Chapter 294: Forbidden Ground and Golden Immortal Puppet

"Fellow daoists of the Wuchang Alliance, you have already done enough by fighting to this extent for an unrelated Holy Puppet Sect. Do you truly intend to lay down your lives here as well? If you leave now, we will not stop you." The scar-faced man spoke, his voice like a great bell, carrying across the entire main island.

At these words, Bai Fengyi's expression changed. The remaining members of the Wuchang Alliance looked at each other in dismay, their eyes flickering with hesitation.

According to the previous agreement, they had already completed their task of guarding the formation island, but had failed due to irresistible forces. Some of their companions had likely already met with misfortune. Continuing to hold out now would indeed risk their lives.

Though the Holy Puppet Sect had offered substantial rewards, one needed to live to enjoy them.

Just as the crowd wavered, Yun Ni's voice suddenly rang in their minds:

"The rewards promised by the Holy Puppet Sect are already in my storage bracelet, doubled from the original amount. If you are willing to use your best skills and continue to help the Holy Puppet Sect hold out a little longer, you can claim this generous reward."

Hearing this, a flicker of greed passed through their eyes, but some quickly calmed down and transmitted to Yun Ni:

"Lord Lin San, the rewards are good, but we must live to claim them. If we fight to the death, we may lose our lives and the original rewards as well."

"Do not be anxious. I will not let you fellow daoists truly die here. When the time is right, I will give the order to retreat. But before that, if anyone dares to flee without permission, they will be dealt with as violators of orders. I trust you all know the consequences?" Yun Ni's voice turned cold as she continued to transmit.

After this mixture of threats and inducements, though some in the Wuchang Alliance remained reluctant, none dared to act rashly.

At that moment, from behind the main hall of the Holy Puppet Sect's square, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted. A snow-white beam of light shot into the sky, then shattered and dispersed.

"Hehe, it seems Fellow Daoist Chongluan has succeeded," the scar-faced man said, raising an eyebrow with a smile.

A flicker of joy also passed through Lu Ji's eyes as he nodded slightly.

The Holy Puppet Sect members, however, were greatly alarmed, their expressions shifting to shock and anger.

"Damn it, something has happened at the forbidden ground. I left five elders there, how could this..." Bai Fengyi's expression changed as she spoke.

"Haven't the sect's secret treasures already been moved? Is there something important still in the forbidden ground?" Yun Ni asked.

"The forbidden ground contains a Golden Immortal-level immortal puppet, the greatest secret treasure of the Holy Puppet Sect..." Bai Fengyi said bitterly.

"Since such a treasure exists, why wasn't it used earlier?" Yun Ni asked, puzzled.

"This immortal puppet has been passed down from the early days of the Holy Puppet Sect. Because it lacks a suitable core, it is not a complete immortal puppet. Previously, when needed, the sect master would merge with it to unleash the power of a mid-stage Golden Immortal. When not in use, it was nurtured in a spirit pool within the forbidden ground," Bai Fengyi explained.

As she finished speaking, another series of rumbling sounds came from behind the main hall. Seven or eight snow-white beams of light simultaneously rose into the sky.

"Not good, the restriction array outside the forbidden ground is about to be breached." Bai Fengyi's expression changed, and a遁光 (escape light) flickered around her as she prepared to fly there, but Yun Ni reached out and stopped her.

"Do not panic. You must maintain order in the square. If you leave, the Holy Puppet Sect members will lose morale immediately and may not withstand even a single assault." Yun Ni said, her gaze sharp.

Hearing this, Bai Fengyi steadied herself and turned to shout at several nearby Holy Puppet Sect elders: "Elder Yu, Elder Fu... you three, go support the forbidden ground immediately."

Yun Ni's eyes flickered as she glanced between Han Li and Xiong Shan, as if choosing, then said: "Jiao Fifteen, you go and assist them as well."

Han Li nodded upon hearing this and departed with the three others, transforming into rainbows.

"Lin Jiu, you will assist Vice Sect Master Bai shortly, doing everything possible to tie down the scar-faced man. I will use a secret technique to see if I can find an opportunity to wound the other one." Yun Ni turned to Xiong Shan and said.

Xiong Shan nodded silently and strode to Bai Fengyi's side.

"Hehe... Fellow Daoist Lu Ji, the time for the decisive battle has come." Seeing four more True Immortals fly away from their side, the scar-faced man smiled and said to the sword-bearing man.

With that, he turned to look at the Shifang Lou cultivators and the dense ranks of green-armored soldiers below, and shouted:

"Everyone, victory is at hand. Kill!"

At his command, thousands responded. A thunderous roar of battle cries erupted from the periphery of the square, and the crowd surged like a tide toward the center.

The two sides immediately clashed in chaotic battle. The bloodiest phase of the entire fight had arrived.

...

Meanwhile, in a hidden valley behind the main hall of the square, continuous rumbling sounds echoed.

