However, at the moment the black-robed youth reached out with his fingers, a layer of eerie, frosty energy suddenly swirled around the puppet’s surface, and its body swiftly shifted sideways. In a blur, it reappeared in the air over a dozen zhang away.
The puppet then straightened up abruptly, its eyes gleaming with faint golden light as it fixed its gaze on the black-robed youth and spoke in an icy, deliberate tone: “Very well. You truly dare to strike. It seems this Spirit King must use this puppet’s body to engage you in battle.”
This puppet had been taken over by another fragment of the Spirit King’s consciousness.
Han Li and the other two were inwardly overjoyed at this turn of events.
Though this Spirit King fragment was not their ally, at this moment, it was undeniably a powerful reinforcement.
The Venerable Yuanying’s expression darkened. He slowly retracted his outstretched hand and replied indifferently, “So you old ghost still had a backup plan—another strand of your essence hidden within that Spirit Tribe junior. But do you truly believe this shoddy puppet can stand against me? With just twenty percent of my power, I could easily suppress you.”
“Under normal circumstances, I might believe that. But on this Bitter Spirit Island, you can barely muster thirty to forty percent of your strength. And though this puppet’s body is imperfectly repaired, with this addition… I’d like to see how you handle it.” The puppet’s voice was filled with the Spirit King’s fury as it flipped its hand, revealing a small silver vial.
The vial’s surface was uneven, faintly inscribed with miniature spirit runes the size of ants, shimmering with a soft silver glow.
“The Spirit-Sealing Vial! You actually succeeded in replicating it. But what use is this against me?” The black-robed youth was momentarily startled but quickly sneered.
“The vial itself is useless to you, but its contents can greatly enhance this puppet’s abilities,” the puppet replied expressionlessly before suddenly tossing the vial into the air.
The vial spun upside down, its surface shimmering with silver runes as a single drop of emerald-green liquid rolled out from its mouth.
The liquid was crystalline and radiant, exuding an astonishing concentration of spiritual energy, as if it were condensed from the essence of heaven and earth itself.
From a distance, Han Li’s pupils constricted sharply as he sensed the familiar aura emanating from the green droplet. His mind roiled like a stormy sea.
“This aura… it’s unmistakably… though much weaker, the essence is identical…”
Before Han Li could process his shock, the black-robed youth’s expression changed drastically at the sight of the green liquid. His massive black sword blurred as he slashed out violently, unleashing seven or eight crescent-shaped sword beams that merged into a colossal arc, hurtling toward the puppet.
Simultaneously, his other arm shot up, and a finger flicked outward.
A sharp whistling sound pierced the air as a black streak shot forth, aimed directly at the green droplet.
At such close range, both attacks arrived almost instantaneously.
Yet the puppet seemed to have anticipated this. It ignored the incoming sword beam and instead flicked a finger toward the black streak while abruptly tilting its head back and inhaling sharply.
With a *whoosh*, a segment of the puppet’s finger detached and shot forward, precisely intercepting the black streak.
The two collided in a silent explosion.
The black streak paused momentarily before revealing its true form—a miniature black spike, about an inch long, exuding faint dark radiance. Clearly, it was no ordinary treasure!
But in that brief delay, the green droplet trembled and shot downward like a thread of light, vanishing into the puppet’s gaping mouth.
At the same time, the colossal sword beam arrived right before the puppet and exploded with terrifying force.
Countless razor-sharp black sword beams crisscrossed wildly, engulfing the puppet entirely.
Given the Black Demon Dagger’s earlier destructive power, the puppet should have been instantly shredded to pieces.
Yet, in the next moment, a cold snort echoed from within the storm of sword beams as a burst of emerald light erupted.
Two massive green hands emerged from the radiance without warning, sweeping outward and forcibly parting the dense swarm of black sword beams.
The sword beams struck the hands, but the green light merely flickered faintly, as if the hands were completely unharmed.
