What? I bring dungeon to the cultivation world!

For his next experiment, Liam had a very specific goal in mind.

He wanted to test whether he could still manipulate the golden energy to transport objects into his divine mind, even when the energy wasn't actively flowing from his body at that moment.

So, he focused.

And under his sharp, watchful eyes… the puppet flickered, and vanished from its spot.

A breath later, it reappeared at the same location, as if nothing had changed.

But Liam's eyes lit up.

Then came the grin. 

Wide. Satisfied. A little smug.

"Jackpot. Absolute jackpot," he laughed, rubbing his palms together with visible delight. 

"With this... I don't even need to lift a finger anymore."

He chuckled to himself, strolling slowly toward the puppet as he spoke. "I can send my puppets out, let them handle everything, and when they're done, just pull them back into the divine space to cut long distance journey"

He waved his hand lazily, eyes gleaming. "It's basically a portable portal. A little roundabout, but way too convenient to complain."

The implications of this newfound ability sent a thrill down his spine.

And so, for the next few hours, Liam buried himself in further tests, methodical, curious, relentless.

And then, another feature revealed itself.

Unexpected.

And Extremely useful.

He discovered he could project his divine mind directly into the puppet's core.

Different from imprinting, this wasn't just issuing commands. 

This was possession. Direct control. He could quite literally become the puppet for a limited time.

He tested it.

Three hours. That was the maximum.

After that, cracks began to spread through the puppet's spiritual core. 

His divine mind was simply too strong for a puppet of this tier to handle.

Still, the discovery made him pause and hum thoughtfully. "If it was a Foundation realm puppet, the result might be very different…"

The smile that tugged at his lips was thoughtful, and just a little dangerous.

"All in all… a good trick for getting around without having to show up in person."

With that, Liam plucked a dark cloak from his storage bag, smooth and faintly shimmering in the sunlight. 

He draped it over the puppet's shoulders and then placed a plain black mask over its face.

Now it looked like a proper shadow agent, faceless, quiet, and forgettable.

Then Liam sank back into the reclining chair, crossed one leg over the other, and allowed his divine mind to settle into the puppet.

From the outside, he was motionless. At peace.

Inside, he was walking again, moving the cloaked puppet through the courtyard, its steps smooth and oddly human. 

With a casual wave, Liam called the remaining puppets back into his storage, including the one he had just possessed.

He had plans to sell them. If he could trade them for tier 2 materials, even better.

He wasn't expecting much from this city… but he was always willing to try.

And if not? No problem. He'd just send more puppets to scour the area.

After all, now that he was in the Foundation realm, time wasn't something he had to worry about anymore.

Thanks to the monster binding, their lifespan was added to his own.

With a flick of thought, Liam called up the system panel again.

A familiar shimmer appeared, tinted faint blue, lined with faint golden threads.

[Dungeon Creation System]

[Name]: Li Am / Liam

[Realm]:Foundation Building Realm [Perfected]

[Lifespan]: 57 / 850

[Universal Essence / Points]: 890

[Dungeon]

Tier 1: 1

[Pocket Space]

Wilden Wolves

Growth Limit: Qi Refining Realm (Peak)Rarity: 0.1Lifespan: 200 yearsSpecial Skills: Blue Claws, Flaming MantleWooden Boar

Growth Limit: Qi Refining Realm (Peak)Rarity: 0.1Lifespan: 300 yearsSpecial Skills: Hardened HideTyphoon Eagle [Bounded]

Growth Limit: Foundation Building Realm[perfection]Rarity: 0.2Lifespan: 700 yearsSpecial Skills: Typhoon Blades, Wind Slash, Typhoon Shield[Permission Level]: 0%

Liam scanned the information once again, but his attention landed firmly on one number.

Eight hundred and fifty years.

He leaned back into his chair with a laugh, low, amused, deeply satisfied.

That number alone surpassed the average Golden Core cultivator by at least three hundred years… and was only a notch below the fabled Nascent Soul experts.

