3740-chapter-314
Chapter 314
He Zhizhou could hear the crackling of his bones as his fists clenched tightly.
“Let me introduce you to this,” Liu Xiuyuan said casually, showing no sense of urgency.
“This is an ancient craft from the demon realm, called the ‘Human Puppet.’ Looks exactly like a real person, doesn’t it? Years ago, I collaborated with the demons. To clear my name, they used this thing to shift all the blame onto those few townsfolk. Honestly, it worked well, I was quite satisfied.”
“You fu*king dog! You’re not human! Fu*k your uncle!” Qian San couldn’t hold back any longer.
He swung his blade toward the dune, but Liu Xiuyuan easily sidestepped it with a playful grin.
“No need to get so worked up.”
“But the demons didn’t treat you well, did they?”
Although his old friend had perished here, Wen Hemian remained eerily calm.
He stared at Liu Xiuyuan, his posture straight, the whiteness of his robes standing out against the surrounding darkness.
Only Wen Hemian himself knew that beneath his sleeve, his right hand had clenched so tightly that his fingernails dug into his flesh, drawing blood.
“Demonic energy is like poison. Once inside, it’s pure torment,” Wen Hemian said.
“And your face and voice… they’ve been poisoned by something vile, haven’t they? Given your abilities, it’s unlikely you’d poison yourself. Let me guess—you expected the demons to reward you with treasures, but instead, you got a dose of venom, turning you into their puppet?”
At these words, the smug look on Liu Xiuyuan’s face vanished, replaced by sudden fury.
“That mouth of yours is really annoying.”
The man standing at the top of the dune sneered.
“I’ll rip it off and see for myself.”
The moment he finished speaking, several shadows darted from the darkness.
As He Zhizhou focused, he realized that dozens of human-shaped puppets were charging at them, including the one they had seen earlier on the dune.
All were brandishing knives as they rushed toward them.
The bandits raised their blades to fight, while Liu Xiuyuan summoned a spell that called forth searing sky flames, laughing aloud.
“I don’t need anyone else to deal with you. A cripple, a coward, and a fool? I’m already at the third stage of Nascent Soul. How can you possibly—”
Before he could finish, his words were abruptly cut off.
He Zhizhou had drawn his sword and charged at him, leaving no time for Liu Xiuyuan to complete his taunt.
In an instant, sword energy and fire clashed, lighting up the dark desert.
Lu Wanxing glanced at Lin Xun and murmured, “Are we all going to die here?”
Before she even finished, she saw the hesitation on his face, and her heart already knew the answer.
The compass in her hand trembled.
She quickly looked up at Liu Xiuyuan, then gripped the compass tightly and, without warning, sprinted toward the depths of the desert.
If death was inevitable, she might as well try to see the truth that had haunted her thoughts for so long.
Besides… the compass needle was shaking more violently now.
The other compass wasn’t far away.
“Miss Lu!”
At this point, it was clear that the battle between He Zhizhou and Liu Xiuyuan was the most critical.
Lin Xun called out her name hastily but, after weighing the situation, leaped to He Zhizhou’s side to help, drawing his sword.
Liu Xiuyuan wasn’t wrong—they were no match for him.
Fighting a Golden Core cultivator against a Nascent Soul was already a huge challenge, and Liu Xiuyuan had been infused with demonic energy.
The demonic energy mixed with fire was overpowering, carrying a force of immense strength.
Lightning and flames surrounded them.
Lin Xun couldn’t dodge in time and took a heavy blow to the chest, knocking him to the ground under the intense pressure.
He Zhizhou fared slightly better, but he was in bad shape too, unlikely to hold out much longer.
Wen Hemian, having recovered a small portion of his abilities thanks to Ning Ning’s spiritual herbs, was struggling to fend off the hordes of puppets.
And as for Lu Wanxing—
Lin Xun, his bones aching and his mouth full of blood, suddenly heard a thunderous noise.
What was that sound?
He forced his hazy mind to turn and look, and in the distance, amidst the rolling dunes, he saw a small hill collapse.
Sand flew everywhere, obscuring the details.
Focusing his spiritual consciousness, he could just make out the figure of a small girl.
Lu Wanxing was punching the dune, over and over, with all her strength.
Her hands were covered in blood, but she didn’t stop.
The dune began to tremble, crumbling from the top down.
When only a fraction of its height remained, she stopped punching and began to dig, clawing at the sand with her bare hands.
Lin Xun coughed up blood, hearing He Zhizhou fall to the ground and Liu Xiuyuan’s laughter ringing out.
Amidst the falling sand, he saw a glimpse of something white.
At first, Lin Xun thought it was an illusion.
But Lu Wanxing also paused, then began digging faster, frantically removing the sand.
The first thing she uncovered was a skeleton, crouched in the sand.
Then a second.
And a third.
Strangely enough, these long-dead individuals had huddled together tightly, their bodies pressed closely against one another, as if they had been trying to protect something.
Lu Wanxing continued digging.
As she neared the bottom, something seemed to fall from one of the skeletons.
Lin Xun saw her look down, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
Behind the skeletons, at the very center of their protective circle, was another body—also long dead.
This person knelt, their legs broken, and their torso shattered, yet their spine remained straight, and their hands were tightly wrapped around something in front of their chest.
Lin Xun saw it clearly.
It was a sword, pure white, glowing faintly in the darkness.
At last, the long-hidden secret was revealed.
He had found Jueming and his demon-slaying sword.