Chapter 20: Formless Divine Scripture

At these words, the black-robed middle-aged man's expression instantly changed, and he immediately became mentally alert, scanning all four directions around him.

Finally, his gaze even settled on Li Musheng not far away.

"Why are you looking at me? Look over there!"

Li Musheng pointed with his finger, signaling the other person to look into the valley.

Just then, Mengshan and Yuan Mei, who had seen the masked woman suffering deeply from her injuries while surrounded and were about to take the opportunity to flee, suddenly felt the world spin and whirl.

In the next instant, the two of them fell straight down to the ground.

Meanwhile, the poor scholar who had been following them and protected by them all along slowly straightened his body.

"Senior Sister was so obsessed with mastering the 'Mutual Poison Claw Technique' to its utmost perfection that she ultimately let her guard down."

The poor scholar shook his head; the dull and wretched appearance he had worn was now gone, replaced by coldness, indifference, and extreme confidence.

"Good Junior Brother, stop wasting words and act quickly; if you don't act now, Senior Sister might be beaten to death by these petty people!"

The masked woman, having withstood the old man's punch, found the green-black poison qi swirling around her body almost completely blasted apart, and she suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

"It seems this old man misjudged; it turns out this poisonous woman killed so many people in our alliance just for you, scholar."

The black-robed middle-aged man narrowed his eyes, yet as soon as his words ended, he suddenly attacked without any warning.

The Thousand Leaves Wind-Devastating Palm was silently unleashed; the true qi within his body seemed like wind and leaves intertwining, instantly condensing into a two-foot palm imprint that, carrying the momentum of wind and thunder, struck directly at the masked woman in a surprise attack.

Clearly, he intended to first deal with the masked woman who possessed the poison technique, and then handle the scholar.

After all, the scholar's strength was unknown; if the two joined forces, the situation that followed would likely be difficult to control.

"Senior Sister, be careful; if you can block this move and survive, you will be safe!"

The scholar suddenly spoke with a smile, while the masked woman's face turned iron-green.

Having just blocked the old man's punch had already worsened her injuries, and with the black-robed middle-aged man's palm strike, it would likely take another half of her life.

"You really are capable; from now on, Senior Sister won't be able to protect you anymore, so take care of yourself!"

The masked woman spoke through gritted teeth, while her hands gathered all the remaining true qi within her dantian onto her claws, striving to resist the two-foot palm imprint capable of splitting mountains and cracking stones.

At the same time, the black-robed middle-aged man and the other two old men seemed to sense something, and their expressions all changed drastically.

They suddenly discovered that their bodies, for some unknown reason, had become extremely stiff.

The flow of true qi within their dantian and meridians also became incredibly sluggish; their limbs, bones, and muscles seemed to be hindered by a powerful force from the unseen, making it difficult for them to move according to their own will.

"What is going on?!"

The black-robed middle-aged man's eyes were filled with terror; he could be quite certain he had not been poisoned, yet he could not understand what exactly was wrong with his current state.

In an instant, he and the other two old men all turned their gaze toward the poor scholar who had not made a single move from beginning to end.

Facing the gazes cast by the three, a sneer appeared on the scholar's thin, yellowed face.

Then, he spread his five fingers and grabbed fiercely; threads of true qi condensed and scattered from his fingertips.

The black-robed middle-aged man and the two old men instantly widened their eyes, seeing only transparent threads appearing from the air, densely connecting their bodies to the scholar's fingers.

The scholar merely flicked his little finger slightly, and one old man's arms rose up uncontrollably.

In the next moment, the old man raised both fists and smashed them down toward his own head.

Although the old man desperately circulated the martial true qi within his body, attempting to snap the dense threads connected to him.

He simply could not do it!

This was because the martial true qi within his body at that moment was also controlled by those threads; the martial true qi he had cultivated day and night seemed to no longer belong to him.

"It is actually the Formless Puppet Technique."

Outside the valley, Cang Yin Yue saw this scene and immediately exclaimed in surprise.

Seeing Li Musheng's gaze turn toward her, she explained softly:

"The Formless Puppet Technique originates from the 'Formless Divine Scripture', and the Formless Divine Scripture was the highest martial secret scripture of a sect named 'Ten Thousand Phases Demon Sect' several hundred years ago."

"However, this Ten Thousand Phases Demon Sect was already destroyed several hundred years ago; in recent years, some remnants of its legacy have occasionally appeared in the Jianghu, but they haven't caused much of a stir."

"The power of the Formless Puppet Technique lies in its ability to condense qi into threads, which are colorless and formless, silently invading an opponent's body and true qi, making them extremely difficult to detect; once controlled, life and death are also in the controller's hands."

Speaking thus, Cang Yin Yue turned her head to look into the valley.

At this moment, under the scholar's control, the black-robed middle-aged man and the two old men were each injuring themselves uncontrollably.

Although all three were grandmaster-level martial experts, and because they had designed a surprise attack on the masked woman, they themselves had not suffered any injuries and their strength had not been consumed much.

Yet even so, once controlled by the Formless Puppet Technique, they were helpless and unable to break free.

Even if they were in their prime, the result would be the same; they could not even commit suicide.

"It is indeed your technique that is powerful, Junior Brother; it is a pity my talent is insufficient, otherwise Master would not have only passed the poison technique to me."

The masked woman, dragging her heavily injured body, came to the scholar's side.

The scholar's fingertips twitched, controlling the black-robed middle-aged man to palm-strike another old man in the face, smashing half of the opponent's face until the facial bones collapsed and flesh and blood were blurred.

Meanwhile, the other old man smashed a fist into the black-robed middle-aged man's shoulder, deforming his entire shoulder blade and carving out a bloody pit.

"Don't say Junior Brother hasn't avenged you; are you satisfied with this?"

The scholar turned his head to look at the masked woman, a smile in the corner of his eye.

The masked woman stared coldly at the three, then casually tore off her veil, revealing a series of grotesque green-black scars on her face.

She wiped the fresh blood from the corner of her mouth and said:

"If Junior Brother could hand them over to me to cultivate the Blood Phase Poison Claw Technique, then I would be even more satisfied!"

Hearing this, the scholar shook his head:

"Don't rush; wait until I capture those two over there, and all these people will be yours, Senior Sister!"

Speaking thus, the scholar tilted his head, a faint smile on the corner of his lips, staring straight at Li Musheng and Cang Yin Yue.

"Not good!"

Cang Yin Yue's expression changed drastically; she was about to take Li Musheng and retreat, but suddenly found her own hand movements had become stiff.

At her thought, a wisp of shadow began to lean out from her body, simultaneously spreading to reach the soft blade at her waist.

But halfway there, the shadow abruptly halted and dissipated; Cang Cang Yin Yue's gaze immediately darkened:

"I was careless. This is actually the complete Mutual Puppet Technique, without any missing parts."

She knew something of this Mutual Puppet Technique; for hundreds of years, what circulated in the Jianghu had all been incomplete chapters of cultivation technique, and those who wielded this technique could control targets no farther than ten zhang.

Yet the distance at which the scholar before her wielded the Mutual Puppet Technique was clearly far beyond ten zhang.

(End of this chapter)