Subduing the Puppets (Part One)
Under the watchful eyes of many, a mixture of greed, fear, and scrutiny, a Grey-robed Old Man slowly stepped forward.
His aura was deep and composed, and the vast Dou Qi of One-Star Dou Venerate swirled around his body as if it were a tangible substance, forming an invisible force field.
Facing ten Silver Puppet radiating the Peak Dou Ancestor, his face showed little solemnity, but rather a hint of arrogance and disdain. He walked straight into the encirclement of the ten Earth Demon Puppet, his leisurely demeanor truly displaying the boldness of a highly skilled individual.
"Click! Click! Click!"
The moment the Grey-robed Old Man stepped into the ten-zhang radius of the Stone Door, the ten Earth Demon Puppet that stood motionless like ancient sculptures almost simultaneously emitted a low, teeth-grinding sound of bones grinding together from their joints!
Immediately, ten pairs of cold, empty, and emotionless silver eyes locked onto the Grey-robed Old Man!
"Buzz!"
A burst of silver light erupted! The ten Earth Demon Puppet simultaneously clenched their fists, and dazzling silver energy rapidly condensed in their hands, instantly transforming into ten gleaming silver spears with deadly sharpness flowing from their tips!
"Laugh!"
Without any warning, ten silver figures shot out like lightning bolts released from a bowstring!
Their movements were perfectly synchronized, their spears Space-Rending and creating ten fierce and unparalleled gusts of wind, attacking the Grey-robed Old Man's vital points from different angles with ruthless precision!
"Haha, a few broken and scrap metal Puppet, you think you can stop me? Break them!"
Seeing this, the Grey-robed Old Man let out a disdainful laugh and, without dodging or avoiding, charged into the Puppet's encirclement with his bare hands.
On his palms, a deep yellow, powerful Dou Qi surged like a tide. Every punch and palm strike contained terrifying power capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, clashing fiercely with the silver spear that was thrusting towards him!
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The deafening clang of metal clashing against metal erupted densely across the plaza, sparks flying everywhere! The Dou Venerate was indeed extraordinary; each collision was enough to make an Earth Demon Puppet stagger backward, leaving a clear fist mark or palm print on its hard, silver body.
Looking at the Grey-robed Old Man in the arena who was fighting ten opponents single-handedly, and who still seemed to be in complete control and even had the upper hand thanks to his powerful Dou Qi, Lin Ming, who was watching from a distance, couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
However, Lin Ming's shaking of his head wasn't because the Puppet was no match for him. With his Original Work Memory, Lin Ming knew that the Puppet was not that simple.
"Clang!"
Another fierce clash ensued. The Grey-robed Old Man moved like a ghost, skillfully deflecting three spears with a single palm strike. Then, his palm, radiating a deep yellow and heavy Dou Qi, struck the chest of one of the Earth Demon Puppet like a thunderbolt!
"Bang!"
A deep, muffled thud was heard, and a palm print nearly half a finger deep dented into the chest of the Earth Demon Puppet. Its entire body flew backward like a cannonball, leaving a long trail on the ground.
"Roar!"
Having suffered successive blows, the ten Earth Demon Puppet seemed to have activated some hidden mechanism. They suddenly stopped in their tracks, the cold silver light in their eyes suddenly began to flash rapidly, and a low, hoarse, strange roar that did not sound like a machine could be heard coming from their throats!
Immediately, to everyone's astonishment, the ten Earth Demon Puppet puppets moved swiftly, instantly forming a profound and strange formation! Silver light flashed wildly among them, and streams of pure energy, like living silver snakes, surged from their bodies. Instead of attacking the old man, they connected and intertwined with each other, forming a perfect circular Energy Loop!
"Roar!"
The moment the Energy Loop was fully formed, an even louder roar came from the throat of the leading Earth Demon Puppet! Then, a shocking scene unfolded.
The brilliant silver light on their bodies began to recede and subside rapidly like a tide, replaced by tiny golden lights, like starlight in the night, emerging from their cores and spreading at an astonishing speed!
A moment later, dazzling golden light completely replaced the previous silver light! Among the ten Earth Demon Puppet, the leader's aura suddenly surged at this moment, completing a qualitative leap and evolving into a higher-level existence— the Heavenly Demon Puppet!
Its golden light was intense, and the energy fluctuations it emitted clearly reached the level of Two-Star Dou Venerate!
"Lin Ming, look! This Puppet has evolved!" Upon seeing this incredible scene, Zi Yan immediately grabbed Lin Ming's arm and exclaimed in surprise.
She knew all too well how much effort Lin Ming had put into tempering the Puppet One with Pill Lightning to evolve it into a Gold Heavenly Demon Puppet. And now, these Puppet had evolved so easily on a collective scale?
Upon hearing this, Lin Ming, who possessed the memories of the "original work" and knew the key to it, had a look of understanding in his eyes and immediately explained, "It's the effect of that formation!"
Then, Lin Ming continued, "These ten Earth Demon Puppet, through this strange formation, can temporarily gather and Qualitative Change the energy of all ten, allowing one of the Puppet to generate a higher level of power. Truly worthy of being left behind by Dou Sheng Expert, these ten Earth Demon Puppet, combined with that strange formation, are enough to contend with a true Two-Star Dou Venerate! This old man is going to be in big trouble!"
