Chapter 684: Test Ride

So Dong Rui cut him off: "—I'll use this to notify you." Was this the miniature version of the bat demon puppet from earlier? After shrinking, it didn't look so discordant; its eyes were bigger and brighter.

"Is this something you just made?" Previously, Dong Rui kept denying he had new demon puppets, and He Lingchuan knew that meant he should take his words in reverse.

"Nonsense." Dong Rui stroked the little bat and warned him, "The original ones were all lost because of you. This is the only successful unique piece in the last few months; don't you mess it up again!"

Mess it up? He Lingchuan had question marks in his eyes: "Unique? That means—"

"Right. Your Xushan operation will also depend on it." Dong Rui said, "This is a brand-new variety that can transform twice! What you saw at the carriage station earlier was just the first stage, medium size. It can become even larger." After saying that, he snapped his fingers.

The bat jumped to the ground, its size increasing dramatically.

A monster several times larger than before appeared, with a sturdy build and a ferocious form. He Lingchuan roughly estimated that its wingspan could reach over three zhang when fully spread, similar to Dong Rui's earlier giant bird demon puppet.

It landed and puffed out its chest, wanting to let out a cool roar, but was stifled by Dong Rui's "shh."

There were quite a few people in Pianxiang Shanzhuang, and this place wasn't that far from the shore.

"It also has the talent of light wind; carrying one person is not a problem." Dong Rui said solemnly, "If you want to go to the sky, it all depends on it."

"Fine." He Lingchuan leaned over and gently stroked the bat's head.

It was also a furry giant head, so why did this one feel so uncomfortable to touch? The bat seemed to enjoy it, and under Dong Rui's control, it wouldn't attack He Lingchuan casually.

"We have another big problem." Dong Rui squeezed the storage ring on his hand, "The stock of summer-withered grass is insufficient; it's not enough for the Snail Toad to eat twice more."

He Lingchuan's heart tightened: "How many more days can it last?"

It was all in the ring, and Dong Rui estimated: "Ten days at most. Because we still need to leave some time to find summer-withered grass."

Originally, he was sitting securely in Lingxu City, and the Snail Toad's food problem was handled by Xi Yunhe.

Now that Dong Rui had escaped, he had to find a way to procure summer-withered grass himself. Otherwise, without the suppressive effect of this herb, the Snail Toad would soon develop into a full-bodied ghost toad, and it wouldn't be able to carry the snail shell at all.

The ability of this treasure "Snail Dwelling" to escape underground was something not every monster could use; otherwise, it wouldn't have been confined to the high pavilions of the Green Palace for so many years.

"Then the Xushan plan is moved forward." He Lingchuan knew that plans could never keep up with changes, "We'll act in five days!"

Dong Rui had no objections.

He Lingchuan's heart stirred, and he remembered another thing: "By the way, what reward did Xi Yunhe give you earlier?"

"Oh, this." Dong Rui took out the box and opened it.

He Lingchuan looked down and saw it was actually a soft leather mask? "This... who made it?"

"The Frost Leaf State Preceptor made it herself." Dong Rui walked back into the room, the floating dust on the table had already been wiped away, and he placed the box on it, "As a reward for treating the Snail Toad."

"Can you wear it?" He Lingchuan knew that Dong Rui's face was not only rotten but his jawbone had also been corroded, unable to support the skin and flesh, which was why he looked like a wax-melted demon. What was the use of wearing a mask?

Dong Rui pointed to his face: "Now look closely, are there bones!"

It took a lot of courage to look directly at his face, and He Lingchuan didn't want to admit he hadn't looked closely, so he said vaguely: "It seems there are? Can the Frost Leaf State Preceptor make you grow a chin?"

"Isn't that so?" Dong Rui turned his head to show him, "Even the cheek muscles have grown out, so I can wear a mask."

After saying that, he covered his face with the mask and adjusted it slowly.

He Lingchuan took out a mirror and let him look at himself.

Dong Rui was probably wearing it for the first time and wasn't very skilled, taking a quarter of an hour to get it done. He even used a few elastic soft pillars behind his jaw to keep his cheeks from collapsing.

This face looked about thirty years old, refined and gentle, which was probably Dong Rui's own request.

Except for being a bit stiff when smiling, other expressions were quite fluid.

He Lingchuan couldn't help but reach out and poke it twice; the touch was indeed like human skin, and it even had warmth.

If he hadn't seen him put it on with his own eyes, He Lingchuan would have thought it was a real face.

Dong Rui was clearly very satisfied, making faces and shaking his head in the mirror, longer than a young girl. Finally, He Lingchuan lost patience: "Alright, stop preening!"

There were still leftover soft pillars in the box; he picked them up and squeezed them twice, soft and Q-elastic, very much like the silicone material he had seen in another world.

Hmm, actually it was more like...

He was recalling when he heard Dong Rui say: "The Frost Leaf State Preceptor instructed that once the mask is put on, don't take it off; it will eventually grow together with the face completely. These soft pillars can be thrown away once the tendons have fully grown."

"How can a mask be so magical that it can directly grow into a new face?" He Lingchuan doubted, "Is it a magic treasure?" But it didn't feel like one.

The Frost Leaf State Preceptor had this skill? If she didn't work as a State Preceptor in the future, she could make a fortune specializing in plastic surgery and beauty.

"I never have to wear a veil hat again." Dong Rui touched his face; no matter how happy he was this time, his mouth wouldn't stretch directly to his earlobes, "No one can recognize me."

