novelraw Chapter 592: Puppet Emperor Void Inquiry Stage!
Chapter 592: Puppet Emperor Void Inquiry Stage!
As the night passed, Ning Fan’s figure flickered, appearing outside the Bamboo Emperor Palace. He slowly stepped inside, heading directly towards the main hall.
Today, including himself, there were 11 Six Revolution Alchemists and 16 Fifth Revolution Alchemists entering the Minor Thousand Forbidden Land where the Ancestral Bamboo was located, to diagnose its illness.
There stood 4 Six Revolution Alchemists and 3 Fifth Revolution Alchemists below the stairs, with Ning Fan being the eighth Alchemist to arrive.
Shortly after Ning Fan’s arrival, the other Alchemists arrived one after another.
When all 27 Alchemists were present, a few faint green glows suddenly flashed through the main hall.
As the green light faded, the figure of the Bamboo Sovereign appeared, with the Sixth Elder and Eighth Elder standing respectively behind him.
The Sixth Elder, known as Ling Zhuzi, was an old-fashioned devil cultivator with the cultivation of the First Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm, who followed the path of the Tree God. He had always despised the demoness who had slain countless people, and therefore did not favor Ning Fan.
The Eighth Elder was the Baili King, whose cultivation had reached the Return to Origin Invincible realm.
Today’s Baili King didn’t seem as lifeless as before, his eyes full of domineering arrogance.
After his appearance, he only glanced at Ning Fan once and never directed any more attention his way.
Ning Fan cast a sideways glance at Baili King, frowning slightly.
He had met the Baili King face to face once and secretly observed him several times.
Every time he observed Baili King, his eyes were always vacant and numb, but today, Baili King’s eyes seemed just like an ordinary person’s, without any abnormalities...
This state of Baili King gave Ning Fan a faint sense of danger...
"Thank you all, esteemed masters, for coming from afar to help treat the Ancestral Bamboo. I am extremely grateful! Today, I promise that as long as you can cure the Ancestral Bamboo, I will reward you handsomely!"
"The Ancestral Bamboo is sealed by me within the Bamboo Realm, a Minor Thousand World, existing above Jishui City. Please follow me to the Bamboo Realm to see the Ancestral Bamboo with your own eyes and see if its ailment can be cured!"
After saying this, the Bamboo Sovereign swept his sleeve, and a great green light emerged.
The green light enveloped everyone present, transforming into a stream of light shooting towards the sky above Jishui City.
The Bamboo Sovereign’s escape speed was extremely fast, far beyond Ning Fan’s capability.
The escape light dashed swiftly towards the sky, and as it ascended further, the celestial winds became more numerous, and the resistance from these winds grew greater.
Above a million zhangs in the sky, the celestial winds were sharp as knives, enough to easily kill Nascent Soul cultivators.
Such heights were beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators.
The Bamboo Sovereign’s escape light pierced through the layer of celestial winds and continued ascending tens of millions of zhangs to enter the layer of harsh winds above the firmament.
The power of these harsh winds was terrifying enough to easily tear apart the bodies of Spirit Severing cultivators.
At this altitude, some Fifth Revolution Alchemists with only Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing cultivations could no longer withstand the wind pressure here.
If not for the green protective light laid by the Bamboo Sovereign, these Alchemists would certainly have perished in the harsh winds.
The Bamboo Sovereign’s escape light continued climbing to the summit of the firmament, flying for a full two hours.
The harsh winds here had entirely vanished, transforming into black winds of the void... the void winds!
The might of the void winds was enough to easily tear apart the bodies of ordinary Void Glimpse cultivators.
Should these void winds form a sufficient scale of storms, even Void Pierce and Great Void Sect experts might not escape from them unharmed.
The Six Revolution Alchemists present were all Void Refinement Realm cultivators, unafraid of celestial and harsh winds, yet they could not help but fear the void winds.
Even experienced Six Revolution senior Alchemists like Vast Sea Tree Master and Zhux Hong grew solemn.
