Chapter 194

For a moment, the White Crane Boy was left wondering who the real imposter was: himself or the figure opposite him. Why, it even possessed talisman needles!

Li Zhuiyuan continued to form hand seals, his eyes fixed on the talisman needles in the masked figure's hand. The sealing and evil-breaking talisman needles were identical. But how was this possible?

Li Zhuiyuan's own talisman arts were incomplete; all the talismans he used were drawn by Ah Li. The three talismans – Clear Mind, Sealing, and Evil-Breaking – originated from Wei Zhengdao's records and were created by Wei Zhengdao himself. While there were certainly many talismans in the martial world with similar effects, it was absolutely impossible for any to perfectly match these three in appearance and markings. Therefore, Li Zhuiyuan speculated that the talisman needles might just be for show.

The hands on the coffin sped up their movements again, appearing as multiple blurs from a distance. Li Zhuiyuan forced himself to keep pace, feeling the computational demand increase yet another notch at that moment. The young man looked up, his initial doubt fading, replaced by certainty. Indeed, the talisman needles were fake. If the talisman needles were real, their effects would simply take over, and there would be no need for such a sudden increase in computational demand. Aren't talismans and arrays meant to provide convenience and save effort? Why, with you, does it become more tiring and cumbersome?

Because what you are currently calculating is actually the effect of the talisman needles once they enter the body. In this Nuo Opera Puppet Art, all forms are merely superficial – including the Three-Step Praise footwork and the phantom trident. They are presented purely for show, simply taking on a shape, while their actual effects are painstakingly replicated through calculation. It's like a piece of wood casually carved with a knife to create a dent. To replicate it, one must meticulously measure, carefully sculpt it bit by bit with a small carving knife, and then patiently polish it, ultimately perfectly restoring the indentation.

The calculations sped up, and the dark shadows integrated into the white cocoon served as tools and raw materials. This was truly... extravagant and wasteful. Compared to this, Xu Yijin's heavy suitcase seemed as light as a feather. Her suitcase could at least be carried or shouldered. He couldn't just stay there indefinitely or move the entire place. So, what was the point of him learning this Nuo Opera Puppet Art? It was profound, but to him, it held no value whatsoever. Such an overkill approach, like using a cannon to shoot a mosquito, was completely impractical.

Li Zhuiyuan's eyes gradually reddened, and his brows furrowed. Zhao Yi noticed this and was immediately alarmed: Was he losing control of his mind and succumbing to cultivation deviation? This situation was not uncommon during cultivation and learning. If it happened, severe cases led to immediate unconsciousness, while mild cases caused mental disorientation.

"Hey, don't scare me. If something happens to you, what will I do?"

Zhao Yi reached out to pull Li Zhuiyuan, but even though he grabbed his arm, the young man's hands continued to form seals, as if he was deeply engrossed and couldn't stop. Below, the masked figure inserted the talisman needles into its body, and its aura surged rapidly. In contrast, the White Crane Boy, who had only lit three "Inquiry Incense" sticks, gained no enhancement other than extending the duration of his current state.

The masked figure charged again. This time, in their exchange, the Boy was completely on the defensive, forced to merely guard and dodge. Left with no choice, he took a kick directly, using the force to propel himself backward and create distance. He also took out a handful of talisman needles. "Come on, let's stick needles together!" Being dominated by an impostor, the Boy was truly enraged.

Behind him, a trickle of blood escaped Li Zhuiyuan's lips, but the redness in his eyes quickly receded, and his gaze returned to calm clarity. Zhao Yi, who was about to forcibly wake the young man, blinked in disbelief upon seeing this. "No way, you recovered from cultivation deviation that quickly?" Earlier, Zhao Yi had worried about something happening to Young Master Li. Now, seeing that Li was fine so quickly, he felt a little uncomfortable.

Li Zhuiyuan had no time to address Zhao Yi in front of him and instead shouted to the Boy ahead: "Don't insert the talisman needles!"

