Lord of the Desert

Chapter 518 Sand Puppet
March 26th, afternoon.

Shenjing Imperial Workshop.

The Podocarpus macrophyllus stands tall and proud in the courtyard.

"I was truly surprised when I heard the news of your duel!"

Han Anlan stepped across the gravel path in wooden clogs.

"Yi She, that spoiled brat from a prominent family, can't do anything but fight over girls and practice martial arts according to the rules. He's so stupid that he even issues you a challenge. Why bother arguing with him?"

He spoke with a hint of anger and pulled at his long beard.

"In any case, it's a life-or-death sparring match, and I originally just wanted to use it to relax."

Hong Fan replied casually.

"It's just a small matter, yet it has made Lord Han worry about me."

"The arena has been set up on the rooftop, and this is considered a small-scale fight?"

Han Anlan laughed upon hearing this.

"There's no point in wasting time with this. Rumors are circulating that you've fused with the blood essence of a dragon's offspring. How's the quality of that bloodline? Are you adapting well?"

Dragon offspring blood essence is extremely precious, but there are many first- and second-class noble families in the world, and even more "individual households" with noble lineages but ruined reputations. As long as a high price is offered, it is not difficult to purchase it.

"Everything went smoothly, and my true energy has nearly doubled."

Hong Fan answered casually.

"This is top-tier talent; even a typical aristocratic family might not produce one like this in a generation!"

Han Anlan was extremely surprised.

"How much would that cost?"

"Please forgive me, Lord Han, but I cannot reveal the source and cost of the dragon's blood."

Hong Fan smiled wryly.

"That's natural, it's just that I asked too many questions."

Han Anlan waved his hand.

Selling blood is shameful, stealing blood is a crime, but the high concentration of dragon blood will inevitably be exposed sooner or later, so Hong Fan has been looking for an opportunity to release the risk in advance.

Just as Yi She challenged him to a duel, he took the opportunity to make the announcement publicly in order to divert attention as much as possible.

The two entered the Heavenly Path Hall.

This is the official residence of the resident magic master in Beijing. The roof is made of a single piece of glass, which is quite valuable. The golden beams shining through illuminate the table in the hall.

On the square table, a glass bottle the size of a thumb rests on a wooden box adorned with red brocade.

"The stuff is right here. After three long nights, I've finally accomplished my mission."

Han Anlan walked to the table and sighed contentedly.

Hong Fan quickened his pace, his gaze fixed on the man.

Inside the bottle, the Wuxiangling had transformed from a granular material into a liquid, refracting seven colors from the white light and occasionally swirling clockwise and counterclockwise vortices.

It was as if it were a living thing that was dead but not stiff.

"I am deeply grateful for Lord Han's kindness!"

Hong Fan looked at it for a long time, but did not reach out to touch it. Instead, he turned around and bowed deeply.

"Why this?"

Han Anlan quickly came to help.

"Your achievements over the years surpass those of any of the current masters of divination. Compared to that, what is this little thing? Sigh, Hong Fan, if you are truly grateful, then spend more time on divination. I'll beg you!"

He said it in a joking tone, and when Hong Fan nodded solemnly, he smiled even more.

"Alright, this item is easy to use once it recognizes its owner; since you're here, just use it on the spot."

Han Anlan casually picked up the bottle and handed it to him.

How do I do it?

Hong Fan carefully took it, feeling the coolness of the glass and a sense of turbulence within the bottle.

"It's very simple. Just cut a wound on your body and drip these unclaimed thoughts into it."

Han Anlan said.

"According to those who have tried it before, there will be a strong feeling of foreign object being incorporated, and it will be completely integrated in six or seven days."

Hong Fan felt a chill for some reason upon hearing this.

While it's difficult to reconcile this small bottle of clear liquid with the purple colossus of planetary size in my memory, there's no doubt that these thoughts are a small part of what the gods left behind across time.

[This evokes a sense of déjà vu, reminiscent of European nobles in a past life using mummy powder as an aphrodisiac.]

Hong Fan used his fingernail to cut a one-inch gash on his arm, from which Wu Xiang Ling dripped.

My first impression was that it was icy cold.

The transparent liquid quickly penetrated the body, passing through the epidermis and muscles in turn. It paused for a moment as if lost, and then suddenly flowed upwards against gravity.

A moment later, the thoughtless spirit reached his head, causing Hong Fan's vision to blur and become slightly disoriented.

But unlike the previous description, the feeling of a foreign object disappeared immediately.

"How does it feel?"

Han Anlan asked.

"I feel like my mind is clearer now."

Hong Fan replied.

In his inner vision, he saw a string of transparent ice meteor rings floating and swirling in the deep black void beside the Dragon Soul Tree, moving with his thoughts.

Imagine a few calculation problems, and the answer flows out in an instant.

“My sense of self is still very clear. Wu Xiang Ling is more like a highly complex logic calculator that can solve problems on its own.” Hong Fan’s lips curled up slightly as he reveled in this novel feeling.

"Can you activate them now?"

Han Anlan was very surprised.

