"Fellow Daoist Zhang, Fellow Daoist Xuanling, are you alright?" Old Huo's voice came from not far away.
Zhang Ling glanced over and saw that Old Huo had also dealt with the bone bird, still in his half-demon form, looking at them with a surprised expression.
His two legs, transformed into black claws, were holding the bone bird's head. His body was surrounded by terrifying fire spiritual power, and countless fragments of bone were scattered around, burning.
On the other side, the black-armored puppet possessed by Third Elder Qin was equally astonished.
Zhang Ling smiled and responded, "We're fine."
"I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Zhang to be so powerful, killing such a troublesome corpse infant. I admire you." A flash of light appeared on the black-armored puppet, and Qin Sanzhang's Nascent Soul appeared above the black-armored puppet's head.
Zhang Ling waved his hand and smiled wryly. "Being able to kill the corpse infant is not our accomplishment. This monster was too arrogant, relying on its expertise in stealth to ambush Fellow Daoist Xuanling. If Fellow Daoist Xuanling hadn't seen through its tracks, we wouldn't have been able to trap and kill this monster in one fell swoop.
In truth, this corpse infant was too careless, which is why we were able to kill it.
Moreover, if it weren't for the two fellow Daoists restraining the two powerful corpse kings controlled by the corpse infant, their coordinated attacks and self-destruction would have seriously injured or even killed Fellow Daoist Xuanling and me. Now, Fellow Daoist Xuanling has suffered considerable injuries from the impact of the self-destruction, and I have also consumed a lot of spiritual power. It was a pyrrhic victory."
Zhang Ling attributed most of the credit for killing the corpse infant to the Xuan Turtle. As expected, as he spoke, Old Huo and Third Elder Qin both turned their gazes towards the Xuan Turtle.
Seeing the large and small bloodstains on the Xuan Turtle's body, the two of them asked about the Xuan Turtle's injuries with concern.
The Xuan Turtle pretended to be seriously injured, brushed them off with a few words, and then landed directly on the ground, swallowed a few pills, and began to meditate.
"The two fellow Daoists are too modest. Killing this kind of monster will definitely impress many fellow cultivators. Unlike Qin, who was almost killed by falling into a trap." Third Elder Qin sighed, his small Nascent Soul face showing frustration, regret, and many other complex expressions.
Hearing this, Zhang Ling and Old Huo exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.
Even if they were Nascent Soul old monsters, it would be difficult for them to bear the blow of having their physical body destroyed.
"Third brother, find a suitable body to possess after we return, and cultivate in seclusion for fifty or sixty years, and you will naturally recover. Now is not the time to be discouraged. There may be other dangers here. We should quickly recover our consumption and avoid encountering any more powerful enemies." After a moment of silence, Old Huo glanced at them and spoke.
Third Elder Qin nodded. Then, the three of them also landed on the ground below, each finding a place to recover their consumption.
In particular, Third Elder Qin was now only left with his Nascent Soul, making his situation the worst among them.
Zhang Ling noticed that after the black-armored puppet possessed by Third Elder Qin landed on the ground, he first removed a few array flags and set up a restriction, inside which a purple light flickered.
It seemed that he was performing some kind of secret technique.
Old Huo landed to the side, casually sitting in a pile of rubble.
Zhang Ling also shook his head and took out a jade bottle, eating a few pills.
In fact, being able to kill this corpse infant was indeed as he said, with the Xuan Turtle bearing most of the attack damage.
Moreover, the corpse infant was also careless. It didn't take him seriously enough, and after ambushing him once during the battle, it still thought about hiding and ambushing again.
Although the second target was the Xuan Turtle, this monster naturally didn't know that the Xuan Turtle was controlled by his second Nascent Soul.
When this monster approached the Xuan Turtle by three or four zhang, Zhang Ling sensed a faint corpse aura and discovered the corpse infant's true form.
That's why he used the Soul Shocking Spike, inflicting a heavy blow, giving him the opportunity to trap this monster.
Even at the end, he still used the Black Bone Giant Claw and other means.
Although this battle didn't last long, and the Ferocious Earth Formation that Zhang Ling cast was not yet complete, the consumption of spiritual power was not small, especially when he fully activated the Black Bone Giant Claw to kill the corpse infant and the blood corpse.
At this moment, his spiritual power had been consumed by nearly thirty percent. Being able to kill the corpse infant was largely due to luck.
If this monster hadn't ambushed him and had fought with other means, Zhang Ling wouldn't have been confident that he could kill this monster.
Zhang Ling pondered the gains and losses of this battle, and with a few flashes of his figure, he cleaned up the battlefield.
After a while, he retrieved a few things from a pile of rubble on the ground.
Several broken gray-black spiritual bones, which looked like the spiritual bones from the corpse snake. There was also a gray long banner, and that black round bowl.
The gray long banner was tattered, with many holes in the banner surface, and its spirituality was greatly lost, obviously destroyed by the corpse snake's self-destruction.
