The temple on the mountaintop had been attacked before, but the three mechs had only fired a few shots before reinforcements from Red Rock City scared them off, so no real damage had been done.
Even the martial artists active nearby had been unaffected. Many had not even known an attack had taken place.
The temple remained as it always had, with many martial artists coming to trade, selling mutant beast materials or spirit medicines in exchange for pills, weapons, cultivation methods, or martial techniques.
A small market had even formed at the foot of the mountain beneath the temple, where martial artists from various worlds traded.
The market was bustling today. Several hundred people had already gathered, quietly trading for the items they had their eyes on.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Just then, a piercing alarm suddenly sounded from the mountaintop temple.
Everyone in the market looked up toward the temple.
Divine light surged above it as a great array rapidly took shape, about to enclose the entire temple, while large numbers of Tianli Sect martial artists rushed out with swords and sabers in hand.
"What's going on? Why is the alarm sounding?"
"What does that alarm mean? Are mutant beasts attacking? That can't be right! What mutant beast around here could force the Tianli Sect to activate its defenses?"
"You haven't heard? I heard mechanical puppets attacked the temple yesterday. Maybe they're back!"
Some people had witnessed yesterday's attack, so they immediately explained.
"Surely not! They attacked yesterday and got scared off before they could do any damage. Now they're back? Have they come to serve themselves up on a platter?"
"Haha, exactly! How could they possibly break through the temple's defenses?"
Everyone laughed and chatted, seemingly unconcerned by the piercing alarm. Many had an instinctive faith in the