Chapter 1236: Yuan Ying Talisman Puppet

**The Mortal World**

Gongliang Yu stood before the cave entrance, surveying his surroundings. He then flicked his fingers, sending out a dozen blue lights. Each light contained a spiritual talisman. These talismans, each no bigger than a chess piece and crafted from spiritual jade, were remarkably intricate. They scattered around the cave entrance like celestial flowers, forming a warning array. Some were hidden in the void, while others vanished into the rocks and ground, leaving no trace. After deploying the talismans, Gongliang Yu flashed into the cave.

Not long after Gongliang Yu entered, Dongyang Bo arrived at the spot where he had stood. Inside a white light, the Vajra Ring vibrated gently, silently emitting subtle waves. It accurately located each talisman and effortlessly concealed their senses. Dongyang Bo seized the opportunity to pass through the array. Once the Vajra Ring's fluctuations disappeared, the talismans returned to normal, completely unaware that someone had crossed through their midst, undetected.

Soon after, a third person appeared. Qin Sang clearly observed Gongliang Yu's every movement. He had seen similar techniques before; back in the ancient cultivator's ruin, when Old Man Dique plotted against Daoist Master Xuanyu and forced Qin Sang to scout ahead, it was because Daoist Master Xuanyu had left similar warning talismans along the way. However, Gongliang Yu's mastery was clearly superior to Daoist Master Xuanyu's. These talismans were connected by their qi flow, forming an exceptionally complex array. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator, if momentarily careless, could easily trigger them and be detected by Gongliang Yu.

With the assistance of the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, Qin Sang could discern the array's intricacies but couldn't bypass it as easily as Dongyang Bo. It was likely Dongyang Bo had planned this for a long time, meticulously studying Gongliang Yu's various techniques. Secretly activating his Heavenly Eye divine ability, Qin Sang fully comprehended the talisman array. His aura suddenly changed, as if he himself had become a sharp sword. His sword momentum pressed against the array, and a faint sword light burst from him, striking out. The sword qi tore through the void and vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed. Qin Sang, meanwhile, had already escaped into the cave with the sword light.

Three individuals had now entered in succession, leaving only the talisman array guarding the entrance.

Only upon entering the cave did they realize its vast interior space. The hill beneath was empty, seemingly once home to a great river that had carved out a massive riverbed. It stretched for hundreds of miles, with no end in sight, and was unfathomably deep. Gongliang Yu floated above the blood river, his expression grim. The underground river had vanished, but the area was filled with dense blood mist, like a turbulent river of blood flowing downstream along the ancient riverbed. Here, the malevolent power was even more ferocious.

However, Gongliang Yu's greatest concern was not the malevolent erosion. According to the information he had, the Blood Spirit Ganoderma grew at the bottom of the blood river, and he would have to enter it to find it. Yet, powerful undercurrents surged within the blood river; it was far from as calm as it appeared on the surface. Although Gongliang Yu's cultivation was not weak, he could sense many things in the blood river that could threaten him. The riverbed was surely even more terrifying. With his current cultivation, it would be impossible for him to retrieve treasures from such a place.

Gazing at the blood river, Gongliang Yu's expression constantly shifted, as if he were making a difficult decision. Finally, Gongliang Yu steeled himself. He raised the hand holding the jade pendant to his front, and a faint projection of his Nascent Soul appeared between his eyebrows, sending out a ray of spiritual sense that landed on the jade pendant.

"Crack!" The jade pendant shattered instantly, dissolving into dust in mere moments. After it disappeared, a cluster of cyan spiritual light remained.

"Whoosh!" He enveloped the cyan spiritual light with his spiritual sense and absorbed it into his Nascent Soul. His eyes immediately became exceptionally clear. This cluster of light had the ability to stabilize the soul. Gongliang Yu felt his mind become more steadfast than ever before, all distracting thoughts vanishing. Within his Violet Palace, cyan light shimmered; the cluster of cyan spiritual light was protecting his Nascent Soul.

Gongliang Yu pondered for a moment, then raised his other hand. Gazing at the small figure in his hand, Gongliang Yu knew there was no turning back. Without hesitation, he formed a spell seal and removed the yellow talisman from the figure's forehead.

"Boom!" In an instant, the small figure glowed intensely all over. Within the light, countless illusory talisman projections flickered, and behind these projections, indistinct human figures writhed—some in pain, some in madness, some laughing maniacally, some screaming—a chaotic dance of demons. Seeing these apparitions, a trace of fear actually appeared on Gongliang Yu's face.

"Buzz! Buzz!" The small figure came to life, struggling violently with immense power. Feeling the figure about to break free from his control, Gongliang Yu's expression shifted slightly. Without hesitation, he spat out a mouthful of vital blood and, following his sect's secret art, activated a control method, forming seals that merged into the figure's body.

"Bang!" The palm-sized statue rapidly expanded, becoming human-sized and standing in mid-air before Gongliang Yu. Its faceless countenance was directly facing him. At this moment, its face began to contort and writhe, a grotesque and nauseating sight. In the blink of an eye, the figure's face grew facial features. Strangely, this face was identical to Gongliang Yu's, like that of his twin brother. Gazing at this face, Gongliang Yu felt as if he were looking in a mirror. While secretly worried, he also felt an indescribable sense of unease.

Just then, the figure suddenly opened its eyes. Its pupils were ink-black, its gaze filled with madness, yet a faint, wicked smile inexplicably hung on its lips, causing Gongliang Yu's heart to tighten. Simultaneously, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from the figure, instantly surpassing Gongliang Yu's and comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator!

This was precisely one of the Four Secret Talismans passed down by the Shangyuan Pure Stream Palace—the Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet! Among the Four Secret Talismans, the Heavenly Gang Blade Talisman, the Nine Dragon Celestial Chariot Talisman, and the Inner Vision Origin Talisman were all conventional spiritual talismans. Only the Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet was a puppet-like entity, created inadvertently by the founding ancestor of Shangyuan Pure Stream Palace. He drew inspiration from the Way of Talisman Soldiers, integrating other puppet arts, demonic soul refinement techniques, and various profound secret arts to forge this talisman puppet.

After that ancestor's demise, he left this Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet in the sect as its most prized treasure. The Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet was the guardian deity of Shangyuan Pure Stream Palace and possessed other astonishing abilities. Relying on this puppet, Shangyuan Pure Stream Palace had weathered countless tribulations, endured downturns, yet remained prosperous and is still among the top sects today.

Rumor had it that the Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet could not be taken out of Shangyuan Pure Stream Palace. This was because successive generations of Shangyuan Pure Stream Palace disciples only resorted to using the Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet when the sect faced a great disaster or external enemies attacked their mountain gate. A Nascent Soul-level talisman puppet, combined with the sect's mountain-protecting array, made their defenses impregnable. Outside the mountain gate, no Shangyuan Pure Stream Palace cultivator had ever been seen using the talisman puppet in conflict.

Yet, Gongliang Yu had brought the Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet out, suggesting the rumors were erroneous. Perhaps Shangyuan Pure Stream Palace intentionally propagated them, or there was another reason. Gongliang Yu awakened his talisman puppet, clearly intending to use its power to help him enter the blood river to search for treasure. However, his expression seemed abnormal, as if he greatly feared the puppet. This was because the talisman puppet originally crafted by the founding ancestor had inherent flaws. Over countless years, the puppet had become even more sinister, and most of its other functions had been rendered useless. Each time Shangyuan Pure Stream Palace deployed it, the cost was immense, often causing as much self-inflicted harm as to their enemies.