take a hundred or even thousands of years.
At that time, Bai Roumo must not think that she can run away alone after taking the things.
"Senior Sister Bai, once I have established my foundation, I will not be able to stay in the sect for a long time. By then, even if I can discover the secret of this puppet, I may not be able to tell you in time."
Li Yan thought about it.
"It doesn't matter what I do. As long as you can figure out the secret of this ancient ape puppet, you can tell me when it's convenient. As a cultivator like me, do we still need to be afraid of time
And if Junior Brother encounters danger, even if this puppet is damaged in battle, it will be the fate of our Muliu Sect."
Bai Rou smiled gently, like a lily in the wind.
Seeing this, Li Yan no longer refused. Of course, the more of these life-saving items, the better.
Just as Bai Rou said, if he encountered danger, he would throw the puppet away without hesitation, regardless of whether it hid secrets or not. But in that case, even though Bai Rou said so, she was probably extremely reluctant in her heart.
But this has nothing to do with Li Yan. He just needs to express his concerns. Since the other party agrees, Li Yan doesn't care.
"Oh, this is the technique to control this puppet. Please keep it for yourself, Junior Brother Li."
When Bai Rou saw Li Yan agreed, she was delighted and with a flick of her jade wrist, a jade slip shot towards Li Yan.
Li Yan stretched out his hand and grabbed the jade slip in his palm. He scanned inside with his spiritual sense and found that it was indeed the puppet control technique. With a slight smile, he put the jade slip and the ancient ape puppet into the storage bag.
The puppet control technique is different for different puppets, and a simple ritual is still required after dripping blood.
There was no aura on this ancient ape puppet. Li Yan guessed that Bai Rou had already made a plan, so when he took it out, he wiped out his own aura from it.
"In that case, then, Junior Brother, I will take my leave now."
Li Yan looked at the sky which had already darkened, bowed to Bai Rou, and with the flying sword flashing under his feet, he shot backwards without any intention of stopping.
Bai Rou leaned sideways, looking at the gradually disappearing light, confusion slowly emerged in her eyes, and she muttered to herself.
"Master, is it right or wrong for me to do this? If I entrust my trust to the wrong person, the true hiding of Muliu Sect will be ruined.
It’s just that my disciple has really tried his best. For fifteen years, no matter how hard I searched, it was fruitless. But this time, my disciple can only take a gamble... In the free market, am I really delusional... "
She spoke lower and lower until her voice was inaudible.
After a long time, a long sigh was heard, and a streak of white light from the top of the hill streaked towards the sky, leaving only the scent of the girl's body, just like the fragrance on the puppet, drifting away with the endless night wind, and finally dispersing under the starry sky...