bookpower Chapter 328: True Monarch Shazhai
Chapter 328: True Monarch Shazhai
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Half a month later, under the guidance of Puppet Master Wei, Lan Chang'an successfully repaired the outer shell of the green-armored puppet.
Upon learning that Lan Chang'an was a third-rank superior-grade artifact refiner, Puppet Master Wei was pleasantly surprised. This skill would significantly aid in upgrading the quality of the puppet.
Thanks to the special technique "Soul Seed Planting," Puppet Master Wei's puppet soul consciousness could remain awake for extended periods, enabling him to conduct research on puppet crafting or even undertake external activities.
In the past, every time Puppet Master Wei awakened and acted, he would require a period of deep slumber to preserve his consciousness and avoid being eroded by the power of the Ghost Dao.
However, Lan Chang'an's past life soul, being rootless and transient, could not be fully absorbed. It would naturally dissipate over time, though the process could be slowed using energy-conservation methods.
Even if it couldn’t be absorbed, the power of his past life soul was still beneficial for nurturing and enhancing the puppet spirit.
Under Puppet Master Wei's guidance, Lan Chang'an also allocated part of his time to study the art of puppet army formations.
Puppet Master Wei was astonished by the sheer number of puppets in Lan Chang'an's possession but he scoffed at the refining techniques and spoke out to correct them many times.
With the meticulous teachings of this fourth-rank Puppet Master, Lan Chang'an was able to design optimal puppet army formations, and took fewer detours.
...
Not long after, Xing Peng secretly contacted Lan Chang'an.
In the vicinity of the Wangyue Immortal City, it was suspected that the mysterious foreign cultivators had once again appeared.
"Wangyue Immortal City is relatively close to Nightless Town, near the Liang Kingdom border. Traveling in that direction to return to the Liang Kingdom would be convenient," Lan Chang'an pondered.
He suspected that the mysterious foreign cultivators might attempt to target Jiang Yechen again.
Moreover, after Lan Chang'an returned, he himself could become a target.
In fact, Unseen Gate's spies were already lying in wait near Nightless Town.
Lan Chang'an made a divination.
"Strange. Despite having clear clues and information, I can't deduce the movements of these cultivators from outer provinces."
His brows furrowed. The resistance to his divination was immense, shrouded by the ever-changing mists of heavenly secrets.
This situation indicated one of two possibilities: either the enemy was extraordinarily powerful, with someone of Nascent Soul level among them, or they possessed treasures or techniques that could shield them from divination. ʀΑɴо฿Ɛś
After deliberating for a while, Lan Chang'an decided to dispatch puppet clones to coordinate near Nightless Town, he himself maintained a safe distance and waited for an opportunity to move.
...
Two days later.
The assassin puppet and the Pink Butterfly puppet stealthily arrived near Nightless Town.
After advancing to the late Core Formation stage, Lan Chang'an could illuminate his second life much faster. This process only took three months, thanks to his divine soul having already surpassed the level of his previous life.
However, illuminating the fourth life would take five years.
This wasn’t just a quantitative difference but a qualitative transformation, as the divine soul at the Nascent Soul level undergoes a complete metamorphosis.
Thus, he decided to conserve the fourth life for critical moments.
A thousand li away from Nightless Town, Lan Chang'an remotely controlled the two puppet clones.
In fact, the quasi-fourth-rank puppet that the second life had been integrated into could also act as a puppet clone.
Through it, Lan Chang'an could similarly share its senses and vision.
With Puppet Master Wei's consciousness present, Lan Chang'an wouldn't need to split his focus during battles either.
The quasi-fourth-rank puppet was fully capable of fighting independently, adapting flexibly to the situation.
However, without a clear understanding of the foreign cultivators' strength, Lan Chang'an instinctively chose to be cautious and conceal his full power.
On a high cliff three hundred li southeast of Nightless Town, three black shadows appeared one after another.
The moonlight bathed their figures, but its rays were distorted by an invisible force, rendering them almost invisible.
The youth in the blue robe standing in the center had sharp, chiseled features, deep eyes, and an unusual pair of large ears that protruded noticeably from his temples.
On either side of him stood a male and a female cultivator, both at the mid-Core Formation stage.
After spending several years in Great Qing, the three cultivators from the Tinghai Pavilion had not only healed their injuries but also eliminated the foreign aura that previously marked them as outsiders.
At present, there was no discernible difference between them and native cultivators of Great Qing.
