Chapter 121

The second-tier squirrel puppet had reached a 20% sensory share—an impressive feat. Han Luo could now sense about one-fifth of the puppet's touch, smell, and taste. What thrilled him even more was that the young woman from earlier, clearly a Foundation Establishment cultivator, hadn’t realized the squirrel was a puppet.

Of course, it was also possible that she simply hadn’t considered the possibility. All the more reason for him to continue testing and determine how far he could push the squirrel puppet's realism.

With that in mind, Han Luo guided the puppet toward the contribution exchange hall. Senior Sister Lou handled a large number of disciples daily—she’d make the perfect test subject. Though she was a hall overseer, Lin Xiaolou still preferred to assist disciples in person.

“Squeak squeak squeak…”

A sharp chirping sound echoed near her feet. She looked down to see a tiny squirrel, paws clasped together, eyes wide with nervous energy—an emotion Han Luo deliberately transmitted to make the puppet seem more authentic.

“What an adorable little guy!” she said, crouching to scoop the squirrel up and place it gently in her palms. Stroking its soft fur, she teased, “Little one, are you a disciple of Luoxian Sect too?”

“Squeak squeak!”

The squirrel circled once in her hands, clearly affirming her joke. Lin Xiaolou giggled with delight.

“Well then, if you’re a fellow disciple, come with your big sister.”

“Squeak!”

The squirrel leapt onto her fragrant shoulder and settled down, and Lin Xiaolou didn’t try to chase it away. She let it rest there as she resumed her work.

“So far, so good… looks like she hasn’t noticed,” Han Luo thought. Even with only 20% sensory feedback, the temperature and spiritual presence she emitted didn’t suggest any suspicion. A solid beginning—now he just needed to stay calm and not get ahead of himself.

For the rest of the day, Han Luo fully focused on controlling the squirrel. He tried to subtly interact with everyone Lin Xiaolou came in contact with, gauging whether any of them noticed the puppet’s true nature. Most were at the Foundation Establishment stage, with a few at Qi Sea realm. Among them all, only Elder Tie gave him a slight sense of unease—he might have noticed something but chose not to say anything.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Han Luo ended his day of observation, steering the puppet to slip away from Lin Xiaolou.

Suddenly, a hand snatched the squirrel mid-escape.

With a smile on her face, Lin Xiaolou caught the puppet. “What, you’ve been climbing on me all day and now you’re trying to run off?”

Han Luo’s heart skipped a beat. Had she discovered the truth?

It shouldn’t be possible. Even if he only had 20% sensory link, his judgment told him she hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

“Come home with me,” she said warmly. “I’ll take good care of you.”

She pulled out a cage-type magical artifact, placed the squirrel inside, and returned home.

Han Luo was speechless. Is she just going to keep the puppet for herself?

Back at her residence, Lin Xiaolou changed into fresh clothes and picked up the squirrel.

“Little guy, I bet you don’t have many companions in the mountains. Just like me, wandering this vast Luoxian Sect without a real friend. How about we become friends?”

One second later, she nodded to herself and said, “Great! Since you’ve agreed, we’re friends now.”

Han Luo: ...

She let the squirrel out of the cage. It stood still, stunned. Run or stay? That was the dilemma.

Even if her cultivation wasn’t top-tier, she was still at Foundation Establishment, while the puppet wasn’t even at Qi Refining. Escape was impossible. But if it stayed, she’d eventually realize it wasn’t real.

“Ahhh…”

Lin Xiaolou stretched, revealing a sliver of snow-white skin at her waist.

“It’s been so long since I had a good sleep. Tonight, you’ll keep me company.”

Smiling mysteriously, she scooped up the squirrel and walked happily into her long-unused bedroom.

At that moment, Han Luo immediately severed the connection with the squirrel.

I knew it. She had already figured it out. There was no other reason for her to break her otherwise rigid daily routine.

In all his surveillance, Lin Xiaolou’s life had always followed a strict pattern. A sudden shift like this could only mean one thing—she knew.

Once the spiritual link was severed, the puppet would become autonomous. If the connection wasn’t reestablished soon, the bloodline bond would fade, and the puppet would eventually lose its spiritual essence due to the depletion of blood energy. Fortunately, Han Luo wouldn’t suffer any lasting damage.

The experiment had failed, but instead of being frustrated, he focused on learning from the failure. After all, it was his first attempt at puppet crafting—expecting perfection was unreasonable.

He reviewed what went wrong, identified areas to improve, and moved on.

The next day, Han Luo tried reconnecting with the squirrel. The link was still intact, though the feedback was… strange. Despite only getting 20% of the sensory input, something about the puppet’s condition felt off.

He decided not to push further. Regardless of whether Lin Xiaolou had truly discovered the puppet, it was now compromised. It had to be discarded.

He retrieved a new piece of spirit wood and began crafting a different kind of puppet.

A month later…

A fluffy white rabbit hopped through the forest, munching on wild grass. With its harmless, innocent demeanor, it attracted plenty of passing women eager to pet it.

Dragonflies buzzed overhead, weaving through crowds. Bright butterflies landed delicately on girls’ hair, adding beauty to the scene.

Birds fluttered across the sky, landing on branches, their eyes scanning everything below with uncanny focus.

To the casual observer, it all seemed like ordinary scenery.

But in truth, none of it was real—each was a puppet, crafted in various shapes and sizes.

Back in the puppet workshop of Luoxian Mountain, Han Luo sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. He could feel several faint threads of connection to his creations—some strong, some weak.

He could switch between these connections at will, experiencing the world through each puppet's perspective.

When he focused on the rabbit, he saw through its eyes. When he switched to the bird, the puppet’s view became his own.

One bird soared to the edge of Luoxian Sect, and Han Luo used it to test the puppet’s range. Even after leaving the sect, he still felt a faint bloodline link, though the vision grew blurry.

The bird flew farther, the connection stretching thinner. Yet as long as he concentrated, he could still sense it. This was the power of blood essence.

Still, he wasn’t satisfied.

Despite cultivating the ancient jade visualization technique every day—despite his extraordinary mental strength and dual-soul constitution—he found it taxing to control even a single bird puppet. Once it left the sect, the sensory input practically vanished.

“This won’t do,” Han Luo muttered.

He needed puppets far stronger than this. Clearly, he still had a long way to go on the path of puppet mastery.

But there was no rush.

Step by step, with patience and focus, he would work his way forward.

Starting from the basics—squirrels, rabbits, birds—and eventually, he would move on to large-scale constructs crafted from spirit wood.

And so…

A year passed.