The mirror went dark and the picture disappeared.
Chen Xi stared at the mirror in his hand that had lost its image, and was silent for two breaths. He put away the bronze mirror, turned to look at Qin Tiexin, his tone was still calm, but he spoke faster, "The puppet was destroyed. The wolf king used wind talent, at least Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation level, and may be approaching the late stage."
Qin Tiexin clenched his fist. "Is the information wrong?"
"It's a common thing." Chen Xi took out a new animal skin map from his waist Storage Bag and quickly spread it out, "The mission Jade Slip says 'suspected Foundation Establishment Early Stage', but it is actually the middle stage of Wolf King, and the three heads are Foundation Establishment Early Stage."
He pointed at the location of the valley on the map with his finger. "The original plan was that I would set up the formation, you would lure the wolves, and I would cooperate remotely to defeat them one by one. But now the Wolf King's strength has exceeded expectations, and the risk of a head-on fight is too great."
The risk is too great, aren't you Foundation Establishment Late Stage ready to form a pill? But Qin Tiexin can understand it when thinking about Chen Xi's character.
"What to do?"
"Change the plan." Chen Xi put away the map, took out a small cloth bag from his pocket, and poured out a dozen palm-sized triangular flags. The flags were gray and embroidered with fine silver runes.
"First set up warning formations and trap formations around the area to prevent the wolves from escaping. Then I will set up a 'wind formation' to form a directional wind in the valley. Send puppets to the upper wind and release the poison. Once the wolves are stunned, you can go in and harvest." Chen Xi paused and added, "The poison is my specially made 'Drunken Immortal Powder', which only causes coma, does not harm the body, and does not damage the flesh. You need flesh and blood for body training, I know."
Qin Tiexin nodded. "It all depends on senior brother's arrangements."
Chen Xi glanced at him, seeming a little surprised that he was so straightforward, but didn't ask any more questions. He took out two more puppets from the bag - they were palm-sized and roughly carved, but the joints were connected and could move.
"This is a puppet for setting up formation flags. It is simpler than the reconnaissance puppet. It can only execute fixed instructions." Chen Xi placed the two puppets on the ground, bit off his fingertips, and dabbed a drop of blood on the forehead of each puppet. The blood seeped into the wood grain, and the puppet's eyes lit up with a faint red light.
He recited a mantra in a low voice, using his hands Hand Seals. The two puppets made a few clicks, stood up, and each held up a few formation flags.
"Go."
Chen Xi pointed to the left and right directions. The puppet moved its short legs, one left and one right, along the slopes on both sides of the mountain road, moving quickly and covertly, and soon disappeared among the trees.
After doing this, Chen Xi took out a copper plate from his bag - it was larger than the mirror, with complex array patterns engraved on the surface. He placed the copper plate on the ground and injected spiritual power. A faint fluorescence appeared on the plate, forming a translucent light pattern with a radius of three miles. There were two green light spots on the light pattern, moving slowly, representing the positions of the two formation puppets.
"Use this to monitor the progress of the formation." Chen Xi explained, staring at the copper plate, "The warning formation should cover all possible escape routes outside the valley. The trap formation should be deployed at the entrance of the valley and on several animal trails. There is no need to kill, just to delay."
Qin Tiexin stood aside, watching Chen Xi's methodical operation. From discovering the intelligence error to formulating a new plan, coming up with the corresponding Law Artifact, and dispatching the puppets, the whole process took less than half a stick of incense. And everything - formation flags, puppets, surveillance disks - seemed to have been prepared long ago and could be used at any time.
"Senior brother..." Qin Tiexin couldn't help but ask, "Do you always carry these things with you?"
"Of course." Chen Xi's eyes did not leave the copper plate, "Three sets of warning arrays, five sets of trap arrays, twelve puppets of various types, seven types of poisons, nine bottles of detoxification pills, escape talismans, invisibility talismans, smoke bombs... There are 327 items in the list of items I always have on me. I check them three times before going out every time."
Three hundred and twenty-seven items.
Qin Tiexin was silent.
