Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 968 - 834: Clues to the "Charger" (Part 2)

In her mind, she was thinking that, according to the explosive development of technology in the modern world, the search engines powered by AI and big data in the future might also have this kind of effect. That would truly be technological cultivation and Celestial Palace Heavy Industry.

Hiss! The aura of this Divine Artifact...

As soon as she placed her hands on it, Qing Niao marveled in her heart.

Her reincarnation didn't go very smoothly, and she nearly lost all her memory and Realm, but her discernment remained. As her Realm gradually recovered, she increasingly sensed and distinguished her brother's remarkable qualities.

This Treasure Mirror, it's probably a true Divine Artifact of the Celestial Realm!

She thought to herself, subconsciously glanced at her Starry Mushroom House, and realized the buildings everyone lives in the courtyard should be moved here from the Celestial Realm. With the arrival of the Celestial Fire, bringing more Divine Artifacts to save the world is only normal; heaven sees me favorably, at least giving me a leg to cling onto!

She calmed herself, took a deep breath, and tried to flash fragments preserved in her memory in her mind.

"Buzz~"

The All Time Mirror indeed began to activate, and the "health bar" representing energy took a sudden dip in Jiang Yuan's eyes.

No wonder Gu Yi was always reluctant to use it; this thing really burns through money!

The mirror began flashing through a chaotic jumble of flashy scenes, seemingly conducting a comparison and screening. Everyone naturally formed a circle, curious and holding their breaths, waiting to see what results it would yield.

Yun Shu quietly relayed the details of the treasure hunt to Yun Ying, who was thrilled and delighted upon hearing.

According to the owner's way of handling things, he definitely would not be biased towards the two puppets. If there's a way to get treasure specific for puppets, he'd surely have a share for himself as well!

They could free themselves from the shackles of Spirit Stones and Immortal Jade, absorbing Spiritual Energy autonomously as a power source like real cultivators. Yun Ying knew this time she benefitted from Yun Shu and Qing Niao, her anticipation-filled gaze falling on the All Time Mirror.

The two puppets were very nervous, silently praying and hoping to find clues!

"Ding!"

The scenes flashed for over a minute. The All Time Mirror filtered through all the mini-worlds within its range and finally delivered the search result.

[Scene match rate: 96%. Ignore current scene and rematch?]

The system prompted asking, and Jiang Yuan turned his inquisitive gaze towards Qing Niao.

"Yes! It's here!" She blinked, jumping up with excitement, "Brother, this treasure is so effective! It's exactly like the angle in my memory, completely... oh, no, not completely the same. It looks like the current scene has taken place a long time ago; look, the valley over there is almost covered by weeds..."

At this point, Qing Niao paused abruptly.

She thought about not smoothly reincarnating as per plan, not knowing how long she had slept.

But the bitterness in her heart quickly faded; looking at the consumed Immortal Jade, Qing Niao added with heartache, "If it were cheaper, it would be even better. Good as the Divine Artifact is, it can't withstand burning through money. At this speed, if we can't find the desired target, it's quite a loss."

Bai Yunqi initially wanted to take this opportunity to check on Huo Jun's situation. Hearing this, he stepped forward to see the Immortal Jade's consumption level and to immediately abandon the idea; hellishly expensive it was!

If he were truly too weak to withstand it, he would certainly find a way to summon him. When the time comes, they could negotiate details, and converting the Immortal Jade consumed by the All Time Mirror for Huo Jun's healing would be much more useful than just taking a quick look.

Jiang Yuan glanced at it, involuntarily taking a cold breath—Qing Niao didn't remember wrong, it was indeed a valley.

But across the valley, limbs and heads were strewn everywhere, chaotically.

The dismembered bodies piled layer upon layer, nearly filling the valley, yet most of the exposed faces retained their original expressions.

Men, women, old, young, tall, short, fat, thin—all kinds of broken puppets, some with smiles on their faces; others with mouths slightly open, seemingly mid-sentence. More wore bewildered expressions, apparently not understanding what happened before they "died."

He suddenly understood why Yun Shu's greatest fear was being considered useless and destroyed; these seemed to be the destroyed "useless" puppets, and indeed their end was miserable.

"Holy moly, what is this place? It looks even scarier than a pile of bodies." Ling Di wiggled his tail, smacking his lips and commented, "Looks human but isn't human. This feeling is too uncomfortable."

