Across a vast plain, open and desolate, more than a dozen puppets of varied designs stood out with stark prominence.
Controlling these puppets was a squad of seven cultivators in the early and middle stages of Foundation Establishment.
Stationed in every direction and from every angle, they tightly encircled a cultivator cloaked in a black robe.
"Fellow Daoist, to ambush and slaughter disciples of my Luoyun Sect—you are bold indeed!"
The speaker possessed an exceedingly youthful face.
Yet despite his youth, his mid Foundation Establishment cultivation was entirely genuine.
To say nothing of his illustrious track record, which had already resonated across the Jade Cauldron Domain back when he was still in Qi Refinement.
Han Zheng!
During Qi Refinement, he had ranked first on the Qi Refinement Prodigy Roll of the Jade Cauldron Domain.
After reaching Foundation Establishment, he had defeated a mid Foundation Establishment Jade Cauldron sword cultivator while only in the early stage.
Not only did he hold the status of a Nascent Soul Perfected Person's grandson, but his prowess in combat was also the genuine article.
Even so, the squad of cultivators led by him still faced the black-robed cultivator as if confronting a mortal enemy.
For no other reason than that their opponent was at the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection!
In fact, judging from his several thunderous strikes, there were faint signs of the Golden Core realm.
This meant he was highly likely a False Core realm powerhouse who had failed core condensation!
Such an entity could practically walk unchecked among Foundation Establishment cultivators; anyone encountering him would steer well clear.
Initially, they had only thought him to be in late Foundation Establishment, but after cornering him, they realized something was amiss.
Now, they were riding a tiger, unable to dismount!
The figure gave a sinister laugh and casually tossed something forward.
"You stalked me so doggedly just for your junior brother's corpse, didn't you? Take it!"
A corpse landed before the wary Han Zheng.
When Han Zheng saw the withered, dried-wood-like corpse, his complexion shifted.
Without a trace of blood qi remaining, what did that imply?
He stepped back slightly and ventured, "The Blood Demon?"
The Blood Demon chuckled sinisterly, his venomous gaze sweeping over the seven cultivators and the puppets under their control.
"Disciples of a superior sect must surely possess essence blood far superior to frail rogue cultivators!"
Before his voice died away, his hands rapidly wove incantation seals.
At the same time, Han Zheng barked an order.
"Strike together!"
Under his command, the seven Luoyun Sect cultivators immediately manipulated their puppets into an attack.
...
Yet barely moments later, the battlefield had been turned into a shambles.
Of the dozen-odd puppets, only four remained standing and fighting.
As for the Luoyun Sect cultivators, only two survived.
Han Zheng stood atop a wooden kite, a wide-mouthed puppet beside him, while in the distance he manipulated an exceptionally swift puppet to harass the Blood Demon in close quarters.
Though battered and disheveled, his heart boiled with grief and indignation.
In the end, he had still underestimated a False Core realm cultivator.
Even without successfully forming a core, such a figure was not someone a few early and mid Foundation Establishment cultivators could hope to withstand.
In just a few strikes, slaughtering them like chickens and dogs, the opponent had wiped out the majority of their group, leaving only a single junior brother dodging desperately back and forth.
"Junior Brother Xu Ji, hold on!"
"I've already notified Elder Linghu. He'll be here soon to save us!"
Xu Ji was already bathed in blood. Straining to control his mid Foundation Establishment humanoid puppet had severely drained his soul, leaving his mind groggy.
Hearing Han Zheng's shout, he gave his head a violent shake.
"Senior Brother, I'll cover the retreat. You go first!"
As he spoke, he popped a blood-red medicinal pill into his mouth.
In mere moments, his aura surged violently, climbing by thirty percent.
Han Zheng recognized that pill: a first-order supreme-grade Blood Burning Pill crafted by Master Alchemist Danchenzi.
Elder Tianxingzi had called in a favor to obtain it.
As his disciple, it was only natural for Xu Ji to carry a Blood Burning Pill on him.
Taking this pill now meant he was staking his very life in a desperate gamble!
And all to cover Han Zheng's retreat.
Deeply moved, Han Zheng choked up, "Junior Brother, you..."
Yet in the next breath, something left him flabbergasted.
Having drastically boosted his strength, Xu Ji did not advance—instead, he shot backward several tens of zhang like an arrow loosed from a bow!
The sudden turn caught Han Zheng completely off guard.
