Chapter 137: 137. Chapter 137: Weird Puppet

137. Chapter 137: Weird Puppet

Li Xuan had no hesitation at all, jumped straight from the Third Floor to the First Floor, smashed the stairs leading from the First Floor to the Second Floor, and landed steadily in the First Floor lobby.

Looking back, indeed, the fire formation had a tear in it, and the puppet inside had already vanished.

"I still underestimated this guy, but I have no idea whose soul is inside," Li Xuan muttered, frowning.

The top‑tier Head Soul Bone, the soul in the Bloody Crown must be a blood‑red nine‑headed bat, since no other soul can parasitize the soul bone of a blood‑red nine‑headed bat.

The soul inside that puppet…

Who exactly is it! At that moment, Li Xuan suddenly heard a whooshing sound behind him, his figure crouched, then he ran forward two steps.

A blood‑red long sword thrust toward Li Xuan's neck, but he dodged it just in time.

Li Xuan didn't stop, surged forward, and clapped his hands; a dozen or so Burning Heart Divine Flames appeared around him, instantly lighting up the entire lobby.

Li Xuan retreated to the edge of the lobby, leaned against the wall, and turned his head to glance at the thing that had ambushed him from behind.

It was that Weird Puppet that had broken through his fire formation.

Only, the puppet before him no longer had the dryness and cracks he saw at first.

The black Soul Nurturing Wood had fully regained its luster, and even stranger, the puppet's surface was covered with a layer of bizarre blood‑red patterns.

Li Xuan didn't know the Soul Nurturing Wood could be used this way, and he was also unclear what the blood‑red covering the puppet actually was.

The Weird Puppet carried a blood‑red long sword, wore a strange smile, and walked toward Li Xuan step by step.

In this dim environment, such a Weird Puppet was indeed quite frightening.

"Who are you?" Li Xuan asked, frowning; he was genuinely curious about who this guy really was.

"You've already reached the Third Floor; it seems you've discovered the soul of that old guy on the Third Floor," the puppet's mouth opened and closed, and indeed a voice came out.

That voice was exactly the same as the hoarse voice Li Xuan heard when he first entered the Killing Treasure Vault! From what the puppet said, it seems to know the blood‑red nine‑headed bat and is rather familiar, but Li Xuan still didn't know who this guy really was.

"There's no other way; it seems I have to control you to get the information I want," Li Xuan stroked his chin, then slowly extended his hand.

Bang!

As Li Xuan snapped his fingers, two Filthy Flame Tentacles, as thick as arms, erupted from the ground, lunging toward the puppet's head and chest.

At some point, the ground had become covered with a sticky layer of Filthy Flame.

Actually, while Li Xuan was talking with the puppet, he had already begun setting up the Filthy Flame!

"Hey, kid, you really have some tricks!" The Weird Puppet's body was unusually agile; it vaulted backward, twisted lightly, and narrowly leapt out of the Filthy Flame Tentacle's gaps, escaping the flame's range.

"Not bad, indeed." Li Xuan smiled lightly, then extended his hand; a ball of Burning Heart Divine Flame appeared in his palm, and immediately strands of golden‑red fire lines extended from the fireball, enveloping the entire lobby.

As long as the puppet touches the Burning Heart Divine Flame, Li Xuan can turn it to ash.

Although the Soul Nurturing Wood puppet is decent, Li Xuan wouldn't dare use such a Weird thing lightly; destroying it is the best choice.

The Burning Heart Divine Flame sealed the space, while the Filthy Flame beneath continued to spread outward.

In the blink of an eye, Li Xuan left only a spot for the Weird Puppet to stand. He lifted his head and smiled at the Weird Puppet.

"Can we talk now?" Li Xuan said with a smile to the Weird Puppet.

"Kid, you actually can control two such powerful flames; I underestimated you, but these flames can't affect me either. Hand over your body obediently," the Weird Puppet's mouth clacked, emitting a series of eerie laughs that sent a chill down one's spine.

"Hmm?" Li Xuan raised an eyebrow, his gaze wary as he stared at the puppet before him—who knows what other abilities it possesses.

The next second, the Weird Puppet's body suddenly emitted a torrent of Blood Mist, which wildly eroded both the Filthy Flame and the Burning Heart Divine Flame.

Under the flames' scorching, the Blood Mist turned into pure Spiritual Energy; consequently, the two flames could no longer advance, and even began to recede slowly.

Watching the Weird Puppet spewing Blood Mist, Li Xuan suddenly thought of something.

"It can't be another blood‑red nine‑headed bat's soul, right? How many bats does the City of Slaughter actually raise!" Li Xuan said with a headache, looking at the Weird Puppet.

To control Blood Mist so skillfully, only a blood‑red nine‑headed bat could manage it.

The Bloody Crown contains a blood‑red nine‑headed bat's soul; Tang Chen was possessed by another blood‑red nine‑headed bat, and finally the Killing Path still has a dark‑gold three‑headed bat.

Now the soul inside this Weird Puppet should also be a blood‑red nine‑headed bat's soul.

That's already the fourth bat!

"This Blood Mist is a great tonic for my Palm Sky Bottle; since you produced it, I'll gladly accept it," Li Xuan sneered, then summoned the Palm Sky Bottle to absorb the Blood Mist released by the Weird Puppet.

The Palm Sky Bottle immediately rose into the air, unleashing a powerful suction that began drawing the surrounding Blood Mist into it, converting it into pure Spiritual Energy.

"What… what is this? It can actually suppress my Blood Mist?" The Weird Puppet's face showed a human‑like expression of panic.

The Weird Puppet hurriedly tried to control the blood‑red markings on its body, attempting to stop releasing Blood Mist.

But the Palm Sky Bottle's power was something a soul barely surviving within a Soul Nurturing Wood could resist; under the Weird Puppet's frantic struggle, the blood‑red markings all over its body gradually turned into Blood Mist and were sucked into the Palm Sky Bottle.

The Weird Puppet didn't have much Blood Mist; in less than a few minutes, the Palm Sky Bottle had completely absorbed it.

Deprived of Blood Mist, the Weird Puppet also lost its ability to move, standing rigidly in place.

Along with the Blood Mist being drawn out, the blood‑colored markings were also extracted.

As the Blood Mist vanished, the markings disappeared, and the once glossy black Soul Nurturing Wood reverted to its previous dryness.

"Can you still move?" Li Xuan chuckled, then said to the puppet before him.

"You… who exactly are you, and what is that bottle?" the Weird Puppet roared in terror at Li Xuan.

"No need for you to worry about that; it's time for you to dissipate," Li Xuan snorted, his mind shifting as the Burning Heart Divine Flame and Filthy Flame simultaneously contracted, enveloping the Weird Puppet.

The blood‑colored pattern was probably similar to the four armor motifs outside, enabling the Weird Puppet to move, but now that all the Blood Mist has been absorbed by the Palm Sky Bottle, the Weird Puppet naturally cannot act.

Yet at the instant the flames tore the Weird Puppet apart, a wooden spike, as thick as a finger, shot toward Li Xuan.

Li Xuan instinctively grabbed the incoming wooden spike, and the result was… (End of Chapter)