Chapter 1215: Encirclement
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
There were at least several hundred of these Soulless Metal Humanoids. Under the glow of the Night Illumination Pearls, their black eyes seemed to reflect crimson instead, giving them an extremely sinister appearance. It felt as if countless corpses had suddenly risen around them in the middle of a graveyard.
“This is bad!”
Alarmed, the group quickly gathered together before scanning their surroundings warily.
Since the entrance had been sealed by the Dragon Severing Lock, there was no way they could escape from where they came from. Their only choice would be to proceed forward, but at the same time, it seemed like there were countless more Soulless Metal Humanoids lying ahead of them, and there was no way they could fend off so many of them simultaneously!
Huala!
Before the group could recover from their shock, a Soulless Metal Humanoid suddenly charged at them furiously before striking forward with its palm.
Its palm strike with overflowing with strength, leaving the group feeling deeply pressured.
These Soulless Metal Humanoids were at Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle prior to their death, and through a unique technique, their bodies and zhenqi have remained completely intact, thus allowing them to retain most of their strength during the conversion. More importantly, they don’t fear death, and they will rise again and again after being struck down… Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes sharply.
He had not expected Vicious to actually capture more than a hundred Saint 4-dan master teachers to forge them all into Soulless Metal Humanoids!
“Humph!” Division Head Wei harrumphed as he stepped forward to knock back the a.s.saulting Soulless Metal Humanoid with a powerful palm strike before charging forward to tear it apart.
Suddenly, one of the elders from the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Pavilion blocked his path at the crucial moment and said, “This person is Elder w.a.n.g from our Master Teacher Pavilion. We were close buddies for many years… If possible, please don’t injure his corpse; I would like to take him back with me and give him a proper burial…”
“Elder Zeng!” Division Head Wei bellowed angrily after hearing those words.
Making use of this short opening, the Soulless Metal Humanoid charged forward and crashed heavily into Division Head Wei, causing the latter to spurt a mouthful of blood.
At the same time, the other Soulless Metal Humanoids slowly rose from the ground, seemingly preparing to make their moves as well.
Seeing how Elder Zeng was still firmly blocking his way, Division Head Wei bellowed in displeasure, “If we don’t kill him, we will be the ones who are killed! If you want to die here, be my guest. Just don’t drag the rest of us down!”
“But…”
The face of the Elder Zeng turned incredibly ugly.
He knew many of the corpses lying the area, and there were a couple of them who had been close friends with him over the past several centuries. He felt that the least he could do for them was take their bodies back intact and give them a proper burial, in hopes that they could at least rest in peace after death. But looking at the current situation, he also realized that such thoughts would only lead to the downfall of the group.
Boom!
While Elder Zeng was still conflicted over what he should do, one of the Soulless Metal Humanoids suddenly charged his way and clawed at him.
“Elder Hu!” Seeing the other party’s face, Elder Zeng’s eyes widened in astonishment as many emotions gushed into his mind. This resulted in his body moving slower by half a beat, and deep gorges were torn through his shoulder, causing him to bleed profusely.
Seeing that Elder Zeng was still hesitating due to his ties with the deceased, Zhang Xuan bellowed, “Elder Zeng, that person isn’t Elder Hu anymore! His soul has already long dissipated, and he’s nothing more than a puppet right now!”
The members of the Combat Master Hall had been through many life-and-death situations, so they knew how to toss aside their emotions and move decisively in moments of danger.
On the other hand, the members of the Master Teacher Pavilion happened to be lacking in this aspect. They tended to allow sentiments to affect their judgement in such critical situations.
“He…” Elder Zeng frowned in distress, but eventually, he bit his lips tightly and roared, “Yes!”
Taking a deep breath, he raised his palm and collided head-on with the ‘Elder Hu’ Soulless Metal Humanoid.
Peng peng peng!
At the same time, the Soulless Metal Humanoids in the area also rushed forward and surrounded the crowd.
Hualala!
With so many Primordial Spirit realm experts acting against them simultaneously, the group was swiftly placed in a deeply disadvantageous position, and it seemed as if they would cave in very soon.
After knocking away two Soulless Metal Humanoids, Division Head Liao asked anxiously, “Princ.i.p.al Zhang, what do we do?”
