Chapter 193 Netherworld Puppet Refining Technique

Just as Lu Yao stepped over the threshold of the ancestral hall—

Wow!

The crape myrtle wood sword at her waist suddenly hummed as it was drawn from its sheath.

A dazzling golden light shot out from the sword's edge, and wherever it passed, countless crimson runes instantly appeared on the walls, beams, pillars, and floor tiles of the ancestral hall.

Those runes, like awakened red serpents, intertwined in the void to form a net, completely countering the hidden killing formations!

"Interesting." Lu Yao lightly stroked the sword with her fingertips and chuckled. "Are you all planning to use the restrictions taught by my master to deal with her personally taught disciple?"

Before the words were even finished, the Purple Rose Wood Sword had already transformed into nine golden streaks of light.

The first tear shattered the soul-locking threads in the Third Elder's whisk, the silver threads breaking into pieces.

The second strike pierced through the palm of the Fourth Elder, and the Heart-Corroding Palm Force backfired on the user.

The third strike aimed straight for the Second Elder's throat, forcing him to hastily throw out a bone-piercing nail that instead pierced his own thigh.

The Grand Elder's wrist was caught by a whip, and with a crack, his wrist bones shattered!

Lu Yao stood with her sword in hand. As her clothes fluttered, all the hidden weapons, poisonous fog, and traps in the ancestral hall were reduced to dust.

With a flick of her fingertips, the "Book of Earthly Fiends Reversing Heaven" on the ancestral hall's offering table flew up in response.

The moment the ancient book landed in her palm, she suddenly clenched her fingers.

The book instantly turned into dust, which scattered all over the ground.

"No--!"

Several elders simultaneously let out heart-wrenching wails, and the eldest elder staggered towards the pile of debris.

"What's the panic?" Lu Yao looked coldly at the group of disheveled old men. "It's just a fake."

"This is impossible!" The Third Elder's face turned ashen. "We've guarded this place for generations!"

"It's precisely because it was one of your own who stole it." Lu Yao's sword flashed, pointing directly at Zhong Zhengming's heart, "The genuine article was switched by him long ago!"

“The evil arts you dare not practice,” Lu Yao sneered, “are treasures that Director Zhong regards as precious.”

The elders were struck dumb.

The Fourth Elder trembled all over: "Impossible! I know perfectly well that the ancestral teachings say that practicing this technique will bring disaster to seven generations of one's descendants!"

The Zhong family feared that evil magic would backfire on their descendants, so their ancestral teachings strictly forbade its suppression and prohibition.

Seeing that his scheme had been exposed, Zhong Zhengming suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, "Descendants?"

His eyes gleamed with madness, "Once I achieve immortality, what need do I have for descendants!"

When he was twelve years old, Zhong Zhengming was punished by being forced to kneel in the ancestral hall for bullying his classmates.

It was lunchtime in elementary school, and a few boys who always mocked him as "the kid of a charlatan" were whispering among themselves.

Looking at the smug face of the squad leader, he suddenly remembered the family heirloom he had secretly read the night before.

"Look, he's playing tricks again!"

The class monitor pointed at his fingers as he made a hand seal and laughed.

But the next second, the class monitor's shoelaces suddenly came undone on their own, and he was suspended upside down in the air in full view of everyone.

"Monster! He's a monster!"

As the children screamed and ran away, Zhong Zhengming felt the thrill of power for the first time.

After school, the father drove his car directly into the school.

In the back seat of the car, a slap landed heavily on his face: "The first rule of the Zhong family ancestral precept—Never use mystical arts to bully innocent mortals!"

"The Zhong family is at a critical stage of transformation and cannot tolerate any negative news!" The father's voice was cold.

That night, Zhong Zhengming was ordered to reflect on his actions in the ancestral hall.

The night was as dark as ink, and only the eternal lamp flickered dimly inside the ancestral hall.

After the third watch gong sounded, a faint rustling sound came from the ebony box on the offering table.

At first he thought it was a mouse, but the sound gradually turned into a murmur, as if someone was whispering in his ear.

"Want to see... the true power..."

As if guided by some strange force, he climbed onto the offering table.

The moment the box was opened, scarlet words surged forth as if alive, weaving into a bizarre scene before his eyes.

Soul returning to life, possession to prolong life, control of life and death...

Every page exudes a chilling allure.

"Why?" Xiao Zhengming's fingers unconsciously traced the pages of the book, a voice growing louder in his heart: "Why should these profound and mysterious techniques be sealed away forever?"

...

Why should we be expected to guard this power for generations without using it?

Zhong Zhengming's voice was distorted due to extreme excitement.

"The victor is king, the loser is villain! When I reach the summit, who will dare to call this evil magic?"

History is always written by the victors.

At that time, the forbidden techniques in this book will become the supreme Taoist arts that everyone admires!

He had his arms outstretched, surrounded by an eerie blood-red mist, and his eyes flashed with an almost manic light.

"You old fogies..."

His voice rose and fell, as if mixed with another person's voice, "Today I will show you true power!"

Before the words were finished, dark red patterns suddenly lit up on the floor of the ancestral hall, forming a huge magic circle.

It turns out that Zhong Zhengming had already laid a trap for the entire ancestral hall.

The four elders were horrified to discover that their shadows were being entangled by the blood threads within the magic circle, and their bodies were gradually losing control.

"Netherworld Puppet Technique?!" The First Elder's face turned deathly pale, and he pointed a trembling finger at Zhong Zhengming. "How dare you use such an evil technique on your own people!"

Zhong Zhengming elegantly adjusted his cuffs, a calm smile on his lips: "My father taught me from a young age that those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles."

He snapped his fingers, and the side door of the ancestral hall slowly opened, and an old man with a blank stare mechanically walked in.

He is the current head of the Zhong family and his biological father.

“Look how obedient Father is now.” Zhong Zhengming patted the old man’s blank face. “Soon, you will all become as well-behaved as him.”

The crimson magic array grew increasingly intense, and the faces of the four elders began to contort.

Zhong Zhengming spread his arms wide, savoring the surging power within him: "From this day forward, no one in the Zhong family will question or defy me. You will all become stepping stones for me to reach the Great Dao!"

Lu Yao's sudden appearance today was an unexpected surprise for Zhong Zhengming.

His sinister gaze swept over Lu Yao, who was trapped in the magic circle, and a cruel smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

The "Beidou Life Stealing Technique" business card that I had carefully prepared last time was easily seen through and burned by her.

But today, she won't escape so easily.

“The anchor is so thoughtful,” Zhong Zhengming smiled smugly, “knowing I miss you terribly, he personally came to my door.”

The blood mist within the magic circle grew increasingly thick, gradually condensing into the shape of chains.

Zhong Zhengming gazed greedily at the aura of spiritual energy flowing around Lu Yao, which was far more precious than the life essence of those old fogies in the Zhong family.

"Do you know what the most wonderful aspect of this Netherworld Puppet Technique is?" His voice suddenly softened like a lover's whisper, "It can not only control the physical body, but also devour memories... such as the secret techniques left behind by the goddess..."

The crimson chains suddenly sprang up, coiling around Lu Yao's limbs like venomous snakes.

Zhong Zhengming's pupils contracted with excitement, as if he could already see himself simultaneously controlling the Zhong family's resources and the Goddess's legacy.