Chapter 20

"Hoo~"

Guan Ya felt relieved when the Soldier Puppet Storage Box appeared. This was within her expectations.

Back in the arena competition, Zhao Chenghuang relied on this item to almost defeat Yuanshi and become the champion.

Such a powerful item would definitely be brought into the slaughter dungeon. Although the bronze puppets were almost completely destroyed by Yuanshi at the time, as the great-grandson of Elder Zhao, he had enough money to repair an extraordinary item.

"Haha, I knew you kid was hiding this treasure." Jiang Jingwei released her momentum, extinguished the flames on her body, and grinned from a distance.

Asano Ryo didn't recognize the power of the Soldier Puppet Storage Box, but seeing Guan Ya and Jiang Jingwei's faces brighten, she guessed that it was a very powerful item.

"Hmph!"

The Guhuo Zhi Yao (Bewitching Devil) Tian Xia Jie Bai, wielding a dagger, dashed out and approached a bronze puppet, slashing fiercely at the puppet's neck with his blade that could cut through gold and jade.

Clang!

A spark flashed, and a white mark appeared on the puppet's rusty neck.

These puppets were incredibly hard. Even the Guhuo Zhi Yao (Bewitching Devil), who specialized in armor-breaking, couldn't easily damage them.

"Kacha!"

The attacked puppet twisted its stiff neck, its wooden and ugly face staring grimly at Tian Xia Jie Bai.

The next moment, the puppet waved its rusty battle blade, unleashing a simple yet powerful slash.

Tian Xia Jie Bai raised his dagger to block. With a clang, dazzling sparks flew, and his tiger's mouth instantly cracked, blood flowing down the dagger, as he experienced what Zhang Yuanqing had felt before.

"Kacha, kacha…"

The sound of necks twisting rang out one after another. Three bronze puppets, wielding battle blades and moving with strange, stilted steps, tried to surround Tian Xia Jie Bai.

Tian Xia Jie Bai's expression changed. He kicked away the heavy bronze puppet in front of him and retreated decisively. The kicked puppet tumbled with a "clang," a deep footprint dented into its hard chest.

"Be careful, these puppets are incredibly strong and invulnerable to weapons. Their only weakness is their lack of agility." Having tested the puppets' strength, he warned his companions with a solemn expression.

The Shan Gui (Mountain Ghost) camp members looked at the thirty-five bronze puppets with a mix of vigilance and surprise.

Even the Guhuo Zhi Yao (Bewitching Devil), who specialized in armor-breaking, couldn't hurt these bronze puppets, let alone them?

Of course, with the bronze puppets' speed, it would be difficult for them to pose a threat, but thirty puppets were enough to entangle them, plus Guan Ya, Jiang Jingwei, and two Yin corpses watching from the sidelines.

The situation was extremely unfavorable.

A vortex appeared deep within Hong Wei's eyes. She stared at the bronze puppets for a moment, then looked at Zhao Chenghuang. In her vision, she clearly saw a shadowy figure in tattered robes floating behind Zhao Chenghuang.

This shadowy figure was like the god of death from myths and legends, floating in the air with open arms. From its ten fingers extended thin, illusory black lines, the ends of which were connected to the backs of the bronze puppets' heads.

Hong Wei's heart stirred, and she shouted, "Don't fight them head-on! The actual controller of these bronze puppets is the Lingpu (Spirit Servant) behind Zhao Chenghuang. Take it out!"

With that, she grabbed a bronze mirror carved with dragons and phoenixes from her inventory and aimed it at Zhao Chenghuang's back.

At the same time, the Wugu Shi (Witch Gu Master) Ta Sui Ling Xiao (Trampling the High Heavens), wearing a tattered coat, knelt down before Zhao Chenghuang, chanting incantations.

Xiao Fu! (Curse of Misfortune!)

Weaken Zhao Chenghuang's luck to ensure that his companion's attacks could accurately hit the Lingpu (Spirit Servant) behind him.

The Lingpu (Spirit Servant) in ragged robes, resembling the god of death, flicked its fingers slightly, and a bronze puppet leaped up to block the golden mirror light.

