The deathly silent empty mountain.

The chaotic and noisy vortex of Evil Qi, with its hidden core of mysterious slaughter liquid, did not add any liveliness, but instead made the deathly silence even more intense.

In the courtyard, light snow fluttered down intermittently, and the princesses from the Three Kingdoms occasionally used their purple, frozen hands to grab brooms and clear away the accumulated snow, keeping the bricks and tiles clean.

Song Yan also got up, letting Yuzhuang, the young lady, arrange his attire. Once she finished, he had Yuzhuang practice a set of swordsmanship and offered some guidance.

In the end, Yuzhuang asked softly, "How does Brother Dao plan to handle the three girls outside the gate?"

Song Yan looked at the "grown-up young lady Yuzhuang," feeling a slight sentiment. The young lady used to never question anything, but now, she was beginning to worry about others. Moreover, the timing of her question was quite appropriate; she asked when she was serving him, and he seemed in a good mood upon waking.

This was undoubtedly growth.

The past torments had all become nourishment for her growth, making the once "mechanical young lady" more complex.

This sense of complexity, he felt, was a good thing for Yuzhuang, but... he didn't quite like it.

He preferred those naive to the point of being silly girls, the kind who could easily get fired up.

He wouldn't tease such girls, for he truly believed that having such a girl as a Dao companion would make him relaxed and happy.

"Leave it all to you, handle it however you want, even if you let them go down the mountain, I won't mind."

Song Yan said casually.

Although those three princesses were beautiful, he had no interest.

"Thank you, Brother Dao."

The young lady Yuzhuang bowed deeply.

...

Song Yan returned once more to the cultivation chamber and took out a few volumes from the storage space.

Secret techniques of the Paperman System: "Papermaking Technique," "Paper Manipulation Skill," "Yin Yang Paper-cutting Skill."

Secret techniques of the Blood Corpse System: "Corpse Nourishing Technique," "Corpse-Driving Skill," "Corpse Burial and Refining Skill."

He browsed through them one by one.

For papermen, the core lies in "making paper," strong paper makes strong papermen, while the "Yin Yang Paper-cutting" explains the two methods of making "papermen."

Papermen with engraving involve those colorful, diverse papermen of all kinds that Gu Huangzi had before, characterized by their large numbers, moving in groups, and their size adjustable within a certain range, though individual strength tends to be weak.

Papermen with positive engraving are those most commonly seen beauties in white on Paperman Peak, characterized by their scarcity and singularity, but with considerable individual strength.

Usually, paper made with the blood of strong individuals is destined to become "positive engraving papermen," which is the true "mecha."

However, papermen with negative engraving are also outstanding, emphasizing a kind of "hidden" aspect.

Therefore, the paper-cutting techniques learned by the demon cultivators on Paperman Peak today are all "positive engraving paper-cutting," while "negative engraving paper-cutting" is secretly kept by Gu Huangzi, aiming to "hide" and obscure its mysteries from others.

Before, the "paperman" hidden within the blood corpse's skull, pretending to be the blood corpse's divine soul, was just such a thing.

However, due to the size restriction of "negative engraving" papermen, only one could fit inside the blood corpse skull.

Having understood this information, Song Yan couldn't help but compare the "papermen" with "shadow puppets."

He found that:

Firstly, the making of papermen, compared to shadow puppets, significantly improved their safety.

For shadow puppets, due to various reasons, one might suffer backlash, such as the "skin" exceeding one's own strength, inviting wandering souls that were incorrect, or accidentally summoning an Evil Spirit, all might lead to mishaps.

But making papermen only requires correct techniques, knowing how to engrave negatively or positively.

Secondly, in terms of operability, papermen are far safer than shadow puppets.

Controlling a shadow puppet improperly, or lacking strength, could result in a backlash from the puppet.

However, papermen, as long as one is proficient in the "Paper Manipulation Skill," there are no problems, because papermen are like a "mecha," connected to one's own divine soul, how could there be backlash?

Thirdly, in appearance, papermen also surpass shadow puppets.

Shadow puppets generally resemble what the original was like in life, they might even be uglier, while papermen can be cut into beautiful figures like celestial beauties or strong figures like gods as long as one knows how to cut.

However...

Advantages naturally come with disadvantages.

Firstly...

Papermen can inherit certain magical talents from the "blood in which they're immersed," but physical strength is notably weak.

While shadow puppets retain the original body's strength.

Taking "Auntie Fox" as an example.

The paperman made from Auntie Fox's essence blood could wield "illusion techniques," "multi-tailed burst," and some basic skills Auntie Fox excelled at, yet their physical attributes would not be at the level they should be at the Crimson Palace Level.

Meanwhile, the shadow puppet made from Auntie Fox's skin not only wields "illusion techniques," but also has a physical strength equivalent to its former self. As for the essence blood, it could be put to other use.

If you pit the Auntie Fox paperman against the Auntie Fox shadow puppet, the latter would definitely win with ease.

Secondly...

Creating papermen is a lengthy process, with blood being soaked into the paper pulp taking months, with seventy-seven days being common.

While for shadow puppets, Song Yan could skin something yesterday and complete several by today.

Thus, Song Yan could secretly make shadow puppets anytime, anywhere, but not papermen.

The overwhelming bloody scent couldn't be hidden anyway.

...

As for corpse refining, it requires enhancing physical strength with herbs, followed by adding one's own blood for control.

If Auntie Fox's body were used to make a blood corpse, the resulting blood corpse's physical strength would even surpass Auntie Fox.

However, Auntie Fox is clearly dependent on "magic," so the value isn't considerable.

Regarding the "Corpse Burial and Refining Skill," it's slightly more advanced than the ordinary "Corpse Nourishing Technique."

The latter can nourish anywhere there is Profound Qi, while the former selects specific locations for refining, resulting in stronger characteristics in the refined corpse.

Flying in the air, moving underground, poisonous, five elements of water and fire, undead remains, all are possible...

...

Once Song Yan placed the six volumes on the panel, he began to consume his lifespan for comprehension.

However, this time, he chose his cultivation wisely, without striving for "Secondary Perfect Mutations" in every technique.

Because some content overlaps, like "Corpse Nourishing Technique" and "Corpse Burial and Refining Skill," where the latter is clearly superior.

Also, because some techniques are too low-level, even if he spends time mutating, it serves little purpose; "Paper Manipulation Skill" and "Corpse-Driving Skill" are obvious examples.

For these, he only intended to cultivate to "Single Mutation," adding more if he obtains ample lifespan later.

A deep understanding of each profound technique surfaced in his mind, with the vast knowledge giving him a sense of exhilaration like when he became the Puppet Sect Leader.

"Papermaking Technique," threshold: none; perfected after 5 years of deduction; mutated once with a technique "Evil Paper Technique" after 24 years of deduction; perfect technique "Evil Spirit Technique" achieved with secondary mutation after 470 years of deduction.

The "Evil Paper Technique," compared to "Papermaking Technique," merely makes the created papermen somewhat stronger physically due to the involvement of "Evil Qi," but it's limited. As for the "Evil Spirit Technique," it further enhances papermen physically, and can incorporate a trace of devouring function in all used techniques.

This near 500 years of deduction left Song Yan feeling as though he regretted it immensely; if it were when his realm was low, it would have been fine.

Now, it was just akin to chicken ribs.

He originally thought that "Papermaking Technique" was the source of papermen and needed to be better, but facts proved that low-grade techniques remain low-grade techniques, even when mutated, they're still low-grade.

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