Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Chapter 1514: Chapter 622: Flowing Gold Guest’s Third Battle Against Ning Zhuo (Part 2)

Qiu Lei said in a low voice, "I understand why you’re all here. But we have already signed a Contract with Tan Zhu."

From within Old You Yun’s sleeves, white clouds slowly flowed: "Exactly! And it’s not just the Contract—news of our three-way Martial Arts bout has already spread throughout the entire Main Mountain Gate. If we go back on our word now, how will we have any face left to keep mixing around on Flowing Cloud Peak?"

Facing such a situation, the two of them decisively joined forces, stating their position firmly and cutting off any other powers from intervening.

From the standpoint of the Territorial Expansion Alliance and White Cloud Village, they were merely engaging in fair competition with Nanming Village. If they let other peaks seize the chance to meddle, the situation would become even more chaotic, and their control over the situation would be weakened to the extreme!

Lightning flashed in Lei Wangyue’s eyes: "Two Daoist friends, please understand the gravity of this. If you lose, Nanming Village will succeed in establishing their village! At that point, the difficulty we face in blocking their expansion will be completely different from the difficulty of stopping them from founding the village now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jin Mantang, Ye Qingming, and the others all chimed in in support.

Everyone spoke over one another, forming a tremendous pressure on Qiu Lei and Old You Yun, their stance extremely forceful.

Qiu Lei’s face was ashen, and he remained silent.

Old You Yun instead said, "If you truly wish to stop Nanming Village, you can naturally start from other angles. The root of Nanming Village still lies with Ning Zhuo, does it not?"

The stone cavern fell quiet for a moment.

Qiu Lei was reminded, a sharp light flashing in his eyes: "Exactly! As long as the Flowing Gold Guest wins all three battles and, in the Martial Arts Arena, publicly spares Ning Zhuo’s life while forcing him to publicly disband Nanming Village, then that village will no longer have any foundation to exist!"

"So there is no need for you to fixate solely on the five victories at the Sun Raising Yang Locking Cloud Altar."

Qiu Lei said slowly, "Therefore, on the side of the Sun Raising Yang Locking Cloud Altar, we continue fighting as planned, tying up their energy. On the other side, we must have the Flowing Gold Guest challenge Ning Zhuo at once!"

The two of them, who had been quarreling heatedly on the Cloud Ferry earlier, to the point of being at each other’s throats, were now in perfect coordination, joining forces to jointly resist the pressure from the other powers on Flowing Cloud Peak.

Everyone fell silent.

The opinions of Qiu Lei and Old You Yun were indeed reasonable; there was no basis for refuting them.

In fact, they had already invested too much in this chess piece, the Flowing Gold Guest, and it was time to harvest results.

Lei Wangyue said in a deep voice, "We can’t wait any longer. The Flowing Gold Guest’s training is almost complete. The longer we delay, the more prepared Ning Zhuo will be."

"Exactly," Xu Duanchao said. "From our side we’ve learned that Qinghuangzi has been Refining Mechanical Flying Birds for Ning Zhuo day and night without rest!"

Wen Suzhen added, "The challenge must be issued before the result of the five victories is decided. Besides that, there are also the Three Brave of Xiang Sect!"

At the mention of these last four words, everyone’s gaze fell toward the corner.

Xiang Si Sect Steward Yin Baiming sat there, his gray hemp long coat trailing to the ground. His half-white, half-black hair hung over his shoulders; a string of bone plaques dangled at his waist. Though there was clearly no wind, they occasionally bumped lightly into one another, making clicking sounds.

Lei Wangyue looked around at the others: "I propose that we all put up Spirit Stones together to hire them!"

Xu Duanchao said, "I agree."

Zhao Ni said gruffly, "Bird and Beast Manor acknowledges."

Ye Qingming said coolly, "The Green Tea Society will put in a share."

Wen Suzhen said, "Suspended Pot Residence will follow."

The flesh on Jin Mantang’s face twitched, and in the end he gritted his teeth: "The Floating Life Association will follow as well. We’ve already burned through so many Spirit Stones; we might as well add this last fire."

Qiu Lei was silent for a moment, then said, "The Territorial Expansion Alliance will put in a share."

Old You Yun sighed once: "White Cloud Village as well."

The two sides had previously been restraining each other, but now that the situation had become clear, investing to deal with Ning Zhuo was far more beneficial to them.

Only then did Yin Baiming slowly lift his eyes.

His irises were gray-white, and his voice was hoarse: "Since all of you agree, Xiang Si Sect will invite the Three Brave of Xiang Sect out of the mountain. But the rules remain the same: payment is made first, injuries are charged separately. The Three Brave sell their lives, not favors."

The Cultivators looked at one another and nodded simultaneously.

Having concluded this deal, they felt both heavy and relieved.

The heavy part was that the price of inviting out the Three Brave of Xiang Sect was very high.

The relief lay in the fact that the Three Brave of Xiang Sect—triplets from the same womb, all Golden Core, their Innate Life and Death Together cultivation already having reached the level of Divine Skills—such a trump-card Cultivator combination would absolutely be able to crush Ning Zhuo. This, in turn, would shake the very foundations of Nanming Village!

Nanming Village, the Territorial Expansion Alliance, and Flowing Cloud Peak were fighting over the Sun Raising Yang Locking Cloud Altar under a pact of five victories.

The Flowing Gold Guest would fight three battles against Ning Zhuo.

At the same time, in the shadows, the Three Brave of Xiang Sect from Xiang Si Sect were about to be invited into action as the final safeguard.

