Chapter 671: Slaying the Puppet
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
"To forge the Otherworldly Demons into puppets and implant commands into them such that they would function as ordinary living beings… it would indeed be difficult to tell the difference in the short run. Grandmaster Wu Yangzi probably derived joy from seeing how the Otherworldly Demons slowly fell into his trap, and gradually, this source of entertainment allowed him to forget his sorrows!"
Zhang Xuan chuckled.
The human race and the Otherworldly Demons were mortal enemies. As a renowned blacksmith, Wu Yangzi understood this logic.
When he was first captured, he would have surely been filled with indignation and rage. However, as he killed all of them slowly by converting them into puppets, he was surely filled with exhilaration.
After all, none of these ancient Otherworldly Demons were weaker than him… and yet, singlehandedly, he turned them into puppets, thus eradicating every last one of them. Just the thought of it could send one"s heart pumping in excitement…
With such a mission in life, it was no wonder he could forget his sorrows!
Judging from the joyful tone in his handwriting, it could be seen that the other party was so elated that it was almost as if he would float into the sky.
As for how he managed to convince so many Otherworldly Demon to be willingly tempered under his hands, thinking that they would become immortal… nothing was written in the book about it, so it was impossible to tell for sure.
Nevertheless, Zhang Xuan deduced that it was probably a gradual change.
For example, Wu Yangzi would temper the other party"s arms first. Tempering the arms had little impact on one"s ability to think, and the primary success would convince everyone else to do it too.
Following which, he would move on to the legs, spine, and body…
And finally, when everyone had let down their guard, he would temper their heads, thus successfully converting them into puppets…
But of course, this was only Zhang Xuan"s conjecture. Without seeing it for himself, there was no way of confirming it.
Under the perseverance of Wu Yangzi, the Otherworldly Demon who sought to lengthen their lifespans… ended up being eradicated instead.
"According to Grandmaster Wu Yangzi"s records, there are at least twenty Otherworldly Demon in this underground chamber that fell for his ploy, thus ending up as puppets. If this merit were to be reported to the Master Teacher Pavilion, the reward obtained would be so great that it could ensure the prosperity of a clan for several generations to come," Luo Qiqi said.
Killing Otherworldly Demons was a huge merit to the human race, and the Master Teacher Pavilion offered rewards for it.
The higher the cultivation realm and quant.i.ty of Otherworldly Demons killed, the greater the reward. Considering how Wu Yangzi had managed to slay over twenty Otherworldly Demons of nearly equal cultivation as himself, that was sufficient for his name to go down in history, and the Master Teacher Pavilion would help look after his descendants for generations to come in reciprocation for his contribution!
In fact, so long as he said the word, they could allow one of his descendants to become the emperor of Hongyuan Empire.
"Un. We"ll report this matter to the Master Teacher Pavilion honestly. As for how they will reward his descendants, that is none of our business!" Zhang Xuan chuckled. "Let"s leave first before talking about other matters!"
Luo Qiqi nodded.
"Based on Grandmaster Wu Yangzi"s description, we have to return to the path we came from. Even though we can"t break the Dragon Severing Lock, there is a mechanism installed on it that we can make use of… In other words, if we wish to break out of this underground chamber, we"ll have to get rid of that fellow outside first!" Zhang Xuan said.
The method of leaving this place was recorded in the book.
This was a prison, a place to incarcerate Wu Yangzi. Naturally, there wouldn"t be side exits installed in this place. Thus, the only way to leave was through the Dragon Severing Lock.
As a grandmaster blacksmith, Wu Yangzi seemed to have left some kind of mechanism on the lock such that it would be easy for him to get away in the future.
However, it"s a pity that he never succeeded.
"Get rid of that fellow?"
Recalling the fearsome Otherworldly Demon puppet, Luo Qiqi"s face paled.
Even just thinking about it now was enough to send s.h.i.+vers down her spine!
It was swift, strong, and possessed impenetrable skin; there was no flaw that they could exploit against it!
Seeing through Luo Qiqi"s thoughts, Zhang Xuan chuckled.