《Jian Lai》 (Sword Coming)

Ta Sui Ling Xiao's (Trampling the High Heavens) Xiao Fu (Curse of Misfortune!) didn't work. Back when Zhang Yuanqing used Silver Yao Junzhu's (Silver Yao Princess) ghost mirror to create a large-scale illusion, disappearing from the Shan Gui (Mountain Ghost) camp's sight, he had already used the Demon Subduing Pestle to purify each of his teammates.

The purpose was to prevent the strong control of illusionists and Bewitching Devils.

At this time, except for Zhang Yuanqing, who was engaged in a fierce close combat with the Shan Gui (Mountain Ghost) in the distance, Jiang Jingwei, Guan Ya, and Asano Ryo, as well as Blood Rose and the level 4 Yin corpse, gathered around Zhao Chenghuang to protect him.

The experts from the two major camps faced each other from afar, separated by thirty-five bronze puppets. Suddenly, a pillar of emerald light shot up into the sky from afar, dyeing the sky green. Everyone looked up, and the direction was the abandoned train station.

The second array had been activated.

The next one to be activated was the abandoned shopping mall. The activation of the arrays was indeed limited. The time between the activation of the arrays at the bank building and the abandoned train station was about nine minutes. If the array at the shopping mall was activated after nine minutes, then the limitation shouldn't be the sequence but the time.

The little fatty withdrew his gaze and said in a low voice, "Find a way to create opportunities for me and Wo Ming You Wo Bu You Tian (My Fate Lies With Me, Not Heaven). If we don't break Zhao Chenghuang's item, we won't be able to break through to the blood pool. Alas, we still underestimated Zhao Chenghuang."

Although he had never underestimated this Tai Yi Sect's crown prince, Yuanshi Tianzun's (Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning) performance in the first two levels was too outstanding. During the two hours of safety time, they discussed how to avoid being trapped by Yuanshi Tianzun's (Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning) water and fire arrays and how to crack the function of his boots.

The effort they put on Zhao Chenghuang and others inevitably decreased.

Who would have thought that this kid was still hiding such a powerful trump card, which he didn't even use when facing the mummified corpse.

"No need for such trouble!"

A Yi, whose face lacked expression, said indifferently.

His abdomen suddenly swelled, growing bigger and bigger like a balloon, as if he were pregnant with ten children.

Then, his throat tightened, and something spherical surged from his abdomen to his throat, propping up his throat.

"Oueh~"

A Yi spat out a meatball the size of a porcelain plate. The meatball throbbed like a heart, and its surface was covered in wet liquid.

A small, exquisite claw appeared on the surface of the meatball. Like some kind of animal cub breaking out of its shell, it gradually propped up the meat wall. Finally, the little claw pierced the meatball and crawled out from inside.

An ugly little monster appeared before everyone's eyes. It was extremely similar to A Yi in his Gu form, with a long tail, thick hind limbs, sharp claws, and beast-like, cold, vertical pupils.

The only difference was that it was tender red all over, the armor on its body had not yet hardened, and it had no elytra on its back, so it couldn't fly.

"Oueh, oueh, oueh~"

A Yi spat out meatballs one after another, fifteen in total. Each meatball spawned a tender red little monster, which let out a high-pitched cry.

After spitting out these meatballs, A Yi's aura rapidly declined, and he fell into a state of weakness. He squatted down silently, picked up the broken meat mass on the ground, and began to gnaw on it.

These things could quickly replenish his strength.

"Using his body to gestate Gu, he truly deserves to be called a natural Gu beast," the fellow Witch Gu Master Ta Sui Ling Xiao (Trampling the High Heavens) muttered in a low voice.

Normal Witch Gu Masters use their bodies to cultivate Gu worms, feeding them with essence and blood until they can merge with the Gu worms to obtain inhuman strength, speed, and poison.

But humans are still humans after all, and Gu are still Gu. Although they can merge temporarily, they are still two different species.

A Yi was different. Not only could he switch between three Gu beast forms, but his current operation had even reached a "reproduction"-like ability.

It was hard to say whether he was a human or a Gu now.

