Chapter 457: Puppet Technique

They couldn't believe it. Backup had actually arrived, and it was targeting the overwhelming horde of Beast Kings! Even an elder at Core Formation Layer 5 might not dare to venture so deep alone.

However, the spiritual energy fluctuations, distinctly human, were undeniable!

Liang Feiyan's face lit up with a look of newfound hope. "Someone's saving us!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Jin Zhongming was equally overjoyed. "Whether this person is an elder from the Nine Sects or an expert from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion," he said, "if I'm saved, I'll bow down and thank them with all my heart!"

Xia Chaoge was also quite surprised that someone dared to rescue them, and alone at that. Nevertheless, this undoubtedly gave them immense hope. She made a quick decision: "Break through to the rear and rendezvous with this person!"

The three of them mustered their strength, simultaneously fending off the beast attacks from the front while slaying the Beast Kings at their rear. Their retreat was arduous.

Meanwhile, Jiang Fan felt immense pressure facing the dense, overwhelming horde of Beast Kings.

Though individually not very strong—mostly at Core Formation Layers 1 and 2, with very few at Layer 3—their sheer numbers were daunting.

A single misstep could easily lead to Jiang Fan getting injured. Fortunately, the canyon itself was narrow, while the Beast Kings were massive. Despite their overwhelming numbers, they couldn't leverage this advantage effectively.

Only the foremost three beasts could attack at any given time, leaving the rest to wait idly. This provided Jiang Fan with an opportunity. Otherwise, in an open area, if fifty or sixty mountain-sized beasts attacked simultaneously, he would have no choice but to flee.

"Heaven and Earth Starfall!""Arrogant Dragon Has Regrets!""Heaven's Cleaver!""Thunder Dragon Lightning Kick!"

Wielding his Sorrow Frost Sword, Jiang Fan unleashed a variety of martial techniques. Each strike brought down a beast. Soon, over a dozen Beast Kings had fallen. However, the ones behind them continued to surge forward relentlessly. Jiang Fan paused to catch his breath.

His spiritual energy was depleting rapidly. It was then that he slowly realized something was amiss. "Is this... a war of attrition?"

He hadn't seen a single Core Formation Layer 5 or 4 Beast King; only those in the early stages of Core Formation Layer were charging. This tactic, he realized, would wear down even a human at Core Formation Layer 7, let alone one at Layer 5, if they were surrounded by Beast Kings.

"These Beast Kings are being guided by a master," he mused. "I wonder if it's a human or a demon." Jiang Fan's eyes narrowed slightly. "A war of attrition won't work on me," he thought.

During a lull in the Beast Kings' assault, he retrieved a Spirit Replenishment Pill he had previously refined. Like the Rejuvenation Pill, this was a high-grade, third-rank spiritual elixir. Just one pill could quickly restore a Core Formation Layer 1 martial artist's entire spiritual energy. He held it in his mouth, intending to activate it once his spiritual energy was sufficiently depleted.

Meanwhile, elsewhere within the surging tide of Beast Kings, a serpent demon, its aura reaching Core Formation Layer 5, presided from the rear. Four black-robed figures, wearing dragon-pattened masks, sat cross-legged upon its back. Both men and women were among them. The Core Formation Layer 5 serpent demon beneath them stared blankly, its eyes devoid of any emotion, as if soulless.

"Sister Wu's puppetry truly rivals an army!" one of them exclaimed.

"By controlling this Beast King serpent demon, we can control all the other Beast Kings under its command." Among the four, a woman with a striking figure and wavy long hair sat cross-legged on the serpent's head. In her hand, she held a mysterious black flag, from which wisps of black mist subtly emerged.

If Leng Qingzhu had been there, she would have immediately recognized this "Sister Wu" as Wu Manyue, the puppetry practitioner whose name made even disciples in the Heavenly Secret Pavilion tremble. Wu Manyue, a Core Formation Layer 5 cultivator, was also an adept in puppetry.

Anyone struck by her spell would be turned into a puppet, just like the Core Formation Layer 5 python beneath her. Not only would their life and death be under her complete control, but they would also lose all autonomy over their actions.

Who wouldn't fear such an almost demonic spell? Wu Manyue extended a long finger and gently stroked the black flag. "It's a pity I can only control one puppet at a time," she lamented. "If there were no limits, I could control all the Beast Kings here, make them fight each other, and then simply collect their demon cores one by one after it's all over."

"But it's not too late," she added, her seductively red lips curling into a slight smile. "Three unsuspecting fools just happened to stumble into the canyon. Let them do the work for us and slaughter these beasts."

Puppetry was indeed an uncanny art. However, it wasn't omnipotent. Although she controlled this serpent demon leader, she could only use it to gather its subordinates into this narrow canyon. Ordering the serpent demon leader to make the Beast Kings fight among themselves would not be obeyed by these intelligent beasts. It had taken a lot of effort for Wu Manyue to find such a suitable location and herd the Beast Kings here. In the confined canyon, the Beast Kings, being slaughtered, couldn't disperse or escape, and were at the mercy of the four.

They would continue until their spiritual energy was exhausted. Although this meant at least half the Beast Kings would escape once their energy ran out, there was nothing else to be done. A cultivator's spiritual energy was finite.

However, just as they were about to begin, they spotted Xia Chaoge and the other two entering the canyon. They adapted their strategy: the Beast Kings would engage the newcomers in a war of attrition, using their efforts to deplete the horde. Then, the four of them would step in to kill the remaining beasts.

This way, all the Beast King demon cores in the area could be collected. Thinking of this, Wu Manyue excitedly licked her luscious red lips. "One hundred Beast Kings translates to two thousand merit points," she murmured. "That's enough to acquire two jade talismans, each capable of a Nascent Soul-level strike! It's well worth sacrificing one of my incredibly precious puppet flags." The puppet flag she held was part of a legacy she had stumbled upon.

There were only five such flags in total. She had already used three, and now, to obtain the Nascent Soul-level strike talismans, she had risked using another one from the remaining two. But the reward would be immense: two Nascent Soul-level strike talismans were almost within her grasp!

The other three were also alight with fervor. One disciple, however, hesitated slightly. "What about those three Nine Sects disciples?" he asked.

Wu Manyue replied nonchalantly, "How else should we deal with them? Leave them to compete with us for the demon cores?" The three others' expressions turned grim.

Were they going to... kill them? Wu Manyue chuckled. "They will die from spiritual energy exhaustion at the hands of the demon beasts," she said. "We're not the ones killing them. What is there to feel guilty about? Besides," she added, "they're not weak, so they probably have some demon cores on them too."

The three disciples' faces stiffened. While that was true, even if the three Nine Sects disciples weren't directly killed by them, they would still die due to their scheme. What was the difference?

Wu Manyue's eyes grew cold. "If you three are so kind-hearted, then go take their place!" she snapped. The three recoiled, not daring to speak another word.

Just then, Wu Manyue suddenly stood up, seemingly sensing something, and looked toward the other end of the canyon. Her pretty face slightly changed. "Reinforcements?" she murmured. "And incredibly powerful ones!"

After sensing carefully for a moment, her tense expression dissipated, replaced by a hint of mockery. "It's only one person after all," she said. "No need to worry then. Those Beast Kings are enough to grind his spiritual energy to nothing, effectively killing him."

She sat back down with a smile. She took out a wine flask and a cup, poured herself a drink, and raised it in a toast towards the far end of the canyon. "You must work hard and slay more Beast Kings," she cooed, giggling softly.