Chapter Forty: The Destruction of the Puppets

“If I tell you the name and weakness of this clay, I fear you’ll retreat without a fight, depriving me of a trophy!”

“Don’t speak nonsense. This mirror stone, forged with the proper blend, is flawless. Even an Immortal Emperor cannot destroy it in an instant. If not for the risk I took by venturing into the lower mortal realm, it would never have suffered such damage. With a single finger, I could annihilate you all!”

Wuyun seemed to have heard the most sincere joke, holding up a finger and reciting, “Three, two…”

“I don’t believe you!” In the next moment, the stone golem’s figure elongated, and it rammed its head straight at the foremost Battle King.

Remembering the opponent’s softness before, the Battle King didn’t counterattack but chose to withstand it. As a result, he was sent flying through the air, stopped by a spatial restriction, struck by five bolts of thunder, and landed, his face blackened.

“It’s too much... Senior, I have not only a golden body but also spells…” The Battle King’s words were cut off by Wuyun, who sent him a message. The Battle King’s eyes suddenly brightened. “Can this work?”

Faced with disbelief, the Battle King’s spirit soared. He began chanting, channeling spiritual energy to boost his aura, then leaped forward, merging his fists with his body.

Before his punch landed, a golden vortex formed behind him. The stone golem did not defend, remaining unchanged. As the punch, its golden aura, and force converged upon the golem’s face, the power suddenly weakened.

“You think that just because it became weaker, I can’t rebound the damage? You’re gravely mistaken!”

When the stone golem swung its bone weapon, the Battle King’s whirlwind caught up, encircling both of them.

The fight shifted from close quarters to body-to-body combat. The stone golem showed confusion—did the opponent not realize that this was its strongest form? Its flexibility could absorb and counter any strike, and amidst its softness, the hardest stone spikes emerged.

Those spikes rivaled weapons of the Dao, with immense power—one blow could pierce any foe.

The golem felt no fear. When the Battle King drew close, circling to lock him down, the opponent slipped away as if greased, evading every grasp with ease.

Attempting supernatural techniques to envelop and crush the foe from all sides, the Battle King retreated with the whirlwind.

“Hmph, I thought you’d really discover my weakness. In truth, I’d like to know it myself.”

As the stone golem spoke, something felt off. The Battle King, sly as a thief, hid behind Long Yi, as if he’d done something unspeakable.

But could the massive thigh bone weapon of White Crystal really shield him?

Impossible!

Seeing this, Wuyun boldly reached over, dripped a bit of Mokong Soul Water, and dusted it with crushed Buddha bead powder. A barely intact Dao weapon appeared in his hand.

“Damn you, give back my weapon!” The stone golem, enraged, extended its hand to smash down, covering the entire bridge, but Long Yi cast a spell to block it.

No matter how strong the flesh, how hard the material, if one cannot approach, how can victory be claimed?

---

Especially now that the golem’s long-range Dao weapon had been seized—what kind of maneuver was this!

“Fight! Face! Battle! Will!” The stone golem roared, swelling in size.

With this expansion, its spiritual power increased. Though lacking immortal energy, its combat strength remained formidable.

“Eight Soul-Grasping Claws!”

The stone golem stretched its twelve fingers, morphing into eight thick ones. Long Yi was perplexed—a soul emerged from the crown of his head.

But who was Long Yi? An Immortal King! Even with weak power, his experience was vast. He’d seen many soul-grasping arts. Even if he couldn’t win, he could easily resist.

Hey!

Long Yi let out a dragon’s roar, each louder than the last. After seven roars, the eighth shattered the golem’s eight fingers.

The golem regrew its fingers, terror in its eyes, mumbling, “He’s truly a dragon king of immortal rank. If only I hadn’t been greedy back then, I wouldn’t be in this predicament.”

“A Thousand Forms, Ten Thousand Bodies!”

The stone golem exerted itself again, shifting from expansion to diffusion, spawning countless tiny stone pellets. Each was as hard as a treasure weapon. Once fired, they shot forth like cannons, unstoppable.

