txolops Chapter 300 The Power of Demonic Arts
Chapter 300 The Power of Demonic Arts
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"This is... the state of the Heavenly Demon Art activated?!" Luo Ming's pupils shrank slightly, his heart filled with shock.
Although he knew that the bearded man was known for his body refinement and that his Heavenly Demon Art was incredibly powerful, seeing him use it in person and feeling the terrifying blood energy and defensive power that was almost solidified still exceeded his expectations.
This is a level that no ordinary body-refining technique can achieve! The strength of the physical body has probably truly reached a level comparable to, or even surpassing, that of a demonic beast of the same rank!
He couldn't help but think of the "Myriad Spirits Blood Technique," which he was the main practitioner of. This technique involved absorbing and refining the essence of powerful demonic beasts to temper one's body. Theoretically, if one cultivated it to a high level, one could possess a powerful physical body comparable to a transformed demonic beast of the same rank.
However, he is only at the mid-stage of Core Formation, and his "Myriad Spirits Blood Technique" is far from complete.
"I wonder how strong or weak this Heaven-Supporting Demon Art will be when I advance to the Nascent Soul stage and push the Blood of Ten Thousand Spirits Technique to a higher level?" A thought flashed through Luo Ming's mind, arousing his strong desire to compare and strive.
The path of body refinement is incredibly difficult, but the resulting increase in strength is real and tangible. Seeing the imposing presence of the bearded man, he felt even more hopeful about his own path of body refinement.
Just as Luo Ming's mind was racing, the battle ahead had already broken out!
"roar--!"
The wolf-headed puppet seemed to sense the terrifying threat emanating from the bearded man. Its scarlet eyes shone brightly, and it let out a metallic roar that sounded inhuman as it stomped its four legs on the ground.
Its heavy body transformed into a dark cyan afterimage, wielding gleaming metal claws, and with a piercing shriek that tore through the air, it pounced down on the bearded man! Its ferocious momentum was enough to shatter a small mountain!
"Well done!"
The bearded man neither dodged nor evaded, but instead let out a wild laugh. His right fist, covered in golden scales, clenched tightly. Without any fancy moves, he unleashed a simple yet earth-shattering punch at the wolf-headed puppet that pounced on him!
The punch was silent, but wherever the fist passed, the air was compressed to an extreme degree, emitting an unbearable explosion and forming a visible pale white shock wave!
"boom--!!!"
The golden fist and the dark blue metal claws collided without any fancy moves!
A deafening, terrifying roar, like two iron mountains colliding, exploded in the narrow passage!
"Snap—!!"
Immediately following this, a crystal-clear, teeth-grinding sound of metal snapping and shattering rang out!
The wolf-headed puppet, which appeared to have formidable defense and possessed energy fluctuations typical of the mid-stage Core Formation realm, had its entire metal arm, along with the heavy armor on its shoulder, shatter like porcelain struck by a heavy hammer. The impact caused it to instantly become covered in spiderweb-like cracks, then explode with a deafening roar! It transformed into countless dark cyan metal fragments of varying sizes, scattering like fireworks!
This is not over yet!
The bearded man's golden fist, its momentum undiminished, shattered the puppet's arm and continued its force like a red-hot iron hammer smashing into ice, piercing through the puppet's chest without any obstruction and emerging from its back!
"Splash—!"
The wolf-headed puppet's forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, its massive body frozen in mid-air, the crimson light in its eyes dimming and extinguishing instantly. Then, centered on the point where its chest had been pierced, countless cracks rapidly spread throughout its body.
The next moment, the once imposing gatekeeper puppet collapsed and shattered like a sandcastle with its skeleton removed, turning into a pile of lifeless, cracked metal debris that clattered and clattered all over the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
From the appearance of the puppet to the barbarian's attack, and then to its being blasted into pieces by a single punch, the entire process took only two or three breaths!
The bearded man slowly withdrew his fist, the golden scales covering it quickly disappearing beneath his skin. He shook his hand as if he had merely swatted a fly, and grinned.
"Warm-up complete. Let's keep going."
After the bearded man blasted the seemingly formidable wolf-headed puppet into countless fragments with a single punch, before the dust in the passage had even completely settled, the Extreme Yin Ancestor stepped forward, a smile of admiration spreading across his face, and bowed to the bearded man, saying:
"Brother Man's Heaven-Supporting Demonic Art truly lives up to its reputation, worthy of being the number one body-refining divine art in our Chaotic Star Sea! These ancient puppets, though their attack methods are limited and pose little threat to us Nascent Soul cultivators, are made of special materials and possess formidable defensive capabilities, making them difficult to break through with ordinary magical treasures and supernatural powers. Only Brother Man's domineering art of overcoming skill with brute force and being indestructible can so easily restrain and destroy them!"
The lay Buddhist Qingyi, standing nearby, stroked his beard and chuckled, echoing, "Brother Wu is absolutely right. Fellow Daoist Man's divine might is unparalleled. With you clearing the way, what are these mere puppets worth mentioning?"
The two of them flattered each other, trying to push all the "hard work" and "troublesome matters" of dealing with the puppets onto the bearded man.
Despite his rough appearance, the bearded man was actually quite shrewd; how could he not see through the hidden meaning in their words? His large, round eyes widened, and a seemingly simple yet cunning smile appeared on his face. He laughed heartily, his voice echoing through the passage:
"Hey! You two old geezers, stop trying to sweet-talk me! You want me to put in more effort to deal with these metal lumps? No problem! I'm itching for some action, they'd be great for practicing my punches and kicks!"
