Chapter 61: Soulless Puppet
By the time the three of them had fully awakened from their physical slumber, it was already dusk. Although the eerie blood moon hadn't fully risen, its ominous red light, like the thickest blood, dyed the clouds in the sky a startling crimson. Outside the cave, the silhouette of the ancient city of Jichuan lay in the twilight, like a silent, ancient beast crawling on the ground, emitting a terrifying ominous aura. "We've almost recovered." Li Ge was the first to stand up. Although his face was still pale, his eyes had regained their former calmness and sharpness. The experiences in the underworld had caused unimaginable trauma to their souls. Even with Li Ge's elixirs and Chu Yun's Taiyi Qi conditioning, they had only barely recovered 70% of their combat effectiveness. "Seventy percent is enough," Mo Li said coldly, inserting the last of the gleaming "Law-Breaking Awl" into her mechanical arm armor. "Seventy percent is more than enough to deal with those bastards who play with human lives." Though her face wore a trace of fatigue, her bright eyes burned with the flames of "anger." As a descendant of the Mohist school, which believed in "creation" and "protection," she felt that Xuan Chenzi and his group's use of the world as a "test subject" and "fuel" had crossed her absolute limit. Chu Yun remained silent throughout, sitting quietly by the campfire, repeatedly polishing the Evil-Suppressing Sword that had accompanied him for thirteen years. His movements were slow and steady, but both Li Ge and Mo Li could clearly sense the unprecedented, terrifying murderous intent emanating from him, like a volcano about to erupt. That killing intent was no longer "hatred" born of family feuds, but rather the unquestionable "determination" born from seeing the truth and shouldering responsibility, purely for the purpose of "protection" and "purification." He knew that he not only had to stop this conspiracy, but also clean up the mess, ruthlessly dragging Xuan Chenzi, the scoundrel who had tarnished "protection" and "righteousness," from his revered position. "Let's go," he slowly stood, slinging the Sword of Evil Suppression behind him. "It's getting dark, a good time to kill." Like ghosts blending into the night, the three of them silently infiltrated the ancient city of Jichuan, which had become a "hell on earth." The closer they got to the center, the more horrifying the scene. Previously, in spirit form, he had only vaguely sensed the deathly silence and foreboding. Now, stepping into the flesh, he could truly smell the thick, almost tangible scent of blood in the air. He saw the dark, dried blood stains on the walls and ground like evil totems, and felt the countless wronged souls whispering in his ears...
By the time the three of them fully awoke from their physical slumber, it was already dusk. Though the eerie blood moon hadn't yet fully risen, its ominous crimson glow, like the thickest blood, dyed the clouds a startling crimson. Outside the cave, the silhouette of the ancient city of Jichuan loomed in the twilight, like a silent, ancient beast crouching on the ground, emitting a chilling, ominous aura.
"We've all almost recovered." Li Ge was the first to stand. Although his face was still pale, his eyes had regained their former calmness and sharpness. Their experiences in the underworld had inflicted unimaginable trauma on their souls. Even with Li Ge's elixirs and Chu Yun's Taiyi Qi conditioning, they had only barely recovered 70% of their combat effectiveness.
"Seventy percent is enough." Mo Li put the last of the "Law-Breaking Awl" that gleamed with a cold light into her mechanical arm armor and said coldly, "To deal with those bastards who play with human lives, seventy percent is more than enough."
Though her face wore a trace of fatigue, her lively eyes burned with the flames of "anger." As a descendant of the Mohist school, who believed in "creation" and "protection," Xuan Chenzi and his group's use of the world as "experimental material" and "fuel" had already crossed her absolute line of intolerance.
Chu Yun remained silent throughout the entire process, simply sitting quietly by the campfire, polishing the Evil-Suppressing Sword, which had accompanied him for thirteen years. His movements were slow and steady, but Li Ge and Mo Li could clearly sense the unprecedented, terrifying murderous intent emanating from him, like a volcano about to erupt.
That killing intent was no longer born of "hatred" stemming from a family feud, but rather an unquestionable "determination" born purely out of "protection" and "purification" after seeing the truth and shouldering responsibility. He knew that next, he not only had to stop this conspiracy, but also cleanse the family, ruthlessly pulling down Xuan Chenzi, the scum who had tarnished "protection" and "righteousness," from his revered position.
"Let's go." He slowly stood up and put the sword behind his back. "It's getting dark. It's a good time to kill."
Like ghosts blending into the night, the three of them silently infiltrated the ancient city of Jichuan, which had become a "hell on earth." The closer they got to the center, the more horrifying the scene became. Previously, in spirit form, they had only vaguely sensed the deathly silence and foreboding. Now, stepping into the world in the flesh, they could truly smell the thick, almost tangible scent of blood in the air, see the dried, dark bloodstains on the walls and ground like evil totems, and feel the piercing chill of the silent cries and curses of countless wronged souls in their ears.
