NOVEL ONLINE FREE 41: Puppet Demon Sect
Chu Sang had an ominous premonition. She quietly moved closer, her peripheral vision catching several large characters on Shen Rufei’s jade slip—
[Professional Pig Raiser for 20 Years]
“……”
Isn’t that Third Senior Sister’s ID??
It couldn’t be such a coincidence.
Was that lecherous old man she helped Third Senior Sister insult actually Shen Rufei?!
Chu Sang quickly turned her head to look elsewhere, silently chanting in her heart to press 1 to forgive her. She didn’t mean it, and next time she’d lend him Sixth Senior Brother’s fire phoenix for breeding twice!
“Awoo~”
At that moment, Xiao Bai in her arms rolled over and woke up. It opened its slightly golden round beast eyes, licking her slender white fingers as usual while grooming itself. It jumped to the ground, stretching its two front paws in a long, lazy yawn.
Suddenly, it shuddered, lowered its head to sniff left and right, and was about to run out of the formation, wagging its two fluffy black tails.
Chu Sang stood up to follow.
“Where are you going? It’s dangerous outside. Those zombies will eat you.”
Xiao Bai scampered back in front of her, raising its two chubby front paws to paw at her calf. Its milky voice was still a bit unclear in pronunciation, “Mama~ I seem to smell some bad scents. There’s something over there!”
“……Something?”
Chu Sang looked in the direction it was pointing. It was another hilltop, not too close to where they were.
If Xiao Bai said there was something there, it couldn’t be wrong.
Perhaps……
She narrowed her eyes, her gaze falling on the vast horde of corpses below the mountain. After a moment’s thought, she took out two Substitution Talismans.
She pasted one on her sword and placed it in a relatively safe and hidden corner within the formation. The other she pasted on herself.
While no one was paying attention, she casually activated a Teleportation Talisman, and her figure vanished.
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
Cave.
Narrow and cramped, though it hadn’t rained recently, the cave was unusually damp. One could faintly hear water dripping from cracks in the stone, falling drop by drop onto the stone platform.
The air had an indescribable odor, not particularly unpleasant, but extremely uncomfortable.
It seemed to be the smell of decaying meat.
In the center of the cave was a small altar about ten feet high. The altar was carved with some indistinct patterns and several yellowed, tattered Binding Talismans, as if imprisoning something sinister.
But due to the passage of time, the talismans and formation had essentially lost their effectiveness, barely serving any purpose.
A vague human figure floated above the altar.
“……You can see me?”
A somewhat aged and hoarse voice drifted over, and the black shadow quickly floated down towards her.
Only then did Chu Sang see clearly that the black shadow was actually an old man with graying hair. He wore an ashen gray robe, his temples grayed, looking quite kindly, except for his examining gaze which felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Seeing Chu Sang, he became extremely excited. His pale skin, which looked somewhat eerie, seemed to flush with color.
“After so many years, this old man has finally encountered a living person. You… cough cough… you must be the destined one this old man has been waiting for!” He coughed a couple of times, his voice somewhat weak, his form seeming to blur even more, as if he might dissipate at any moment.
“Girl, listen carefully. This old man was a great cultivator from ten thousand years ago, who accidentally fell into this place and was ambushed by an evil cultivator. Only a trace of my divine soul remains, trapped between this heaven and earth.”
“Now this old man’s soul is about to scatter, with only one last obsession in this life that I cannot let go of, which is having no disciples. I fear that my lifelong immortal techniques and Dao arts will be lost…”
“Cough cough! Little girl, come closer. Why are you standing so far away?”
He beckoned eagerly, like a big bad wolf trying to lure a Xiao Bai rabbit. “This old man observes that you have extraordinary bone structure and a celestial affinity with me. While I still have time, I will pass on all my techniques to you. You shall be this old man’s last disciple!” His tone could barely conceal his urgency, as if he wanted to devour her.
“……” This familiar scene made her think the old man was trying to recruit her into a pyramid scheme.
Xiao Bai’s voice came in her mind, “Mama, don’t believe him. He’s covered in bad smells! Stinky!”
Chu Sang had a general guess in her heart. Seeing her standing still, the old Daoist thought his temptation wasn’t great enough. He gritted his teeth, “This old man has a divine object. As long as you acknowledge me as your master, not only will I pass on all my lifelong learning and full power to you, but the divine object will also be yours. How about it?”
The conditions were tempting. Chu Sang admitted she was moved.
Her peach-like face flushed with apparent excitement, her tone innocent, “What should I do then?”
The old Daoist was overjoyed. Indeed, naive little girls like this were easy to deceive.
Of course, he was not some great cultivator from ten thousand years ago, but merely a demon cultivator who had accidentally entered this place during the last opening of the secret realm.
