55: The corpse puppet formation is waiting to be caught!

On the streets of Wangchuan Market.

Figures were sparse, and the putrid smell in the air grew heavier on the road leading to Dog Tail Street.

The current scene was a stark contrast to the period when the Dream Creation Pill was being heavily promoted.

The few shops on the street corner were also deserted.

“Bang!”

Inside a doorway on Dog Tail Street, with a muffled thud, a gaunt old man was knocked onto the street.

His eyes were filled with terror, and a gruesome, terrifying wound marred his chest. The out-of-control burly Corpse Puppet, like a hungry wolf, pounced on the old man and began to devour him.

The old man didn't even have time to let out a scream before he died instantly.

A few breaths later.

A gray willow-leaf flying boat, about ten feet long, hovered above the out-of-control Corpse Puppet. An iron chain, descending from the sky, instantly wrapped around the out-of-control low-grade Corpse Puppet like a black python, binding it tightly.

In a flash, the black-robed Disciple on the flying boat collected it into a corpse raising bag.

After seeing Shi Chuan, who was riding a Corpse Hound and was also a black-robed Outer Sect Disciple, a few dozen steps away, the black-robed Disciple nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then controlled the flying boat to escape to other areas.

Inside the market, screams from the surrounding streets rose and fell.

It was an incomparably tragic scene, like Hell itself.

Less than a month had passed.

The side effects of the Dream Creation Pill had already manifested. It could be said that Xiao Jueying, Peak Lord of Soul Refining Peak had not only emptied the Spirit Stones of most Cultivators in the market.

He had also turned them into walking Divine Soul emitters.

It was truly killing two birds with one stone.

Xiao Jueying, Peak Lord of Soul Refining Peak's methods were indeed ruthless; he not only targeted many Disciples in the market but even allied with Qu Feng to deal with the Peak Master of Corpse Refining Peak.

Shi Chuan took out a white jade-like communication jade talisman from his Storage Pouch. This jade talisman could be used to contact Yu Jiao on Ghost Street within the market.

'Quickly take Qu Linglu and the others out of the market and go Cultivate in the Great Pagoda Mountain beneath Corpse Refining Cave for a period of time.'

Shi Chuan ordered Yu Jiao.

As for Duan Yue, her Qi Refining Level 4 cultivation made her the least valuable. She could take a communication jade talisman and stay in the market. If there were any disturbances in the market, she could use the communication jade talisman to inform Shi Chuan.

After doing all this, Shi Chuan went to several shops and purchased a large quantity of talismans and spiritual ink. However, the shops no longer had any Yao Beast bone stock.

The Disciples of the Yellow Springs Demon Sect could no longer easily leave the Sect. Once they left the protective range of the Sect's Great Formation, they would be in danger of losing their lives.

The Yao Beasts raised within the Demon Sect could not sustain the consumption of so many Disciples. It could be said that currently, only the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall within the Sect could supply Yao Beast bones and similar items.

...

Soon after.

Shi Chuan returned to the Immortal Cave in Great Pagoda Mountain, beneath Corpse Refining Cave.

A few hundred steps outside the Cultivation Immortal Cave, in a small canyon only a few hundred feet long.

Inside were one hundred and twenty-four low-grade Corpse Puppets, as well as one Middle Grade Corpse Puppet that was about to advance.

These were all Materials for the Corpse Puppet Great Formation that Shi Chuan would arrange, previously herded by the Corpse Crows and Corpse Hounds.

The aura of the Human-faced Snake Demon guarding the Wangchuan Market, which he had left on himself, was still well preserved by Shi Chuan.

If he wished, with just a thought, he could erase the Human-faced Snake Demon's minor trick.

But there was no need; his goal was to hunt that Qi Refining Great Perfection Snake Demon.

Its entire body was a treasure; how could he miss it?

Yao Beast bones could be used to draw talismans to increase their grade, Yao Beast blood could be made into spiritual ink, and its internal organs and bones could be refined, their Materials incorporated into the Profound Yin Banner to increase its power.

“Will it be successful if I use the Demonic Fiend Vine to control these Corpse Puppets?”

Shi Chuan raised his right hand, standing on a cliff on one side of the canyon, overlooking the dozens of wandering low-grade Corpse Puppets in the canyon below. These Corpse Puppets were all clad in ancient armor, wielding some decaying swords, knives, and spears.

