Chapter 778: Puppet Formation Annihilates the Enemy

Seven days later, Wang Youyu, accompanied by thirty clan members, departed from Tianhai Square City. A blue flying boat, over ten zhang long, carried them rapidly into the sky.

Half an hour later, ten Foundation Establishment cultivators emerged from the market. Leading them was a tall, dark-faced man, an eighth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator.

He raised a hand, and a dark light shot out, revealing a shimmering dark scroll with a lifelike black giant eagle painted on it.

The ten Foundation Establishment cultivators successively jumped onto it. The dark-faced man cast a spell into the black scroll. With a clear cry, the black giant eagle seemed to come alive, and the black scroll glowed brightly, transforming into a dark streak of light that pursued Wang Youyu and her group in the direction they had departed.

Soon after, they vanished into the horizon.

Wang Youyu was swiftly piloting the blue flying boat when suddenly, a dark light appeared several hundred zhang behind them. She frowned, and with a hand seal, the blue flying boat immediately changed course, flying eastward. The dark light also altered its direction to follow.

After flying for more than ten miles, she changed direction again.

Two hours later, Wang Youyu piloted the blue flying boat to land on a deserted island.

"Be careful, prepare for the enemy. We're being targeted," Wang Youyu ordered, her face grim and serious.

She had changed direction several times, but the pursuers had always followed suit, clearly indicating they were being targeted.

As Wang Youyu was responsible for escorting the goods, she naturally had her own means of reliance.

They had also received training and knew how to set up puppet arrays, so they were not to be trifled with. However, despite having escorted goods multiple times, this was their first encounter with rogue cultivators.

All the Wang clan members promptly took out formation flags and set up a defensive array, looking ready for battle.

Before long, a dark light flew in from a distance and stopped above the deserted island. It was the dark-faced man and his group.

Ten Foundation Establishment cultivators versus six Foundation Establishment and twenty-five Qi Refining cultivators—the outcome was truly uncertain.

"Friend, what is the meaning of stealthily following us?" Wang Youyu asked with a grim and wary expression.

The dark-faced man controlled the black scroll, descending to the ground.

"Heh heh, we're a bit short on funds recently, so we'd like to borrow some spirit stones from you," the dark-faced man said with a smile. His companions immediately began setting up a formation.

Clearly, they had no intention of borrowing spirit stones; they wanted to kill and seize treasures.

They had been watching the Wang clan cultivators for several years and had only now found an opportunity to act.

Wang Youyu's gaze turned cold as she ordered, "Kill them all. Leave no one alive."

The Wang clan cultivators split into three groups: two groups of ten and one group of eleven.

Wang Youyu led twenty clan members, who released their puppet beasts and formed a puppet array, attacking the opposing side. The other ten clan members unleashed talismans, which transformed into various spells that struck the enemy.

The rogue cultivators were also swift, releasing their second-tier spirit beasts.

They dared to kill and seize treasures, so they naturally had something to rely on.

Ten second-tier demon beasts charged forward, their aura terrifying.

Rumbles echoed!

Constant roars filled the air, and various magical lights began to illuminate the scene.

In the dark-faced man's view, it would not be difficult for ten Foundation Establishment cultivators plus ten second-tier spirit beasts to eliminate Wang Youyu and her group. He had heard that the Wang clan of Sea Cucumber Island specialized in controlling puppet beasts, but he believed that these puppets would be insignificant before ten thick-skinned, robust second-tier spirit beasts.

This was quite normal; unless one had truly fought against a puppet array, it was difficult to grasp its formidable power. After all, the Wang clan wouldn't widely publicize their puppet array's combat methods. If rogue cultivators believed every rumor, they wouldn't attempt to kill and seize treasures.

Before long, he quickly realized he was gravely mistaken.

Wang Youyu directed her clan members to divide the ten second-tier spirit beasts, with three individuals per group, controlling puppet beasts and using talismans to deal with the spirit beasts.

The second-tier high-grade Nine Palaces Spirit Slaying Array was formed by thirty second-tier puppet beasts. Three second-tier high-grade puppet beasts served as the array's core, simultaneously supporting the other puppet beasts. The remaining twenty-seven second-tier puppet beasts were divided into nine groups, each with three puppet beasts, allowing for various transformations.

Furthermore, six Foundation Establishment cultivators wielded their artifacts to attack the ten Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators.

Wang Youyu opened her mouth and spat out five green seeds, each the size of a fingernail. These seeds were covered in spiritual patterns and exuded a formidable spiritual aura.

With a flick of her wrist, the five green seeds shot out and landed on the ground.

As soon as the seeds touched the ground, they quickly took root and sprouted, growing into five enormous green flowers. Unlike ordinary flowers, these green blossoms seemed alive, possessing gaping maw-like mouths revealing rows of sharp teeth.

Wang Youyu cultivated the wood-element cultivation method, the 'Evergreen Essence Transformation Art'. To be frank, there wasn't much land area in the South Sea, but when combined with a puppet array, it could unleash even greater power.

The five green demonic flowers opened their cavernous mouths and spewed out a large cloud of purple miasma. Initially, the spirit beasts inhaled some of the purple miasma without apparent effect. However, as time passed, the ten spirit beasts' reactions grew progressively slower. The purple miasma seeped into their bodies through wounds on their skin, causing green smoke to rise and their blood to turn purple.

After a while, all ten spirit beasts collapsed, turning into pools of blood.

The green demonic flowers were Miasma Origin Flowers. These demonic flowers could release miasma, which wasn't inherently very toxic. However, upon contact with blood, its toxicity would increase severalfold. Cultivating these flowers was not easy; only seeds from Miasma Origin Flowers over ten years old could be used to cast wood-element spells.

The older the Miasma Origin Flower, the greater the power of the wood-element spells cast using its seeds.

These five seeds were from century-old Miasma Origin Flowers, becoming unusable after a single deployment. The clan had purchased them at a high price from a spirit medicine shop. Wang Youyu had exchanged them from the clan using her merit points; they were one of her trump cards.

As soon as the ten second-tier spirit beasts died, thirty second-tier puppet beasts swarmed forward, completely surrounding the ten Foundation Establishment rogue cultivators and attacking the formation shielding them.

Various magical lights flared, and the formation's protective glow flickered continuously.

The dark-faced man's expression changed drastically. He had never imagined the Wang clan's puppet array to be so formidable.

He hastily took out a light green talisman with a green ruler pattern on it. This was a talisman treasure, and with his eighth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivation, he could quickly activate it.

Just then, Wang Youyu unleashed a small, light green bell, which instantly expanded. Its surface was carved with demon beast patterns, exuding an imposing spiritual aura.

A heavy bell toll resonated, causing the dark-faced man and his companions to feel dizzy and disoriented, their movements immediately slowing down.

The 'Mystic Demon Bell', a nascent magical treasure, was Wang Youyu's greatest trump card; it could ensnare one's soul.

Seizing this opportunity, the five Miasma Origin Flowers simultaneously spewed out a large quantity of purple liquid, striking the formation.

Ten second-tier talismans flew forth, transforming into various magical lights that struck towards the dark-faced man and his group.

The thirty second-tier puppet beasts also attacked the formation. Under the concentrated assault, the formation quickly shattered, and a torrent of magical lights engulfed the ten rogue cultivators' bodies.

A series of agonizing screams erupted as the ten rogue cultivators' bodies were pierced by the dense magical lights.

Wang Youyu breathed a sigh of relief. She instructed her people to quickly clean up the battlefield, then they left the deserted island, soaring into the sky.