Mechanical Puppet

Mechanical Puppet

Above the great river, the muddy flood crest surged like an army on the march, vast and mighty.

It quickly spread to where Xiao Liang and the others had taken shelter.

With a roar, a huge wave swept over them with hundreds of pounds of force. Had ordinary people been here, they would have been dragged underwater and killed on the spot.

However, everyone present was a cultivator. None of them feared it, standing firm as though their feet had taken root.

Gurgle, gurgle!

The tunnels dug by the ground mole were now greedily swallowing water, creating whirlpools across the surface.

"As expected, the miasma has been forced away!"

Xiao Liang stared intently at the pit, and sure enough, he saw strands of purple miasma being squeezed out.

Some fish carried in by the flood crest were even swimming through the tunnels, proving that this method was viable.

"None of you can't swim, right?"

Luo Dongbao made a joke, then turned serious. "Stay close to me later. These underground tunnels are rather complicated."

With that, he plunged headfirst into a pool like a nimble fat fish, swimming deeper inside.

The others did not hesitate and entered the water one after another.

Xiao Liang took a deep breath and slipped into the water as well. A stream of spiritual power circulated around his eyes, blocking the sand and stones carried by the muddy current.

He could still make out the underwater scene.

After countless years, plenty of vegetation had grown along the bottom of the pits. Now, driven by the current, it swayed like seaweed.

It was quite a strange sight, but it was not what concerned him now.

Xiao Liang strained his eyes and peered through the water.

He quickly found the traces of the people ahead, then paddled after them.

Though the burrow's opening on the surface plain was small, the space inside was anything but.

Like a honeycomb, it had nearly hollowed out the underground. Before them lay more than a dozen passageways of varying sizes.

Xiao Liang followed Luo Dongbao, who was leading the way, into one passage. It was narrow enough that only one person could barely squeeze through.

After swimming a dozen or so steps, the passage suddenly opened up into another underground space.

This underground chamber had not yet been filled by the water, leaving a drop of several meters between the water levels.

As soon as Xiao Liang swam out of the passage, the current washed him down, leaving his upper body exposed to the air.

He instinctively held his breath, only to discover that there was no purple poisonous miasma in this underground space.

The others ahead had already waded through the water and begun climbing the rock wall of the chamber.

Luo Dongbao was the fastest. He had already climbed to the top and was waving excitedly.

There were several pits of varying sizes in the ceiling of this underground chamber as well.

Columns of sunlight streamed down through them, illuminating the area brightly.

Looks like we've reached the underground area within the inner region.

Xiao Liang understood at once and did not hesitate. Wisps of black air began to rise around him.

Using Ghost Shadow Step, he lightly pushed off several protruding rocks with the tips of his feet.

His body seemed weightless. With a few leaps, he reached a pit near the ceiling.

Crack!

Xiao Liang's fingers curled like claws, glinting with sharp light as they plunged directly into the rock wall above him, leaving him hanging from the ceiling of the underground chamber.

Alternating his hands as he drove them into the rock above, he advanced several steps before flipping upward and leaping out through the pit.

It would be nice to have a flying artifact to use as support!

Xiao Liang shook the dirt and stone chips from his hands, staring down at the underground pit.

Even though he possessed spiritual power and was no longer an ordinary man, he still could not defy gravity at his current stage.

"Fellow Daoist Ghost Shadow, this is the inner region recorded on the map!"

Luo Dongbao gave Xiao Liang a surprised look, seemingly not expecting him to be so agile and to be the second one up.

Xiao Liang nodded to him, then looked around. A trace of amazement appeared in his eyes as well.

They were standing at the foot of two connected mountain peaks, where the spiritual energy was noticeably denser than outside.

Although the main bodies of the peaks were still scorched black like the outside world, strange plants grew among them.

Xiao Liang surveyed the terrain and discovered that beyond the other side of the two peaks lay a bottomless cliff.

The side facing the plain was where they had come from, heavily shrouded in dense purple poisonous miasma.

It truly was a hidden natural deathtrap.

Suddenly, Xiao Liang took two steps in one direction and bent down to pick up a piece of azure jade tile carved with cloud patterns.

Though it had shattered beyond recognition, its exquisite workmanship and fine material were still apparent.

Luo Dongbao walked over and took one look at the azure jade tile in Xiao Liang's hand. His face immediately filled with wild delight.

"Building ruins! That means these two peaks may once have contained sect buildings from Heavenly Sun Mountain. They aren't just ordinary barren wilderness!"

"Maybe we'll find some great treasure!"

But after seeing Xiao Liang, Luo Dongbao quickly reined in his expression.

He was the employer and leader of this expedition, and the overwhelming majority of the loot would belong to him. Naturally, he could barely contain his joy.

However, Xiao Liang and the others would receive little, so he did not dare show too much delight and risk provoking resentment for nothing.

Soon, the other four—the Guan siblings, the female swordswoman Qin Long, and the dark-skinned burly man Yu Guang—climbed out one after another.

Looking at this rarely visited mountain region, they too clicked their tongues in amazement.

Once everyone had arrived, Luo Dongbao called out and gradually led them up the mountain.

According to the usual construction patterns of sect buildings, if ruins truly existed, they would naturally not be at the foot of the mountain, but higher up.

Meanwhile, in a corner several dozen paces away, the pupils of a strange statue concealed beneath weeds and vegetation suddenly flickered twice.

Click, click!

After a burst of stiff mechanical sounds, the strange statue actually began to move. The clumps of earth caked onto its body, nearly forming a stone shell, were crushed and cracked apart.

At last, they fell away with a rustle, revealing the metallic color beneath the strange statue's exterior.

Only then did its full form become clear. It was a humanoid Mechanical Puppet, forged entirely of metal, clad in armor, and holding a bronze halberd.

It had previously been crouching on the ground, buried beneath weeds and clumps of earth. Now that it had awakened and stood up, it was more than twenty feet tall.

On its expressionless metallic face, pale blue flames ignited within its hollow eye sockets.

Then, the Mechanical Puppet's neck slowly and eerily turned in a full circle, facing the direction of the exploration party.

On the other side, the six members of the exploration party pressed onward. There was no path on the mountain, and strange plants blocked their way.

Everyone used their own methods to clear a route.

Qin Long's artifact spirit sword was incomparably sharp, while the Guan siblings occasionally spat out mouthfuls of spirit fire.

Luo Dongbao also displayed the abilities of Late Qi Refining. He activated a circular bladed ring in his hand, sending it humming through the air as it instantly cleared a large swath of vegetation.

Their clearing speed was not slow.

Xiao Liang and Yu Guang, meanwhile, merely coasted along at the side. From time to time, they flung out streams of spiritual energy to cut down the plants blocking the way, but their efficiency left much to be desired.

Suddenly, Luo Dongbao recalled his ring blade and stopped short, just about to say something when a fierce wind struck from his side.

A bronze halberd shot toward him, carrying a terrifying force like wind and thunder!

(End of Chapter)