40: Puppet battle formation, core skills acquired

Blackwood Sect.

These three words, like three poison-tipped nails, were brutally hammered into the heart of every Qingyun Sect Disciple.

The voice was arrogant, wild, and carried the playful mockery of a cat toying with a mouse.

It also contained a thick, pungent smell of blood that was impossible to dissipate.

The Leading Elder's face instantly darkened, and the Golden Core Stage spiritual power surged like a mountain flood.

"Go!"

With a low shout, his figure was the first to transform into a streak of light, piercing through the air.

Everyone followed closely behind.

After bypassing a section of a collapsed giant stone wall, the scene before them made everyone's pupils shrink violently.

A much more expansive hall.

The ground was engraved with complex, ancient Formation patterns, clearly indicating a place of great importance.

At this moment, inside the hall, spiritual light flashed, and battle cries shook the heavens.

Another small team from Qingyun Sect, a dozen elite inner Disciples, were being tightly besieged by a group of black-clad Cultivators.

They struggled to hold on, teetering on the brink of collapse.

On the ground lay several corpses of Qingyun Sect Disciples.

Warm blood stained the cold, ancient Formation patterns, a shocking sight.

In the very center of the battlefield.

A three-zhang-tall humanoid Puppet, cast entirely from unknown black iron, was wielding a giant axe like a door panel.

It was attacking indiscriminately.

Each swing brought with it a piercing shriek that tore through the air, forcing everyone to dodge frantically.

The attackers were Cultivators from the Blackwood Sect.

The leader was burly and had a fierce countenance.

A hideous saber scar ran from his left eye to his jaw, and his entire being exuded a violent Aura.

He held a ghost-head broadsword, its blade wreathed in black Qi, radiating immense power.

"Heishan!"

The Leading Elder gritted his teeth and squeezed out the name.

This person was none other than the Senior Brother of Heisha, whom Lin Gou had killed.

He was a Personal Disciple of the Blackwood Sect Sect Master, a ruthless and vicious Demonic Path brigand who had long since entered the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

Heishan also noticed the arrival of Lin Gou and his group.

Far from being surprised, a more cruel smile bloomed on his face.

He forced back the Puppet in front of him with a single saber strike, then sneered towards them:

"Oh, another group of people coming to their deaths."

"Perfect, saves me the trouble of hunting them down one by one."

"Kill them all, and everything you've obtained in this ruin will belong to our Blackwood Sect!"

"Kill!"

At Heishan's command, more than a dozen Blackwood Sect Disciples immediately broke off, pouncing like hungry wolves that had smelled blood.

"Form a Formation!"

The Qingyun Sect Elder roared, his Golden Core Stage Aura erupting, directly confronting Heishan.

The two sides instantly erupted into a life-and-death battle.

Flashes of blades and swords, roaring Spells, the air of the entire great hall seemed to be completely ignited.

Lin Gou, mixed in the crowd, conjured an ordinary magical Flying Sword, haphazardly engaging a Blackwood Sect Disciple.

"Oh, a big scene."

His heart was calm, even a little amused.

"This kind of chaotic battlefield is best for fishing in troubled waters."

"Dying at the hands of one's own people yields too low a rating. Dying at the hands of the Blackwood Sect yields a medium rating."

"But if I die at the hands of that big guy... the rating will definitely be high!"

While dodging, he kept his peripheral vision fixed on the black iron Puppet.

Just then.

The black iron Puppet, which had been under siege, suddenly had its crimson crystal eyes glow brightly.

It let out a dull roar, neither metallic nor stony.

Buzz—

The ancient Formation patterns on the floor of the entire hall lit up with blood-red light at this moment.

The ground began to vibrate violently.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Accompanied by a grating mechanical sound, dozens of platforms slowly rose from the ground.

On each platform stood a slightly smaller Puppet.

Their eyes were also cold, emotionless crimson.

Dozens of Foundation Establishment Stage battle-power Puppets instantly formed an airtight circle of death.

