Gou's Liver Experience in the World of Demons and Demons

Although the palace is small, it exudes an ancient and mysterious aura.

"receive!"

With a soft shout from Gu Sheng, the bronze palace erupted with a strange power fluctuation, and the black threads connecting the puppets snapped as if struck by lightning.

The old man's expression changed drastically.

"what?!"

The next moment, Gu Sheng and the six puppets disappeared from the spot, leaving only the old man in red robes roaring in shock and anger, which echoed within the restriction.

Inside the Divine Craftsmanship Labyrinth, six puppets remained motionless.

Gu Sheng let out a long sigh and looked around.

This is an ancient stone chamber, with complex and mysterious runes carved on the surrounding walls, and a bronze throne placed in the center.

The phantom of Yue Shengong floated out of Gu Sheng's sea of ​​consciousness and landed on the throne.

He examined the puppets closely, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

"Sure enough."

Yue Shenggong's voice was filled with anger.

"This is the 'Spirit Puppet Reincarnation Array,' originally created by my wife for mechanical puppets to give inanimate objects the ability to move. I never expected it would be used on a living person!"

Gu Sheng was startled upon hearing this.

"Does Senior mean that this formation shouldn't be used in this way?"

"Of course!"

Yue Shengong angrily slammed his hand on the armrest of the throne.

"Mechanical puppets have no soul; this array merely simulates the workings of life. But when used on a living person, it forcibly extracts their soul, leaving only the shell as a puppet! This is an evil practice!"

Gu Sheng walked up to a puppet and examined it carefully.

The puppet's skin was faintly covered with fine runes, and its eyes were empty and lifeless, yet it still retained the muscle memory from its previous life, and its martial arts skills were performed with fluid grace.

"Senior, is there any way to break this formation and rescue these people?"

Gu Sheng asked in a deep voice.

Yue Shenggong remained silent for a moment, then suddenly reached out and touched the bronze throne.

The entire Divine Craft Labyrinth immediately emitted the clicking sounds of machinery operating, the stone chamber began to twist and change, and the runes on the walls flowed and rearranged.

"This is."

Gu Sheng looked around in surprise at the changes.

"One of the true functions of the Divine Labyrinth is 'the return of all things to their source'."

Yue Shenggong explained.

"It can trace the original form of any formation or technique."

With a soft sound, an ancient book flew out from the suddenly appearing bookshelf and landed steadily in front of Gu Sheng. The cover was inscribed with the title "The Record of a Hundred Miraculous Strategies" in ancient script.

"This is my wife's manuscript from back then."

Yue Shenggong's voice was filled with nostalgia.

"It contains the original version of the 'Spirit Puppet Reincarnation Array' and the method to break it."

Gu Sheng's fingers gently traced the yellowed pages of the ancient book, his eyes filled with reminiscence.

In his previous life, he was an Immortal Emperor. Although he was not an expert in formations, the knowledge he accumulated over ten thousand years allowed him to have a broad understanding of all the myriad paths of the heavens.

Although this puppet formation is exquisite, it is still just a drop in the ocean.

"I see."

Gu Sheng smiled slightly, and with his fingertip he gently touched a spot on the page, a ray of golden light disappearing into the paper.

Inside the Divine Craftsmanship Maze, Yue Shengong's illusory figure fluctuated violently, his face, formed from the power of his soul, filled with shock and anticipation.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, have you really found a way to break this?"

Yue Shenggong's voice trembled, as if a drowning person had grasped at the last straw.

Gu Sheng closed the ancient book and looked up at the former master weapon refiner.

"Not only did I find a solution, but I also discovered some interesting things."

He paused.

"The puppet array used by that red-robed evil cultivator is seven parts similar to the 'Spirit Puppet Profound Technique' created by your wife back then."

"what?!"

Yue Shengong's illusory figure trembled violently, almost collapsing.

"Impossible, that was my wife's idea."

Gu Sheng gently shook his head.

"To be precise, it's a modified version. The core array patterns remain unchanged, but some unorthodox methods have been added to the outer perimeter to turn living people into puppets."

Yue Shenggong's soul fluctuations became extremely intense, causing the entire Shenggong Maze to tremble.

Gu Sheng could feel the overwhelming hatred and grief.

"Please help me, Fellow Daoist Gu!"

Yue Shenggong suddenly knelt down on the ground, his soul almost touching the ground.

"I'm willing to give anything to find the place where my wife died!"

Gu Sheng stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

"Since I promised to help you fulfill your wish that day, I will naturally keep my word. Once I capture that red-robed evil cultivator, I will hand him over to you for disposal."

Yue Shenggong raised his head, and tears seemed to glisten in his soul's eyes.

"I am deeply grateful! There is a 'Spirit Concentration Orchid' in the Divine Craft Labyrinth that can increase your spiritual power by 30%. Consider it a token of my gratitude!"

Even in his previous life, the Concentrated Orchid was a rare treasure; I never expected that Yue Shen Gong would possess such a precious item.

"In that case, I'll gladly accept it."