However, the black round bowl was intact, extremely cold to the touch, like a piece of ice jade. It was also not light in weight, and it looked like it was refined from some kind of black stone material, surrounded by a layer of Yin Sha aura.
Inside was half a bowl of dim yellow spiritual water. It was the extremely corrosive Yellow Spring Nether Water.
Reaching out and gently touching it, two drops of yellow water floated out of the round bowl, and a few strands of yellow spiritual power wrapped around it, instantly corroded.
Zhang Ling then released more spiritual power and shot out a few vines to test it. Yellow Spring Nether Water could not only corrode all kinds of spiritual power, but it was also difficult to dispel if it splashed on the body. It would give a feeling of alternating cold and heat, two extremes.
Obtaining this treasure was not a loss.
Of course, now was not the time to study this kind of spiritual water. Zhang Ling roughly studied it and put the round bowl away.
He also came to the Xuan Turtle's side and sat down to recover his consumption.
More than an hour passed like this.
Suddenly, Zhang Ling sensed something, raised his head and looked towards the distant rear. There was a figure slowly approaching from more than ten miles away.
He scanned with his divine sense and felt a familiar aura. "It's Fellow Daoist Bai. Come over, there is no danger here."
More than ten miles away, Bai Xinyao, who had originally left, was hiding her aura and quietly releasing her divine sense to probe towards this side.
She had originally left for more than a hundred miles, but Bai Xinyao's luck was not good, and she ran into a few more high-level ghosts. She could only avoid them quickly.
This place was very dangerous, and she, a Golden Core cultivator, was wandering around, and she didn't know when she would lose her life. Therefore, she didn't leave very far, and could only hope that Zhang Ling and the others could deal with that terrifying corpse infant.
Not long ago, she sensed that there was no movement on this side, and only then did she quietly rush over, wanting to investigate. At this moment, she suddenly heard Zhang Ling's voice in her ear, which startled her.
After Bai Xinyao rushed over, Old Huo raised his head and glanced at her, then continued to close his eyes and meditate, without saying anything.
"Senior Zhang, that corpse infant…" Bai Xinyao landed not far from Zhang Ling and asked.
"Don't worry, it's been destroyed."
Seeing that Old Huo was also safe and sound not far away, and that there was also the aura of Third Elder Qin in another ray of light, it seemed that he had not fallen either.
Bai Xinyao was truly relieved, and then her gaze fell on the Xuan Turtle next to Zhang Ling. Feeling the powerful aura on the Xuan Turtle's body, Bai Xinyao's eyes flickered a few times.
This was another Nascent Soul senior, and seeing that Zhang Ling closed his eyes and resumed meditating, without any intention of introducing him.
Bai Xinyao didn't dare to disturb him, and also sat down in a certain position next to him.
Another quarter of an hour passed.
Suddenly, Zhang Ling suddenly opened his eyes, his expression flickered, and he stood up, his gaze instantly fixed on the northeast direction. "Is it an illusion? I seem to feel a special wood spiritual energy over there."
He glanced at the Xuan Turtle, and the Xuan Turtle also looked towards that side as if sensing something, obviously it was not an illusion.
"Little friend, did you also feel something over there?" Old Huo's voice came from not far away.
Zhang Ling nodded. "There seems to be a special aura erupting over there. I don't know what it is."
A few soft bangs came from the other side. This movement was made by Third Elder Qin.
Zhang Ling and Old Huo both looked over.
The array light curtain where Third Elder Qin was hiding suddenly burst out with a strong aura. As they looked over, Third Elder Qin's voice came from inside.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang, don't be nervous. Qin is performing a secret technique, using this special puppet to temporarily act as a physical body. However, although the situation is a little better, I can only exert about half of my strength. Next, I may only have the power to protect myself, alas…"
The array light curtain dispersed, revealing Third Elder Qin's figure. At first glance, this person seemed to have a physical body.
Zhang Ling's eyes flickered, sensing that Third Elder Qin was still possessed on the previous black-armored puppet. However, at this moment, the appearance of the black-armored puppet had changed into Third Elder Qin's previous appearance, but his face was a little black.
His body shape was also exactly the same as his original body. If he hadn't known in advance that this person had destroyed his physical body, it would have been difficult to see any clues.
This method is very special. It seems to better integrate the Nascent Soul spirit body into the puppet's body.
"Third brother, I didn't expect you to have this kind of secret technique. How could I not know? Could it be an ancient secret technique from the Hidden Scripture Pavilion?" Old Huo also asked curiously.
"Old Huo, you flatter me. I'm just doing this out of desperation. This is not a profound secret technique. To perform it, I still need to use this specially refined puppet. I didn't expect that it would really come in handy one day." Third Elder Qin smiled self-deprecatingly.
"Oh, could it be that the puppet you are currently possessed on is the puppet that you mentioned earlier that you specially had that puppet spirit kid refine?" Old Huo blinked his eyes a few times.
