Chapter 173: The Ring and the Blood Pill

Wang Yu hid inside a section of mountain cliff, within a hollowed-out stone cave.

The entire cave was six or seven zhang long, its entrance sealed tightly by stone slabs several chi thick, and a specially made torch burned fiercely within, illuminating the whole cave as bright as daylight.

Even above the cave, several finger-thick ventilation holes had been carved by magical instruments.

At this moment, half the cave was occupied by a massive black puppet wolf, three zhang in length.

Wang Yu inspected the giant puppet while continuously murmuring in awe:

"This doesn't seem like ordinary iron essence—it's mixed with several rare auxiliary materials… These inscriptions look familiar—could they be the rare ones that enhance spell resistance? Let me see… This one seems to boost fire resistance, this one enhances earth resistance… Huh, what are these hook-like structures on the neck for? Are they meant to make the puppet's head move more flexibly… These characters are…"

Wang Yu quickly examined the puppet wolf's exterior and discovered an almost invisible line of small characters on its neck: "Tiangong Sect Pang Shan." He showed a look of surprise.

He wasn't surprised the giant puppet came from the Tiangong Sect, but seeing a name alongside the sect's mark on a puppet was something he'd never seen before.

All the Tiangong Sect artifacts he'd ever seen—whether mechanical airships, carriages, or other puppets—were mass-produced standard models.

The presence of a name on this puppet means it isn't a standard model, but a "premium" piece crafted personally by the person named.

Wang Yu's interest in the Tiangong Sect deepened, and his anticipation for the puppet's power grew—but first, he needed to learn how to activate this wolf-shaped puppet.

He pondered, tapping his fingers rhythmically across the puppet's body with a "dong dong" sound. When he flipped the heavy puppet onto its back and tapped its abdomen, the sound suddenly changed to a "bang bang."

Wang Yu raised his eyebrows, ran his hands over the spot, felt a slightly protruding area, and pressed down hard.

"Crack."

A section of the abdomen split open, revealing a pale silver ring and a recess beneath it covered in dense spiritual inscriptions. In the center of the recess was embedded a silver-white crystal, the size of an egg, faintly flickering with threads of lightning.

Mid-grade Thunder Spirit Stone?

No—it's high-grade Thunder Spirit Stone!

Wang Yu froze for a moment upon seeing the silver-white crystal, then immediately recognized its true origin, his heart swelling with joy.

High-grade Thunder Spirit Stone—this was a treasure spoken of only in legends; even if one had the money, it was utterly unobtainable. Though he'd never seen one before, he knew without doubt what it was.

But what was this ring? Was it a device to control the puppet?

Wang Yu glanced at the ring, picked it up, and turned it over in his hands. Its surface bore simple black patterns, glowing entirely with silver radiance.

He measured the ring's size against his wrist and felt it seemed too small, so out of curiosity, he infused a trickle of spiritual energy into it.

"Hum." The black circular patterns on the ring blurred, and it expanded by one full circle.

Seeing this, Wang Yu thought for a moment, took a deep breath, and suddenly thickened his wrist by one circle.

"Hum."

The ring blurred again, and likewise expanded by another circle.

"Interesting. So it's meant to be worn on the wrist."

Wang Yu no longer hesitated—he slipped the ring onto his wrist.

He was confident that even if the ring shrank to the size of a blade ring, it could never shed the layer of "spiritual membrane" clinging to his skin.

The instant the ring settled on his wrist, Wang Yu felt his soul "boom"—his spiritual energy suddenly diminished by a large portion, and an inexplicable connection formed between his consciousness and the giant puppet.

With a mere thought, the giant puppet wolf rose with a thunderous rumble, shaking the entire cave.

"Not spirit manifestation as thought. Not spirit manifestation as threads. More like spirit projection."

"This feeling is truly strange—this device can project part of one's spiritual power into the puppet, unlike Foundation Establishment cultivators who split and deliberately compress and refine their spiritual thoughts."

Wang Yu murmured, his eyes glinting with light as he activated his hyper-mode, sensing his consciousness enter a strange state.

Within the cave, he dared not let the giant puppet wolf move violently—only made it take a few steps, lift a paw or hind leg, and studied the function of the single horn on its head, becoming utterly absorbed…

Half a day later.

After feeling he had mastered most of the giant wolf puppet's functions and usage secrets, he unhesitatingly stored it away, then pulled a vial from his person, poured out a blood-red pill, and began studying it again.

The black-soul sect disciple he had slain carried many valuable items; since he carried so many of these pills, they certainly weren't ordinary.

He first sniffed the pill, then scraped off some powdered residue with his fingernail, licked it with his tongue, and savored it carefully.

With his current powerful body, he wasn't truly afraid of ordinary poisons.

Moments later, he suddenly felt a warm flow rise in his abdomen, surging rapidly through his entire body.

Though the warmth was mild, it stirred his blood and qi, filling him with renewed vigor—as if he'd swallowed a potent tonic.

It was a pill that replenished blood and qi—such pills were exceedingly rare. Yet even this tiny amount of powder had such a strong effect; if he swallowed the whole pill, wouldn't he bleed from all seven orifices?

Wang Yu felt a chill of alarm.

At that moment, his expression changed abruptly—he tucked the pill away and dashed toward the cave entrance.

"Boom."

A massive iron brick, the size of a pavilion, plummeted from the sky, crushing the mountain wall beneath it into collapse, reducing a vast area to rubble amid a cloud of dust.

"Brother Yun, impressive technique! With just that strike, the rat hiding inside couldn't possibly have survived."

"Not just couldn't survive—his body is probably turned to paste."

"This is already the sixth rat Brother Yun has killed, isn't it?"

"Hah! How laughable. These people from the Four Sects of Great Ming Mansion think hiding away will save them, but in Brother Yun's eyes, they're nothing but bright, obvious targets."

High above, several voices chattered together—many demonic sect disciples had quietly gathered.

"Shut up. The man below isn't dead. Hmph. After killing so many rats, he's the first to escape the Iron Cloud Brick." A cold male voice cut through, silencing all others instantly.

A gust of wind swept away the nearby dust, revealing the scene below clearly.

Beside the shattered ground stood a tall young man, expressionless, gazing up at the sky.