Chapter 208: Stopping Violence with Killing

Old Demon Dikui vanished after he appeared.

Wang Yu, on the other hand, kept a close eye on the individuals involved, using the massive Tier 2 Guilang Juyue Formation, which covered the entire city of Guilang, to pinpoint their location.

As for the treasure exchange fair, the strong Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Guan and Jiang families were left to continue presiding over it. The priority was to resolve the situation quickly and stabilize the people's morale.

Upon sensing Old Demon Dikui's location, Wang Yu and Qingyang proactively approached him and warned, "Senior Dikui, please do not cause trouble within Guilang City. Whatever happens outside the city, I, Wang, will not interfere."

This was a well-intentioned warning, delivered without arrogance.

However, Old Demon Dikui ignored him, staring at Qingyang and saying, "Fellow Daoist Qingyang, you have only just broken through to Core Formation. Are you truly going to risk your life for this young upstart and protect two strangers with whom you have no connection?"

Upon hearing this, True Man Qingyang glanced at Wang Yu, whose face had darkened, and shook his head. "I am the First Enshrined Master of Guilang City Lord's Manor. Your deliberate troublemaking and destruction of the Manor's assets make you my enemy."

"Hahahaha~"

"You impudent youngster! For nearly a thousand years, Chiyuan has been studying some nonsense about Taihu, and the environment has been too peaceful, causing you to lose respect for your seniors. Today, let me teach you a good lesson."

Old Demon Dikui, an elder among Core Formation cultivators, had lived for quite a long time, being already seven hundred years old. However, his understanding of the former Chiyuan was mostly based on hearsay. Such is the way of the elderly; they enjoy reminiscing about the past, even feeling that things were better before, and unconsciously elevate their own status. Some people become more cautious with age, while others feel their status grow.

He seemed to completely disregard Wang Yu. This prompted the City Lord to make a decision.

"Qingyang, kill him."

Just as he uttered these words, Daoist Yu emerged from the Celestial Fragrance Palace. Immediately realizing the gravity of the situation, he quickly jumped onto the spirit boat that Fengzi had summoned.

"Quick, let's go!"

A large number of talismans flew out from his sleeve, conjuring strong winds and instantly boosting their speed to the extreme.

"Don't run!"

How could Old Demon Dikui allow his prey to escape? Three beams of light continuously flew out from the storage bag at his waist. One of them was the Tier 3 early-stage puppet mentioned earlier in the hall. Once activated, it immediately gave chase, trampling the wide street in front of the City Lord's Manor into a mess. The other two beams of light landed to reveal a Foundation Establishment peak-stage Dharma Puppet, which blocked Wang Yu's path, and a Core Formation early-stage Earth Puppet, which stood before Qingyang.

What a guy! He alone produced two Core Formation puppets, and with himself, that was equivalent to three early-stage Core Formation cultivators. No wonder he was so arrogant. Perhaps this was the advantage of living a long life; he had accumulated more resources to strengthen his combat power.

Wang Yu immediately threw out the Corpse-Nurturing Coffin, and the Lunar Fiend Corpse leaped out, sending Old Demon Dikui flying with a single slap. Qingyang conjured his newly acquired Natal Dharma Treasure, a red-tipped jade-handled brush named—Cinnabar Crown Brush! With a flourish of ink, his brushstrokes were divine. In an instant, dozens, even hundreds, of ink-wash fiendish beasts sprang from the air, almost overwhelming the Tier 3 Iron Puppet before him.

While puppets were powerful, they were no match for a true Core Formation cultivator in a one-on-one fight, especially when aided by a Natal Dharma Treasure.

"Damn it—"

Old Demon Dikui cursed furiously. He had barely climbed out of the rubble when he saw the "ant" in his eyes, City Lord Wang, cradling a black coffin in one hand, with a flood dragon coiled around him. Like playing whack-a-mole, he hammered the Foundation Establishment peak-stage Dharma Puppet into the ground, its head completely flattened! His combat strength was astonishingly formidable.