There were many rotten spots on the low-grade Corpse Puppets, and the entire canyon was filled with a putrid smell.

Shi Chuan had never tried whether a single Demonic Fiend Vine could split into multiple strands, penetrate these low-grade Corpse Puppets, and control them.

Immediately after, Shi Chuan began to experiment.

Shi Chuan raised his right hand, and a worm-like black vine emerged from beneath his palm. The vine grew rapidly, quickly reaching over two zhang in length.

Crack, crack, crack!

In an instant, the long Demonic Fiend Vine split apart, transforming into over a hundred black afterimages that flew down from the canyon cliff, seemingly with a mind of their own, pouncing towards the hundred-plus low-grade Corpse Puppets below.

After sections of the vine entered the Corpse Puppets' bodies, those Corpse Puppets, which had originally been wandering aimlessly like walking corpses, suddenly stopped moving.

Instantly, through the Demonic Fiend Vine within his body, Shi Chuan could sense the hundred-plus low-grade Corpse Puppets in the canyon below.

“It works.”

“Splitting into over a hundred at once and still being able to control Corpse Puppets, truly a wonder of heaven and earth.”

Shi Chuan sighed in his heart, the control ability of this Nine Nether Demonic Fiend Vine was indeed powerful.

If ordinary Cultivators didn't have a Corpse Controlling Magical Artifact, controlling Corpse Puppets would require the power of their Divine Soul.

Early Stage Qi Refining Cultivators had weak Divine Souls, and controlling three low-grade Corpse Puppets was already their limit.

Middle Stage Cultivators were slightly stronger, but similarly, controlling more than three Middle Grade Corpse Puppets would reach their limit. Any more, and the Corpse Puppets would risk losing control.

As for Late Stage Cultivators, it was the same. Although their Divine Soul increased significantly, the pressure required to control Superior Corpse Puppets on the Divine Soul was doubled.

“The limit of the Demonic Fiend Vine, perhaps a thousand?”

“Or perhaps ten thousand.”

“But it can only be limited to these easy-to-control low-grade Corpse Puppets!”

“If it were Middle Grade or Superior Corpse Puppets, splitting over a hundred vines to control them at once, the difficulty would definitely be several times that of now.”

Afterward, Shi Chuan controlled over a hundred Corpse Puppets, and they all climbed up from the canyon through a hidden passage.

Outside the Cultivation Immortal Cave, he arranged these hundred-plus Corpse Puppets in a Formation, setting up a Corpse Puppet Great Formation.

The Evil Qi of these hundred-plus low-grade Corpse Puppets converged into one place.

They could easily deal with Middle Stage Qi Refining Yao Beasts, and only Yao Beasts above Late Stage Qi Refining could pose a threat.

Moreover, the core of this Corpse Puppet Great Formation was the Red Scale Puppet and the Corpse Crow Demon Puppet.

Even if the Red Scale Puppet had not recovered, it could still unleash combat power comparable to Level 7 or 8 Qi Refining.

Furthermore, the most stubborn Foundation Establishment Yao Evil Qi on the Red Scale Puppet had been eliminated.

With Evil Qi abundant beneath this Corpse Refining Cave, Shi Chuan could also perform Corpse Refining Secret Arts, allowing the Eel Demon to explore more areas in the underground dark river section.

If he could hunt a wild Superior Corpse Puppet born within the Corpse Cave, extract its heart, refine it using the Crimson God Puppet method, and implant it into the Red Scale Puppet's body.

Then, by performing the Corpse Refining Art for two days, there would be over a ninety percent chance for the Red Scale Puppet's combat power to reach around Level 10 Qi Refining.

After that, with the Red Scale Puppet as the core of the Corpse Puppet Great Formation, they would just wait for that Human-faced Snake Demon to fall into the trap.

...

In less than two hours.

Yu Jiao and her group, led by Qin Zhizhi, also arrived at the Immortal Cave in Great Pagoda Mountain. After expanding the original Immortal Cave, it could accommodate several people for living and Cultivating.

“Mysterious Wood Qi, absorb some, take some interest!”

After Shi Chuan saw Jiang Yuheng's figure, the Demonic Fiend Vine in his body stirred, like a person who had been hungry for many days seeing a plate of delicious stir-fried dishes. How could he resist? He absolutely had to absorb it!