However, Sunx Yu appeared particularly calm; no, rather than calm, it seemed Sunx Yu’s expression today was somewhat numb, devoid of joy or fear.
Ning Fan cast a sidelong glance at Sunx Yu, feeling slightly peculiar.
During last night’s palace banquet, Sunx Yu was still chatting intimately with him.
But upon meeting today, Sunx Yu didn’t even greet him, his attitude was icy cold.
In just one night, Sunx Yu’s attitude towards him changed so drastically, it truly was strange...
As Ning Fan was pondering, the Bamboo Sovereign’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears.
"The gateway to the Bamboo Realm is at the summit of the firmament above Jishui, in the ’Void Wind Eye’," said the Bamboo Sovereign.
"What! A Void Wind Eye!"
Just hearing that the gateway to the Bamboo Realm was located within a Void Wind Eye caused all the Alchemists, except for Ning Fan, Sunx Yu, and the two elders of the Bamboo Hall, to change their expressions drastically.
The Void Wind Eye was a naturally formed vortex of wind where the void winds were strongest. The scale of void winds within the Wind Eye exceeded ordinary imagination, even a typical Void Fragmentation cultivator wouldn’t lightly dare to enter the atmosphere!
The Bamboo Hall had hidden the Ancestral Bamboo within the Bamboo Realm, with its gateway secreted within the Void Wind Eye at the summit of the firmament.
For an ordinary person wishing to enter the Bamboo Realm, they faced two challenges.
First, they must have the ability to traverse the Void Wind Eye; second, they must possess the Token to open the gateway.
Only with these two prerequisites could an outsider enter the Bamboo Realm.
And beyond the Bamboo Realm lay the Ancestral Bamboo, within which resided a tree spirit with the cultivation of the Third Heavenly Layer of the Void Fragmentation Realm.
Even if an ordinary person could infiltrate the Bamboo Realm, due to the presence of the tree spirit, they could not act against the Ancestral Bamboo.
The Bamboo Hall has hidden the Ancestral Bamboo here, making it very secure.
The Tree Sovereign soared upwards, flying all the way to the pinnacle of the heavens!
This place is the highest point that lower realm cultivators can reach in flight; any higher, and it’s blocked by countless rays of the Territorial Light of Separation.
If one could break through this layer of light, they could leave the Tree World and ascend to the more elevated Four Heavens immortal world.
It’s a pity that the Territorial Light of Separation is terrifyingly powerful, so much so that even the most prepared Immortal would find it difficult to traverse.
While Ning Fan’s Wind Mist Finger is undoubtedly formidable, his understanding of reincarnation has stagnated, and his cultivations are far from reaching Immortal. Even if he used the Wind Mist Finger, breaking through the Territorial Light would remain elusive...
Ning Fan withdrew his gaze, no longer fixating on the Territorial Light of Separation, as its glare was too intense, and prolonged viewing might inflict severe pain upon his divine sense.
He lowered his head, gazing upon a vast black void wind eye resembling the ocean beneath him.
Within the wind eye, black winds swirled, drawing towards it a colossal Void Refinement bird from afar, which was sucked into the wind eye.
The giant bird’s species is unknown, yet its aura rivals that of a Void Pierce Stage expert, with wings spanning six thousand zhang.
But upon being swept into the wind eye, it let out a desperate cry, its enormously powerful creature body shredded into countless fragments by the void winds...
"Even Void Pierce level fierce beasts face certain death upon entering the wind eye..." The alchemists continuously swallowed in apprehension.
"Masters, follow closely behind the Sovereign without straying! The Sovereign’s divine skills will protect you as you enter the void wind eye without danger! Should anyone stray from the Sovereign’s side and meet their end within the void wind eye, the Sovereign regrets that he won’t be able to rescue them in time..."
After speaking, the Bamboo Sovereign waved his sleeves again, wrapping countless green lights around everyone, ferrying them into the void wind eye.
