"This fellow really was a ruthless one."
Atop the mound, a flicker of surprise crossed Xu Yan's eyes.
The outcome had far exceeded his expectations.
He had thought Chen Lie would ultimately be refined into a Spirit Puppet by the gaunt old man. Instead, Chen Lie had turned the tables in spectacular fashion.
A scheming old demonic cultivator had died at the hands of his own nominal disciple. What a colossal joke.
"I'll have to do it myself!"
Xu Yan silently cursed the gaunt old man for being useless.
Bzzzz.
Above the jade-green Demonic Blaze, the Ten Thousand Demons Bell continued to rise and fall. The demonic patterns on its body emitted streaks of dark light. The gaunt old man had already performed all the necessary hand seals, completing its refinement.
"Merge!"
At that sharp command, the Spirit Puppet swiftly flew toward the dwarf and fused with him again.
Only then did Xu Yan clearly see that the Spirit Puppet's face was identical to the dwarf Chen Lie's.
"He actually refined his own flesh and blood into a life-bound Spirit Puppet!" Xu Yan narrowed his eyes, sensing the terrifying depths of this man's scheming.
His guess was correct. The Spirit Puppet forming Chen Lie's upper body was his twin brother. They shared the same bloodline, and after decades of refinement, his brother was as natural to control as his own limbs. Ordinary cultivators could scarcely detect anything amiss.
After deftly removing the gaunt old man's Storage Bag, Chen Lie kicked his already stiffened corpse away.
With that done, he slowly approached the Ten Thousand Demons Bell.
Chen Lie could barely conceal his delight. The Ten Thousand Demons Bell combined offense and defense and had already reached the highest grade of magic artifacts. To him, it was a rare Demon Treasure.