With a final, desperate swing of his sword, Chen Guan lopped the head off the puppet before him, swiftly erasing the spiritual brand within. He slumped against the dim stone wall, gasping for breath.
Dozens of dark, metallic remains were already piled on the floor around him. Chen Guan cast a fearful glance toward the inner chamber, his hand trembling slightly as he retrieved a small bottle. He reluctantly tipped a single pill into his palm and swallowed it, a pang of regret in his heart.
A Rank 3 Qi Recovery Pill. It could rapidly replenish his Dou Qi, but even he only had five. He hated to use one, but he had no choice. His entire supply of Rank 2 pills was gone.
Seven days. Seven days of relentless, mind-numbing combat had allowed Chen Guan to decipher a pattern. After destroying each puppet, he was granted exactly half an hour to rest and recover.
The next puppet would undoubtedly be stronger. He had to face it in peak condition.
Seven Days Ago
That day, buzzing with excitement, Chen Guan had pushed open the stone door at the bottom of the lake. The moment he stepped through, the Red-Ice Snake King lunged from the shadows. He met its ambush with a single, decisive sword strike that ended its life.
He had given the snake its chance. It chose not to take it. Chen Guan had no mercy to spare, especially not now. He was far more curious about the secrets hidden within this place and had no time to waste.
He tossed a few Moonstones into the corners of the room, their soft glow illuminating the space. He found himself in an empty, dark chamber, roughly the size of half a football field. It looked like a tomb, utterly barren except for a single stone table off to one side. On it sat a few dusty bottles and jars, several unrecognizable material components, and a handful of Magical Beast Cores that had long since lost their energy.
With a light tap of his sword, the delicate material components, which had miraculously maintained their shape for ages, crumbled into dust. It was clear this "tomb" had existed for a very long time.
The pills in the bottles had also lost their medicinal properties, turning to waste. Only the largest jar held something of interest: it was half-full of a turbid, yellow liquid that exuded a bone-chilling cold. It practically screamed the word poison.
A sense of familiarity washed over Chen Guan. The aura was similar to the venom sprayed by the Red-Ice Snake King. He instantly guessed the reason for the snake's mutation. Nine times out of ten, it was connected to this very substance.
He couldn't identify it, so he didn't dwell on it. He simply sealed the jar and tossed it into his storage ring.
Then, Chen Guan approached the door to the tomb's inner chamber. As he pondered how to open it, the stone door slid open on its own. A black shadow shot out, attacking him without warning.
Chen Guan's expression shifted, not because the shadow posed a threat, but because he heard a heavy, grinding sound behind him. The stone door leading outside had slammed shut.
He parried the shadow's attack with a single sword strike, pushing it back. He spun around, staring at the sealed entrance. It was shut tight, without so much as a crack. He slammed both palms against it, but the stone door didn't budge an inch.
"Dismantle all the test puppets, and you will have your chance to leave."
A faint, disembodied voice echoed in his ears, seeming to come from the inner room.
Well, they aren't planning to suffocate me, at least, Chen Guan thought wryly. He forced himself to calm down and assess his situation. This was an opportunity, but one he would have to earn. The danger was unknown, but he felt it probably wasn't life-threatening.
Unable to escape, he had no choice but to play along.
His gaze fell on the black shadow. It was a humanoid puppet, crafted from some unknown black metal. From their brief exchange, he judged its strength to be around that of an early-stage Dou Shi. It was clumsy, far less flexible than a person, and aside from its durability, it posed no real threat.
As he expected, he dismantled the puppet in less than a minute. A defunct Magical Beast Core clattered to the floor. So, they're powered by Magical Beast Cores.
Half an hour later, another puppet emerged from the inner chamber. It was stronger, but its weaknesses were just as obvious. Chen Guan still felt no pressure.
Then came the third. And the fourth.
The ground was littered with debris. Just as Chen Guan began to question the difficulty of this trial, a new puppet emerged, its power equivalent to a Five or Six-Star Da Dou Shi.
This one was different. Even after he lopped off its head, it continued to fight, its movements less stiff, almost as if it possessed a flicker of "spirit." Through a tense battle of exploration, Chen Guan discovered the key: he had to find and erase the spiritual brand within its body to truly destroy it.
From that puppet onward, the trial became a grueling war of attrition, exhausting both his body and his mind.
And now, today, he had finally used his last Rank 2 pill. The drain on his Dou Qi was a minor issue; even without elixirs, the recovery from his Xuan-rank Qi Method could sustain him. What truly worried him was the toll on his spirit.
After swallowing the recovery pill, his Dou Qi surged back to its peak, but the profound exhaustion remained. It was a clear sign of severe mental fatigue. Chen Guan worried about the next battle. The last puppet, in terms of raw power, was already on par with a Dou Ling. If it hadn't been mindless, he would have been forced to use his trump cards.
The next one would likely be a true Dou Ling. And in his current state...
Half an hour passed in a blur. Chen Guan forced himself to his feet and waited.
The door to the inner chamber rumbled open. But for a long moment, nothing came out.
As he watched, bewildered, a soft light bloomed within the dark room. Braziers on the walls ignited with a strange, silent fire.
"Come in, young man."
It was that voice again. This time it was clearer, ancient and weary. Chen Guan hesitated for a heartbeat before steeling himself and stepping through the doorway.
The inner chamber was smaller than the outer one, clearly just a resting place. A single stone bed sat against the far wall. The room was spartan, and a quick scan revealed nothing out of the ordinary.
On the stone bed sat a skeleton in a cross-legged meditative pose. On its left hand was a dark blue ring, the only object in the room that caught his eye.
As Chen Guan took in the scene, an ethereal, almost transparent "ghost" emerged from the ring. It was the image of an old man with a long white beard and hair, radiating an immortal-like aura. He reminded Chen Guan of the white-browed Daoist masters from the old Shushan movies.
Surprisingly, perhaps because he sensed no malice, Chen Guan felt no fear. Instead, he was struck by an overwhelming urge to roll his eyes.
Yao Chen was an old man in a ring.
The Heavenly Flame Venerate was a low-key version of an old man in a ring.
And now I get one too?
Does the Dou Qi Continent have a surplus of old men hiding in rings?
"You have consumed a great deal of spiritual energy," the old man's voice echoed. "Rest first. We can talk later."
As he spoke, a minuscule particle of yellowish dust, almost invisible to the naked eye, floated from the ring and flew toward Chen Guan's forehead.
Chen Guan felt a sudden coolness spread between his brows. His exhausted spirit was like a parched desert finally receiving a gentle rain. It greedily drank in the refreshing energy, and his mental strength began to recover at a terrifying speed.
Half a minute later, all his fatigue was gone.
Not only that, he felt better than ever. His vision seemed sharper, his senses clearer. A profound sense of comfort washed over him, as if he were soaking in a warm spring.
"This is..."
"A small benefit from my sect," the old man replied calmly. "It's not worth mentioning."
If Chen Guan hadn't seen the corners of his ethereal mouth quirk up into a proud smirk, he might have actually believed the humble act. Show-off.
"Young man, let us introduce ourselves properly. I am Shu Tianhe, of the Heavenly Puppet Sect!"
***********
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