Inside the wind eye, a lengthy tunnel formed, leading directly to the other end of the void.
At the tunnel’s end stood a gigantic void light gate, created from the Territorial Light of Separation, and without a token, entry was impossible.
The Bamboo Sovereign produced a blue bamboo token, gesturing towards the gate, which trembled and emitted dazzling light.
Countless rays shot out, encircling those present, and in the next moment, all were inside the world beyond the light gate.
It was an endless bamboo sea world, with a towering Ancestral Bamboo tree at its center.
The Ancestral Bamboo was under numerous enchantments, yet despite this, it exuded an overwhelmingly ominous aura.
The sky scattered with bamboo leaves as green as emerald, and even the flowing clouds were tinged blue, carrying the scent of bamboo.
Ning Fan spread out his spirit sense; the wood spiritual energy in this realm was exceptionally abundant, the best place for cultivating wood attribute techniques.
Upon entering this realm, a sense of comfort washed through his body and bloodline.
The comfort stemmed from the presence of an Ancestral Bamboo in this place!
Ning Fan possessed the Minor Five Elements Constitution, which had greatly improved after absorbing the Barbarian Dragon Tree last time, enhancing his Wood Element Physique.
The Ancestral Bamboo here contained wood spiritual energy several times that of the Barbarian Dragon Tree.
Were it not for the Bamboo Sovereign’s watchful presence, Ning Fan would have almost attempted to take the Ancestral Bamboo and devour it, thereby significantly boosting his Minor Five Elements Constitution’s Wood Element Physique.
Moreover, it could elevate his Rain Intent to an extremely terrifying realm. First grade, easily...
"Should I seize the Ancestral Bamboo..." Ning Fan’s thoughts turned to plunder, but the next moment, he dismissed it.
The Bamboo Sovereign was there to observe, and within the Ancestral Bamboo resided a deranged Tree Spirit of the Void Fragmentation Realm’s Third Heavenly Layer. To seize the Ancestral Bamboo, Ning Fan would first need to battle the Bamboo Sovereign and Tree Spirit, with slim chances of victory...
Furthermore, Ning Fan once benefited from Youhuang, who remains a former Bamboo Sovereign.
Given this connection, Ning Fan wouldn’t dare perpetrate against the Bamboo Hall to seize treasure.
The comfort in his bloodline stemmed from harboring the Immemorial Fu Li’s Demon Bloodline.
As Ning Fan understood, the Ancestral Bamboo was planted by a certain generation’s Bamboo Sovereign to suppress the fiendish beast Nieli.
Nieli was once a Fu Li but ceased to be, having lost all Fu Li bloodline.
The Nieli clan remains perpetual slaves to Fu Li, unable to shed their servitude identity without breaking the Sinful Mark!
Ning Fan stood in the Bamboo Realm, feeling as though he could hear the call from beneath this land where Nieli is suppressed...
"This is the Bamboo Realm, where the towering tree stands as the Ancestral Bamboo. The Ancestral Bamboo is under countless seals by the Sovereign, its Tree Spirit incapable of escape, posing no threat to you masters. Please approach the Ancestral Bamboo and carefully diagnose it with your spirit sense and Medicine Soul... Hmm?"
The Bamboo Sovereign paused mid-sentence.
His words were interrupted by the urgent transmission from the Sound Lute in his storage pouch.
Producing the Sound Lute, he listened to the transmission, his face impassive, yet his eyes revealed a hint of shock.
Turning to Elder Wan and the Baili King, he entrusted a few instructions before apologizing to all alchemists present, including Ning Fan,
"My apologies, there has been a disturbance in Jishui City that the hall’s elders are unfamiliar with handling, calling for my return."
"I must temporarily leave the Bamboo Realm; two elders remain to protect you masters. Once I’ve handled worldly affairs in the city, I’ll return to escort you back to the Bamboo Hall. During this time, I’m grateful for your cooperation in diagnosing the Ancestral Bamboo’s illness and devising a cure..."
