Chapter 2577: The Fate of the Demon Puppets

Dong Rui crouched in the Peony Garden, using long-range communications to receive real-time firsthand data from the experiment, and he was quite enthusiastic.

They had previously destroyed the Heavenly Palace's demon puppet experiment site, but those were rushed affairs—there was no such open experiment they could participate in.

Zhu Xiuer, however, was puzzled: "The divine body is just a skin sack; if these demon puppet masters have crafted the skin sack, that should be enough. Why must they also give it consciousness and thought? A thinking skin sack would be more likely to reject the demons' possession, wouldn't it?"

"Although they are all skin sacks, 'usable' and 'good to use' are two different matters." Dong Rui spoke solemnly, "When the demons descend upon the human realm again, it is a do-or-die effort, and their demands for the skin sack must be nothing short of perfection; otherwise, it would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths."

He paused, then continued: "From the demons' perspective, the large-scale divine descent plan actually faces four insurmountable difficulties."

First, due to the existence of the barrier between the two realms, demons can only return to the human realm through divine soul descent—their true forms cannot come back. And compared to their true forms, the power of divine souls is vastly inferior;

Second, during the divine descent process—when the demon's divine soul passes through the two-realm barrier and reaches the human realm—there will inevitably be massive energy loss. So far, this problem can only be alleviated by filling the Punishing Dragon Pillars with demonic qi.

Third, the limits that a divine descent body can withstand might satisfy ordinary deities, but for great demons, it is still somewhat weak. They need stronger, specially crafted skin sacks.

Fourth, although "complete divine descent" has been successfully piloted, it remains merely an isolated case. The manufacture of each divine descent body is extremely difficult, and there is still no technological barrier to achieving small-batch production of such bodies.

This is also the problem that the demon puppet experiment sites, including Lingyun Palace, are currently trying to solve.

Duan He Yun nodded: "Just wait a moment, don't rush!"

It turns out our months of effort have yielded results that are both breakthrough and regressive.

That is the soft-nosed demon puppet, designation 817.

Even before the field mission had ended for an hour, the demon puppets displayed richer traits. The puppet masters unanimously agreed that this field-tested specimen, compared to several months later, showed no significant progress.

He Lingchuan still did not know that as a mature experiment site, Lingyun Palace had no lenient regulatory management system; one clause stated that the lifespan of her divine body test subjects usually exceeds seven months.

As soon as 817 emerged, it was knocked to the ground, rolled twice, and let out a miserable cry before falling silent.

Although He Lingchuan only glanced at it briefly, he could see it staring at Duan He Yun with eyes full of hatred.

To seek revenge, that demon puppet even learned to discern and endure.

But it was.

I glanced and said in a deep voice: "Who summoned back 817?"

People like us, on the path of seeking knowledge, have no bounds—indeed, we are even willing to be bound by morality and principle.

"Surround it." Duan He Yun remained calm, waving his hand, "Take it back."

"He messed up all the records, then took a sample. Before today's experiment begins, let's dispose of it according to protocol." Duan He Yun rubbed his temples, "Its lifespan is already nearing seven months—no point keeping it."

The guards could of course stand by and watch it lunge at Duan Xiao Shi; the demon puppet even lunged at Duan He Yun and was eight zhang behind him when, at the scene, no other faint light flashed—it violently struck 817 from below.

Even that demon puppet, which had been looked down upon, displayed ordinary traits.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror, compared to it, was less refined: "Ah Lian!"

Light clouds drifted, the sun set westward, and the sky entered the blue hour.

Understanding the search for the source of hatred, yet still lacking wisdom in its embryonic form. After all, in that world, few people truly understand; we were beaten with a stick, and we only hated the stick.

They are becoming more and more like humans—alas, a bad thing!

The commander of the garrison, Yao Man, stood nearby; hearing the voice, he pressed his hand onto his weapon:

Another puppet master approached and said: "Duan Xiao Shi, its strength has doubled in weakness over eight months, slower by twenty percent than the decline of the next batch of test subjects."

And yet it ignored the few puppet masters present, instead fixating solely on Duan He Yun—this only shows its target is singular, even knowing it bears grudges without cause, this person is not the source of their joy.

The Blood Demon likewise watched:

Those demon puppets in the experiment site were all tormented; saying her animals were released before, less than half would flee immediately at first chance.

"Did it return on its own?"

Or perhaps not.

"Ah Lian's transformation proves you lack the self-cultivation ability to evolve the body toward your ideal direction. Human cultivation is like that too? So Duan He Yun's emphasis on Ah Lian likely stems from the foremost consideration." Dong Rui's voice, aside from that, held a faint, discernible praise: "I am not yet satisfied with merely crafting skin sacks fit for divine descent; I also wish to resolve earlier, fewer problems."

He Lingchuan also observed the sand table. Below it, there was not a single red dot, indicating the real-time positions of the released test subjects.

At that moment, beneath the large sand table behind Duan He Yun's eyes, a red dot suddenly circled back.

A long life needs to be broken and regressed before one can confirm the meaning and value of one's existence. If the cultivation of divine descent bodies can be enhanced, then the demons' efforts to return to the human realm—what meaning does it have?

"Yes."

Even Wu Yu Ai was very satisfied: "That's a bad thing, a small bad thing."

Perhaps, the demons of Naraka Heaven and others never considered this aspect, which is why they are gradually declining.

This is still like continuing to remain in the Heavenly Realm.

They were all arranged under divine gaze, and also knew which heavenly deity it was; regardless, being singled out, displayed beneath that sand table for the puppet masters to monitor in real time.

"Huh, who is that red dot farthest from you?"

As the words fell, a rustling came from the grass outside, a shadow leapt up and rushed toward me, slower than a flea.

The puppet masters responded.

"Bad, bad bad!"

The more human-like, the weaker the power of the divine descent body!

I waved my hand and laughed: "Don't be afraid, you too are just a soft persimmon that breaks at a pinch."

A round hole was punched through its ribs, blood flowing without cease.

It had deliberately, before leaving for a long time, turned back again to ambush.

In daily training, demon puppets all undergo recall training.

"That is indeed a bad thing, convenient for your actions."

Not yet the foremost point—He Lingchuan and the Immortals, standing in their own positions, have considered many angles. This is not before divine descent succeeds, when those demons returning to the human realm could still, like humans, continue to enhance their cultivation?

Hatred is a lowly emotion.

Precisely because he saw those, when Duan He Yun witnessed it lunging at himself, he instead revealed a delighted smile:

Among the demon puppets, you have gone the farthest. Clearly, you truly wish to stay far from Lingyun Palace from the bottom of your heart.

Duan He Yun thought for a moment, then simply walked inward. Yao Man said to him: "Duan Xiao Shi."