Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 416 A Puppet Descends from the Sky

Upon learning that the major demon clans had temporarily ceased their activities, and at least were not openly or secretly targeting the Mirage Clan, Lu Zheng felt somewhat relieved.

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "In that case, I'm not needed here anymore. I need to continue my travels. See you later."

Lu Zheng bid farewell to Shen Yu directly.

Upon hearing this, Shenyu said, "Then I'll see you off."

Lu Zheng waved his hand and said, "There's no need for that. With the spirit boat, I can go anywhere easily now."

Lu Zheng left with Qing Wan, and after a little disguise, no one recognized them.

The two also visited other demon cities and noticed some changes compared to before.

After some inquiries, it turned out that some large clans were also imitating the Mirage Clan and implementing some new rules in their own territories in order to win over their clansmen.

Qingwan clicked her tongue in amazement and said, "I didn't expect them to learn to change. I wonder how long this will last."

Although these places did not change as much as the mirage tribe, they were at least somewhat affected.

Lu Zheng said in a low voice, "Even if it's just for a while, it's still good."

Perhaps some powerful demons haven't had a change of heart, but they're willing to put on a show, which is better than before.

The two strolled around the island for a while before quietly leaving Star Island.

Lu Zheng took out the flying boat placed in the spirit shell and headed west.

The airship skimmed the surface of the water, moving as fast as a shooting star, yet without creating any ripples.

They traveled for thousands of miles until sunset, when Lu Zheng and his companion finally stopped to rest on a small island.

The surrounding waters were shrouded in mist, carrying a hint of the spirit of water.

Lu Zheng and Qing Wan each sat on the beach cultivating, one practicing spells and the other reading ancient books.

Suddenly, Lu Zheng sensed something, raised his head slightly, and saw a silver-white streak of light descending from the sky, heading straight for him.

Lu Zheng led Qing Wan into the small world, then stared at the figure in the sky.

Within that stream of light was a strangely shaped figure, over ten feet tall, with four arms, its surface radiating a silvery-white luster.

"puppet?"

Lu Zheng discovered that the other party did not seem to be a living thing at all, but a mechanical puppet.

He had seen similar puppets in the Yunmeng Sect. They were high-level magical artifacts, mostly offensive, and purely combat machines.

Battle puppets are quite complicated to make, so they have always been very expensive, and people with insufficient wealth simply cannot afford such magical artifacts.

Seeing the puppet hurtling towards him like a falling meteor, Lu Zheng dodged it.

The puppet also changed direction in mid-air, without losing much speed.

The next instant, the puppet crashed to the ground, creating a huge crater and sending dust flying.

Lu Zheng stood a few feet away from the edge of the pit.

If he hadn't been fast enough, he would have been smashed solid by the puppet.

Soon, a silver-white figure rushed out from the bottom of the pit and headed straight for Lu Zheng.

Each of the tall puppet's four arms was fixed with a sharp spirit sword.

The four swords were drawn simultaneously, their light dazzling, and they carried a sharp, fierce sword aura.

Lu Zheng quickly took out Zhang Liang's hammer and smashed it hard at the charging puppet.

A hammer strike, accompanied by sparks and lightning, hits the approaching puppet.

Lu Zheng felt as if he had crashed into an impenetrable wall, with a piercing sound.

This attack did not repel the puppet; instead, it caused the puppet to unleash its swordsmanship and slash at Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng's eyelids twitched. The sturdiness of this puppet was probably not made of fifth-grade materials, but was far stronger than the physique of a fifth-realm cultivator.

Even a monster like Ao Han wouldn't dare to take that attack head-on.

Moreover, Lu Zheng discovered that the puppet contained pure spiritual energy, which enabled it to operate rapidly, rather than demonic energy supporting its movements.

His righteous spirit had no effect on restraining him.

I wonder whose puppet this is... Lu Zheng's mind was racing, and he had already exchanged several blows with the puppet.

He had previously visited some cities on Star Island. Although he had intentionally concealed his appearance, it was still possible to tell if he was a powerful demon.

Lu Zheng used himself as bait, and some fish actually took the bait.

However, the other party did not show their face at all, but only used such a puppet, which made them seem very cautious.

The puppet wielded four sharp longswords, and its swordplay was quite fluid and varied, even exuding a sword aura.

Most sword cultivators probably couldn't achieve this level.

In just a short time, Lu Zheng discovered that the puppet's combat strength was probably at the mid-stage of the fifth realm. In addition, the spiritual power it used was pure, and his own power could not restrain it, making it not easy to deal with.

To be able to produce such a high-quality puppet, the opponent must be close to being at least at the sixth level of the Profound Realm.

Was they testing his limits? Lu Zheng's mind raced as he considered one possibility.

Such caution is in line with the style of some old monsters.

Lu Zheng had a sudden thought, and a small mountain pressed down on the puppet.

The puppet did not dodge, or rather, the puppet was not good at dodging in this kind of battle, but focused on fighting.

Then the puppet was suppressed on the beach.

However, before it could be suppressed for even a breath, the puppet burst out of the sand and set its sights on Lu Zheng once again.

Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself that this kind of fighting machine was indeed sturdy and durable, and its suppressive power was not as obvious as when suppressing living things.

