The next day, Li Chen had just stepped out of the inner courtyard when he saw Wu Ding hurry in. "There are a few more spies outside, all peripheral lackeys of the Earthly Sha Sect," Wu Ding told him.
Li Chen smiled calmly. "They're merely pawns put there to make a statement. This sort of thing relies on a tacit understanding. Pay them no mind."
"By the way, how did You Renzhi and the others fare against Che Rong yesterday? Has any news come out?"
Wu Ding said, "Apparently, someone happened to be hunting demons nearby and recorded their fight from a distant hilltop. Che Rong was wounded, but he still managed to escape."
Wu Ding took out a tablet-like Image-Recording Jade Slip. Li Chen extended his Divine Sense into it and, sure enough, found footage of cultivators fighting, recorded from afar.
The picture was somewhat blurry. He could barely make out a modified body resembling a giant octopus battling several Red Owl units.
The giant octopus displayed combat strength on par with the middle to late stages of Foundation Establishment. As his tentacles lashed about, waves of thunderous sound rolled out, shaking heaven and earth.
But those Red Owl units were no ordinary opponents either. They unleashed all manner of Divine Fire Flying Crows and mechanical hidden weapons as though they cost nothing, battering him until he was covered in dust and grime.
Li Chen noticed one detail: these Red Owl Mecha seemed to be newer models than the one he had encountered, with greater combat strength. The Puppeteers piloting them were also more skilled and seasoned.
The art of Puppets in this world followed the path of spiritual intelligence. In the early and middle stages, it truly could not do without Puppeteers, and the pilots' own capabilities also