220: Chapter 220 A Sword Comes from the West, Burying the Heavenly Ruins!

"Rumble—" The Void Realm fissure trembled violently, nearly collapsing!

The old man slumped at the edge of the fissure, a fist-sized bloody hole in his chest gushing blood, staining his tattered black robe red.

His face was pale as paper, and his silver vertical pupils were filled with disbelief.

"Impossible... This is impossible..."

His voice was trembling.

He was a peerless expert at the Peak of a quasi-emperor; his Physical Body had been tempered for tens of thousands of years and was long since indestructible!

Even a full-force strike from an expert of the same level might not have been able to harm him in the slightest!

Yet that sword strike just now—had actually pierced straight through his chest!

Furthermore, the power contained within that Sword Intent was rampaging wildly inside his body, destroying his Meridians, bones, and internal organs!

"Who is it?! Who is ambushing this old man?!"

The old man hissed and roared, his silver vertical pupils filled with fury and fear.

Responding to him was a lazy voice that drifted from the Void Realm.

"Go back."

One word, spoken nonchalantly.

Yet it exploded in the old man's ears like a verdict from the Heavenly Dao.

The old man's entire body stiffened, a flash of deep horror appearing in his silver vertical pupils.

He recognized it.

That voice came from the Southern Region.

From that mysterious expert!

"You... you..."

His voice was trembling, his lips quivering, unable to complete a single word.

He could never have imagined that before he had even left the range of the Zangtian Ruins, he would be heavily injured by that person's sword from across the distance!

What kind of strength was this?

Peak quasi-emperor?

Or... an Emperor?!

"No... impossible..."

The old man muttered to himself, his eyes filled with bewilderment and despair.

The imperial path was broken, the Heavenly Dao was flawed, and it was no longer possible for an Emperor to appear in the world!

This was what the Heavenly Venerable had told him personally!

Yet the power of that sword strike just now had clearly surpassed the scope of a quasi-emperor!

"Could it be... that person really is from the Heavenly Domain?"

Countless thoughts flashed through the old man's mind, and a deep fear welled up in his heart.

If that person truly came from the Heavenly Domain, then his journey to the Southern Region was suicide!

If that person was not from the Heavenly Domain, but an Emperor of this world... that would be even more terrifying!

How terrifying must the strength of an existence who could attain the Dao as an Emperor in an era where the imperial path was severed be?

The old man dared not think, nor did he have time to think.

Because that pitch-black longsword was hovering before him, its tip pointed directly at his throat.

The dark red gem on the sword's body glowed faintly, emitting a heart-palpitating killing intent.

It seemed that if he dared to take another step forward, this sword would strike again.

Gritting his teeth, the old man retreated violently, fleeing back into the depths of the Zangtian Ruins along the Void Realm fissure in a disheveled state.

The pitch-black fissure slowly closed, and the Void Realm returned to calm.

The pitch-black longsword hovered in the Void Realm, the dark red gem on its body flickering slightly, as if confirming the old man had fled far away.

A moment later, the longsword turned into a stream of light and disappeared at the end of the horizon.

Southern Region, Guangnan City.

In the parasol tree courtyard.

Shen Qingyuan had his hands tucked into his sleeves, lying lazily under the parasol tree.

Before him, the pitch-black longsword appeared out of thin air and landed steadily in his hand.

The heaven-slaying sword.

An extreme dao emperor weapon.

"He ran fast."

Shen Qingyuan's lips curled into a slight arc as he tucked the heaven-slaying sword into his sleeve.

He hadn't used his full strength for that sword strike just now.

He hadn't even used thirty percent of his power.

He just wanted to give those old monsters in the Zangtian Ruins a warning—don't come to the Southern Region to seek death.

"It's a pity that only one Peak quasi-emperor came."

Shen Qingyuan shook his head, his tone tinged with disappointment.

He had thought that some incredible existence was hidden in the Zangtian Ruins.

And the result?

An old man at the Peak of a quasi-emperor couldn't even take one of his sword strikes.

"However... the 'Heavenly Venerable' that old man mentioned is quite interesting."

A glimmer of light flashed in Shen Qingyuan's eyes.