"The Grand Elder's spiritual power has recovered by more than half. This time, capturing Jiang Yechen should be effortless," said the tall woman in the feathered dress, her emerald-green eyes gleaming with a clear and pleasant smile.
"That Golden Sun Sect has only one Nascent Soul True Monarch remaining, and he is occupied in the battlefield against the demonic forces. Currently, no one in the Liang Kingdom's cultivation world can stop True Monarch Shazhai," the black-faced man in strange scaled armor flattered with a sycophantic smile.
True Monarch Shazhai remained expressionless, his gaze fixed on the formation-shrouded Nightless Town in the distance. The large ears behind his temples twitched repeatedly.
"Go!"
True Monarch Shazhai suddenly spoke, his voice cold and piercing, like it emerged from the depths of the sea.
The black-faced man and the feather-dressed woman did not hesitate, following True Monarch Shazhai as they withdrew from the vicinity of Nightless Town.
“Grand Elder, are there traps laid in Nightless Town?” the woman asked softly along the way.
"Just a few cockroaches. There's no need to startle the snake."
True Monarch Shazhai’s tone was indifferent, his eyes flashing with disdain.
"After traversing the spatial node, this seat's spiritual power has yet to return to its peak. If I use Nascent Soul-level methods, the fourth-rank detection array set by the Righteous Dao Alliance will notice."
The Righteous Dao Alliance's fourth-rank formation masters had established special detection arrays throughout the three kingdoms. If Nascent Soul-level spiritual energy or flying light escape techniques were used within the kingdom's borders, they would be detected immediately.
These detection formations were designed to counter Nascent Soul True Monarchs who might attempt surprise attacks from the rear.
With a Nascent Soul True Monarch’s full-speed flying techniques, crossing the vast Liang Kingdom wouldn’t take long and could return in time for defense.
"Moreover, the Unseen Gate is one of the Six Sects of the Demonic Dao, and their methods should not be underestimated."
True Monarch Shazhai felt no fear toward the Righteous Dao Alliance's Nascent Soul-level forces.
However, the Six Demonic Sects were powerful even in the greater Yuan region, and considered great sects.
For example, Beast King Valley was comparable to the mid-to-upper sects among the "Sixteen Sects of the Sea."
Years ago, when Shazhai had first arrived in the Righteous Dao Alliance's territory, he killed an Unseen Gate spy without understanding the situation, and drew their attention.
This had caused trouble for the actions of him and his companions.
Combined with the Righteous Dao Alliance's bounty on them, their unresolved injuries had forced them into hiding for several years to recover their strength, gather intelligence, and bide their time.@@@@
...
Ten days later.
Lan Chang'an returned to Jin Yun Valley empty-handed.
Through his puppet clones, he had already dealt with Xing Peng, but neither the Unseen Gate nor Lan Chang'an had managed to uncover anything of value—both parties had drawn a blank.
At present, the Unseen Gate was only focused on gathering intelligence and had no immediate plans to act.
However, this failure wasn’t entirely fruitless for Lan Chang'an.
Due to the increase in information channels, Lan Chang'an's divination revealed that the mysterious foreign cultivators had indeed been to Nightless Town, though they hadn’t made a move.
“Mysterious outer cultivators... they don’t seem to possess divination abilities...”
Lan Chang'an pondered deeply.
Through repeated divinations and this recent encounter, he hadn’t detected any traces of an opponent skilled in divination.
Unless the enemy’s divination abilities far exceeded his own—something he ruled out immediately.
Firstly, the path of divination was very eccentric.
Secondly, if the mysterious foreign cultivators possessed the abilities of the Heavenly Master, they would have already pinpointed Lan Chang'an’s location instead of being delayed for so long by the decoy of Jiang Yechen.
Having ruled out divination, Lan Chang'an began considering other possibilities.
Given that the mysterious foreign cultivators had repeatedly evaded the Righteous Dao Alliance’s and Unseen Gate’s pursuit and tracking, leaving no trace, Lan Chang'an speculated that they must possess either extraordinarily powerful sensory abilities or some sort of detection-based divine abilities.
“This is going to be troublesome...”
Lan Chang'an rubbed his temples, realizing that he had encountered an unprecedentedly tricky enemy.
An opponent with exceptionally powerful sensory abilities could not only anticipate ambushes but also gain the upper hand in any confrontation.
It was no wonder that his previous divinations had been so plagued with uncertainty.
The opponent’s ability to perceive situations in advance allowed them to react accordingly, adapting to every scenario to their advantage.
...
That same night, something unforeseen occurred.