Which meant, if he simply kept to himself, quiet, low-profile, he could easily outlive most of the Golden Core powerhouses in this region.

The idea made him grin.

Not bad for someone who started from nothing.

"Not bad at all," he murmured to himself, his voice laced with a quiet pride.

And the best part?

He was just getting started.

Next, Liam eased into the reclining chair and let out a soft breath, closing his eyes in a slow, measured motion.

A sliver of his divine mind peeled away, before sinking into the spiritual core of the puppet.

In the next moment, his senses shifted.

He wasn't in the courtyard anymore, not exactly.

Now, he was seeing through a different set of eyes, more mechanical in feel, but still vividly connected. 

The puppet's vision fed directly into his awareness, like a second body tethered to his consciousness. 

It was like moving an extra limb, awkward at first, but surprisingly easy overtime.

A strange sensation, yet not entirely unpleasant.

Still, Liam kept it simple for now. 

Just a glance around the courtyard through the puppet's eyes, checking for oddities, then, without much urgency, he had the puppet stroll out of the gate and into the main street.

His destination was clear.

The marketplace.

More precisely, the same Chamber of Commerce he'd visited before.

As for why?

Well, he had no plans of being reckless. He trusted the woman in charge. 

Her credibility wasn't just an empty front, she has something left an impression on him.

And definitely not because of her looks.

Absolutely not.

After all, if Liam had really been looking for a woman to warm his bed, he could've just tossed a few spirit stones at the nearest slave shop and walked out with half a dozen mortal girls.

But he didn't.

That, in itself, said enough.

So the puppet walked, slow, deliberate steps, down the busy streets.

Its figure loomed beneath a thick black cloak, easily two meters tall and broad at the shoulders. 

Towering over most passersby like a silent angry giant.

The effect was immediate.

Heads turned.

Whispers buzzed.

Even other cultivator monks paused to take a second look.

The presence this puppet body radiated wasn't something ordinary. 

With its steady gait and that uncanny stillness around it, it screamed one thing to the crowd:

'an expert!'

'or a pervert, you choose'

A mysterious powerhouse, possibly just came out of seclusion, now roaming the city with unknown intentions. 

Even the mortals, instinctively shifted out of the way. 

The crowd parted like a tide before the puppet, their backs slightly hunched, gazes lowered, as if afraid to offend this senior.

Back in the courtyard, Liam's lips twitched.

The corner of his mouth lifted in mild amusement.

There goes the low-key vibe. 

Was he overdoing it?

Maybe.

Did he care?

Not even a little.

With a subtle flex of his divine will, Liam surged golden energy into the puppet's limbs, and the whole figure blurred, vanishing from the street in a burst of speed that tore at the wind.

Gasps echoed in the puppet's sudden movement. 

Mouths dropped. A child cried. A merchant dropped his basket of spirit fruits.

But Liam ignored all of it.

Liam maneuvered the puppet across the street, its movements smooth as it entered the marketplace's inner walls. 

The stationed guards didn't even glance his way. 

Understandably so, since he was practically moving at an incredible speed.

He wasn't afraid of anyone either in this city, anyone except the city lord.

But that man was as good as gone.

The latest rumors said the city lord had been gravely injured during the last beast tide that attacked this city before. 

Either way, the city's backbone had all but snapped. 

Without a Foundation Building cultivator holding the reins, it was only a matter of time before this city crumbled. 

The next incoming beast horde from the forest would arrive at unpredictable times… and this time, there might be no defense strong enough to hold them back.

This city was nestled dangerously close to the center of the region, right where the vast Blue Azure Wilderness was situated. 

The wilderness stretched endlessly, gnawing at the edge of human civilization.

The region itself? 

It was known as the Blue Cloud Region, a name inherited from an ancient sect. 

Now, only a scatter of second-rate sects and a crowd of third-rate ones lingered here like weeds in an overgrown field.

