181: Chapter 181 Marionette

Zhang Bufan looked over at the sound and indeed saw a small black shadow trying to escape through the wall.

"Still trying to run!" Zhang Bufan snorted coldly, then reached out with his large hand and grabbed at the Little Black Shadow from a distance.

What was strange, however, was that the Spiritual Qi hand Zhang Bufan conjured did not grasp the Little Black Shadow; instead, it passed right through him.

"Hm?" Zhang Bufan was very surprised. Watching the Little Black Shadow about to drill into the wall and escape, he was anxious but helpless.

"Host, this black shadow is merely a Dao consciousness body; Spiritual Qi cannot touch him. You must use Soul Power to attack," the System quickly reminded.

Zhang Bufan suddenly understood, then condensed a large hand with Soul Power and quickly grabbed at the Little Black Shadow.

At this moment, two-thirds of the Little Black Shadow's body had already entered the wall. He felt incredibly stifled; as King Luo Zhan's battle puppet, to be forced to flee by a young man was a great humiliation, truly a great humiliation.

"Kid, you just wait for me. When my true body emerges, that will be your death day," the Little Black Shadow let out a low growl, and then his entire body was about to completely disappear into the wall.

"Where do you think you're going!" Zhang Bufan roared. His Soul Power hand grabbed a corner of the Little Black Shadow, pulling him back completely and forcefully.

"You... release this King, or I will exterminate your entire clan!" The Little Black Shadow was firmly held in Zhang Bufan's hand. He struggled continuously, letting out angry roars.

"Damn it, giving you face, are we?" Zhang Bufan raised his other hand and slapped the Little Black Shadow several times.

Of course, these slaps were imbued with Soul Power, making the Little Black Shadow dizzy. Although he was only a controlled consciousness body, his master had endowed him with self-awareness; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to communicate flexibly with Zhang Bufan.

"Ah ah ah!" After the Little Black Shadow recovered, he roared, "How dare you disrespect this King? This is a great crime!"

"You're at death's door and still wailing. Let's see if I don't annihilate you," Zhang Bufan's eyes turned cold, and he increased his Soul Power, intending to directly crush the Little Black Shadow.

"Wait, don't kill me!" The Little Black Shadow panicked and quickly begged for mercy.

"Heh, now you know fear, now you know you're a prisoner?" Zhang Bufan sneered.

"Hmph!" The Little Black Shadow snorted coldly, his tone annoyed, "Tell me, what do you want in exchange for letting me go?"

"Slap!" Zhang Bufan slapped the Little Black Shadow again. "'Me' your sister, speak properly."

The Little Black Shadow was slapped again. This time, he learned his lesson, not daring to retort, and accepted reality.

Zhang Bufan looked at the Little Black Shadow, nodded in satisfaction, and asked, "Where did my friends go?"

"They are currently undergoing a trial!" the Little Black Shadow replied.

"Take me there!" Zhang Bufan commanded.

"No!" the Little Black Shadow said firmly. Then he felt Zhang Bufan's icy gaze and quickly explained, "They are in a Formation set up by the main body. I cannot open it."

"Then where is your main body?" Zhang Bufan asked.

"I don't know!" the Little Black Shadow replied.

"Slap, slap!" Zhang Bufan slapped the Little Black Shadow twice again, scolding, "You don't know this, you don't know that. What use are you to me? I might as well just crush you."

"I, I, I really don't know!" The Little Black Shadow trembled with fear. "I am just a small wisp of consciousness separated from the main body, only executing the tasks set by the main body. As for where the main body is or what it wants to do, I truly don't know!"

"He should not be lying!" the System said.

Zhang Bufan nodded, then lifted the barrier around Fire Qingrou and the others.

Fire Qingrou quickly ran over, scrutinized the Little Black Shadow in Zhang Bufan's hand, and said, "Senior Brother, is this dark, slippery thing what King Luo Zhan created?"

"Yes!" Zhang Bufan nodded. "This guy is just a tiny bit of King Luo Zhan's consciousness."

Shi Xiaozhan was also curiously examining the Little Black Shadow. He had felt that terrifying aura earlier and truly thought it was King Luo Zhan.

Fire Qingrou's expression was not good. If just a tiny bit of King Luo Zhan's consciousness was so strong, then how powerful must his main body be?

"Senior Brother, then is King Luo Zhan truly dead or not?" Shi Xiaozhan asked.

Fire Qingrou also looked at Zhang Bufan with a solemn expression.

"I don't know if he's dead or not. You'll have to ask him." Zhang Bufan shook his head, then lifted the Little Black Shadow in his hand and asked, "Speak, is your main body dead or not?"

"I don't know. When the main body created me, he was only a Soul body, and my task is to maintain the normal operation of the trial," the Little Black Shadow replied.

"The voice in the main hall when we first entered, was that you?" Fire Qingrou asked.

"It was me, and it wasn't me!" the Little Black Shadow replied.

"What do you mean?" Fire Qingrou's eyebrows shot up, about to attack the Little Black Shadow.

"Wait, what I mean is, that voice was another 'me.' His task is to oversee the progression of the trial." The Little Black Shadow felt the Soul Power fluctuations on Fire Qingrou's palm and quickly explained, terrified.

"Damn it, you two are truly something. Clearly just puppets, one claiming to be the Battle King Skill's artifact spirit, the other claiming to be King Luo Zhan. How shameless!" Shi Xiaozhan said with disdain.

"Uh, hehe, speaking of which, I do have a little connection with King Luo Zhan, you know!" The Little Black Shadow showed no embarrassment, chuckling.

"Are their so-called trials truly to find a Legacy Disciple for King Luo Zhan?" Zhang Bufan asked. He had always felt that these so-called trials were full of strangeness, something felt off, though he couldn't pinpoint it.

"I'm not sure about that either," the Little Black Shadow replied. Then, feeling Zhang Bufan's cold gaze, he quickly explained, "Brother, I truly don't know, and even the other 'me' wouldn't know."

"Senior Brother, what do we do now? Should we go find them first?" Fire Qingrou asked.

"They are trapped in a Formation, we can't find them for now." Zhang Bufan remembered the purpose of their trip and asked the Little Black Shadow, "Is there really royal grade soul-nourishing wood in this War King Palace?"

"This..." The Little Black Shadow stammered, unable to utter a word for a long time.

"Speak, or die!" Zhang Bufan said coldly.

The Little Black Shadow shivered and said urgently, "The main body did indeed obtain a piece of royal grade soul-nourishing wood."

"Where is it kept?" Zhang Bufan's face lit up with joy as he asked.

"On the top floor of this War King Palace!"

"Take me there immediately." An excited expression appeared on Zhang Bufan's face.

"I..."

"Slap!"

Before the Little Black Shadow could finish his sentence, Zhang Bufan rewarded him with a slap. This guy was very cunning; Zhang Bufan knew what he was going to say even before he opened his mouth.