Black Water Swamp

"Hall Master Zhang Bei," Lu Qingfeng said, nodding to the man.

He recognized Zhang Bei.

About thirty years ago, Zhang Bei had been an alchemy apprentice in Lu Qingfeng's Black Sand Pill Refining Room. Later, he showed considerable cultivation talent and was recommended by Lu Qingfeng to Yu Bufan, who took him on as a disciple.

From then on, his path was smooth.

His cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, and he was now at the peak of the True Qi Stage. Not only that, but he had also become one of the few Hall Masters under the thirteen Elder seats of the Yuan Yi Guild.

If Lu Qingfeng remembered correctly, Zhang Bei was the Hall Master of the West Expedition Hall, responsible for monitoring the movements of the Ghost Spirit Sect to the west.

"Elder Qingfeng, Zhang Bei is fine," Zhang Bei said respectfully to Lu Qingfeng.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say Lu Qingfeng had shown him great kindness. Without Lu Qingfeng's recommendation, he wouldn't have been able to join Yu Bufan's tutelage or qualify to be a Hall Master.

"Hall Master Zhang Bei is too kind."

This man's cultivation was significantly higher than his own, and Lu Qingfeng didn't want to be presumptuous. He changed the subject, asking with concern, "Hall Master Zhang Bei, you seem to be in a hurry. Has something happened to the west?"

He had seen Zhang Bei rushing towards the back mountain earlier and assumed he had urgent intelligence to report. He had only stopped to greet him on the way.

"Indeed."

Zhang Bei's expression turned serious. He glanced around and then transmitted his voice to Lu Qingfeng, "The Ghost Spirit Sect is making a move, and it seems to be directed at our Yuan Yi Guild! I was just heading to the back mountain to report."

"The Ghost Spirit Sect again!"

Lu Qingfeng frowned slightly and looked up. "I'll go to the back mountain with you."

The war began without any warning.

The Ghost Spirit Sect initiated hostilities, launching an offensive against the Hundred Crafts Sect region after decades of dormancy. The Yuan Yi Guild, Spirit Opportunity Institute, and others were the first to bear the brunt of the attack.

The establishment of the Yuan Yi Guild was put on hold as they mobilized urgently to respond to the war. More than half of their forces were dispatched to the western strongholds to engage the enemy.

Black Sand Artifact Refining Room.

Lu Qingfeng sat cross-legged, his eyes slightly closed.

His vision shifted, appearing in a desolate hilly area.

Within the barren landscape spanning dozens of miles, the rolling hills suddenly stirred.

A figure emerged first.

Then, a second and a third appeared not far away...

In the blink of an eye, twenty figures had appeared. Upon closer inspection, one could see that these seemingly humanoid figures were all shimmering with a dark metallic luster.

They were not living people, but rather puppets!

These twenty puppets were divided into two types: one group held shields, and the other carried sturdy bows with quivers on their backs. They stood solemnly under the scorching sun, exuding an aura of elite soldiers.

[Puppet: Truth Destroyer Type-1 (Shield Warrior Version)] [Type: Autonomous] [Grade: Second Grade] [Sensing Range: Four Thousand Miles] [Combat Power: True Qi Stage Second Layer] [Weapons: Black Iron Flying Shield (Second Grade Talisman Artifact), Formless Needle (Second Grade Talisman Artifact), Golden Cicada Mother-Child Blades (Second Grade Talisman Artifact)]

[Puppet: Truth Destroyer Type-1 (Archer Version)] [Type: Autonomous] [Grade: Second Grade] [Sensing Range: Four Thousand Miles] [Combat Power: True Qi Stage Second Layer] [Weapons: Sun Piercing Bow (Second Grade Talisman Artifact), Formless Needle (Second Grade Talisman Artifact), Golden Cicada Mother-Child Blades (Second Grade Talisman Artifact), Armor Piercing Arrow, Shockwave Arrow]

"Ghost Spirit Sect."

"Perfect, I'll use you to test my skills!"

Lu Qingfeng, far away on Yuan Yi Mountain, smiled slightly. With a thought, the twenty puppets, miles away, immediately surged towards the west.

Not only here.

Desolate mountains, hills, swamps, dense forests!

Squadrons of puppets rushed out, all heading west.

Over the years, Lu Qingfeng had refined puppets day and night, reaching a total of one thousand six hundred and twenty-nine. Only over six hundred had been sold, leaving one thousand and twenty puppets – all autonomously produced Truth Destroyer Type-1 puppets that he had secretly refined.

Leveraging their extremely long-range sensing capabilities, Lu Qingfeng had the puppets hide in various secret, uninhabited locations.

Originally, this was for the enjoyment of overwhelming the enemy and as a fallback in case of accidents. He hadn't expected to use it against the Ghost Spirit Sect so soon.