Long Yi smiled, displaying his finest skill. A Taiji pattern appeared ahead, its yin and yang swirling. From nothing, one became two, two became four, and four birthed ten thousand—over ten thousand tiny dragons appeared.

Like orchestrating a meteor shower, he effortlessly diverted the stone pellets to either side.

Wuyun, sharp-eyed, suddenly instructed the Battle King to wield the thigh bone weapon, fortifying his golden body and activating the strongest defense, shielding Long Yi and the others.

In confusion, the stone pellets exploded like missiles, thunderous enough to shake heaven and earth, even shattering part of the hard bridge.

Including the Battle King, after enduring this attack, the thigh bone weapon cracked, reverting to its damaged state, which he stealthily attached to his own broken leg, thwarting Wuyun’s reach.

“Haha.” Bear Third was delighted—not only did the foe self-destruct, but his friend Battle King gained a weapon, the best of both worlds.

But just then, Wuyun leapt forward, crushing another Buddha bead, chanting as he scattered its powder into the air. The lingering mist vanished, revealing dust everywhere.

The dust, once writhing, fell still under Wuyun’s spell.

It wasn’t over. Wuyun took out a treasure artifact, sweeping away the dust, scraping even the broken stones from the bridge.

“Such petty tricks, daring to show off before masters.”

After a while, Wuyun finished speaking, and the remaining dust disappeared on its own, as if it had never existed.

---

The shattered bridge rapidly repaired itself, and within the time it takes for incense to burn, it was restored flawlessly.

“Let’s go!” Wuyun summoned a spiritual treasure—a clay monkey from Long Yi’s earlier illusion. The monkey hopped left and right, scouting ahead.

“A fine item!” Bear Third watched the monkey, recognizing it as the guardian treasure of a sect—both offensive and defensive.

After advancing several hundred meters, suddenly, the monkey melted into a puddle of mud, moving no more.

Long Yi, who had been watching, sighed, “A Reverse Demon Array—it forcibly absorbs spiritual and immortal energy. Anyone or anything entering will be drained to nothing!”

“To break it, we must destroy the bridge and the array. I observe the formation lies beneath the bridge, within the piers. If we force a move, the true spirit of the bridge will surely appear.” Long Yi shared his thoughts, and Wuyun nodded. “Indeed, only by resolving it at the source can we truly overcome it.”

Had it been other intruders, they’d have perished without a trace. But with Wuyun and Long Yi, seasoned travelers, they had the experience.

Yet, to break the source, obstacles are inevitable!

“You’d best send someone stronger, or else I’ll have to take action…”

Wuyun hadn’t finished speaking when the puddle of mud suddenly morphed into a humanoid figure—handsome, with rosy lips, white teeth, fair skin, and an immortal bearing.

“An immortal in the Concentration Stage?” Long Yi was stunned. The newcomer formed a sword with his hand, slashing thrice in the void. The first strike shattered Long Yi’s dragon scales, the second left the Battle King’s golden body battered, and the third, when the Battle King blocked with the thigh bone weapon, snapped the already damaged Dao weapon in two.

Such power! Wuyun was dumbfounded as the figure vanished, reverting to a puddle of mud.

With overwhelming force, even Wuyun was helpless.

Bear Third’s legs trembled, Long Yi’s claws shook, and the Battle King’s body revealed bone where he’d been cut. Those three sword strikes had shattered their proudest defenses.

“Senior, do you have any solution?” Long Yi forced a smile—half his dragon scales were gone. One more strike and he’d be an eel.

Wuyun, with a bitter smile, said, “So it is—the true spirit of this bridge. Those who enter must follow its rules!”

“Ah, Senior, should we not break the source, but try to pass through the array?” Bear Third asked, stepping forward. Wuyun pulled him back, sternly. “If any of us tries to cross, we’ll all die! Our souls will be absorbed by the bridge itself.”

Bear Third shivered. Unable to break or pass through, must they waste away here?

But seeing Wuyun’s strange smile, he shivered even harder.