Chapter 131: Poisoned Too Deeply!
“What!”
“Big Brother, what exactly are you saying!?”
The hot-tempered Yun Qi seemed to not have caught the crux of it yet.
Instead, it was Yun Fei beside him who seemed to have thought of something, his expression changing drastically in an instant.
“Your master?”
“Cloud Artisan?”
“Then you are… that puppet!”
In a single instant, Yang Yu cried out in shock!
He had thought of a possibility, but did not dare confirm it!
“You are… that puppet?”
“How could that possibly be? A thousand years ago, what rank were you? Did you seize his body?”
“Seize his body?”
This time even Yun Qi finally understood, and his expression changed drastically!
“You… you seized my big brother’s body!”
Cloud Artisan looked at Yun Qi, whose face was filled with shock and disbelief, and seemed about to nod, but suddenly shook his head instead.
“No… I did not seize his body. I am him.”
“A thousand years ago, he took half my body and fused it with himself to stop the bleeding. He intended to remove me once he returned.”
“Who would have known that the flesh, blood, meridians, and the formation patterns on my components had already merged together.”
“So he had no choice but to let it be…”
Hearing this, Yun Qi could no longer restrain his fury.
“Damn you, you still say you did not seize his body!”
“If it was not possession, then where is my big brother now? How could you be so vicious!”
Yun Qi gnashed his teeth, and for a moment was actually about to attack.
But who would have known that Yun Fei beside him suddenly grabbed him.
“Let him finish.”
Yun Fei’s voice was low and hoarse, clearly also doing his utmost to restrain himself.
Hearing this, the half-human, half-puppet Cloud Artisan took a deep breath.
“Later, his cultivation gradually recovered, but his consciousness grew fainter and fainter.”
“A segment of memory also appeared in his mind out of nowhere.”
“Mm, that’s right, the memories of my days as a puppet.”
“And later… I, or rather he, sometimes could no longer tell whether I was Cloud Artisan, or that half-puppet?”
At this point, the platform fell silent.
Everyone felt it was simply horrifying.
Possession was not something they had never heard of.
But a puppet possessing a person was a first!
And if it truly was as he said, this was not a simple puppet possession, but some strange fusion of puppet and human!
Yun Fei and Yun Qi also fell into confusion, not knowing how to face this ‘big brother’ of theirs.
And of everyone present, only Lu Qingyang, upon hearing these words, felt his heart suddenly throb!
This… this is clearly poisoning!
Cloud Artisan probably never imagined he would be so compatible with that puppet, and then they spent such a vast span of years together!
Over time, the metal poison within the puppet would inevitably corrode his mind…
Lu Qingyang was somewhat speechless.
The person before him was in fact Cloud Artisan, only his body had been tainted and his mind stained.
Over time, he had actually come to believe he was the puppet!
As for that segment of puppet memories…
Heh, a puppet you refined yourself — how could you not know what happened to it?
Lu Qingyang’s inner complaints had already made him too lazy to waste more words on him.
A half-human, half-puppet madman actually deluded himself into thinking he was a puppet?
Simply ridiculous!
Immediately, he raised his hand and swept it out. “Elder Yun Fei, if you do not wish to invite a world-shaking catastrophe today, then open the formation at once. Otherwise, do not blame this Lu for being merciless!”
Hearing this, Yun Fei was stunned, and seemed somewhat hesitant.
Yun Qi, meanwhile, seemed still lost in the notion of his big brother having become a puppet, completely failing to notice Lu Qingyang’s threat.
As for Cloud Artisan, hearing this, a cold glint flashed through his eyes.
“Sect Master Lu, if you wish to leave today… I fear it will not be so easy.”
As Cloud Artisan’s words fell, a massive buzzing sound suddenly resounded throughout the entire Thousand Bamboo Sect!
The sound was like that of a swarm of bees.
“Bzzz bzzz bzzz!”
As the sound grew denser and denser, waves of black, oppressive aura spread out above the entire Thousand Bamboo Sect.
When everyone focused their gaze, they discovered that it was countless puppets!
At the same time, within the Thousand Bamboo Sect, all the puppets refined by the disciples seemed to receive some sort of summon.
“What’s going on! How can I not control my puppet anymore!”
“Me too! What exactly is happening!”
“Wait, go find the Elders, quick!”
“……”
In an instant, all kinds of cries spread out.
Just how many puppets had the Thousand Bamboo Sect disciples refined?
These puppets could be said to be the most fearsome killing force within the Thousand Bamboo Sect, bar none.
But now, the puppets within the Thousand Bamboo Sect poured out like a tide, flying over from every direction, completely surrounding the great hall plaza!
At a glance, there were no fewer than tens of thousands!
Among them were puppets of every rank, and there were even fourth and fifth-rank puppets!
Seeing this, the expressions of Yang Yu and the others turned exceedingly grim.
“Sect Master Lu, hear me out.”
“Today, so long as you help me with one thing, you and your disciples may leave safely.”
“Afterward, you may take revenge on my Thousand Bamboo Sect however you wish.”
Cloud Artisan looked toward Lu Qingyang, a trace of hope in his gaze.
“Help you?”
“That’s right. So long as you help me refine away this half of my human body and restore my full puppet form, I will let you leave!”
“Why must it be me? Are you not also a master of this path?”
“I cannot. Across the entire Qingnan Shengzhou, I doubt anyone can. But with your skill, there is absolutely no problem!”
Cloud Artisan looked at Lu Qingyang with full trust in his gaze.
Hearing this, Lu Qingyang’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Then are you not afraid I will tamper with the refinement and take your life?”
“Heh heh… If Sect Master Lu does not wish for something to happen to yourself and your disciples, then by all means.”
“All the puppets of the Thousand Bamboo Sect are within a single thought of mine. With one thought, I can turn this place into a domain of death!”
Lu Qingyang’s eyes narrowed slightly.
This old thing actually dared to stake the Thousand Bamboo Sect?
It seemed the poison had gone too deep. If he did not quickly swap out half his body, he likely did not have long to live.
Only…
As if something had occurred to him, Lu Qingyang turned and glanced at Yang Yu, Zhao Layue, and the others.
His heart steadied once more.
“Elder Yun Fei, three breaths. Within three breaths, if you do not release the formation…”
“You can try!”
Lu Qingyang’s voice drifted out slowly after a moment of deliberation.
Seeing this, Cloud Artisan’s expression finally darkened.
He had not expected the other party to actually refuse his terms!
“You… fine, very fine!”
As Cloud Artisan’s words fell, a buzzing sound suddenly came from above the entire Thousand Bamboo Sect!
“Crack~”
A sound of shattering was heard, and then, above the Thousand Bamboo Sect’s canopy, the formation that had been incomparably sturdy actually opened!
“Sect Master Lu, you may leave. This matter is the fault of my Thousand Bamboo Sect. I will apologize to you afterward.”
“Hm? It opened?”
Lu Qingyang, who was secretly stirring his spiritual power and preparing to release his puppets, froze in place at this sudden turn of events.
He had not expected Yun Fei to actually open the formation.
No, wait… how did it just open? I was still saying we could stretch our muscles a bit.
So what should I do now? Should I find an excuse to provoke them a little?