201: The situation has reversed.

The moment he accepted the defense mission, Gao De felt a clear and stable connection establish itself between him and the five Rank 3 Golden Puppets scattered at the edge of the core area.

It was no longer the faint sensation he had experienced when attempting to control them before, but a connection of authority similar to that between a commander and his personal guards.

He could clearly perceive their positions and status, and could convey relatively complex commands with his thoughts.

At the same time, he keenly sensed that the two Rank 3 Golden Puppets at the entrance that had pursued him into the mine tunnel seemed to have had their hostility markers quietly shift from "Intruder" to a state of "Pending Confirmation." Although they were not directly under his command, the sense of relentless pursuit had vanished.

Clearly, his identity as a "Trainee Artifact Refiner and Squad Leader" had been recognized by the ruins' defense System.

"The advantage is mine!" Gao De felt reassured, with no more worries behind him.

His figure moved like lightning as he sped up the mine tunnel, while simultaneously using his Divine Sense connection to issue the first command to the five Golden Puppets: "Assemble, set an ambush at the second platform fork, and wait for my order to attack."

The interior of the Immortal Qin Dynasty mine tunnel was not a straight line. About three hundred zhang above the core hall, there was a relatively open natural rock platform that connected to several abandoned branch tunnels, making it an excellent ambush spot.

Although his side's strength was completely capable of crushing them, even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. In case the enemy had some trump card to escape, it would be bad, so he decided to simply set an ambush.

Gao De arrived at the platform first, hid behind a giant rock, and concealed his aura.

A moment later, the five three-zhang tall halberd-wielding Golden Puppets approached from different directions with heavy, rhythmic steps. As they moved, the metallic friction sounds were faint, the red lights in their eyes were steady, and they silently stood at key positions on the platform, almost blending into the shadows of the surrounding rock walls.

Soon, chaotic noises and fluctuations of spiritual power came from above the mine tunnel.

The first to rush down were the two Rank 3 Golden Puppets that had originally guarded the entrance and had later been temporarily shaken off by Gao De.

They seemed to have been triggered by the subsequent intruders, and because of the "legalization" of Gao De's identity, they had shifted their targets.

They bore some new battle marks, but their imposing presence remained undiminished.

Closely following these two Golden Puppets were the battered and exhausted Cultivators from the Rong Family and the Heavenly Sword Alliance!

True Person Rong Bing's face was pale, and his chest was stained with blood; he had clearly suffered significant injuries while breaking through the entrance and dealing with the Golden Puppets' pursuit, and the light of the black seal in his hand had dimmed considerably.

Only two Foundation Establishment Cultivator tribesmen remained by his side, both injured and looking terrified; it seemed that the fighting had not ceased even during the pursuit.

The Heavenly Sword Alliance side was even worse off; the middle-aged Sword Cultivator at the Golden Core Early Stage had lost an arm, his aura was withered, and the only remaining Foundation Establishment Cultivator subordinate was supporting him. Both of their sword robes were tattered and stained with blood.

Gao De was even a bit curious as to why they refused to give up despite being so heavily injured, risking severe injury to chase him inside.

The two groups seemed to have reached a temporary, fragile understanding to deal with the pursuit of the two seemingly tireless Golden Puppets behind them, and they clearly assumed that Gao De had already gone deep into the mine, never expecting to encounter an ambush here.

When they saw the five Rank 3 Golden Puppets standing quietly on the platform with red lights in their eyes locked onto them, and the Purple Lightning Flood Dragon with a deep aura slowly stepping out from behind the rock, the faces of True Person Rong Bing and the Heavenly Sword Alliance Golden Core Sword Cultivator turned as pale as paper!

"It's that Flood Dragon! He... he can actually control these Golden Puppets! Could it be that he has already taken control of this base's formation spirit?" True Person Rong Bing exclaimed, his eyes filled with disbelief and despair.

"Damn it! It's a trap!" The Heavenly Sword Alliance Golden Core Sword Cultivator's pupils also shrank sharply; the severe pain from his severed arm seemed to be suppressed by the desperate situation before him.

Gao De did not give them any chance to catch their breath or beg for mercy.

"Kill."

The cold word was transmitted through Divine Sense to the cores of the five Golden Puppets.

"Boom!"

The five halberd-wielding Golden Puppets moved simultaneously!

They had no fancy Moves, only the most simple and direct charges, slashes, and thrusts!

The five dark gold halberds tore through the air with a dull whistle, sealing off all room for evasion on the platform, focusing their coverage on the most heavily injured True Person Rong Bing and the Heavenly Sword Alliance Golden Core Cultivator!

At the same time, the two Golden Puppets that had returned from below also arrived just in time. Although they were not directly under Gao De's command, their instinct to "clear unauthorized intruders" made them join the attack without hesitation, completely blocking the path.

Seven Rank 3 Golden Puppets besieged two injured Golden Core Cultivators and three Foundation Establishment Cultivators in poor condition!

The battle was almost a one-sided slaughter.

