The Heaven Devouring Sect, as the legacy left behind by a Great Emperor, naturally possessed some extraordinary strengths. One of them was its puppet-forging art. Not only were the puppets incredibly lifelike, but their materials were also exceptionally durable.
It was said that if they slaughtered enough people and accumulated blood energy over time, they could even develop intelligence of their own.
However, after the Heaven Devouring Emperor’s era, the method of creating these puppets was lost. Not a single person within the Heaven Devouring Sect could forge them anymore.
But hadn’t the Heaven Devouring Sect been wiped out with a single slap from Sister Tiantian?
Could it be the remnants of the Heaven Devouring Sect who had escaped in advance after hearing the rumors?
That still didn’t make sense. If they wanted revenge, why come after him? He wasn’t the one who had destroyed the Heaven Devouring Sect.
After thinking it over, only one person remained.
Before, it had merely been a suspicion, but now he was already ninety percent certain.
“Husband, is this connected to the Heaven Devouring Sect?”
If Liu Xueyao remembered correctly, in her previous life, her husband had never been involved with the Heaven Devouring Sect.
“You could say that.”
Chu Feng took the book from the Sister Saintess’s hands. With his current level of literacy, he could barely understand it.
As his gaze swept across a line of text, he noticed the words “Imperial Teacher”. It was said that the puppet-forging technique had been developed by the Heaven Devouring Emperor’s teacher.
In a place neither of them noticed, the puppet’s eyes suddenly flickered.
“Sister Saintess, how much do you know about the Heaven Devouring Emperor’s teacher?”
The reason Chu Feng asked was because he knew very little about Li Jiuye. The only information he had came from what that middle-aged man in the Human-Demon City had told him.
“This person always remained behind the scenes. If the Heaven Devouring Emperor hadn’t ultimately ascended to become an Emperor, there might not even be any records of him at all.”
Liu Xueyao knew very little about historical matters like these. Since childhood, her life had revolved around cultivation, with very little time spent on leisure or entertainment.
***
Standing outside the cave residence, Liu Shijing lowered her gaze to the book in her hands, lightly pressing her red lips together.
As the daughter of the Liu family, she had grown up surrounded by luxury and privilege. Yet her life had been anything but happy. Her mother died young, her father was cold and heartless, and her elder brother drifted far away. The only person she could truly rely on was her sister.
Granny Rong had cared deeply for the two sisters. Whenever she told them romantic stories, Liu Shijing’s imagination would run wild. She dreamed that her future husband would be a handsome hero who stood tall against heaven and earth. Not cold and unfeeling like her father, but someone who would treat her kindly, just as Granny Rong had.
Later, she and her sister, both blessed with extraordinary talent, entered the Yaochi Holy Land and spent a joyful youth together.
After they grew up, their father revealed his true nature. When her sister found true love, he forced her to cut ties with the man and hastily arranged a marriage alliance with another family.
Yet her sister had been braver than she ever imagined, willing to completely break with their father. In the end, both she and that man quietly disappeared, leaving behind only a baby girl.
In the blink of an eye, so many years had passed. That baby girl had now become the Saintess of the Yaochi Holy Land.
And she herself had absurdly fallen in love with the same…
…young man as Xueyao.
Just as Liu Shijing’s thoughts drifted away, a handsome young man stepped out of the cave residence.
“Aunt Jing, what are you doing here?”
A look of panic flashed across Liu Shijing’s face. She hurriedly stuffed the book into her storage pouch before forcing her expression cold, seemingly trying to maintain the dignity of an elder. After all, during these past days, she had been thoroughly tormented by this brat…
“Nothing.”
She let out a faint huff.
Seeing Liu Shijing’s frosty expression, Chu Feng didn’t dare say much more. In the end, it all came down to Aunt Jing being too thin-skinned. Just look at Sister Saintess…even when it came to stacking together, she remained completely calm.
***
Inside the cave residence, the puppet that had been shattered into several pieces suddenly began emitting countless runes across its body.
Then, the broken fragments reassembled themselves into a new body.
Only this time, its appearance was no longer Chu Feng’s face, but that of another person.
Unlike before, when its eyes had been completely lifeless, the puppet now seemed almost alive.
