Rei Dong had long anticipated Elder Li's sudden fury; otherwise, he wouldn't have continuously bolstered his background leverage while holding Li Chuchu hostage. Those measures were precisely to prevent Elder Li from doing something rash in his rage, which would make the situation irrecoverable.

The Soul Transformation Puppet Technique was the very foundation of the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect, the essence of the entire sect. If Elder Li hadn't reacted so intensely, it would have been a genuine surprise. Rei Dong simply watched him quietly, as if waiting for him to calm down on his own.

Indeed, a seasoned old monster who had lived for seven or eight hundred years quickly regained self-control after the initial spiritual shock of rage. His gaze was no longer friendly, staring fiercely at Rei Dong: "Soul Transformation Puppet Technique? Daoist Friend Li, are you here to amuse me?"

"Elder Li, while I may not be a world-shaking figure, I am at least at the mid-Nascent Soul stage. Surely I wouldn't travel all the way to Da Qian Continent just to amuse someone I've never met, having nothing better to do?" Because the reaction was within expectations, Rei Dong became even more placid.

Elder Li declared resolutely: "Since you genuinely desire the Soul Transformation Puppet Technique, then I can also sincerely tell you that it is absolutely impossible."

"Elder Li, in this world, truly nothing is impossible." Rei Dong said slowly, "Everything has its value. Admittedly, the Soul Transformation Puppet Technique is exceptionally precious, the foundation upon which your sect stands. However, if I were to offer a Void Refinement stage puppet in exchange, Elder Li, would you trade or not?"

"Nonsense. If you possessed a Void Refinement puppet, why would you need to trade for my Soul Transformation Puppet Technique?" A golden light flashed in Elder Li's eyes as he scoffed repeatedly. "Forget it. You need not mention this again. Out of consideration for various reasons, I will let you leave without further obstruction." After a pause, he seemed to hold a sliver of hope: "Do you truly have a Void Refinement puppet?"

"Heh, just as Elder Li surmised, it is impossible for me to possess a Void Refinement puppet." Rei Dong shook his head and smiled. "I merely wish to show Elder Li that there are many things in this world whose value is not inferior to the Soul Transformation Puppet Technique. For example, Heavenly Spirit Ghosts, or an extremely powerful innate spiritual treasure, a full bottle of innate spiritual elixirs, or perhaps the Divine Water of Life from the Holy Domain of Light, and so on."

"Hmph, how can those be the same? Those things you mention are indeed extremely precious. But my Soul Transformation Puppet Technique allows for the continuous refinement of Soul Transformation stage puppets." With every item Rei Dong named, the golden light in Elder Li's eyes flickered more intensely, especially the last one—the Divine Water of Life—which caused the golden light in his eyes to surge uncontrollably. In truth, in his heart, if Rei Dong could truly produce any of the items mentioned, he would agree to the trade. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered lingering in conversation with Rei Dong.

"Heh, the Soul Transformation Puppet Technique is indeed as you say; once mastered, it allows for the endless creation of Soul Transformation puppets." Rei Dong smiled, a genuinely sincere smile. "However, I must ask Elder Li, even though your sect possesses this marvelous art, how many Soul Transformation stage puppets does your sect actually have? And how many people can control them?"

Uh, this question immediately choked Elder Li silent. Powerhouses across the world understood that possessing the Soul Transformation Puppet Technique did not equate to unlimited production of Soul Transformation puppets. This was because every single material required to refine a Soul Transformation puppet was virtually extinct in the world and priceless. Even a rather powerful sect, even pooling all its resources, might not gather a complete set of materials needed to refine one.

Many materials required chance, luck, wealth, and support, but more importantly, they required time—vast amounts of time—to collect and exchange. Because of this, although the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect possessed the Soul Transformation Puppet Technique, publicly, they had only successfully refined two such puppets to this day.

Furthermore, those capable of commanding a Soul Transformation puppet were definitely not just anyone. If the controller was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, their spiritual sense strength would need to almost rival that of an early-stage Soul Transformation expert. This alone was enough to bar ninety-nine percent of peak Nascent Soul experts. Secondly, the individual must possess an extremely profound understanding of the art of puppetry, requiring significant time and effort to learn. Soul Transformation puppets are not like those found at the Foundation Establishment or Golden Core stages.

Due to these various reasons, even possessing a single Soul Transformation puppet, cultivating a successful controller was by no means simple. It was precisely for this reason that Rei Dong managed to render Elder Li speechless. If the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect's Soul Transformation Puppet Technique could indeed endlessly forge these puppets and easily find controllers, the sect would long ago have dominated the Nine Provinces, trampled the Six Domains, fought their way to the Three Realms, and set out to conquer the universe.

