Chapter 680: Red Flame Cauldron

"Clone!" Knowing that the opponent's punch would undoubtedly be fatal if it connected, he had a thought, and a clone suddenly appeared in front of him. At the same time, he himself swiftly dodged to the side.

"Main body, have you found something good again? Uh... what?" The clone, having been in the storage ring and unable to communicate with its main body, had no idea what was happening outside. Upon appearing, it assumed there was another wonderful item, like the Cleansing Pool, for it to absorb. Just as it was filled with delight, it saw a massive fist barreling towards its face.

Before it could even react, its head was struck by the punch, instantly flattening like an oil pancake hanging from a neck.

"How dare you hit me? You're asking for death!" Having just appeared and immediately faced with such an assault, the clone was so frustrated it was on the verge of madness. With a thought, its flattened head swelled back into shape, and it punched back.

The clone, refined from the Nine Heavens Lotus Embryo, possessed no fixed form; it could easily recover even if reduced to a pulpy mess. It was, in essence, immortal. This was precisely why Zhang Xuan had brought it out at such a critical juncture.

*Whoosh!* Its fist met the puppet's, and with a *bang!*, the clone was sent flying, plastered against the wall.

While the clone could easily overpower and torment its main body, its actual strength was still far too weak. It remained no match for this monstrous opponent.

It was akin to how a diamond, despite being harder than steel, could still be shattered by a hammer.

*Boom!* Seeing the clone appear and attempt to punch it, the puppet instantly flew into a rage, raising its leg to kick the clone.

"Oh no..." The previous punch had nearly shattered its body. Seeing the approaching kick, the clone knew it couldn't withstand the blow. Startled, its body flickered, and it darted straight to one side.

"Die!" Simultaneously, Zhang Xuan, from the side, swung his longsword fiercely at the puppet's neck.

The main body and clone shared thoughts as if they were a single entity, working together with perfect synchronicity. This precise moment was when the opponent was attacking and unable to defend itself.

The longsword struck the puppet's neck, emitting a sharp clang and sending sparks flying.

Zhang Xuan felt his hand go numb, as though he had struck steel with a wooden stick; the longsword almost flew from his grip.

"It's too hard..." He looked up to see only a white mark on the puppet's neck, with no other damage. Zhang Xuan's face turned ashen, and he nearly fainted.

This was a peak mid-grade spirit-level longsword, and he had swung it with all his might, yet it hadn't even pierced the puppet's skin. Just how powerful was its defense?

"Could it be... he's not merely an Otherworldly Demon corpse puppet, but various materials have also been incorporated into him, refining him into a weapon?" His pupils contracted.

He had just unleashed immense power exceeding nine million *ding*, augmented by a mid-grade spirit weapon. Such an attack could easily sever the head of an eighth-stage Mortal-Transcendence expert. Yet, he couldn't even scratch the puppet's skin, which could only mean one thing...

This entity was no longer merely a corpse; it was highly probable that its entire body, like the Soulless Golden Man, had been cast with special materials and refined into a weapon surpassing mid-grade spirit level.

Only this could explain why his full-power strike had absolutely no effect!

"How can I fight this?" His face was ashen, his expression grim.

His strongest weapon couldn't even breach the opponent's defenses, meaning he couldn't inflict any damage, much less kill it!

While he was utterly dumbfounded, the puppet on the other side seemed to have been thoroughly enraged. It spun around and lunged at him.

The power of the punch was like a collapsing mountain, making the air *whoosh!* as if it would disintegrate at any moment. Even before it reached him, Zhang Xuan felt his entire body grow scorching hot, as if he had plunged into a massive furnace.

Fist power like a furnace! Legends spoke of power reaching a level where a single punch could generate a fist wind so intense it was like a furnace, capable of melting steel.

He had always thought it was a myth, yet here he was, experiencing it firsthand!

"Retreat..." Knowing there was no way to withstand such a ferocious punching technique head-on, Zhang Xuan stomped his foot and retreated straight backward.

The room was simply too small; after just two steps back, he felt his back tighten as he pressed against the wall.

"Dragon Scale Amulet!" Realizing he couldn't dodge, Zhang Xuan, left with no other choice, took out the amulet he had acquired earlier and activated it without hesitation.

This item had a total of three uses; it had been used once in the Witch Soul Tomb, and this was its second activation.

A light membrane appeared, enveloping him completely.

The fist collided with the light membrane, resulting in an ear-splitting sonic boom as the membrane instantly shattered.

Zhang Xuan immediately felt another surge of immense power, which caused the rock behind him to crumble into dust. His chest felt constricted, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

If his physical body hadn't significantly strengthened from the Cleansing Pool, he likely would have suffered broken bones and been unable to withstand that impact.

"A single punch shattered an amulet that even a ninth-stage Mortal-Transcendence peak expert couldn't break; this guy's power has definitely reached the Saint realm..." He flickered away again, dodging to the side. Zhang Xuan gasped for air, rapidly recovering from his injuries.

He had initially thought that with the clone joining him, even if they couldn't defeat the puppet, escaping wouldn't be difficult. Unexpectedly, not only was the opponent incredibly powerful, but its physical resilience also surpassed anything he could have imagined.

