Puppets and Cultivators

“There’s more?” The old man froze for a moment, then broke into an even broader grin, his mouth refusing to close for a long while.

Though he had no idea what materials Han Li planned to pull out next, common sense dictated that the best items were saved for last. His gaze at Han Li grew even more expectant.

Han Li still had some doubts about the shopkeeper’s refining skill, but he had no other reliable refiner to turn to at the moment. After a brief hesitation, he laid out the Ink Flood Dragon’s materials on the table one by one.

He had already made up his mind: if the old man could not even identify the origins of these materials, then his expertise and judgment were seriously questionable. In that case, Han Li would let him refine only the hardened carapace from earlier.

As for the Flood Dragon’s true treasures, he would seek out a more accomplished refiner.

With this plan in mind, Han Li naturally paid close attention to the old man’s expression and movements.

The old man had just taken a sip of tea when he caught sight of the pile of materials. With a “pfft” sound, he sprayed the half-mouthful of tea all over the floor in front of him.

“This is Flood Dragon hide… and a horn, fangs, and… eyeballs! Heavens, did you slaughter a Flood Dragon alone, Senior?” The white-haired shopkeeper was utterly shocked, staring at the items with an incredulous look as he muttered to himself.

No wonder he was so astonished. Flood Dragons—those heavenly, earthly beasts—had long vanished from the nearby cultivation world. Even if one did appear, a second-order evolved Flood Dragon like this would be the equivalent of a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Aside from Core Formation cultivators, how could ordinary Foundation Establishment practitioners possibly defeat it? And if a group of cultivators had ganged up on it, the pile of parts before him was far too complete—almost as if an entire Flood Dragon had been dismembered and carried away whole.

Had he kept everything for himself without letting anyone else have a share? Or did he possess some extraordinary means to take down such a beast single-handedly?

The old man’s hands trembled as he touched and pinched the materials, his mind racing with wild speculation.

Only now did he truly feel a sense of awe toward Han Li.

That the shopkeeper had instantly identified these items caught Han Li off guard. He had assumed it would take considerable time for the man to recognize them. This unexpected ease gave Han Li a bit more confidence.

“Shopkeeper Xu, you recognized them so quickly. I’m much relieved. Then I’ll trouble you to begin the refining,” Han Li said courteously after a moment’s thought.

“Of course, of course! Rest assured, Senior. I once refined Flood Dragon materials with my father while learning the craft. I have full confidence!” The old man nodded repeatedly, still holding an Ink Flood Dragon claw in his hand, reluctant to put it down.

Han Li found the sight mildly amusing.

But he also understood: this old man was likely the type obsessed with artifact refining. Otherwise, no matter how fine the materials, he would not have lost his composure like this. This actually made Han Li more at ease—it suggested the man’s refining skill was probably quite good.

So the old man led Han Li into the back courtyard with the materials.

Half a month later, Han Li finally walked out of the shop. He turned to look back, a faint smile on his face, then departed slowly.

Once he was clear of the market’s no-fly zone, Han Li raised his hand. A small, exquisite white boat shot out from his sleeve, floating in front of him a few feet off the ground, gently swaying.

He cast an appreciative glance at it, then flicked his finger. A cyan spell formula struck the boat. The small vessel slowly expanded, and within moments it had become a real dugout canoe big enough for several people.

With a light sway of his body, Han Li was aboard. A white flash later, he and the boat vanished from their spot and reappeared dozens of feet up in the air.

“This Divine Wind Boat, refined from the Flood Dragon’s fin and tail, is truly an extraordinary flying artifact. Though its passenger capacity is far inferior to the Moon-Masking Sect’s Celestial Moon Divine Boat, and it has no defensive capability, in terms of speed alone it must be quite rare among flying artifacts. From now on, I won’t have to rely on that leaf-shaped artifact which moved slower than a turtle.” Han Li stood at the bow, quietly murmuring to himself, a faint smile spreading across his face.

