When Old Man Bitter Bamboo saw the other cultivator sitting there without drinking the tea, he asked with an odd expression, “Fellow Daoist Li, do you not like tea?”
In a voice lacking any emotion, the puppet said said, “Ever since I’ve begun fasting, I’ve never partaken in any food or drink outside of my cave residence.”
“Ah, it seems I’ve been quite imprudent.” Old Man Bamboo betrayed a trace of annoyance on his face, but he quickly concealed it.
‘Since this eccentric dared to act this way in front of me, he must be confident in his abilities. Could it be that he is actually a late-Nascent Soul cultivator?’ As these thoughts appeared in his mind, he felt a trace of fear towards this person.
After taking a few more sips of the tea, Han Li put down the cup and asked, “Fellow Daoist Bamboo should know our reason for coming. What do you think about my proposal?”
With an unsightly expression, Old Man Bitter Bamboo frowned and shortly grimaced, “I’ll be honest. This trade is quite difficult for me. The Black Phoenix is currently at a crucial moment in its growth. I am unwilling to agree to the exchange no matter how many demon cores you offer. Who knows if there will ever come a time that the phoenix will have another breakthrough.”
“Then you mean to say that you don’t agree?” Han Li pursed his lips, but he wasn’t surprised to hear this in the slightest.
“Hehe, if I truly refused you two, I fear that you would be unwilling to return empty-handed. How about this, as cultivators as powerful as we are, how about we compare a few of our techniques? If one of you are able to defeat me in battle, I may be willing to agree to the trade, but if not...”
“If not, we will immediately leave and never mention this matter again,” Han Li said without hesitation.
Old Man Bitter Bamboo swept his gaze past the two and mysteriously smiled. “Good, it is settled then. I haven’t had a measure of strength in nearly a hundred years. Which one of you will I be fighting?”
Under Han Li’s control, he willed the puppet to say, “If you find it acceptable, how about sparring with me?”
“That’s fine. I’m also quite curious to see Brother Li’s techniques. We will compare pointers above the mountain, come!” When Old Man Bitter Bamboo saw that his opponent would be the man with the mysterious cultivation, he solemnly stood up from his chair.
Han Li and the puppet followed after him.
The old steward that had remained silent this entire time couldn’t help but reveal an excited expression. A battle between Nascent Soul cultivators wasn’t something that was often seen.
Soon, Han Li was floating over three hundred meters above the mountain and wore a calm expression. He stood a hundred meters away from Old Man Bitter Bamboo and the puppet.
In the air nearby, there were eight additional Core Formation cultivators that were watching with wide-open eyes.
“Go!” Old Man Bitter Bamboo shouted. He formed an incantation gesture, and a blinding light suddenly covered his body. Over a hundred faint green flying swords were released around him in specks of light, filling the air with an astonishing pressure.
The glowing swords flickered and arranged themselves in a strange formation. They then began to revolve above Old Man Bitter Bamboo, producing a strangely hostile intent.
When Han Li saw this, his expression suddenly froze.
‘Having refined so many flying swords, it is only natural for him to comprehend sword formations so well.’ Although he had already guessed as much, he was still shocked to see it with his own eyes.
Monarch Soul Divergence clicked his tongue and excitedly said, “Youngster Han, it seems this person has quite a bit of skill. This will allow the puppet to reveal even more of its powers! Let’s first test the puppets defensive abilities.” His voice didn’t carry a trace of doubt.
“Understood.” Having used so many rare materials to refine it, Han Li was also excited to see what would happen and he commanded the puppet to act.
From a distance, he saw it open its mouth and spit out a palm-sized shield. In a flash of light, it transformed into a huge silver shield in front of it. In quick succession, the puppet formed an incantation gesture and various-colored talisman characters appeared in the air, condensing into a rainbow barrier covering both shield and body.
Old Man Bitter Bamboo yelped when he saw this and asked, “Could you be from Nanjiang’s Sacred Poison Sect? This ability appears similar to their sect’s trademark Spiritmark Technique.”