Liam never bothered remembering their names, none of them were worth the space in his mind. 

Maybe a few exceptions, but even those weren't special enough to matter in the grand scheme of things.

And as for what lay beyond this region?

No one knew. 

Liam had never ventured far enough to find out, and strangely, no books or locals had ever spoken of what existed past the boundaries. 

Was it a greater continent? A massive island? Or perhaps just more endless wilderness?

He didn't know. .

For now, it was simple: stay low, develop the dungeon, raise the system's permission level, unlock higher-tier dungeons, and hopefully he would be able to achieve his dream. 

Stability. 

But the moment he stepped onto the marketplace street, something felt off.

The atmosphere buzzed strangely. 

The usual idle chatter and leisurely pace had vanished. People were moving fast, whispering nervously, their faces tight with unease. 

Liam narrowed his eyes and casually reached out, grabbing a burly mortal by the shoulder and dragging him to the side.

The man was clearly in a hurry, trying to be in and out. 

But someone had actually dared to stop him, pull him aside like he was a sack of wheat?

He turned, about to curse, but then his eyes landed on the cloaked figure.

 And just like that, all the blood drained from his face. That oppressive aura… it hit him like a wall.

With a forced smile and trembling hands, the man bowed, stuttering, "W-what can I do for you, Senior? D-did this humble ant do something wrong? If yes, please, spare me some face! My brother, he's a cultivator too, Fierce Lu! From the outer city!"

A weak threat hidden beneath desperate pleading.

Liam wasn't in the mood.

He let a thread of aura leak out, and the man instantly turned pale, lips sealed. Liam asked what he needed.

The answers came even faster.

And when he was done, he let the man go.

The burly fellow scrambled away like his life depended on it, because it did. 

He didn't know it yet, but the moment he crossed the inner city wall again, he'd explode into a mist of regret. 

Liam had left a small imprint nestled in his spiritual threads.

A ticking bomb.

"Trash. Anyone loyal to that Lu idiot is either a thief, a thug, or worse," Liam muttered under his breath, snorting.

He naturally knew some things happening in the outside circle of the city. Some really nasty stuff, especially the name, Fierce Lu. 

However, Liam wouldn't bother trying to be a hero.

Continuing toward his destination, Liam mentally pieced together the information he'd extracted.

There were rumours from the far distance of the region border.

The demonic beast horde might strike earlier than expected. 

Worse, a red mist was beginning to creep in from the southern border.

It wasn't just talk anymore. It was actually happening at the same time. 

That rare, once-in-a-several-decades phenomenon was returning.

And with it, the rise in taboo beings across the region.

One crisis after another, each one big enough to shake the whole region. 

Even a golden core cultivator would be a bit troubled by these troublesome incoming issues. 

Liam's expression darkened. 

Of all the bad news, the red mist was the most troubling. 

People didn't even bother naming it formally. "Red Mist" was what they called it, straightforward and extremely fitting. 

It didn't happen often. Maybe once in a hundred years.

But when it did, the entire region would be blanketed in a suffocating crimson fog that blocked out sunlight and cut off communication between human and immortal cities. 

Nothing would move cleanly. 

Sound would warp, senses would dull, and horrors would crawl out from the dark.

Taboo creatures would emerge, swarms of them, and they didn't care who or what stood in their way. They would devour everything. 

The last time this happened, hundred of mortal cities fell, and even several third rate forces alongside second rate forces were almost brought to extinction. 

At the same time, demonic beasts would fall into uncontrollable frenzies, turning what was already chaos into an outright bloodbath.

"Just perfect," Liam exhaled through his nose, shaking his head in disbelief. "One thing after another."

"When I am about to rise into the sky, the heaven just had to send down these troublesome issues"

Still, no point panicking. He gathered his thoughts, straightened the puppet's shoulders, and resumed walking toward the shop.

"If nothing else," he muttered, "I need to prepare the dungeon as fast as possible"