The black streak, now revealed as the spike, let out a sharp screech as it rebounded off one of the green hands, leaving no mark behind.
The Venerable Yuanying’s expression darkened. His massive black sword trembled slightly before lowering, and he made no further move to attack, merely staring coldly at his opponent.
The black sword beams were swiftly annihilated by the green hands, revealing the puppet within the emerald glow.
But now, its appearance had drastically changed. The silver spirit patterns that had once adorned its face and body had turned deep green, sinking into its skin and writhing faintly, giving off an eerie, unsettling aura.
The puppet slowly retracted its green hands, its gaze toward the black-robed youth utterly devoid of emotion.
“Creation Dew! You actually obtained a drop of this immortal elixir—and wasted it on a mere puppet? Isn’t that an unforgivable extravagance?” The Venerable Yuanying’s voice was laced with agitation and disbelief.
“Hmph. If this were true Creation Dew, I would have used it to refine the Creation Pill long ago, not flaunt it before you. Let me enlighten you—this is merely a diluted imitation, ten times weaker than the real thing. Perfect for this puppet,” the puppet retorted icily.
“Diluted tenfold? Its efficacy would be drastically reduced, useless for refining the Creation Pill. But even so, it must still contain a trace of immortal energy—enough to substitute for spirit crystals and unlock some of this puppet’s true power. Still, I doubt that trace can sustain more than a few attacks like the one you just demonstrated,” the Venerable Yuanying scoffed, his earlier excitement fading as his lips curled in disdain.
“A few? Fool. In your current state, if you can withstand even one strike from this puppet, I’ll concede you deserve your title as a Demon Realm Progenitor,” the puppet replied with a strange smirk.
Without another word, it stomped its foot and blurred into a pale green streak, shooting toward the black-robed youth.
“Seeking death!”
The Venerable Yuanying, still puzzled by the puppet’s words, grew furious at its audacity. With a roar, a colossal hundred-zhang-tall demonic shadow manifested behind him.
The shadow was grotesque—an enormous, pitch-black toad, its thick neck adorned not only with a central head but also four smaller heads on each side.
A Nine-Headed Demon Toad—a legendary entity even in the Demon Realm!
As the apparition appeared, the central head’s vicious expression flickered before its maw gaped open, and a golden streak lashed out like a phantom.
Whatever this golden streak was, it struck the charging puppet with a thunderous impact, sending it flying back even faster than it had arrived.
The black-robed youth’s face twisted with malice as he formed a hand seal.
The golden streak from the toad’s mouth thinned and lashed wildly, filling half the pond’s sky with golden afterimages that formed an enormous net, ensnaring the puppet instantly.
Within the net, the puppet was battered relentlessly by golden streaks, tossed about like a plaything. Each time it collided with the net, it was flung back, unable to break free.
Now, the puppet seemed utterly powerless to resist!
The black-robed youth sneered, changing his hand seal again. The golden streaks vanished, leaving only a single whip-like appendage that coiled around the puppet several times before yanking it back.
The puppet was dragged within a zhang of the black-robed youth, bound tightly by a thick, golden rope-like object—unable to move even a finger.
Upon closer inspection, the “rope” was revealed to be the massive toad’s tongue.
But unlike ordinary demon tongues, this one was golden, its surface covered in suction-cup-like protrusions inscribed with faint golden runes, glowing as if it were a mystical artifact.
“Braggart! Show me what else you’ve got. Your end is near,” the Venerable Yuanying laughed coldly as the golden tongue constricted violently. A series of popping sounds erupted from the puppet’s body as if it were about to be crushed.
The Demon Progenitor intended to use his demonic apparition’s golden tongue to squeeze the puppet into oblivion.
Though the puppet lacked flesh and blood, its body was as hard as any Mahayana-stage being’s. Yet under the tongue’s crushing force, it seemed on the verge of shattering.
But instead of fear or rage, the puppet’s lips curled into a faint, mocking smile.
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