As Han Li and the others flew to the valley entrance, they saw eight snow-white beams of light piercing the sky, forming a hazy white light array vortex high above.

"Damn it, the forbidden ground's grand formation has been breached, and the array gate is open. The intruders may have already entered the forbidden ground," said a white-haired Holy Puppet Sect elder, his face full of worry.

"Quick, let's enter the valley immediately." Another elder in a green robe called out urgently.

The four figures blurred and vanished into the depths of the valley in a flash.

Inside the valley, along the way, rocks were shattered and rivers cut off. Everywhere, barrier lakes formed by piled-up rocks and trees were visible. In many lakes and among the rocks, the corpses of some Sacred Puppet Sect disciples and elders could be faintly seen.

"Elder Lu..."

The green-robed elder flying at the forefront suddenly trembled and called out with a pained expression.

Everyone looked and saw that on a cliff face straight ahead, a fat, kind-faced old man was pinned dead by a silver longsword.

This man was the closest friend of the green-robed elder within the sect.

However, no one stopped; they flashed past the old man's corpse and rushed swiftly toward the rising light pillar in the valley.

After a moment, just as they reached the end of the valley, a silver waterfall over a hundred zhang high came into view.

The waterfall surged, and spray splashed against protruding rocks on the cliff, rebounding and scattering ten thousand silver pearls in midair, reflecting a rainbow like an arched bridge.

Below the waterfall was a wide, dark green deep pool. In the center of the pool stood an octagonal white stone altar, from which eight towering light pillars rose into the sky.

On the land beyond the pool, sounds of clashing weapons rang out. A tall, blood-soaked old man and an eight-armed black-armored puppet were besieged by three Shifang Tower cultivators, clearly at the end of their strength.

Around them were scattered over a dozen corpses of Sacred Puppet Sect cultivators and puppets, all with broken limbs, looking utterly miserable.

Among the three Shifang Tower cultivators, only one burly man was at the True Immortal realm; the other two were at the Great Vehicle stage. Seeing four True Immortals from the Sacred Puppet Sect arrive, they were greatly shaken and glanced at the vortex in the sky.

The green-robed elder's eyes were already blazing with fury. He let out a fierce roar and charged at one of them.

That man held a blood-red halberd in one hand, turned and thrust it upward, sending a flash of blood light toward the green-robed elder's neck, while his other hand formed a strange incantation gesture, and his body began to glow with blood light.

"Trying to escape? Don't even think about it!"

The green-robed elder roared, his longsword parrying the halberd, and a green light shot from the sword tip, extending several feet in an instant, directly beheading the man.

His other hand immediately waved, sending a burst of flames that enveloped the man's head, preventing even his nascent soul from escaping, burning him to death.

The other two Shifang Tower cultivators no longer hesitated; they both activated their escape techniques and fled in opposite directions.

One had just flown a hundred zhang when a huge white lion puppet pounced from above, pinning him firmly to the ground.

The only True Immortal, however, radiated intense white light, as if shrouded in a hazy starlight. With one punch, he sent the Sacred Puppet Sect elder blocking him flying backward. Stamping his feet, he leaped over a thousand zhang and landed outside the valley.

Everyone was about to give chase when the tall old man staggered and fell toward the ground.

Han Li appeared beside him in a flash, supporting him, but his gaze was fixed on the direction the man had fled, a strange look in his eyes.

The tall old man's skin was torn open everywhere, with at least a hundred bloody wounds deep enough to see bone, still oozing blood. His entire body seemed plastered with gore.

Yet, ignoring his severe injuries, he pointed tremblingly at the vortex in the sky and urged urgently, "Quick, quick, go... someone has already entered the forbidden area."

The three Sacred Puppet Sect members' expressions changed upon hearing this.

The green-robed elder stepped forward, pierced the head of the man under the lion puppet with his sword, shattering his nascent soul as well, then went to the tall old man, took out a pill, and fed it to him.

After taking the pill, the old man's last bit of strength that had been holding on dissipated. His body went limp, and he fainted.

The shattered eight-armed black-armored puppet staggered to the old man's side, and with a clattering sound, its arms and limbs broke apart, collapsing.

"Fellow Daoist from the Wuchang Alliance, could you trouble yourself to pursue that man? It doesn't matter if you succeed; just ensure he doesn't return here," the green-robed elder hesitated briefly, then stepped forward and said to Han Li.

Han Li glanced at the vortex in the sky, knowing that they were about to enter the sect's forbidden area to pursue the man inside. As an outsider, he naturally couldn't go in, so they were sending him to chase that man.

"I was thinking the same," Han Li nodded and said.

With that, his escape light flared, and his figure vanished from the spot.

"Leave the snow lion puppet to watch over Elder Fang. We need to go in quickly," the green-robed elder said solemnly to the other two.

They both nodded, and simultaneously leaped into the vortex in the sky.

However, Han Li had barely flown out of the valley when he immediately stopped.

Hovering in midair, he swept his gaze around, then a faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth. Turning, he flew toward a forested area outside the valley.