As if to confirm Lin Ming's words--
"Laugh!"
In the arena, the leader of the Heavenly Demon Puppet, with its golden body and imposing aura, stomped its foot hard on the ground!
"Snap!"
The hard, black rock ground instantly cracked with countless spiderweb-like fissures emanating from the spot where he landed! And with a hiss, his figure seemed to break through the barriers of space, instantly appearing before the Grey-robed Old Man whose expression had suddenly changed drastically!
There were no fancy moves, only the simplest, most direct, yet terrifyingly destructive punch! The fist, gleaming with blinding golden light, was like a Little Sun, Space-Rending and slamming into the old man's face with a deep, explosive sound!
"You bastard!"
Faced with this terrifying punch that suddenly surged and was more than ten times stronger than before, the arrogance on the Grey-robed Old Man's face had long been replaced by horror. He roared, and his Dou Qi surged out wildly without reservation. The deep yellow Dou Qi rapidly condensed in front of him, transforming into an incomparably thick and huge Rock Shield, attempting to block it.
"Bang!!!"
The golden fist clashed violently with the thick Rock Shield!
However, the expected stalemate did not materialize. The Rock Shield, which was strong enough to withstand the full force of One-Star Dou Venerate, only lasted for a moment before being smashed into countless energy points by the evolved Heavenly Demon Puppet's fist!
Immediately afterwards, the fist slowed down slightly, but still carried unparalleled power, and slammed into the old man's arms, which were crossed in front of him to block!
"Snap!"
A clear cracking sound rang out!
"Pfft!"
A painful groan escaped the old man's throat, and a mouthful of blood spurted from the corner of his mouth. He staggered backward like a kite with a broken string, flying back more than ten feet before barely managing to regain his balance. His arms hung limply at his sides, clearly broken.
He looked up, his gaze towards the golden Puppet filled with fear and disbelief.
After the old man retreated ten zhang, the Heavenly Demon Puppet did not pursue him. It withdrew its fist, stood still, and with a flash, reappeared outside the Stone Door.
The golden light around him quickly receded and dissipated, and together with the other nine Puppet, they transformed back into the dazzling Silver Earth Demon Puppet, standing quietly as if the earth-shattering attack had never happened.
This sudden turn of events caused the expressions of all the powerful figures in the square to change simultaneously! They might be able to force their way through ten Earth Demon Puppet at the Peak Dou Ancestor by sheer numbers or by relying on their top experts, but these Heavenly Demon Puppet, whose strength could instantly surge to the level of Two-Star Dou Venerate, were something that could not help but make them wary!
This thing has no sense of pain and never tires; it's no different from a perfect killing machine. There were indeed a few strong individuals present who were confident they could defeat it, but even if they won, they would inevitably suffer enormous losses and even injuries.
When the ruins have only just begun to reveal themselves, who would be willing to exhaust themselves fighting for a few gatekeeper Puppet before even seeing the real Treasure Hoard, only to benefit others? The people here don't have that kind of noble spirit of "selflessness".
For a moment, the atmosphere in the square became somewhat awkward and tense. Everyone wanted to go in, but no one wanted to be the first to step forward and fight to the death with those ten Bizarre Puppet that could combine and evolve.
Lin Ming narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed intently on the ten Silver Puppet that had returned to calm, a hint of undisguised covetousness flashing in his eyes.
Don't forget, he is now the leader of a sect! The Five Elements Sect is newly established and its foundation is still shallow. If he can subdue these ten Puppet with the strength of the Peak Dou Ancestor and use them to guard the four key places of the sect, what a powerful deterrent force that would be! It would be enough to make many people with covetous hearts give up.
Furthermore, they are special beings capable of combining their attacks through that strange formation and briefly evolving to the level of Two-Star Dou Venerate! This makes them even more valuable, essentially giving them a mobile, powerful defensive weapon for the sect!
At the same time, Lin Ming was also extremely interested in the strange formation between the Earth Demon Puppet that could trigger a qualitative Qualitative Change in energy. If he could thoroughly study it, and even add his three puppets, which were already Heavenly Demon Puppet Puppet, into it... the power that could be unleashed was simply irresistible to think about.
Such temptation was enough to make Lin Ming take action himself, no longer remaining a bystander.
"Keep an eye on the others for me, especially the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan and the Nether Python..." Lin Ming's eyes flashed as he whispered an instruction to Qing Lin, Zi Yan, Xiong Zhan, and the others beside him.
Immediately, under the gazes of many astonished and puzzled people, Lin Ming lightly touched the ground of the square with his toes, and his figure, like Roc spreading its wings, gracefully and swiftly swept over the heads of the stagnant crowd in front of him, bringing with it a low gasp, and finally landed steadily ten feet away from the Stone Door, at the edge of that invisible boundary.
Lin Ming's gaze swept over the various factions present, a faint smile on his face, his clear voice echoing throughout the square:
"Since everyone is so modest and no one is willing to make the first move, then I will take the lead."