Lan Chang'an’s sea of consciousness trembled slightly as he sensed a disturbance coming from the direction of the Beast Taming Zhou Family.
Pop!
The Gu God Seal he had planted in Zhou Qingxuan’s sea of consciousness suddenly shattered, sending a powerful ripple that immediately alerted Lan Chang'an, who had planted the restriction.
“Not good! The foreign cultivators have found the Beast Taming Zhou Family!”
At this moment, the large ears behind True Monarch Shazhai’s temples twitched slightly, sensing the approach of multiple Core Formation cultivators.
Within moments, several indistinct shadowy figures emerged from the eerie mist, slowly closing in on the valley where the trio from the Tinghai Pavilion stood.
“Grand Elder, it seems the Unseen Gate’s higher-ups have arrived. That Lan Chang'an is really colluding with them,” the woman in the feathered dress said with a cold smile.
Swish!
Thick, ominous fog surged forth, shrouding the entire valley.
“Tsk tsk, a late-stage Great Cultivator and two mid-stage Core Formation cultivators. Jue Ying, we’ve caught ourselves some big fish,” said one of six shadowy figures emerging from the mist.
Leading the group were two distinct shadows—one a mysterious man in a black cloak, the other a gray-robed man draped in a dark cape. Their faces were distorted and obscured.
The cloaked man was none other than Jue Ying, the Shadow Hall Chief of the Unseen Gate, who had killed Xie Wuji back then. He was also Xing Peng’s elder cousin.
Jue Ying and the gray-robed man concealed themselves within the thick fog, allowing their four subordinates to attack first while biding their time.
Toxic mists, shadow blades, ghostly soundwaves, and cursed winds—an array of sinister assassination techniques surged toward the blue-robed youth and his two companions.
The woman in the feathered dress and the black-armored man each summoned a defensive artifact—a umbrella-shaped magical treasure and a black pearl magical treasure, respectively.
The black pearl emitted rippling waves of dark light, creating a viscous black water barrier spanning over a hundred zhang, blocking most of the Unseen Gate’s invisible and poisonous attacks.
The umbrella treasure spun rapidly above the woman’s head, unleashing arcs of lightning-infused wind blades. Each blade spanned over ten zhang, forming a storm of crackling energy that roared like a thundering dragon, slashing apart the onslaught of attacks.
Together, the two of them easily fended off the attacks from the four mid- and early-stage Core Formation assassins, even counterattacking and forcing two close-range attackers into a hasty retreat.
Meanwhile, the blue-robed, large-eared youth in the center—True Monarch Shazhai—stood still. His late-stage Core Formation aura remained unfazed as his gaze occasionally glanced toward the hidden location of Jue Ying and the gray-robed man.
“These foreign cultivators have great methods.”
“They’ve noticed us! Attack directly!”
Jue Ying and the gray-robed man exchanged glances before decisively making their move.
The gray-robed man, who was at the peak of the Core Formation stage, blurred into a shadow and disappeared.
In the next moment, a towering ghostly figure, ten zhang tall and wreathed in gray mist, materialized above the three foreign cultivators. The giant opened its maw, spewing a torrent of nauseating, ash-gray smoke toward the blue-robed youth.
Wherever the smoke passed, the vegetation and rocks disintegrated into ash, creating a hellish scene of devastation.
At the same time, Jue Ying moved even faster.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
His form split into three shadowy clones, each wielding crescent-shaped shadow blades, slashing toward the foreign cultivators from different angles.
The woman in the feathered dress and the black-armored man’s faces turned grim. They each grunted in pain as the attacks landed.
Boom!
The umbrella-shaped treasure above the woman dimmed, and a deep, bone-revealing wound appeared on her shoulder.
“Be careful! This man is no ordinary late-stage Core Formation Great Cultivator!”
The black-armored man’s scaled armor cracked under the assault, his heart pounding as he retreated rapidly.
One of Jue Ying’s shadowy clones maneuvered behind True Monarch Shazhai, unleashing an even stronger attack.
Buzz!
True Monarch Shazhai’s body was suddenly enveloped in a shimmering, liquid-like blue aura, forming a magnificent robe of water around him. The ethereal, dreamlike robe effortlessly blocked both the ghostly giant’s ash smoke and Jue Ying’s shadow blade.
The Unseen Gate’s two helmsmen, both seasoned Core Formation assassins capable of dominating most Core Formation Great Cultivators in the Righteous Dao Alliance, were shocked.
“What kind of divine ability is this?!”
