Chapter 856: Tiger-Striped Puppet

“The second method.”
The Tree of Fate continued, “Using it to strengthen the wealthy man’s defensive capabilities is also a good choice.”
The tiger-striped monster’s flesh and bones were too tough to be transformed into energy to enhance Su Che, as Su Che was a person, not a magical artifact. He could only absorb energy; he couldn’t force these impossibly hard substances into his body.
However, they could be used as materials for crafting artifacts to strengthen the wealthy man—a possibility Su Che had already thought of. He said, “That’s worth considering. Now, let’s talk about the third option.”
“The third option is…”
The Tree of Fate stretched out a vine and helped lift the “tiger-striped monster” lying on the ground. Its body still retained a perfect human shape, essentially a hollow corpse.
“Using this intact body as the base and adding other crafting materials to turn it into a puppet-type magical artifact is also quite good.”
This suggestion from the Tree of Fate sparked an idea in Su Che’s mind.
As for Lao Hei, he was extremely excited and eager, immediately shouting, “Great! Let’s go with this! If it’s turned into a puppet, I can control it and fight outside for my master!”
Back when Su Che was still at the Foundation Establishment stage, he had obtained the body of an underground Asura and crafted it into a puppet for Lao Hei to control through possession. Later, Lao Hei had also controlled two Holy Demon Puppets. As Su Che’s strength grew, it became increasingly difficult to find puppet-type magical artifacts that could be of help.
Lao Hei’s greatest wish was to leave the Immortal Prison in the form of a puppet and fight alongside his master. For him, this was the highest honor and the greatest pleasure in life. After waiting so long, he finally got another chance—how could he miss it?
“Master, shall we choose the third option?”
Lao Hei bowed deeply in the Immortal Prison, pleading earnestly, almost kneeling on the ground. “At critical moments, I can also act as your living shield to protect you.”
He was so excited because he was worried he wouldn’t be able to compete with the wealthy man. Such an excellent defensive material should logically be used to strengthen him.
“Alright!”
This time, Su Che agreed readily, mainly out of sympathy for not wanting to disappoint Lao Hei. Besides, Lao Hei now possessed strength equivalent to that of a Human Immortal, allowing him to split off a soul to control the puppet magical artifact from outside the Immortal Prison.

Even if danger arose and the puppet magic weapon were completely destroyed by the enemy, and Lao Hei’s split soul failed to retreat to the Immortal Prison in time and was erased, it would still be a minor loss that wouldn’t severely weaken Lao Hei or pose a life-threatening risk.
Since that’s the case, what’s there to worry about? Just fulfill Lao Hei’s wish.
Don’t forget how hard the tiger-patterned monster’s skull is—no matter how hard Xiao Hei hits it, it doesn’t suffer any damage; at most, it can only be stunned. Turning him into a puppet magic weapon under Lao Hei’s control would make him an extremely powerful flesh shield.
“That’s it, let’s start the refinement!” Su Che made the final decision.
“Great! Awesome!”
Lao Hei was so happy in the Immortal Prison that he jumped high, did several somersaults, then came over to Xiao Hei and patted his leg, saying, “From now on, Lao Hei and Xiao Hei—two Heis—will each have our own roles. You’re the spear, and I’m the shield. Protect your father, my master.”
Xiao Hei nodded silently without saying a word. Apart from communicating mentally with Su Che, he rarely spoke, which stood in sharp contrast to the talkative Lao Hei.
“Hahaha, this is going to be fun…”
Lao Hei grinned broadly for a long time. He didn’t care if anyone was listening; even talking to himself, he could entertain himself for hours nonstop.
Next, the tiger-patterned monster’s body, along with hundreds of top-tier refining materials and dozens of special materials from chaos, were all sent to the Third Layer of the Fire Realm, where the Lord of the Fire Realm would be responsible for refining this puppet magic weapon.
This wasn’t difficult at all. There was no need to change the monster’s body structure—only extremely precise components needed to be added inside its shell.
Of course, a large amount of immortal crystals were also required as energy to power the puppet, enabling it to move and fight.
There were plenty of immortal crystals, so Lao Hei could squander them as he wished.
Over ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and Su Che’s body enhancement was complete, with very satisfactory results.
Although only one-third of the tiger-patterned monster’s bodily energy had been integrated, it far exceeded Su Che’s expectations.
As a result, Su Che’s blood vessels, blood, bone marrow, internal organs, and meridians all saw significant improvements. Overall, his strength increased by more than 1,300 times.
Over 1,300 times—truly a thousand-fold increase!
A huge surprise!
Unexpected, yet understandable—given the monster’s extremely abnormal physical defense, it wasn’t hard to imagine how powerful one-third of it would be.

