Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Chapter 1548: Chapter 638: Crimson Robe Demon’s Might (Part 2)

The sound of rain wasn’t shrill, yet it was like countless fine needles, silently piercing into the circulation of Blood Qi.

The Red Robe Guest frowned slightly.

He could feel that the flow of his Blood Qi had slowed by a fraction.

Though for the moment it was only a trace, it already showed signs of gradually worsening. A faint hypnotic intent was also beginning to ripple within his Divine Sea and Upper Dantian.

The Heaven-folding Sleeve Crane spread its long wings, wing-tips dragging ribbons of white cloud like sleeves. Its body was slender, crane neck held high; as its twin wings unfurled, a folded curtain of sky actually appeared above the Cloud Lake.

Within that sky curtain, there was a Cloud Pot Daoist.

Then a second Cloud Pot Daoist.

A third, a fourth, a fifth...

In the blink of an eye, more than ten Cloud Pot Daoists appeared on all sides of the Cloud Lake, each carrying a White Jade Big Pot on his back, each with round face and short beard, each with his expression taut.

The Smoke-carrying Lamp Deer stepped upon the clouds, bearing on its back a Green and White Cloud Lamp. Wherever the cloud lamp shone, the layers of blood smoke became distinct, and the changes in Qi Mechanism within the Blood Marsh under the Red Robe Guest’s feet were gradually and clearly reflected.

Borrowing the light of the Smoke-carrying Lamp Deer, the Cloud Pot Daoist immediately saw clearly how the Blood Techniques flowed around the Red Robe Guest’s body.

The Cloud Pot Daoist poured Mana in, forcefully driving the Rain Listening Sleep Snail.

The rain sound suddenly grew dense.

Drip, drip, drip...

The Red Robe Guest’s steps halted, as a heavy drowsiness surged over him.

But the next instant, killing intent surged in his eyes: " courting death!"

He suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a blood-colored Elixir Pill.

The pill was only the size of a thumb, yet its whole body was crystalline, as though a miniature blood sea was sealed within.

The pill burst, scarlet blood light soared into the heavens, forcibly dyeing the white clouds above the Cloud Marsh a bloody hue. The rain sound of the Rain Listening Sleep Snail was struck by the Blood Qi and immediately lost its rhythm.

The Red Robe Guest stepped out.

Boom!

The Cloud Lake exploded.

His figure was like blood lightning, appearing before the Rain Listening Sleep Snail in an instant.

The shell patterns of the Rain Listening Sleep Snail flared with light, trying to withdraw into the cloud shell. But the Red Robe Guest raised his hand and struck with a fist.

The fist’s edge gathered blood light into a blood-colored wolf head that slammed viciously into the snail shell.

Thud!

The dull, massive impact resounded through the Martial Arts Arena.

A crack split open on the surface of the Rain Listening Sleep Snail’s shell.

A second punch.

Thud!

The crack spread.

A third punch!

Boom!

Half of the Rain Listening Sleep Snail’s shell was smashed to pieces, its snail-song cut off abruptly. Countless rain sounds turned into broken sound notes, scattering across the sky above the Cloud Lake.

The Cloud Pot Daoist once again suffered backlash; a sharp pain struck his chest, and he couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

He retreated in haste.

Over ten Cloud Pot Daoists retreated at the same time, concealing where his true body was.

Having dealt with the Rain Listening Sleep Snail, the Red Robe Guest lifted his head and saw this scene. He let out a cold laugh: "Hiding your head and showing your tail."

Blood light flowed within his eyes, his scarlet gaze sweeping over each Cloud Pot Daoist in turn.

The cloud curtain woven by the Heaven-folding Sleeve Crane was exceedingly ingenious, real and false layered together, even the aura could be imitated. An ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivator caught in it would at least need quite some time to distinguish them.

The Red Robe Guest, for the moment, also could not discern.

"Then there’s no need to distinguish." He stretched out the tip of his tongue and lightly licked the corner of his lips.

He suddenly flung both sleeves wide.