Gu Sheng nodded slightly, and with a thought, a spiritual herb, its entire body a deep blue with starlight emanating from its stamens, appeared in his hand.

The moment he obtained the spiritual herb, his spiritual energy surged within his sea of ​​consciousness.

Outside, the old man in the red robe was growing impatient.

"Young man! Stop playing tricks!"

The old man in the red robe roared, and with a flick of his sleeve, three black figures flew from afar and landed heavily outside the barrier.

Gu Sheng's figure reappeared at that moment.

He held the Spirit Orchid in his hand, and with a gentle inhale, the spiritual herb transformed into a wisp of blue light that entered his brow.

In an instant, his aura surged, and golden light flowed in his eyes, making him appear like a god descending to earth.

“Old man, your living puppet has been freed.”

Gu Sheng said indifferently, casually discarding the withered remnants of the spiritual herb.

"fart!"

The old man in the red robe laughed in anger.

"How could a junior like you possibly crack my puppets? Today I'll show you what true puppetry is all about!"

He formed hand seals, and three dark figures simultaneously stepped into the barrier. The barrier trembled violently, barely able to withstand the immense pressure.

Gu Sheng looked closely and saw that they were three humanoid puppets, each exuding the aura of the peak of the Earth Martial Realm, and one of them had even reached the half-step Heaven Martial Realm! Such a lineup would be enough to sweep across any region.

"In order to refine these three puppets, I spent a hundred years hunting down seventy-eight Earth Martial Realm cultivators!"

The old man in the red robe grinned maliciously.

"It's an honor for you to die at their hands!"

Gu Sheng simply shook his head slightly, his eyes filled with pity.

"It's pitiful and lamentable."

"court death!"

The old man in the red robe roared, and the three puppets sprang up simultaneously, rushing towards Gu Sheng in a triangular formation.

The speed was so fast that it almost tore through the air, emitting a piercing shriek.

Just as the puppet was about to touch Gu Sheng, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared at his fingertips.

"Congeal."

With this soft shout, Gu Sheng drew a mysterious trajectory in the air with his fingertips, and golden light condensed into a complex array pattern, which floated in mid-air.

The old man in the red robe suddenly narrowed his eyes.

"Forming an array in mid-air?! Impossible!"

Gu Sheng ignored him, tapped his finger three times, and three golden light array patterns instantly formed. With a flick of his finger, they precisely entered the back of the heads of the three puppets.

"what!"

The old man in the red robe suddenly clutched his head and cried out in pain, black blood seeping from his seven orifices.

He was horrified to discover that his mental connection with the puppet had been forcibly severed!
"What...what did you do to my baby?!"

The old man in the red robe roared.

Gu Sheng sneered, and three thin golden threads flew from his fingertips, entering the puppet's body.

"I'm just teaching you what real puppetry is."

"Break the formation!"

At Gu Sheng's command, the three puppets suddenly turned around and rushed towards the barrier at an even faster speed than before.

"No!"

The old man in the red robe tried to stop it, but it was too late.

"boom!"

Upon the first impact, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the barrier.

"Boom!"

The second impact shattered the entire barrier, turning it into countless points of light that vanished into nothingness.

Gu Sheng stood with his hands behind his back, three puppets standing behind him. He looked at the ashen-faced old man in red robes with a mocking expression.

"The puppets you created are indeed very useful."

"Impossible! This is impossible!"

The old man in the red robe staggered backward, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"How could you possibly possess my unique 'Blood Soul Puppet Control Technique'?"

"Original?"

Gu Sheng scoffed.

"Having lived for hundreds of years, you've certainly cultivated a thick skin. Plagiarizing other people's formations, making slight modifications, and then daring to call it original?"

The old man in the red robe suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

He staggered backward, his withered fingers trembling as he pointed at Gu Sheng.

"You...you actually managed to break my Three Talents Soul-Locking Array?"

Gu Sheng stood with his hands behind his back.

"You dare to show off your mere little formation in front of me?"

He raised his right hand slightly, and three dark figures instantly emerged from behind the old man. They were the three living puppets, now standing neatly behind Gu Sheng.

"No!"

The old man's eyes were bloodshot.

"My puppet!"

He frantically tried to activate the spiritual imprint in his mind, but it was like throwing a mud ox into the sea—there was no response.

"Don't waste your efforts."

Gu Sheng sneered.

"Your spiritual imprint has been erased by me; now they only obey my commands."

He snapped his fingers, and the three puppets looked up at the same time, their empty eye sockets glowing with an eerie red light.

The old man's face was deathly pale, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

"You little beast, do you know who I am? How dare you steal my puppet! I'll make you wish you were dead!"

"Oh?"

Gu Sheng raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't he just an old good-for-nothing hiding behind puppets and pretending to be a god? Without these puppets, you're not even worth a dog."

"you!"

The old man trembled with rage, then suddenly let out a sinister laugh.

"Fine, very well! Since you're courting death, I'll let you taste what it's like to have your soul torn apart!"