After his words, the Bamboo Sovereign departed swiftly without another word to them, vanishing in a flash of light down the same path.
He wasn’t worried about this group of alchemists harboring ulterior motives against the Ancestral Bamboo, nor that the Ancestral Bamboo would harm them.
The numerous seals he had personally employed were enough to restrain the Ancestral Bamboo Tree Spirit, preventing it from harming the alchemists.
Leaving Elder Wan and the Baili King to monitor the alchemists, even though some hailed from other tree seas, they remained Void Refinement and Divinity Transformation cultivators, unable to stir trouble under the two elders’ watchful eyes.
The Bamboo Sovereign... has departed!
At the moment when the Bamboo Sovereign departed, Ning Fan’s long-standing unease reached its peak!
At this moment, an unprecedented bizarre turmoil arose in Jishui City.
At this moment, a massive upheaval occurred within the Bamboo Realm!
"Die!"
Suddenly, King Baili’s eyes turned blood-red. With a wave of his right hand, it transformed into a bloody tiger claw, launching a surprise attack aimed at the heart of the Sixth Elder!
The power of this claw was comparable to a Void Fragmentation strike!
Caught off guard, the Sixth Elder, Ling Zhuzi, was directly struck and severely injured by King Baili, falling like a kite with a broken string.
With difficulty stabilizing himself, Ling Zhuzi swallowed the blood in his throat, glaring furiously at King Baili in shock and anger.
"Eighth Elder, what do you mean by this!"
The Bamboo Sovereign had just left not long ago, and King Baili suddenly attacked, heavily injuring the Sixth Elder. His actions seemed premeditated, as if he had long known the Bamboo Sovereign would leave due to some matter, granting him the opportunity to ambush the Sixth Elder...
Ning Fan was startled, all along he had thought that King Baili only harbored schemes against him alone, which explained his bizarre behavior.
From the moment the Bamboo Sovereign left, Ning Fan had been wary of King Baili, fearing he would join forces with the Sixth Elder to attack him.
Yet, Ning Fan never expected that King Baili’s first ambush target wasn’t him, but instead his fellow elder, Ling Zhuzi!
Even Ning Fan couldn’t fathom King Baili’s motives, nor could the ambushed Ling Zhuzi contain his shock and bewilderment.
Ling Zhuzi couldn’t understand why King Baili attacked him; he bore no grudges against King Baili!
Furthermore, if King Baili struck against Ning Fan, it would merely be a personal feud. Even if he killed Ning Fan, the Bamboo Sovereign would only reprimand Baili lightly, not hold him accountable.
But if King Baili attacked him, the Eighth Elder, it was of a different nature.
Harming a colleague from the Bamboo Hall, the Bamboo Sovereign would never easily pardon King Baili!
"Why did you ambush me, give me a reason!" Ling Zhuzi angrily demanded.
Using the opportunity to speak, Ling Zhuzi stalled for time, secretly swallowing healing pills to recover his internal injuries, and guarded against the next strike from King Baili.
"A reason... By my master’s command, I must kill all cultivators in this realm, unseal the Ancestral Bamboo Spirit, release the Nie Li Fiendish Beast, overthrow East Bamboo, annihilate the Bamboo Hall! That is my reason for striking, you may die now!"
A cold, murderous intent surged in King Baili’s eyes, and he chuckled ruthlessly, like a cold-blooded assassin.
But deep within his gaze, there lay a struggle, a pain... he didn’t wish to harm anyone in the Bamboo Hall, he didn’t want to betray the Bamboo Hall, he didn’t want to bring shame to Baili, yet he couldn’t control his body!
His body obeyed his master’s orders to kill everyone here, his heart unable to resist!
He was like a puppet being manipulated, every word and action under his master’s surveillance...
His situation was even worse than that of a puppet... a puppet had no memory, felt no sorrow.
He had memory, he had consciousness!
