Chapter 135: The Strange Human Puppet (6k)

Gao Xian still wore a gentle expression and said softly, “No need to worry; we’ll enter Mount Taiqingmen’s territory in another incense stick’s time. Keep moving.”

Xuanjizi appeared not to hear, his eyes locked fixedly on Gao Xian—this moment, he seemed to grasp something.

We’re all intelligent people; some words need no explicit clarification—a hint suffices.

Xuanjizi let out a long sigh and said helplessly, “So it seems Mount Taiqingmen wasn’t attacked. Was it you who activated the array plate before my sect’s gate that night?”

Gao Xian smiled but said nothing, his smile hiding boundless depth.

Xuanjizi could only chuckle bitterly: “Of course. Until the final moment, no one should ever grow complacent. When did you figure it out? Just from that array plate?”

Gao Xian spoke slowly: “You told us.”

“I told you?” Xuanjizi frowned in confusion—but when he saw Gao Xian’s sly, mocking expression, his heart lurched involuntarily.

“Truly brilliant tactics—you meant to brand Tianji Sect outright as a double-dealing traitor,” Xuanjizi instantly understood, his face turning grim.

Gao Xian said calmly: “Don’t speak like that. Tianji Sect has always been weak in combat, always hoping to reap the benefits of others’ strife. You conspired with Cangyan Dao Palace while secretly sending word to Mount Taiqingmen.”

“When Qingyu Immortal Sect falls, Cangyan Dao Palace and Mount Taiqingmen cripple each other, Jin Leizong becomes the target of all, and who knows what’s happening inside them right now—won’t the only winner be your Tianji Sect?”

“I don’t believe you’d dare deal with Cangyan Dao Palace without preparing some hidden countermeasure.”

Xuanjizi stared darkly at Gao Xian.

Gao Xian then smiled: “I know you have a specific plan—or some killing device—targeting Cangyan Dao Palace. But they’re watching you too. How about this? While there’s still time, join forces with Mount Taiqingmen?”

Xuanjizi appeared not to hear and turned to leave.

Gao Xian called out urgently: “Brother Xuan, miss this chance and you’ll never get another. Do you think they’ll still believe you now? You—and your entire Tianji Sect—are already despised by everyone.”

Xuanjizi’s steps paused slightly, then he gritted his teeth and dashed away at top speed.

Gao Xian’s earlier smile slowly faded into calmness; he murmured to himself: “It seems he still has some leverage. The affairs of the five sects won’t end so easily.”

………

In the afternoon, two furtive figures quietly approached Qingyu Immortal Sect’s mountain gate.

The entire gate was now ruined, even breached inward.

Yet outside, multiple disciples dressed in Jin Leizong attire stood guard, along with several shadowy figures in black robes.

“Strange—according to Master’s speed, they should’ve already stormed inside. But this situation suggests they never came to reinforce?” Yan Xiao Hu whispered.

Zhou Qing’s heart lurched—a foreboding sensation surged instantly.

Had he guessed wrong?

Was the ambush on the first route?

Zhou Qing remained silent. Only then did Yan Xiao Hu realize and hurriedly add: “But that doesn’t make sense. Even though we took a detour, we still followed the first route—encountered no obstacles along the way.”

Zhou Qing nodded slightly: “Let’s first figure out how to get inside. I need to see Xuanyou Immortal Lady myself—tell her our reinforcements have arrived, and see what she intends.”

“Why think? She’ll probably get so excited she’ll scoop you up, spin you around, then kiss you hard,” Yan Xiao Hu teased.

Zhou Qing sighed helplessly: “Third Senior Brother, stop fooling around!”

“Who’s fooling? My motive’s simple—I came for loot. But you insist on finding Xuanyou Immortal Lady. Tell me, do you actually want to save her?”

Yan Xiao Hu winked and made faces at Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing had no patience for further banter: “Get closer. Use your bead to cross the barrier.”

Yan Xiao Hu immediately shook his head: “Only two uses left—I won’t waste them. Over there are corpses—let’s steal two Jin Leizong robes. We can walk in openly. The gate’s wide open anyway.”

Yan Xiao Hu pointed to a distance.

Zhou Qing, helpless, nodded in agreement.

Though risky, the bead was his—Zhou Qing couldn’t dictate how he used it.

So the two crept forward silently until they reached several corpses.

“Fake death! Jin Leizong’s sect master has appeared!” As Zhou Qing rummaged, Yan Xiao Hu urgently warned.

Both instantly flattened themselves, motionless.

Sure enough, a familiar figure stepped out calmly—it was Lei Wují, Jin Leizong’s sect master, previously captured in a recording stone by Tong Min from afar.