A typical example of the uncanny valley phenomenon, even Old Dog shuddered.

Jiang Yuan operated the All Time Mirror like an intelligent screen, skillfully zooming the lens in and out to examine the "Valley of Death" from as many angles as possible.

"Seems like a puppet graveyard." Yun Ying said gravely after watching for a while, "Any useful parts from them have been dismantled—many puppets appear to be in combat damage status, unsure of what they faced."

Yun Shu nodded silently, "Indeed, once deemed useless, they are destroyed; no energy remains to power the soul controlling the body. Those souls that can't transfer out of the puppet's body just lie there waiting to fully dissipate, as if being buried alive."

Clearly alive yet waiting for death, a thought alone instills despair.

Hu Zhile pondered, "Souls that can merge with puppets must be scarce; hopefully, these are ordinary puppets without souls, otherwise... too tragic."

The grim state presented in the mirror made the atmosphere slightly gloomy.

Yan Xuan, eager to evade his penance work of swallowing ice, volunteered upon seeing, "Master, looks like it's a sect specializing in making puppets.

Judging by the number of discarded puppets, this sect is really something; I'm going with you! If we're going, we must at least bring three treasures each for Yun Shu and Yun Ying, just in case."

"This place has already been occupied by the Demon Realm; are you sure you can handle it?" Jiang Yuan kept his eyes on the system prompt, not turning his head.

[Ying Ming Star (Already polluted and invaded by the Demon Realm), Ten Thousand Puppet Sect's Secret Realm. Requires searching on a Level Three Observatory to open a new map]

[Mark the target location found by the All Time Mirror? After marking, the Observatory will transmit to Ying Ming Star, and you can click for auto-navigation to the target site]

He clicked mark, then opened the interface to glance at his Observatory bound with management permission, only at the initial stage.

It was then he had to complete the side task of sending his disciple Wan Mingchuan to Yingtian Star to repair the Observatory and search out other mini-worlds' locations.

Now, he must upgrade to Level Three to search out Ying Ming Star, and he recalled following Qu Luming on a tour where a world devoid of Spiritual Energy could be tested with the human support plan...

"Demon Realm invasion?!" Yan Xuan's voice instantly rose eight degrees, "So this small world's original life forms are all dead or have long escaped?"

Ling Di shook his head, "Though uncertain how Master distinguished it, at least this valley hasn't been invaded by Demonic Energy. Besides, at first glance, this sect is very powerful; perhaps they haven't retreated yet."

"Time must be rushed; once polluted by demonic energy, reversal is impossible. With pressure from the environment, no sect can avoid calamity. Once breached, even treasures may be polluted... Wait, that's not right!

The item allowing puppet bodies to absorb Spiritual Energy independently, wherever placed, is a Supreme Treasure; could it be the sect's treasured artifact? When they flee, they will surely take it!"

Qing Niao paused; this wasn't something she remembered.

Nonetheless, a sect dedicated to refining puppets should, could, hopefully, not mistake it for junk and toss it away, so there is indeed a possibility it is revered as a treasure.

Yan Xuan continued, "Judging by the sect's scale, they'd surely have an escape plan. If rushed, maybe we can speak face-to-face; though if they refuse to sell, we can't just take by force."

Eager to try, it held back from speaking outright, mainly worried the Master would discover his excessive greed and think the punishment of swallowing Ten Thousand Years Profound Ice wasn't enough, then beat him further, which would hurt too much!

Joyful Yun Shu grew solemn upon hearing.

Indeed, the Supreme Treasure allowing puppets to cultivate like a cultivator isn't easily obtained. Starting today, she would strive in talisman painting to earn money, hoping they would accept custom orders, contributing as much money as possible, and for a new core soon.

"Now that things have come to this, let's eat first." Jiang Yuan put away the All Time Mirror, planning to handle urgent matters on hand, upgrade the Observatory two levels quickly, and head over for a look.

Finally having a lead, securing the "charging station" could save a significant amount of money.

He'd try hard to cultivate the courtyard's members, ideally making them beings whose footsteps would cause the entire world to tremble thrice. Only then could the achievement of farming realization reach peak fulfillment!

Imagine notable figures admired by the external world being cultivated from scratch by yourself, bowing in reverence calling you their master, ah, indeed the taste of the Dragon King's return.