He was the one left covering the rear?
He was the grandson of a Nascent Soul Perfected Person—how dared he?!
"Getting distracted in the middle of battle—junior, is your soul simply too mighty, or are you arrogant enough to look down on me?"
A faint voice whispered in his ear.
Han Zheng's eyes widened in horror. The Blood Demon had already slipped past his melee puppet, which was comparable to late Foundation Establishment!
Boom!
A flash of peach-red light erupted, and Han Zheng was hurled several zhang through the air, crashing to the ground, his survival uncertain.
The Blood Demon glanced down at Han Zheng's fallen form, then formed a sword seal.
His flying sword flashed violently.
In an instant, it crossed ten li, streaking straight for Xu Ji's head.
Right at this moment, a greatsword flew in like a meteor, trailed by white light.
Leading the charge, the greatsword pierced straight through the fleeing Xu Ji's chest.
Only now did the Blood Demon glimpse the newcomer's figure.
Frowning, he directed his flying sword to meet it with full force.
Clang!
With a single strike, the seemingly imposing greatsword was knocked powerlessly to the earth.
"A flying sword that hasn't even been refined—you dare bring that out to run rampant?"
Sneering, he formed an incantation seal and thrust his sword toward the white light.
"With only this meager cultivation, you dare play the mantis-stalking oriole? You truly have a death wish!"
Just as he brimmed with confidence, the white silhouette, which had appeared unremarkable in speed, suddenly unfurled a pair of wings and exploded forward like a thunderclap.
"It's you!"
The instant he saw those wings, the Blood Demon recognized his assailant.
Yet though his mind reacted swiftly, his body was half a beat too slow.
The sheer burst of speed was far too terrifying, crossing a hundred zhang in the blink of an eye!
With no time to recall his flying sword, he could only instinctively summon a defensive magic treasure—a soft red ribbon of silk that unfurled before him.
In the next breath, the white light closed in.
A hand seized the red silk and yanked it violently backward.
With overwhelming, monstrous force, the defensive magic treasure was forcibly ripped aside, exposing a gaping opening!
The fingers of his left hand splayed wide, raking down like the talons of a demon beast!
Chaa!
Like a blade slicing through tofu, the claw plunged straight in as easily as taking an object from a bag, ripping out the Blood Demon's heart.
With a single crush, under the Blood Demon's terrified gaze, the vigorously beating crimson heart burst into a shower of minced flesh.
Ignoring the shock, the Blood Demon gritted his teeth and beckoned.
"Return!"
The ripped-aside red silk defensive magic treasure moved to wrap around his body once more.
Even gravely wounded, he retained his composure. As long as the magic treasure unleashed its power, he could still maneuver—at worst, they would perish together!
Yet the white figure gave him no opportunity whatsoever.
Both hands spread wide again. Though they did not touch his flesh, a surging wave of blood qi blasted forth.
Like two torrential streams crashing against a rock, they tore the Blood Demon's torso cleanly in two!
Spurt!
Amid a flurry of blood, flesh, and entrails, the two halves of his body crashed to the ground.
The white silhouette paused, snatching the red silk with one hand and grabbing the storage bag at the Blood Demon's waist with the other.
With a wave of his hand, he scooped up the limp humanoid puppet lying on the ground into his pouch.
Then, casting a deep glance toward Han Zheng's corpse, he vanished at top speed.
As for the belongings of the other fallen Luoyun Sect disciples, he didn't spare them a single glance!
This battle took long to describe, but from the moment the white figure appeared with the sword to the brutal slaying of the Blood Demon, it had unfolded like a striking hawk or leaping hare, all in the blink of an eye.
After the white figure departed, Han Zheng slowly opened his eyes upon the scarred ground.
Within his robes, a palm-sized straw puppet snapped into two pieces with a crisp crack.
A Death-Substitute Puppet!
The secret heirloom of the Han family of the Luoyun Sect!
It was precisely thanks to this treasure that he had narrowly escaped death.
Rising to his feet, Han Zheng trembled slightly.
He had always considered himself exceptional, having mastered the Luoyun Sect's puppetry arts to a height his peers could only dream of reaching.
Moreover, his grandfather, Perfected Person Han Zhan, had personally tailored three puppets for him, covering flight, ranged attacks, and melee combat.
He had rarely met his match among those of equal rank, and he would have dared cross swords even with a late Foundation Establishment grand cultivator!