"Hmph, even so, my Soul Transformation Puppet Technique is an extremely valuable asset, not something easily exchanged." Under Rei Dong's negotiation offensive, Elder Li was gradually falling into a disadvantageous position.

"I didn't say the Soul Transformation Puppet Technique wasn't valuable, only that this art is not as incomparably precious as imagined. Let's take a step back: if I were to learn your sect's Soul Transformation Puppet Technique, how much actual loss would it cause your sect, or Elder Li? Would learning it make your sect's technique vanish?" Rei Dong continued to tempt him. "Elder Li, I can swear an oath to guarantee two things. First, only the three of us present will know about this transaction; not even my closest friends and relatives will know, and even the Phoenix Emperor will be kept in the dark about my needing the Soul Transformation Puppet Technique. Second, I can also swear upon the primordial laws of the universe that if I trade or disseminate the acquired Soul Transformation Puppet Technique in any form, may I be struck by heavenly lightning, have my soul utterly destroyed, and never find peace in death."

These words made Elder Li deeply moved. Indeed, as Rei Dong said, if he didn't spread it externally, there was almost no loss to the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect. Moreover, if he could swear never to mention it, the wealth gained from the transaction would belong entirely to him personally. Although he was a Grand Elder of the Ten Thousand Puppet Sect with the authority to utilize sect resources, if he frequently or heavily drew upon sect resources to serve himself and his own family, the scrutiny of countless eyes would make him feel like sitting on pins and needles; his position would not last long. The sect's ethos would also be corrupted, leading to its decline. Having spent his entire life within the sect, Elder Li naturally held deep affection for it.

Therefore, what Rei Dong proposed scarcely harmed anyone's interests, yet was extremely advantageous to him. This troublesome situation, upon careful thought, might not be a bad thing after all. The more he considered it, the more tempted Elder Li became, especially by those two supreme-grade spirit ghosts that captivated him so. However, relying solely on those items, he felt, was not enough—far from enough—to exchange for the Soul Transformation Puppet Technique. If this young man named Lei could only produce those items, he truly felt it wouldn't be worth it, completely unworthy. Still, Chuchu being under his control placed immense pressure on him.

He was old, and having merged with a Soul Transformation puppet, he had no chance of breaking through in the remaining few centuries of his lifespan. Now, a genius emerged in his family whose talent was no less than his own in his youth; he treasured her deeply, pinning all his hopes on her. After all, he had risen from humble origins, fighting for every resource bit by bit himself. But now, with ample wealth, he was fully capable of supporting the child Chuchu to reach even greater heights. For all these reasons, under duress, he absolutely did not want to give up Li Chuchu, the descendant who embodied his immense hope and affection.

With this in mind, Elder Li frowned slightly: "I have one more matter to confirm. If I deem the value insufficient and still refuse the trade, will you turn hostile and kill Chuchu?"

Li Chuchu's delicate body, held in Rei Dong's grasp, trembled, seemingly very concerned about this question, her pair of watery eyes staring deeply at Rei Dong. Rei Dong slowly closed his eyes. After a significant pause, he slowly opened them, his gaze exceptionally firm, and uttered a single word: "I will!"

"Wuu~" In Li Chuchu's eyes, it seemed all light was lost, dim and lusterless, as she lowered her eyelids, and a few drops of clear tears slipped down from her long lashes.

"Very good. You are someone who speaks the truth," Elder Li said seriously. "Since that is the case, I will also tell you that what you have offered is still not enough value. However, you can continue to propose leverage. When I feel it is worth it, we will proceed with the actual trade."

"Divine Water of Life." Rei Dong threw out a condition he had already considered.

"What?" The golden light in Elder Li's eyes flickered violently, as if stunned by those four words. He stared fixedly at Rei Dong, greed shining in his eyes: "Do you... truly possess the Divine Water of Life?"

"Not yet." Rei Dong shook his head, and before Elder Li could explode in anger, he calmly added, "But the reason I sought the Soul Transformation Puppet Technique was precisely to accumulate the capital needed to venture into the Holy Domain of Light. I have an unavoidable reason to go there to acquire the Divine Water of Life. I can promise Daoist Friend Li that if I possess two bottles or more of the Divine Water of Life, one bottle will be given to Elder Li as payment."

"Why should I believe you will definitely obtain the Divine Water of Life?" Elder Li said, still deeply tempted. "And why should I believe that even if you obtain the Divine Water of Light, you will send it to me?"