"Don"t worry. We might not have been able to deal with it before, but now… we do have a weapon in our hands!"
Previously, even though the Library of Heaven"s Path reflected the location of the flaws of the puppet, Zhang Xuan had still been unable to exploit them due to his low cultivation realm.
It was similar to an ant attempting to kill a divine dragon. Even if the ant knew the flaws of the dragon, how could it possibly land a fatal blow when it couldn"t even bite through the other party"s skin?
While Zhang Xuan knew that the puppet would fall once its head was lopped off, its astounding defense covered for its flaws. Even an attack with Zhang Xuan"s full might and using his strongest weapon could only leave a shallow cut on the other party"s neck. So, how could he possibly defeat the other party?
While the Library of Heaven"s Path allowed Zhang Xuan to rival opponents stronger than him, there was a limit to how wide a gap it could bridge… Sometimes, even the opponent"s flaw could be way beyond his current cultivation.
However, that was then. Now that the Glacier Rain Sword had advanced to become a Half-Saint weapon, everything was simple.
Seeing Zhang Xuan pick up the Glacier Rain Sword, Luo Qiqi was stunned.
"Teacher means to… fight against it?"
She knew that the Glacier Rain Sword had exceeded Spirit high-tier, but how far beyond that still eluded her.
Her ability in appraising weapons was still far beneath that of Zhang Xuan. Not to mention, given her current cultivation realm, it was perfectly normal for her to have never encountered Half-Saint artifacts before.
"Un. I"ll tear away the formation later on. You"ll have to attract its attention from the front while I sneak to its back to attempt killing it with a single blow!"
Zhang Xuan began going into details regarding the plan of how they would deal with the puppet. "This is what you have to do…"
"Alright!" Hearing her teacher"s instructions, Luo Qiqi nodded without any hesitation.
To guide her to forge a pill and smith simultaneously, and for it to be a success at that, what else could her teacher possibly be incapable of?
She walked up to the Crimson Blaze Cauldron and put it in her storage ring. Following which, with a flick of her wrist, she took out a bow and drew an arrow.
As the bow she used previously was destroyed by the puppet, she was currently wielding a lower tier one.
There was no other choice. This was the only long-range Spirit weapon she had in her possession.
Seeing that Luo Qiqi was ready, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath and pushed himself up to the sky.
After looking around for a moment, he finally stopped at a certain position before driving his zhenqi and grabbing downward.
Wuwuwuwu!
The formation flags were pulled out of the ground, and the originally pitch-black portion of the stone chamber gradually lost its darkness under the radiance of the Night Illumination Pearls. Slowly, the Otherworldly Demon puppet"s huge silhouette came into appearance.
ROAR!
As they saw the figure of the Otherworldly Demon puppet, the other party also caught side of Luo Qiqi. With a furious roar, it dashed forward frenziedly.
"Die!" Luo Qiqi cried out, and arrows immediately rained down upon the large puppet.
Ding ding ding ding!
However, due to the lacking might behind her arrows, it did little to impede the other party"s advance. In fact, none of the arrows pierced through the other party"s skin.
Not expecting her arrows to be shrugged off so easily, Luo Qiqi clenched her jaws and threw her bow at it.
Kacha!
The Otherworldly Puppet flung its arm, and the bow shattered. By this moment, it was already standing right before Luo Qiqi. With a booming shock wave, its steel fist crushed toward her.
If Luo Qiqi were to be struck by this outrageously powerful fist, she would surely die on the spot.
Seeing that the fist was about to strike her, Luo Qiqi"s eyebrows shot up, and she immediately flicked her wrist.
Dang!
With a metallic reverberation, the Crimson Blaze Cauldron which she had just placed in her storage ring appeared before her.
There was a small ventilation gap on the cauldron that was used to insert coal into it. The puppet"s punch struck precisely into the ventilation gap, and its fist was immediately trapped inside the cauldron.
The Crimson Blaze cauldron was an artifact that Wu Yangzi used to forge his weapon, and even he himself was unable to destroy it. Naturally, the puppet was unable to do so as well. With its fist trapped, the puppet thrashed around furiously, but there was nothing it could do.
