Chapter 1237: Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet
Chapter 1237: Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet
Gong Liangyu stood before the cave, glanced around, and then flicked his fingers, sending out more than a dozen streaks of blue light. Within the blue light were spirit talismans.
Each talisman was only the size of a game piece, crafted from spiritual jade and exquisitely intricate. They scattered around the cave entrance like a goddess casting flowers. Every talisman was connected to the others, forming a vigilant talisman array. Some hid within the void, while others sank into the rock and ground, vanishing without a trace.
After placing the talismans, Gong Liangyu flashed into the cave. Not long after he left, Dongyang Bo arrived at the spot where he had been standing.
Within the white light, the Vajra Bangle trembled lightly, sending out faint, silent ripples that precisely located every talisman. With ease, it obscured their perception.
Dongyang Bo seized the opportunity to pass through the talisman array.
The fluctuations of the Vajra Bangle disappeared, and everything returned to normal. The talismans detected nothing, completely unaware that someone had slipped through unnoticed.
Soon after, a third person appeared.
Qin Sang had observed every movement Gong Liangyu made with absolute clarity. He had seen similar methods before.
Back at the ancient cultivator’s ruin, Di Que had plotted against Daoist Xuanyu and forced Qin Sang to scout ahead precisely because Daoist Xuanyu had left behind similar spirit talismans as sentries along his path.
However, Gong Liangyu’s mastery was clearly superior. These talismans were linked by their qi, forming an exceptionally complex array.
Even a Spiritual Infant cultivator might inadvertently trigger them if careless, alerting Gong Liangyu.
With the help of the Sky-Eyed Butterfly, Qin Sang could see through the array’s intricacies, but he could not move through it as effortlessly as Dongyang Bo. Clearly, Dongyang Bo had planned this for a long time and had already studied Gong Liangyu’s methods in detail.
Secretly activating the Sky Eyes, Qin Sang grasped the structure of the talisman array completely.
Then his aura abruptly changed, as if he had transformed into a sharp sword. His sword force pressed down upon the array, and a faint sword light suddenly burst from his body as he struck.
The sword qi tore through the void and vanished in an instant, as though it had never existed.
At the same time, Qin Sang followed the sword light and slipped into the cave. One after another, the three of them entered, leaving only the talisman array guarding the entrance.
Only after entering did it become clear just how vast the interior was.
The entire hill was hollow. It seemed that a great river had once flowed through here, carving out an enormous riverbed stretching a hundred li wide, with no visible end in either direction and unfathomable depth.
Gong Liangyu hovered above a river of blood, his expression grave.
Though the underground river itself had vanished, the place was filled with dense blood mist, forming a surging crimson current that continued to flow along the ancient riverbed.
Within this environment, the sinister force was even more intense.
However, what concerned Gong Liangyu most was not the corrosive evil energy. According to the information he had obtained, the Blood Grass grew at the bottom of the blood river. To find it, he would have to descend into the river itself.
Yet beneath the surface, turbulent currents churned unseen. The river was far from as calm as it appeared. Despite his strength, Gong Liangyu could sense many dangers within the blood river that could threaten him.
The riverbed would be even more terrifying. With his current cultivation, it was impossible for him to retrieve any treasure from such a place.
Staring at the blood river, Gong Liangyu’s expression shifted uncertainly, as if wrestling with a difficult decision.
In the end, he steeled himself. Raising the hand holding the penannular jade ring, he brought it before him. A phantom of his primordial spirit appeared at his brow, releasing a strand of spiritual consciousness that landed on the token.[1]
Crack! The penannular jade ring shattered instantly, crumbling into powder. In its place, a cluster of azure spiritual light remained.
Swoosh! With a flick of his spiritual consciousness, he enveloped the light and absorbed it into his primordial spirit. His gaze immediately became exceptionally clear. The light possessed the ability to stabilize the soul, and Gong Liangyu felt his mind become more stable than ever before, all distracting thoughts swept away.
Within his upper dantian, the azure glow flickered as it protected his primordial spirit. After a brief moment of comprehension, Gong Liangyu raised his other hand.
Looking at the small figure in his palm, he knew there was no turning back. Without hesitation, he formed a hand seal and released the yellow talisman affixed to its brow.
Boom! In an instant, the small figure erupted with brilliant light.
Within the radiance, countless illusory spirit talismans flickered into existence. Behind them, faint figures appeared, some in agony, some crazed, some laughing wildly, others screaming, like a chaotic dance of devils.
At the sight of these phantoms, a trace of fear actually appeared on Gong Liangyu’s face.
Buzz! Buzz! The small figure came to life, struggling violently with immense strength.
Sensing it about to break free from his control, Gong Liangyu’s expression changed. Without hesitation, he spat out a mouthful of blood and essence and, following his sect’s secret technique, formed a series of hand seals that entered the figure’s body.
Bang! The palm-sized statue rapidly expanded to the size of an ordinary person, standing before Gong Liangyu. Its featureless face was turned directly toward him.
Then its face began to writhe, the scene grotesquely distorted and nauseating. In the blink of an eye, facial features formed. Strangely, the face was identical to Gong Liangyu’s, like that of a twin brother.
Looking at it, Gong Liangyu felt as though he were staring into a mirror. Unease and discomfort welled up within him.
The figure suddenly opened its eyes. Its pupils were pitch black, its gaze filled with madness, yet a sinister smile hung on its lips, causing Gong Liangyu’s heart to tighten.
At the same time, a terrifying aura erupted from within it, instantly surpassing Gong Liangyu and reaching a level comparable to a Spiritual Infant!
This was one of Shangyuan Tranquility Palace’s four secret talismans, the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet.
Among the four secret talismans, the Heavenly Blade Talisman, the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman, and the Inner Vision Primordial Talisman were all standard spirit talismans.
Only the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet resembled a puppet. It had been created by the sect’s founding grandmaster through the Dao of talisman soldiers, combined with puppet techniques and devilish soul-refinement arts, producing this peculiar construct by chance.
After that grandmaster's death, the puppet had been left within the sect as a supreme treasure.
The Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet served as the guardian of Shangyuan Tranquility Palace and possessed other astonishing functions.
Relying on it, the sect had survived countless calamities, enduring through periods of decline yet remaining among the top-tier factions to this day.
Rumor had it that the puppet could not be taken out of Shangyuan Tranquility Palace.
This was because, throughout the generations, disciples only used it when the sect faced catastrophic threats, when enemies attacked their sect's headquarters.
With a Spiritual Infant Realm puppet working in tandem with the sect-protecting array, their defenses became impregnable.
Outside the sect grounds, no one had ever seen a disciple of Shangyuan Tranquility Palace use the puppet in combat.
Yet now, Gong Liangyu brought it out. Clearly, the rumors were either false, deliberately spread, or concealed some other truth.
Gong Liangyu had awakened the puppet to use its power to enter the blood river and seek treasure. However, his expression was far from normal, as if he feared the puppet deeply.
This was because the puppet had been flawed from the very beginning. After countless years, it had become even more sinister, and many of its other functions had nearly been rendered useless.
Each time Shangyuan Tranquility Palace used it, an immense price had to be paid. It was a win at a heavy cost.
1. The penannular jade ring is an ancient gapped-circle ring, common in ancient China. ☜