Puppet Cult

The Inner Sect's plaza was now filled with disciples from the Three Halls. The disciples of the Blood Hall and the Battle Hall were there to intimidate others with their martial prowess, while the disciples of the Shadow Hall needed to go deep into the front lines to gather more intelligence amidst the turmoil.

The total number of disciples across the Three Halls exceeds 20,000. Only the Shadow Hall Master and a few necessary disciples remained at the Inner Sect Headquarters. Apart from those guarding other cities, the Asura Sect Inner Sect has come out this time.

With over 20,000 disciples and more than 100 Asura Warship, even the Asura Sect Inner Sect, despite its massive size, felt crowded.

The more than one hundred Asura Warship were actual combat Warships, not the semi-combat, semi-transport Transport Ship that transported Zhuge Xiang and the others back to headquarters.

Each ship carried one hundred disciples from the Battle Hall and fifty Blood Hall Disciples. Ten ships formed a Combat Squadron, splitting into twelve directions, and charged towards the Twelve Small Sects...

Ink Martial City is the Commandery City of Yanling Commandery, and it can be said to be the power center of the entire Yanling Commandery. Occasionally, a few Warships can be seen flying in the sky, which is not surprising. But today, more than a hundred Warships took off, blocking out the sky, causing all the residents of Ink Martial City to look up and talk about it.

Over a hundred Asura Warship —this lineup is enough to Human Heart anyone. What on earth happened to the Asura Sect? Why would they resort to such a large-scale operation?

In Ink Martial City, there are over twenty Small and Medium-Sized Sects, plus large bandit gangs and cultivation families, making the total power countless. These forces all have spies planted in Ink Martial City to gather intelligence. Today, without warning, the Asura Sect Inner Sect suddenly dispatched over a hundred Asura Warship. This all-out effort shocked the spies of the various forces.

Such a massive operation had been completely unannounced. In their panic, these informants used Divine Ability means at their disposal to notify their respective factions. However, whether their message transmission speed could match that of over a hundred Asura Warship was anyone's guess.

More than a hundred Asura Warship, divided into ten Combat Squadron, gradually drifted apart and flew towards their respective targets. These ferocious aerial behemoths were impressive on their own; ten Asura Warship together created a visual spectacle that was simply astonishing.

This wasn't Zhuge Xiang's first time riding the Asura Warship, but each time he did, he felt a sense of awe.

Transport Ship back then only had three Secondary Cannons on each side, plus one Main Cannon. But these Warships had nine Secondary Cannons on each side, and the Main Cannon had much larger and thicker barrels. The huge barrels could probably fit a two-story building inside without any problem.

As expected of Nine Great Sects of the Great Qin Empire, the Asura Sect acted swiftly and decisively once it decided to take action. More than a hundred Asura Warship and mountains of Spirit Stone were brought out in an instant. Even the Inner Sect Disciple themselves were mobilized as soon as they received the news, without even giving them time to prepare. People from other forces were even less able to react.

Speed is of the essence in war, so once the decision was made to act, the speed of these Asura Warship was naturally set to full speed. The massive Asura Warship moved forward at a speed completely disproportionate to their enormous size. Only now did Zhuge Xiang realize that the Asura Warship that had transported thousands of disciples before had not been operating at full speed. This was their fully operational speed. Although it was relatively wasteful of Spirit Stone, it was well worth it to save time.

On the deck, the disciple who had fought with Zhuge Xiang Return to Simplicity Realm was explaining the information about the small Sect they were going to deal with. Each Combat Squadron was led by two disciples at the Return to Simplicity Realm. One of them was named Liu Wuming, and the other, a cold-faced Squad Leader who hadn't spoken a word until now, was named Leng Jian. True to his name, he was Cold Sword and stood with his sword in his arms.

The small sect that Zhuge Xiang and his group were going to deal with this time was the Puppet Cult. They mainly used all kinds of Mechanical Puppet as their means of operation, and their cultivation path was also known for Puppet Arts. Some of them were even more vicious, using any means necessary to assassinate people with high cultivation levels and use their bodies as Puppet materials. Strictly speaking, they could also be considered a branch of the Demonic Sect.

There are strict boundaries for classifying sects by size. Small sects refer to those without Void Realm powerhouse in charge. These types of sects are the most numerous in the entire Cultivation World, as numerous as carp crossing a river.

A medium-sized sect refers to one that has Void Realm powerhouse in charge and more than a hundred Deity Transformation Stage Cultivator. Such sects exist in all the hundred cities of Yanling Commandery, and there are only three: Qingxu Sword Sect, Weituo Temple, and Tiandao Sect.

As for the Large Sect, those like the Asura Sect, with as many as a hundred Void Realm experts, can be considered Large Sect. A sect with a hundred Void Realm experts is a behemoth, capable of annihilating a Small Kingdom.

According to intelligence, the Puppet Cult Small Sect in Yanling Commandery with moderate overall strength. It has only about twenty or thirty Deity Transformation stage experts. The disciples of the Puppet Cult are generally stronger in combat than ordinary disciples. They control Puppet in battle, and some disciples with lower cultivation levels are able to control powerful Puppet. Some can even control two or more puppets at the same time...