Behind him followed two vice sect masters.

“Has it already been settled inside?” Zhou Qing squinted secretly, his heart recoiling.

Earlier in the council hall, he’d sensed this scene felt staged—deliberately meant for Tong Min to record and return. Why did they appear now?

“Wait—look at their faces—” Yan Xiao Hu whispered suddenly.

Zhou Qing glanced quietly—and froze.

The faces of Jin Leizong’s people flickered intermittently, faintly resembling ordinary human visages.

“Tianji Technique! This is Tianji Sect’s Tianji Technique!” In an instant, Zhou Qing’s mind lit up—he understood.

I knew it—they wouldn’t have that second uncle’s illusion technique, let alone fake so many people.

The Tianji Sect had already laid the Tianji Technique around Qingyu Immortal Sect’s gate. Anyone approaching would have their true face revealed.

Back then, they were certain anyone sent to investigate wouldn’t dare get close—only watching from afar.

Hence, these fake Jin Leizong figures dared appear openly, confirming Jin Leizong’s attack on Qingyu Immortal Sect.

But they never expected the Tianji Technique to be so miraculous—it deceived not just eyes, but recording stones too.

Combining the path he and Third Senior Brother had taken, Zhou Qing could now confirm: the last place anyone suspected—the Tianji Sect—had truly allied with the Cangyan Dao Palace.

Though he didn’t know where his sect master and master had gone, he must seize this chance to gauge Qingyu Immortal Sect’s stance.

He couldn’t let them pull off a self-inflicted wound trick right before him.

Soon after, the group turned and reentered.

After changing clothes, the two slipped away quietly.

Finding a hidden corner, they swapped attire. Zhou Qing turned to leave, but Yan Xiao Hu blocked him.

“What?” Zhou Qing asked.

Yan Xiao Hu grinned: “You really think your Third Senior Brother is hoarding bead uses? The main gate looks ordinary—but it’s crawling with danger. Let’s go!”

Watching Yan Xiao Hu’s back, Zhou Qing smiled and shook his head.

When they reached a certain spot, Yan Xiao Hu grabbed Zhou Qing’s arm—and with a flash of light, they vanished.

As soon as they stepped in, a thick stench of smoke assaulted their noses, mixed with blood and charred earth, pressing heavily on the chest.

Around them, cries of battle, clashing weapons, and roaring cultivation techniques echoed incessantly.

Looking up, countless mountains blazed with fire, flames licking the sky, transforming the once tranquil immortal land into a hellish battlefield.

Thick black smoke rose in rolling clouds; peaks trembled and collapsed, emitting dull thunderous crashes, raising clouds of dust.

Some mountains had already toppled; countless trees were uprooted, their branches hung with corpses.

Zhou Qing’s eyes brimmed with murderous intent—he would never allow such a scene to unfold at Mount Taiqingmen.

“Wearing masks is too conspicuous!” Zhou Qing thought, then pulled two objects resembling human facial scars from his storage pouch and stuck them to his face.

These had been left by his second sister before she departed—he never expected to use them now.

“Want one?” Zhou Qing pulled out two more. Yan Xiao Hu immediately shook his head: “Too ugly. Pass.”

Zhou Qing tucked them away, glanced around, then rushed to a corpse, smearing blood and mud on his face. Yan Xiao Hu hesitated, then followed suit.

Combined with their blood-soaked robes, the two now looked like they’d just survived a life-or-death battle—no trace of their true faces remained.

Then they cautiously advanced into Qingyu Immortal Sect. Everywhere they saw decay and misery.

Once-magnificent pavilions now lay in ruins; blackened wooden beams still smoldered with faint flames and smoke.

The ground was littered with shattered tiles and stones, and corpses sprawled haphazardly—clothing marked them as either Jin Leizong or Qingyu Immortal Sect.

Blood had pooled into vast lakes, glinting eerily under the firelight.

Some corpses still held battle poses, weapons gripped tightly, eyes wide open, refusing to surrender even in death; others were mangled beyond recognition, clearly suffering terrible agony before dying.

“Fourth, look here!” Yan Xiao Hu suddenly exclaimed.

Zhou Qing hurried over and noticed a black-robed man, reduced to half a body, crushed beneath several corpses—yet strangely, one hand still twitched faintly.

“Strange—he’s got no life aura!” Yan Xiao Hu yanked off the man’s mask.

He appeared to be a middle-aged man, eyes bulging, face dark blue and rigid.

Zhou Qing frowned, searching for anything to identify him—trying to determine which faction these black-robed men belonged to.

Though he already knew the answer.

“No storage pouch? Did someone loot it already? Damn, they moved fast!” Yan Xiao Hu cursed beside him.

