Chapter 1944: The Secret of the Disciple Puppet

"Where is that impostor?" Xu Yang asked calmly, but unfortunately, he didn't immediately receive a satisfactory answer.

Before the immersed cultist could devise a way to stall for time, an incredibly powerful force of absorption suddenly fixated on the leader of the gold-robed cultists. His body instantly appeared in Xu Yang's palm. This was not the first time they had witnessed the formidable power of the Kunlun Dao techniques.

However, this time, Xu Yang gave the man no chance to breathe. He knew very well that these individuals would never genuinely negotiate with him. He had to use decisive, lightning-fast methods to crush all their hopes before he could make them talk.

Thus, in this first confrontation, Xu Yang had no intention of letting his opponent off. Within mere seconds, the immense power of absorption transformed the body of a peak-level Martial God cultist into nothingness, leaving only a skull.

Then, with a slight movement of its finger, the little mushroom on Xu Yang's shoulder crumbled the skeleton into dust, leaving only the golden robe to fall limply to the ground.

Such decisive and ruthless action was immediately effective. As expected, the powerful disciples behind him, whose feet were still frozen by the icy power, were utterly stunned. Trembling fear filled the eyes of each one.

"I'll ask again! Where is that impostor? Who can give me a clear answer?"

As anticipated, this second inquiry yielded much better results. One of the silver-robed cultists spoke with a trembling voice.

"I can lead you to the fake emperor."

As soon as he spoke, the surrounding silver-robed disciples cast cold glances at their comrade who had chosen to surrender.

However, it proved that only this individual was worthy of continuing to live. Xu Yang gently waved his hand, and the solid ice beneath the man's feet instantly melted.

But the man wasn't foolish enough to attempt escape in front of Xu Yang; he didn't have the ability, nor would Xu Yang give him the chance.

If Xu Yang hadn't been confident in his ability to control everything about the man, he wouldn't have so easily melted the seals on him.

"Very well. To commend your correct choice, in one minute, you will become a Martial God-level existence."

Xu Yang always kept his word. The moment he finished speaking, the immensely powerful Arctic Spring artifact once again emitted an intensely cold blue halo.

This time, the light targeted the silver-robed disciples whose movements were sealed. A streak of sword light swept horizontally through the crowd; no matter how powerful the physique, it could not withstand this force and was instantly cut in two.

In short order, Xu Yang cleanly eradicated all the powerful disciples whose movements he had restricted.

Xu Yang showed no hesitation in using such purely benevolent methods to eliminate harm. After completely obliterating the life force of these individuals, he immediately refined the bodies of these disciples and powerful figures into the purest Origin Pills.

The alternating black and white state on the pills once again confirmed Xu Yang's assessment of the life forms of these powerful disciples.

It should be noted that all forty-nine bodies of the powerful disciples with purple marks on the scene had been refined by Xu Yang to extract the purest life essence, creating this single Origin Pill, which faintly emanated a dark golden color.

With a smile, Xu Yang presented the dark golden pill to the disciple who had chosen to surrender.

"This is your reward. Consume this pill, and you can replace that man and become a true Martial God-level expert." As he spoke, Xu Yang lightly waved his hand and placed the golden robe from the ground directly onto the disciple. Even now, the little mushroom on his shoulder didn't understand why Xu Yang would voluntarily offer such a gift to help someone who was originally an adversary achieve a higher level of power.

However, Xu Yang had a more profound reason for doing so.

Theoretically, once the man consumed the pill, he would genuinely pledge his life to Xu Yang. Moreover, as he absorbed the pill, Xu Yang could clearly discern the rules governing the flow of power within these life forms, these disciples loyal to the dark forces.

Indeed, Xu Yang meticulously observed the entire process as the man consumed the Origin Pill. The pill's power melted within his body, flowing through his limbs. It astonishingly brought about a remarkably noticeable increase in his strength in the shortest possible time.

"My goodness! The life force released by such a concentrated Origin Pill is truly terrifying! Even a Martial God-level expert would need at least a month to fully absorb and refine that Origin Pill into the purest cultivation essence. Why did this man only need a few seconds to completely refine the pill into his own power?"

The little mushroom was utterly dumbfounded. Only now did she finally understand why Xu Yang had done this: he wanted to uncover the true secret of how these life forms wielded power.

Xu Yang subtly projected a stream of spiritual energy into the little mushroom's soul world on his shoulder, initiating a communication.

"The reason for what you observed is that these disciple puppets don't possess complete life forms at all. They are merely a forced amalgamation of negative death energy and rich life energy, twisted together under a specific, unique order. Coupled with a trace of soul origin, they form a war puppet. Theoretically, beings like them cannot be considered true life forms."

Only then did the little mushroom realize the true horror of the conspiracy hidden behind the so-called "disciples of the dark forces."

"If that's truly the case, then the so-called 'Ruler' behind this powerful force could create an infinite number of these combat puppets once it acquires enough concentrated life essence. Sooner or later, it could use such forces to invade and dominate the entire Ancient Martial God Dao!"

Hearing the little mushroom's conjecture, Xu Yang nodded with a satisfied smile.

"You little one are finally catching on. This is the real reason I've been traversing the Ancient Martial God Dao, doing everything I can to stop them."

The little mushroom was now utterly prostrate with admiration for Xu Yang. She realized that Xu Yang always managed to grasp the most fundamental aspect of things. What he had just done might have outwardly appeared like an attempt to bribe the other party, but in reality, he aimed to uncover their true secret.