Chapter 299: Chapter 32: Striking Back, Nuking Xinliang City (Part 2)

Lin Chen silently pondered.

He returned to his residence and quietly cultivated for half a day.

After half a day, the Array Peak Master returned with three Golden Core cultivators.

He immediately summoned Lin Chen and Han Jihai.

“Old Wang, how did it go?” Han Jihai looked somewhat expectant.

The Array Peak Master sighed and said:

“Alas, we only managed a draw… We took down many demon cultivators, but our losses were not insignificant…”

Lin Chen frowned slightly upon hearing this.

With such a favorable situation, the Righteous Alliance only managed a draw?

The gap between the orthodox and demonic parties truly is more than ordinary…

At this moment, the Array Peak Master said:

“Initially, when the battle started, we held an absolute advantage.”

“We killed five Core Formation demon cultivators and slayed at least hundreds of Foundation Establishment demon cultivators…”

“The power of the Celestial Thunder Master is indeed terrifying. When we first arrived, the city was in chaos; several Core Formation demon cultivators died, and more than half of the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators in the city were wounded or dead…”

He paused, then changed the topic:

“But unfortunately, just as we killed a few wounded Core Formation demon cultivators… Wu the Old Monster arrived!”

Wu the Old Monster…

Lin Chen’s heart stirred slightly; the Array Peak Master was probably referring to the Puppet Hall Master, Wu Xingkui!

Wu Xingkui is a Nine Revolutions Golden Core cultivator, with strength not inferior to Ghost-Eyed Old Monster, perhaps even stronger.

But could just one Wu Xingkui really turn the tide and repel twelve Golden Core cultivators?

Lin Chen looked at the Array Peak Master with some doubt.

He saw the Array Peak Master with a somewhat unsightly expression, saying:

“That Wu the Old Monster is skilled at controlling puppets and directly summoned several puppets comparable to Golden Core…”

“If it were only this, we could still fight… But more terrifyingly, one of the puppets seemed to have the power of the Nascent Soul Stage!”

“We ultimately had to retreat in defeat, leaving behind four Core Formation Elders who all perished…”

Nascent Soul puppet?

Lin Chen raised his eyebrows; does the Puppet Hall really have such abilities?

If they could create Nascent Soul puppets, where would the Righteous Alliance find room to survive…

At this time, Han Jihai exclaimed in surprise:

“Old Wang, you must be mistaken, right? Truly a Nascent Soul stage puppet? How could the Puppet Hall possess such depth…”

The Array Peak Master nodded, saying:

“I’m certain that puppet truly has the power of a Nascent Soul True Man…”

“Moreover, its flesh body is comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator. I suspect it is a Human Puppet!”

What is a Human Puppet? It is created by turning dead cultivators into puppets.

The problem is, a Nascent Soul stage Human Puppet indicates that the cultivator’s flesh body was at least Nascent Soul stage before death…

“Comparable to a Nascent Soul Body Refining cultivator…”

Lin Chen’s heart stirred slightly, suddenly thinking of the Red-faced Nether Ghost.

Or rather, Luo Ming!

Previously, during the battle with Ghost-Eyed Old Monster, Lin Chen learned from Li Tianhan that Luo Ming was a Nascent Soul cultivator from several thousand years ago.

Moreover, he was a dual Nascent Soul in body refining and cultivation techniques!

But after being slain by the Demon Sect, his soul was used as a sacrifice to create the Red-faced Nether Ghost…

But what of Luo Ming’s flesh body? That was a Nascent Soul Body Refining cultivator’s body…

It wouldn’t be so easily destroyed.

“Could it be… that puppet was crafted using Luo Ming’s flesh body?”

“If truly so, it might indeed possess Nascent Soul stage power…”

Lin Chen frowned slightly.

No wonder the Puppet Hall has such formidable depth, sitting securely atop the throne of the Three Great Demon Sects.

Just this one Nascent Soul puppet is extraordinary.

“It seems the gap between the Righteous Alliance and the Demon Sect is quite significant!”

“Since the Puppet Hall also has Nascent Soul-level strength, what about the Sacred Heart Sect?”

Lin Chen remained silent.

He suspected the Demon Sect might have three Nascent Soul-level strengths.

Yet on the Righteous Alliance’s side, the Spirit Beast Sect’s ancestor died in battle, the Changchun Sect’s ancestor went missing without a trace…

Even the founding ancestor of the Celestial Pill Sect hasn’t appeared for a long time.

“At present, it’s only Golden Core cultivators fighting desperately… Nascent Soul cultivators have yet to directly join the fray.”

“But if the three Great Demon Sects’ Nascent Souls join forces, how could the Righteous Alliance endure for long?”

Lin Chen’s thoughts turned continuously.