These fellows knew neither pain nor death. Only when their heads were severed would they finally fall lifelessly back to the ground. Against a troop of more than a hundred of such Primordial Spirit realm puppets, even though their group wielded considerable fighting prowess as well, the situation was terrible for them.
“The Soulless Metal Humanoids can only move under another’s control. As long as we can find the person manipulating them, we will be able to resolve the current danger,” Zhang Xuan said with a frown.
Without a doubt, someone must have been controlling those lifeless puppets. As long as they could find and subdue the ‘someone’, they would be able to free themselves from the crisis they were in.
Division Head Wei gritted his teeth and said, “Since that’s the case… Princ.i.p.al Zhang, we’ll hold the fort for the time being while you try to find the person behind the Soulless Metal Humanoids!
“Everyone, get into formation! Protect Princ.i.p.al Zhang, Hall Master Xing, and Wu s.h.i.+!”
Huala!
Right after saying those words, the group quickly formed a circle around Zhang Xuan, Hall Master Xing, and Wu s.h.i.+ in order to protect them.
The improved collaborative formation that Zhang Xuan had imparted to them had granted them a significant rise in their fighting prowess in team battles. As such, despite the simultaneous onslaught of over a hundred Soulless Metal Humanoid, they were surprisingly able to stand their ground, successfully warding the enemies off for the time being.
Protected in the middle, the conflicted Wu s.h.i.+ sent a telepathic message to Zhang Xuan. “Princ.i.p.al Zhang, should we make a move?”
His injuries had long been healed by Zhang Xuan’s Heaven’s Path zhenqi, and the previous frailty he had displayed was nothing more than an act.
“There’s no need for that at the moment. The both of you are our trump cards, and we can’t afford to let this be known to the enemy yet,” Zhang Xuan replied telepathically.
“But I fear that the others won’t be able to hold on for too long!” Wu s.h.i.+ anxiously replied.
“Don’t worry. These Soulless Metal Humanoid might appear powerful, but it’ll still be difficult for them to overcome the improved collaborative formation. For the time being, let me see who’s controlling the puppets. If I’m lucky, I might be able to find a clue leading to the mastermind behind the Qingtian Emperor!” Zhang Xuan said.
In truth, with his prowess, he could have easily broken the encirclement of the hundred Soulless Metal Humanoid. The reason he had chosen not to make a move was to act weak in hopes that it would cause the fellow behind the Soulless Metal Humanoids to lower his guard and, possibly, lure him out and capture him.
If that person was Vicious himself, that would be even better. Once he found the other party’s location and weakness, he would be able to launch a surprise attack and subdue the other party in a single move.
If so, the crisis surrounding the Master Teacher Pavilion could be resolved once and for all.
Activating his Eye of Insight while extending his Spiritual Perception forth simultaneously, Zhang Xuan began a.s.sessing the Soulless Metal Humanoids carefully.
There seemed to be crimson sparks in each of their eyes, and if his deduction was correct, they seemed to be some kind of medium to relay an individual’s will.
Most likely, someone was relaying their commands to the Soulless Metal Humanoid through the crimson sparks, thus driving them into action.
Let me see where the will traces to!
Zhang Xuan randomly picked out a Soulless Metal Humanoid, and concentrating the prowess of his Eye of Insight, he vaguely saw a narrow thread linked to the sparks of flame in the puppet’s eyes.
The narrow thread was not just attached to the eyes of that single puppet; there was a thread present for all of the Soulless Metal Humanoids within the room, crisscrossing with one another as if a fish net. All the threads eventually converged together into the depths of the hall.
What powerful soul energy! Zhang Xuan’s expression turned grim.
For an individual to manipulate more than a hundred Soulless Metal Humanoid to attack them simultaneously using different moves was an incredibly difficult task, requiring an unbelievably level of multi-tasking. This could only possibly be carried out by one who possessed extremely powerful soul energy, and even Zhang Xuan was not confident that he would necessarily be able to do the same.
Zhang Xuan frowned. There’s a formation blocking us in front…
Gazing ahead, before he could see the other end of the thread, a formation blocked his view, preventing him from seeing any further.
If he could not reach the other end of the thread, he would not be able to uncover Vicious’ true position. If so, their group would remain in a disadvantageous position, being in the open whereas the enemy remained hidden in the shadows.
“Hold on for a little longer, I’ll quickly go ahead to take a look!” Zhang Xuan said before leaping out of the group’s protection. He swiftly flew toward where the threads were converging.