One of the hallmarks of this demon puppet master was a big rotten face.

He Lingchuan finally understood why this fellow had agreed to stay so readily; it turned out he had this reliance.

Even if he were face-to-face with the pursuers from Lingxu City, assuming the other party didn't use any tracking divine abilities, they probably wouldn't recognize him.

He Lingchuan hesitated for a moment, picked up a soft pillar, and asked him: "Hey, don't you find this material familiar?"

Both of them had been in contact with it, and for quite a long time.

Dong Rui looked at him: "It seems to be that thing. But as long as it allows me to go out and see people, I dare to wear anything!"

"As expected of you." He Lingchuan gave him a thumbs up, "Do you want me to find you another place to live?"

The original Dong Rui couldn't see people, so He Lingchuan had arranged the lake island for him.

"No need." Dong Rui shook his head, "It's quiet here, and I can research some things. Besides, it's not good to let outsiders see these demon puppets, and the Snail Toad likes humid muddy ground; this place is just right for it."

"I'm leaving first; I'll send you bedding later."

Because of the Qingyang State Preceptor's actions, He Lingchuan's plan was forced to be moved forward.

Time was too tight, and he still had a pile of things to do.

￥￥￥￥￥

That afternoon, Old Shan came to the door and sent He Lingchuan quite a few things:

The magic treasures and supplies he had entrusted Li Qingge to customize were all completed!

He Lingchuan was overjoyed: "The Lord really should change his nickname to 'Timely Rain'!"

Old Shan laughed: "I will definitely pass that on."

Afterward, He Lingchuan sent a message to Fang Canran, asking him for a favor.

In the middle of the night, Fang Canran replied with a simple word: Possible, but only one thousand jin at most!

He Lingchuan let out a long sigh of relief; fortunately, he already had helpers in Lingxu City.

Although being alone was flexible and not easily detected, having more people had its benefits; looking out for each other made dealing with emergencies more reliable.

Next, he fiddled in the room for a long time, calculated with paper and pen for a long time, then grabbed the mirror and said to the Zuoju clone inside: "I'm going up the mountain now."

"What?" The rock fire monster was very alert, "What happened?"

"Looking at the celestial phenomena, there will be heavy rain for the next few days, so test flights are inconvenient." He Lingchuan's voice was calm, "It's better to seize the time and confirm the location of the array eye today. Such an important matter cannot be dragged on for too long."

Zuoju thought of the heavy rain at dusk, which was indeed just the vanguard of the strong wind and rain.

"Come over."

He Lingchuan sneaked into the lake island of Pianxiang Shanzhuang under the cover of night and said to Dong Rui: "Let's go, to Xushan."

With the Snail Toad in hand, he could also be elusive, even skipping the act of shaking off the Heart-Unity Guards.

As soon as He Lingchuan approached, the Snail Toad reacted; its body suddenly expanded, and its mouth smacked a few times, as if it wanted to flick its tongue out and eat him.

This attitude was not very friendly. He Lingchuan cautiously stepped back two steps.

Dong Rui wasn't afraid of getting his hands wet and greasy; he stroked its head and whispered a few words. With He Lingchuan's hearing, he couldn't hear what he said, and he couldn't even figure out if humans could understand it.

But after a burst of whispering, the Snail Toad's attitude clearly softened; not only did it lie back on the ground, but its two high-raised antennae also retracted at the same time.

Dong Rui, this kid, if nothing else, his ability to tame demons was truly first-class.

"Alright, let's go." Dong Rui patted the Snail Toad's giant head and whistled again.

That bat demon puppet flew out from somewhere and landed on his shoulder. Afterward, Dong Rui stepped on the Snail Toad's body and burrowed into the shell. He Lingchuan followed closely, sliding so much he almost couldn't stand. Fortunately, his cultivation was excellent, and he stabilized himself after a stumble.

Then he felt a series of wriggles under his feet; he didn't take a step at all, but his body moved forward, as if standing on a conveyor belt.

This was the Snail Toad using the power of its muscles to transport him to the depths of the snail shell.

The combination of mollusk + amphibian was truly incredible.

What was magical was that the lake island was clearly very dark, but the snail shell was very bright; He Lingchuan could even see a small door in front.

Dong Rui pushed the door and entered, and He Lingchuan jumped in too.

Afterward, the scenery in front of him changed completely.

They seemed to be in a small house, the walls and ceiling of special material, neither wood nor metal, like gray-white stone. He Lingchuan knocked twice, and the sound was dull.

It seemed to be the snail shell.

Was this a small space generated by the magic treasure "Snail Dwelling" itself? The house had a window on each of the three sides, and the remaining side had two doors.

Although the windows were empty, people couldn't get out, blocked by an invisible barrier.

He Lingchuan looked out the window and saw the scenery on the lake island directly:

The open space that had just been cleared, the humid and dark soil, the dense giant banyan trees, the wooden table that had been moved out, and the half meat bun on the table—the one Dong Rui hadn't finished.

The three windows faced three directions, and people standing in the room had a 270-degree perspective.

The door they came in through, Dong Rui left open and didn't close.

The two stood in the room and found that the scene outside the two doors was the scene directly in front of the Snail Toad, but the scenery was slightly different, as if the angle changed frequently.

He Lingchuan understood what was going on after a moment of thought:

"Is this the field of vision of the Snail Toad's two eyes?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 685 =====