Though the White Crane Boy didn't understand, he chose to obey and retracted the talisman needles. The opening he had gained by taking a kick earlier was thus wasted. The masked figure attacked again, and the White Crane Boy could only try his best to maneuver and hold on, struggling. "This can't go on. I might not last until their time runs out."

However, a turning point soon emerged. The masked figure's body began to crack, sounds like tearing fabric emanated from it, and it deflated like a punctured ball. Just then, both sides exchanged another punch. The Boy had braced himself for a disadvantage and injury, but unexpectedly, when their fists met, he remained still while the masked figure's arm broke off. Even without knowing exactly what happened, the Boy wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. He immediately pressed forward, thrusting his trident fiercely at the masked figure. The masked figure waved its illusory trident to block, but the illusion's magical effect dissipated before contact, and the trident vanished.

"Splat..."

The White Crane Boy severed the masked figure's head. The headless masked figure stumbled backward, and as it retreated, various parts of its body began to fall off. Among some fragments, Li Zhuiyuan saw human bones. These bones were visible only for an instant before flames erupted, incinerating all the fragments into ash.

The White Crane Boy stood panting, trident in hand, looking somewhat bewildered. This fight today had been baffling from start to finish. But thankfully, he had listened to the young man and hadn't inserted the talisman needles into himself; otherwise, his spirit medium would be bedridden again. Passing out in such an eerie place and becoming a burden to the team would be unwise. The Boy was now very concerned about Lin Shuyou. If something happened to Lin Shuyou, the bond between him and the young man would be severed.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Did you just see that? White bones."Zhao Yi: "Yes, I saw them. They were human bones. So, all these dark figures inside the walls are people."Li Zhuiyuan: "They're dead people."Zhao Yi: "I don't think you need to emphasize that." After being sealed and soaked here for so many years, it was unrealistic to expect them to be alive and healthy."No, it needs to be emphasized: dead people!"

Earlier, Li Zhuiyuan had indeed suffered from cultivation deviation because his thoughts had entered a dead end, constantly crashing about. He knew that this Nuo Opera Puppet Art was profound and mysterious; otherwise, he wouldn't have persisted in imitating and learning it until now. But after its practical value was doused with a bucket of cold water, Li Zhuiyuan fell into deep self-doubt. Fortunately, he quickly understood. This puppetry art was indeed excellent. The discrepancy with reality arose partly because the hands on the coffin performed it so well, and partly because their performance was *too* good. The former meant those hands presented the most standard and perfect Nuo Opera Puppet Art, while the latter meant the unique environment here allowed it to indulge in such extravagant waste.

However, this didn't mean there was no solution: it was about reducing costs and increasing efficiency. It was known that those dark shadows were corpses. Although they had undergone some changes after being soaked here for a long time, corpses were still corpses. There were many here, but even more in the outside world. Theoretically, this Nuo Opera Puppet Art could be applied to any relatively intact corpse. As for the enormous computational consumption, that was even easier to solve. Influenced by the deceased Xu Yijin's records, the puppets created by these hands, under current rules, could only replicate abilities the imitator had used. This "knowing what but not why" led to a huge increase in computational cost.

He didn't need to do that. For instance, with the previous "Puppet White Crane Boy," Li Zhuiyuan didn't need to compute many aspects when using this puppetry art because he already knew them. The *Scripture of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva* he had mastered was even more complete and comprehensive than the General Commander system. If it weren't for the fact that those Yin Gods were unwilling to descend upon him, he could have become an even better spirit medium than Lin Shuyou. Long ago, when the two sides clashed on the playground, he had feigned summoning General Sun. The White Crane Boy hadn't even been able to tell if it was real or fake. As for the talisman needles, there was even less need for computation; he had them in hand, so he could simply equip them directly to the puppet. He knew the cultivation method, had the equipment, and was familiar with the fighting styles and routines. Wouldn't the puppet's maintenance cost immediately drop as a result?

