Yellow Court Daoist-Chapter 42 Black Water Swamp

"Hall Master Zhang Bei," Lu Qingfeng looked at this person and nodded in greeting.

He had an impression of this Zhang Bei.

About thirty years ago, Zhang Bei had been an Alchemy Apprentice in Lu Qingfeng's Black Sand Alchemy Room, and later showed exceptional talent in cultivation, and was recommended by Lu Qingfeng to become a disciple of Yu Bufan.

From there, his path was smooth.

His cultivation improved by leaps and bounds, and now he wasn't just at the peak of the True Qi Realm, but also became one of the few Hall Masters under the thirteen seats of the elders of Yuan Yi Guild.

If he remembered correctly, Lu Qingfeng recalled that Zhang Bei was the Hall Master of the Western Expedition Hall responsible for scouting the movements of Ghost Spirit Sect in the west.

"Just call me Zhang Bei, Elder Qingfeng," Zhang Bei said to Lu Qingfeng with considerable respect.

It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that Lu Qingfeng had been a benefactor to him. Without Lu Qingfeng's recommendation, he would not have been able to become Yu Bufan's disciple, nor have the qualifications to be a Hall Master.

"Hall Master Zhang Bei is too polite."

This person's cultivation was much higher than his own, and Lu Qingfeng didn't want to presume upon his rank, so he changed the subject and asked with puzzlement, "Hall Master Zhang Bei, you seem to be in such a hurry. Has something happened in the west?"

He had just seen Zhang Bei hurrying to the back mountain, which must mean there was urgent intelligence to report. It was only because he saw him on the way that Zhang Bei stopped to exchange greetings.

"Indeed."

Hearing this, Zhang Bei's expression turned extremely serious and he looked around before transmitting his voice to Lu Qingfeng, "There's unusual activity from Ghost Spirit Sect, and it seems to be directed at our Yuan Yi Guild! I was just on my way to report to the back mountain."

"Ghost Spirit Sect again!"

Lu Qingfeng's brow slightly furrowed as he said, "I'll go with you to the back mountain."

...

The war began without warning.

Ghost Spirit Sect was the first to initiate hostilities, launching an attack on the territory of the Hundred Skill Sect after lying dormant for decades. Yuan Yi Guild, Spirit Mechanism Institute, and the like were the first to bear the brunt.

Yuan Yi Guild's founding and establishment matters were put on hold as they urgently mobilized in response to the war. The majority of their forces were deployed, heading to the western front to meet the enemy.

Black Sand Refining Room.

Lu Qingfeng was sitting cross-legged in the center, with his eyes slightly closed.

His vision shifted, appearing in a desolate range of hills.

Amidst the ups and downs of the desolate hills within a radius of dozens of miles, there suddenly was a stir.

A figure appeared first.

Then, not far away, a second and third figure emerged...

In the blink of an eye, twenty figures appeared. Upon closer inspection, one could see that these seemingly human figures each had a dark metallic luster flickering about them.

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They weren't living people at all, but clearly were puppets!

These twenty puppets were of two types: one type wielded shields; the other was fitted with strong bows and had quivers hanging on their backs. Standing under the scorching sun, they seemed quite elite.

[Puppet: Destroying Truth Type 1 (Shield Battle Version)]

[Type: Autonomous]

[Grade: Second Level]

[Sensing Range: Four thousand miles]

[Combat Power: True Qi Realm Second Layer]

[Weapons: Xuan Tie Flying Sky Shield (Second-rank Talisman), Invisible Needle (Second-rank Talisman), Golden Centipede Mother-Child Blade (Second-rank Talisman)]

...

[Puppet: Destroying Truth Type 1 (Archer Version)]

[Type: Autonomous]

[Grade: Second Level]

[Sensing Range: Four thousand miles]

[Combat Power: True Qi Realm Second Layer]

[Weapons: Sun-shattering Bow (Second-rank Talisman), Invisible Needle (Second-rank Talisman), Golden Centipede Mother-Child Blade (Second-rank Talisman), Armor-Piercing Arrow, Shock Arrow]

...

"Ghost Spirit Sect."

"Just right to use you as practice targets!"

From afar on Yuan Yi Mountain, a corner of Lu Qingfeng's lips curled upward. With a mere thought, twenty puppets, who knew how many miles away, instantly darted towards the west.

Not only here.

Barren hills, rolling hills, swamps, dense forests!

Squadron after squadron of puppets swept out, all rushing towards the western direction.

Over the years, Lu Qingfeng had been refining puppets day and night, amassing a total of one thousand six hundred and twenty-nine puppets. Of those, only over six hundred were sold; the remaining one thousand and twenty were the self-acting Destroying Truth Type 1 puppets secretly refined by himself.

Relying on a super long-distance sensing range, these puppets were dispatched by Lu Qingfeng to various hidden and uninhabited locations to lie in wait.