Around the major powers on Flowing Cloud Peak, the decisive, formal struggle to stop Nanming Village from charging the peak and founding their village was thus fully set in motion!

The location of the three battles had already been changed to the Cloud Stone Martial Arts Arena.

This Martial Arts Arena was vast, with formation walls hanging high on all sides. Array Patterns slithered like silver serpents, layers of light screens unfolding, neatly partitioning the stands, Cloud Corridors, Flying Boats, and viewing platforms.

The people who came today were far more numerous than in the previous two battles!

The distant Cloud Bridges were packed with Loose Cultivators, while the nearer high platforms were occupied by the various peaks and halls of the Myriad Images Sect and the major powers of Flowing Cloud Peak.

Lei Wangyue of the Thunder Cloud Association sat on the eastern side, rolling two Purple Thunder Iron Galls back and forth in his palm. Each time the iron galls made a full turn, fine threads of lightning burst between his fingers.

Ye Qingming sat behind a curtain, tea smoke curling like Niaoniao, the rim of his celadon cup stained with a thin line of pale green.

Zhao Ni of Bird and Beast Manor wore an old fur coat; behind him, several Beast Taming Cultivators led Spiritual Dogs and carried Golden Eagles.

Xu Duanchao of the Broken Water Blade Pavilion leaned against the wall, cradling his blade.

The Golden Hairpin Old Woman, leaning on her cane, sat in the seats of the Golden Stone Alliance, her eyelids drooping.

Wen Suzhen, Jin Mantang, Qiu Lei, You Yunshou and the others had also arrived.

Many people from Nanming Village had come as well.

Chun Yangzi’s Red Gold Taoist Robe reflected the sunlight, the three thousand characters of the Pure Yang Pill Scripture on his robe faintly appearing and disappearing. He sat upright on the high platform, disciples of the Pure Yang Palace standing solemnly behind him.

The Red Robe Guest half-reclined on a fire-patterned wooden chair, his crimson robe spread like a blood-red evening glow, the corners of his eyes carrying their habitual insolence.

The Nine Fire Dragon Lord sat cross-legged without moving, flame patterns on his forehead emerging like Dragon Scales.

Situ Xing hugged his Sword, Shen Xi played with a Jade Seal, Lin Jinglong lowered his head to straighten his sleeves, while Tao Liang shrank back to a slightly rearward position, where not so many eyes fell on him, making him feel at ease.

Tu Yuanzi was there as well. He sat very properly, both hands resting on his knees, his eyes bright.

The arena’s formation bell rang softly, and the discussions and clamor outside died away by more than half.

Under countless gazes, the Flowing Gold Guest formally entered the arena!

His dark-gold robe clung to his figure; the robe bore no extra patterns, only a faint, dusky golden sheen, like golden liquid slowly flowing beneath the cloth.

Beneath the skin exposed outside his robe, faint blue-golden threads surfaced, giving him an air of deep mystery.

This was the golden mesh robe!

And on his chest, there was still a golden-black Divine Pattern concealed, hidden beneath his clothes.

The Flowing Gold Guest stood still and lifted his eyes toward the passage opposite.

Ning Zhuo had yet to enter.

If the two had not yet crossed blows, everyone would have thought Ning Zhuo too arrogant. But now that Ning Zhuo had already won the first two fights, entering last for the third, no one said a word of complaint; all felt that Ning Zhuo deserved such a level of ceremony!

The Flowing Gold Guest stood quietly where he was, the noisy discussions outside gradually drifting away; to his ears, it was instead his heartbeat that grew louder and louder.

Nervousness, fear.

These were the emotions he felt first!

Ning Zhuo was merely at Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage, yet he had truly and tangibly severed the Flowing Gold Guest’s head twice.

That sensation of a blade sweeping across his neck, his vision overturning, and golden blood surging backward had chased him down countless times in the night, jolting him awake in terror.

The arrogance of a Golden Core Cultivator had long since dissipated; the Flowing Gold Guest had already taken Ning Zhuo as the greatest enemy of his life!

"Don’t be nervous, don’t be afraid. I am no longer who I used to be, no longer the same." The Flowing Gold Guest murmured over and over in his heart.

The Golden Blood Pill Pearl within his body rotated slowly, and with every revolution, his golden blood warmed a bit, and his courage swelled a bit.

A Quasi-Divine Power, the Golden Liquid Returning Pill!

Outside the arena, the smile faded from Jin Mantang’s face, a solemn look unconsciously appearing on his features.

Ye Qingming set his teacup back on the table; the base of the cup touched the porcelain with a sound as soft as a Jade Pearl falling into water. "He’s here."

"Ning Zhuo!" The Flowing Gold Guest bit down on this name, the tip of his tongue tasting a hint of iron-like sweetness.

Under the gaze of countless Cultivators, from the passage on the other side, a white-clothed youth also slowly stepped into the Martial Arts Arena.

Ning Zhuo still wore the Great Thousand Mechanism Sound Robe, the dense sound lines on the hems like wind passing through a bamboo valley, carrying a serene and quiet charm of their own.

A wooden box hung at his back, several flat, small Magic Pools tied at his waist, a faint scent of Mechanisms emanating from his sleeves.

The Green Forest Python Chariot silently followed behind him, the python-shaped Mechanical Vehicle coiled low against the ground, its scales a deep green, its mechanism wheels and axles hidden beneath its belly, as if ready at any time to pierce through woods and fog.

The expression of the white-clothed youth was utterly calm.

So calm that, in the Flowing Gold Guest’s heart, the shadows of the past resurfaced once more.