The Jealous Crowd

The process of subduing the ten Earth Demon Puppet went much more smoothly than Lin Ming himself had expected.

When his vast, ocean-like Heavenly Soul power surged into the first Earth Demon Puppet's body like an invisible stream, intending to find and forcibly erase the Soul Imprint belonging to its creator deep within its core, he was surprised to find—there was none!

The Puppet's core control area was completely empty! It was like a blank sheet of paper that had been thoroughly wiped clean, without any external soul imprint present!

Lin Ming was slightly taken aback, but then, disbelieving, he quickly dispersed his Soul Power and invaded the bodies of the other nine Earth Demon Puppet.

The result was exactly the same! None of the ten Earth Demon Puppet contained even the slightest trace of their original owners' Soul Imprint!

Faced with this inexplicable situation, Lin Ming felt a sense of bewilderment and confusion. Had the Dou Sheng Expert not left any control mark when refining them?

This doesn't make sense.

Or perhaps, due to the endless passage of time, that faint mark, which might have been left behind casually, has long been completely erased by the power of time and vanished without a trace?

Or perhaps, to that Dou Sheng Expert who stood at the pinnacle of the continent, this Puppet, which was merely equivalent to the Peak Dou Ancestor, was nothing more than a trinket he made casually, utterly uninteresting to him, and he wouldn't even bother to leave Soul Imprint to control it?

Countless thoughts flashed through Lin Ming's mind like lightning, but no matter how he guessed, the fact before him was that these ten powerful Earth Demon Puppet, capable of combined attacks and evolution, were completely ownerless at the moment!

"This..."

Lin Ming was almost at a loss for words. He had originally prepared for a tough battle on the soul level, after all, erasing the mark left by a Dou Sheng was by no means an easy task. But he never expected that the process would be so simple as to be outrageous.

Thus, when Lin Ming's Soul Power freely occupied the core of these Puppet and easily left his own soul imprint, he almost instantly established a clear connection with these ten Puppet.

With a single thought, one can perceive every aspect of their state, as if directing an arm or limb.

The process was so smooth that Lin Ming himself felt it was almost like a dream. He even thought that any Dou Zong or even Dou Emperor could probably take control immediately, provided they could withstand the Puppet's initial attacks and find the method to control it.

Therefore, after waving his sleeve and firmly controlling the ten Puppet that had turned into silver light and were stored in his Storage Ring, a rather strange and interesting expression appeared on Lin Ming's face.

Lin Ming's gaze, carrying a hint of mockery, glanced at the Grey-robed Old Man who had been blasted back by the evolved Heavenly Demon Puppet's punch and was now recovering, and then swept over the white-haired Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan White-haired Man had just been forced into a sorry state by his Dark-Gold Heavenly Demon Puppet and whose face was ashen.

Lin Ming thought to himself, what if these two guys, especially the Grey-robed Old Man, knew that the way to get through this Stone Door was actually ridiculously simple?

There's no need for a life-or-death struggle; as long as your Soul Power is strong enough and you can find the trick, you can directly "receive" these ten powerful gatekeeper Puppet.

Will they be so angry that they spit out another mouthful of blood and faint on the spot?

Just thinking about that possible scene made Lin Ming's strange smile widen uncontrollably.

"This kid... he actually managed to subdue those Puppet?!"

"Ten Puppet at the Peak Dou Ancestor! And they can even combine to form Two-Star Dou Venerate!"

"How long has it been? Twenty breaths? How did he do that?!"

As these strange thoughts arose in Lin Ming's mind, the powerful figures from various factions in the square stared at him in disbelief and silence.

In just over ten breaths, those ten powerful Puppet legions, which had given them all a headache and which even Dou Venerate were unwilling to easily provoke, fell into Lin Ming's hands so easily and without bloodshed?!

In an instant, many people's expressions became incredibly complex, their eyes filled with incredulous shock, deep apprehension at the methods employed, but even more so, an almost overflowing envy and intense jealousy!

A Puppet with the strength of Two-Star Dou Venerate is of immeasurable value!

Not to mention that this is a Puppet army of ten that can be used individually or launched in unison! Such a treasure, placed anywhere, would be enough to make countless forces envious and go crazy, stirring up a bloodbath!

Among the crowd with burning gazes, especially those forces that had grudges against Lin Ming, such as the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan and Profound Nether Sect Chen Tiannan the Xuanming Sect, their eyes were so gloomy they were almost dripping with water.

They were both incredibly envious and heartbroken of the ten Puppet, and felt intense resentment and anger at Lin Ming's easy success.

The stronger and more powerful the people around Lin Ming are, the greater the threat they pose to him in the future, and the more difficult it will be for them to seek revenge or seize the treasures.

