The gale atop the altar abruptly froze. The ten-zhang-tall Yin-Yang Demon Puppet stood there like a fiendish god from time immemorial.
Golden-red flames surged over its left half, and every breath sent sparks scattering, scorching countless black pits into the blue-gray stone slabs.
Deep blue frost formed on its right half. Its right side was encased in icy frost. Cold seeped through the cracks in the stone, freezing even the air into tiny ice crystals that pattered to the ground.
Four pupils shone in its half-male, half-female head, each reflecting a different demonic light: gold, red, blue, and black.
The instant its gaze locked onto Lin Chen, the might of a Nine-Star Dou Zun descended like dark clouds bearing down, enveloping the entire altar with a thunderous roar.
Among those present, even the Two-Star Dou Zun found their Dou Qi sluggish and difficult to circulate through their meridians.
It felt as if a boulder weighed on their chests, making even breathing laborious.
"Perfect... body..."
Overlapping roars burst from the Demon Puppet's mouth, a rough male voice mingling with a shrill female one.
The sound scraped across their eardrums like two blunt knives. The rogue cultivators hiding in the altar's corner turned pale.
Two One-Star Dou Zuns couldn't hold back and immediately spat out mouthfuls of blood.
Their Dou Qi wavered so badly they could barely stay on their feet.
These rogue cultivators had survived by sheer luck after taking one of two paths of certain death.
One was filled with Soul-Devouring Miasma; the slightest misstep would leave their souls scattered.
The other was riddled with Poison-Tempered Mechanisms, whose blade toxins could overwhelm even Dou Zuns.
They had thought that if they overcame the trials, they could claim a share of the Twin Sages Inheritance.
But facing the Demon Puppet, they