"Holy crap, are you cosplaying Cell?"

In the distance, the black-haired giant ape spat out a loud complaint after seeing this scene. Immediately, he was knocked down by a punch from the Shan Gui (Mountain Ghost).

Two behemoths of the Saint realm continued their fierce battle. At this time, the first monster to hatch had already turned from tender red to dark black, and the carapace on its body was glowing with a metallic sheen. Its eyes were as fierce and cold as those of a crocodile.

"Iya~"

It shrieked and charged towards the bronze puppet, its head, covered in thick armor, crashing heavily into the bronze puppet.

"Dong!"

The clumsy bronze puppet staggered backward, while the little monster agilely turned into a black shadow, leaping onto the puppet's shoulder, its short, sturdy arms hugging the puppet's head, its feet kicking off the puppet's shoulders.

"Kreeeak~"

Amidst the teeth-grinding sound, the bronze puppet's head was forcibly pulled off.

"Iya, iya!"

The little monster screamed excitedly, holding up the head.

The next moment, several rusty battle blades fell from the sky, chopping it into minced meat.

The little monsters showed no fear at the sight of their companion being killed. Amidst a chorus of "Iya Iya" cries, they charged into the bronze puppet group, engaging in a fierce melee.

They were short in stature but extremely fast, always able to escape the bronze puppets' encirclement and suppression, and cooperated with each other, either tearing off heads or pulling off arms.

They crippled one bronze puppet after another.

The bronze puppets could only kill them one by one in the intervals between the little monsters' destruction of their "companions."

The Shan Gui (Mountain Ghost) camp members were overjoyed. It didn't matter who won or lost between A Yi's little Gu beasts and Zhao Chenghuang's bronze puppets. What mattered most at this critical moment was buying time.

Seeing the puppets entangled by the little monsters, everyone except A Yi bypassed the battlefield and ran towards the depths of the park.

"Don't run!" Jiang Jingwei angrily transformed into a stream of flames, chasing after them at high speed. Guan Ya quickly took out a rifle and said to Asano Ryo beside her, "Can you shoot?"

Asano Ryo nodded nervously, "Yes, my family arranged for a firearms instructor for me. I can use most hot weapons. I, I even flew a helicopter, and I've shot down helicopters…"

Guan Ya said "Oh" and praised, "Not bad, little girl. You can shoot and fly planes. You're much better than me. You use this rifle. It's very powerful, but there's a fatal price. It will reduce the user's luck. Being plagued by misfortune on the battlefield is very fatal."

The seasoned driver put away her teasing smile, and her face became solemn.

"But we have no choice. Being in a dungeon, we should die when it's time to die. There's nothing to be afraid of." With that, she threw the rifle to Asano Ryo and chased after the Shan Gui (Mountain Ghost) camp members with her long legs.

Holding the rifle, Asano Ryo suddenly developed a strong admiration for this elder sister from a foreign country. She felt that the other party was like a swordsman in the history of the island nation, heroic and nonchalant about life and death.

On the other side, Tian Xia Jie Bai (All Under Heaven is White), who was covering the rear, suddenly felt a fiery wind coming from behind. He immediately braked, twisted his waist, turned around, clenched his fist, and blasted it out like a cannonball.

At the same time, a twisted mantra appeared deep in his pupils.

The stream of flames shot towards him. Jiang Jingwei's eyes flashed with golden light, purifying the enemy's Bewitchment skill. She deftly ducked, letting the opponent's fist pass over her head. Then, she pushed off with her legs and crashed into Tian Xia Jie Bai's arms.

The Bewitchment skill had failed, which was not within Tian Xia Jie Bai's expectations. Among the extraordinary Lingjing Xingzhe (Spirit Attendants), the only one who could be immune to bewitchment was the illusionist. He had never encountered such a situation before.

Peng!

Tian Xia Jie Bai was as if hit by a siege ram, his chest instantly caved in, and his skin carbonized in an instant, flying away like a kite with a broken string.

Jiang Jingwei's collision had exceeded the extraordinary realm's limit. She had activated her bloodline talent - Berserker.

"Bang!"