Such a puppet has almost no weaknesses, and its core is well protected and cannot be easily destroyed. To deal with such a puppet, if you can't crush it, you have to wear it down.

Once the puppet's spiritual energy is depleted and cannot be replenished, it becomes nothing more than a lump of scrap metal.

However, Lu Zheng didn't have time to fight a war of attrition; he still had to be constantly wary of those lurking in the shadows.

Thinking of this, Lu Zheng quickly reached out and took out a wooden box.

The wooden box unfolds, and a piece of writing quickly spreads out, containing poems and texts. Each character looks somewhat messy, twisted, and the font is strange.

This is a special literary treasure written by Lu Zheng, who added the power of thunder and also incorporated the power of the corresponding characters from the Hundred Character Classic.

The artifact he sold to Shenyu before was similar.

When Lu Zheng wrote this masterpiece, he also kept a few copies for himself, just in case.

Those words, like the marks of thunder, shone brightly.

The entire Zhang Wenbao suddenly transformed into a beam of lightning, striking the puppet directly.

The lightning beam was so fast that it was impossible to avoid.

In an instant, arcs of electricity crackled and popped across the puppet's body.

If this magical artifact were to strike a demon or ghost in the early stages of the Fifth Realm who specializes in Yin Sha evil energy, it could instantly kill them.

However, the puppet only trembled a few times before continuing to slash at Lu Zheng with its sword, the sword energy it unleashed even crackling with lightning.

They are not afraid of death, nor do they feel pain. Even when subjected to terrifying attacks, they can still fight on. This is the power of the combat puppet magic weapon.

Thunderous power is considered the most effective way to counter the attacks of these puppet machines.

However, Lu Zheng discovered that the puppet's attacks had not weakened and remained aggressive, suggesting that a lot of lightning-resistant materials had been added to the puppet's materials.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng took out another specially made document.

The text on the artifact was fiery red, swaying and fluttering like flames.

The next instant, Wenbao burst into flames.

The intensely hot flames instantly enveloped the puppet.

The puppet was engulfed in flames, and soon the longsword in its hand was heated red-hot, but its silver-white body did not change much.

A strange light flickered in Lu Zheng's eyes. As a thought arose, a water-like phenomenon flew out from the small world.

Water rushed forth and swiftly surged towards the puppet.

The puppet, which was originally engulfed in flames, encountered a continuous flow of water, and the two powerful, mutually repulsive forces collided.

In the blink of an eye, thick fog rose up, emitting a piercing steaming sound.

"Click..."

The longsword in the puppet's hand could not withstand the rapid change in temperature and began to crack.

Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow. In pursuit of sharpness and power, the craftsmanship of these four longswords must differ from that of the puppet itself.

The flames and water he unleashed were extraordinary; ordinary spiritual weapons could not withstand them.

Lu Zheng seized the opportunity and swung Zhang Liang's mace suddenly.

With a precise hammer blow, the four longswords finally shattered under the force, becoming broken swords.

However, the puppet itself remained unaffected, still wielding the broken sword and frantically attacking Lu Zheng.

Even a broken sword was wielded with considerable power by the puppet, forcing Lu Zheng to be cautious.

To be honest, Lu Zheng was somewhat impressed by the artificer who created this puppet, and wondered where it came from.

Two figures flickered across the island, leaving afterimages that traced traces of a fight.

While dealing with the puppets, Lu Zheng also observed the surrounding situation.

But no one made a move against him, which made him think that the other party was really good at keeping his composure.

The other party could wait, but Lu Zheng didn't want to drag this out.

He raised his hand forward, and a portal of literary energy appeared.

The puppet lost its balance and rushed directly into the small world.

At the same time, artifacts and strange phenomena appeared simultaneously, instantly suppressing the puppet and rendering it unable to fight.

Lu Zheng then used his divine sense to investigate the puppet's situation, but he couldn't find anyone's aura or leave any trace.

After a short while, the puppet's power was finally exhausted, and it stopped moving.

Lu Zheng checked again, but still found nothing.

Outside of his small world, Lu Zheng's main focus was on guarding his surroundings.

Unfortunately, there was nothing unusual in the sky or on the ground, so it seems the other party won't show themselves easily.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but speak, his voice melodious: "Even a thousand-mile journey must come to an end. You should go back now. I will accept such a generous gift as a fifth-tier puppet. When I visit Star Island again, I will definitely return the favor in person."

Just because he can't find any clues from the puppet now doesn't mean he won't be able to in the future.

Some people even tried to test his background, but unfortunately they underestimated him.

A fighting machine without independent consciousness, once it goes to the small world, it will still be under his control and pose no threat to him, making him use his trump card.

If a powerful expert in the mid-to-late stage of the Fifth Realm were sent over, he might not be able to do anything about it.

Lu Zheng stood there for a while and waited, but no one answered. He then took out the spirit boat and sank it underwater.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Zheng took out a treasure that concealed his aura, cutting off others from following him.

He had deliberately left some traces beforehand. If he really wanted to conceal his whereabouts, the treasures he possessed would be enough to prevent even a master of profound understanding from detecting his location.

(End of this chapter)