The Transmigrator’s Cultivation

Arc 24: Nine Void Battlefield | Chapter 452: The Power of Puppet

Since parting ways with Zeng Zhidao and his group, Yun Lie traveled alone, encountering the greatest danger he had faced in over two hundred years. Many demons attacked him, and there were several close calls where he barely escaped with his life. At times, he couldn’t even engage the demons in battle, as he had to flee immediately. After continuous days of intense fighting, Yun Lie’s swordsmanship had significantly improved.

At the same time, subtle changes began occurring in his Immortal Demon body due to the constant slaughter.

Firstly, his regenerative abilities. Years ago, Yun Lie’s dantian had been shattered by Laozu od Jile Peak, but over the course of several years, his Immortal Demon body slowly repaired it, restoring it to full health. This was thanks to his body’s regenerative power. However, back then, Yun Lie’s cultivation was not as advanced as it is now, and he hadn’t yet fully unleashed his body’s potential. After enduring numerous grueling battles, and suffering severe injuries in the beginning, his Immortal Demon body naturally activated its power to heal quickly for survival. Gradually, this ability became much stronger. Now, even though he isn’t truly immortal, Yun Lie has gained the ability to regenerate severed limbs, and as long as his head isn’t severed, his body will not be destroyed.

Secondly, his meridians and dantian. Due to the lack of rest on his journey and the endless stream of demons, Yun Lie’s true essence had been continuously circulating inside him, and he had directly absorbed a first-tier spiritual vein into his Sword Domain, rapidly infusing spiritual energy. As a result, his meridians and dantian swelled with energy every moment, constantly expanding. What was once a small stream had now become a vast river. Though Yun Lie’s cultivation realm hadn’t changed, his accumulation was tremendous. When his true essence surged, it carried the momentum of a vast ocean!

This is why cultivators must battle against the heavens for survival, constantly risking their lives in life-and-death situations. With every passing moment, Yun Lie’s experience and knowledge grew, enriching his swordsmanship. From initially being severely wounded to later only suffering minor injuries, hadn’t he made rapid progress?

At this moment, Yun Lie continued forward, his body transformed into a streak of black-gold light.

As he advanced, he gradually sensed an incredibly powerful force ahead, like a giant furnace burning between heaven and earth.

However, the furnace did not seem malevolent; it simply exuded overwhelming power and an imposing aura.

Yun Lie knew by now that his junior disciple Xu Ziqing was there.

—This was no longer just a premonition. He realized that his sword intent had merged with another familiar presence.

Naturally, he immediately remembered the time they had solidified their bond, exchanging hair ornaments. Just like the blood-streaked hair ribbon he used to tie his hair—woven with a branch of his junior disciple’s life essence tree, Rongjin—so long as the ribbon remained intact, his junior disciple was unharmed. Yun Lie had also gifted his junior disciple a wisp of his sword intent, which he had hidden inside a bitter bamboo flute for protection. Later, when Yun Lie refined his sword soul, he did not deliberately extract it.

Now, however, he vaguely sensed that the wisp of sword intent had been absorbed into the Realm of All Trees, into the sword-shaped wood. This must have happened when his junior disciple integrated the bitter bamboo flute into his Small Universe, causing this change. This allowed Yun Lie to finally be sure of his junior disciple’s approximate location.

But things never go entirely as planned. As the black-gold light streaked through the sky for several miles, the heavens split open with a new black tear.

This time, the tear was incredibly wide.

Yun Lie halted in mid-air, his blood-stained clothes fluttering as he stood still.

He gazed coldly at the tear.

—Though his expression did not change, deep within the tear, a pair of eyes had already locked onto him.

His aura had been locked in place, and a suffocating pressure from all directions weighed heavily on him, rendering him immobile.

A great demon.

A great demon had appeared here!

The greater the crisis, the calmer Yun Lie became.

No matter how much progress he had made, he still wouldn’t be a match for the great demon… This great demon’s power was comparable to a cultivator in the Great Ascension stage.

