The journey back to the sect was swift. With his current cultivation, distances that once required days could now be crossed in hours. Within three days, he had returned.

And with that…

His routine resumed.

The Puppet Peak.

The endless research.

The refinement of mining puppets.

Cultivation sessions that pushed his limits further.

Political engagements that required careful balance.

Banquets filled with conversations layered beneath courtesy.

And beneath all of it…

His continued study.

Blood Arts.

Cursed Arts.

The deeper mechanics of control and creation.

Han Yu had achieved one of his major goals.

He had freed them.

But he understood clearly…

That was only the beginning.

Escape remained distant.

The barrier that isolated the continent still stood.

The sect still held overwhelming power.

Their current strength was insufficient.

They needed more.

More power.

More resources.

More preparation.

And above all…

More force.

Han Yu stood within his chamber one evening, his thoughts turning toward the future.

An army.

The idea had been forming for some time.

And now, it was clear.

Jiangshi.

An army of them.

Controlled.

Loyal.

Disposable if necessary.

A force that could create chaos when needed, hold back enemies, and buy time.

He imagined it.

Rows upon rows of undead soldiers moving at his command.

It brought a faint smirk to his face.

He did not need to rival the sect.

He only needed enough.

Enough to create an opening.

Enough to escape.

But even that required preparation.

Skill.

Mastery.

Han Yu's gaze sharpened slightly.

He would need to deepen his understanding of both Blood Arts and Cursed Arts.

He would need to learn how to create and control Jiangshi.

Properly.

Efficiently.

And in numbers.

At the same time, he needed to grow stronger.

His current strength was significant, but not enough.

To challenge High Elders.

To stand against Grand Elders.

To protect everyone during the escape.

That level…

Was still far away.

Han Yu exhaled slowly, his expression calm.

The path ahead was long.

But he had already taken the first steps.

And he would not stop now or ever.

Just like that, Ten years passed, and with them came a transformation that few within the sect could fully grasp.

Han Yu, known to the world as Ju Fan, was no longer merely a rising figure. He had become a pillar in the making, someone whose name carried weight across multiple domains within the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect.

His presence extended through Puppet Mastery, Formations, and beyond what most suspected.

Even those who prided themselves on their insight found it difficult to estimate his full capabilities. What they saw was already extraordinary. What remained hidden would have unsettled even the most confident elders.

The decade had not been spent idly. Han Yu had worked with a relentless intensity that bordered on obsession. Every day had been structured, measured, and optimized. He studied puppet construction in the mornings, formation theory in the afternoons, and spent his nights refining Blood Arts and Curse techniques in isolation.

Sleep had become optional. Rest was something he allowed only when absolutely necessary. His Soul Cultivation made this possible. With a strengthened mind and refined perception, he absorbed knowledge at a rate that would have seemed impossible to his past self.

Information no longer slipped away from him. Concepts that once required weeks of effort now settled into place within hours. Complex systems unraveled before him as if they were simple puzzles waiting to be solved. This advantage allowed him to move across disciplines with a fluidity that stunned even those who worked alongside him.

Even so, Han Yu remained cautious in what he revealed.

Within the sect, he maintained a carefully crafted image. A genius of puppet mastery. A skilled formation artisan. A Legacy Disciple with remarkable potential. That alone was enough to secure his standing.

His work in alchemy remained hidden.

Outside the sect, under Qing Luan's management, his pill business had grown into a powerful and stable enterprise. The quality of the pills, combined with reliable supply chains and discreet operations, had allowed it to flourish without drawing direct attention.

Within the sect, however, he never touched alchemy publicly. There was no need to attract unnecessary scrutiny.

The same approach applied to his Blood Arts and Curse mastery.

What others saw were applications tied to puppet refinement and Jiangshi construction. Improvements in control arrays. Enhancements in durability. Subtle integrations that made his creations more efficient.

What they did not see…

Was the depth of his understanding.

Han Yu had once believed that learning these arts would allow him to create Jiangshi with relative ease. That belief had been thoroughly corrected.

His first successful attempt at creating a stable Jiangshi had nearly ended in disaster.

The corpse had risen.

It had remained intact.

For a brief moment, Han Yu had felt satisfaction.

Then it lunged at him.

Fast.

Unstable.

Hungry.

Its mouth opened wide as it aimed directly for his throat, its movements erratic but filled with violent intent.

Han Yu had stared at it calmly.

Then extended a finger.

A single Soul Needle.

The Jiangshi froze mid-motion.

Its core shattered.

It collapsed instantly.

Han Yu had looked down at it and sighed.

"That… needs work."

From that point onward, his approach changed completely.

He began integrating his Soul Skills into the process.

This became the turning point.

Soul Needle evolved beyond a simple offensive technique. He learned to use it as a tool for control and modification. By targeting specific nodes within the forming core, he could adjust internal structures and stabilize the Jiangshi before it fully awakened.

Emotion Severing Slash became a precise method of destruction. It allowed him to eliminate flawed creations without causing uncontrolled reactions. This alone saved him from several dangerous incidents.

Memory Echo found a new application as well.

Instead of using it only for defending against mental attacks, Han Yu began embedding fragments of instruction directly into his creations. These instructions operated at a fundamental level, deeper than formation arrays. They acted as instinct rather than command, ensuring obedience even when external systems failed.