Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World

Chapter 1417: Chapter 732: Wanling Palace (Part 2)

Gu Sheng focused his gaze and saw that they were three human-shaped puppets, each one radiating the aura of Peak Earth Martial Realm, and one of them had even reached half-step Heavenly Martial Realm! With such a lineup, they could sweep across any region wherever they were placed.

"To refine these three puppets, this old man spent a hundred years of time and hunted seventy-eight Earth Martial Realm Cultivators!"

The red-robed old man laughed ferociously.

"To die under their hands is your honor!"

Gu Sheng merely shook his head lightly, his eyes full of pity.

"Pitiful, pathetic."

"Seeking death!"

The red-robed old man roared angrily, and the three puppets erupted at the same time, pouncing toward Gu Sheng in a triangular formation.

Their speed was so fast it nearly tore the air apart, producing a piercing shriek.

Just as the puppets were about to touch Gu Sheng, a point of spiritual light suddenly lit up at his fingertip.

"Condense."

With this soft shout, Gu Sheng’s fingertip drew out a profound trajectory in the air, golden light gathering into a complex Array Pattern that hovered in midair.

The red-robed old man’s pupils shrank abruptly.

"Forming an Array in midair?! Impossible!"

Gu Sheng turned a deaf ear, his fingertip tapping three times in succession. Three golden Array Patterns formed in an instant, and with a flick of his finger, they shot precisely into the back of the three puppets’ heads.

"Ah!"

The red-robed old man suddenly clutched his head and cried out in agony, black blood seeping from his seven orifices.

He was horrified to discover that his spiritual connection with the puppets had been forcibly severed!

"You... what did you do to my babies?!"

The red-robed old man roared.

Gu Sheng let out a cold laugh, and three thin golden threads shot out from his fingertip, connecting into the puppets’ bodies.

"I’m merely teaching you what true Puppetry Technique is."

"Break the Array!"

With Gu Sheng’s command, the three puppets suddenly turned around and charged at the restriction barrier at a speed even faster than before.

"No!"

The red-robed old man wanted to stop them, but it was already too late.

"Boom!"

At the first collision, cobweb-like cracks appeared on the restriction.

"Rumble!"

At the second collision, the entire restriction shattered with a roar, dissolving into countless points of light.

Gu Sheng stood with his hands behind his back, the three puppets lined up behind him.

He looked playfully at the red-robed old man, whose face was ashen.

"The puppets you refined are indeed quite useful."

"Impossible... this is impossible..."

The red-robed old man staggered backward, his eyes full of disbelief.

"The ’Blood Soul Puppet Control Technique’ this old man created himself, how could you possibly..."

"Created yourself?"

Gu Sheng sneered.

"Lived for hundreds of years, and the only thing you’ve cultivated to perfection is your thick skin. You plagiarize someone else’s Array, make a few petty changes, and dare call it your own creation?"

The red-robed old man suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

He stumbled back, his withered finger trembling as it pointed at Gu Sheng.

"You... you actually broke my Three Talents Soul Locking Array?"

Gu Sheng stood with his hands behind his back.

"A mere little Array, and you dare show it off in front of me?"

He lifted his right hand lightly, and three black Shadows instantly flashed out from behind the old man—it was precisely those three Living Puppets, now neatly standing behind Gu Sheng.

"No!"

The old man’s eyes almost split apart.

"My puppets!"

He frantically activated the Spiritual Imprint in his Sea of Consciousness, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea, without the slightest response.

"Stop wasting your effort."

Gu Sheng sneered.

"Your Spiritual Imprint has already been erased by me. From now on, they only obey my commands.

"He snapped his fingers, and the three puppets simultaneously raised their heads, eerie red light flickering in their hollow eye sockets.

The old man’s face turned deathly pale, veins bulging on his forehead.

"You little beast, do you know who this old man is? You dare seize my puppets, I’ll make you wish you were dead!"

"Oh?"

Gu Sheng raised an eyebrow.

"Aren’t you just an old piece of trash hiding behind puppets, playing at ghosts and gods? Without these puppets, you’re not even as good as a dog."

"You!"

The old man trembled all over with rage, then suddenly let out a vicious laugh.

"Good, very good! Since you’re courting death, this old man will let you taste what it feels like to have your soul shredded!"

Before his voice fell, a chilling surge of spiritual power shot out from the old man’s glabella, lunging straight at Gu Sheng’s Sea of Consciousness.

This was his trump card—Soul Strangulation. With this move he had destroyed the souls of countless Martial Artists, then refined them into Living Puppets.

Gu Sheng, however, did not move a muscle. The corner of his mouth even curled into a mocking arc.

"That’s it?"

The old man’s pupils shrank. He felt his spiritual power slam into an invisible wall; not only could it not advance an inch, it was even rebounded by a far more powerful force.