He changed the subject, his gaze sweeping across the deep, winding passage ahead, where countless puppets lay in ambush. He then looked at Ji Yin and Qing Yi, and said in a deep voice:
"However, let's get this straight. I'll take care of clearing out the puppets and breaking through the obstacles! But later on, when we encounter those annoying, winding array formations and restrictions, or places that require delicate breaking of restrictions, I'll have to trouble you two to put in the extra effort! I can't do all the dirty and hard work myself, can I?"
He was making his intentions clear: a division of labor. He would handle the tough challenges, but when faced with problems requiring skill and technique, the two old guys, Ji Yin and Qing Yi, who were skilled in formations, restrictions, and spells, would have to step in.
The Old Ancestor of Extreme Yin and the Hermit of Qingyi exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes. Although the bearded man seemed muddle-headed, he was not stupid at all when it mattered.
However, this division of labor is reasonable and reflects their respective strengths. After all, if they encountered complex restrictions, sending a brute like the Bearded Man to force his way through might trigger even more troublesome consequences.
"Brother Man is absolutely right, that's how it should be." Ancestor Jiyin nodded in agreement.
"We should divide the work and cooperate, each giving full play to our strengths." Master Qingyi smiled and nodded.
"Hahaha, good! Let's continue on!" The bearded man was in high spirits when he saw the two agree. He waved his hand, took big strides, and continued to walk along the passage, rumbling deeper into the depths.
He was physically strong, with blood and energy like a dragon, and his movements carried an imposing aura, as if a ferocious humanoid beast was surveying its territory.
The Yin Ancestor and Qingyi Hermit quickly followed, the three of them forming a triangular formation, wary of possible puppet attacks from ahead.
After the three Nascent Soul elders had walked some distance and refocused their attention on the potential dangers ahead, Luo Ming, who was lagging behind, suddenly had a barely perceptible glint in his eyes.
He paused slightly, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over the pile of wolf-headed puppet fragments on the ground.
Among a pile of dark blue metal fragments and armor remnants, there was a strange crystal about the size of a pigeon egg, entirely emerald green, crystal clear, and seemingly with subtle shimmering light flowing inside.
"I doubt many people in the human realm would know the uses of these things anymore. It's good to keep them safe for now, and maybe we'll have a chance to trade them for something with someone who knows about them later."
Luo Ming strolled over calmly, as if merely glancing at it. In the instant he bent down, his robe sleeve flicked slightly, and the emerald crystal silently fell into his palm, then was stored in his storage bag. The movements were fluid and natural, utterly devoid of any affectation.
"Huh? Kid, what is that green stone you picked up? I've roamed the human realm for thousands of years and seen countless rare and precious materials and minerals, but I've never seen a crystal like this before?" In my mind's eye, the voice of the Heavenly Mirror Hermit, filled with doubt and curiosity, rang out.
With his limited knowledge, he couldn't even recognize the origin of this emerald green crystal, clearly indicating that it was no ordinary object.
Luo Ming chuckled inwardly and replied telepathically, "This junior doesn't know exactly what this thing is either. However, judging from its location, it should be something like the puppet's energy core or control center. For an ancient cultivator to use it in such an exquisite puppet, it must have something unique about it. Whatever it is, I'll put it away for now and study it slowly later."
He paused, then tentatively asked, "By the way, senior. You were very knowledgeable back then, have you ever heard of the ancient puppetry technique? It is said that this art was once very powerful in ancient times, capable of creating powerful and intelligent combat puppets, even comparable to high-level cultivators."
"Ancient puppetry?" Tianjing Sanren's voice carried a hint of reminiscence and disdain. "Back then, I was focused on studying the Dao of weapon crafting and my own cultivation techniques, pursuing the ultimate power of magical treasures and my own supernatural abilities. I didn't delve much into this unorthodox puppetry, only having heard of it briefly."
It is said that this method is indeed profound, and at its peak, it can create terrifying puppets comparable to Nascent Soul cultivators. However, its refining process is extremely complex, consuming a massive amount of rare and precious materials, and requiring extremely high skill from the refiner. It is difficult to achieve without the full support of a major sect.
Moreover, puppets are ultimately external objects, with many limitations, far less reliable than one's own cultivation. Therefore, I did not devote much effort to this path back then.
His words clearly implied a lack of interest in puppetry, a "heretical" art, believing it to be poor value for money and that it was better to focus on weapon crafting and personal cultivation.
Luo Ming wasn't disappointed. It was normal that Tianjing Sanren didn't know, given that his main focus was different.
Just as Luo Ming and Tianjing Sanren were secretly exchanging words, Xuan Gu and Wu Chou, who were standing nearby, saw Luo Ming bending down to "pick up scraps." Xuan Gu's gaze was deep and unreadable. Wu Chou, on the other hand, made no attempt to hide his contempt and disdain, and chuckled softly, as if mocking Luo Ming for being so naive as to pick up even puppet fragments.
However, Han Li's reaction was completely different!
He had been secretly observing everything around him, paying particular attention to the shattered puppet remains that had been destroyed by the bearded man. When he saw Luo Ming seemingly taking something from the remains, a glint flashed in his eyes, and he immediately made up his mind.
He was already quite interested in the art of puppetry, and had even crafted and controlled puppets himself. In addition, he had a small green bottle that could accelerate the growth of a large amount of spirit wood for crafting puppets, so he knew the value of puppetry techniques to him.
These puppet parts, especially the core components, might be priceless to him, containing puppet-making concepts and rune techniques that he has never encountered before!
Without further hesitation, he quietly transmitted his voice to Luo Ming, his tone tinged with urgency and curiosity: "Brother Luo, is that emerald crystal you just picked up the puppet's core? Do you know its specific function?"