On the copper plate, the two green light spots had already circled the valley more than half way and were about to meet. Chen Xi stared at the movement of the light spots and adjusted the direction from time to time - when his finger made a dot on the copper plate, the puppet in the distance would change its route accordingly.
After burning the incense, the two light spots met on the other side of the copper plate and then went out.
"The formation flags are ready." Chen Xi put away the copper plate, took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket, poured out two mung bean-sized pills, and handed one to Qin Tiexin, "Keep the antidote under your tongue, do not swallow it. Zuixian Powder is very powerful, and Foundation Establishment Late Stage will be unconscious if you inhale too much. This antidote can keep you immune for twelve hours."
Qin Tiexin took the pill, put it in his mouth, and pressed it under his tongue. The pill was slightly bitter, with a mint-like coolness.
Chen Xi also took one in his mouth, and then took out a palm-sized jade box from Storage Bag. When he opened it, there were twelve slender silver needles inside, with extremely thin transparent silk threads tied to the tails of each needle.
"This is the 'trigger needle' for controlling the puppets." Chen Xi explained, twisting a silver needle with his fingers, "I will send two puppets to the upper air vent to release the poison later. One of them is in the open, and the other is hidden underground for backup."
As he spoke, he inserted the silver needle into the back of his left hand - the needle disappeared immediately after it penetrated the flesh, leaving only the transparent silk thread at the end of the needle glowing slightly. After twelve needles were inserted in succession, the backs of both hands were covered with fine pinholes, but they healed quickly, leaving only faint red spots.
"Go."
Chen Xi shouted softly and raised his left hand. On the hillside in the distance, a humanoid puppet walked out from behind a tree - the puppet looked like an ordinary woodcutter, wearing shabby linen clothes and carrying a bundle of firewood on its shoulders. It walked to the upwind outlet on the southeast side of the valley, put down the bundle of firewood, and took out a bulging skin bag.
At the same time, Chen Xi pressed his right hand on the ground. The soil rose slightly, and an almost invisible trace moved quickly towards the center of the valley - it was the second puppet, hiding from the ground.
"Start."
Chen Xi formed a seal with his hands and chanted a mantra in a low voice.
Around the valley, the array flags set up shimmered at the same time. The light was very faint and almost invisible in the daytime, but Qin Tiexin could feel that the surrounding Spiritual Qi flow began to change.
The wind picked up.
At first it was just a breeze, blowing from the southeast and blowing through the treetops. But soon, the wind strengthened and formed a stable and continuous southeast wind, flowing towards the center of the valley.
At the upwind outlet, the woodcutter's puppet opened its skin. A stream of colorless and odorless powder drifted with the wind, mixed into the wind, and spread deep into the valley.
In the valley, the Ironback wolves did not notice anything unusual at first.
Wind is very common in the valley. The dark golden wolf king is still lying on the boulder, closing his eyes and concentrating. Three Foundation Establishment Early Stage strong wolves are on guard nearby, and the rest of the wolves are lying or walking, or eating the remains of unknown animals.
But gradually, some wolves began to yawn.
One, two... first the ordinary iron-backed wolf in the Qi refining stage, its eyes became blurred, its limbs became weak, and it staggered to the ground. Then, the three Foundation Establishment Early Stage strong wolves also noticed something was wrong - they shook their heads, trying to stay awake, but their eyelids became heavier and heavier.
The Wolf King finally opened his eyes.
The golden pupils scanned the valley and saw the wolves lying on the ground. It let out a low roar in its throat and stood up. But as soon as it stood up, it swayed - the Zuixian Powder in the wind was also effective against it, but the effect was slower.
It raised its head and let out a long howl, trying to wake up the wolves. But it was only answered by deeper silence. Two of the three strong wolves had collapsed on the ground, and only one was still struggling, but it was also teetering.
The Wolf King realized something was wrong. It turned its head suddenly and looked in the direction where the wind was blowing - there, the woodcutter puppet was continuing to release the poison.
"Ho--!"