And yet!
Before the Blood Demon, he had been as frail and helpless as an infant.
Especially when he had grown distracted during combat, failing even to trigger the defensive measures bestowed by his grandfather.
If the Death-Substitute Puppet had not warded off this calamity, he would have perished, and Han Zheng would have ceased to exist in this world.
The Blood Demon was one thing—he was a False Core realm cultivator, a single step away from the Golden Core.
It had only been a few months since Han Zheng broke through to the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment.
A massive disparity in cultivation realm could not be bridged by external objects alone.
But that person just now!
Though Han Zheng had not opened his eyes to see his true face, his spiritual sense had perceived the lightning-fast battle with crystal clarity.
Using Xu Ji as cover, mounting a feint with a magic treasure flying sword, then erupting in a sudden blitz, closing the distance to the Blood Demon like a bolt of lightning.
Afterward, with unimaginable methods, he had physically ripped aside a defensive magic treasure.
And finally, three ferocious strikes that tore the opponent's body to shreds!
Such methods were truly thunderous, leaving one breathless!
The Blood Demon likely hadn't even grasped what happened from beginning to end.
Most crucial of all, the spiritual qi fluctuations the person exhibited were virtually nonexistent!
He had relied entirely on body tempering arts!
A figure like this could never be an obscure nobody in the Jade Cauldron Domain!
"Could he be an expert from outside the domain?"
Unable to deduce his identity, Han Zheng's thoughts churned. He suddenly recalled the Blood Demon blurting out "It's you!" upon seeing him.
"Could it be someone he knew?"
"No matter. Let me see the Blood Demon's true face. Finding out who he is might help deduce which domain that person came from."
He drew a deep breath, ignoring the stench of blood as he stepped forward.
Manipulating his spiritual power, he brought the two halves of the torn body together, then swept his spiritual power over it, dispelling the disguise on the face.
"Eh? It isn't Wang Yuan of the Luotian Association as rumored, but Xuan Yu?"
Looking upon that somewhat familiar visage, Han Zheng recalled his past visit to Tianlan Immortal City.
There, shortly after reaching Foundation Establishment, he had defeated a sword cultivator from the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect, securing his first victory after breakthrough.
He remembered that in the spectator stands back then had sat this strikingly handsome man.
He hailed from Peach Mountain.
Rumor held that he was the male favorite of Patriarch Peach Blossom of the Hundred Blossoms Palace.
"Not Wang Yuan, but Xuan Yu."
"Still, he belongs to the Jade Cauldron Domain as well. Since he recognized that white figure, that person must also be from the Jade Cauldron Domain. Adept in physical strength methods... Could that person actually be Wang Yuan?"
"Was he enraged that Xuan Yu used his name to commit atrocities, prompting him to strike?"
"Yet can Wang Yuan really be this strong?"
His limited intelligence told him only that Wang Yuan was also proficient in the path of body tempering.
If so, everything seemed to fit into place.
"Still, strike if he will—why kill Junior Brother... Xu Ji?"
His gaze fell upon Xu Ji, whose chest had been impaled by the sword, and Han Zheng's expression darkened.
Xu Ji had abandoned him earlier, fleeing ahead and leaving him to cover the rear.
Such behavior truly disgusted him.
Thus, even though Xu Ji had been killed, Han Zheng felt no grief.
Yet as his gaze drifted over the five other fellow disciples who had died in battle, sorrow inevitably welled within his heart.
Right at that moment, an escape streak flew in from the center of the ruins and touched down beside him.
"Nephew Han, are you unhurt?"
Han Zheng looked up, delight flashing across his face.
"Martial Uncle Linghu!"
Linghu Jie swept his gaze over the devastated battlefield, his brow furrowing.
When his eyes landed on Xuan Yu's corpse, surprise showed on his face.
"A False Core cultivator?"
"Yes, he is the Blood Demon. He serves under Patriarch Peach Blossom of the Hundred Blossoms Palace, managing Tianlan's Peach Mountain on their behalf under the name Xuan Yu. I only wonder why he spent all these years roaming battlefields, slaughtering cultivators to harvest essence blood?" Han Zheng remarked, confusion evident on his face.
Linghu Jie frowned, recalling a certain rumor.
Patriarch Peach Blossom...
Shaking his head, he swept his wide sleeve, gathering the corpses and belongings of all the fallen Luoyun Sect disciples.