Han Li’s heart stirred when he heard this but he commanded the puppet to curtly speak, “No.”
An odd expression appeared on Old Man Bitter Bamboo’s face and then he replied, “Oh? So I was mistaken. However, there is an undeniable resemblance.” It was clear he was doubtful.
However, he didn’t ask any further questions. When he saw that his opponent did nothing, he felt as if he was being underestimated. Annoyed, his expression turned sullen and he began to mutter an incantation.
The hundreds of flying swords above him began to buzz and tremble before shooting out from the formation as three-meter-long swordstreaks, obsuring the sky with their barrage. They all combined into a huge ray of light enroute, producing an astonishing pressure and dazzling radiance.
Chapter 971: The Thunderfire Bow
To the incoming attack of swordlight, the puppet simply pointed to the silver shield in front of it and did nothing else. In a flare of light, the shield grew several times thicker before flying forward to meet the attack.
The swordlight struck the silver luminescent shield with full force, resulting in a resounding explosion as flashes of white and green light colored the sky, but the shield stood as firm as a mountain against the raging tide.
Old Man Bitter Bamboo grimaced at the sight and a trace of astonishment appeared on Han Li’s face.
Monarch Soul Divergence said in voice transmission, “It appears the might of the Tailstar Shield is above what was expected. Despite being a newly refined magic treasure and having yet been tempered, it has absolutely no problem blocking the strikes of ordinary magic treasures. However, I suspect only the puppet is able to bring out this degree of power. If you were to control the shield, you would only be able to display half as much might.”
Han Li bluntly replied, “Of course, the degree of power one can display from a magic treasure depends on its might, the amount of time tempered, the total magic power channeled into it, as well as one’s control of spiritual sense. Storing spiritual power as magic power is the foundation of cultivation. This puppet is refined from rare materials and can pour three times as much magic power into the shield than I can.”
Having spent so many days under Monarch Soul Divergence’s personal guidance, his grasp of puppet techniques had reached a profoundly high level. Monarch Soul Divergence may still prove his superior by far in this regard, but there are no others in this world that could hope to best him in puppet techniques.
Monarch Soul Divergence chuckled and added, “Although the Tailstar Shield was something that you refined and gave to the puppet, it was created with its characteristics in mind. It is quite different from an ordinary magic treasure. Even if you channeled as much magic power into the shield, you still wouldn’t be produce as much of its strength as the puppet.”
Han Li nodded and said little else, turning his attention back to the battle.
At that moment, Old Man Bitter Bamboo gave his swords another order. Seeing that they were helpless in the face of that shield, he had them create another sword formation above his head in preparation for an attack.
After pointing to the formation, the swords let out a ring and began to spin around in the air. In a flash of light, they formed a three-meter-wide wheel.
He struck the wheel with several spell seals, causing it to rotate with increasing speed. Blinding green light then blazed at its center and concentrated in a beam of energy, fiercely striking at the silver shield.
A muffled bang sounded out, and a ball of gree
n light erupted from the shield. The ball was massive and caved in the center of the shield of light. The depression quickly grew deeper as if it were on the verge of collapse.
At that moment, the puppet pointed to the shield and it began scattering into specks of white light. Then, the huge ball continued its overbearing charge forward and directly struck the physical shield behind it.
The silver shield trembled violently against the strike, but rather than shattering, it suddenly flowed with intermittent light and the surface became reflective like a mirror. Under the silver glow, the ball of light intensely quaked and began to decompose into countless smaller balls, shrinking down to less than half its original size as they scattered away.
Then, the shield tilted and burst with silver light, repelling the remaining attack before it ruptured in the air and disappeared.
Old Man Bitter Bamboo let out a deep sigh and was unable to conceal his shock. He stared at the puppet across from him with a grave expression.
Although that previous strike hadn’t displayed the sword formation’s full might, the shield was still able to block such a heavy attack with ease, revealing an unfathomable defensive capability. As he pondered about activating the sword formation’s final ability, hesitation lingered in his mind.
