The Divine Child is Born

The Soul-Stitching Crone did not even spare the soldiers a glance.

Her entire focus was concentrated on manipulating the lingering Yin energy, attempting to reconnect the severed nodes of the formation, all while keeping a watchful eye on the battle between Butcher Liu and Wu Tong.

As long as the butcher could finish off that blade-wielding brat quickly, the situation would remain under control.

As for that little beast playing with paper dolls by the entrance, she glanced at the vague silhouette outside the door, her resentment deepening; once she dealt with the one before her, he would be next!

Outside, Chen Mo pressed himself against the wall beside the doorframe, exposing only a sliver of his face to observe the combat within.

Beside him, a Weaponized Paper Puppet stood guard, monitoring the surroundings.

It won't last much longer... that butcher's strength is too immense; they aren't even in the same weight class. He furrowed his brows, sensing that the situation was turning dire.

Although Wu Tong's swordsmanship was exquisite, narrowly grazing Butcher Liu's vitals several times, the opponent was thick-skinned and tough. Coupled with that greasy leather apron which seemed to possess some strange properties, his defense was staggering, making it difficult for Wu Tong to land a lethal blow.

Conversely, every time Wu Tong parried the butcher's heavy cleaver, the impact sent his blood churning and his arms trembling. The wounds on his body were constantly tearing open and bleeding, and his movements had clearly begun to slow.

That old hag is still pulling tricks... I can't let her reconnect the formation.

Chen Mo's gaze swept over the Soul-Stitching Crone's left hand, which was busy forming seals, and the faint, glowing remnants of the runes on the ground.

With a flick of his mind, the Weaponized Paper Puppet that had been hiding in the shadows since he entered the room suddenly moved.

It lunged from behind a pile of tattered, stained cloth, charging straight at the Soul-Stitching Crone as she attempted to reconnect the formation!

The tattered paper blade in the puppet's hand thrust silently toward the wrist of the hand she used to hold her banner!

This sneak attack was extremely cunning; an ordinary person would never have been able to dodge it.

However, the Soul-Stitching Crone had made a name for herself among the lower-tier heterodox sects, and her vigilance and experience were far from ordinary.

Even though the puppet had moved as stealthily as possible, the moment it entered within three feet of her, she sensed the unique fluctuation of Yin energy!

"Hmph! You little beast, you dare?!" A fierce glint flashed in her eyes. In her haste, she interrupted the seal she was halfway through, flipped her left wrist, and dodged the direct thrust of the paper blade by mere centimeters.

At the same time, her withered, claw-like fingers curled into hooks, and with a foul-smelling gust, she swiped back at the arm holding the blade!

Black light flickered at her fingertips; if that strike landed, this already damaged puppet would likely be torn to shreds.

But Chen Mo's intention with the sneak attack was never to wound the enemy.

All he wanted was to interrupt her spellcasting.

The moment the Soul-Stitching Crone was distracted by the puppet's attack, the runes on the ground that had just begun to glow suddenly dimmed, and the connection was severed.

The barrier of Yin energy she had erected to block bullets also flickered and thinned significantly due to her divided focus.

"Pfft!" The Soul-Stitching Crone's fingers caught the puppet's arm, sending paper scraps flying as the limb snapped off.

But under Chen Mo's control, the puppet used the force of that grab to lunge forward, slamming its mangled torso hard into the Soul-Stitching Crone's midsection!

The impact wasn't powerful, but it carried a chilling, cold force that caused the already injured Soul-Stitching Crone to grunt and stagger back half a step, her aura becoming even more chaotic.

"You little bastard!!"

The Soul-Stitching Crone steadied herself, looking at the broken puppet standing before her, trembling with rage as the venomous hatred in her eyes nearly overflowed.

She longed to rush out and tear Chen Mo into a thousand pieces, but with Butcher Liu and Wu Tong locked in a fierce battle, her own poor condition, and the interference of this troublesome puppet, she could not act immediately.

Outside, Chen Mo felt a sense of relief upon seeing the Soul-Stitching Crone's formation interrupted.