Fortunately, the Tier 3 early-stage puppet, forged from a body refiner and specialized in close-combat assassination, had already caught up to the fleeing Daoist Yu and Fengzi. With just one punch, it overturned the Tier 2 high-grade spirit boat that was fleeing at full speed.

"That's it, kill them and seize the treasures."

Realizing that the two were difficult to deal with, Old Demon Dikui transformed into a streak of light and pursued his targets directly, simultaneously casting a secret puppet technique. The Foundation Establishment Dharma Puppet immediately self-destructed! The Tier 3 early-stage Iron Puppet, moreover, erupted with powerful force, flinging all the ink-wash fiendish beasts away. With a single punch, it sent out a thirty-meter-long gigantic fist phantom, sweeping away everything in its path.

Qingyang threw out a scroll painting. As the scroll unfurled, it covered his entire body, and he didn't forget to pull Wang Yu along. "City Lord, be careful."

When the Dharma Puppet exploded with a bang, turning a hundred-meter radius into ruins and leaving a perfectly circular crater in the ground, Wang Yu and Qingyang suddenly reappeared eight hundred meters away. This was the effect of that scroll painting.

"Spatial teleportation?"

In response to Wang Yu's question, True Man Qingyang shook his head. "It's a method of crossing through paintings. I hung one here in advance; the maximum distance cannot exceed a thousand meters."

Wang Yu immediately understood. The restriction was a bit significant, but if arranged in advance for a planned battle, it could definitely catch an opponent off guard.

Seeing that the Iron Puppet was about to catch up and Old Demon Dikui was nearly reunited with the close-combat puppet, Wang Yu quickly summoned the Lunar Fiend Corpse to entangle the relentlessly pursuing Iron Puppet. He quickly said, "Tier 3 puppets don't have Natal Dharma Treasures or divine abilities. Later, I'll entangle that close-combat puppet, and you deal with Old Demon Dikui using our old tactic." Qingyang immediately understood, secretly glancing at the fiend corpse locked in battle with the Iron Puppet behind them, growing even more wary of its abilities.

The Way of Puppetry was not inferior to the Art of Corpse Refinement. The problem was that Wang Yu's fiend corpse was special, and there were naturally formidable puppets as well. The most renowned among them were Human Puppets, also known as Living Puppets—referring to puppets refined from living people! These could perfectly unleash the strength they possessed in life. Beyond them were Earth Puppets and Sky Puppets, both even more powerful.

Although this old demon currently styled himself as an Earth Puppet master, he hadn't even refined a Human Puppet. He was using ordinary Iron Puppets and Dharma Puppets; only that close-combat puppet had a hint of a Human Puppet. It was probably due to his lack of mastery; otherwise, if these two Tier 3 early-stage puppets possessed Natal Divine Abilities and Dharma Treasures, he would be unrivaled in the early Core Formation realm, instead of being stuck at the third layer of Core Formation, unable to advance even an inch.

"An old, decaying failure dares to ruin my plans!"

During the pursuit, Qingyang continuously wielded his brush, drawing ink-wash fiendish dragons in the air from a distance of over a thousand meters, sending them to attack Old Demon Dikui and hindering his advance.

This scene was also captured by Daoist Yu, who was somewhat moved by Wang Yu's help, but the danger he and Fengzi faced was already imminent. He handed the basic Cosmos Ring hanging around his neck to Fengzi, speaking with resolve: "Feng, take these things and leave. Don't go back to Cloud Mist City. Find a place to cultivate in seclusion, and after you break through to Core Formation, help me get revenge."

Such a scene was extremely rare in Chiyuan. When it did occur, it was usually a bond of brotherhood. For a romantic relationship to develop to this extent was certainly related to the dual cultivation and combined attack method they practiced. Only a long-term shared destiny could bear such fruit. Fengzi's eyes were tearful, yet she did not refuse. Without even a hint of hesitation, after receiving Daoist Yu's Cosmos Ring, she fled in a different direction, only her voice echoing through the land.

