Chapter 967: Thunderfire Bow

The humanoid puppet, seeing the sword light approach, made no great motion—only lightly tapped its finger against the silver shield before it, whereupon a flash of spiritual light erupted, instantly conjuring a solid, massive shield of condensed light, several times the size, white and hazy, that flew forward to meet it. WM Wang

Under Han Li’s gaze, the sword light struck the light shield without mercy.

With a thunderous explosion, white light and cold radiance flickered wildly, yet the shield stood firm as a boulder in a torrent, blocking every sword light without budging, as if it still had ample reserve.

The Old Bamboo Master’s expression changed; a flicker of surprise crossed Han Li’s calm face.

“It seems the power of this Yuan Gang Shield exceeds expectations. Though newly forged and lacking time for cultivation, it clearly withstands ordinary magic treasure attacks without issue. Yet only this puppet can bring its defensive capability to such a level—if you were to wield it directly, half its current power would be impressive.” The Great Expansion Spirit Lord transmitted his voice.

“Naturally. A cultivator’s ability to unleash a magic treasure’s full potential depends entirely on the treasure’s inherent power, the amount of magic power infused into it, and the precision of spiritual sense control. The capacity to store spiritual energy and release it in a single burst is the foundation of all cultivation. Advancing in realm is merely a series of leaps within this process. This puppet is forged from rare materials and can channel more than three times the magic power I can—how could I possibly match it?” Han Li replied without surprise.

After days of direct instruction from the Great Expansion Spirit Lord in puppetry, his mastery had reached an extremely high level—perhaps not equal to the Spirit Lord’s, but certainly on par with any other puppet master in the mortal realm.

“Heh, although you yourself cultivated this Yuan Gang Shield before handing it to the puppet, its forging was entirely tailored to this humanoid puppet’s unique traits—it differs fundamentally from ordinary magic treasures. Even if you infused it with the same magic power as the puppet, you still couldn’t unlock its full power.” The Great Expansion Spirit Lord added casually.

This time, Han Li nodded but said nothing further.

For the Old Bamboo Master, after further pressing his sword light without effect, finally activated the sword array above his head and unleashed another form of spiritual technique.

He pointed at the floating swords in midair; a chorus of sword hums rang out, and every sword shot toward a single point in the sky as if drawn by an invisible force.

Amid flashing sword light, a wheel of swords, several feet in diameter, materialized high above.

After casting several hand seals, the sword wheel began to spin rapidly, accelerating until its center blazed blindingly bright—a column of green light coalesced and shot forth, striking the giant light shield with full force.

A low, muffled boom echoed as a massive green sphere erupted on the shield’s surface.

The sphere was enormous, instantly depressing the shield’s center inward, its deformation worsening until the shield finally showed signs of strain.

At that moment, the humanoid puppet raised a hand and pointed at the silver shield—the shield instantly dissolved into countless specks of white light.

The previously blocked sphere surged downward with fierce momentum, directly slamming into the body of the silver shield.

The silver shield shuddered violently but did not shatter; instead, in that instant, it erupted with mercury-like flowing radiance, its surface becoming smooth as a mirror.

Under the silver glow, the green sphere trembled violently, countless green rays reflecting and splattering in all directions—within moments, the sphere had shrunk by more than half.

Then the silver shield tilted slightly, its surface blazing with radiant light; the remaining sphere was flung upward, exploding in midair with a flash and vanishing into nothing.

The Old Bamboo Master drew a deep breath, his fear now impossible to conceal—he stared at the puppet, his face heavy with gravity.

Though he had not yet unleashed the sword array’s full power, the opponent had blocked every prior attack effortlessly with nothing but a single shield—his spiritual prowess was unfathomable. He now hesitated: should he activate the sword array’s ultimate technique?

“Enough. With the Yuan Gang Shield’s power, there’s no need to test the Five Elements Veil. The barrier activated by the Five Elements Jade won’t be weaker than this shield. Now, test the puppet’s offensive capability.” The Great Expansion Spirit Lord, clearly satisfied with the shield’s power, transmitted his voice.

“Understood.” Han Li replied calmly.

Instantly, the humanoid puppet’s eyes flared violet, and without a word, it rubbed its hands together—a faint red glow flickered within, then blazed into brilliant light, revealing a small red bow materializing between its palms.

A mere few inches long, exquisitely crafted!

The bow’s limbs were shaped like a dragon, every scale clearly defined.

“Dragon-Piercing Bow!” The Old Bamboo Master cried out in shock upon seeing it.

“This is no Dragon-Piercing Bow—it is my imitation, the Thunderfire Bow! Let me remind you, this bow is also forged from dragon sinew, yet its power surpasses the Dragon-Piercing Bow.” The puppet’s face remained expressionless, but its voice struck the Old Bamboo Master with dread.

The puppet then moved one hand, snatching the red bow into its grip; with a thunderclap, a tiny emerald arrow appeared between its fingers.

A rapid incantation issued from its mouth.

