Chapter 1846: Battle Puppet

As the two revealed their true forms and merged in an instant, the unique aura they emitted became heavily imbued with potent toxic elements.

“Heh, you must truly overestimate yourselves if you think such a small trick can challenge me, Xu Yang.”

With that, Xu Yang unhesitatingly summoned the dark golden Ling Xu master artifact. This time, the versatile Ling Xu swiftly formed a dark golden barrier, shielding Xu Yang. It perfectly blocked all the toxic elements present in the surrounding air.

“Come up with something more substantial. How could these mere toxic elements possibly harm a top-tier expert? Is this all your Myriad Demon Ridge has to offer?”

“Hahaha, don't be so quick. The real show has only just begun. You need to understand something: who among us is the prey and who is the hunter?”

The towering tree before him exuded an incredibly arrogant killing intent. At the same time, Xu Yang suddenly noticed the colorful mushroom that had just pierced him beginning to expand rapidly. It looked like a massive cavity embedded in the center of the colossal tree, and within this cavity, an increasingly dense life force began to gather.

Xu Yang's brow furrowed slightly. He had a premonition that the truly terrifying power was only just emerging.

Sure enough, once that life force had fully condensed, a new life form quickly emerged from the central part of the ancient, towering tree. Xu Yang could clearly see the physical body that had been nurtured within the cavity. It was originally a corpse, but the ancient tree and the colorful, toxin-releasing mushroom had collectively infused it with a unique life force, granting the corpse new mobility. The only difference was that the corpse, now imbued with life force, showed no signs of a soul in its pupils. However, this entity could fulfill its mission under the combined spiritual control of the towering tree and the colorful mushroom. Its purpose was to act as a combat puppet and fight Xu Yang.

“So that's it. After all this fuss, this is your signature move. You use the corpses of martial arts experts who entered the Myriad Demon Ridge and ultimately perished here to serve as your combat puppets. This is the first time I've encountered such a fighting style within the Ancient Martial God Path. Well then, I'm truly eager to see what strength these once-renowned martial artists on the continent possessed.”

Xu Yang suddenly grew excited. He also didn't want to waste any more time here. He knew very well that by prematurely forcing these strange beings to reveal their true identities and start fighting, it was highly probable that Long Kun and Po Xiao were also encountering confrontations of varying scales in their respective areas. He had to break free from these restraints as quickly as possible to have a chance to support the other two on their battlefields.

Xu Yang wasn't overly concerned that Long Kun and Po Xiao couldn't handle the situation with their strength. He simply feared that if they failed to unravel the nature of this bewildering maze, they would stray further and further down a misguided path, making the chance to turn back increasingly slim.

As he thought this, the powerful human martial artist charged towards Xu Yang. Suddenly, two large flaming wheels appeared behind him. The man appeared exquisitely refined, likely a nobleman from an ancient martial arts lineage. His strength had reached the pinnacle of the Dao Integration realm. Xu Yang unhesitatingly unleashed a powerful burst of martial essence, which suddenly erupted before the human puppet expert. The opponent decisively brought the two flaming flying wheels in his hands across his front, easily blocking the force. Although Xu Yang hadn't used his full power in that attack, merely intending to probe the opponent's overall strength, the feedback told Xu Yang that this fellow retained almost 100% of his combat power from when he was alive, which was rather terrifying.

What surprised Xu Yang even more was that the powerful, concentrated toxic aura in the air would continuously replenish the puppet's power as it expended its own internal energy. After absorbing this source of poison, the combat puppet's attacks would also be imbued with toxic power, and it would unleash them using various distinct martial techniques it possessed. Sure enough, when the creature once again raised the two fire wheels in its hands to gather power for its next attack, the surface of the flames quickly condensed into an incredibly dense, deep green glow of toxic energy.

“So that's how it is.” Xu Yang nodded, his expression grave. Only now had he truly understood his opponent's actual tactics. “I must revise my opinion of your Myriad Demon Ridge. Simply by expertly utilizing the physical strength and cultivation of these combat puppets, your region is certainly worthy of being called a forbidden zone.”

“Oh, has Lord Xu Yang realized the danger so quickly? If that's the case, then it won't be long before you truly fall into despair. Because this is far from the full extent of the abilities we possess. Of course, if you can't even handle a situation like this, you're not worthy of witnessing our greater power.”

Hearing this, Xu Yang burst into laughter. “Well, at least you two little guys have given me a new experience in the realm of showing off. This trip to Myriad Demon Ridge hasn't been a waste after all. What I'm pondering now isn't how to defeat you two insignificant beings. What truly intrigues me is what kind of life form the boss pulling the strings behind the Myriad Demon Ridge is, to have transformed it into such a forbidden zone! If I'm not mistaken, that true mastermind behind the scenes must possess an unimaginably profound understanding of human martial artists. Otherwise, you two mere pawns would never be able to fully unleash the combat puppet's cultivation strength.”

The merged entity of the small mushroom and the towering tree couldn't help but look at Xu Yang with newfound respect upon hearing his words. “We must admit, you possess an extraordinary power of judgment, far beyond what ordinary people could imagine. Indeed, almost everything you've deduced is perfectly correct. However, this doesn't seem to help you avert the tragedy before you. Not only you, but your two companions have also fallen into the labyrinth, and they will never be able to return to their original starting point.”

Xu Yang's response, however, deeply shocked the two entities. With a gentle wave of his palm, Xu Yang prepared for the impending confrontation. The slight curve of his lips once again demonstrated his unparalleled power.

“If I can't return to the starting point, then I'll simply arrive at the end!”