"How many people... died here?" Mo Li looked at the scene washed with blood, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
No one answered her. They could only sneak forward step by step towards the increasingly bizarre and huge central altar under the blood-red moonlight.
While crossing a street littered with broken weapons and skeletons, Li Ge suddenly stopped and reached out to stop Chu Yun and Mo Li: "There is something ahead." Her voice was very low and full of vigilance.
The three of them hid behind a half-collapsed stone lion and cautiously looked forward. At the end of the street, several staggering figures were wandering aimlessly. They were dressed in the same civilian clothes as the "people" they had encountered in the alley before, and their movements were just as stiff and slow.
"Another... puppet?" Mo Li frowned.
"No, something's wrong." Chu Yun's eyes suddenly focused.
He watched as the nearest "puppet" slowly turned around. Under the blood-red moonlight, the bloodless, hollow face took on an ominous, blood-red hue—not a normal blood-red color, but countless tiny, twisted, eerie lines, like blood-red worms, wriggling beneath its skin. These lines spread from the neck to the cheeks, even to the eye sockets, making the already hollow face appear even more hideous and terrifying.
"What is that?" Mo Li looked at the blood-colored lines and felt physically uncomfortable.
"It's the 'Blood Sacrifice Curse'." Li Ge's voice was so cold that it seemed to freeze the air. "It's a forbidden technique that is a hundred times more vicious than the puppetry of the Shadow Pavilion. The caster first forcibly extracts the victim's soul, and then uses the extremely evil blood as a 'primer' to reinject it into their body. The puppets controlled in this way not only retain some of their original fighting instincts, but their bodies are also transformed by the evil blood, becoming invulnerable and extremely powerful. They can even..." She paused, her voice filled with disgust, "They can also continuously strengthen themselves by devouring the flesh and blood of other living people. They are a group of living 'monsters' without souls, but craving flesh and blood."
At that moment, the wandering "monsters" seemed to smell the fresh scent of "living" flesh and blood on the three people. Their empty eyes turned in unison in the direction of the stone lions, and their throats uttered greedy and hoarse "ho ho" sounds that were not human. Their previously stiff bodies suddenly rushed forward in an extremely uncoordinated and twisted posture, at an inconceivable speed!
"Damn it! I've been discovered!" Mo Li cursed softly, and the mechanical arm armor was ready.
"Don't fight them!" Chu Yun ordered immediately, "We are too few in number. Once we are surrounded, we won't be able to escape! Go from the top!"
He stepped on the ground and his body shot up onto the roof of the restaurant next to him like an arrow, with Li Ge and Mo Li following closely behind.
Those "monsters" did not give up after losing their target. Instead, they used their hands and feet to climb up the vertical wall like spiders.
"It's really haunting!" Mo Li looked back at the monster that was chasing him, a fierce look flashed in his eyes, and he shot out several "locust stones" with his backhand!
"Ding! Ding! Ding!" The locust stones that were strong enough to penetrate iron armor shot at the monsters, making only the crisp sound of metal clashing, and were easily bounced off, leaving only a few shallow white marks on their mummy-like skin!
"Their bodies have indeed been modified!" Mo Li's face showed a solemn expression.
"Don't worry about them! Go!" Chu Yun shouted.
Without stopping, the three of them darted across the rooftops, leaving the pursuing monster far behind, finally arriving safely near the massive altar. Hidden in a tall bell tower, they gazed down at this hell on earth, emanating an endless aura of evil under the blood-red moonlight.
They saw thousands of innocent people, dressed in rags, bound by thick, rusty chains on the altar. There were white-haired elders, crying babies, unarmed women and children, and strong young men. Like livestock awaiting slaughter, their faces bore empty expressions of numbness and despair. Their vital energy was being forcibly drained by the vast, sinister formation on the altar, transforming into visible, eerie streams of blood-red light that shot up into the sky, merging into the increasingly full blood moon in the sky.
Around the altar stood countless masters of the Black Shadow Pavilion, as well as teams of patrol guards composed of "soulless puppets". The defense was so tight that not even a fly could fly in.
"Beast..." Mo Li stared at the unforgettable scene before him, his body trembling violently with rage. Those nimble hands that had created countless miracles clenched into fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, yet he was oblivious.
Li Ge silently closed his eyes, unable to bear to watch any more. His heart, numb from witnessing life and death, felt an unprecedented pain at this moment.
An unprecedented rage erupted from Chu Yun's chest, his dark eyes ablaze with a terrifying crimson-gold glow. The long-dormant golden Taiyi Qi within him, belonging to the Dao Pivot, was completely boiling over at this ultimate trampling of "life." It roared and surged frantically within him, urging him, commanding him, to stop it all, to cleanse this utterly filthy hell before him.
This is not a choice, but his innate and unshakable responsibility as the successor of "Daoshu".
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