A hundred years ago, he had secretly killed many cultivators in the secret realm and attempted to refine puppets, but was eventually discovered by those righteous cultivators and cut down by their swords.
Fortunately, he had a backup plan, and a trace of his divine soul escaped. But who knew those cultivators would leave behind an imprisoning formation, trapping him in this godforsaken place for a full century… Now, this remaining trace of his divine soul was growing weaker. If he couldn’t find a physical body to possess soon, he would truly disappear from this world.
He couldn’t accept that!
Luckily, the heavens had given him an opportunity.
Hahaha, truly heaven had not abandoned him!
The old Daoist laughed wildly in his heart while maintaining a calm expression. He waved his hand, “Since you’re taking me as your master, first perform the discipleship ceremony.”
Chu Sang said, “I pay my respects to Master! Master, please accept your disciple’s bow.”
“Good disciple, rise.”
The old Daoist stroked his beard, very satisfied. These righteous cultivators were all so rigid and upright, extremely cautious about the master-disciple etiquette. Look at how this girl called him master without hesitation. She must deeply believe his words and wouldn’t betray him halfway.
The cunning old Daoist also let down a bit of his guard.
“The Demon Puppet Pearl is a rare heavenly treasure. Today, this old man will pass it on to you. Go and fetch it, then I’ll teach you the technique.”
Chu Sang obeyed and walked up to the altar. In the center depression lay a blood-red pearl, about half the size of a palm, crystal clear.
She quietly sent out a strand of divine sense to examine it. There was no sinister aura. She took the pearl in her palm, “Master, what should I do next?”
“Listen carefully as I teach you the incantation. Repeat after me, one sentence at a time!” The old Daoist said excitedly, clearly viewing the seemingly naive young woman before him as his prey.
“Alright.”
Chu Sang lowered her head, pretending not to notice the old Daoist’s burning gaze. She repeated each sentence after him.
Until the last character was spoken, the old man’s fiery gaze seemed about to devour her whole. “Quick, say it out!”
As soon as the incantation was complete, he could use the power of the Demon Puppet Pearl to possess this fresh body and escape from this place that had imprisoned him for a full century!
“Master.”
Chu Sang paused at the last step, nearly driving him mad with impatience.
“I didn’t remember it just now. Could you teach me once more?”
The old Daoist took a deep breath and recited it again.
Chu Sang smiled gently, “I’ve memorized it now. Let me recite it for Master to see if it’s correct.”
The old Daoist naturally couldn’t wait for her to recite it.
She nervously pursed her lips, took two steps back, clasped her hands behind her back, and parted her red lips. The obscure characters flowed smoothly from her mouth.
The old Daoist was somewhat surprised. He hadn’t expected this girl’s comprehension to be so good. If he didn’t urgently need a body to possess, he might have really considered taking this girl as a disciple.
Of course, this was just a passing thought.
Now he only wanted her to die quickly!
But as he listened, the old Daoist realized something was wrong. The incantation this female cultivator was reciting was indeed the demonic technique he had taught, but why—was she reciting it backwards??
The Demon Puppet Pearl hovered above her palm, turning extremely red and turbulent. The old Daoist sensed something was very wrong. “Stop—!”
He lunged forward hysterically, trying to snatch back the pearl. Chu Sang quickly widened the distance between them, drew her gun, and fired a spirit energy bullet.
“Boom!”
For a nearly dissipated remnant soul, causing it to vanish completely was effortless.
The last words of the incantation fell from her lips.
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
Meanwhile, outside the cave, the formation couldn’t hold much longer. More and more zombies were crawling up the hilltop, launching attacks.
Tantai Ming and the others were battling thousands upon thousands of zombies.
Fortunately, they had over a hundred Golden Armor Talismans that Little Junior Sister had rushed to make overnight, along with Mu Chihuai’s pills. These zombies couldn’t cause them much harm, but their sheer numbers made it difficult to deal with them all.
Tantai Ming’s right hand gripped his sword hilt, his palm trembling slightly. He had just encountered a higher-level flying corpse, its whole body as tough as copper walls and iron walls. One sword strike had made his tiger’s mouth go numb. He had finally managed to kill it with great difficulty.
The smell of blood in the surroundings was growing stronger, possibly attracting even more powerful zombies and spirit beasts.
This wouldn’t do.
They needed to end this quickly!
He looked back and found that Chu Sang was gone. His expression changed dramatically—Had Little Junior Sister been taken by those zombies??
His thoughts became chaotic. In his urgency, he was about to summon the Weeping Blood Sword to break through the encirclement when suddenly the horde of corpses fell to the ground, wailing. In just a moment, they vanished as if evaporating.
Everyone was stunned by this scene before their eyes.
What… what had happened?
