Chapter 155 Fighting Spirit
The faces of the two new human-like puppets were awesomely those of the sloppy man and the blue-eyed youth who he hadn’t met for a long time. There were no previous hints of wildness on the face of the sloppy man, but instead, a mixed expression of respect, helplessness, and anguish.
“Seniors, it’s my honor to meet you!” Lyu Liang greeted them respectfully behind them. He had been thinking of using the Sword-Blood Soul Guide directly, but it seemed that he didn’t need to do that now.
The auras of three puppets were all at the Early-stage of Tao Master, the same as Li Wuyi’s puppet with three heads and three arms. Anyhow, Lyu Liang was not powerful enough to intervene.
“Haotian… Are Rou and Fang fine now? What about Master? I’m not qualified to be your eldest senior brother. Forget me…” A touch of softness crawled over Ji Chang’s face for the first time, and a hint of solitude flashed across his eyes inadvertently.
“All of us are fine. Rou and Fang have opened a new world in the Eastern Heaven District of the Pangu Origin World. Master is also fine in the Heaven Realm. Although he has never mentioned it, we all know that he has been concerned about you all these years. Even after you were expelled from the Wanxiang Sect, your position of Chief Disciple has never been abandoned, it’s only been vacant,” the sloppy man replied softly, with infinite nostalgia in his eyes.
Ji Chang nodded and said in a begging tone, “If all of you are fine, then I’m reassured. When you return, please tell Master that I’m so unfilial, so unworthy of his upbringing, and so incapable of repaying his kindness in this life! I beg for only one thing—if I die later, please place my memorial tablet in the Wanxiang Sect. Junior brother, could you do that for me?”
The sloppy man nodded firmly and said, “Senior brother, don’t worry. These are two different things. If you die, I will do that for you. But I still want to ask—is fighting the only solution? I’ve taken Huo here to meet some friends, and I never expected that you’d also be here. To tell you the truth, I only want to drag you back to the Pangu Origin World so that we four can drink, talk, and laugh together just like we did when we were young. But looking at your eyes, I know this is just a fantasy. Alas! We will definitely protect Lyu Liang!”
“Haha, now that you know me so well, not another word. I was born to be a fighter and naturally wish to die on the battlefield. The days in the Wanxiang Sect were the happiest for me as a man. The days in the Nether Big World were the proudest for me as a fighter. I don’t want to experience those lurking tasks anymore. Just fight to my death straightforwardly!” Howling to the sky, he exuded a strong fighting intent.
With a wry laugh, the sloppy man said, “I knew this was the only result… If so, senior brother, don’t blame me! I know that I can’t persuade you, so I’ve taken my most talented disciple here. His achievements in puppets have exceeded mine, just like you in those days! Bi Huo, come and meet your Martial Uncle!”
Bi Huo bowed and clutched his hands at once. “I’m Bi Huo, a disciple of the third generation of the Wanxiang Sect. Martial Uncle Ji, it’s my honor to meet you! My ambition to join the sect was to reach the same achievements in puppets as you!”
“Good! Good! Good! With you in the Wanxiang Sect, I have no regrets in this life anymore! Come and let me see what surprises you will bring to me!” Ji Chang shouted out three exclamations and unprecedented excitement with appreciation bursting from his eyes.
A while later, the three puppets fought together. In an instant, airstreams vibrated the entire battlefield, with dust and stone flying all over. Even Lyu Liang had to watch from far away.
In the battle, the spider puppet alone could still rival his two opponents, with his eight sturdy legs waving threateningly. While the sloppy man held a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, and Bi Hua grasped two Purple-golden Hammers. The two cooperated perfectly, fully engaged in the fight.
At this moment, all the other fights had ended. And not surprisingly, Zhu Yu finished his task the earliest. When his companions were still fighting hard, Zhu Yu had been cheering for them…
When Wu Lei appeared again, he was followed by Xu Huan, who was chained and discouraged with a weak aura. Wu Lei himself was also in rags, revealing several shockingly large wounds in his body.
Things for Yang Ying were a little tricky. No matter how she broke up Chou Shui’s body, which was deservedly that of the Spirit Clan, she couldn’t destroy it. But thankfully, Yang Ying had prepared for it. With Xu Mubai’s help, she sealed her opponent up with a bowl-like treasure before he could put up any defense. As such, she also won the fight somehow.
After finishing their tasks, the four of them all stared at the overwhelmingly furious puppet war in the distant. Lyu Liang’s emotions were mixed now. “If these two powerful figures hadn’t come to assist me, I would have had to use the Blood Soul Sword Move. Even so, I might have failed to give Ji Chang a strong hit within the time limit.”
The puppet war had lasted for nearly an hour. During the period, some timid cultivators who entered the relic through the bronze gate escaped away directly, while the brave ones watched the battle in awe from far away, just like Lyu Liang and his companions.
The spider puppet could be said to be fully armed with weapon treasures, showing no hint of being weaker in front of two opponents. At the same time, the two were also impeccable in cooperation, performing well with proper defense and attacks.
As time passed, the spider puppet’s actions slowed down. With a second of inattention, he was knocked reeling back by Bi Huo’s hammer. And the sloppy man’s spear followed up straight ahead, directly penetrating Ji Chang’s forehead.