A blood sea rolled out from behind him, scarlet waves covering the heavens and earth as they surged toward all of the Cloud Pot Daoists simultaneously.

Rumble rumble rumble!

The blood waves crashed into the Heaven-folding cloud curtain.

The cloud curtain twisted violently.

One Cloud Pot Daoist after another was swallowed by the blood waves—some shattered on the spot, some dissolved into white mist, some let out false screams.

The Heaven-folding Sleeve Crane let out a long cry, its twin wings beating again and again, trying to maintain the cloud curtain.

The Red Robe Guest lifted his gaze within the blood sea.

"Found you."

The Red Robe Guest’s figure suddenly vanished!

Blood light flashed before the Cloud Pot Daoist’s eyes.

His heart lurched in terror; he hurriedly drove the White Jade Heaven Cup for protection.

But the Red Robe Guest’s palm was already striking down.

Bang!

The White Jade Heaven Cup shuddered violently.

The Cloud Pot Daoist’s entire body was blasted away with a single palm, crashing into the Cloud Lake and tumbling out for several dozen zhang. The large pot on his back hummed, a fine crack appearing on its surface.

The Red Robe Guest’s gaze shifted slightly, his feral grin pausing.

Wrong.

The feel was wrong.

The "Cloud Pot Daoist" he’d struck was rapidly elongating within the Cloud Lake; his arms turned into wings, his round face turned into a crane’s head, and the White Jade Big Pot turned into a mass of folded cloud curtain.

Heaven-folding Sleeve Crane!

This Cloud Beast had actually disguised itself as Cloud Pot Daoist’s true body, taking this strike in its master’s place.

Half of the Heaven-folding Sleeve Crane’s body was shattered by the bloody palm, yet it still twisted its head to look at the Red Robe Guest, a hint of resolute Spiritual Nature in its crane eyes.

The Red Robe Guest was stunned at first, then burst out laughing: "Good beast, you do have a measure of loyalty!"

He flickered over, five fingers forming a claw, and seized the Heaven-folding Sleeve Crane’s neck in one grasp.

Blood light exploded.

The Heaven-folding Sleeve Crane’s neck snapped and was directly crushed; its body turned into a vast spray of white cloud and broken feathers, falling into the Blood Marsh.

In the White Cloud Village Seat, the cultivators’ faces all looked very unpleasant.

Cloud Pot Daoist, concealed behind another Cloud Gate, saw the Heaven-folding Sleeve Crane perish, and his eyes reddened slightly.

That Heaven-folding Sleeve Crane had followed him for nearly a hundred years.

On ordinary days, it most loved to stand upon the shoulder of the White Jade Heaven Cup, preening its cloud-feathers. Whenever Cloud Pot Daoist failed in cloud-refining, it would stretch out its neck to peck at his sleeve, as if in mockery.

Now, it was dead.

Crushed to death by a single palm and claw from the Red Robe Guest.

Cloud Pot Daoist’s Heart Spirit went into disarray.

The Red Robe Guest immediately seized upon this slight fluctuation.

He suddenly turned his head; his gaze pierced through Cloud Gates, cloud mist, and sinking smoke, locking onto the location of Cloud Pot Daoist’s true body.

The Red Robe Guest sneered grimly: "This time, let’s see where you can still hide!"

The blood sea beneath his feet surged up, transforming into a long bridge of blood.

The Red Robe Guest strode forward upon the bridge!

With every step he took, another section of the Cloud Lake was stained red. The Sinking Smoke Locking Pot Array tried to suppress his movement technique, but the Blood Demon Pill was already in his belly; at this moment his Blood Qi boiled, Demon Intent soared, and he forced his way forward through the pressure of the sinking smoke.

Cloud Pot Daoist retreated in panic.

He released the Snow Bud Fragrant Cloud Butterfly swarm again.

The pale green butterfly swarm flew out from the pot, twin wings traced with snow-white tea-bud patterns, a refined tea fragrance spreading out.

