For someone at Lei Dong’s level, using traditional Earth terms, he had long ago evolved far beyond ordinary people. Whether it was the fundamental Five Elements laws of the world, or the laws derived from them, such as Ice, Wind, Thunder, and Lightning, mastering even a superficial understanding was remarkably easy if one was willing to put in the effort.

For instance, in the basic Five Elements, there was Fire. Although Lei Dong cultivated the Profound Yin Heart Sutra, which didn't align much with fire, he could still learn and deploy fire-type spells. At most, it would just require a bit more effort in energy conversion. Of course, the flame techniques Lei Dong could manifest were generally confined to the scope of Yin Fire. To unleash Yang Fire was exponentially more difficult.

Fortunately, using Yin Fire for artifact forging was not necessarily inferior to Yang Fire. Moreover, Yin Fire, when developed to its extreme, possessed astonishing power. For example, the Grand Yin True Fire, the Profound Yin True Fire, and similar flames are terrifying entities in this world. A cultivator at Lei Dong’s level, if touched by something like Grand Yin True Fire, might as well opt for immediate self-termination for a cleaner end.

However, such ultimate forms of Yin Fire were not things ordinary people could cultivate, and they usually resided in extremely perilous natural environments. For instance, Grand Yin True Fire often exists in the darkest recesses of the boundless outer void. Similarly, Solar True Fire is typically found only on the surfaces of fiercely burning stars. Even someone at Lei Dong's level had no way to approach or interact with such phenomena.

Lei Dong was currently using Yin Fire for artifact forging, but although his mastery of Yin Fire techniques wasn't merely superficial, it was still mismatched with his level of cultivation. It was comparable to the skill level of some Core Formation stage cultivators specializing purely in Yin Fire, reaching the level of ordinary Yin Attribute True Fire. If he were to deploy this level of Yin Fire in combat, it would be a complete joke, perhaps causing his opponent to laugh themselves to death.

This was almost the highest level he could achieve with casual effort. To elevate his Yin Fire application further, one of two things was necessary: First, Lei Dong would need to dedicate significant time to meticulously studying this art, comprehending the deeper meanings of Yin Fire, and ideally mastering more Yin Fire laws. Second, his own cultivation base needed to advance, perhaps reaching the Deity Transformation stage or similar.

Given that mastering a respectable fire-attribute spell was essential for artifact forging, pill refinement, or puppet crafting, Lei Dong decided that over the next three years, while simultaneously studying the art of mechanical puppetry, he would continuously strive to elevate his Yin Fire attributes to prepare for repairing Deity Transformation level puppets in the future.

He pondered these various miscellaneous thoughts while forging the puppet components—a task requiring extreme delicacy. Yet, Lei Dong’s control over his own body had reached such an apex that such fine work was second nature, effortlessly accomplished. Furthermore, since his Yin Fire had reached the True Fire level, forging high-tier items would normally be strenuous, but the current task was a high-level Qi Refining puppet. Under the searing heat of the True Yin Fire, the materials were easily purged of impurities, extracting the very essence from the raw components, and shaped according to his immense divine sense into any form he desired.

Achieving the final form in one attempt even allowed him to bypass the tedious refinement process entirely.

It took only half a day for Lei Dong to assemble a complex mechanical puppet: Bumblebee. The current Bumblebee stood three to four zhang tall, not diminutive compared to the original, exuding a majestic aura, fully metallic, possessing a distinctly sci-fi aesthetic combined with the heavy, industrial texture of the Victorian era.

Lei Dong’s design for its vehicle transformation deviated somewhat from the original Bumblebee. When it transformed into an automobile, it became a flying vessel shaped like a car—a sleek, single-seater roadster, incredibly flashy.

However, regardless of how cool and imposing Bumblebee looked now, it remained an empty shell without a soul, possessing mere external form. According to the countless years of development in mechanical puppetry, there were numerous methods for controlling puppets. For example, refining the divine soul of a human or another species into the puppet core, utilizing its spiritual nature and instinctive combat experience to control the puppet in battle. This method was the most primitive, yet the most traditional and highly effective. However, the soul used must be compatible with the puppet level.

Just as one could not use a Core Formation divine soul core to control a Deity Transformation puppet, as it would fail to unleash the puppet's combat potential. Similarly, one should not use a Deity Transformation primordial spirit core to control a Core Formation puppet; this would not only fail to utilize the core’s power but could also easily damage the Core Formation puppet. Moreover, the species' appearance was crucial. For instance, if one possessed the primordial spirit of a Netherworld Mystic Serpent, it was best to use a Deity Transformation puppet that mimicked the Serpent's appearance and spells, as the synergy would be high, boosting the puppet’s combat strength. While incorporating the Netherworld Mystic Serpent’s primordial spirit core into a tiger-form Deity Transformation puppet wasn't impossible, the performance and power would be significantly diminished.