"That's right. This puppet was refined by the Puppet Spirit Old Monster. This old monster's other methods are not strong, but his puppet art is unfathomable. It cost me a lot.
This time, the Puppet Spirit Old Monster also followed our team of cultivators to attack the city. This old monster brought a Nascent Soul-level wood ape puppet to help fight, which our elders' association spent a lot of money to hire. It is likely that he was also caught in this place. I don't know how he is now." Third Elder Qin adapted to the puppet body and explained at the same time.
"Oh, you even invited the Nascent Soul puppet from the Celestial Pole Sect." Old Huo's eyes also showed surprise, as if he didn't know this information.
Hearing this, Zhang Ling also stroked his chin. He had specifically inquired about the situation of the Celestial Pole Sect, after all, he still had a Nascent Soul-level headless puppet without a puppet core in his hand. He really wanted to repair it.
"Puppet Spirit Old Monster, early Nascent Soul strength, is the Great Elder of the Celestial Pole Sect. But this old monster can serve as the Great Elder of the Celestial Pole Sect not because of his strength, but because of his unfathomable puppet art."
The Great Elder of a cultivation sect is generally the strongest in the sect.
The Celestial Pole Sect is quite special, specializing in puppet art. Therefore, the one with the most profound puppet art in the sect can serve as the Great Elder.
The Celestial Pole Sect currently has two mid-Nascent Soul cultivators and three early-Nascent Soul cultivators. But this is not the entire foundation of the Celestial Pole Sect. The Celestial Pole Sect also hides at least three Nascent Soul-level spirit puppets. Enough to be comparable to a first-class force.
As for how many Nascent Soul-level puppets there are, it has always been a mystery.
"I also sensed the aura just now. I don't know what it is, another powerful monster... Should we still move in this direction?" Third Elder Qin also looked towards the northeast direction, frowning and asking.
Hearing this question, the few people looked at each other, still not making a decision.
This strange place was full of dangers. If they encountered a monster of the corpse infant's level again, they might fall.
This was something they had to consider, but according to the simplified map they had obtained earlier, the northeast direction was likely to be the core of this place.
If there was a way out, then it was most likely there. For a time, the few people fell into contemplation.
Suddenly, Zhang Ling raised his head and looked at the sky on the right. Old Huo and Third Elder Qin immediately sensed something and also raised their heads to look over there.
"Eh, haha, it turns out to be Third Elder Qin, everyone, quickly take action and help us deal with these demons." A delighted laugh came from not far away.
Zhang Ling probed with his divine sense and saw the situation there clearly. In the sky more than twenty miles away, there were seven powerful auras fighting, firelight, black clouds, golden swords, and cold winds swept the sky there.
The battle was one-sided. Four demonic qi-filled guys were pressing down on three cultivators. Because one of the four different demons was a hunchbacked old man who was a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator.
"That's Fellow Daoist Yuchi from the Scarlet Firmament Sect, as well as the Ice Fairy and the Scarlet Cloud Hermit." At this moment, Third Elder Qin also called out the identities of the three cultivators who were being suppressed.
As Third Elder Qin spoke, purple light flashed on his body, and he flew into the air, approaching that side.
Old Huo, Zhang Ling, and the Xuan Turtle naturally followed closely behind. Bai Xinyao hesitated for a moment, and also lagged behind a few steps and followed.
As they approached that side, the four different demon race cultivators also discovered them. "Not good, it's the opposing cultivators, let's withdraw." The hunchbacked different demon race old man glared at the few people fiercely, no longer entangled in battle, and immediately led his three companions to break away from the battle and fly away.
In a few breaths, the four people disappeared into the horizon.
Third Elder Qin naturally wouldn't chase after them, and Old Huo and Zhang Ling also had no intention of chasing.
"Thank you, everyone. If we had been delayed any longer, the three of us would have had to explain ourselves here," Fellow Daoist Yuchi from the Scarlet Firmament Sect was a middle-aged cultivator with a red face. He cupped his hands towards the three Qin Elders and Zhang Ling and the others.
The other two, a white-robed delicate female cultivator, and the Scarlet Cloud Hermit who originally belonged to Yanhsia City. These two also expressed their gratitude.
"Eh, Third Elder, why has your aura decreased so much? Could it be that you also encountered different demon race cultivators?" The Scarlet Cloud Hermit suddenly looked at Third Elder Qin and asked in surprise.
"Qin was severely injured, but it wasn't by different demons. The few of us encountered a powerful corpse infant earlier." Third Elder Qin naturally wouldn't reveal that his physical body was destroyed for no reason. That's what he said.
Old Huo and Zhang Ling wouldn't say much.
Old Huo was originally the Second Elder of Tianmu City. Third Elder Qin had just specifically instructed Zhang Ling and the Xuan Turtle to conceal the matter of his physical body being destroyed.
Zhang Ling naturally wouldn't be talkative, he was not a busybody. As for Bai Xinyao, it was even more impossible for her to be talkative.
