54: Chapter 54 Immortal Puppet

[ You ignored him. ]

[ "Wash me up too, won't you?" he said, his tone carrying a sense of natural, coquettish entitlement, as if he were not a captured prisoner, but someone close to you. ]

[ "My face is covered in blood, it's not very presentable. When you speak to me, I hope to look at least a little cleaner." ]

[ You stood up, walked over to him, and kicked him in the ribs. ]

[ Wei Feisen let out a muffled groan and coughed up a few mouthfuls of bloody spit, yet he was still smiling. ]

[ "I want to ask you something," you said. ]

[ Wei Feisen looked up at you, blood foam hanging from the corners of his mouth, making his face look exceptionally pale. ]

[ "I have fallen into your hands now," his voice was a bit hoarse, "whatever you want to ask, just ask." ]

[ You did not hesitate. ]

[ "My brother." Your voice was kept very low, each word squeezed out from between your teeth, "Is he still alive? Did you kill him?" ]

[ Wei Feisen was stunned for a moment. ]

[ The grinning expression on his face dissipated, replaced by a genuine sense of surprise. ]

[ "Wanwan, to think you would view me like that." He shook his head, his tone even carrying a hint of grievance, "By the time I knew about this matter, your brother had already gone missing. I even sent people to look for his corpse; I searched for three months, but found nothing." ]

[ You stared into his eyes. ]

[ When he said this, his gaze did not flicker, his breathing was steady, and there were no superfluous movements at the corners of his mouth. ]

[ But you knew clearly in your heart that in the first simulation, he personally admitted to killing your brother. ]

[ This time, what he said was different. ]

[ Which time was the truth? ]

[ You temporarily suppressed this question and asked the second one. ]

[ "What exactly is this so-called Immortal?" ]

[ Wei Feisen's eyes lit up. ]

[ That brightness was completely different from how he looked at you before; it was not possession, not lust, but a light belonging to a believer, bordering on fanaticism. ]

[ "You are interested in this too?" He suddenly sat up straight, his speed of speech quickening, "Wanwan, join me. With your talent, if we gather all the martial arts Secret Manuals of Great Qing together, we will definitely be able to create a Cultivation Technique that rivals Immortal arts. How about it?" ]

[ Listening to his words, the anticipation in your heart cooled little by little. You had expected some major news; was this it? ]

[ Gather all martial arts Secret Manuals? Create Immortal arts? ]

[ "Collect all the martial arts of Great Qing, and one can become an Immortal Cultivator?" you asked. ]

[ The manic smile on Wei Feisen's face froze. ]

[ He was silent for two breaths, then slowly shook his head. ]

[ "I don't know." ]

[ You looked at his expression, and suddenly understood everything. ]

[ He didn't know either. ]

[ He was just gambling. ]

[ Using the entire Martial Forest of Great Qing as a stake, betting on an answer he himself wasn't even sure of. ]

[ Just then, your ears suddenly grew hot. ]

[ Extremely faint footsteps came from the southeast. It wasn't a human's gait; the rhythm was too uniform, uniform to an abnormal degree, with the interval between each step being completely identical, as if strictly constrained by some sort of rule. ]

[ The speed was extremely fast. ]

[ And it was accelerating. ]

[ The Black-robed man. ]

[ Your hand was already gripping the hilt of your sword. ]

[ Wei Feisen also sensed something; the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a smile you were very familiar with—the kind that showed he had everything under control. ]

[ This was his true trump card. ]

[ From beginning to end, he dared to be dragged away by you, dared to be tied up by you, not because he trusted you, but because that thing could come at any time. ]

[ You drew your sword in one motion and held it against his neck. ]

[ "If he comes any closer, I will kill you." ]

[ Wei Feisen tilted his head, smiling as he looked at you. ]

[ "Then kill me," his tone was nonchalant, "if you kill me, you will never be able to know any news about the Cultivation World and Immortal Cultivators again." ]

[ Your pupils constricted slightly. ]

[ He had seen it. ]

[ Just now, when you asked "What is an Immortal," the flash of urgency in your eyes had been captured by him. ]

[ Your desire for cultivation had been seen through by him. ]

[ This man, even with his teeth knocked out, covered in blood, and tied to a rock unable to move, could still find your weak point in the shortest amount of time and turn it into a blade held against your throat. ]

[ You let out a cold snort. ]

[ "Is that so?" ]

[ You withdrew your long sword, flipped your right palm, and the True Qi of the Mountain-Shattering Palm condensed in your palm. ]

[ The smile on Wei Feisen's face finally stiffened. ]

[ "What are you doing?" ]

[ You did not answer. ]

[ You struck down with your palm, hitting his Dantian square on. ]

[ *Pfft.* ]

[ A muffled sound, like a water-filled skin being punctured from the inside. ]

[ Wei Feisen's body suddenly arched, his eyes instantly bulging, and a mouthful of thick, bloody fluid sprayed from his mouth, splattering onto your sleeve, scalding hot. ]

[ His Dantian was shattered. ]

[ The True Qi lost its vessel and rampaged through his Meridians, each Meridian expanding, trembling, and tearing violently. His face turned from pale to purple-red at a speed visible to the naked eye, and veins crawled from his forehead all the way down to his neck, as if something under his skin was struggling to break out. ]

[ He looked down at his abdomen, his eyes wide open. ]

[ That look of disbelief was not pain, not anger, but a kind of bewilderment at having been destroyed at the very Foundation. ]

[ "You..." ]

[ His lips trembled several times before he managed to squeeze out a complete sound. ]

[ "You crippled my cultivation?" ]

[ You did not answer. ]

[ "You crippled my cultivation!" ]

[ His voice rose sharply. ]

[ "Lin Shuangwan! How dare you! How dare you!" ]

[ He began to struggle violently, his bound arms twisting frantically behind his back. ]

[ "Thirty years! Thirty years! Do you know how many years I have walked this path? Do you know how many people I had to kill to get to where I am today!" ]

[ His eyes were bloodshot, his pupils constricted violently, and the "everything is under control" expression on his face disappeared. ]

[ What remained was only a beast stripped of everything. ]

[ "Ahhhhhhh!!!" ]

[ He threw his head back and roared, the sound echoing through the valley. ]

[ You stood three steps away, watching him without saying a word. ]

[ And that Black-robed man, who had been approaching at high speed. ]

[ Stopped. ]

[ Less than five zhang away from you, the black figure was as if someone had pulled a switch; it froze in place, swayed twice, and then with a "thud," fell straight to the ground. ]

[ You looked at the Black-robed man lying on the ground and let out a long breath. ]

[ You had bet correctly. ]

[ You had noticed it earlier. ]

[ The Black-robed man's movement pattern was wrong. Throughout the entire standoff at the mountain gate, he had stayed within the ranks of the Black Tiger Gang. When Wei Feisen ordered everyone to retreat, he followed, without independent judgment, without any superfluous reactions. ]

[ Like a Puppet without consciousness. ]

[ And for a Martial Artist to control a Puppet, there was only one medium they could use: Internal Energy. ]

[ Once the Dantian was shattered, the Internal Energy dissipated, and the connection to the Puppet was naturally severed. ]

[ You walked up to the Black-robed man and used the tip of your sword to lift his hood. ]