Chapter 674 143: Geng Metal Core (2)

A glint of light flashed in Zhang Deming's eyes. As his Spiritual Power surged, his entire body went limp and collapsed to the ground, transforming into a small, inconspicuous vine. Amidst the swirling gray mist, it didn't stand out in the slightest.

Well... its color was a bit too vibrant, but under the cover of the swirling gray mist, it didn't look out of place.

Among the crowd of knee-high puppets, one, just as inconspicuous as the others, furrowed its brow slightly and tilted its head to look in the direction where Zhang Deming had vanished.

Spiritual Light flickered in the puppet's eyes, but it found nothing out of the ordinary. It was as if its earlier Perception had been a mere illusion, a stray ripple from the battle's aftershock. But they were quite far from that spot; it shouldn't have been close enough to trigger anything.

It watched for a moment, then its expression shifted slightly. A tiny Earth Puppet, no bigger than a thimble, hopped onto Duan Fangchun's ear and said, "The situation has changed. Get ready to move."

Duan Fangchun, who was in the middle of the chase, paused almost imperceptibly. Using a special vibration of his True Essence, he replied, "Already? Didn't you say his methods were too intense and were messing with your setup? That you needed several more hours?"

Like Duan Fangchun, Guan Yu was a high-ranking member of a branch family. However, while Duan Fangchun had been completely split off and left to his own devices, Guan Yu was a branch member in name only. In truth, he was a Dark Pawn specially cultivated by the main family.

Guan Yu frowned and said, "I can't wait that long. I feel uneasy, like something's not right."

"Fine. You Cultivators are always so superstitious." After speaking, Duan Fangchun became even more ferocious, his relentless pursuit diminishing the number of strange Firebirds emerging from Dang Ketao's body.

...

After collapsing and turning into a vine, Zhang Deming focused all his energy on channeling the Hidden Breath Skill.

A moment later, once he felt the waves of Reconnaissance fade, the tip of the vine slowly wove itself back together, and a marble-sized Zhang Deming reappeared.

Zhang Deming frowned deeply as he looked at the crater-pocked ground. Where the turf had been torn up, his Spiritual Eye could see patches of special soil.

Zhang Deming paused. As Spiritual Light flickered in his eyes, he scanned the entire battlefield.

'This is...?'

After getting a clear view of the battlefield, Zhang Deming froze. Instead of acting rashly, his form vanished once more. He became a silent vine again, quietly creeping forward.

...

On the battlefield ahead, the chase had grown much more intense as Duan Fangchun pressed his attack.

Pinned down, Dang Ketao barely had time to form any more Firebirds. Under the combined assault of the two men, the Shield covering his body rippled violently.

He dodged another of Duan Fangchun's attacks. At the same time, a lunging puppet was blown apart by one of Dang Ketao's Firebirds, sending a shower of earth flying through the air.

This time, however, the earth didn't scatter. Instead, it turned into a muddy slurry that spread evenly across Dang Ketao's Spiritual Shield and rapidly hardened.

Caught off guard, Dang Ketao was instantly imprisoned where he stood, encased in an earthen sphere.

"Now!" Guan Yu roared from within the crowd of puppets.

Even without his command, the moment Guan Yu trapped Dang Ketao, Duan Fangchun's entire body surged with True Essence. His aura exploded as a sea of True Essence rushed into the great silver blade in his hands.

The great blade accepted the massive influx of True Essence without reservation. It began to shimmer with a silver light as strange patterns on its surface lit up one by one.

As the silver light flared, Duan Fangchun wielded the blade like a Sword, thrusting it at the imprisoned Dang Ketao.

Just as the great blade was about to pierce him, the earthen sphere imprisoning Dang Ketao began to tremble. Cracks spread across its surface, and it finally exploded into a cloud of sand and dust.

The moment Dang Ketao's figure emerged, Duan Fangchun's blade stabbed into his translucent Shield.

The Fiery Red Shield flickered violently. The flow of Dang Ketao's Spiritual Power faltered, and he completely gave up on forming Firebirds, channeling everything into his Shield instead.

Duan Fangchun grinned, pouring even more of his True Essence into the long blade. The two of them were locked in a stalemate, briefly entering a battle of attrition.

Guan Yu, who had been waiting for this moment, unhesitatingly pressed his hand to the ground.

Summoning Path: Puppet Summoning ● Heaven-Locking, Earth-Sundering Sealing!

Following Guan Yu's action, all the puppets on the ground swarmed toward the immobilized Dang Ketao like lightning.

One by one, the puppets threw themselves onto his Shield. Their bodies began to harden, linking together like solid rock.

In the blink of an eye, Dang Ketao was buried under the puppets, which formed a hideous earthen sphere.

At the same time, spreading out from Guan Yu's palm, the earth on the ground began to connect, revealing a massive Array. Spiritual Light from all around gathered, and a malformed, eight- or nine-meter-tall puppet emerged.

The puppet resembled a roly-poly toy. Its body was enormous, especially its belly. It had no legs, only a pair of bizarre, oversized hands.

Atop its body was a strange head, which had nothing but a single cyclopean eye and a massive mouth.

When the strange puppet appeared, Duan Fangchun's expression sharpened, and his True Essence surged once more. Guan Yu also began frantically outputting Spiritual Power, causing the hardened earth plastered to the Shield to squeeze with immense pressure.

POP...

Under their combined power, Dang Ketao's Shield was completely broken. The hardened earthen sphere instantly collapsed inward, Sealing Dang Ketao inside.

Once the Sealing was complete, Duan Fangchun backed away with a wary expression and at Rapid Speed. The seven- to eight-meter-tall strange puppet then extended a hand and scooped up the Pottery Cocoon-encased Dang Ketao. By the looks of it, if Duan Fangchun had been any slower, it would have grabbed them both.