Myriad Spirits Palace

Though the palace was small, it exuded an ancient and mysterious aura.

"Collect!"

With Gu Sheng's soft shout, the bronze palace erupted with a strange surge of power. The black threads connecting the puppets snapped one after another as if struck by lightning.

The old man's expression changed drastically.

"What?!"

The next instant, Gu Sheng and the six puppets vanished from where they stood, leaving only the red-robed old man's furious, alarmed roar echoing within the barrier.

Inside the Divine Craftsman's Maze Hall, the six puppets stood motionless.

Gu Sheng let out a long breath and looked around.

This was an ancient stone chamber, its surrounding walls carved with intricate and profound runes. A bronze throne stood at its center.

Yue Shen Gong's phantom drifted out from Gu Sheng's sea of consciousness and landed upon the throne.

He carefully examined the puppets, his brow knitting ever tighter.

"Just as I thought."

Yue Shen Gong's voice was filled with anger.

"This is the Spirit Puppet Reincarnation Array. It was originally an array my wife created for mechanical dolls, meant to grant movement to inanimate objects. I never expected someone to use it on living people!"

Gu Sheng was startled by his words.

"Senior, are you saying this array was never meant to be used this way?"

"Of course not!"

Yue Shen Gong slammed his palm against the throne's armrest.

"Mechanical dolls have no souls. This array merely simulates the workings of life. But when used on living people, it forcibly extracts their souls, leaving only their bodies behind as puppets! This is an evil path!"

Gu Sheng walked over to one of the puppets and examined it closely.

Fine runes were faintly visible on its skin. Its eyes were hollow and lifeless, yet it retained the muscle memory from before its