He then turned his gaze toward the dark red, pulsating mass of flesh on the stone altar.

He didn't know what that thing was, but it gave him a feeling even more dangerous than the injured old hag and the butcher combined!

Merely sensing it from afar made Chen Mo feel uneasy.

The surrounding malevolent Yin energy seemed to center entirely around this mass of flesh.

It cannot be allowed to continue existing! A strong thought rose in Chen Mo's mind.

The Soul-Stitching Crone was so nervous about this stronghold, even attempting to reconnect the formation at a time like this—it was highly likely she was doing so to protect this bizarre mass!

Destroying something that seemed so vital to them might just yield unexpected results.

Thinking this, Chen Mo did not hesitate and summoned another spare Weaponized Paper Puppet.

He did not have it charge in from the front; instead, he controlled it to hug the shadows along the wall, circling toward a crack in the side of the main room caused by a grenade blast.

The puppet, thin as a sheet of paper, slid silently through the edge of the crack and merged into the deeper shadows of the room, using the dim light to conceal its form as it slowly moved toward the stone altar.

When it was five or six steps away from the altar, he could see the details of the mass more clearly: its surface was covered in crude, twisted black stitches. As it pulsed, those stitches would slightly tear, revealing the dark red and purple flesh beneath.

The puppet crouched low in the shadows, pouring all of its Taiyin energy into its blade-wielding right arm. The paper blade emitted an imperceptible purple glow in the dim light.

Now!

Taking advantage of the moment the Soul-Stitching Crone's attention shifted and the light in the room flickered due to the swaying oil lamp!

The puppet moved!

It erupted from the shadows, its speed reaching its limit in an instant, transforming into a blurred gray shadow as it lunged for the stone altar!

The paper blade in its hand, condensed with all its power and carrying a pure, sharp edge, cleaved through the Yin barrier and thrust fiercely toward the core of the pulsating mass in the center of the stone trough!

"What is that?!" The Soul-Stitching Crone sensed the puppet's eruption the moment it moved, turning back in shock and fury!

She saw the gray shadow lunging toward the Divine Child, and that flash of purple light stabbing toward the core of the mass!

"No--! Stop!!!"

She let out a shriek filled with terror, completely disregarding her own injuries as she lunged toward the altar like a madwoman, black light surging from the five fingers of her left hand as she clawed through the air at the Paper Puppet!

Yet, everything happened in the blink of an eye!

"Puchi--!"

A sound like a sack filled with viscous pus and blood being punctured rang out!

The blade of the Paper Puppet had plunged deep into the tumor!

It sank in up to the hilt!

Time seemed to freeze in that very moment.

"Gu... lulu... ROAR--!!!"

A shrill, piercing howl that could never have come from a human throat erupted from within the tumor!

It was so sharp it nearly pierced their eardrums, carrying a potent mental corruption that made everyone in the room feel a splitting headache and darkness cloud their vision!

The punctured tumor instantly swelled to several times its size, then violently contracted!

Every black stitching thread on its surface snapped in an instant!

The dark red mass writhed intensely, as if countless things were struggling to break free from within!

Viscous liquid, reeking of a pungent stench, sprayed wildly from the jagged wound, splattering everywhere and landing on the stone platform and floor with a sizzling, corrosive sound!

An aura of sinister, violent malice, far greater than when the Soul-Stitching Crone had activated her formation, erupted from the ruptured tumor like an out-of-control volcano!

The temperature in the main room plummeted, and the flames of the oil lamps flickered wildly, nearly extinguishing.

The dark red runes on the floor lit up with blinding, uncontrollable blood-red light before shattering one after another!

Mid-lunge, the Soul-Stitching Crone felt this terrifying aura erupt, but instead of joy, her face was filled with despair: "No! No! The time has not yet come! The Divine Child... the Divine Child has awakened prematurely! It's out of control!!"

Even Butcher Liu, who was locked in fierce combat, and Wu Tong, who was struggling to hold on, were affected by this sudden, drastic change, their movements involuntarily slowing as they looked toward the altar with suspicion and uncertainty.