True Person Rong Bing roared, desperately activating the black seal to raise a black light shield again, while simultaneously offering up a small tortoise shell shield.

But under the cross-strike of two halberds, the already cracked light shield shattered instantly, and the small tortoise shell shield was also knocked away.

The third Golden Puppet's halberd pierced into his chest like a poisonous dragon!

His protective spiritual energy was like paper; the halberd tip pierced through his back, bringing out a spray of pale golden blood.

True Person Rong Bing's eyes widened as he stared fixedly at Gao De, his lips moving as if wanting to say something, but his life force was already rapidly fading.

The black seal slipped from his powerless hand.

On the other side, the Heavenly Sword Alliance Golden Core Sword Cultivator was fierce; with his remaining arm, he wielded his life-bound Flying Sword, turning it into a mournful cyan sword rainbow, attempting a desperate final struggle, even wanting to drag Gao De down with him.

However, the halberds of the four Golden Puppets formed an airtight web of death, easily shredding his sword rainbow.

One halberd parried his Flying Sword, and another directly decapitated him!

The headless corpse was torn apart by the following halberds.

The remaining three Foundation Establishment Cultivators had even less ability to resist and were instantly slaughtered by the Golden Puppets.

From start to finish, the battle lasted only a few breaths.

On the platform, only a few broken corpses, scattered Magical Artifacts, and a thick scent of blood remained.

The two Golden Puppets that had joined later, after confirming that all intruders were dead, had the red lights in their eyes flicker a few times before slowly retreating to the edge of the platform and returning to their static guard state.

Only then did Gao De slowly step forward.

He first scanned carefully with his Divine Sense to confirm there were no fish that slipped through the net or hidden traps, and only then did he begin to clean up the battlefield.

The Storage Pouches of True Person Rong Bing and the Heavenly Sword Alliance Golden Core Cultivator were naturally the most valuable spoils.

He controlled the Golden Puppets to step forward and collect them. After confirming it was safe, they were handed over to Gao De. After taking them and briefly inspecting them, he found plenty of Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, Materials, and Jade Slips inside. Especially in the Heavenly Sword Alliance Golden Core Sword Cultivator's Storage Pouch, there were several detailed intelligence Jade Slips regarding the distribution of forces and resource points in Yunmeng Marsh and the surrounding areas, which was exactly what Gao De needed.

Next, his gaze fell on the dropped black seal.

The seal was neither gold nor jade; it felt heavy and cold in his hand, and the tadpole-like runes on its surface flowed faintly.

Gao De tried to inject a trace of Demonic Power, but the seal did not react at all.

He then tried to communicate using the methods from the newly acquired "Basic Puppet Control Technique." The seal trembled slightly and transmitted an extremely vague and intermittent stream of information, seemingly about some basic authority and pointers for this seal—pointing exactly to this "Geng Metal No. 73 Mining and Smelting Camp," and... some authority node deeper inside? Unfortunately, the information was too fragmented.

"This is likely a 'key' or 'token' related to this place that the Rong Family ancestors obtained by chance; it is not high-level, but it was their reliance for knowing about this place and daring to come explore it," Gao De thought to himself.

He carefully put away the seal; this item might be useful in the future, or he could hand it in to exchange for military merit.

"Formation Spirit, the intruders have been cleared, please settle the mission military merit," Gao De communicated with his thoughts.

A moment later, the Formation Spirit's cold voice sounded directly in his mind: "Mission complete. Killed two Golden Core Early Stage Cultivators and three Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivators. Contribution assessment: Led and completed all kills. Reward military merit: 230 points. Trainee Artifact Refiner and Squad Leader 'Gao De', current military merit: 370 points."

370 points! Gao De felt happy.

If he turned in a bit of the Cultivation Technique he had collected, it would be enough to exchange for a portion of [earth vein geng metal]!

He did not immediately return to the core hall to exchange, but instead cleaned up the scene first.

He ordered the five Golden Puppets to clean up the corpses and battle traces as much as possible, concentrate the remains and broken Magical Artifacts deep in an abandoned branch tunnel, and then spewed [Purple Heaven Thunder Flame] to incinerate them completely.

The Thunder Flame had both high temperature and purification effects, ensuring that no traceable marks would be left behind.

True Person Rong Bing was a local tyrant, and the Heavenly Sword Alliance was a massive entity; he must never let them discover that their deaths here were related to him.

Although in theory it was difficult for them to trace him when he was in his Flood Dragon Incarnation and his identity had been "verified" by the Immortal Qin Dynasty System, caution was never wrong.

After handling everything and confirming there were no omissions, Gao De brought the five Golden Puppets back to the core hall.

His command authority over the Golden Puppets had not been revoked, so he had them guard the entrance to the high platform, both as guards and to prevent accidents.

Arriving at the mirror in front of the first floor of the Control Platform again, after gathering enough military merit points, Gao De exchanged for a portion of [earth vein geng metal] without hesitation.

The mirror surface flashed with light, and a fist-sized, dark gold Ore that was neither gold nor jade, with countless fine and mysterious patterns naturally formed on its surface, appeared before him.