Compared to the original 900-fold power increase, the current 1,300-fold increase is not merely a 400-fold rise—it represents a fundamental improvement, having finally crossed a critical threshold. This is the difference between a 100-fold and a 1,000-fold increase; the power attribute undergoes a dramatic transformation, ascending to a higher level—much like progressing from the later stage of Xuanxian to the early stage of Jinxian. It’s a significant elevation and evolution. A 1,000-fold increase! Another wish fulfilled—Su Che was naturally very happy. Yet he didn’t show excessive joy in front of Tianyin, as his combat strength was still inferior to that of a true Immortal Lord. At the very least, he needed to reach the cultivation level of a Fourth-Level Heavenly Immortal Emperor, combined with the 1,000-fold increase, to stand evenly with Tianyin. For now, he still had to endure his wife’s “bullying”; there was nothing to be proud of in her presence. Two more days passed. Tianyin was meditating quietly beside Su Che, mainly to quickly adapt to the various pressures exerted by the Chaos Realm—such as the limited detection range of just 10,000 li, which troubled her greatly. Beyond 10,000 li, she could no longer see enemies, yet the opponent could see her clearly from a distance of a million li. How could she fight under such disparities? This had to be overcome swiftly, so Tianyin was busy exploring the most suitable detection methods—such as which type of sound wave would yield the best detection results. Suddenly… “Hahaha! I’m finally out… Hahaha! I’m free at last!” With these extremely arrogant laughs and shouts, Tianyin saw that the tiger-patterned freak had appeared right before her, only a dozen zhang away from her and Su Che. In that instant, Tianyin instinctively thought, “Could it be an accident? Did he escape from Su Che’s Immortal Prison Space?” But in an instant, she realized: That can’t be right. This guy has learned the language of our universe’s Immortal Realm—so he definitely isn’t his original self. Could it be…? Tianyin prepared for battle silently and whispered in Su Che’s ear, “Did you turn him into a puppet?” “Good wife, so smart,” Su Che said with a smile. Only after getting this definitive answer did Tianyin relax. She then remembered that during his time in the cultivation world of Qi Yuan Star in the mortal realm, he had possessed several puppets before…

Su Che didn’t need to explain anything about Lao Hei, because that guy had already flown over on his own, kneeling down to pay his respects to Tian Yin, and shouting loudly, “Lao Hei bows to his master! I, Lao Hei, am not only the spirit vessel of the Immortal Prison but also the closest and most reliable subordinate who has always accompanied my master through growth—there’s no one else like me!”
Su Che smiled inwardly: This guy really doesn’t know how to be modest. Although these words are true, they should have come from my mouth—not him bragging like this.
Tian Yin also smiled and nodded, saying, “You’re Lao Hei. I understand. Thank you for always supporting and taking care of him with such dedication.”
“That’s what I should do.”
Lao Hei nodded repeatedly with a grin. But at this moment, he had the appearance of the tiger-patterned monster—that gorilla with a tiger coat who had fought fiercely against Su Che’s group not long ago. No matter how you looked at him, he gave off a rather strange and awkward vibe.
Of course, time is the best remedy. Over time, one will surely get used to it.
“Let’s set off.”
Su Che stood up and, following the soul memories of the tiger-patterned monster, pointed in a certain direction in the chaos, “Go that way. After flying for dozens of days, we’ll find that island.”
Tian Yin’s eyes sparkled as she wondered: If I remember correctly, he said it would take three or four years to get there. Why has it changed to dozens of days now?
Undoubtedly, he must have found a faster way to fly.
Whoosh!
Xiao Hei appeared once again.
As soon as he showed up, he transformed into a giant hundreds of feet tall, stretching out his large hand with the palm up toward Su Che and the others.
His huge palm was like a vast platform—hundreds of people could stand on it without any problem.
Su Che and Tian Yin floated down onto this giant palm, and he said to her, “Xiao Hei’s flying speed in the chaos is far faster than mine—by at least dozens of times.”
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh…
Xiao Hei held an axe in his right hand and kept his left palm up, cradling Su Che, Tian Yin, and Lao Hei in front of his chest as he flew at high speed through the chaos, covering tens of millions of miles in an instant. Indeed, his speed was dozens of times faster than Su Che’s.
It seemed even faster than the tiger-patterned monster, who hadn’t died.
The reason for this was simple: Travelers like Su Che were only in a state of adaptation in the chaos—like someone who has learned to swim; entering rivers, lakes, and seas only means they won’t drown.

Xiao Hei, originally a creature created by chaotic energy, is not hindered in any way by the chaotic energy that surrounds him like thick mist; instead, it serves as various driving forces for him. Chaos is Xiao Hei’s home, his paradise, his domain. With enough wisdom, anything he can conceive should be possible within chaos. Su Che believes that given enough time, Xiao Hei will surely grow into the most powerful being in chaos. Just like whale sharks in the sea and giant crocodiles in rivers—naturally dominant rulers of water, invincible beings—any other creatures that encounter him can only flee in panic, no matter how many they are, they will scatter in disarray.