It wasn’t even daylight yet. How had the zombies suddenly disappeared?
Chu Sang flew back on her sword. Seeing that the vast horde of corpses in the forest had vanished without a trace, she became more certain of her guess—That old Daoist was indeed a demon cultivator. He had used the Demon Puppet Pearl to create the horde of corpses. When she deliberately recited the demonic incantation backwards, it essentially broke the spell, causing the zombies to naturally disappear.
“Little Junior Sister, where did you go just now? I thought you had been taken by those zombies!” Tantai Ming hurried over. Seeing that she looked radiant and completely unharmed, the great stone in his heart finally dropped.
Chu Sang recounted to everyone what had just happened, word for word. “The situation was too urgent earlier. Going together might have aroused suspicion, so I went alone first.”
“I had set up Substitution Talismans in advance. If anything went wrong, I would have returned immediately. There was no need to worry.”
She took out the pearl to show everyone,
“According to that demon old man, this pearl seems to be called the Demon Puppet Pearl. What exactly is it used for?”
The original story was told from the perspective of the righteous sect’s male and female protagonists. The name of this pearl clearly belonged to the demon side, so she really didn’t know much about this Demon Puppet Pearl.
“Demon Puppet Pearl……”
Mu Chihuai took it in his palm and examined it for a moment. His beautiful upturned phoenix eyes narrowed slightly as he said softly, “I’ve heard of this thing by chance. It’s a treasure of the Puppet Demon Sect, but it was stolen a hundred years ago. It’s said to have been taken by a disciple of the sect, and its whereabouts have been unknown since.”
This explained everything. The old Daoist she had just encountered must have been the Puppet Demon Sect disciple who stole the sect’s treasure. Although only a wisp of his remnant soul remained, it was clear that his cultivation level in life hadn’t been very high.
The Demon Puppet Pearl can refine living puppets, but that old Daoist was just an ordinary disciple with incomplete skills. Even if he successfully stole the treasure, he could only refine the lowest grade of mindless puppets, which were just the walking corpses they called zombies.
“Although this pearl is a demonic treasure, it is indeed a heavenly divine tool. Whether it’s righteous or evil depends crucially on the cultivator.”
Mu Chihuai tossed the Demon Puppet Pearl back to Chu Sang. “Keep it for now. It might be useful in the future.”
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
On the other side of the secret realm, three days ago, Qin Xixue and a group of Tianyan Sect disciples had entered the inner realm after great difficulties.
Thanks to the guidance of the powerful being in the jade tablet, they hadn’t lost any members along the way and were in much better condition than the other sects.
Qin Xixue was determined to obtain the Chaos Blue Lotus.
“The Chaos Blue Lotus is also one of the supreme treasures from the primordial chaos. This time, you must not miss it again.” The old man said gravely.
The Tianyan Sect’s forbidden area also concealed one of the primordial chaos supreme treasures, but even the old man didn’t know exactly what it was.
Half a year ago, the reason he actively sought out Qin Xixue, who had accidentally entered the forbidden area, was partly to leave the forbidden area.
But another more important reason
was that he wanted to use Qin Xixue to find that legendary supreme treasure that possessed the first wisp of primordial chaos energy when the world began.
Ten thousand years ago, it was precisely to compete for this treasure that the cultivation world and the demon race went to war, fighting for several hundred to a thousand years.
Countless died, and all living beings suffered.
In the end, neither side gained any benefit. They didn’t even see the true appearance of the supreme treasure.
The final whereabouts of this supreme treasure became unknown.
There was a high possibility that it was still in the ruins where the war ended, which is now the Tianyan Sect’s forbidden area. Unfortunately, he and Qin Xixue had returned to search the forbidden area more than once but still couldn’t find any trace of the treasure.
Perhaps the treasure had been destroyed during the human-demon war, or maybe someone else had obtained it in advance.
They had no way of knowing.
It was truly regrettable……
The Chaos Blue Lotus that had now appeared in the world was one of the six ancient sacred lotuses, also one of the primordial treasures. It could greatly improve one’s aptitude, transforming one’s spirit root into a Chaos Spirit Root.
Qin Xixue absolutely couldn’t miss this. This supreme treasure was destined to belong to her alone!
She successfully found the entrance to the lotus pool following the old man’s instructions. Just as she was overjoyed and racking her brains on how to shake off the other disciples, a cheerful voice came from behind that made her heart stop. “Hi! We meet again. What a coincidence!”
Chu Sang had arrived right behind them with a large group of people.
The moment Qiu Xiude heard this voice, he instinctively bristled. “How is it you people again? You really……”
Recalling his previous experience, his face twisted for a moment before he said in a deep voice, “This time, our Tianyan Sect discovered the entrance first. I advise you not to be shameless!”