Before he finished speaking, a chilling spiritual force shot out from between the old man's eyebrows, heading straight for Gu Sheng's sea of ​​consciousness.

This is his trump card—Soul Strangulation. He has used this move to kill countless martial artists' souls and then refine them into living puppets.

Gu Sheng remained unmoved, a mocking smile even playing on his lips.

"That's it?"

The old man's pupils constricted sharply. He felt as if his spiritual power had crashed into an invisible wall, unable to advance an inch, and instead being pushed back by an even stronger force.

"How can it be?!"

The old man screamed in terror.

"How can your soul be so powerful, when you are only a Xuanwu Realm martial artist?!"

Gu Sheng's eyes held a world-weariness beyond his years.

"Because I'm different from low-grade goods like you."

He made a grasping motion with his right hand, and the old man's spiritual power was instantly crushed.

"Using the strangulation of the souls of the weak to create puppets, even evil cultivators would find you shameful."

The old man was struck as if by lightning; his mind was violently shaken, and blood seeped from all seven orifices.

He then realized he had kicked a hornet's nest and turned to run away.

"Take it."

Gu Sheng said softly.

The puppet, at the half-step Heavenly Martial Realm, vanished instantly and reappeared behind the old man. Its iron-like hand gripped the old man's neck and lifted him up.

"let me go!"

The old man struggled, only to find that he couldn't even mobilize his spiritual power.

"what did you do to me?"

Gu Sheng walked slowly closer.

"It's just to let your spiritual power be quiet for a while."

He stared into the old man's terrified eyes.

"Now, I'll ask, you answer. If you satisfy me, I'll give you a quick death. Otherwise..."

"I'll show you what it means to wish you were dead."

The old man tried to remain calm.

"Youngster, do you know who's behind me? If you kill me..."

"Noisy."

Gu Sheng interrupted impatiently, a beam of silver light shooting out from between his brows and directly entering the old man's forehead.

"what--!"

The old man let out a heart-wrenching scream and curled up into a ball.

His consciousness was brutally invaded by Gu Sheng's soul power, his soul was torn into pieces and then pieced back together, this pain far exceeded physical torture.

"Stop! Stop! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

The old man wept uncontrollably, his arrogance completely gone.

Gu Sheng withdrew some of his soul power and said coldly.

"Is Gu Ningshuang dead or alive?"

"She's alive! She's still alive!"

The old man hurriedly said.

"She has a natural sword physique and possesses the secret techniques inherited from the Great Wilderness Holy Academy. She is an excellent material for crafting living puppets. How could I kill her?"

The cold glint in Gu Sheng's eyes softened slightly.

"Where is the man?"

“There is a tall tower ruin a hundred miles to the south, and she was imprisoned there.”

The old man was panting.

"The Heavenly Martial Realm warrior who was with her was severely injured by my Soul Annihilation and is also imprisoned there."

Upon hearing that Gu Ningshuang was safe and sound, Gu Sheng's expression visibly relaxed.

Upon seeing this, the old man hurriedly begged for mercy.

"Young master, I was blind to your greatness. I am willing to offer all my treasures, I only ask..."

"No need."

Gu Sheng interrupted him, and a phantom image of an ancient bronze palace appeared in his palm.

"Your soul still has some use."

The old man's eyes widened suddenly when he saw the ancient bronze palace.

"This is...no! You are..."

Before he could finish speaking, the ancient bronze palace unleashed a suction force, pulling the old man inside completely, leaving only a shrill scream echoing in the air.

Gu Sheng put away the ancient hall and turned to look at the three living puppets.

After a moment's thought, three strands of soul power, as thin as hair, flew out from between his brows and entered the foreheads of the three puppets respectively.

"Well"

The three puppets groaned simultaneously, their empty eyes gradually regaining their clarity.

They looked around blankly, and finally their eyes fell on Gu Sheng.

"W-What is this place?"

One of the puppets, who appeared to be a middle-aged man, spoke in a hoarse voice.

Gu Sheng said calmly.

“You are dead, and now you are just remnants of souls turned into living puppets. I will use some of my soul power to temporarily revive you, but only for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.”

Upon hearing this, the three were first taken aback, then their faces showed sorrow. The middle-aged man smiled bitterly.

"I see. No wonder I couldn't feel my heartbeat."

Another puppet resembling a young woman suddenly knelt down.

"Thank you so much for restoring our senses, even if only for a moment, it's better than being completely out of it."

The last one was an elderly man with white hair. He carefully examined Gu Sheng and suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"Your Excellency is able to lift the restrictions on living puppets; could you perhaps be a senior member of the Myriad Spirits Palace?"

"The Palace of Ten Thousand Spirits?"

Gu Sheng frowned slightly; the name gave him a strange sense of familiarity.

Gu Sheng frowned slightly, his fingertips gently stroking the jade talisman hanging on his chest.

The jade talisman was entirely emerald green, with intricate patterns carved on it, and it gleamed with a warm luster in the sunlight.

Qin Lie's words from three months ago in Dark Cloud City still echoed in my ears. (End of Chapter)