Originally, it was for the pleasure of unleashing a sudden military onslaught and for having an escape route in case of unexpected events, but it turned out to be used against the Ghost Spirit Sect first.

"After the Destroying Truth Type 1 is equipped with talismans, in terms of strength, they can match up to a True Qi Realm Sixth Level or even True Qi Realm Seventh Level cultivator who lacks talismans."

Each of the talismans refined by Lu Qingfeng had undergone five times enhancement. The Second Rank Talismans crafted were as powerful as Fourth-rank Talismans. Naturally, the Destroying Truth Type 1 equipped with such talismans saw a substantial boost in strength!

Of course.

Rarely do cultivators at the True Qi Realm go without talismans for protection, so the puppets still needed to win through numbers.

The Ghost Spirit Sect and the Hundred Skill Sect were long-standing adversaries, having engaged in infiltration battles, sieges, wilderness fights, and so on, contesting over one resource point after another.

There were victories and defeats on both sides.

Lu Qingfeng commanded the puppet army, which during the march kept on converging, aiming to confront the Ghost Spirit Sect.

From the initial twenty-one small teams, the puppets gradually merged into a hundred-strong battle formation. Majestically and mightily, they plunged headlong into the main battlefield between the Ghost Spirit Sect and the Hundred Skill Sect—

The Black Water Swamp.

Black Water Swamp was rich in spiritual shells and Spiritual Pearls, all beneficial to cultivation. Furthermore, the place was abundant in resources and replete with Spiritual Energy, always a contested territory between the two sects.

The puppets stealthily penetrated deeper.

"Not far ahead lies a small Shell Field occupied by the Ghost Spirit Sect. Such Shell Fields are unlikely to be guarded by very strong experts, but any disturbance will immediately attract the Ghost Spirit Sect's masters."

"Thus, we must fight quickly and decisively."

Lu Qingfeng shared the vision of a Destroying Truth Type 1 puppet, leading ninety-nine 'brothers' to charge towards that Shell Field.

The Spirit Turtle Shell Field.

Qian Sen sat cross-legged in the Spirit Eye Area, eyes closed in meditation. Around him, a gloomy Yin Qi lingered, accompanied by ghostly wails and wolf howls.

He hailed from the Killing Power Sect, a subsidiary of the Ghost Spirit Sect.

He cultivated the Ghost Spirit Sect's orthodox True Inheritor's Ten Thousand Spirit Scripture, his cultivation having long reached the Peak of True Qi Realm. Dispatched by the Sect Leader to guard the Spirit Turtle Shell Field was both a challenge and a grand opportunity.

Where the Shell Field was, there lay the focus of Spiritual Energy.

Cultivating right above the Spirit Eye of the Shell Field, even though Qian Sen had not yet reached the Energy Introduction Stage and could not draw nature's spiritual energy into his body, it was extremely beneficial for him to sense Spiritual Energy and advance to the Energy Introduction Stage.

Having guarded this place for merely three months, Qian Sen had already felt his bottleneck loosening and was on the verge of ascending to the Foundation Establishment Realm, which filled him with joy.

However, on this day before his cultivation session ended, Qian Sen abruptly opened his eyes, his gaze electric as he looked towards the dense forest to the east.

"Master!"

"Somebody is approaching!"

A grey-robed disciple landed in front of Qian Sen, his face gaunt and somewhat ferocious-looking.

"Notify everyone, prepare to meet the enemy."

Qian Sen leaped to his feet, clutching a Black Pearl in his hand, hesitating for a moment before deciding not to crush it.

Crushing this Black Pearl would immediately summon a Foundation Establishment elder from the Killing Power Sect. But if the enemy's strength proved to be weak, wasting the Black Pearl and angering the sect's elder would be secondary; more critically, Qian Sen would be stripped of the qualifications to guard the Shell Field.

This was unacceptable for Qian Sen, who was on the cusp of a breakthrough.

"The approaching enemy may not be that strong!"

"Besides, Orchid Mountain Shell Field is just over ten miles away. If we really encounter a strong enemy, on one hand, I could crush the Black Pearl and call for help from the Foundation Establishment elder stationed there; on the other hand, I could flee towards the Orchid Mountain Shell Field. Within at most the time it takes to drink a half cup of tea, we would regroup!"

"With these disciples as cannon fodder, there will be definitely enough time!"

Qian Sen's gaze swept over the gradually gathering dozens of disciples, and he made up his mind.

Although these disciples were mediocre in strength, with less than ten at the True Qi Realm, he had raised them precisely to serve as expendable scapegoats in crucial times and naturally would not be stingy.

Soon.

Behind Qian Sen, all thirty-seven disciples were gathered, each either excited or apprehensive, their bodies emanating a ghastly Qi, which altogether seemed even more terrifying.