"Puppets in the valley? Wasn't that the Dongfang Clan's handiwork?"
The five of them from the Northwest were somewhat surprised when they first heard of this. He Shuping continued, "Scent-Seeking Pavilion is a force under the Dongfang Clan's rule. By rights, Fellow Daoist Shi should be no stranger to these puppet creations. Even you were unable to make it through this valley?"
"What Fellow Daoist He said is correct, but only half correct."
Shi Ying then explained to the five of them, "Scent-Seeking Pavilion has indeed had many dealings with the Dongfang Clan. I can recognize most puppet creations sold to the outside world, but the puppets here are anything but ordinary."
With her explanation, the five of them came to understand.
"You mean these puppets were created by Rainbow Spirit Fairy of the Yang Clan?"
"That's right."
Shi Ying nodded. "Rainbow Spirit Fairy is the foremost authority in the Spirit Puppet Dao today. The various spirit puppet creations she crafts rarely appear in the outside world for sale. Even I have only seen one or two of them through the Dongfang Clan's connections."
"These spirit puppets have two most prominent traits. First, unlike traditional puppets, they do not require someone to control them. Second, nurtured by spirituality, they possess a certain degree of intelligence and can coordinate with one another."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of He Shuping and the others turned grave.
According to Shi Ying, the difficulty of this final checkpoint was far greater than that of the sea of sand before. Trying to achieve the same result as before, with everyone making it through, was likely impossible.
"Although I wasn't able to venture too deeply during that initial probe just now, I did obtain some useful information."
Shi Ying then gave the five people from the