Inside the passage, streams of light raced backward on either side.
Red Bean flew at the front, pulling Si Chen by the arm, with Feng Qing close behind. Behind them came a million-strong demon army, its ranks orderly, without the slightest confusion.
Xie Changsheng and the others stayed in the middle of the procession, each silent.
Song Chi had been mulling things over.
Ever since leaving the battlefield of Floating Net Heaven, his brow had remained furrowed.
"Brother Si."
He sped up and flew beside Si Chen. "I took a careful look at those things."
Si Chen turned to glance at him. "Did you find anything?"
Song Chi nodded. "I'm almost certain they're the same kind of thing as the Demon Puppets I encountered at Cang Xuan's."
"But there are clear differences, too."
Song Chi recalled the battle in that shattered space. "Those black shadows could imitate my fighting style and learn, but... they had no thoughts, no consciousness."
"Like puppets. The name Demon Puppet... really does fit."
"There's one more thing, the most important of all."
Song Chi hesitated. "After the Demon Puppets were defeated, they dropped black crystals containing immense energy. They were pitch-black, and back then I thought they were... immortal qi."
"Pfft-"
Black Mountain couldn't hold back and burst out laughing. Luo Hongyi shot Song Chi a look of disgust, as though afraid it might be contagious.
Song Chi's face instantly darkened. "What are you laughing at? Anyway... I absorbed quite a lot."
At that, he suddenly paused, a hint of unease creeping into his voice. "...Nothing bad will happen, will it?"
Even Si Chen was stunned by this fellow's brilliant decision. He looked him up and down. "You should be fine."
"Those things were most likely products of Cang Xuan's research, not necessarily remnants of