Of course, most high-level beings today—be they demonic beasts or divine beasts—have adapted to fighting in the humanoid forms acquired through shapeshifting. Consequently, Deity Transformation humanoid puppets might not possess the absolute highest power ceiling, but they are the most universally applicable. Take the several Deity Transformation primordial spirits Lei Dong possessed: although Xuan Yuanzi was the best fit for a humanoid puppet, allowing his instincts and combat experience to be utilized at ninety percent capacity, the primordial spirits of the Ancient War Giant and the Charm Snake were also formidable. Even if they couldn't reach their maximum combat potential in humanoid form, their inherent power far surpassed Xuan Yuanzi's, meaning that after refining their primordial spirits and placing them within a puppet, the resulting combat power might even slightly edge out Xuan Yuanzi’s.

Furthermore, somewhat lower-tier puppets often employed a control system akin to an artifact spirit. This is because the intelligence of low-level demonic beasts or human souls dissipates significantly once separated from the body upon death. When refined into a puppet, the resulting automaton is relatively dull, making it difficult to exert formidable combat strength. Lei Dong had owned such puppets before; as for intelligence, it was non-existent; they could only accept simple, passive commands. Only when reaching the Nascent Soul level puppet did autonomous combat capability see a significant improvement.

Therefore, for many low-tier puppets, puppeteers preferred refining complex artificial cores. The refinement of artificial cores is an immensely intricate and vast endeavor. In ancient times, certain races proficient in this art brought this technology to the Nine Continents world, gradually establishing a unique field of expertise. Many ancient Spirit Treasures utilized complex artificial cores—the so-called artifact spirits.

Using an artifact spirit to control a puppet in place of the master is a rather elegant solution. The master only needs to integrate a small portion of their divine thought into the puppet’s artifact spirit, much like commanding a magic tool, issuing commands the spirit can comprehend. The artifact spirit then executes the commands based on the pre-set directives within the artifact spirit core formation.

The better the artifact spirit is refined, the richer the puppet’s combat capabilities and the more agile its reactions become. This evolution has led to the present day, where the quality of a self-refined artifact spirit often determines the tier of the puppeteer’s skill.

When Lei Dong first reviewed information on this topic, he was speechless for quite a while. Human ingenuity, truly boundless. When he first transmigrated to this world, he assumed it was a very backward, primitive place. But as he delved deeper into the cultivation world, he gradually realized this world was not backward at all; in fact, it was highly developed. It simply followed a different developmental trajectory than his original world, Earth.

Conversely, it was Earth that was lagging behind by several tiers. Examples included flying vessels, mechanical puppets, the method of personal strength enhancement through cultivation, artifact forging, pill refinement, and so forth. Even the genetic engineering and artificial intelligence systems that Earth once prided itself on were not uncommon here.

Cultivation evolution itself is the continuous refinement and evolution of one's own genes, leading to greater strength and longevity. Nascent Soul experts like Lei Dong can condense their memories, energy, and life factors into a unique entity called the Nascent Soul. Upon death, this Nascent Soul can possess another body, not only enabling revival but, for those with specialized techniques, utilizing the life factors contained within the Nascent Soul to replace the host body’s life force, thus achieving true resurrection. Nascent Soul cultivators are termed 'Indestructible Nascent Souls' for this very reason. The high-level demon he encountered previously, which possessed a body via its spirit soul and quickly transformed into a genuine high-level demon, operated on a similar principle.

The higher the tier one reaches, the more inconceivable the divine abilities displayed—such as creating clones, avatars, and projections—endlessly manifesting.

As for artificial intelligence systems, they were already quite common in the ancient era of this world. After all, Lei Dong possessed an Arena artifact spirit and a Soul Devouring Pagoda artifact spirit, both formidable entities crafted by supreme powers.

Of course, the artifact spirits within some lower-tier puppets, although called artifact spirits, differ vastly from those forged by ancient supreme beings. They possess simpler structures and limited functions, only capable of executing the master’s simple commands. Even so, that was sufficient for the task at hand.

Refining a puppet artifact spirit core is a complicated affair, sometimes even more difficult than forging the puppet itself, involving extremely complex knowledge. Fortunately, Old Man Gongsun had stored several already refined, simplified artifact spirits in his storage ring, suitable for use in Qi Refining level puppets.

This also indicated that the development of mechanical puppetry in the Great Qian Continent surpassed that of Kangzhou; a major region was indeed superior. It explained why the people from the Great Qian Continent felt such a sense of superiority when traveling to Kangzhou, much like city dwellers visiting the countryside.

The pre-refined, simplified artifact spirits possessed broad applicability. Lei Dong merely made minor modifications and refinement rituals before installing one into Bumblebee. With a single thought of his divine sense, kacha kacha, Bumblebee sprang to life.