Chapter 152: Wang Changsheng vs. Fang Mu

"Killing for treasure! You might have miscalculated, sir."

Wang Changsheng scoffed. Although Fang Mu was at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment, Wang Changsheng had six second-tier puppet beasts with him, which was equivalent to six Foundation Establishment cultivators. Facing seven opponents, he genuinely wondered where Fang Mu got his confidence. Could it be that elite disciples from major sects were all this arrogant?

"Hmph, it seems you won't give up until you hit a wall. Let's settle this with our abilities!"

Fang Mu, with a sneer, opened his mouth and spat out a command flag as black as ink, shimmering with dark light.

The black command flag emanated a chilling aura, and a cold wind immediately swept through the surroundings as soon as it appeared.

"A Natal Artifact!"

Wang Changsheng's expression grew increasingly serious. No wonder Fang Mu dared to track him; he possessed a Natal Artifact.

An artifact, when refined with third-tier or higher forging materials, can be cultivated as a Natal Artifact. Stored within the body and nourished by innate true fire, it unleashes immense power when summoned in combat.

Third-tier forging materials are used to craft magical treasures, costing tens of thousands of spirit stones, an amount ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators simply cannot afford.

Fang Mu, at such a young age, already possessed a Natal Artifact, which definitely marked him as an elite disciple from a demonic sect.

However, at this point, Wang Changsheng would not let Fang Mu go, regardless of his background.

He slapped his storage pouch at his waist, and five streaks of spiritual light flew out, transforming into five puppet beasts: four low-grade second-tier puppets and one mid-grade second-tier puppet, consisting of a spider, a raven, a green eagle, a giant bear, and a giant tiger.

Considering Fang Mu was an elite disciple from a major sect, Wang Changsheng dared not be careless. He took out a white jade ruler, and with a slight flick, a dense white light barrier appeared, enveloping him.

Seeing Wang Changsheng summon five puppet beasts at once, Fang Mu was slightly surprised. However, his gaze quickly turned fervent.

"Hehe, fellow disciples can't be too ruthless when sparring, but today I can fight to my heart's content."

The black command flag in his hand subtly swayed, growing larger against the wind, transforming into a thirty-foot-long black banner. A lifelike specter was embroidered on its surface, creating chilling gusts of wind.

He gripped the black banner with both hands and waved it furiously, causing a sudden surge of wailing and howling sounds.

Naturally, Wang Changsheng would not give Fang Mu a chance to cast spells. With a thought, the tiger-shaped puppet opened its maw, and a fist-thick red light beam shot out, striking towards Fang Mu. The raven and green eagle puppets soared into the air, each spitting out a dozen red fire blades and a dozen green light swords, all aimed at Fang Mu.

The spider puppet swiftly moved towards Fang Mu, while the giant bear puppet, also not slow, raised its spiked club high.

The black banner in Fang Mu's hand subtly swayed, and a black light shot out from it, forming a dense black light barrier that enveloped him.

The red light beam struck the black light barrier, causing it to vibrate slightly.

The red fire blades and green light swords struck the black light barrier like raindrops on banana leaves, leaving it completely unharmed.

Wang Changsheng was somewhat surprised. These were three intermediate-level spells, yet Fang Mu had parried them with ease. Were Natal Artifacts truly this powerful?

"Let me show you the power of the Profound Yin Banner."

Fang Mu sneered, and the black banner in his hand immediately flared with light. The specter embroidered on the banner seemed to come alive. With a fierce shake, the specter opened its mouth and spewed out a black light that flew high into the sky, forming a vast dark cloud. Centered around the peak where Wang Changsheng and Fang Mu stood, the surrounding mile-wide area darkened.

Fang Mu slapped a black leather pouch at his waist, and three streaks of dark light flew out, transforming into three bone corpses wreathed in black mist: a thirty-foot bone bird, a humanoid bone corpse, and a tiger-shaped bone corpse. The humanoid bone corpse held a thirty-foot-long white bone saber.

He chanted a spell, and a large amount of black mist rose from the surfaces of the three bone corpses, enveloping them. Moments later, a bizarre-looking bone corpse with two wings on its back appeared.