Seeing this, Han Zheng asked in bewilderment, "Are we not going to use Spirit Gathering Incense to gather the shattered souls of our fellow disciples?"
Linghu Jie explained patiently, "The power of thunder in this cave dwelling is far too formidable. Even where no lightning manifests, it permeates everywhere. Once Foundation Establishment cultivators die, their souls cannot linger in this world at all—they have already been annihilated."
Han Zheng was stunned. "How is that possible?"
"Nothing is impossible about it, for this is the cave dwelling of a Deity Transformation expert who cultivated the laws of thunder! Even though that person passed away a millennium ago, powerful thunder laws remain concentrated here." Linghu Jie looked across the vast terrain, his tone rife with emotion. "The distinctive landscape of Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks was likely formed gradually only after this senior died."
Whether Mount Thunder Accumulation's Nine Peaks existed a thousand years ago, no one knew.
For the Jade Cauldron Domain had only been conquered by human cultivators three to four hundred years ago.
Before it was known as the Jade Cauldron Domain, this land was called the Lianxia Mountain Range!
"Let us go. I will take you out first. This place is no longer somewhere Foundation Establishment cultivators like you can linger."
Seeing Han Zheng's puzzlement, Linghu Jie added specifically, "That senior died in extreme haste. His remains are likely still preserved within the innermost cave dwelling. This is a monumental opportunity—those Golden Core sects are no longer qualified to meddle in it."
"Once I go out and report to the Perfected Person, we will conduct a full clearance!"
Clearance!
Han Zheng's heart skipped a beat, and he asked instinctively, "What about the Sword Sect?"
"They will join hands with us to clear the field!"
Linghu Jie spoke indifferently, killing intent clearly suffusing his eyes.
In this moment, he was no longer the patient, genial Martial Uncle Linghu standing before Han Zheng, but Old Ghost Linghu of the Luoyun Sect, who struck terror into hearts across the realm!
On the way out, Linghu Jie asked about the course of the battle.
Han Zheng recounted everything truthfully, including how he had grown distracted during the fight, was easily taken down, and even had to trigger a Death-Substitute Puppet—humiliating details though they were.
Linghu Jie did not reprimand him. Instead, he gently advised him to put his mind at ease, to take this fall as a lesson learned, and to avoid making such mistakes in the future.
As for Xu Ji's death?
Han Zheng held some things back.
He did not mention Xu Ji's insidious act of abandoning him and fleeing alone.
That had been Xu Ji's personal conduct; speaking of it would inevitably implicate his master, Tianxingzi.
Han Zheng had a decent relationship with Tianxingzi, who had little lifespan remaining anyway; rather than let the old man suffer disgrace in his final years, it was better to let him pass away in peace.
Nor did he mention that the white figure had killed Xu Ji.
Regardless of whether that person acted intentionally or by chance, he had ultimately saved Han Zheng's life.
Mentioning it would surely prompt Martial Uncle Linghu to investigate, bringing no small amount of trouble to that person.
He resolved to engrave this battle deeply into his memory!
Martial brothers could be used, but never relied upon!
Everything had to depend on oneself!
In battle, one must plan before acting: remain still until ready, but once moving, strike like that person—achieving total victory in a single stroke without the slightest hesitation!
It took some time for Linghu Jie to lead Han Zheng out of the cave dwelling's grand gate.
After sending Han Zheng back to rest and recuperate, he summoned the Luoyun Sect disciples and inquired about who had entered and exited previously.
Upon learning there were no suspicious figures, he pressed no further.
The matter of the Blood Demon was not one to probe too deeply.
Behind him stood Patriarch Peach Blossom, one of the three Golden Cores of the Hundred Blossoms Palace.
And the Hundred Blossoms Palace was a branch of another Nascent Soul superior sect, the Hehuan Sect.
Getting overly entangled would only draw fire upon oneself.
"From this moment forth, cultivators may exit, but none may enter!"
"Not only rogue cultivators, but disciples of the four major sects as well—none are permitted inside."
"Use this magic treasure to illuminate anyone who comes out. If it reacts, notify me immediately!"
Linghu Jie instructed coldly.
Amid the astonishment of the assembled disciples, he sent out voice transmissions to summon more disciples to guard the cave dwelling's entrance, ensuring it was airtight!
Unbeknownst to the world, this so-called land of opportunity was about to become completely off-limits to ordinary cultivators.
Chapter 393