Chapter 1240: Brain and Eyes

After a sneak attack severely wounded one of the soulless golden figures, rendering it unable to fight, Hall Master Xing and Teacher Wu simultaneously rose to their feet. They each made their move, quickly eliminating the surrounding soulless golden figures.

Having endured the lightning tribulation, the two were now true Spirit Severing Realm experts. These golden figures, merely at the Nascent Spirit Realm, simply could not withstand them.

After dealing with the other golden figures, Teacher Wu approached the injured Zhang Jiuxiao, Palace Master Wei, and the others. He took out a gourd of fine wine and gave each of them a mouthful.

Within a few breaths, the injured had fully recovered and stood up.

“Hall Master Xing, Teacher Wu… What happened? How are you…?” everyone exclaimed, astonished and finding it hard to believe.

These two had clearly undergone the Spirit Severing tribulation, suffering severe injuries and seemingly on the verge of death. How, in the blink of an eye, had they become so formidable?

“Teacher Zhang instructed us to feign weakness and lull the opponent into a false sense of security, only striking at the last moment…” Hall Master Xing explained. He had indeed gone through the lightning tribulation, truly experiencing a brush with death and sustaining severe injuries. Under normal circumstances, it would have been difficult to recover without several months of recuperation. However, the medicinal wine Teacher Zhang had provided was incredibly potent; it not only healed their physical wounds but also replenished their damaged souls.

Teacher Wu also nodded. Although he hadn't drunk the wine, Teacher Zhang had personally injected true qi into his body, instantly healing his minor injuries as soon as they formed.

“Teacher Zhang just went ahead,” someone said. “Let’s go and see!”

Having narrowly escaped death, everyone sighed with emotion and then continued walking forward.

After witnessing all of this, the Cruel Cultivator’s face turned ashen. He had intended to trigger Hall Master Xing's lightning tribulation, hoping they would lose a key figure. He never dreamed, however, that he would end up inadvertently helping them significantly.

“Did you know I would send people to kill them?” the Cruel Cultivator asked, his dark eyes fixed on Zhang Xuan, gleaming with murderous intent.

“No,” Zhang Xuan replied, shaking his head. “But it’s always wise to be prepared.”

He hadn't anticipated that the other party would use Teacher Wu and the others as leverage, but one should never put all their eggs in one basket. In any endeavor, preparedness is key. Especially when facing such an ancient entity that had lived for an unknown amount of time, failing to prepare could very well lead to his death here.

“Very well…” the Cruel Cultivator sneered. “Do you truly believe I wouldn’t dare to kill you?”

Seeing the man before him so unperturbed and seemingly fearless, the Cruel Cultivator trembled, his voice laced with fury.

“Of course you dare to kill me…” Zhang Xuan replied softly. “But can you, truly? And do you dare to?” With a faint smile, Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow. “If you truly could, you would have already made your move instead of wasting so many words on me!”

Zhang Xuan had encountered the Cruel Cultivator twice before. The first time he encountered the heart, it immediately tried to kill him without a word. He had no choice but to summon the Heaven’s Path Divine Art to subdue it! The second time he encountered the finger bone, it likewise attacked without hesitation. Since it was the same person reborn from a drop of blood, their personality should be identical. How could it be ferocious the first two times, yet now become merciful and attempt to negotiate?

Evidently, the other party was merely posturing; killing him would likely not be so easy! Otherwise, it wouldn’t have wasted words and would have directly attacked. Or perhaps… it still wanted to use him to break free from its suppression, and was hesitant to act too aggressively, which was why it had caused so much trouble.

If that was the case, what was there to be afraid of?

“You…” the Cruel Cultivator stammered.

“What’s wrong? Don’t want to talk? Then I’ll be leaving,” Zhang Xuan said.

Too lazy to bother with the Cruel Cultivator, Zhang Xuan circulated the Heaven’s Path True Qi within him. His soul trembled, and in an instant, his vision blurred. He then realized he was still standing in the same spot; everything that had just happened seemed like an illusion.

Seeing that it was as he had suspected, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Earlier, at Chen Zhe’s residence, when the other party attacked him, he found it somewhat peculiar. Then, upon arriving here, the intentional triggering of Hall Master Xing’s Spirit Severing tribulation only deepened his suspicion. If it were truly powerful, it could easily crush them regardless of Hall Master Xing’s condition, making such an elaborate scheme unnecessary. Later, when Emperor Qingtian was beaten so severely he was almost at his last breath, it still didn’t appear…

Zhang Xuan had almost confirmed his suspicions, but he dared not take the risk of further verification. When his soul was captured by the other party, and he found that it still didn’t directly attack, but instead tried to negotiate and even threatened the lives of Teacher Wu and the others, he finally understood… This Cruel Cultivator was not as terrifying as he had imagined; perhaps he wasn't even as strong as Emperor Qingtian! Otherwise, it wouldn’t have remained hidden, controlling these soulless golden figures to do its bidding and kill people everywhere.

It wanted to pretend to be a master, to subdue him without a fight and force his surrender… Anyone else might have fallen for it, but the Cruel Cultivator likely never dreamed that when it came to feigning mastery… Zhang Xuan himself was the true professional! He could scare away even Saint 7-dan experts by pretending to be Master Yang; did it truly think it would be so easy to fool him?

Zhang Xuan swayed and moved to the wall where Emperor Qingtian had suddenly appeared earlier. He reached out to touch it. A moment later, he smiled faintly, raised an eyebrow, and with his fingers formed into a sword, he pointed repeatedly. He pointed seven consecutive times.

Click!

With the sound of a mechanism opening, a passage extended further downwards. It was pitch black inside, and his spiritual sense likewise struggled to penetrate it.