Of course, while the Puppet Cult disciples are strong overall, they also have a fatal weakness: most of their attention is focused on the Puppet during their training, making their own strength relatively weak. If an opportunity is found to attack these Puppet Cult disciples themselves, it is not impossible to defeat them with the weak.

After showing everyone the relevant information about the Puppet Cult and its Internal Layout Map, Liu Wuming, the patriarch who had fought with Zhuge Xiang, spoke up, "Although the Puppet Cult has twenty or thirty Deity Transformation Stage Cultivator, our Asura Warship have eighteen secondary Secondary Cannon and Main Cannon capable of instantly killing ordinary Deity Transformation Stage Cultivator. The ten Asura Warships have a total of six thousand low-grade Spirit Stone and two hundred mid-grade Spirit Stone, with one high-grade Spirit Stone on each Asura Warship as a spare. With over a hundred secondary Secondary Cannon firing simultaneously, if Luck, you won't even need to go down and wipe them out; these Secondary Cannons will be enough to raze the Puppet Cult to the ground."

"Victory! Victory!" Upon hearing Liu Wuming's words, the Asura Sect Disciple shouted in unison. Just imagining the scene of more than a hundred Spirit Stone Cannon firing simultaneously filled them with confidence. Indeed, if Luck, these ten Asura Warship alone would be enough to crush the Puppet Cult.

"I wonder what targets these Asura Warships are targeting. Do I have any experience with them?" Standing on the deck of the Asura Warship, Zhuge Xiang's mind was focused on his experience, and he murmured to himself.

When the Fairy attacked, the Asura Warship bombarded the targets, but I didn't gain any experience. It should be the same this time. However, back then I was just a protected target, but this time I am a combatant, so the situation is different. If I can gain experience from the targets bombarded by the Asura Warship, then Zhuge Xiang might have to put some effort into getting a Warships.

While they were pondering, the ten Asura Warships had already arrived above the Puppet Cult. At full speed, the Asura Warship moved like shooting stars; before anyone could even prepare, the Asura Warship were already overhead...

The Puppet Cult, with over 30,000 followers, is quite a large organization. It is located in the Black Iron Mountain in the southern part of Yanling Commandery.

Black Iron Mountain was originally a mine containing rich iron ore. Unfortunately, these ores were of little value to cultivators, so some medium-sized sects didn't even bother with them, let alone the Asura Sect. However, the Puppet Sect needed these iron ores, so the Puppet Sect established its sect on Black Iron Mountain.

At the foot of Black Iron Mountain, several disciples guarding the Black Iron Mountain looked listlessly at the mountain path, yawning. Black Iron Mountain had nothing but iron ore; they wondered why the Sect would go to such lengths to establish rules and have them, the disciples, guard it. What was so special about guarding Black Iron Mountain?

Those who covet the iron mines of Black Iron Mountain are no match for the Puppet Cult, and those who can deal with the Puppet Cult wouldn't even consider Black Iron Mountain a threat. For so many years, has Black Iron Mountain ever seen outsiders secretly infiltrate to steal treasures, or other sects attack the Puppet Cult?

The disciple, habitually glancing at the mountain path, realized he could practically memorize the number of weeds along it, yet he hadn't seen a single stranger. Shaking his head, he was about to go back to sleep when suddenly a strange rumbling sound arose, growing louder and closer...

"Enemy attack!?" The disciple on guard was jolted awake by this thought. He looked up at the mountain path but still couldn't see a single person. Yet, the enormous roar seemed to be right next to him, almost deafening him.

The sound came from above!

Raising his head, the guard's pupils contracted sharply. Ten enormous Warships were hurtling towards the summit of Black Iron Mountain at terrifying speed. Each Asura Warship was Hundred Zhang long, like Fierce Beast in the sky. The dark Secondary Cannon of the secondary cannons on either side seemed to be haunted by Vengeful Spirits. A single Asura Warship was enough to intimidate Human Heart, let alone ten!

"Enemy attack!" After the initial shock, the guarding disciple screamed in anguish. At the same time, the Dharma Conch used for relaying orders nearby began to blow loudly, and the sounds of Dharma Conch from other guarding disciples in other directions also rang out.

Waaaaah...

The urgent Dharma Conch Alarm tore through the air above Black Iron Mountain, echoing throughout the entire peak. The dense and loud sound of the Dharma Conch threw the Puppet Cult into chaos. Countless Puppet Cult disciples rushed out, looking up at the ten Asura Warships in the sky, their faces filled with terror.

A series of beams of light shot out, totaling twenty or thirty beams. Some were old, some were young, some were monks, some were Daoists. Twenty or thirty Cultivator at the Deity Transformation stage Artifact Flight Puppet Cult, subtly forming Guard formation.

At the head of the Puppet Cult, a middle-aged man of about fifty, looked up at the ten Asura Warships, his eyes filled with an unprecedented solemnity and urgency. "Fellow Daoists of the Asura Sect! What is the meaning of this!? Is there some misunderstanding?" (To be continued...)