One Nascent Soul cultivator can turn the tide of battle.

Two Nascent Soul cultivators can easily destroy the current Righteous Alliance…

But why didn’t the Demon Sect do it?

Instead, they’ve been locked in a tug-of-war with the Righteous Alliance…

Lin Chen couldn’t understand this and pondered.

There must be a deeper reason hidden within.

Han Jihai was also shocked upon hearing about the Nascent Soul-level puppet and asked:

“Old Wang, what are we going to do next?”

Han Jihai smiled bitterly and said:

“What else can we do? Just hold our ground!”

“Although we lost four Golden Core Cultivators this time, the Demon Sect suffered even more!”

“The Celestial Thunder Master’s power is too great. Half of Xinliang City has turned into ruins… The Demon Sect won’t be able to assemble an effective attack for a while.”

Taking a pause, Han Jihai looked at Lin Chen and said:

“Elder Lin, we will need to perfect the array even more… to prevent any unexpected incidents!”

“It’s best to build a strong enough array to protect all of Qinghe City and Lingxuan City…”

Lin Chen nodded and said:

“It is our duty to alleviate the concerns of the Righteous Alliance.”

…

After the explosion in Xinliang City, the morale of the Demon Sect plummeted.

But the strength gap between the Orthodox and Demonic Party is still undeniable, especially with that Nascent Soul Stage puppet Wu Xing Kui, which makes the Righteous Alliance cautious, unwilling to act impulsively.

Thus the situation remained stagnant.

On one side, the Demon Sect began to summon more demon cultivators to the front line.

The entire occupied Purple Smoke Realm has become fertile ground for nurturing demon cultivators.

Through various blood sacrifices and dubious practices, the growth in the demon cultivators’ realm accelerated substantially.

In just a few short years of warfare, the number of demon cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage has increased several times over.

The trade-off, however, has been the death of millions of mortals.

Meanwhile, because of the explosion caused by the Celestial Thunder in Xinliang City, supporting demon cultivators no longer gather together on the front lines.

Instead, they station themselves a certain distance apart from each other, ensuring mutual support while also avoiding being killed in large numbers directly by the Celestial Thunder.

Compared to the demon cultivators, the Righteous Alliance remains steadfast in defending Lingxuan and Qinghe City.

The Celestial Pill Sect sent several more Golden Core Cultivators, along with the arrays set up by the Changchun Sect.

The intention seems to be to make the two cities impregnable.

The only difference is that Lin Chen’s, or rather Xu Shi’s, bounty has increased again.

It has reached eight million Spirit Stones!

Such a terrifying price would tempt not only Lin Chen but even some Nascent Soul Old Monsters.

Two months later, on a certain day.

Lin Chen sent out the new Long Ba and Feng Jiu to Guangyuan Auction for trade.

Upon seeing Long Ba, Chairman Liu was visibly delighted.

“Taoist Friend Long! It’s wonderful to see that you’re safe!”

“Here are the Spirit Stones from previous months…”

Chairman Liu handed over a storage bag containing fifty thousand Spirit Stones from the past three months of consigned auctions.

Long Ba nodded slightly without fuss.

He directly took out the Golden Yuan Pill and a batch of Magical Treasures.

“Chairman Liu, this is for consignment in the next half-year.”

Long Ba’s tone was icy. After speaking, he intended to leave.

But Chairman Liu quickly stopped him.

“Hold on, Taoist Friend Long Ba… may I ask if Taoist Friend Xu Shi is well?” Chairman Liu asked tentatively.

“He’s fine. All future trades will be handled by me; no need to bother Chairman Liu.” Long Ba paused briefly.

Upon hearing this, Chairman Liu sighed in relief and said:

“Ah, it’s good, very good to hear that nothing’s wrong!”

“Three months ago in that battle, I heard even the Blood Pupil Old Demon personally took action…”

At this point, Chairman Liu suddenly felt a sense of guilt and said:

“Taoist Friend Long Ba, I blame myself for failing to judge people accurately; that Yang Rong, I truly didn’t expect her to betray us…”

Chairman Liu showed a look of lingering fear.

“Rest assured, Taoist Friend Long! At Guangyuan Commerce Association, we have always prided ourselves on integrity!”

“Even though Yang Rong is dead now… Guangyuan Commerce Association will definitely give your esteemed sect an explanation!”

At this moment, far away in Qinghe City, Lin Chen.

Watching the synchronized images from the equipment at his hand, a cold smile appeared on his face.

Thinking back to Yang Rong’s pursuit of Long Ba three months ago, Lin Chen muttered:

“That Yang Rong, a dignified Core Formation Cultivator…”

“An official of Guangyuan Commerce Association, did she really betray the association… stab me in the back?”

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