Instantly, the red bow and arrow blazed with radiant light, their forms swelling wildly—within moments, they had grown to normal bow-and-arrow size. Runes flashed along their surfaces; crimson flames erupted around the bow, engulfing it entirely, while golden light danced across the arrow, sparks of lightning crackling and thunder rumbling incessantly.

The puppet expertly nocked the arrow, slowly drew back the bow, aiming at the opponent—and before releasing, golden arcs and crimson flames intertwined and fused, roaring with thunderous force.

Then, an overwhelming spiritual pressure erupted from the puppet without restraint, spreading like a tidal wave in all directions.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators watching from afar felt their breath tighten; their protective aura flickered violently. Some of lower cultivation even paled and shot backward in haste.

“Stop! No need for further trials—I yield!” The Old Bamboo Master, sensing the puppet’s spiritual pressure, suddenly turned pale and shouted aloud—admitting defeat outright.

Yet even as he spoke, he did not lower his guard—he flipped his hand, launching a triangular token that swelled into a grotesque glow of green, red, and yellow as it blocked his front, while summoning the sword wheel with a gesture—it howled and shattered into a hundred flying swords, circling him in a protective whirl.

The Old Bamboo Master’s grave reaction surprised Han Li; his eyebrows twitched slightly as he transmitted a thought to the Great Expansion Spirit Lord.

“Is the Thunderfire Bow truly this powerful? It seems to have unnerved him greatly.”

“Any magic treasure capable of channeling spiritual power equivalent to a Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator commands respect—especially when this bow and arrow aren’t ordinary. One is forged from the spirit-bone and spirit-tendon of a Crimson Fire Dragon; the other, modified from your Jin Leizhu arrow. This combination doesn’t merely add power—it multiplies it. For him to feel genuine peril isn’t surprising. He’s no Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator. If you let this puppet unleash its full strength, you’d have a forty percent chance of killing this Old Bamboo Master with a single shot. Interested in eliminating him now?” The Great Expansion Spirit Lord sneered.

“Forty percent? No. Getting the Black Phoenix Feather is more urgent. If I miss, he triggers the island’s forbidden array, and we’ll be in trouble. A man of his reputation surely possesses hidden survival techniques—I won’t risk turning cleverness into folly. I’m no cruel or bloodthirsty man, nor do I relish killing without cause. But now, we can’t test the puppet’s offensive power.” Han Li silently shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve witnessed it effortlessly overpower a Nascent Soul mid-stage peak cultivator—this proves the puppet’s strength rivals that of a Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator. I have no regrets. My life’s work hasn’t been in vain.” The Great Expansion Spirit Lord sighed, murmuring softly.

Hearing this, a flicker of sorrow passed through Han Li’s eyes.

Almost simultaneously, the puppet’s overwhelming spiritual pressure faded; the bow and arrow lowered, shrinking back to their original size within a glow of spiritual light—the flames and golden arcs vanished.

Seeing this, the Old Bamboo Master exhaled in relief, suddenly realizing his back was drenched in cold sweat.

In that instant when the bow had been aimed at him, he had truly sensed the danger of annihilation—hence his immediate surrender. Now, whether from the techniques displayed or the terrifying spiritual pressure, he was certain: the opponent was unquestionably a Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator.

It had indeed been wise to leave his meditation chamber for these two. He knew the island’s Ten Thousand Trees Array could not withstand the wrath of a great cultivator—especially with another Nascent Soul cultivator of his own rank accompanying them.

Thinking thus, the Old Bamboo Master, seeing the opponent retrieve his magic treasure, likewise recalled his flying swords and token, then invited Han Li and the puppet to descend and re-enter the wooden hall.

This time, the Master of Bamboo Island was extraordinarily courteous—he immediately ordered the late-stage Foundation Establishment elder to retrieve the treasure from his person and fetch the Black Phoenix Feather, while he himself began ingratiating himself with Han Li and the puppet, subtly probing for their origins. After all, there were so few Nascent Soul late-stage cultivators in the Great Jin, and none matched the humanoid puppet—naturally, he felt uneasy.

The humanoid puppet sat motionless, expressionless, silent. Han Li, however, grinned and chatted casually with the island master—joking here, rambling there—for a long while, yet revealed not a single detail about their origins.

The Old Bamboo Master could only smile helplessly, utterly at a loss.

After a quarter-hour, the elder entered, holding a jade box, his face solemn—he respectfully placed it before his master.

The Old Bamboo Master glanced at Han Li and the puppet, then swept his sleeve—the jade box flew automatically toward Han Li.

He had now realized: though the Li cultivator’s power was astonishing, he clearly disliked socializing. Thus, he wisely chose to transact directly with Han Li.

Han Li accepted the box without ceremony, opened the lid—and a brilliant red glow flooded out.

He narrowed his eyes, and a smile of delight spread across his face.

Half a day later, Han Li and the humanoid puppet flew out from Bamboo Island, transforming into two streaks of blazing light that pierced the sky and vanished.

In an instant, their light had disappeared from the sky, utterly gone.

Wang