“Clone, you go first…” Zhang Xuan called. His clone, being a Nine-Heavens Lotus Embryo, wouldn’t be harmed even if it were split in half by danger, unlike himself. Although he suspected the Cruel Cultivator’s strength wasn't as terrifying as it seemed, it was still better to be cautious. After all, an ancient entity that had lived for countless years wouldn't have been able to secure Emperor Qingtian’s unwavering loyalty with just a few simple tricks.

“Follow behind; I’ll cover you…” the clone said smugly. “If push comes to shove, I’ll step out and be the main body, and you can be the clone!” With a proud and arrogant expression, the clone gave his main body a disdainful glance before stepping forward. A dignified main body, unable to even defeat his own clone and so cowardly – the clone truly wondered how he managed to get by!

Ignoring his narcissistic clone, Zhang Xuan put the Golden Origin Cauldron and Ice Rain Sword into his storage ring and followed closely behind, entering the passage.

“Let me tell you,” the clone grumbled as he walked, “as the main body, you should be wise, decisive, and exceptionally strong. Acting timidly, not even daring to walk into a passage – how can you be worthy of such an amazing clone like me?”

“It’s better to be careful!” Zhang Xuan replied. Zhang Xuan felt a bit awkward, hearing his clone’s endless chatter. This was probably the most pathetic main body in the world; he had cultivated a clone, yet the clone was even more arrogant than him. It was truly bewildering.

“What’s there to be careful about?” the clone scoffed. “Do you think I would be afraid?”

With a cold scoff, the clone was about to continue speaking when a massive force suddenly rushed toward him.

Splat!

Before he could even react, his head was flattened on the spot, resembling a pancake.

“Ah… Who attacked me?!” he roared in indignation. With a furious roar, the clone hastily charged toward the source of the attack. They had now reached the end of the stone steps, which opened into another spacious hall.

Whoosh!

Several figures suddenly rushed out, blocking their path. The clone’s head had been flattened by a punch from one of these figures.

Zhang Xuan saw that there was indeed danger. If it had been him, he might already be dead, and he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief as he looked closer. There were a total of four figures, roughly his height, none of whom were Spirit Tribe members or soulless golden figures.

“Are they Celestial Artificer Puppets?” he murmured, his eyebrows furrowing. The four figures that appeared before him were, surprisingly, intricate Celestial Artificer Puppets. Unlike the puppets Wu Yangzi had previously refined using Spirit Tribe members as templates, these Celestial Artificer Puppets were entirely composed of intricate parts and internal mechanisms, capable of unleashing powerful combat abilities. Judging by how one punch flattened the clone’s head, their strength was likely no weaker than his own, at least reaching the middle stage of the Spirit Severing Realm.

“Damn it!” the clone fumed. He was so enraged he was nearly bursting. He had just intended to flaunt his masterly demeanor, demonstrating his peerless skill, and perhaps even mock his main body a little, only to be struck down like this. The frustration he felt was immense. With an indignant roar, his head restored itself, and he charged at the puppet that had just attacked him.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The clone and the puppet traded more than a dozen punches in rapid succession. The immense force caused the surrounding air to ripple loudly, sending rocks flying and cracking the ground. Yet, neither side retreated a single step.

“So strong…” Zhang Xuan murmured, his eyes narrowing. The strength of this puppet was surprisingly no weaker than that of Emperor Qingtian earlier. And there were three more beside it… If they all attacked together, he, his clone, and even the Golden Origin Cauldron would be no match.

“What? Do you truly believe I can’t kill you?” the Cruel Cultivator’s voice echoed again.

“You mean, by relying on these puppets?” Zhang Xuan countered.

“Any method that can kill is the best method,” the Cruel Cultivator sneered.

“It seems you’re admitting that you can’t kill me with your own strength alone…” Zhang Xuan said, shaking his head. First Emperor Qingtian, and now these puppets—it seemed that the Cruel Cultivator indeed found it very difficult to kill him with its own strength.

“Master, I’ve confirmed it,” the Cruel Cultivator’s voice from within the Heaven’s Path Divine Art echoed. “He… is my brain and eyes!”

“Brain and eyes?” Zhang Xuan questioned.

“Yes, the brain contains memories, which is why it knows so much, even remembering the matter of trapping Master Kong…” The Cruel Cultivator from within the Heaven’s Path Divine Art analyzed, “However, the brain and eyes themselves cannot fight. At most, they can manipulate subordinates to act on their behalf, or utilize soul-related secret techniques! That’s why it hasn’t appeared so far, constantly resorting to these despicable tricks!”

“That’s right!” Zhang Xuan nodded. When he had encountered the finger bone earlier, it had attacked without a word. But this current entity was using either Spirit Tribe members, puppets, or soul arts. It was clear that it couldn’t kill him with its own strength alone.

“However, Master, you must be careful,” the voice warned. “Although the brain’s combat ability is weak, it possesses extensive memories and knowledge. It will be very difficult to kill and seize control of it!” The Cruel Cultivator within the Heaven’s Path Divine Art shook its head. Although its own strength had improved after the lightning tribulation, it couldn't contend with the other party's numerous tactics. The brain possessed complete memories, which meant it knew how to fully utilize each of its parts to unleash maximum power through possession. This was definitely not something a mere heart or a finger could contend with.

“The most crucial point,” the Cruel Cultivator’s voice within the Heaven’s Path Divine Art continued with worry, “is that the brain is the body’s center. It always obeyed orders back then, like an emperor and soldiers among the Spirit Tribe. It possesses a special suppressive power. I fear… as soon as I get close, I might not be able to resist it and will involuntarily obey its commands!”