Even though Yun Lie was extraordinarily gifted, he was currently only in the late Nascent Soul stage.

A sword cultivator in the late Nascent Soul stage, even with a triple-refined sword soul, could at most contend with a Nascent Soul cultivator. If a cultivator in the Spirit Severing stage appeared, it would be difficult for him to hold his ground for long. Especially in the current situation.

Yun Lie grew stronger when faced with stronger opponents, but he was not one to act without self-awareness. At that moment, with a single thought, a giant beast suddenly appeared before him! With a flick of his sleeve, a white ribbon shot out from his brow, entering the giant beast from behind. Instantly, the beast’s body glowed with a dark, flowing light, surging with renewed energy and strength, as if its power had been multiplied.

This giant beast also exuded a pressure like a towering mountain or vast ocean, with an aura nearly on par with the Great Ascension stage!

It was a puppet beast.

Yun Lie and Xu Ziqing had once obtained the relics of the Qianqu Wanpai Sect. Though they had passed on the legacy to their shixiongs, this giant puppet beast had been kept as a protective measure. The two brothers had intended to exchange it to safeguard each other, agreeing that whoever went into seclusion would entrust the beast to the other. However, due to their sudden separation, the giant puppet beast remained with Yun Lie.

Now, it was the key to saving Yun Lie’s life.

High above, a great demon, thirty-three meters tall, suddenly took a step forward and appeared in front of the giant puppet beast in the blink of an eye.

The puppet beast, which was nearly thirty meters tall, seemed capable of engaging in a fierce battle with the great demon.

Their auras were nearly identical in intensity.

Yun Lie took a slight step back, retreating several dozen steps.

Although the puppet beast worked best when powered by top-grade spirit stones, high-grade spirit stones could also activate it. Yun Lie had infused an entire first-tier spiritual vein into the puppet beast, so it should be able to hold its ground against the great demon for a considerable amount of time.

Meanwhile, Yun Lie himself needed to be on guard, carefully watching his surroundings to prevent the other demons under the great demon’s command from launching a sneak attack!

As expected, the great demon had not come alone. Soon, many other demons of various levels fell from the tear, swarming toward Yun Lie like locusts.

Yun Lie remained unfazed. With a single movement of his sword intent, he created thousands upon thousands of fine threads, slicing through the air in countless arcs, cutting down the low- and mid-level demons one by one! The high-level demons, however, stood by, watching intently from a distance.

It seemed they were trying to prevent Yun Lie from escaping.

In the next moment, the great demon’s body vanished, leaving only an afterimage!

Suddenly, the sounds of violent clashes echoed repeatedly, and in the blink of an eye, the puppet beast had gained the upper hand!

Though the great demon moved on instinct, it was forced to the ground, all four limbs engaged in an intense struggle with the ferocious puppet beast.

The sound of flesh colliding reverberated, and waves of overwhelming force rippled outward, creating powerful shockwaves. Anything near the two combatants was pulverized into dust or smashed into paste under the impact.

Several low-level demons were caught in the fray while trying to surround Yun Lie, and in an instant, they were torn apart by the overwhelming power, blood splattering everywhere!

As time passed, the puppet beast managed to hold its own against the great demon.

However, Yun Lie found himself increasingly surrounded. When the low- and mid-level demons failed to defeat him, the high-level demons joined the fray!

There were dozens of them, their auras soaring to the sky, encircling Yun Lie so tightly that not a drop of water could escape.

By this point, the low- and mid-level demons had retreated slightly, forming an outer perimeter.

Immediately afterward, the high-level demons launched a flurry of claw strikes, spewing smoke and sand from their mouths, while their long tails wove a massive net that blotted out the sky. Each time it brushed against Yun Lie, it caused him some hindrance or injury.

The crisis seemed to deepen even further.

In such a situation, Yun Lie could not resolve it on his own.

At that moment, he focused again, and several humanoid puppets appeared, all exuding the aura of the Nascent Soul stage! With a wave of his sleeve, several high-grade spirit stones were embedded into them with a “crackling” sound.