The Wolf King howled angrily, then opened his mouth and spat out a cyan wind blade. The wind blade shot through the air and instantly spanned a distance of a hundred feet, cutting the woodcutter puppet into pieces together with its skin.
But it's too late.
The drug had already dispersed into every corner of the valley with the wind. The Wolf King himself also felt dizzy and his limbs were weak. He held on, a trace of fierceness flashed in his golden pupils.
At this moment, the ground beneath its feet suddenly bulged!
The second puppet - the Escape Puppet - broke out of the ground, holding a smaller jade bottle in his hand. The jade bottle exploded, and the powder of drunken immortal powder that was ten times richer was sprayed directly on the Wolf King's head.
The wolf king didn't even have time to bite the puppet. He trembled all over and finally couldn't hold on any longer. His forelimbs softened and he fell to his knees. But before he completely passed out, he did one last thing -
He turned his head and looked at the only one of the three strong wolves that was still struggling. He opened his mouth and spit out a small but solid blue wind blade.
"Pfft."
The wind blade accurately cut across the strong wolf's buttocks, leaving a wound deep enough to show the bone. Blood spurted out, and the severe pain suddenly woke up the strong wolf who was about to fall into coma.
The Wolf King looked at it with the final message in his eyes: escape.
Then, he suddenly fell to the ground.
The injured wolf was stunned for a moment, and then understood. It endured the severe pain, turned around suddenly, and ran wildly out of the valley.
The direction of escape was exactly where Chen Xi and Qin Tiexin were hiding.
Outside the valley, behind the hillside.
Chen Xi saw the whole process through another small mirror - this was the secondary mirror used to monitor the formation. He saw the Wolf King's last wind blade, saw the strong wolf being injured and awake, and saw it escaping this way.
"There is a fish that slipped through the net." Chen Xi whispered, already touching Storage Bag on his waist, ready to take out Law Artifact.
Although the strong wolf was injured and under the influence of drugs, and ran crookedly, his speed was still not slow. It passed through the warning array at the entrance of the valley and rushed straight towards the hillside.
The distance is getting closer: a hundred steps, eighty steps, sixty steps...
Fifty steps.
Just as Chen Xi took out a three-inch silver throwing knife, Qin Tiexin beside him spoke.
"Brother."
Chen Xi turned around.
Qin Tiexin had already stood up, with his right hand pressed on the handle of the "shield" behind his back - which was actually the Edgeless heavy knife. He stared at the iron-backed wolf getting closer and closer, his eyes calm.
"Let me do it."
he said.
Chen Xi was stunned for a moment, looked at Qin Tiexin, and then looked at the wolf. Foundation Establishment Early Stage, but he was injured and drugged, and his strength was only 60 to 70% at most.
"Are you sure?" Chen Xi asked, "Although it has been weakened, it is still Foundation Establishment Early Stage Demon Beast. It has rough skin and thick flesh, sharp claws, and its talent Divine Ability may still be there."
"OK." Qin Tiexin said, "After the competition, I haven't done anything for a month."
He paused and added, his voice soft but serious:
"I can feel that Edgeless... is also thirsty."
Chen Xi looked at him, was silent for two breaths, nodded, and put away the throwing knife. "Okay. Be careful of its talent Divine Ability. The iron-backed wolf is usually of the earth or wind type. Looking at its posture when running, it may be of the wind type, and it will be very fast."
"Understood."
Qin Tiexin took a step and walked out from behind the rock where he was hiding.
Thirty steps ahead, the injured iron-backed wolf also spotted him. It stopped, its butt wound still oozing blood, breathing heavily, its golden pupils staring intently at the sudden appearance of the human, and a threatening growl emitted from its throat.
Qin Tiexin Untie the coarse cloth on the back and hold the handle of the knife.
The blinding talisman on the surface of the "shield" burned out, and the smoke dispersed, revealing the dark blade of the Edgeless heavy sword.
He drew his sword across his body.
The mountain wind blew through, picking up the fallen leaves.
The wolf and the man, thirty steps apart, looked at each other.