He Piaojian's deliberate guidance caused Taotie to lower its guard. He disappeared from sight once again, and when he reappeared, he was already close in front of them.
"Ha, a cheap trick." Taotie scoffed, clearly not having fallen for the trap.
With a light downward wave of his right palm, a wall was created, separating the space between them.
The manipulated mud figures swarmed forward, completely surrounding He Piaojian. The students, enveloped in mud, had no time to distinguish the attackers amidst the intense onslaught and were temporarily restricted.
The sword hummed in He Piaojian's hand, as if giving guidance.
He vaguely saw Fan Daoyi's actions above and increased the amplitude of his movements to attract Taotie's attention.
Meanwhile, the four members of the Four Fiends Cult, positioned in eight directions to maintain the formation and unable to move, suddenly saw a figure descending from the sky and could only shout a warning, "Great Taotie— "
Before he could even finish speaking, Fan Daoyi kicked the man to the ground, using him as a cushion to steady himself, and escaped unharmed.
As it dismounted from the Taotie, it didn't forget to say thank you, "Thank you for standing here to catch me."
The Taotie's face was buried in the mud, becoming one with it. Using its hands to brace itself against the ground, it pulled its face out, roaring, "So high, so accurate! You did that on purpose, didn't you?!"
"Yes."
Such an honest answer caused Taotie to choke on his prepared explanation, and a mouthful of foul blood spurted from his chest.
"Damn it, I'll kill you." Taotie wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and smeared the mud all over the lower half of his face.
The tall, mud-covered figure blocked He Piaojian's view, preventing him from confirming Fan Daoyi's situation.
Some people were still confused as to why Fan Daoyi didn't stay in the upper realm the whole time. At least, a battle between people at the Fusion Realm shouldn't be something that Initial Illumination Realm could get involved in.
He gripped his sword tightly, surveyed his surroundings, and tried to find a way to break through without harming ordinary people.
"He Piaojian."
Just as he was getting serious, Fan Daoyi's voice reached his ears; it was a reminder.
What typically controls a puppet?
He Piaojian quickly made the connection: the puppets were operated by Puppeteers, and they controlled the puppets' skillful movements.
They are lines, those thin, transparent lines that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Taotie would not allow its plans to be disrupted, and its attacks on Fan Daoyi were all aimed at killing him.
But the more they fought, the stranger it became; his opponent was like a nimble cat, and no matter what methods he used, he couldn't touch him at all.
Dust rose again, spreading around Fan Daoyi. Then, with a loud bang, the dust exploded.
As the smoke and dust from the explosion dissipated, the place was empty. Taotie, wary of its surroundings, saw Fan Daoyi's figure appear behind it.
"There was no open flame, so how did it explode from the dust?"
"I'm using my abilities to talk to you about science?" Taotie quickly distanced itself, unable to resist complaining.
His palms started sweating; the other person was really too strange.
Despite appearing to be weak, no matter what method was used, he could not be harmed.
Meanwhile He Piaojian, who was trapped by the mud figure, also made progress.
He closed his eyes to sense the situation, dodged at the opportune moment, and seized the opportunity to strike. Finally, he unleashed that final blow.
One of the eight figures in the formation coughed up blood, and a phantom of Puppeteer appeared behind him, causing some of the clay figures to fall to the ground.
Seizing the opening, He Piaojian burst out from the encirclement and thrust his sword at the cultists.
The Taotie's alert inaction gave Fan Daoyi the leisure to glance at the situation around him.
Upon seeing the illusory figure, Fan Daoyi's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
The key to breaking the formation is the strings, the strings manipulated by the Puppeteer. But who can be sure that the Puppeteer isn't being manipulated by the strings themselves?
The sword pierced his vital point, and his flesh rose in a sinister laugh.
I've fallen into their trap.
The body twisted its limbs, gripping the sword that had pierced its lifeline. The force was so great that He Piaojian out for a moment.
He abandoned his sword and retreated, watching as his flesh slowly pulled the Sword One, embedded in his flesh, out without a drop of blood.
Hehe, hehehe.
People from all directions laughed in unison, but they seemed less lively than before.
The flesh rapidly withered inward, almost disappearing, leaving only layers of wrinkled skin. The bones were more like a skeleton, with the skin clinging to the frame; it would be more accurate to call it a paper doll.
Seeing their transformation, Taotie laughed loudly, "Hahaha, the Four Fiends Cult will remember your sacrifices and offer all the fears of the world to the Guixu!"
Listening to Taotie's words, Fan Daoyi nodded in agreement. His opinion of the Four Fiends Cult had changed slightly. "Look at their dedication, not bad, not bad, keep it up."
He Piaojian scoffed, "That's just playing tricks."
[One Heart of the Sword] ability activated.
The sword, which had been caught by the paper figure, flew uncontrollably back to He Piaojian's side; this move was called "Sword Control."
The man stood there, the sword moved first, several sword beams shattering the paper figure into dust. They waited for He Piaojian's next move, but to their surprise, he pulled out a lighter.
Set the mountain on fire!
"That's simply impossible! "Taotie scoffed inwardly.
But this is the downside of remaining out of the public eye for so long: a lack of understanding of the capabilities of members in current official organizations.
What does "[the Being Shameless Is Invincible]" mean? This guy's ability is just a concept. As long as he has a shameless idea, he's bound to succeed!
The lighter fell onto the debris, and a fire instantly erupted.
Those fragments were merely a form of identification, but they were living human skin, and they were easily ignited.
The mountains formed by the Taotie, which were barren and devoid of trees, were still burned by a great fire.
"This is completely unreasonable!" Taotie exclaimed in shock.
Fan Daoyi was also slightly surprised.
He Piaojian's talent is truly terrifying.
"No, that makes perfect sense." He Piaojian's bright smile returned. "The idea of setting the mountain on fire is utterly despicable."
Of the four members of the Four Fiends Cult, only Taotie remained. Flames surrounded him, leaving no gaps except for the space in the center.
"Look at you guys, all you talk about is sacrifice and dedication, and this is all you've got? You haven't even been on screen for a few minutes!"
The Taotie gritted its teeth and retreated.
As expected, it would be the students' turn after the eight people had finished their sacrifices. But He Piaojian had said, they were dead within minutes of appearing.
"Are you afraid?" He Piaojian approached step by step on his Sword Control. "Hehehe, I never thought that even the mighty Taotie would feel afraid."
At this moment, He Piaojian recalled the humiliation he suffered at the Wang Family. Regardless of who the Taotie was, he needed to vent his hatred for the word "Taotie" first.
"Go to hell." A fierce glint appeared in He Piaojian's eyes.
Fan Daoyi observed quietly and noticed that He Piaojian seemed to be acting strangely.
Taotie attacked, saying, "You're just Fusion Realm, do you really think I'm afraid of you?!"
With both sides vying for dominance, Taotie was clearly at a disadvantage.
He Piaojian, muttering the same question he had asked earlier, "Are you really Taotie?"
Hearing his muttered words during the fight and seeing him being overwhelmed, Taotie 'Taotie Dao heart collapsed.
"Am I Taotie? Am I Taotie? Hahaha, who else could be Taotie?"
"That's right," He Piaojian replied, "Where's your Shrinking the Earth to an Inch technique? Where's your strange, immortal method? You're acting like Taotie, completely contrary to the laws of nature."
Both of them appeared somewhat delirious from a distance.
The Taotie finally turned into a puddle of mud and fled, still thinking about He Piaojian's words.
Shrinking the Earth to an Inch, an immortal technique...