"Perhaps it's because I am a Star Lord. The power of the Destiny Star was originally separated from the Thousand-Eyed Demon God and comes from the same source as the Spirit of No Thought."

Hong Fan guessed.

As he spoke, he retrieved simple combat scenarios from his memory, and Ming Wuxiang provided a solution.

Since the logic, knowledge, and experience required to design these solutions all came from Hong Fan himself, Wu Xiangling's answer was exactly the same as Hong Fan's previous response; however, as the problem gradually became more complex, the solution became more and more fragmented and seemed inadequate.

"The capacity of this small group of thoughtless spirits is limited, and the commands they execute cannot be too complex."

Han Anlan saw Hong Fan frown and guessed what was going on.

"However, this situation can be improved. In a specific scenario, you can increase the mechanical nature of some conditions to free up the degree of freedom in other conditions."

"I see."

Hong Fan took a deep breath and realized the same thing.

With the Spirit of No Thought, many killing techniques that he had previously sought but could not obtain could now be realized, which made him excited and unable to calm down. He quickly bid farewell to Han Anlan and went straight back to his residence.

An hour later, south of the capital city.

Hong Fan stood in the small training ground that had been converted from a garden, watching the sand flow in the distance, which shaped a golden warrior who was ten feet tall.

With slight adjustments to its appearance, it gradually became similar in design to the Desert Armor; it was a full-body helmet, except that there were no eyes inside the eye slits.

Standing at the base of the wall more than ten meters away, Shen Hong watched his lord confront his own armor and couldn't help but rub his eyes.

"Sand puppet, come and fight me."

Hong Fan weighed the straight sword in his right hand and gave the order.

Without hesitation, Sha Kui rushed forward in two steps and unleashed a thunderous right punch.

As the fist reached his face, Hong Fan crouched low and slid forward, his bayonet cutting through the air, piercing the enemy's abdomen a foot deep amidst the sharp sound of steel scraping against gravel.

The sand puppet did not react and swung its left arm horizontally downwards.

Hong Fan abandoned his sword, spun around to his back, and thrust forward like a spearhead into the crook of the sand puppet's knee, activating the non-bull fluid's self-locking effect.

This technique was first developed by Tang Xingqing and later adopted by Feng Tianqing. It has now become a widely circulated "strategy against the Desert Armor" among the prodigies.

The joint rotation was interrupted, and the sand puppet's movements abruptly stopped.

Seeing this, Hong Fan seized the opportunity to get close. Just as he was about to make a move, the sand puppet's large arm swung back at an impossible angle. He hastily blocked the attack but was instead injured in the forearm.

"You've forgotten that you're just a boneless, fleshless shell of sand."

He was initially shocked, then overjoyed, and finally used all his strength, but each wound he sustained was healed with each breath.

After several tens of seconds, the sand puppet's recovery and mobility finally declined, and after exhausting its true essence, it scattered into sand.

"Shen Hong, how is it?"

Hong Fan clenched his wrist, which was slightly sore from the vibration, and asked.

"Young Master, perhaps I am short-sighted, but I think this sand golem is unharmed and dead, and is far more powerful than an ordinary innate master!"

Shen Hong's eyes still held disbelief.

"If it were a normal innate expert of two or three rounds, our Crimson Cavalry would have a great chance of winning after forming a formation. But if we were to face something like this, it seems we would have no choice but to run away."

"I feel the same way."

Hong Fan nodded.

"The sand golem's strength and speed are about 70% of my full strength, which is still equivalent to the average level of a martial artist of the same realm; in addition, it is not afraid of being injured, so its threat level is even higher. The only problem is that its true essence consumption is much greater than that of the Desert Sand Armor."

He actually had a disgusted expression on his face.

"I've lived in the Sand World for so many years, and I've always been the one wearing the sand armor. Now I know what it feels like to fight someone else..."

"Young Master, so you really aren't controlling this guy remotely?"

Shen Hong couldn't help but ask.

"I saw that it not only made feigned attacks, but also revealed weaknesses to lure the enemy."

"That is the power of the thoughtless spirit."

Hong Fan replied.

"Its decision-making thinking is naturally consistent with mine, but its rational analysis ability is weak and it cannot handle overly complex situations."

As he spoke, he mobilized the thoughtless spirit that had been regenerated on the spiritual platform, and shaped it into a sand puppet a second time.

After exchanging blows for several rounds, Hong Fan suddenly broke away from the battle, instantly calming his rapidly circulating true energy.

On the other side, the sand golem moved a few steps due to inertia, and then stood still in a daze.

"this?"

Shen Hong couldn't understand it.

"It has a sense of touch, can perceive the vibrations of airflow and sound, and can track the flow of innate spiritual energy, but it has no vision in the general sense."

Hong Fan spoke up.

"Come again."

Upon hearing his voice, the sand golem suddenly locked on and accelerated.

Just then, a voice called from the doorway.

"Master, Master..."

Peach Blossom appeared at the courtyard gate.

"Young Master, Young Master Qu from Tianpeng Mountain has arrived!"

(End of this chapter)