Monarch Soul Divergence then said with a pleased tone, “Alright, since the Tailstar Shield is this powerful, the elemental barrier won’t need to be tested. Created from the Elemental Jade, its might won’t be any lesser. Now let’s test the puppet’s attacks.”
“Got it,” Han Li calmly replied.
Purple light began to glow from the puppet’s eyes and it silently twisted its hands, producing a ball of faint red light. Then in a blinding flash, it turned into a several-inch-long red bow. It had an exquisite appearance with the carving of a flood dragon and sparkling red scales.
“A Dragon Piercing Bow!” Old Man Bitter Bamboo immediately shouted.
The puppet remained expressionless as it uttered, “This is a Thunderfire Bow, not a Dragon Piercing Bow. I must warn you that it’s refined from the tendons of a flood dragon, and its might is even greater.” The old man immediately felt his heart sink.
Soon after, the puppet summoned an emerald green arrow to its other hand in a clap of thunder.
It quickly muttered an incantation, and the miniature bow and arrow began to brightly shine with light before expanding to a normal size. Talisman characters flickered on the surface of the bow as scarlet flames wrapped around it. As for the green arrow, it shined with golden light and released several arcs of lightning, followed by pangs of thunder.
The puppet nocked the arrow and slowly pulled back the bowstring. Lightning and flames had already begun to fuse together around the arrow before release, letting out deafening booms.
Then, an overwhelming spiritual pressure was released from its body.
When the distant Core Formation-stage observers felt this spiritual wave, the air grew heavy as the light barriers protecting their bodies began to waver. Those with particularly weaker cultivation began to turn tail with fearful expressions.
After sensing the puppet’s spiritual Qi, Old Man Bitter Bamboo paled and loudly shouted, “Stay your hand! The competition ends here! I forfeit!”
Although he said this, he hadn’t overlooked his defenses. With a flip of his hand, a triangular pendant shot out and began to surge with green, red, and yellow light, forming a strange barrier in front of him. Then, he waved at the sword wheel spinning in the air, dissolving it and having them revolve around him in a protective formation.
Han Li was surprised to see him take such drastic measures. He frowned, asking, “Is the might of the Thunderfire Bow so great that it can inspire such fear?”
“With the massive spiritual power of a late-Nascent Soul cultivator, any magic treasure would be fearsome. With the addition of a bow refined from the very bones and tendons of a Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon, your arrow refined from Golden Lightning Bamboo, and the complex fusion of their powers, it is no surprise he felt such danger. After all, he isn’t a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. If you were to use the puppet’s full power, there is a forty percent chance of slaying him in a single strike. Do you have an interest in killing him?” Monarch Soul Divergence asked with a cold laugh.
Han Li inwardly shook his head and said, “Forget it, I’m not particularly interested in slaughter and the Black Phoenix feathers take priority. If the strike fails to kill him and he activates the island’s restrictions, it will be trouble. And given his grand reputation, he should have a method to preserve his life as well and the attempt could spectacularly backfire. It seems we won’t be able to test the puppet’s true offensive power.”
Monarch Soul Divergence sighed and muttered, “It is no matter. I’ve already personally witnessed the puppet easily suppress a cultivator at the peak of mid-Nascent Soul stage. It clearly illustrates that its abilities are no lesser than that of a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. I no longer have any regrets now that I know my life’s efforts weren’t wasted.
When Han Li heard this, a trace of sadness was betrayed from his face.
The astonishing spiritual Qi from the puppet’s body slowly disappeared. In a flash of light, the arrow and bow returned to their original size and both elements had faded away.
Old Man Bitter Bamboo was relieved to see this, but he still felt cold sweat line his back. In the instant he was targeted, he sensed that his life in danger and immediately conceded. From the abilities and spiritual pressure that his opponent had displayed, there was no longer any doubt that he was a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. It appears that it was a wise decision to come out of seclusion to deal with these people. He didn’t believe that the island’s Myriad Tree Formation would be able to stop the wrath of a late-Nascent Soul eccentric, not to mention that he had a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator following him as well.