"Once the Truth Destroyer Type-1 puppets are equipped with Talisman Artifacts, their strength can rival cultivators at the sixth or even seventh layer of the True Qi Stage who don't have any Talisman Artifacts."

The Talisman Artifacts Lu Qingfeng refined had all undergone five strengthens. The second-grade Talisman Artifacts he crafted possessed power close to fourth-grade ones. With such Talisman Artifacts equipped, the Truth Destroyer Type-1 puppets' strength naturally increased significantly!

Of course.

It was rare for True Qi Stage cultivators to be without Talisman Artifacts for defense, so the puppets still had to win by sheer numbers.

The Ghost Spirit Sect and the Hundred Crafts Sect were old rivals. They had engaged in infiltration, offense-and-defense battles, and open-field combat, fighting over resource points one after another.

They had their victories and defeats.

Lu Qingfeng commanded the puppet army, which gradually converged as they advanced, heading to deal with the Ghost Spirit Sect.

The puppets, previously twenty-one small squads, gradually merged into a hundred-soldier battle group. Full of spirit and vigor, they plunged headfirst into the main battlefield between the Ghost Spirit Sect and the Hundred Crafts Sect—

The Black Water Swamp.

The Black Water Swamp was rich in Spirit Pearls and Spirit Shellfish, both Spirit Items beneficial for cultivation. Furthermore, the area was abundant in resources and filled with Spiritual Energy, making it a perpetually contested zone for the two sects.

The puppets quietly infiltrated.

"Not far ahead is a small shellfish farm occupied by the Ghost Spirit Sect. These shellfish farms usually don't have overly powerful experts guarding them, but if there's any disturbance, it will immediately attract experts from the Ghost Spirit Sect's side."

"Therefore, we must make this a swift victory."

Lu Qingfeng shared the vision of one Truth Destroyer Type-1 puppet and, along with its ninety-nine 'brothers,' charged towards this shellfish farm.

Spirit Turtle Shellfish Field.

Qian Sen sat cross-legged in the Spirit Eye area, his eyes closed in cultivation. A chilling aura surrounded him, accompanied by sounds like ghostly wails.

He hailed from a branch sect of the Ghost Spirit Sect—the Slaughter Might Gate.

He cultivated the Ghost Spirit Sect's direct lineage true scripture, the "Myriad Spirits True Scripture," and his cultivation had long since reached the peak of the True Qi Stage. This time, under orders from the Sect Master, he was tasked with guarding the Spirit Turtle Shellfish Field, which was both a challenge and a great opportunity.

The location of the shellfish field was a nexus of Spiritual Energy.

Cultivating above the Spirit Eye of the shellfish field, even though Qian Sen had not yet reached the Qi Guiding Stage and couldn't draw Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy into his body, it greatly benefited his comprehension of Spiritual Energy and his advancement to the Qi Guiding Stage.

Qian Sen had only been guarding this place for three months, yet he already felt his bottleneck loosening, sensing that he could break through to the great realm of Foundation Establishment at any moment. He couldn't help but feel delighted.

However, as he was cultivating one day, Qian Sen's eyes snapped open, and he stared towards the dense forest to the east with lightning in his gaze.

"Master!"

"Someone's approaching!"

A grey-robed disciple landed in front of Qian Sen, his face gaunt and somewhat ferocious.

"Notify everyone, prepare to meet the enemy."

Qian Sen stood up abruptly, clutching a black bead in his hand. He hesitated for a moment before deciding not to crush it.

Crushing this black bead would immediately summon a Foundation Establishment stage senior from the Slaughter Might Gate. However, if the approaching enemy wasn't strong, not only would the bead be wasted and the senior displeased, but more importantly, Qian Sen would be stripped of his qualification to guard the shellfish field.

This was unacceptable to Qian Sen, who was on the verge of a breakthrough.

"The enemy might not be that strong!"

"Besides, the Orchid Mountain Shellfish Field is only ten miles away. If there really is a strong enemy, I can crush the black bead to summon the Foundation Establishment senior guarding the Orchid Mountain Shellfish Field for help, and at the same time, flee towards the Orchid Mountain Shellfish Field. In at most half a cup of tea's time, we can rendezvous!"

"With these disciples as cannon fodder, there will definitely be enough time!"

Qian Sen's gaze swept across the dozens of disciples gradually gathering behind him, his plan solidifying in his mind.

Although the strength of these disciples was average, with less than ten reaching the True Qi Stage, he had cultivated them precisely to serve as cannon fodder and shield him from disaster at critical moments, so he naturally wouldn't be stingy.

Soon.

Thirty-seven disciples were assembled behind Qian Sen, each looking either excited or apprehensive. A chilling demonic energy emanated from them, and when gathered together, it was even more terrifying.