"I succeeded!"
Seeing that the plan was working, Luo Qiqi"s eyes lit up.
When her teacher shared his plan with her previously, she thought that it would be very hard to put it into action. However, just by following the other party"s instructions strictly, she actually managed to do it easily.
It was a wonder to her how the other party managed to plan this far ahead.
That kind of a.n.a.lytical ability and battle sense was nothing short of monstrous!
Huala!
Just as Luo Qiqi was filled with awe, a cold gleam suddenly flashed across her eyes, and the puppet abruptly staggered. Following which, its head slowly slid to the ground.
Unknowingly, her teacher had appeared behind the puppet and lopped off its head with a single slash.
"How sharp…"
Seeing how the Glacier Rain Sword easily cut through the other party"s neck with a simple cut, Luo Qiqi"s eyes widened in shock.
Even though her appraisal ability wasn"t up to par with Zhang Xuan, she could tell that the might of the Glacier Rain Sword exceeded that of Spirit pinnacle weapons.
There was no Spirit pinnacle weapon that could achieve this feat so easily!
Luo Qiqi couldn"t help but ask, "Teacher, what is the current tier of the Glacier Rain Sword?"
"Half-Saint!" There was no reason for Zhang Xuan to hide it from her either.
"Half-Saint?" Luo Qiqi"s body trembled in astonishment.
Even 6-star blacksmiths would be unable to smith out such a weapon! And yet… in that groggy state, she actually succeeded in creating such a weapon?
"Alright. Gather everything that"s of any value, and let"s quickly leave this area!"
Seeing Luo Qiqi"s eyes widening in disbelief, Zhang Xuan shrugged nonchalantly. At the same time, he also felt a little perplexed… Considering the prestige of the Master Teacher Academy—after all, most master teachers view it as their aim—why did these few talented students that he met seem so ignorant?
After going through so much effort to quench the Glacier Rain Sword, while it was a surprise that the Glacier Rain Sword was able to reach Half-Saint, it wasn"t entirely unexpected. Was there a reason for her to make such a huge fuss out of it?
"Yes!"
Unaware of Zhang s.h.i.+"s doubts, Luo Qiqi suppressed the astonishment deep within her and put everything that seemed to be valuable into her storage ring. At that moment, she suddenly recalled something. Turning around, she pa.s.sed a book over to Zhang Xuan.
"Teacher, this is the physical body cultivation technique of Grandmaster Wu Yangzi, the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body, a Spirit pinnacle secret manual…"
The main reason why Zhang Xuan came with them was because he was seeking Grandmaster Wu Yangzi"s physical body cultivation technique. Since they had obtained it now, it was only right for her to present it to him.
"Un!" Zhang Xuan"s finger fell on the book for a moment before retracting it. "This isn"t right. Since this is Grandmaster Wu Yangzi"s personal cultivation technique, I don"t think I"ll take it after all. You should study hard so as to not let him down."
Considering that the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body was a personal cultivation technique of Wu Yangzi"s and that he intended to pa.s.s it down only to his student, it would indeed be inappropriate for an outsider to learn it.
This was the basic respect among cultivators.
"This…"
Not expecting the other party to reject it, Luo Qiqi"s face reddened. She opened her mouth, but she couldn"t find any words to say.
Before such a precious physical body cultivation technique, others would surely toss aside their etiquette and take it for themselves. Yet, her teacher actually turned it down…
This professionalism and character were indeed worthy of respect!
"Zhang laos.h.i.+, from now onward, you shall be my role model! I shall strive to emulate your behavior!" Luo Qiqi vowed in her heart.
While she was completely impressed with Zhang Xuan, at this moment, the latter was currently staring at the Quintuple Incandescence Golden Body manual in the Library of Heaven"s Path with a bitter face.
"78 flaws? The heck! Can this still be called a Spirit pinnacle physical body cultivation technique? You must be joking with me! To regard this kind of rotten book as your treasure and pa.s.s it down as an inheritance, screw this…"