Asano Ryo, who was in the distance leaning against a tree trunk, aimed at the flying Tian Xia Jie Bai and pulled the trigger.

She might not have been able to hit a high-speed moving object, but at this time, Tian Xia Jie Bai was in a soaring state, and his speed was stable.

This was not difficult for her, like shooting a moving target.

A yellow light flashed on Tian Xia Jie Bai's body, then shattered. His neck suddenly snapped, and a blood mist burst out.

The bullet shattered his neck, destroying his cervical vertebrae. His head and body were only connected by a layer of skin and flesh. Although Asano Ryo had aimed for the head, the result was the same.

She had killed, killed him! Asano Ryo was overjoyed. That sister named Guan Ya was right. This gun was very powerful.

Asano Ryo's points instantly soared into the top fifteen.

Before she could react from her joy, a strong wind howled overhead. Then, Yuanshi Tianzun's (Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning) roar exploded in her ears: "Get out of the way!"

Asano Ryo looked up and a shadow blocked her vision. It was a tree as large as two people could hug, falling towards her with its roots and dirt.

The one who threw the tree was the Shan Gui Bai Wu Jin Ji (Mountain Ghost: No Taboos). The death of Tian Xia Jie Bai (All Under Heaven is White) had stimulated him, and all the hatred was focused on the girl who fired the gun.

Asano Ryo's pupils constricted. When she wanted to dodge, it was already too late.

The thick tree, with the force of thunder, slammed into her body, splashing a burst of clear liquid.

The tree smashed an exaggerated pit in the ground, rolling and collapsing the nearby forest, while Asano Ryo's body quickly gathered and returned to human form.

Still in shock, she was about to retreat when heavy footsteps were already in her ears. The three-meter-tall Shan Gui (Mountain Ghost) roared and swung his fist at her.

"Peng!"

At the critical moment, the black-haired giant ape crashed in from the side, knocking the Shan Gui (Mountain Ghost) off balance. The fist deviated and slammed into Asano Ryo's side.

The air surged violently, the ground collapsed, and Asano Ryo, along with large pieces of soil and gravel, was thrown away and fell in the distance.

Her legs were a bloody mess, and she had multiple fractures all over her body. Dense gravel and sand were embedded in the tender skin of her arms and abdomen, with a hint of blood seeping out.

"Wuu, wuu…"

Asano Ryo made a moaning, sobbing sound, struggling a few times but unable to get up.

She had only fired one shot and had encountered a life-or-death crisis.

The furious giant ape pinched the Shan Gui's (Mountain Ghost) neck, pushing him away, and swung his fists, raining down blows. At this time, the aura of the two monsters had declined, falling from the Saint realm to the weak level 4. The energy from the item reward was almost exhausted.

In the distance, Ta Sui Ling Xiao (Trampling the High Heavens), Hong Wei, and others had already seen the six-meter-high stone sculpture, which was the same as the statue in the mountain temple. It stood in a patch of overgrown wasteland, slightly bowing its head, its hands clasped together in front of its chest.

Behind the stone sculpture, about a few dozen meters away, was a silent blood lake. A strong, pungent smell of blood filled the air.

But the exaggerated movements behind them still attracted their attention. They turned their heads one after another and saw the tragic death of Tian Xia Jie Bai (All Under Heaven is White).

At this time, Guan Ya and the two Yin corpses were still some distance away from them. Jiu Lou Yu (Nine Leaking Fish) gritted his teeth and said, "Leave him, quick, throw the blood jade into the blood pool."

"Buzz!"

Ta Sui Ling Xiao (Trampling the High Heavens) spread his wings and took off, speeding past the stone sculpture. A red light flashed in his palm, and he held the blood jade in his palm, throwing it hard towards the blood pool in the distance.

The ghost bride, who had been watching the battle for a long time, rushed out quickly, floating towards the blood jade.

Seeing this, Hong Wei immediately took out the bronze mirror, and the mirror surface shone on the ghost bride. The golden beam hit the Lingpu (Spirit Servant) directly, freezing her in mid-air.

The blood jade penetrated the ghost bride's body and flew high all the way. With a plop, it fell into the blood pool.