Zhou Qing stared blankly.

It’s been three days—this is the outer perimeter. Only an idiot wouldn’t have looted already.

But as he glanced down the man’s severed abdomen, his pupils shrank.

“An array?” Zhou Qing gasped.

“What?” Yan Xiao Hu rushed over—and froze at the sight.

The man’s abdomen, nearly severed, still pulsed with a silent, glowing array. Cold array materials were embedded in flesh, fused tightly with skin now turning bluish-purple and stiff.

Around these materials, thin black lines spread like vines, growing wildly through the flesh.

“What the hell is this?” Yan Xiao Hu swallowed hard, stunned.

Zhou Qing shook his head slowly, then rose, his gaze alertly scanning the surroundings.

Soon, his expression turned grim: scattered around were the broken remains of Qingyu Immortal Sect disciples—over a dozen by rough count.

From the carnage, it seemed these disciples had collectively self-exploded to kill this black-robed man.

“Such intense death energy!” Zhou Qing’s nostrils flared slightly; he looked again at the black-robed man and whispered.

This death energy differed entirely from ordinary death Deqixi —it carried a peculiar, unnatural stench of decay.

As if this man had been dead for a very long time.

Yan Xiao crouched down, gripped the black-robed figure with both hands, and dragged it out from the pile of corpses, intending to examine it closely.

“So you’re here!” At that moment, a figure suddenly hurtled toward them from afar.

It was a Nascent Soul cultivator dressed in the attire of Jin Leizong, who now stared at the black-robed corpse with unmistakable delight.

Zhou Qing and Yan Xiao, to avoid drawing attention, had long since suppressed their cultivation bases to the Golden Core realm.

“What are your names?” The Nascent Soul cultivator deliberately unleashed a crushing aura, pressing down on them like a mountain, and demanded sharply.

Yan Xiao feigned a jolt of fear, immediately bowed deeply, and said, “Disciple Zhang San, greetings, Senior Brother!”

Zhou Qing quickly clasped his fists in salute and replied, “Disciple Li Si, greetings, Senior Brother!”

“Zhang San, Li Si—you’ve done well. I’ll record your merit. Every humanoid puppet is crucial; none may be lost. I never expected the missing one to be found here. When I return, I’ll surely report your deeds to the Elders!”

The Nascent Soul cultivator smiled faintly as he spoke.

Hearing this, both men were suddenly startled.

This was a puppet?

How could that be?

“Why is it only half? Did you see the lower half?” The Nascent Soul cultivator crouched down, inspected the corpse carefully, frowned, and asked with confusion.

Yan Xiao immediately shook his head. “I didn’t see it.”

Zhou Qing silently scanned the surroundings, his gaze sharp as lightning, confirming no one else had noticed this spot.

From the man’s words, it was clear the humanoid puppet was tightly controlled—its loss unacceptable.

Moreover, this puppet was extraordinarily powerful. Only after multiple Qingyu Immortal Sect disciples detonated themselves was it wounded to this state—half its body gone, yet still moving. Worse still, it could apparently be recovered and “revived.”

Who knew how many such puppets the Cangyan Dao Palace still had? If they could retrieve it and study it closely, perhaps they could uncover a way to counter such puppets.

Otherwise, they’d be utterly defenseless when facing these puppet armies.

Fortunately, this place seemed remote, and no one had arrived yet. Zhou Qing turned to Yan Xiao and said, “Senior Brother, since we’ve already helped you find the puppet’s upper half, why not finish the job? See it through to the end!”

Yan Xiao instantly understood, then smiled slightly. “Alright.”

The man hadn’t expected them to be so cooperative. He rose and said, “You two are excellent. Just follow me from now on—no need to worry about points...”

But before he finished speaking, Zhou Qing’s eyes flashed with cold light, and he struck first.

His broken sword shot out.

*Slish!* A soft sound—the man’s head was cleanly severed. Blood gushed like a fountain, splattering the ground.

His body slowly collapsed, his eyes still filled with disbelief.

The distance had been too close, and Zhou Qing’s movement too swift—he had no chance to react.

Yan Xiao stared in shock. How could that rusted broken sword look so sharp?

The next instant, a flash of light shot out from the disciple’s corpse, moving at incredible speed, trying to flee.

Yan Xiao, already prepared, instantly seized it.

Before the light could speak, Yan Xiao performed a soul-searching technique. Soon, the tiny Nascent Soul rolled its eyes upward.

A few breaths later, Yan Xiao crushed it outright.

“Wan Yuanmin, mid-Nascent Soul, disciple of Cangyan Dao Palace. He knew little about the humanoid puppets, but one thing is certain: there are many.”