Chen Tiannan clenched his fists so tightly his nails almost dug into his palms, roaring inwardly, "Why?! This lucky brat! That should have been mine! It should have been mine!"

But he only dared to shout in his heart, and dared not make the slightest move on his face.

Elder Huang Xuan of the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan had icy, knife-like eyes. As he swept his gaze over Lin Ming and the Dark-Gold Heavenly Demon Puppet, his Killing Intent towards Lin Ming intensified.

This child must not be allowed to live!

Lin Ming merely glanced at these gazes, which were filled with various negative emotions, and then looked away without paying any attention.

He knew perfectly well that no matter how much these guys disliked him or how insanely jealous they were, they would never dare to make a move at this moment.

Their ultimate goal for this trip is to find the legendary Heaven Tier Dou Technique that may exist within the ruins!

Before even seeing the true Treasure Hoard and having it in their grasp, who would be foolish enough to fight to the death with Lin Ming and his group, whose strength is unfathomable and who possess a terrifying Puppet army, for a few Puppet? That would be tantamount to cutting off one's own arm and making wedding clothes for others.

These cunning old foxes would never do something so foolish.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the square became somewhat eerie because Lin Ming had subdued the Puppet. Greed, jealousy, fear, scheming... all sorts of emotions intertwined in the shadows.

"Creak... creak..."

Shortly after Lin Ming put the ten Puppet into his Storage Ring, perhaps because the Guardian had been "dealt with," the huge Stone Door that had been tightly closed and was emitting ancient Spatial Fluctuations suddenly made a dull and long mechanical sound!

That sound instantly drew everyone's attention away from Lin Ming!

Under the watchful eyes of countless tense and intense gazes, the heavy Stone Door, which seemed to be able to isolate Space-Time, began to tremble slightly. Then, accompanied by a grating scraping sound, it slowly opened inward, revealing a dark and deep crack!

"Boom--"

As the Stone Door gate opened, an incomparably desolate, ancient, and seemingly Primordial Aura, as if it had been accumulated over thousands of years, slowly drifted out from the crack, like the first breath exhaled by Giant Dragon that had been sleeping for countless years, and permeated the entire square.

This aura, though not domineering, carried a kind of pressure and weight emanating from the depths of the soul, causing many people present to become solemn and their eyes to turn serious.

Ancient artifacts are always shrouded in mystery and sacredness for those living in the present, inspiring awe and longing.

Upon seeing the finally opened Stone Door and the ancient aura emanating from it, almost everyone's heart skipped a beat and their blood flowed faster.

However, just as some people instinctively wanted to rush forward, Lin Ming, who was closest to the Stone Door, did something that surprised everyone.

With a swift movement, instead of rushing into the alluring crevice immediately, he gracefully and calmly darted backward like a startled wild goose, without the slightest hesitation. He then returned to the spot where the Five Elements Sect members had been, standing with Zi Yan, Qing Lin, and the others.

Upon seeing his clearly "retreating" move, many people in the square were initially stunned, then their lips twitched involuntarily, and they almost simultaneously cursed inwardly:

"You cunning brat!"

"A cunning fellow!"

Lin Ming clearly didn't want to be the first to enter this mysterious and unpredictable ruin! Who knew if there were even more terrifying traps and Restriction beyond that Stone Door than the Earth Demon Puppet?

The first one to go in is likely to be cannon fodder sent to scout ahead! He just received a huge benefit, so he's naturally sitting back and happy to let others wade into the mud for him.

Under the watchful eyes of countless people, the gate slowly and completely opened. The creaking sound gradually subsided, and finally, a deep and boundless darkness was revealed to everyone, like the mouth of a giant beast, waiting for its prey to walk into its trap.

However, unexpectedly, the square fell into an eerie silence.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, none daring to step forward at this final hurdle!

The Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan, the Nether Python Clan, the Blazing Flame Valley, the Starfall Pavilion... these top forces looked at each other warily, each hoping that the other would lose patience and become the first to stick their neck out.

Those lone powerhouses or smaller forces remained silent in fear; even Dou Zun expert dared not act rashly, so how could they dare to?

Lin Ming paid no attention to the sudden silence and stalemate in the square.

His fingers gently caressed the Storage Ring on his finger, feeling the faint connection from the ten newly subdued Puppet within. An undisguised, incredibly radiant smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

"I never expected that I would obtain such a treasure so soon after entering the ruins, without even fully stepping through the gate... Tsk tsk, this is truly a great opportunity..."

He sighed with pleasure in his heart, his gaze sweeping once more over the stalemate between the various forces and the open, unknown dark Stone Door, a wise and calm light gleaming deep within his eyes.

The best is yet to come. And he has already secured this initial success.

Next, let these "impatient" guys go and scout ahead for him.