This was undoubtedly an ability possessed only by those in the Saint realm. He, in his current state, simply could not contend with it.

Unless... "I need a supreme-grade spirit weapon!" He clenched his fists.

The opponent's defense was too formidable. Even if he knew its weakness, he couldn't exploit it with his current strength and methods. Unless he possessed a supreme-grade spirit weapon to slay it, his only path forward was to be relentlessly beaten to death!

What to do? Since his transmigration, everything had gone smoothly; he had never dreamed of encountering such a formidable foe.

If it were a human, he could always trick them using his Heaven's Path Divination or through verbal persuasion, just as he had with that Otherworldly Demon previously, creating an opportunity... But a puppet lacked self-awareness; talking to it was useless!

"Teacher, there's a passage in here! Come in quickly..." Just as he was at a loss, Luo Qiqi's voice, coming from inside the stone door she had entered, reached him.

Although it sounds like a long time, in reality, only about ten breaths had passed since she entered. It seemed she had discovered something inside.

"Okay!" Zhang Xuan responded, flicking his wrist. The longsword again unleashed a sword gleam, and simultaneously, he commanded the clone to attack from behind while his main body sprinted towards the stone door.

The clone was virtually immortal and had nothing to fear from the puppet. But Zhang Xuan was different; if his head truly became an 'oil pancake,' he would genuinely die!

*Creak! Creak!* As if sensing his intention, the puppet became even more enraged. It stomped its foot, ignored his sword gleam, and charged straight towards Zhang Xuan.

It intended to use its immense physical strength to simply ram him to death!

"Damn it!" Zhang Xuan's face went pale, his teeth grinding in frustration.

If it were just a punch, he could still dodge with his movement technique. But with the puppet's entire body... the room was already narrow, leaving no space to evade. If it collided with him, he would be as good as dead!

"Get lost!" Just then, the clone suddenly charged forward, slamming hard into the puppet's side.

The two collided, and although the clone's power was weaker, it still managed to push the puppet half a body-length off course.

What was meant to be a direct collision with Zhang Xuan became merely a glancing blow from the puppet's shoulder.

At that critical moment, he activated the Dragon Scale Amulet's final effect. Immediately, he heard a *crunch!* as the dragon scales shattered, and under the impact of the immense force, Zhang Xuan was sent tumbling straight through the stone door.

"Clone, come back!" While still airborne, with a thought, he recalled the clone into his storage ring. Immediately afterward, his back connected with something, and he crashed against a wall.

"Teacher..." A worried voice came from ahead.

He turned his head to see that behind the stone door was indeed a passage. It appeared to be some sort of mechanism that Luo Qiqi had already opened. The passage was narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time.

He had just crashed against the stone wall of the passage.

Knowing that the monstrous creature could burst in at any moment, Zhang Xuan dared not pause. Without looking back, he pushed off the wall with his foot and instantly dashed forward.

The passage wasn't long, only a little over ten meters. He emerged in half a breath, immediately seeing a massive, spacious stone chamber.

This room was even more vast than the one above, spanning thousands of square meters.

"This..." Zhang Xuan was momentarily stunned, not having expected such an enormous space behind the narrow door.

"Teacher, you were right! This is indeed where Senior Wu Yangzi lived. These are the books and the cauldron he left behind..." As he was wondering, Luo Qiqi's voice rang out from ahead.

He looked up to see the girl gazing at him with excitement. While she was clearly relieved that her teacher was unharmed, the discoveries here thrilled her even more.

"Books? Cauldron?" He looked up and indeed saw a row of bookshelves in the corner where the girl stood, illuminated by the soft glow of a night pearl. Not far away, a massive cauldron also stood.

This cauldron was unlike the pill furnaces used for alchemy; it resembled a colossal furnace. Although no flames burned within it, one could sense its formidable power and presence. A single glance was enough to tell it was of no low grade!

"Yes, I've specifically studied this," Luo Qiqi said. "This is the refining furnace Senior Wu Yangzi once used: the Crimson Flame Cauldron!"

For artifact forgers, the refining cauldron was their most precious possession, akin to life itself. The fact that this cauldron was here meant Senior Wu Yangzi must have stayed here. In other words... they had found the right place!

This so-called Forget-Worry Residence was precisely Senior Wu Yangzi's former abode. Bringing this Crimson Flame Cauldron back to the academy would signify the successful completion of their trial!

"Excellent! Is there an exit here?" Zhang Xuan couldn't help but ask.

Whether the trial was completed or not held little meaning for him now. The most important thing was how to leave! Although this chamber was wider, once that behemoth burst in, he would eventually be killed. Staying alive was paramount.

"An exit? I... I haven't had time to look yet..." Luo Qiqi's face paled.

She had just entered, and seeing the Crimson Flame Cauldron and the numerous books, she had been too excited and forgotten to search for an exit. Besides, in such a large room with poor lighting, finding an exit quickly would be nearly impossible anyway.

*Boom!* Before her words had fully left her lips, the ground rumbled. Immediately, both felt a murderous aura wash over them again; the puppet from earlier had followed them inside!

"Oh no..." Zhang Xuan's face went pale.