Chapter 225: Puppet and Cultivator

"There's more?" The old man was startled at first, but then became even more delighted, smiling as he took another sip of tea.

Although he didn't know what materials Han Li would produce next, it was human nature to save the best for last. He couldn't help but look at Han Li with even greater anticipation!

Despite having some doubts about the shop owner's artifact-refining skills, Han Li couldn't immediately find a more reliable refiner. He hesitated for a moment, then carefully laid out the materials from the Ink Flood Dragon one by one on the table.

However, he had already made up his mind: if the old man couldn't even recognize the original forms of these materials, it would indicate a serious problem with his knowledge and skill! In that case, Han Li would at most let him refine the hard shell he had presented earlier.

As for the valuable parts of the Ink Flood Dragon, he would have to find a more skilled refiner.

With this plan in mind, Han Li naturally paid even closer attention to the old man's expression and actions.

The old man, who was just taking a sip of clear tea, suddenly spurted out the entire mouthful onto the ground in front of him the moment he saw the pile of materials Han Li had produced.

"This is flood dragon skin, and its sharp horn, fangs, and eyeballs! Good heavens, did Senior really slaughter a ferocious flood dragon by himself?" The white-haired shop owner was utterly astonished, losing his composure. He stared at the items before him with disbelief, muttering to himself repeatedly.

No wonder the old man was so surprised! Not only had celestial beasts like flood dragons long disappeared from the nearby cultivation world, but even if they still existed, a seemingly second-evolution ferocious flood dragon was comparable to a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Aside from Core Formation cultivators, how could ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators be a match for it? And if many cultivators had acted together, the pile of flood dragon materials before him was simply too complete! It looked as if an entire flood dragon had been dissected and transported directly.

Could it be that he alone had taken everything, not leaving a single scrap for other cultivators? Or did this person possess some extraordinary means to defeat this flood dragon single-handedly?

The old man excitedly touched and prodded the materials, his mind racing with wild conjectures.

It was only then that a genuine sense of awe for Han Li developed within him!

The shop owner recognized these items at a glance, which somewhat exceeded Han Li's expectations.

He had thought that even if the other party could identify these things, it would likely take considerable effort. Now, for the materials to be so easily identified, it gave Han Li a bit more confidence in him.

"Shopkeeper Xu, to recognize them so quickly puts my mind at ease. Please proceed with the refining, Elder Xu!" Han Li said politely after a moment of consideration.

"Yes! Yes! Senior, please rest assured. I once refined flood dragon materials with my father when I was learning, so my confidence is certainly not small!" The old man nodded repeatedly, still holding one of the Ink Flood Dragon's sharp claws, unwilling to put it down.

Han Li found this scene amusing.

However, he also understood that this old man was likely one of those individuals obsessed with artifact refining. Otherwise, no matter how good the materials were, he wouldn't lose his composure like this. But in a way, this made Han Li feel much more at ease, as it suggested that the man's refining skills should be quite good.

And so, the old man, carrying the materials, led Han Li into the backyard.

Half a month later, Han Li finally exited the shop's main door. He looked back once, then slowly walked away with a faint smile.

As soon as he left the no-fly zone of the market, Han Li raised his hand. A small, exquisite white miniature boat shot out from his sleeve, hovering a few feet in front of him, gently swaying.

Han Li gazed at it with fondness, then flicked his finger. A green magical incantation struck the boat. Immediately, the small boat began to grow larger, quickly becoming a full-sized wooden skiff capable of carrying several people. Han Li and the boat vanished from their spot simultaneously, reappearing dozens of feet in the air!

"This Divine Wind Boat, refined from the Ink Flood Dragon's fins and tail, is truly an extraordinary flying artifact. While it's far from having the carrying capacity of the Masked Moon Sect's Heavenly Moon Divine Boat and lacks any defensive capabilities, in terms of speed alone, it should be a very rare flying artifact. This means I no longer have to use that leaf-shaped artifact that crawls as slow as a turtle!" Han Li murmured softly from the front of the skiff, a hint of a smile on his face.

As Han Li suddenly injected spiritual power from his feet into the boat's hull, the Divine Wind Boat erupted in a brilliant white light, instantly transforming into a white rainbow and shooting forth. Its speed was so astonishing that it could leave ordinary cultivators gaping in amazement!

Han Li sat at the front of the boat, his eyes gently closed, savoring the taste of speed he had never experienced before.

