Strange Puppet

Qin Bo knew he could not linger here. Focusing all his concentration, he swung the Heavenly Dipper Bloodthirsty Saber once more and unleashed the full-force Heavenly Dipper Evil-Slaying Slash.

A dazzling blade radiance shot into the sky and crashed viciously into the rune cage.

With a thunderous boom, a crack finally appeared in the rune cage.

The crack rapidly spread, and the entire cage shattered with a roar.

Qin Bo did not pause for even a moment. While the rune trap's power had yet to recover, his figure flashed, and he charged into the ancient castle.

The inside of the castle was dark and damp, permeated by a thick, rancid stench.

Several shabby oil lamps hung on the walls, their weak flames flickering and barely illuminating the path ahead.

Qin Bo advanced cautiously along the corridor, his eyes warily sweeping across his surroundings.

Suddenly, two forks appeared ahead, one leading left and the other right.

A faint mist filled the passage on the left, and a sinister wailing could be heard from within;

The passage on the right was even darker, with occasional wisps of eerie blue light flickering inside.

Qin Bo pondered silently. According to what the bird had said, the ancient castle was filled with mechanisms and traps. Both passages likely concealed danger.

He decided to observe for a while before making his choice.

Just then, he heard a faint sound of footsteps behind him, as though something was quietly drawing near.

Qin Bo spun around sharply, and the Heavenly Dipper Bloodthirsty Saber instantly left its sheath, but he found no one behind him.

However, he did not lower his guard.

He knew that in this strange place, danger often descended when one least expected it.

Just as Qin Bo was about to continue studying which passage to choose, a black shadow suddenly flew out of the passage on the left and hurtled toward him at tremendous speed.

Qin Bo hurriedly dodged sideways, and the black shadow grazed past his body.

It slammed into the wall beside him with a dull thud.

Qin Bo focused his eyes and saw that it was an old, battered puppet.

Its face was painted with an eerie makeup, and its eyes were hollow and lifeless, as if they were staring straight at him.

Before Qin Bo could react, more puppets flew out of the passage on the left, crashing toward him like raindrops.

Qin Bo swung the Heavenly Dipper Bloodthirsty Saber, knocking away each puppet that drew near.

But there were simply too many puppets. They surged forth without end and soon forced him into a corner.

"Damn it! Just because the tiger hasn't shown its might, you take me for a sick cat?"

"What kind of weird puppets are these? They're all just piglets!"

Qin Bo stopped holding back.

He directly swung the Bloodthirsty Blade.

The Tiangang Saber transformed into a black streak of light in Qin Bo's hands, and every swing carried a razor-sharp force.

The wooden puppets fell apart one after another beneath the blade, with splinters flying everywhere.

As the puppets were continuously slaughtered, the bloodthirsty attribute of the Heavenly Dipper Bloodthirsty Saber began to take effect. A warm current of power surged along the blade and flowed into Qin Bo's body.

His body, which had been slightly fatigued from the continuous fighting, was filled with strength once more.

"Come at me!"

Qin Bo let out an angry roar and charged toward the swarm of puppets.

At that moment, he was like a War God descending to the mortal world, fearless light flashing in his eyes.

The puppets continued to rush forward one after another, but beneath Qin Bo's fierce saber technique, they could not approach him by even half a step.

[Ding, slain strange puppet, gained one year of lifespan]

[Ding, slain strange puppet, gained...]

Killing notifications for the strange puppets kept surfacing in his mind.

The more he killed, the more exhilarated he became, and the more he killed, the stronger his stamina grew.

Qin Bo felt as though an inexhaustible force was surging inside his body.

With every puppet he killed, he not only accumulated lifespan, but his own stamina and strength rose along with it.

The Heavenly Dipper Bloodthirsty Saber seemed to sense its master's surging battle spirit as well, and its blade shone more and more brilliantly.

Every swing unleashed a stronger Gale Force, easily tearing apart the puppets that drew near.

As the puppets continued to fall, a thick layer of wood shavings had already piled up beneath Qin Bo's feet.

The puppets that had originally charged with overwhelming momentum began to show a trace of panic beneath Qin Bo's meat-grinder-like assault.

Their movements were no longer as uniform, and the rhythm of their attacks began to fall into disorder.

"Hmph, is that all you've got?"

Seeing this, Qin Bo's heroic spirit soared.

However, just as Qin Bo was reveling in the slaughter, a gigantic puppet slowly walked over from the end of the corridor.

This puppet stood more than two meters tall and wore a tattered black robe.

It wore a tall hat, and the makeup on its face was especially ferocious. Two enormous fangs protruded from the corners of its mouth.

"Roar!"

The giant puppet released a deep roar. Its voice seemed capable of piercing Qin Bo's soul, causing his movements to stall slightly.

Taking advantage of this opening, the surrounding puppets swarmed around him again, attempting to entangle Qin Bo and create an opportunity for the giant puppet to attack.

"A zombie?!"

Looking at its archaic appearance, Qin Bo could not help freezing for a moment.

But Qin Bo immediately recovered. Regardless of what this thing resembled, it was an obstacle on his path forward and had to be eliminated.

While struggling to fend off the surrounding puppets' entanglement, he warily fixed his eyes on the giant puppet.

The giant puppet's hands were shaped like claws. It rapidly reached toward Qin Bo, its speed far nimbler than its massive body suggested.

Qin Bo abruptly twisted his body and deftly avoided the strike.

But the surrounding puppets clung to him like maggots on a bone, constantly tugging at his clothes and trying to trip him.

Qin Bo grew furious. Circulating the blood and qi throughout his body, he caused the Heavenly Gang Evil-Slaying Blade to erupt with dazzling radiance.

He unleashed the Pig Slaughtering Saber Technique. Saber qi crisscrossed the corridor, instantly slashing away the puppets that drew near.

After dealing with the puppets around him, Qin Bo focused all his attention on the giant zombie puppet.

The zombie puppet seemed enraged by Qin Bo's resistance and let out another furious roar.

Immediately afterward, a layer of faint black mist spread across its body, with red runes faintly flickering within.

"Looks like this thing isn't simple."

Qin Bo knew he could no longer afford to underestimate it. Clutching the Bloodthirsty Blade tightly, he began circling the zombie puppet, searching for the best moment to attack.

The zombie puppet constantly swung its arms. Every movement stirred up a fierce rush of wind, forming small whirlpools of air throughout the narrow corridor.

Suddenly, the zombie puppet crouched down sharply, then sprang toward Qin Bo like a cannonball.

Qin Bo had been prepared. He flashed sideways while viciously slashing the Bloodthirsty Blade at the zombie puppet's flank.

Clang!

The sound of metal colliding rang out.

Qin Bo felt a tremendous rebound surge through the blade, numbing his arm.

"How is this thing's body so hard?"

Qin Bo was secretly shocked. The zombie puppet's defensive power had exceeded his imagination.

The zombie puppet's strike had missed, but it did not pause in the slightest. It swiftly turned around and launched another attack.