Only while their group appeared to be in a disadvantageous position would the other party continue manipulating the puppets, allowing him to trace the other party down via the threads. Otherwise, once all the Soulless Metal Humanoids were destroyed, the threads would be severed, making it impossible for him to track down the other party.
Hula!
Before Zhang Xuan could get far, three Soulless Metal Humanoid suddenly charged toward him with rampaging might, seemingly wanting to tear him into pieces.
“Princ.i.p.al Zhang, be care…” Division Head Liao shouted.
But before he could finish his word, Zhang Xuan abruptly leaped into the air. Without even paying a glance to the Soulless Metal Humanoid, he stepped lightly in the air.
Padah! Padah! Padah!
The three Soulless Metal Humanoids fell forcefully back onto the ground, buried deep into the earth.
” Ahhh! ”
The Soulless Metal Humanoids instinctively struggled furiously, wanting to free themselves. Yet, as if there was a mountain weighing on them, they found themselves unable to escape at all.
“Powerful…” Division Head Liao’s lips twitched wildly.
Those Soulless Metal Humanoids did not even fear death, making them difficult opponents even for a combat master like him. Yet, with just a light step in the air, Zhang Xuan managed to forcefully pin three of them to the ground.
Just from this, he could tell that even three of him would not be a match for Zhang Xuan!
Just half a month ago, he barely escaped from our grasp, but now, he has already become a formidable expert possessing strength far surpa.s.sing us. His talent is truly… Division Head Liao shook his head with a helpless smile.
It had not been too long ago when he, Hall Master Xing, and Division Head Wei were able to easily subdue the young man, almost killing him even. While the young man’s combat sense was formidable, his strength and speed had been still severely lacking, making him far from a match for them.
But now, he could already see that even if the three of them were to collaborate once more to deal with him, they would be utterly defeated within moments!
Having lived for several centuries, he had encountered plenty of geniuses in his time, but the rate at which this young man was growing was truly inconceivable, possibly unseen throughout history!
…
Not knowing that the blow he had executed casually would actually leave Division Head Liao so immensely shocked, Zhang Xuan continued advancing forward after subduing the three Soulless Metal Humanoids with a single step.
Peng peng peng peng!
This time, it was even more exaggerated. Without even making a move, all of the Soulless Metal Humanoid that attempted to charge at him were suddenly pinned against the ground or the wall, unable to break free no matter how desperately they struggled.
At Embryonic Soul realm pinnacle, Zhang Xuan’s fighting prowess was already comparable to a Leaving Aperture realm intermediate stage cultivator. His might was not something that those Primordial Spirit realm Soulless Metal Humanoids could compare to.
While knocking down more than twenty Soulless Metal Humanoids that charged toward him, Zhang Xuan finally arrived at the very end of the hall.
The threads abruptly vanished into the depths of the wall at this point.
Is this… a mechanism from a celestial designer? Zhang Xuan took a look at the wall before him and frowned.
Through his Eye of Insight, he could tell that the wall before him was actually a mechanism, and the fellow controlling the Soulless Metal Humanoid was hidden right behind it.
This mechanism might have been able to stop other cultivators, but against me…
Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan placed his palm lightly on it.
Hu la!
A book emerged in the Library of Heaven’s Path.
Zhang Xuan placed his finger on the book, and the knowledge contained within it was swiftly transferred into his mind.
Reading the details, Zhang Xuan shook his head. It’s actually the work of a 7-star pinnacle celestial designer! It seems like there’s a fairly skilled celestial designer among the Soulless Metal Humanoids…
While there was not a Celestial Designer Guild in Qingyuan City, there were still branches in the other cities around the Qingyuan Empire.
The handicraft of a 7-star pinnacle celestial designer would have been difficult for an ordinary cultivator to decipher, but Zhang Xuan was different. Through the a.n.a.lysis of the Library of Heaven’s Path, he had already managed to grasp the ins and outs of the mechanism fully.
Using his finger as a sword, he swiftly tapped the mechanism eight times.
Kacha! Kacha!
A few mechanical clicks echoed in the air. Following which, the wall before him parted down the middle, revealing a long tunnel. The abruptly halted threads continued into the depths of the tunnel.
Without any hesitation, Zhang Xuan proceeded into the tunnel. However, barely after taking two steps, a surge of sword qi suddenly flew forth for his glabella.