Their combined assault didn’t even ripple the surface of True Monarch Shazhai’s water robe, as if their attacks had sunk into an unfathomable abyss.
...
“Hahaha! Perfect timing!”
True Monarch Shazhai grinned widely, the large ears behind his temples twitching once again as they captured the presence of a white-robed man entering within a few hundred li of their location. What was surprising—and amusing—was that the figure had somehow managed to circle behind him.
A flanking maneuver?
Ridiculous!
Did Lan Chang'an truly believe that, by relying on the strength of the Unseen Gate, he could eliminate the three "Core Formation" foreign cultivators from another province and end the threat they posed?
How naive!
Hoo... Gugu!
True Monarch Shazhai’s spiritual power surged dramatically. The vast blue water domain surrounding him deepened, dark as the ocean depths. From within the liquid energy emerged an enormous dark-blue hand crackling with electric arcs, its presence like thunder descending from the heavens, clawing viciously into the void.
The gray mist giant above them sensed the incoming attack and let out a shrill hiss before disintegrating with a loud whoosh, breaking into countless wisps of gray mist that scattered in all directions, attempting to flee.
The giant blue hand grasped at the void, but only managed to clutch empty space as the gray mist slipped through the gaps between its fingers.
“Jue Ying, save me—!”
In that moment, a semi-transparent figure in a gray robe was forcibly dragged out of the shallow layers of the void by the giant blue hand.
Jue Ying’s heart nearly stopped in terror.
The captured figure was none other than the Ash Hall Chief. His Gray Mist Escape Technique, a divine ability imbued with spatial properties, had been his signature escape technique. And yet, the blue-robed youth had managed to pinpoint his location and pull him out with a single strike.
Even most early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn’t have been able to accomplish such a feat.
Boom!
The spiritual power emanating from the blue-robed, large-eared youth surged like a tidal wave, far exceeding the level of the Core Formation stage.
“This person... he isn’t at the Core Formation stage...”
Jue Ying’s three shadowy clones immediately retreated at full speed.
“Aaaah!”
The Ash Hall Chief’s body, now fully materialized and wreathed in mist, was gripped tightly by the giant blue hand. He managed to last for only two breaths before his form shattered into pieces, dissipating into nothingness.
A mighty Core Formation expert had fallen, just like that.
“Cousin, save me—!”
From within the cave, Xing Peng’s hoarse cry for help rang out, tinged with both desperation and joy.
Jue Ying’s face darkened. He cursed silently: this incompetent cousin had brought such a terrifying opponent. A cousin like this... who needs him?!
As Jue Ying fled to the outskirts of the valley, he suddenly realized that the ground beneath him had transformed into a vast blue water domain.
The waters churned and rotated, forming three enormous whirlpools. The terrifying suction force dragged Jue Ying’s shadowy clones down toward the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Realizing that escape was impossible, Jue Ying’s three shadowy clones self-destructed, exploding into countless fragments of shadow. The resulting force collided with the whirlpools, temporarily neutralizing the pull.
In the next moment, a single, solidified shadowy figure emerged a hundred zhang outside the valley, hidden among the grasses and shadows.
Splurt!
Jue Ying spat out a mouthful of blood. His face was as pale as paper, and he clutched his chest in agony, clearly in a state of severe weakness.
Back in the valley, True Monarch Shazhai’s spiritual power surged even further, reaching the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage.
Several blood-curdling screams echoed in succession.
The four early- and mid-stage Core Formation assassins from the Unseen Gate were engulfed by the vast blue water domain and devoured without a trace.
“Shadow Escape? Interesting...”
True Monarch Shazhai glanced briefly at the heavily injured Jue Ying, who had barely managed to escape the valley. He raised his hand, preparing to strike again.
At that moment, however, the large ears behind his temples twitched rapidly.
Whoosh!
True Monarch Shazhai’s body dissolved into a stream of water, merging with the blue water domain beneath him and disappearing without a trace.
“Not good!”
Jue Ying immediately realized something was wrong. Reacting with lightning speed, he slapped his palm against the grass, evaporating all the moisture in the surrounding area.
He scanned his surroundings nervously, confirming that there were no traces of water or any sign of True Monarch Shazhai.
Several tense breaths passed.
A hundred li away in a mountain ravine.
Splash!
A stream of deep-blue water suddenly materialized from within a mountain creek, reforming into True Monarch Shazhai’s figure.
Not far away, a white-robed man froze in shock, his head snapping back in disbelief.
“Water Escape Technique!” he exclaimed, his voice trembling with terror.