He put away his own magic treasures as well and then beckoned the two to meet him again at the tree hall.
This time, he spoke to them with an exceptionally polite attitude. He handed a magic tool to his old steward and commanded him to pluck off several of the phoenix’s feathers. Then, he began to chat with them to see if he could ask about their origins. After all, the puppet’s appearance didn’t match the description any of the late-Nascent Soul cultivators on the continent.
While Han Li had a lively chat with Old Man Bitter Bamboo, the puppet remained deathly silent. After talking for a long while, the old man hadn’t found any relevant information. He could only wryly laugh to himself as he was helpless to find any further information.
A quarter hour later, the steward came back with a jade box and respectfully presented it to his master.
Old Man Bitter Bamboo glanced at the two visiting cultivators and with a sweep of his sleeve, he tossed the box over to Han Li. He was now able to see that although this Cultivator Li seemed unwilling to deal with others, so he tactfully handed it over to Han Li.
Han Li bluntly took the jade box and opened it to reveal a line of dazzling red feathers. After he examined them with a squint, he couldn’t help but smile.
Half a day later, Han Li and the puppet left Bitter Bamboo Island in two trails of light.
In the blink of an eye, they disappeared from the nearby skies.
Chapter 972: Taming a Beast
Three days later, Han Li appeared at a nameless island.
He stood on a huge boulder on the shore and solemnly watched Monarch Soul Divergence’s small puppet body.
Han Li slowly asked, “Does Senior truly wish to pass away of his own accord? I still have methods that can allow your soul to persist for another month or two.”
The miniature puppet shook its head and said, “What does a few more days matter to me? I don’t want to trouble you in this matter..”
“In that case, I won’t say anything else... I hope you’ll be able to reincarnate and have the opportunity to cultivate in your next life.”
“How could the path of reinc
arnation be so easily tread? Even if I reincarnate, I might not take the body of a human. Ah yes, Youngster Han, do you remember that you’d agree to one request since I researched the refinement process for the Triflame Fan?”
“Of course I remember. Do you think I’d forget if you hadn’t mentioned it?” Han Li said with a wry smile.
Monarch Soul Divergence snorted. “In that case, I will make good use of it. My request is quite simple. If it is possible, I hope you will reclaim the Thousand Bamboo School in the Far West, take in a disciple on my behalf, and continue my legacy. Do not allow my teachings to die out.
The current head of the school is not someone that had stemmed from my own personal disciples. I feel ill at ease over the matter.”
“It is no problem,” Han Li quickly replied, “When the time comes, I will take in a talented disciple and teach them all of your puppet techniques. Later, I will have them become the Thousand Bamboo Sect Master.”
Monarch Soul Divergence bellowed with laughter. “Your words have put my heart at ease. I’ve collected all my techniques, life’s experiences, and knowledge into a set of jade slips I call ‘The Great Development Treasure Scriptures.’ I’ve left them all in my Heavenfortune Cask. Learn as much of it as you can, and teach them to the succeeding disciples of the Thousand Bamboo School. Only then will my legacy be truly passed on.”
A fist-sized ball of green light then shot out from the puppet body and soared to the skies. As a series of cryptic incantations sounded out from it, the light suddenly surged, quickly turning into a blinding three-meter-wide wheel a hundred meters in the air, forcing Han Li to squint his eyes at the sight.
Then, the incantations came to a sudden halt and the area become silent. A quarter hour later, the wheel shrank and loudly ruptured, filling half of the sky with specks of green light in a marvelous display.
Han Li sadly watched this funeral unfold. With this, the sect establishing grandmaster known as the Monarch of Soul Divergence had passed away.
He quietly peered upon sky for a long while and drew a deep breath before lowering his gaze to find a lifeless small puppet floating in midair.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 526