He was once controlled like a puppet, killing all his clansmen, dragging them into becoming living puppets, and at that moment, he was in unbearable anguish!
He, by his master’s orders, sent someone to assassinate Ning Fan.
Yet he retained some consciousness, not entirely following his master’s command, sending assassins without the strength to kill Ning Fan.
The assassins he sent were merely ones heading to their deaths.
Those assassins were all living puppets, all of his clansmen, like him, manipulated in a state between life and death!
He sent his clansmen to their deaths for only one reason... to liberate his clansmen, who had become living puppets, so they could find release in death!
King Baili glanced once more at Ning Fan, a trace of pleading in his eyes.
He wished to beg Ning Fan to kill him, to release him, yet saying those words violated his master’s will, remaining unspoken.
He had sent multiple battle invitations, hinting for Ning Fan to slaughter his clansmen, to slaughter him...
At this moment, what King Baili desired was to die at Ning Fan’s hands, to escape the fate of being a living puppet.
But his body, uncontrollably, charged toward Ling Zhuzi, raising a gigantic Grinding Disc Treasure, swearing to kill Ling Zhuzi right there!
"Seeking death! Baili! Though you are of Return to Origin Invincible cultivation, dreaming of killing an old man like me, a Void Fragmentation cultivator, is utterly delusional!"
Ling Zhuzi, enraged, laughed coldly, raising a golden dust whisk, ready to counterattack King Baili.
The Alchemists dared not breathe, retreating several thousand miles across the sky, fearing the spell battle between the two would affect them.
The unease within Ning Fan’s heart grew stronger.
The moment Ling Zhuzi raised the golden dust whisk, Sunx Yu, who had been quiet and still, suddenly rushed toward Ling Zhuzi from behind.
Clutching a silver jade scroll, he ruthlessly smashed it.
In the next instant, from within the silver jade scroll emerged the illusory silhouette of a silver-haired elder.
Upon the appearance of the silver-haired elder, Ning Fan’s sense of alarm reached its zenith!
The silver-haired elder didn’t glance at Ning Fan, perhaps in his eyes, the most urgent one to eliminate at this place wasn’t Ning Fan, but Ling Zhuzi.
"Grievance Technique, Living Puppet!"
The silver-haired elder pointed a finger towards Ling Zhuzi’s back, his appearance completely unexpected to Ling Zhuzi!
The power of the silver-haired elder’s finger transformed into countless silver threads, piercing into the flesh of Ling Zhuzi’s back!
The moment they pierced into Ling Zhuzi’s back, those threads seemed to transform into bloodthirsty leeches, violently absorbing half of his primordial spirit power!
Ling Zhuzi, already severely injured, suddenly lost half of his primordial spirit power, and his aura immediately waned.
In pain, he urged his Golden Dust Whisk magical treasure to repel Baili King’s Grinding Disc Treasure, then turned around, glaring angrily at the silver-haired elder!
"Wan Changkong... it’s you... I wonder which of your twelve spirit separations is visiting today..."
"You don’t need to know!"
The silver-haired elder suddenly yanked the silver threads, completely draining Ling Zhuzi’s primordial spirit power.
In the next instant, Ling Zhuzi’s eyes became hollow, turning into a living puppet, kneeling in the sky before the silver-haired elder.
Ling Zhuzi was unwilling, deep in his soul, a strong sense of unwillingness, he was unwilling to kneel before Wan Changkong!
But his will could not reach his body. In the moment of becoming a living puppet, he had already fallen as Wan Changkong’s puppet, with no possibility of resistance...
"He... he is Wan Changkong! The ’Puppet Emperor’ Wan Changkong of the Western Sea! He has twelve Void Fragmentation spirit separations!" The Vast Life Tree Master was startled.
"Puppet Emperor... such an ancient title, I didn’t expect anyone in the Tree World would still remember." The silver-haired elder coldly chuckled, maneuvering countless threads as thin as nothingness between his fingers.