As soon as the Ore appeared, the Geng Metal sharpness in the surrounding air instantly became several times richer, faintly emitting a clear, resonant clanging sound.

Just by being close to it, Gao De felt his life-bound Demonic Artifact, the "thunder fang formation-breaking halberd," vibrating excitedly in his Dantian.

"Truly a top-grade spiritual material!" Gao De put away the earth vein geng metal with satisfaction.

This item could not only make the quality of the formation-breaking halberd leap forward, but it was also of great benefit for his comprehension of the Metal Element Law and for completing the metal attribute in his Bloodline.

He still had a little bit of military merit left. After a moment of contemplation, he exchanged for that [Standard Magical Artifact · Armor-Piercing Crossbow].

This Rank 3 Low Grade crossbow had an ancient design and impressive power. More importantly, the Immortal Qin Dynasty artifact-making concepts and rune technology contained within it had reference value for him.

As for the [Healing Medicinal Pill · Golden Sore Pill], he was not lacking in healing methods for the time being. He only intended to use the ones he had previously exchanged for to have his subordinates study them, to see if they could be replicated and used as products to earn Spirit Stones.

After finishing the exchange, he still had quite a bit of temporary authority time left.

He was not in a hurry to leave, but instead walked toward the "Basic Classics Library" again to more systematically read through the records about the Immortal Qin Dynasty's System, geography, and history, trying to piece together the outline of this ancient Dynasty and the reason why this place was abandoned.

Unfortunately, most of the records in the library were superficial; regarding the "Great Change" and the reasons for abandonment, they were deeply secretive.

Perhaps it was because the authority of this base was not high.

He also tried to ask the Formation Spirit if he could raise his military Rank through higher-level assessments.

The reply he received was: "Squad Leader authority is insufficient to initiate higher-level assessments. You need to accumulate enough military merit or complete specific missions, and be recommended by someone with higher authority or approved by the base commander."

It seems this "Trainee Artifact Refiner and Squad Leader" was the highest temporary authority he could obtain for now.

The true core secrets and higher-level treasure vaults would likely require a real Immortal Qin Dynasty official status to touch.

"However, the gains from this trip have already far exceeded expectations." Gao De was not greedy.

earth vein geng metal, Puppet Control Technique, Artifact Refining Outline, a large amount of intelligence, and the many pieces of knowledge of the Immortal Qin Dynasty... these were enough for him to digest for a long time.

Seeing that the stay time was coming to an end, Gao De checked his gains one last time to confirm there were no omissions.

He came to the entrance of the high platform and looked at the five Golden Puppets standing quietly.

The Formation Spirit's voice sounded at the right time: "Temporary defense mission ended, Puppet command authority revoked. Trainee Artifact Refiner and Squad Leader 'Gao De', you may choose to leave the base or continue to stay here until the authority time is exhausted. After leaving, temporary authority and military merit will be cleared."

Gao De understood that this temporary status and military merit could not be taken away. He decisively chose to leave.

The red lights in the eyes of the five Golden Puppets extinguished, and they returned to their original positions.

The passage at the bottom of the high platform closed.

Gao De took one last look at this magnificent and mysterious Immortal Qin Dynasty mine core, his figure transformed into a Flood Dragon, and he returned along the original mine tunnel path.

When passing by the platform, it was already empty, with only a few barely noticeable scorch marks on the rock wall.

He went full speed and soon rushed out of the mine tunnel, returning to the ruins.

In the ruins, the battle had long since subsided.

The remaining low-Rank Golden Puppets seemed to have returned to a static state, half-buried in the soil, because the threat in the core area had been lifted.

The half-section of the metal monument had dim light, and the entrance was also mostly buried by rubble.

Gao De did not stay, but went straight through the ruins, rushed out of the canyon, identified the direction, and headed towards the outer edge of Sunken Gold Marsh.

This time, he did not choose the Rusty Water River, but based on the newly acquired intelligence, he chose a safer and faster route.

A few days later, Gao De safely left the Sunken Gold Marsh area and set foot on the journey to Qian River again.

Behind him, that swamp filled with golden malevolent aura, as well as the deep-hidden Immortal Qin Dynasty secrets within, were temporarily unrelated to him.

But the rich gains from this trip, especially the two portions of earth vein geng metal and the Immortal Qin Dynasty Legacy knowledge, would add immensely solid chips for his Breakthrough to the Fourth Rank.

The date of the Qianjiang Dragon Palace birthday banquet was approaching, and Gao De, this Purple Lightning Flood Dragon bearing the Immortal Qin Dynasty "Squad Leader" status, was carrying new foundations and secrets, continuing to swim towards that stage where winds and clouds from all directions gathered.

His path to dragon transformation, because of the trip to Sunken Gold Marsh, had undoubtedly taken another solid and critical step forward.

But who knew what kind of opportunities and challenges were waiting for him in that Qianjiang Dragon Palace?

However, the most urgent task for Gao De was to first consider overcoming the transformation tribulation.