He estimated that even at half-speed with the Divine Wind Boat, he could return to his cave dwelling in just over an hour. After that, he planned to properly set up the greatly weakened Reversed Five Element Formation, ensuring he could cultivate in peace without any worries.

As Han Li was lost in thought, he suddenly felt a powerful spiritual energy surge rapidly from the ground beneath him, rushing towards his Divine Wind Boat! Although he didn't know what it was, based purely on the immense spiritual energy he sensed, if it struck the boat, the outcome would surely be its destruction and his demise!

Han Li was both shocked and enraged, and he abruptly opened his eyes! Then, the boat beneath him suddenly doubled its speed, darting dozens of feet to another location in an instant.

At the same time, a massive yellow pillar of light shot directly through the spot where Han Li had just been, flying far off without dispersing. This caused Han Li's expression to turn grim!

"Could someone have known I would pass by here and set up an ambush?" Han Li, shocked and furious, couldn't help but wonder. He immediately took out two small spherical objects, one green and one red, from his person and lightly tapped them together.

With a muffled "bang,"

A thick, two-colored smoke, green and red, instantly billowed from both spheres, rapidly enveloping Han Li. It continued to expand, quickly transforming into a colossal cloud, over ten zhang in diameter, completely obscuring Han Li's figure within the mist.

With the protection of this green and red cloud, Han Li felt a little more at ease and calmly looked down at the ground!

After seeing the situation on the ground clearly, Han Li's mouth dropped wide open, unable to close for a long time. Because, surprisingly, there was a group fight happening on the ground!

Four or five Foundation Establishment cultivators, being the disadvantaged party, were fighting against nearly a hundred enemies who had surrounded them. Their opponents, expressionless and lifeless, were all automatons like mechanical tigers and leopards. Interspersed among them were also some mechanical humanoids similar to the puppet archers Han Li possessed.

Though these puppets moved slowly and seemed easy to deal with, whenever a puppet was struck down or destroyed by the cultivators' magic artifacts, several new ones would emerge from the nearby forest to replenish their ranks, keeping the number of attackers constant.

Moreover, these puppets' attacks were incredibly fierce!

The mechanical beasts would occasionally open their mouths and unleash massive pillars of light, as thick as a bowl, identical to the one that had almost hit Han Li, except theirs came in various colors, representing different attributes.

Han Li had been accidentally injured by them!

As for the puppet humanoids, they were even more formidable! There were archer puppets, just like Han Li's puppet archers, which directly shot out streams of five-colored light arrows, finger-thick, from their longbows. Although their power was not as great as the mechanical beasts' light pillars, they were endless and unceasing.

If it weren't for the cultivators collectively maintaining a large protective barrier, they would have likely perished long ago under the barrage of light pillars and arrows.

But what troubled them most were the melee puppet warriors wielding blades and spears. These humanoids were not only clad in heavy armor, but the blades and spears in their hands shimmered brightly, proving to be genuine low to mid-tier magic artifacts.

Although there were only a dozen or so of them, they surrounded the protective barrier and continuously hacked and thrust, causing the barrier to totter and flicker erratically. If not for two cultivators constantly pressing their hands against the barrier to replenish spiritual power, it would have been shattered countless times already.

It wasn't that the cultivators truly had no way to deal with these puppets!

After all, they were Foundation Establishment cultivators, possessing abundant spiritual power, and their magic artifacts were incredibly powerful. In this short period, they had disabled thirty to forty puppets with their attacks.

However, no matter how powerful their magic artifacts were, the puppets in the forest seemed endless, constantly replenishing their numbers, engaging them in a war of attrition. This made the cultivators' hearts grow colder with every passing moment!

Han Li, hidden in the green and red cloud high in the air, watched in stunned silence! It seemed that for the time being, no one had discovered his presence, and that pillar of light must have truly been accidental collateral damage!

Finally, one cultivator lost his composure. He suddenly applied several layers of protective spells to himself and, wielding a banner-shaped defensive artifact, directly detached from the main protective barrier and flew outward, apparently intending to escape the area!

The other cultivators, seeing this, couldn't help but curse loudly.

But just as their curses left their lips, a super pillar of light, about ten feet in diameter, suddenly shot out from the forest. It flashed past and directly struck the cultivator in mid-air, who didn't even utter a sound, instantly turning into a ball of fire and falling to the dust, his fate unknown.