Chapter 305: The Life-Binding Wooden Puppet!

"What is this?"

Inside a ten-meter square prism space constructed of Bai Yu.

The Third Turn in a robe of Lu Zi Yi had barely touched the ground when the teleportation array behind him vanished like mercury evaporating.

Instinctively stepping back half a pace to press against the cold wall, his Adam's apple rolled as his gaze suddenly froze.

His line of sight noticed a life-sized wooden puppet doll piled in the southeast corner.

Cold sweat soaked his palms; Lu Zi Yi cautiously swept his gaze around.

He discovered with a sense of impending doom that there were no spatial membranes around him to exit, meaning he was completely trapped here.

"A sacrificial vessel..."

Gazing at the wooden puppet placed in the distance, the Third Turn chose not to act rashly, instead staring at it from far away.

Wooden puppets are not absent among sacrificial vessels.

But they are mostly tied to abilities like curses and hexes.

If he chopped blindly and caused mutual destruction, that would be too ridiculous.

Amidst the stalemate, the puppet's face cracked open with crimson light patterns, like a demon eye suddenly opening.

Immediately, the wooden joints erupted with a grating sound that made teeth ache, and it stood up, stretching its limbs like a living person.

Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack—

In the next instant, amidst the Third Turn in Lu Zi Yi's shocked gaze, the bark-like skin rippled, and the contours of the features began to twist and reshape.

In a mere blink, the height of the raised cheekbones, the arc of the tightened jaw, and even the old scar at the outer corner of the left eye were imprinted in the wood grain without a single deviation.

The other's appearance at this moment was exactly the same as his own!

Even the hair, hands, feet, and clothing had completely transformed into a form identical to his own, except everything was made of solid wood.

This was a one-to-one scale replica.

Lu Zi Yi, already extremely wary, immediately assumed a defensive posture: "If appearance and clothing can be replicated, then the mind-heart and inheritance..."

"Boom!"

Almost instantly, the wooden puppet's left leg kicked off the jade tile beneath it, and amidst a sonic boom loud enough to tear the eardrums, the puppet's two fingers gouged toward Lu Zi Yi's eyes.

The Third Turn could even see the starlight of true qi swirling around the other's fingertips; it was precisely his own Star-Seeking Finger, which he had used for over a hundred years.

Lu Zi Yi was greatly alarmed; his left foot, attached with true qi, rooted itself to the ground, and Lu Zi Yi's upper body leaned back.

His waist bent almost into a right angle; two gusts of finger wind swept past the tip of his nose, narrowly avoiding the finger thrust with a strange iron-plank bridge posture.

Now is the time!

Taking advantage of the moment before the puppet's finger thrust retracted, his right leg, filled with true qi, suddenly released like a drawn bowstring.

A skyward kick slammed firmly into the puppet's abdomen.

Amidst flying wood shavings, that body was kicked flying backward into the wall, with a concave mark clearly branded on the chest and abdomen that perfectly matched the sole of his boot.

At the same time, a triumphant smile spread across Lu Zi Yi's face.

Using a move he had practiced for over a hundred years against him was simply showing off one's skill before an expert.

If not for the need to be absolutely certain, he could have beheaded the puppet at first sight.

"Pfft—"

Though the strike succeeded, blood instead gushed violently from Lu Zi Yi's mouth; he stumbled, clutching his abdomen, which was now a bruised purple-green.

Almost instantly, he understood the ability of the wooden puppet before him: "Exchange injury for injury."

"Damn it, how do I fight this?"

Looking at the wooden puppet with a footprint indented into its abdomen, Lu Zi Yi's brows knitted tightly, and the thought of retreating arose in his heart.

Against a wooden puppet that fears neither death nor injury and fights life for life, he would lose no matter how he fought.

The only thing that made him breathe a sigh of relief was that this puppet had not committed suicide immediately upon appearing; otherwise, he would have had no path to survival.

Before he could continue thinking, the wooden puppet before him had already assumed a familiar starting stance and attacked him, stepping the Great Star Steps.

When the opponent's left foot stepped on the Kun position, the air erupted with a high-pitched shriek as the sound barrier was torn, and afterimages blocked all escape routes.

"Why is there still no movement?"

Inside the first Bai Yu room, ten-plus seconds later, the bearded giant tapped his knuckles against the jade wall, producing a dull thud as he spoke.

"Most likely, it belongs to the same prohibition as the previous teleportation gate: allowed in, not allowed out," the black-robed elder sighed, not calling on the other Third Turns nearby to scout, but entering alone.

"Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!"

The moment the black-robed elder stepped in, the shockwave of the sonic boom nearly blew off his hood.

The elder squinted and saw the Lu Zi Yi martial artist locked in combat with a wooden puppet of identical appearance and clothing.

The wooden puppet had a clear boot print branded on its sunken chest and abdomen, but was otherwise unharmed.

On the contrary, the Lu Zi Yi martial artist was bleeding from mouth and nose, clumsily dodging the attacks.

"Strange..."

The black-robed elder felt doubt rise; with his experienced eye, he could see that Lu Zi Yi had clearly found the puppet's flaws multiple times and instinctively wanted to counterattack, but had forced himself to hold back.

The mind-heart transformed into demonic energy surging through his body; the elder spoke in a leisurely tone:

"Confinement Art!"

As the words fell, the entire space-time froze like ice, and both the wooden puppet and the Third Turn in Lu Zi Yi stiffened in mid-air.

At this moment, the elder slowly said, "What is the situation with this wooden puppet?"

"My lord, be careful. This wooden puppet can replicate others' appearance, power, moves, inheritance, and mind-heart; simultaneously, any injury caused will be returned to the opponent's body."

The Third Turn in Lu Zi Yi communicated via mind-heart, then his face suddenly turned gloomy, because he heard a familiar sound.

Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack—

The two turned their heads with difficulty and saw the wooden carving's face, its patterns melting like wax, reshape itself into the deeply wrinkled visage of an old man, who then stepped out from the binding spell.

'Unexpectedly... it can even replicate the Fourth Transformation.' A sense of foreboding rose in both their hearts simultaneously.

At the same time, the youth-looking Fourth Transformation appeared as well.

His gaze fell upon the wooden carving bearing the old man's face: "What happened?"

"Do not hurt him!" The urgent warning of the black-robed old man transmitted through the Heart Image: "Be careful, this ghostly thing can replicate others' abilities and simultaneously reflect all inflicted injuries back."

The black-robed old man repeated exactly what Lu Zi Yi had just said, then added: "Now he has already replicated my ability; be careful not to kill him."

Hearing the old man's words, the youth's movement paused, then he nodded and said: "I understand, leave it to me."

As they spoke, a fist-sized, scorching white fireball condensed in the wooden carving's palm; the temperature in the entire room rose madly, even distorting the air into liquid ripples.

'The Five Demon Sect's Four-Ring Magic, Great Flame Bomb?'

The youth's body stood before the two, his expression unmoving as he stared at the wooden carving before him.

In the next instant, that scorching white fireball struck directly upon the youth's face.

A white flame flow capable of melting all things exploded into ten thousand sparks upon his face; the splashing residual heat raised the temperature of the entire space by tens of thousands of degrees, yet it could not harm the youth's cheeks.

Afterwards, the other Third and Fourth Transformations, unaware of the truth, surged into this space like dumplings being dropped into boiling water.

Then, after the old man's explanation, they looked at the youth restraining the wooden carving with his body, their faces gloomy.

Even merely the residual waves scattered by the Fourth Transformation were unbearable for the Third Transformations nearby; four Third Transformations were directly vaporized by the splashing sparks.

The black-robed old man simply cast a layer of shield over these Third Transformations.

After the deep blue shields blocked the splashing residual waves, these Third Transformations suffered no further casualties.

The situation now reached a stalemate, because everyone, once entering this room, could not leave, restricted as if by drawing a prison on the ground.

Just as the stalemate continued, with the passage of time, after another dozen breaths, the six jade walls behind everyone quietly began to glow with the faint light of a teleportation array.

"So it seems that merely holding out for a hundred breaths allows teleportation to resume," Lu Zi Yi analyzed.

But then, looking at the teleportation gates all around, they faced a dilemma again; where exactly should they teleport to?

"Retreat by the original path!" the black-robed old man shouted loudly: "Return first to that initial room, and discuss anew there."

Everyone rushed toward the wall they had come from as if granted a great reprieve, while the youth drove the wooden carving back with both palms thrusting forward.

As he turned, the brocade sleeve of his robe had already turned into rustling flying ash; immediately after, his figure vanished from this space.

The space shifted; everyone exited the initial room once more, fear lingering in their eyes.

"It seems you have fared well, having lost only four people."

A leisurely voice came from the side. Fang Can leaned casually against the jade wall, sizing everyone up, then chuckled softly:

"Everyone, are you interested in a brief cooperation?"

(End of this chapter)