This bone corpse had legs resembling two massive bird talons, a pair of thirty-foot bone wings on its back, a huge tiger claw for its left hand, and it wielded a thirty-foot-long white bone saber in its right hand. It was a combined form of the three bone corpses.

"Go, kill him."

At Fang Mu's command, the bone corpse strode towards Wang Changsheng.

Its speed was incredibly fast, covering thirty feet with each step, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Wang Changsheng chanted a spell, and the tiger-shaped puppet opened its maw, spitting out a thick red light beam that fleetingly struck the bone corpse.

With a loud bang, the bone corpse swayed slightly and stopped, showing no trace of damage where the red light beam had hit it.

The raven puppet opened its mouth and spat out a dozen red fire blades, which eagerly slashed at the bone corpse. Explosions rang out continuously, and rolling flames engulfed its body.

However, a large patch of black mist soon emerged from within the bone corpse, extinguishing the flames.

Seizing this opportunity, the spider puppet and the giant bear puppet rushed towards the bone corpse. The spider puppet's sharp claws viciously struck the bone corpse's lower leg, while the giant bear puppet's spiked club crashed down.

With several dull thuds of metal clashing, the bone corpse remained unharmed. It viciously kicked the spider puppet with its right foot, sending it flying backward instantly. However, before the spider puppet could fly far, it opened its mouth and shot out a strand of white spider silk, entangling the bone corpse.

The giant bear puppet's right palm grabbed the bone corpse's left shoulder, while the raven puppet swooped down from above, its claws aiming for the bone corpse's head.

With two dull thuds, the raven puppet's claws struck the bone corpse's head, leaving only a few faint white marks.

Wang Changsheng's expression grew grim. Even five second-tier puppet beasts couldn't subdue the bone corpse Fang Mu had released. The defense of this bone corpse summoned by Fang Mu was simply too powerful!

A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he took out the Profound Ice Banner and injected a large amount of spiritual power into it, causing its size to rapidly expand.

Due to the lack of ice-attributed forging materials, the Profound Ice Banner was still a mid-grade artifact, and the ice flood dragon spirit had not yet been refined into it.

Wang Changsheng shook the Profound Ice Banner left and right, and its surface quickly brightened. With loud "hissing" sounds, numerous white ice needles shot out, striking Fang Mu's black light barrier in rapid succession.

With a series of dull thuds, like rain hitting banana leaves, the black light barrier remained completely unmoving.

Fang Mu began muttering, seemingly about to unleash a secret technique.

Seeing this, Wang Changsheng's expression grew even grimmer. He violently shook the Profound Ice Banner in his hand, and a white light shot out from its pole, transforming into a massive dark cloud. Of course, compared to the dark cloud released by Fang Mu, it was like a small witch meeting a great one.

After the massive dark cloud churned for a while, dense ice cones began to fall from it, raining down on Fang Mu below.

Wang Changsheng put away his white jade ruler, dispelled the white light barrier, and then cast a blue protective shield upon himself. He took out his Blue Cloud Rod, activated the Wind Manipulation Technique, and charged towards Fang Mu.

Fang Mu's defense was too strong, so Wang Changsheng decided to engage him in close combat. As a body cultivator, close-quarters fighting was his advantage.

The dense ice cones pelted Fang Mu's black light barrier, causing it to shake violently and its light to dim.

Wang Changsheng's speed was incredibly fast, reaching Fang Mu in three breaths.

He raised the Blue Cloud Rod high and brought it down towards Fang Mu.

Fang Mu's brow furrowed slightly. He stopped chanting, and the black banner in his hand dimmed.

He slapped his storage pouch at his waist, and a long black staff flew out, landing in his hand.

With a dull "bang," the black light barrier was shattered by the Blue Cloud Rod. The Blue Cloud Rod then collided with the black staff, creating a dull clang of metal. Wang Changsheng and Fang Mu both felt a surge of immense force and involuntarily stumbled backward.

Wang Changsheng retreated three steps, while Fang Mu retreated two.