When he abruptly channeled his spiritual power into the boat through his feet, the Divine Wind Boat blazed with white light and instantly transformed into a white streak that shot forward. Its speed was enough to leave ordinary cultivators staring in disbelief.

Han Li sat at the front, eyes half-closed, experiencing a speed he had never felt before.

He estimated that even at half-speed, the Divine Wind Boat would return to his cave in just over an hour. After that, he planned to set up the diminished Reversed Five Elements Formation, ensuring absolute safety for his secluded cultivation.

Han Li was deep in thought when he suddenly sensed a surge of powerful spiritual energy rushing up from the ground below, heading straight for his Divine Wind Boat. He had no idea what it was, but judging by the sheer magnitude of the energy, a direct hit would surely destroy the boat and kill him.

Startled and furious, Han Li snapped his eyes open. He instantly doubled the boat’s speed, and it darted dozens of feet to one side.

In the same moment, a massive yellow beam of light shot straight through the spot he had just occupied, flying far into the distance without dispersing. Han Li’s face darkened.

“Could someone have known I would pass this way and set an ambush?” he thought, his shock turning to anger. He quickly pulled out two round orbs, one azure and one red, and gently tapped them together.

With a low puff, a thick azure-red smoke erupted from the orbs, swiftly enveloping him. The smoke continued to expand, forming a massive cloud dozens of feet across that completely concealed his figure.

Only with this protective cloud cover did Han Li calm down enough to study the scene below.

What he saw made his jaw drop and refuse to close for a long time. There was a full-scale brawl going on below!

Four or five Foundation Establishment cultivators, clearly on the losing side, were surrounded by over a hundred enemies. Their opponents were expressionless, lifeless—all of them mechanical beasts and puppet beasts like tigers and leopards. Scattered among them were a few puppet archers similar to the one Han Li possessed.

These puppets moved slowly and seemed easy to deal with, but whenever one was knocked down or destroyed by the cultivators’ magic tools, several new puppets emerged from the woods to take its place, keeping the number of attackers constant.

Their assault was also ferocious.

Whenever a mechanical beast opened its mouth wide, it would spit out a thick beam of light as thick as a bowl—identical to the one that had nearly hit Han Li. Only their beams came in various colors, representing different elemental attributes.

So that was the stray shot that had nearly hit him.

The puppet humanoids were even more formidable. Some were archers like Han Li’s puppet, firing finger-thick multicolored arrows from their longbows. Though not as powerful as the beasts’ beams, they rained down endlessly, never stopping.

If not for the joint protective barrier the cultivators had raised, they would have already died under the barrage of beams and arrows.

But what troubled them most were the melee-type puppets wielding blades and spears. These humanoids wore heavy armor, and their weapons glimmered with spiritual light—they were genuine low-to-mid-grade magical tools.

Though only a dozen or so, they surrounded the barrier, hacking and stabbing without pause. The barrier flickered unsteadily, its light dimming and brightening. If not for two cultivators constantly pouring their mana into it through their palms, it would have been shattered countless times already.

This wasn’t because the cultivators were truly powerless against these puppets.

They were all Foundation Establishment cultivators, boasting deep reserves of mana and wielding powerful tools. In the short time since the fight began, they had already incapacitated thirty or forty puppets.

But no matter how many they destroyed, the puppets in the woods seemed inexhaustible, continuously replenishing their numbers and grinding the cultivators down in a war of attrition. The chill in the cultivators’ hearts only deepened.

Hidden within the azure-red cloud high above, Han Li watched in stunned silence. For the moment, it seemed no one had noticed him—the beam had truly been an accident.

Finally, one of the cultivators lost his nerve. He layered several defensive spells on himself, raised a banner-shaped defensive artifact, and broke away from the main barrier, clearly trying to escape.

The other cultivators immediately began cursing him.

But before their curses could even echo, a massive beam of light—several yards thick—suddenly shot out from the forest. It struck the fleeing cultivator in an instant, not even giving him time to cry out. He was transformed into a ball of fire, tumbling down into the dust—alive or dead, no one could tell.