They surrounded all living beings in the hall, whether from Qingyun Sect or Blackwood Sect.

The Puppet battle Formation was activated!

"Not good!"

Heishan's expression changed for the first time.

He hadn't expected this Puppet to have such a hidden trump card.

The three-zhang-tall Golden Core-level Puppet now seemed like a general issuing commands.

It pointed its giant axe.

Instantly, all the smaller Puppets moved.

They marched with uniform, yet deathly oppressive steps, launching a cold charge towards the crowd.

Despair.

True despair had descended.

"Ah!"

A Blackwood Sect Disciple, unable to dodge in time, was caught between two Puppets and instantly torn in half by sharp iron claws.

Internal organs and blood spilled everywhere.

On the other side, a Qingyun Sect Disciple had just used his Flying Sword to block a blade aimed at his neck, only for his back to be directly pierced by the iron fist of another Puppet.

His face still held the relief of having narrowly escaped death.

But his body had already slumped softly to the ground.

Whether Qingyun Sect or Blackwood Sect, in the face of these tireless, death-defying Puppet battle Formations, they became wheat to be harvested.

Casualties rapidly escalated.

Screams, wails, and the clash of weapons intertwined into a symphony of death.

Zhao Linger's pretty face was deathly pale.

She wielded her longsword, barely defending herself, but several times she narrowly escaped danger.

Lin Gou, however, was exceptionally "active" at this moment.

He darted left and right in the melee, appearing to be fighting valiantly, but in reality, he always "just happened" to appear in the path of a Puppet's attack.

Pfft!

A Puppet's long blade pierced him from behind, emerging from his chest.

He looked down at the blade tip in his chest with "disbelief," then his body went limp, and he "died."

"Ding! Host has died!"

"Death method: Backstabbed by a battle Formation Puppet!"

"Overall rating: C-rank!"

"Congratulations to the Host, you have gained Formation experience +100!"

"Congratulations to the Host, you have gained Metal Attribute Resistance +5%!"

At the anchor point, Lin Gou's figure quietly reappeared.

"C-rank? Too low."

"This kind of death has no technical content, bad review!"

He frowned and once again rushed into the fray.

This time, he "heroically" charged towards a fellow Disciple who was being besieged, shouting loudly.

"Junior Brother, I'm here to save you!"

Then, he was "just coincidentally" dismembered by the chaotic blades of three Puppets.

"Ding! Host has died!"

"Death method: Beaten to death by battle Formation Puppets!"

"Overall rating: C-rank!"

"Congratulations to the Host, you have obtained 'Puppet Control Art (Beginner)'!"

"Congratulations to the Host, you have gained Formation experience +300!"

At the anchor point, Lin Gou's figure condensed once more.

His eyes lit up.

"Here it comes! The core skill is mine!"

He didn't stop, continuing his journey of courting death.

He was crushed into a meat patty by the combined force of two Puppets.

He was smashed into a pile of mud by the giant hammer in a Puppet's hand.

He was directly blasted into dust by the combined attack Formation of the Puppet battle Formation.

Each death deepened his understanding of this Puppet battle Formation.

In his mind, countless nodes of Formation operation and trajectories of energy flow were clearly outlined by each death.

"Ding! Host has died!"

"Death method: Swept by the aftershock of a Golden Core Puppet's attack, crushed into powder!"

"Overall rating: B-rank!"

"Congratulations to the Host, 'Puppet Control Art' proficiency has increased!"

"Congratulations to the Host, you have gained Formation experience +1000!"

"Congratulations to the Host, you have obtained the precise coordinates of this battle Formation's energy core!"

It's done!

When Lin Gou's figure once again condensed at the entrance anchor point, a triumphant smile finally appeared on his face.

The battlefield situation had deteriorated to an extreme degree.

Less than half of the people were still standing.

Both Heishan and the Qingyun Sect's Leading Elder were tightly entangled by the Golden Core Puppet, both injured, and their spiritual power greatly depleted.

Despair was written on everyone's faces.