Beside him stood three living puppets: Baili King, Sunx Yu, and Ling Zhuzi!
Meanwhile, Zhux Hong, who was initially standing with the alchemists, laughed heartily and flew behind the silver-haired elder.
"Elder Wan, later you still need to borrow my Medicine Soul power to unseal the fierce beast Nieli. At this moment, you should protect me well. As for killing the alchemists here, I don’t need to make a move, right?" Zhux Hong asked with a laugh.
"You don’t need to make a move, with one of my Void Fragmentation spirit separations stationed here, it is enough to sweep them away!"
The silver-haired elder’s gaze suddenly swept towards Ning Fan, coldly laughing,
"Are you Lu Bei? Was it you who captured Teng Xianrou? I’m very curious, with your small Void Refinement permit, how did you capture the Void Fragmentation level Teng Xianrou. Your strength must not be weak... hehe..."
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
In the instant Wan Changkong coldly laughed, countless silver threads suddenly appeared under all the alchemists’ feet.
Each Fifth or Sixth Revolution Dan Master had no chance to resist, all were pierced by the threads penetrating their bodies.
In just a moment, except for Ning Fan, all the alchemists had their primordial spirit, demon soul extinguished by Wan Changkong, turning into living puppets, neither dead nor alive!
Only Ning Fan, in the instant the threads appeared, seemed to sense something and suddenly retreated swiftly.
At the same time, black magic fire engulfed him, incinerating any thread that came near into ash, avoiding the potential for puppetization by Wan Changkong.
Though he dodged a strike, the shock in Ning Fan’s heart was by no means light.
If he had retreated even a fraction slower, he would have been turned into a living puppet just like the other Dan Masters by Wan Changkong in an instant!
He coldly stared at the silver-haired elder, his gaze unprecedentedly serious.
This man is Wan Changkong, the maniac who slaughtered the Min Luo Race with blood a million years ago...
From the previous brief words of the Vast Sea Tree Master, Ning Fan learned that Wan Changkong possessed twelve Void Fragmentation spirit separations, and the one before him was one of them...
This Wan Changkong’s divine skill is terrifying, what kind of divine skill is this!
"Oh? You actually withstood a strike from me? Interesting. But I wonder if you can block a strike from it..."
Wan Changkong laughed coldly, tugging the thin threads between his fingers, and retrieved a multi-colored vitrified bottle magical treasure, raising it into the air.
In the next moment, a fierce and bloodthirsty roar suddenly echoed from the distant Ancestral Bamboo.
The multi-colored vitrified bottle contained a drop of fiery red liquid.
As the bottle tilted, the fiery red liquid dripped on the giant Ancestral Bamboo, and suddenly the entire seal on the Ancestral Bamboo ignited, and then all burned away!
At this moment, the crazed Ancestral Bamboo Tree Spirit sealed within... broke free!
Countless branches of the Ancestral Bamboo transformed into demon hands, countless bamboo leaves sprouted devilish eyes.
The Ancestral Bamboo uprooted, transforming into a colossal tree devil, possessing a cultivations of the Void Fragmentation Realm with three traces!
As it uprooted and transformed into a demon, it suddenly knelt toward Wan Changkong!
He too was a living puppet of Wan Changkong!
A million years ago, when the Ancestral Bamboo Tree Spirit was said to be crazed, it was not insanity, but merely the puppetization process by Wan Changkong!
"Zhux Hong, Ling Zhuzi, Baili, Sunx Yu, go and unseal the four fierce beasts Nieli in the bamboo realm’s underground seal! Meanwhile, I’ll take this tree devil with Shattered Three Realm and have a proper exchange with Lu Bei, little friend! Slowly, kill him!"
...
At this moment, chaos reigned in Jishui City!
Countless Master Cultivators slaughtered each other, blood flowing like rivers!
Eleven identical silver-haired elders hid throughout the Muye Kingdom, observing this mutual slaughter with cold eyes. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)