Yan Xiao’s face turned grave.

Zhou Qing nodded, fell into thought. “It seems all those who attacked Qingyu Immortal Sect are from Cangyan Dao Palace. We underestimated their strength. With only partial forces and puppets, they breached a sect—while their main strength still lies in ambush against Taiqingmen.”

Yan Xiao’s expression darkened. At Zhou Qing’s signal, he retrieved the puppet.

Then Yan Xiao looked at Zhou Qing with a pout. “That guy was mid-Nascent Soul! Even I needed Nascent Soul enhancement to fight him. Even with a surprise attack, this ended too fast, Old Four. I’m going to cling to your leg from now on.”

Zhou Qing grinned and extended his leg. “Free to hold.”

“Get lost!”

The two searched the area again but found no trace of the puppet’s lower half. As a flesh-and-blood body, it must have been reduced to pulp in the explosion.

Yan Xiao swiftly disposed of the corpse and pulled a gray storage bag from his waist.

“Over two hundred mid-grade spirit stones—this is a fortune!” Yan Xiao beamed.

After splitting the loot with Zhou Qing, they continued advancing stealthily.

As they passed through a ruin, Zhou Qing’s expression suddenly changed.

“Watch out!” Reacting instantly, he kicked out sharply, sending Yan Xiao flying.

In the instant Yan Xiao was kicked away, a flash of cold light shot from the shadows of the ruin like lightning.

Zhou Qing’s eyes narrowed. He swiftly raised his broken sword across his chest. *Clang!* A deafening metallic clash sent sparks flying.

The attacking weapon slammed into the broken sword. The impact sent Zhou Qing staggering backward several steps.

Yan Xiao, now alert, charged forward with his sword.

“I’ll kill you bastards!” A roar of boundless grief and hatred erupted.

Moments later, Yan Xiao staggered back, disheveled.

Then a blood-soaked woman emerged, gripping a blue longsword, swaying unsteadily.

Her once-beautiful face was now stained with blood. Strands of hair clung to her cheeks. Her eyes burned like molten blood—red, furious, defiant.

Her clothing was torn and ragged. Wounds crisscrossed her body, some still bleeding, blood trickling down her arms and legs, pooling beneath her feet into a crimson puddle.

Her breath was faint, yet she stood firm, her gaze locked on the two men, as if wanting to tear their flesh and devour their bones.

“So you were hiding here—I’ve been searching for you!” As Zhou Qing and Yan Xiao braced themselves, several sharp whistles pierced the air.

Instantly, over a dozen figures landed around them.

Leading them was a mid-Nascent Soul powerhouse. The rest were all Golden Core cultivators, arranged in perfect formation, encircling them.

“You two did well. Almost let this bitch escape. Trying to call for help? Dream on!” Meng Xing laughed wildly.

Zhou Qing and Yan Xiao exchanged glances, silently understanding each other. Without a word, they stepped back in perfect unison.

But Yan Xiao limped slightly—he’d been slammed hard into a slanted wooden frame when Zhou Qing kicked him, the corner jabbing his upper thigh.

This was the second time, wasn’t it? Was his leg rebelling because it heard me say I wanted to cling to Old Four’s leg?

Meng Xing stared at the woman, eyes blazing with fury, and clicked his tongue. “Yuan Ya, first disciple of Elder Zou Hong, mid-Nascent Soul expert. Once a famed beauty—look at you now. What a pity...”

Yuan Ya gripped her sword tightly. Her injuries were too severe; her qi surged violently, and she spat a mouthful of blood toward Meng Xing—only to be blocked by a spiritual energy barrier.

“Meng Xing, still wearing Jin Leizong robes at a time like this? It’s disgusting!” Yuan Ya spat furiously, her face twisted in rage.

Meng Xing didn’t care. He laughed again. “I think these robes suit me fine. After all, the messenger I sent has already escaped—and he was escorted by two of your Shenhua Elders. By now, Taiqingmen’s forces must already be in the ambush.”

The surrounding Golden Core cultivators burst into laughter.

Zhou Qing’s brow furrowed slightly.

This guy even knew about the ambush—he must hold high rank in Cangyan Dao Palace.

And here, finding Xuanyou Immortal in a short time would be difficult. Perhaps this woman, Yuan Ya, knew her sect master’s location.

Yan Xiao quietly sent a mental message: “I remember now. Cangyan Dao Palace has Five Prodigies. All of them reached Nascent Soul in under thirty years since starting cultivation. Ascending to Shenhua will surely be easy for them. Meng Xing is one of them—ranked fifth.”

Zhou Qing’s eyes lit up. He had a plan.

(End of Chapter)