By analogy, with Run Sheng's *Qin Clan's Dragon-Viewing Body Tempering Art*, he understood the profound meaning of qi flow better than Run Sheng himself. He was also more familiar with the distribution of malevolent qi within Run Sheng's body, since he had personally helped suppress it. Thus, he could easily create a Run Sheng puppet, following the same pattern. Next was Tan Wenbin. Tan Wenbin's Ghost Control Art was actually designed by Li Zhuiyuan himself. The only issue was that the two vengeful infants were hard to find. If he couldn't easily catch some stray ghosts nearby, he wouldn't bother creating a Tan Wenbin puppet. Lastly, Yin Meng... Hmm, Mengmeng can be skipped for now. In short, creating puppets modeled after his companions would be the most cost-effective.

"Clack!"

Above the coffin, the ten fingers clasped together tightly once more. From a green stone obelisk above, ten dark shadows slid down, all merging into the white cocoon at the tip below. The previous masked figure had collapsed because it was formed from five dark shadows, and its quality was insufficient to withstand the stress of the talisman needles being inserted. Li Zhuiyuan had analyzed the number of dark shadows and the power they displayed in the previous two rounds, anticipating this outcome. That was why he had warned the Boy not to insert the needles into himself. But now, the opponent had improved their "teaching quality"; ten dark shadows were coalescing into the next masked figure. Its quality would undoubtedly be sufficient to withstand the effects of the talisman needles.

Zhao Yi: "How about we just end this here? I just realized that while this puppetry art is good, it doesn't seem practical at all."

Li Zhuiyuan remained silent.

Zhao Yi continued to persuade him: "I know you might feel unwilling to give up, but sometimes, there's just nothing to be done. If this opportunity isn't satisfactory, isn't there another one waiting? I suspect the previous masked figure exploded because the number of dark shadows used to form it wasn't enough. Look now, ten of them slid down in one go, and that white cocoon is so stretched but still hasn't fallen. The new one that emerges will likely be able to perfectly wield the previous power. Even if we deal with this one... it can still produce more! Maybe next time it will use even more dark shadows to create something bigger."

Run Sheng shook the Yellow River Shovel in his hand and said, "We can go down and help."

Yin Meng nodded.

Tan Wenbin rested his chin in his hand, deep in thought. He felt that the three of them probably shouldn't go down, but it was just a feeling; he hadn't yet pinpointed the exact reason.

Zhao Yi: "You absolutely cannot go down now. Those hands are currently following their own rhythm, taking it slow, step by step. If you go down, you might disrupt the 'testing' pace. What was originally one-on-one would turn into two-on-two, three-on-three—a complete free-for-all."

Tan Wenbin nodded in realization. "So that's why Young Master Li only let Lin Shuyou go down to fight at first." "This Zhao 'Three Eyes' really has a sharp mind." He was, apart from Young Master Li, the smartest person he had ever met.

Run Sheng reached out and patted Tan Wenbin's shoulder, saying: "It's fine. No matter how good the golden mules and silver mules outside are, they can't compare to our own local mule."

"I really wasn't thinking that way." Tan Wenbin felt no jealousy towards Zhao Yi; he even regretted that Zhao Yi had already lit the lamp and walked the river, because Tan Wenbin's own role was that of a boatman's caller, not a strategist. The reason he often played that role was not because he was particularly clever, but purely because he was contrasted with his peers.

Zhao Yi pointed to the white cocoon that was now elongated and hanging low: "Look, that thing is having a difficult birth. Once this masked figure emerges, the situation will become quite challenging. At most, we can endure one more round. Beyond that, the situation will spiral out of control."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Hmm."

Seeing that he had swayed him, Zhao Yi finally sighed in relief and said, "How about we rush over and seal that coffin back before that thing fully descends?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "It hasn't finished its full performance, and I haven't completely learned it yet. I need to get through this round."

Zhao Yi: "Whether you learn this or not, it's truly not very meaningful, unless you..."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Hmm, I've already improved it."

Zhao Yi: "..." Young Master Zhao clenched his fists, wanting to beat his chest, but recalling his current fragile heart, he feared he might accidentally beat himself to death. In the end, he could only punch the ground.

Li Zhuiyuan: "This is a good opportunity; I don't want to miss it. I want to learn the entire technique."