These puppets, also relics from the Qianqu Wanpai Sect, now served to protect the area around him!

The humanoid puppets had bodies that were extremely durable, even more so than ordinary cultivators of the same realm. Their outer shells were naturally treasures, capable of containing the power of their realm and as tough as magical weapons. When the puppets engaged the high-level demons, they held their ground and even managed to wound their flesh!

In an instant, the encirclement was broken, and the pressure on Yun Lie eased significantly.

For a time, both sides fought fiercely, with one demon after another falling. Yet despite Yun Lie’s extraordinary skills and agile movements, he couldn’t avoid numerous wounds appearing on his body.

The killing intent was overwhelming, and rivers of blood flowed.

Not long after, the distant horizon suddenly echoed with a series of beast calls, some long, some short.

The sound of countless footsteps marched in unison, and the ground trembled as if a powerful force was quickly approaching!

The air was thick with the scent of iron and blood, filled with an overwhelming sense of invincibility, as if nothing could stand in its way.

The demons seemed to sense this and began to grow restless.

Many of the low- and mid-level demons, driven by instinct, turned and fled toward the source of the noise.

Even some of the high-level demons, those that had been kept at bay, abandoned their pursuit of Yun Lie, rushing toward the incoming feast.

Yun Lie’s spiritual sense quickly scanned the area, “seeing” a regiment of several thousand soldiers, their divine incarnations riding forward! Several thousand brilliant lights shone, the surging divine power reverberating between heaven and earth, making the entire area unbearably hot.

Within the regiment was an even more formidable presence, whose aura was on par with the great demon’s.

A shen cultivator in the Transforming Tribulation Stage had personally taken the field!

The regiment, having witnessed the ferocity of the battle, took note of the Nascent Soul puppets and the massive puppet beast, as well as Yun Lie, drenched in blood.

With a command from the Transforming Tribulation Stage shen cultivator, the soldiers swiftly formed a battle formation and charged into the fray!

In the blink of an eye, waves of demons collapsed, even the many high-level demons surrounding Yun Lie were split apart by squads of soldiers. Their strength and efficiency were such that Yun Lie couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.

It took only half an hour before the once swarming masses of demons were entirely wiped out.

Even the great demon was slain, thanks to the sudden aerial assault from the Transforming Tribulation Stage shen cultivator, who teamed up with the puppet beast to finish it off.

In this brief period, Yun Lie had cooperated with the regiment, ensuring that no demon escaped!

When all was settled, Yun Lie waved his sleeve, and all the puppets were reabsorbed into his storage bracelet. He then took a medicinal pill and nodded toward the Transforming Tribulation Stage commander in acknowledgment. “Thank you for the rescue.”

The commander laughed heartily, “Young friend, where are you headed?”

Yun Lie’s expression remained unchanged as he replied, “I’m going to find my shidi, who is two hundred miles ahead.”

The commander gave him a once-over and smiled, “There’s a battle about to break out there. Are you still determined to go?”

Yun Lie replied, “I hope you will allow it.”

The commander said nothing more, simply waved a large hand. “In that case, travel with us!”

Yun Lie said no more, his sword intent flickering beneath his feet as he followed the regiment on their march forward.

Along the way, the soldiers were all focused on their journey, speaking little.

It was the commander who spoke with Yun Lie a few more times, both sides maintaining a candid attitude.

Thus, the commander learned that the person Yun Lie sought was his dual cultivation partner, and Yun Lie, in turn, learned that the place ahead, which felt like an oven, would soon be overwhelmed by a tidal wave of demons. Anyone caught in it would surely be dragged into the chaos.

Yun Lie remained silent, following the soldiers on their day-and-night march. As they moved forward, they killed any demons that blocked their path, hastening their two-hundred-mile journey to just two days.

As they neared their destination, the air grew thick with the demonic aura, almost suffocating.

Raising his eyes, Yun Lie saw a figure in green standing calmly and resolutely beneath the bright sun.

Translator: Lynn

Translations are not 100% correct. Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

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