"I will make that filthy wretch pay with his life!"

Daoist Yu did not look back, charging with all his might towards the close-combat puppet. His True Essence surged as he unleashed his life's ultimate technique: surging water currents transformed into rain. Strands of water ropes bound the puppet tightly, but it broke free after only a single breath. A nearly hundred-meter-long Azure Wave Water Sword condensed and, accompanying Daoist Yu's movements, slashed down fiercely. Unfortunately, it was still shattered by a single punch from the puppet.

In an instant, the puppet took a step, appearing before Daoist Yu. Its metallic hands, cold and merciless, gave him no time to react before decisively crushing his skull.

From only a few hundred meters behind, Wang Yu watched, his rage flaring. Although he had arrived very quickly, he was still a few breaths too late.

"Audacious—"

The person was already dead, and Guilang City's dignity had been severely damaged. Old Demon Dikui had to die here; otherwise, who would dare to participate in the Scented Gathering in the future?!

The remaining distance was only a matter of a few breaths. The close-combat puppet, just about to rise and pursue Fengzi, was kicked by him into a residential building, plowing a hundred-meter long trench of rubble down the main street.

Since his physical body broke through to the Tier 2 mid-stage, his cultivation had slowed down. Even with the aid of dragon blood essence, he had only accumulated 333 drops of new vital blood. This was equivalent to the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment. To break through to the late stage, he needed to condense 999 drops, merge them into one, and then disperse the blended True Blood throughout his body to achieve physical sublimation.

Old Demon Dikui claimed this puppet was refined from a body refiner, but in reality, it wasn't a pure body refiner. Instead, it was a pseudo-dual cultivation practitioner who had integrated orthodox cultivation methods. In a contest of physical strength, he had no fear. Moon Fiend Body Refinement, Dragon Blood Nourishment, Corpse Demon Secret Art, Lunar Nether Eyes! Four-fold effects, either enhancing or transforming. His foundation in body refining was even deeper than that of orthodox cultivators. In other words, he could overpower this puppet. The precondition was—Old Demon Dikui not interfering!

Currently, there were three battlefields. Wang Yu and the close-combat puppet, Qingyang and Old Demon Dikui, and the Lunar Fiend Corpse and the Tier 3 Iron Puppet were all locked in fierce, indecisive battles.

Just then, Little Talisman Lord Luochen suddenly appeared on the rooftop of a residential building. After observing his surroundings, he nodded towards Wang Yu, and then his figure vanished.

This made Wang Yu's gaze grow even darker. This beast was clearly going to pursue Fengzi. To go back on a completed transaction and reclaim items, this sort of unscrupulous behavior, combined with his previous rhetoric and promises at the Celestial Fragrance Palace, made Wang Yu feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave. It was all lies!

He shouldn't have given Luochen any advice. On second thought, had the other party not been in the same faction as Zhuo Shouqing, he wouldn't have considered befriending him. It didn't matter if someone had a few bad intentions, but without trust, a person cannot stand firm. In the Great Demonic Domain, credibility was truly vital! Luochen was not a trustworthy person. Moreover, if he truly seized back the Flood Dragon Soul Heavenly Water Essence and it became known, it would completely destroy the Scented Gathering that he had painstakingly built! This was even more serious than fighting Old Demon Dikui within Guilang City.

Boom—

With another punch exchanged, Wang Yu began to grapple with the close-combat puppet, while dedicating a portion of his attention to Qingyang's battle. He needed to eliminate Old Demon Dikui as quickly as possible.

Just at this moment, an unexpected figure appeared near him: True Man Hegu from Scorpion City. He said with a serious expression, "City Lord Wang, do you require assistance?"