The tea fragrance entered the blood, attempting to dilute the Blood Evil upon the Red Robe Guest.

The Red Robe Guest inhaled once, and an intoxicated expression actually surfaced on his face.

The Red Robe Guest said, "What a fine tea fragrance. This isn’t one of your Cloud Beasts, is it?"

The next instant, he opened his mouth and spat out a ball of blood flame.

The blood flame surged into the butterfly swarm.

The Snow Bud Fragrant Cloud Butterflies burned one after another, pale green wings curling within the blood fire, the tea fragrance turning into a scorched and bitter reek. Countless butterfly shadows fell, like a spring harvest of tea destroyed by blood fire.

Cloud Pot Daoist released the Heart-Questioning Shadow Cloud Deer again.

Its antlers were like an ancient tree of smoke and cloud, its eyes warm and gentle, attempting to shine into the crevices of the Red Robe Guest’s heart, pulling upon his old resentments toward Chun Yangzi, the Myriad Images Sect, and the Bixue Mountain Gate.

The Red Robe Guest’s footsteps paused slightly.

Before his eyes seemed to surface the old scenes of Pure Yang Palace cultivators chasing him down.

Golden radiance filled the sky.

Sword light wove like nets.

He fled wounded through a mountain valley, blood splattering all along the way.

Then appeared the cold and desolate years at the Bixue Mountain Gate. Sect missions pressed down one after another, but the rewards were as thin as scraps of paper. The Main Mountain Gate was inaccessible, the upper sect leadership unreachable; a once-infamous Demon Path fiend was actually trapped within that gloomy mountain gate, like a blood beast chained in place.

The antlers of the Heart-Questioning Shadow Cloud Deer shone faintly.

Hope surfaced in Cloud Pot Daoist’s eyes.

But in the next breath, the Red Robe Guest laughed.

That laughter was chilling to the extreme.

The Red Robe Guest said, "All of this and more—these are the sustenance of this seat’s Dao!"

He struck out with his palm.

The blood fire transformed into a scarlet giant serpent, swallowing half of the Heart-Questioning Shadow Cloud Deer’s body in a single gulp.

The Shadow Cloud Deer let out a mournful cry.

Its antlers snapped, the branch-like racks of that cloud-smoke ancient tree shattering into a groundful of Earth Ash-like gray light.

The Red Robe Guest clawed with his five fingers, forcibly dragging the Shadow Cloud Deer to him, then exhaled blood flame from his palm, burning its head into nothingness.

A chill surged straight up in Cloud Pot Daoist’s heart.

"I can’t stop him."

"I absolutely can’t stop him!"

Cloud Pot Daoist fought as he retreated, the cracks upon the White Jade Heaven Cup behind him growing ever more numerous. The Cloud Beasts within the pot were grievously injured and slain in succession, and the backlash crashed against his body and mind in wave after wave, causing his Mana circulation to grow violently chaotic.

The Red Robe Guest still did not stop.

He stormed into the depths of the Cloud Formation, sweeping all before him!

Of the Thirty-Six Stacked Cloud Gates, he had already broken twenty-one.

He shattered three Array Eyes of the Sinking Smoke Locking Pot Array beneath his feet.

The Feeding Dawn Beast Plate was brushed by the aftermath of the blood fire, the demon blood within exploding, and the Blood Fog was inhaled into the Red Robe Guest’s nostrils in passing, instead boosting his momentum.

Cloud Pot Daoist’s heart ached so much it was nearly bleeding.

These treasures and Cloud Beasts, aside from his own accumulation, were in fact mostly the heritage of White Cloud Village, and the sponsorship of the various powers of Flowing Cloud Peak. The loss of each item carried behind it huge debts of favor and transactional cost.

But now, the Red Robe Guest was like a Blood Demon, charging and battering through, utterly without scruple.

He was not dueling.

He was slaughtering beasts and dismantling arrays, using the crudest, most domineering, most Demon Path methods to tear apart, layer by layer, Cloud Pot Daoist and the meticulously laid battle arts of the forces behind him!