Heavenly Domain.

Heavenly Venerable.

And that Emperor Lord he had slaughtered.

It seems the Heavenly Domain has laid out deep schemes in the Cangxuan Great World.

"That old man was forced back by me, so he should be contacting the so-called Heavenly Venerable."

Shen Qingyuan muttered to himself, withdrawing his gaze and turning to look at the Old Turtle beside him.

"Do you know which School in the world has the most powerful Puppet techniques?"

"Puppet techniques?"

The Old Turtle was stunned for a moment, a glimmer of light flashing in his murky old eyes.

He stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, "Since Your Excellency asked, there are indeed two places."

Shen Qingyuan raised an eyebrow without urging him.

The Old Turtle lowered his hand and said solemnly: "In the Cangxuan Great World, the force most famous for its Puppet techniques is the Tiankui Sect of the Central Plains Holy Land.

This Sect has been passed down for ten thousand years; it is said that its Ancestral Master once obtained a Puppet Legacy left by a great power in an ancient ruin and has specialized in this path ever since.

Every Disciple in the Sect is proficient in Puppet techniques and can control Puppets of various Ranks to fight.

The top few Grand Elders are said to be able to control Saint-realm Puppets, and their combat power is extremely terrifying."

"Saint-realm Puppets?"

Shen Qingyuan raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone carrying a hint of surprise.

"Correct."

The Old Turtle nodded, a flash of wariness appearing in his eyes, "When this Junior was young, I traveled in the Central Plains and saw an Elder from the Tiankui Sect take action from afar.

That time, the Tiankui Sect had a conflict with another major Sect.

The Tiankui Sect only dispatched three Elders, each controlling a Saint-realm Puppet, and the three Puppets joined forces and beat the opposing Holy Land until they had no power to fight back."

He paused, his murky old eyes filled with emotion: "In that battle, the Tiankui Sect became famous and rose to the Ranks of the top forces in the Central Plains."

Shen Qingyuan nodded thoughtfully: "And the other one?"

The Old Turtle said solemnly: "The other is the Cangming Family of the Northern Plains.

This force is even more mysterious than the Tiankui Sect, hidden in the deep mountains of the extreme cold lands of the Northern Plains, and the outside world knows very little about it.

But it is rumored that the Cangming Family's Puppet techniques are even more profound than the Tiankui Sect's, and they can even refine Corpse Puppets that retain the combat power they had in life."

"Corpse Puppets?"

A glimmer of light flashed in Shen Qingyuan's eyes.

"Yes."

The Old Turtle lowered his voice, "The Cangming Family has a secret technique that can refine the corpses of experts into Corpse Puppets, retaining most of their combat power from when they were alive.

It is rumored that the Cangming Family hides a quasi-emperor level Corpse Puppet, which is the treasure of the valley left by their Ancestral Master."

A look of surprise appeared on Shen Qingyuan's face.

A quasi-emperor level Corpse Puppet, this was not common.

This Cangming Family really did have some heritage!

The Old Turtle glanced at Shen Qingyuan and asked tentatively: "Is Your Excellency interested in Puppet techniques? I have a method for practicing Puppet techniques here..."

Shen Qingyuan waved his hand, interrupting him, his tone nonchalant, "I was just asking."

The Old Turtle opened his mouth but didn't say anything more.

He had been by Shen Qingyuan's side for some time and knew the nature of this Excellency well—seemingly lazy, but actually deep in planning.

The mere Tiankui Sect and Cangming Family, in the eyes of this Excellency, probably really didn't amount to much.

Shen Qingyuan didn't say anything more, just leaned on the soft couch, looking at the golden parasol leaves above his head, lost in thought.

His asking about Puppet techniques was naturally not for himself.

It was for those two quasi-emperor corpses.

The Yao Race quasi-emperor, although dead for ten thousand years, still had immense essence remaining in the corpse.

If they could be refined into Corpse Puppets and left in the Shen Family as a foundation, that wouldn't be bad.

However, refining quasi-emperor level Corpse Puppets was not something just anyone could do.

The Tiankui Sect and the Cangming Family... might be useful.