"How is this possible?!"

The old man screamed in terror.

"You’re just a Xuanwu Realm Martial Artist, how can your soul be this strong?!"

Gu Sheng’s eyes carried a vicissitude that did not belong to his age.

"Because I’m not the same low-grade trash as you."

His right hand closed in the air, and the old man’s spiritual power was crushed in an instant.

"Refining Living Puppets by strangling the souls of the weak— even Evil Cultivators would think you disgraceful."

The old man was struck as if by lightning, his Sea of Consciousness violently shaking, blood seeping from all seven orifices.

Only then did he realize he had kicked an iron plate. He turned to flee.

"Take him."

Gu Sheng said softly.

That half-step Heavenly Martial Realm puppet vanished from its spot in an instant. The next moment, it appeared behind the old man, iron-clamp-like hand clamping his neck and lifting him up.

"Let me go!"

The old man struggled, only to discover he couldn’t mobilize even a trace of Spiritual Power.

"What did you do to me?"

Gu Sheng walked over at an unhurried pace.

"Just made your Spiritual Power quiet down for a while."

He stared into the old man’s terrified eyes.

"Now, I ask, you answer. If I’m satisfied, I’ll give you a quick death. Otherwise..."

"I’ll let you understand what’s worse than death."

The old man forced himself to stay calm.

"Junior, do you know who stands behind me? If you kill me..."

"Noisy."

Gu Sheng cut him off impatiently. A ray of silver light shot from his glabella, directly piercing into the old man’s forehead.

"Aaah—!"

The old man let out a heart-rending scream, his whole body curling up.

His Sea of Consciousness was brutally invaded by Gu Sheng’s Soul Power, his soul torn to shreds and then forced back together. The pain far surpassed any physical torment.

"S-stop! Stop! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!"

Tears and snot streamed down the old man’s face; his former arrogance was gone without a trace.

Gu Sheng withdrew part of his Soul Power and said coldly.

"Gu Ningshuang, is she dead or alive?"

"A-alive... alive! She’s still alive!"

The old man said in a rush.

"She was born with a Sword Body and also holds the Great Wilderness Holy Academy’s Secret Technique. She’s perfect material for refining a Living Puppet—why would I kill her?"

The cold gleam in Gu Sheng’s eyes eased slightly.

"Where is she?"

"A hundred li to the south there are the ruins of a tall tower. She’s locked up there."

The old man panted as he spoke.

"The Heavenly Martial Realm Martial Artist who was with her was heavily wounded by my Soul Strangulation and is also imprisoned there."

Hearing that Gu Ningshuang was safe and sound, Gu Sheng’s expression clearly relaxed a little.

Seeing this, the old man hurried to beg for mercy.

"Young Master, this old man failed to recognize a mountain before his eyes. I’m willing to offer up all my Treasures, I only beg..."

"No need."

Gu Sheng interrupted him, a phantom of a Bronze Ancient Hall surfacing in his palm.

"Your soul still has some use."

When the old man saw that Bronze Ancient Hall, his eyes suddenly went wide.

"This is... no! You are..."

Before he could finish, the Bronze Ancient Hall erupted with a suction force that pulled the old man entirely inside, leaving only a shrill scream echoing in the air.

Gu Sheng put away the Ancient Hall and turned to look at the three Living Puppets.

He hesitated briefly, then three hair-fine strands of Soul Power flew from his glabella, each piercing into one puppet’s forehead.

"Ugh..."

The three puppets groaned at the same time, the emptiness in their eyes gradually clearing.

They looked around in confusion, and in the end their gazes settled on Gu Sheng.

"We... where are we?"

One puppet, who looked like a middle-aged man, spoke in a hoarse voice.

Gu Sheng said blandly.

"You are already dead. Right now you’re just residual souls refined into Living Puppets. I separated out some Soul Power to let you wake up temporarily, but it will only last the time of one incense stick."

At his words, the three first froze, then sorrow surfaced on their faces. The middle-aged man gave a bitter smile.

"So that’s how it is... No wonder I can’t feel my heartbeat."

Another puppet, a young woman, suddenly knelt down.

"Thank you, benefactor, for restoring our senses. Even if only for a moment, it’s still better than muddled ignorance."

The last was a white-haired old man. He carefully examined Gu Sheng, then suddenly cried out.

"For you to be able to解除 the restriction on Living Puppets, could it be that you are... a senior from Wanling Palace?"

"Wanling Palace?"

Gu Sheng’s brows knit slightly. The name gave him a strange sense of familiarity.

Gu Sheng frowned faintly, his fingertip lightly stroking the Jade Talisman hanging at his chest.

The Jade Talisman was a translucent green, covered in intricate patterns, glowing with a warm spiritual light under the sun.

Three months ago in Wuyun City, Qin Lie’s words still echoed by his ears.