Trembling violently, the spider puppet fell onto the ground at once and didn’t move anymore. After half an hour, with a flash of dazzling light, there was only Ji Chang lying on the ground with his eyes slightly closed. His aura was weak, and yet a satisfied smile was on his face.
The master and disciple had already transformed back into their human forms before that. With his face covered in tears, the sloppy man held Ji Chang in his arms and said with quivering lips, “Senior brother, I’m sorry…”
Ji Chang opened his eyes. Although his aura was faint, his eyes were still alight. He whispered, “I’m satisfied. I haven’t engaged in such an all-out match in a long time! I left the sect for the pursuit of the ultimate tactics of puppets. And I was born to fight, and will die for fighting. It is a worthy death for me! Now, please send Lyu Liang here to me.”
Lyu Liang and others had already gathered around. Hearing Ji Chang’s words, he stepped forward right away and greeted him respectfully with a mixed expression. “You used to be in the same sect as me, and the Wanxiang Sect used to help me. So you’re on the same side as my benefactors. Although we have different pursuits, you are worthy of my respect.”
“Boy, there’s not much time left for me. For the sake of our camaraderie and the Wanxiang Sect, could you please take the puppet-form me with you, and after my soul vanishes, let me fight fiercely in the tough battles in the future? Junior brother Haotian will tell you how to use me. It is my last wish in this life. Will you do that for me?” Ji Chang stared at Lyu Liang tightly, as if he was afraid that Lyu Liang would reject him.
Lyu Liang nodded firmly without hesitation. “Senior brother Ji, as long as you’re not afraid of being destroyed on the battlefield with me, I will do that for you!”
The performance of the spider puppet impressed Lyu Liang deeply. It was even a little more potent than his Tao Master puppet and would improve his strength significantly if he could obtain it. Moreover, his relations with the Zi Tong Sect and Wanxiang Sect had offered him sound reasons to accept it. There was no possibility that he would reject it.
With Lyu Liang’s promise, Ji Chang revealed a look of relief eventually, and his eyes dimed away.
In the end, a cyan scroll surfaced out from his body onto the sloppy man’s hand. “J-junior brother, th-this is my summary of the realm-evolving methods of the puppet’s heart. P-please take, take it to the sect. I, I’m sorry for our Master. I miss Rou and, and Fang so, so much. And I, I want to apologize for the Wanxiang Sect. But, but I don’t regret it…”
Leaving his last words, Ji Chang closed his eyes forever with a smile still on his face. The sloppy man howled to the sky, held the frozen body tightly, and couldn’t say a word more.
After one and a half hours, the sloppy man calmed down. With lights shining on his hands, he read out complicated incantations that no one else could understand. Just then, with a white flash bursting out, Ji Chang’s body turned into a fist-size, cyan wooden heart in an instant.
The sloppy man rose and handed the heart to Lyu Liang solemnly. Sinking his voice, he said, “Lyu Liang, this is Senior Brother Ji’s puppet heart. Please take it. Now I will tell you the Mind Mantra Skills to operate it. You must understand and master them and then fulfill his last wish on future battlefields!”
Lyu Liang nodded determinedly and put away the wooden heart. Then the sloppy man waved out a white light, which penetrated Lyu Liang’s head in a flash.
Just as the light went into his head, he felt a mass of information surging into his Divine Sense, and it was all about Mind Mantra Skills to operate and cultivate puppets. That immediately gave him a sense of enlightenment. It seemed that not only Ji Chang’s puppet but also his other puppets could all be refined and cultivated in this way.
At the moment, many cultivators had been gathering at the entrance of the relic of the Immortal Devil. Since Lyu Liang had taken off his disguise in the battle, quite a few people recognized him. Some cultivators came up to him to make his acquaintance, but Lyu Liang declined them all with the excuse of time urgency.
Since Wu Lei had obtained the Remanent Divine Cane necessary for finding the Dragon-Teeth Dagger, they had somehow achieved the aim of this journey. Although the cane was now faintly glowing, which seemingly proved that the Tai-Ah Sword was in the relic, they had to come here another day to find it until the Wufang Territory regained its peace.
The first thing Lyu Liang did after he returned to the Blood Divine Sect was ask for several days of closed-door meditation so that he could master the Mind Mantra Skills told by the sloppy man. If he could operate these mighty puppets deftly before the next battle, he would have several new mighty forces and be able to reduce his reliance on the Blood Soul Sword Move.
The time for Lyu Liang’s closed-door meditation was lengthened to several months from the scheduled several days. But nobody urged him. After all, they didn’t have to act rashly.
During this period, the sloppy man took Bi Huo to meet Li Wuyi and Chishui Fairy. And what was most exciting was the meeting between Bi Huo and Xu Xiaotao. They hugged each other tightly without any concern or hesitation, tears of reunion running down their faces after having long been separated.
Seven months later, Lyu Liang finally showed up in the cave residence from his closed-door meditation with a satisfied smile on his face. When people asked him how he felt, he just replied jokingly, “Now I have a little confidence to compete with Brother Zhu!”