Zhao Yi lifted his reddened fist, blew on it, and thanks to his Gate of Life and Death having reopened, leaving him weak all over, his fist hadn't even broken skin despite punching the ground for so long. "But, have you considered what if it still hasn't finished its performance by the next round?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Then I'll find a way to make it finish its performance."

The young man looked up at a green inverted cone high above. His previously still hands began to form seals, but this time, he wasn't following the rhythm of the hands on the coffin. This was his own rhythm. Zhao Yi's lips began to twitch. He had actually learned quite a bit too, but he lacked the young man's boldness and courage to just directly apply it like this. Inside the green rock wall above, a dark shadow, as if drawn by an unseen force, began to move towards the inverted cone.

As a first-timer, Li Zhuiyuan was still a bit rusty, mainly due to unfamiliarity with the terrain and environment. He tried three times in a row, but couldn't get the dark shadow to slide down. However, on the fourth attempt, it finally entered the opening. The dark shadow slid down, entering the white cocoon at the tip.

Zhao Yi: "You can bring it down and mold a puppet now."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Not enough."

The young man continued to draw down a second dark shadow, letting it slide, and then immediately began to draw down a third. Raw materials were abundant here; he could draw from local resources. Missing this opportunity would mean missing this classroom entirely. A third... a fourth... a fifth! Li Zhuiyuan wasn't greedy; unlike the opponent, he didn't gather ten dark shadows. He only chose five, the same number the opponent had used in the previous round. All five dark shadows had now entered the white cocoon.

The young man interlocked his fingers and pushed them upward!

"Clack!"

The white cocoon fell, striking the ground. The hands above the distant coffin performed the same motion, and the white cocoon containing ten dark shadows also fell. On the floor of the circular hall, two white puddles appeared, both writhing wildly.

Seemingly stimulated by this development, the hands on the coffin now performed movements they hadn't shown before. As they shifted, a faint white light seemed to flow between them.

Zhao Yi: "It's working."

Li Zhuiyuan continued to form hand seals while watching his own white puddle, all while still paying attention to the hands' movements to learn from them. The young man could multitask, but under such high intensity, efficiency was bound to drop, and the pressure was truly immense. An humanoid figure was already beginning to rise from the opponent's white cocoon, while his own puddle was still kneeling, wobbly and unstable. This was an awkward situation. If the opponent's puppet could soon run, jump, and fight, and his own hadn't even fully formed yet, then the opponent could simply walk over and crush his puppet, and it would be over.

Li Zhuiyuan forced himself to keep up, pushing his mental limits. Sure enough, his puddle began to stand up, but at the same time, he felt liquid dripping from his nose—he was getting a nosebleed. He was still in the puppet-molding stage, not even in combat yet, and already he had a nosebleed. If he forced himself to continue and finish, he feared he wouldn't be far from bleeding from his eyes or even overexerting himself to the point of blindness. The main issue was that learning this aspect consumed too much energy. But the problem was, his original intention was to fully learn this set of puppetry arts. If he didn't focus on it, what else would he focus on? Furthermore, this wasn't like a book, where the text was recorded and could be read slowly and repeatedly; many parts of those hands' performance might only happen once. Missing it meant missing it forever.

He had to find a solution. Li Zhuiyuan turned his head to look at Zhao Yi beside him. Fortunately, the solution was right in front of him. Zhao Yi shivered unexpectedly under that gaze and asked, "What do you want?!"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Lend me your brain."

Zhao Yi: "Why should I?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "You're just sitting idle anyway."

Zhao Yi: "That's not a reason."

Li Zhuiyuan: "If I overexert myself and pass out, what will you do when we encounter the Yu family next? Besides, there are more dangers ahead. If I'm not conscious, my people will only focus on protecting me and getting me out."

Zhao Yi: "You... you're truly shameless."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Hurry up."

Zhao Yi sighed, stood up, placed his right hand on his own Gate of Life and Death between his brows, and rested his left hand on Li Zhuiyuan's head.

Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi closed their eyes simultaneously.

Entering the Underworld!