Xie Zhaolin looked at the dark-gold armored guardian kneeling on one knee before her. The satisfaction that should've come from successfully refining it rippled through her heart like a pebble tossed into a deep lake, only to sink and disappear in an instant.
Her gaze appeared calm as it rested on the puppet, but within her sea of consciousness, her mind was rapidly retracing every step of the refining process, especially that seemingly "casual" reminder from You You.
Even now, when only a wisp of her soul remained bound by a master-servant contract, this former You Ji Shàngrén was still not someone to underestimate.
Xie Zhaolin knew full well that although, on the surface, she was the master and You You the servant, bound by an unbreakable contract, reality was far more complicated.
In truth, You You was the only person she could reach right now who'd climbed to the peak of both Puppet Crafting and the Xuanyin Foundation Technique—her sole guide on those difficult paths.
Their bond carried a faint yet undeniable sense of master and disciple. It was a subtle and deeply unequal kind of mutual dependence.
For someone like You You, brute-force commands might win obedience, but never wholehearted loyalty or sincere guidance. A contract could restrain her body, but not her heart, and certainly not her "Path."
The true essence of a legacy—the insights tied to the very source of the Primordial Force, the lessons earned through countless failures, the subtle omissions and well-timed "forgetfulness"—none of that could ever be forced out by a contract.
If You You didn't truly acknowledge her from within, if she only went through the motions because of the binding, then what Xie Zhaolin would receive in the future wouldn't be enlightenment but empty procedure—lifeless steps without the spark of understanding.
And in time, that would rot the very foundation of her path.
It was like forcing a teacher with ulterior motives to open a legendary manual—he might read the words aloud, but he'd never share the real meaning behind them.
So she couldn't treat You You the way she'd treated Mo Yan, by relying solely on coercion. That would only provoke resistance and quiet defiance. What she needed was something far more intricate, a long-term process of taming.
She had to show not only absolute control and power to command fear, but also such terrifying potential and brilliance that You You would deem her worth investing in. From reluctant obedience would grow willing cooperation.
That so-called "oversight" earlier—You You's failure to warn about the dragon soul backlash—wasn't a mistake at all.
It was a test.
That old monster was probably probing her, trying to see if this new master of hers possessed anything beyond the sharpness, ruthlessness, and endurance that had carried her through the five prior trials. Could she handle the unexpected? Could her strength, will, and judgment hold up under real crisis?
Those five trials were merely a screening process, the standard exam You Ji Shàngrén had left behind.
The dragon soul backlash, though, was the bonus question.
If she'd failed, You You might've shown regret on the surface, but deep down, she would've laughed at her incompetence. But Xie Zhaolin had crushed the dragon soul through sheer strength and insight, forcing it into submission. That was a response no one could ignore.
A technique she'd never seen before—yet she'd grasped its core within moments, commanding it as if she'd practiced it for years.
A glint of icy light flashed in her eyes.
"Get up," she said coolly, drawing back her thoughts.
An Jin guardian rose smoothly.
Calming her mind, she linked her Primordial Soul more firmly with the puppet, sensing its internal structure in detail.
During the ritual, she'd focused entirely on suppressing the dragon soul's will, leaving no room for inspection. Now that she'd settled down, she immediately noticed something was off.
The puppet's energy was dense and pure, far beyond others of its kind—but its overall level matched only a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!
Nowhere near the late-stage Golden Core power she'd expected!
Her gaze turned cold as she stared at the jade slip in her hand.
"You You," her voice was calm yet carried an edge sharp enough to freeze air. "Explain."
The voice that came from the jade slip sounded entirely unsurprised, even a bit sheepish.
"Hehe… Master, you really don't miss a thing! Well, actually… it's kinda related to your cultivation."
"My cultivation?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly!" You You hurried to explain, speaking faster now. "This An Jin guardian isn't some regular puppet stuck at a fixed level. It's my masterpiece, a life-bound growth-type puppet!
The core puppet array inside it is special. It's deeply linked to the master's soul and cultivation realm, growing stronger in sync!"
Her tone carried a hint of pride. "Think about it, Master. If I'd succeeded in taking over a new body and had to start cultivating again from the bottom, would I really want to keep switching puppets each time I advanced? Too much hassle! So I designed one that can grow alongside me!
It's only showing late Foundation Establishment strength right now because that's your current realm. Its power ceiling is bound by your cultivation!"
Xie Zhaolin paused for a moment. A growth-type puppet?
Even in her past life's vast knowledge, that was something almost unheard of!
Normally, once a puppet was refined, its level was fixed. Upgrading it later was a nightmare.
"How does it grow?" she asked, her tone softening slightly.
"Simple!" You You's voice perked up instantly. "Whenever your cultivation breaks through, the puppet's upper limit unlocks as well!
Plus, since its foundation is incredibly solid, and its materials and arrays are all top-tier, every time it levels up, its combat strength surpasses others at the same realm!
I even fused the dragon soul essence and bones of that Shadow Demon Dragon into it to give it insane growth potential and powerful battle instincts! Theoretically, as long as you keep advancing, it could reach the Divine Transformation stage—or even higher!"
She sighed softly, a trace of regret in her voice. "It's a shame I never lived long enough to confirm that theory myself…"
Xie Zhaolin stood silent for a long time. Originally, she'd expected a fixed late-Golden Core bodyguard strong enough to protect her until she advanced to that stage herself. But now, she realized this dark-gold guardian was far more valuable than that.
A top-grade puppet that could grow alongside its master—its long-term value was immeasurable. As long as she kept advancing, it would always stay by her side, evolving with her. She'd never need to waste time or resources searching for new guardians with every major breakthrough.
This discovery cleared away one of the biggest obstacles on her cultivation path.
From now on, her road in the Cultivation Realm would be that much smoother.
===
Core Cosmic Hierarchy (The Structure of Reality)
This is the "theory" of the universe that cultivators study.
道 (Dào): The formless, ultimate source of all existence.
大道 (Dàdào): A primordial, foundational domain and the complete source of all laws for a specific concept (e.g., Metal, Fire). It is both the system and the origin.
法则 (Fǎzé): A single, definable, and masterable universal law or principle that manifests from a 大道.
意境 (Yìjìng): The conceptual fragments that make up a Law.
Domain (领域, Lǐngyù) - The Personal Manifestation
A Domain is the practical application of a cultivator's comprehension of the cosmic hierarchy. It is a tangible, personal reality they project, built from their accumulated understanding of Concepts and Laws.
Relationship to the Hierarchy: A Domain is powered by and composed of the cultivator's grasp of the cosmic hierarchy. For example, a cultivator who has mastered the Blazing Flame Concept and the Law of Flame can integrate them into their Domain, making it a world of eternal fire where their will over flame is absolute.
Analogy: If the Primordial Fire is the sun, a cultivator's Fire Domain is a powerful flashlight they built themselves. The flashlight (Domain) is a manifestation of their understanding of light (Cosmic Hierarchy), but it is not the sun itself.
In summary:
The Core Cosmic Hierarchy is the objective truth of the universe.
A Domain is a cultivator's subjective, personal expression of that truth, made manifest through their own power and will.
For more information about this you can refer to Chapter: Tao (道, Dào) on my The Xianxia Handbook: A Guide to Cultivation and Beyond.
I use this setting on my translation.