“Heh, he definitely never imagined that a profound formation was hidden inside this puppet.”
The puppet actually spoke.
Its gaze then locked onto a particular direction.
There, Chu Feng was sleeping soundly.
The puppet silently approached him. As it drew near, its eyes became incomparably cold. Raising its fist, it smashed downward with all its might.
Boom!
The bed exploded instantly.
Yet the scene of blood splattering everywhere never appeared.
Looking closely, among the wreckage was a talisman.
A Substitute Talisman!
Not good!
Realizing something was wrong, the puppet immediately tried to withdraw from its possession state.
At that moment, a voice rang out.
“Since you’ve already come all this way, why are you in such a hurry to leave? As the host, it’s only natural for me to properly entertain a guest.”
Chu Feng’s figure gradually appeared.
His guess had been correct. There really was something suspicious about this puppet.
“Should I call you the Imperial Teacher, or by your name….Li Jiuye?”
Back when he defeated Li Jiuye, he had already sensed that something was off. Every time he defeated Lin Ruo, his entire body would relax and be filled with an indescribable sense of exhilaration. Yet when he defeated Li Jiuye, there had been no such reaction.
Combined with the fact that the puppet originated from the Heaven Devouring Sect’s techniques, he was now even more certain that the person behind everything was Li Jiuye.
Clap! Clap!
Li Jiuye applauded and laughed.
“Well said. Whether it’s Imperial Teacher or Li Jiuye, they’re all titles of mine. But unfortunately, it’s time for me to leave. I won’t stay here playing with a brat like you any longer.”
Li Jiuye attempted to withdraw his soul from the possession state.
However, no matter how he circulated his cultivation technique, his soul simply could not detach.
Seeing the astonishment on Li Jiuye’s face, Chu Feng smiled.
“What’s wrong? Can’t get away anymore?”
Since he had already guessed that Li Jiuye was the mastermind behind everything, how could he possibly come unprepared?
A barrier had already been set up around the area, while Sister Saintess and Aunt Jing were guarding outside.
As for him—
Shing!
Little Bai appeared in his hand.
Sword qi tore through the air, while sword intent flooded the surroundings.
The sword qi gathered around Chu Feng before ultimately transforming into a divine dragon.
With a thunderous dragon’s roar, carrying razor-sharp sword intent, it shot toward Li Jiuye like a bolt of lightning.
This strike was even more terrifying than the one he had used against Jia Tiansheng.
At this level, it was likely already comparable to an early Fifth Rank cultivator.
As Li Jiuye watched the roaring divine dragon charge toward him, his eyes turned cold.
“You little brat, and you think you can defeat me?!”
Boom!
The puppet released a terrifying aura. Its presence was actually no weaker than the sword-intent dragon summoned by Chu Feng.
Boom!
The dragon formed from sword qi collided with the puppet’s body. Violent true qi erupted in all directions, instantly destroying everything inside the cave residence. Fortunately, protective formations were in place; otherwise, the entire cave residence would likely have been reduced to rubble.
Li Jiuye said indifferently, “You are nothing more than a mere Third Rank cultivator. Do not be so arrogant. This world is far more terrifying than you can possibly imagine.”
Chu Feng smiled.
“The world may be terrifying, but as for you… that’s another matter.”
Bang!
He stamped his foot.
Countless pale points of light gathered together, transforming into streams of radiance that surged down like torrents from the heavens and poured into Xiaobai.
The sword blade burst forth with dazzling brilliance.
Its sword qi carried an overwhelming sword intent, endless and unceasing.
Even Li Jiuye, upon seeing Chu Feng’s sword qi, focused completely and did not dare underestimate him.
“With your talent in the Sword Dao, given enough time, you will surely earn a place among the great figures of the cultivation world. But before me, your efforts are no different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Let me show you what true power looks like!”
He pressed his palms together.
Golden characters began appearing densely across his entire body.
Each character contained a different fluctuation of true qi.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
The runes circulated endlessly, even resonating with the Great Dao itself.
There exists a kind of script whose creator once stood above the entire cultivation world. Even a single character could become a divine weapon capable of shaking heaven and earth.
These were—
Imperial Characters.
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