Su Shi'er drew a deep breath and felt the weariness from his constant travels these past days ease a little at that very moment.
But before he could carefully identify this aura, a muffled rumble suddenly sounded from the depths of the dim world.
Then a figure far taller than an ordinary human slowly rose from behind a broken stone pillar.
The towering figure stood sixty feet tall and wore no clothes. Its limbs and torso were pieced together from bluish-black stones and an unknown ancient wood.
Withered vines wound between the wood and stone.
As the figure rose, azure light faintly coursed over the vines.
A crimson wooden plate on the figure's chest flickered between bright and dim, seeming utterly at odds with the other auras around its body.
"Is that... a puppet?"
Su Shi'er's gaze shifted slightly. He kept the wooden token in his hand while his other hand secretly formed a spell seal.
The puppet had appeared without warning, and its aura was rather strange.
Judging solely by the aura it currently emitted, it seemed inferior even to an ordinary Tribulation Crossing stage cultivator.
Yet the instant it rose, the ancient runes on the broken stone pillar behind it lit up as well.
Then a force far surpassing the puppet's own surged from the depths of the Medicine Garden.
The withered vines on its body pulled taut, and its towering frame took a step forward.
With a thunderous crash, the stone slabs beneath its feet shattered, and the thin barrier of light ahead shook violently as well.
The puppet advanced step by step, its aura nearly doubling with every stride.
After just a few steps, the aura it emitted was already no weaker than that of a Tribulation Crossing stage cultivator.
Su Shi'er's pupils contracted. Seeing this,