Mortal: Reborn in Yellow Maple Valley, Awakening the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts

Chu Zifei, hidden in the shadows, felt a slight stirring in his heart.

He never expected that upon returning from his trip, he would stumble upon such a spectacle.

He knew perfectly well that this was the beginning of Han Li's opportunity to obtain the Great Evolution Technique.

Outside the cave's grand formation, the disciples of the Thousand Bamboo Sect shouted to no avail. Seeing that the area within the barrier remained silent and unresponsive, they became furious.

At the leader's command, the densely packed puppets started moving again, launching a new round of bombardment against the cave's array.

The attacks from outside the formation continued relentlessly, sparks flew everywhere, and the noise was deafening.

Inside the formation, Han Li sat motionless, his heart as firm as a rock, completely oblivious to the earth-shattering changes happening outside.

Chu Zifei hid in a secluded spot, his gaze sweeping over the various puppets charging across the battlefield, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

The Thousand Bamboo Puppet School truly lived up to its reputation.

Inscribed within are magic arrays, driven by soul cores. These puppets are insensitive, painless, and unafraid of death, and can be controlled at will solely through divine sense. Once unleashed in a massive human wave tactic, they are enough to sweep aside cultivators of the same level.

Just as he was secretly marveling at the unpredictable manipulation of the Thousand Bamboo Cult's puppets, the attack in front suddenly stopped.

Chu Zifei, the leader of the Thousand Bamboo Sect, suddenly spoke:

Just as he was secretly marveling at this, the leader of the Thousand Bamboo Sect suddenly stopped his attack and said without turning his head:

"You cowardly rat hiding in the shadows, watching the spectacle for so long, still won't you show yourself?"

Chu Zifei's heart skipped a beat, filled with surprise and uncertainty.

He had already activated the technique of concealing his aura, hiding all his surroundings. He immediately steadied himself, remaining still, and tried to probe the truth of the matter.

Chu Zifei was filled with doubt and uncertainty, so he concealed himself and made no move.

"It seems you're determined not to show yourself."

As soon as he finished speaking, the puppet army that had been besieging Han Li's cave barrier instantly turned around and aimed at Chu Zifei's hiding place.

Left with no other choice, Chu Zifei had to remove his concealment technique, step out, and face the group of Thousand Bamboo Sect cultivators.

  

He looked up and saw that the leader was tall and strong, with a head of short, yellowish-brown hair that stood out.

A flash of inspiration struck Chu Zifei, and he quickly searched his memories from his past life, instantly recognizing the person as Huang Long, the Dharma King Protector of the Thousand Bamboo Sect!

Huang Long's gaze was icy as he scanned the unfamiliar cultivator before him, and he spoke indifferently:

"This person's arrival outside the cave at this time must mean he's connected to those inside the formation. Capture him alive to force those inside to activate the formation!"

At his command, a large group of puppets instantly mobilized and converged on Chu Zifei.

"Wait a minute!"

Chu Zifei's shout suddenly rang out.

Huang Long raised his hand and pressed down, instantly halting the puppet army's encirclement.

Chu Zifei remained calm and spoke frankly: "I am now trapped with no way to escape. Before I was captured, I only asked for an explanation: how exactly did you see through my method of concealing my aura?"

He was filled with confusion.

Although the concealment cloak he wore was not a top-tier magic weapon, its ability to hide was not riddled with flaws. Just now, the opponent had been attacking the formation with all their might, their mind focused entirely on the barrier. Logically speaking, there should have been no way they could have detected him hiding in the shadows.

Upon hearing this, Huang Long raised his hand and pointed to the dense canopy of a large tree not far away, his expression filled with sarcasm.

Chu Zifei looked in that direction and saw a Foundation Establishment level flying puppet hidden among the branches and leaves, staring motionlessly at the spot where he had just been hiding.

"I see."

Chu Zifei gave a wry smile. The Concealing Cloak could conceal his spiritual energy and the aura of a cultivator, but it ultimately could not hide his presence. From the moment he stepped into this area, he had been locked onto by the reconnaissance puppet hidden in the treetops, leaving him nowhere to hide.

However, Chu Zifei was unwilling to sit and wait for death. He instantly focused his mind and energy, ready to fight back. But Huang Long seemed to have anticipated this. With a wave of his hand, hundreds of humanoid puppets stepped forward in unison, instantly forming an encirclement.

These humanoid puppets are not very strong, most of them are only at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining, but their numbers are huge, there are as many as a hundred of them, and each of them is holding a weapon.

Faced with the crisis, Chu Zifei's expression became solemn, and he acted with increasing caution.

A flash of light appeared at his fingertips, and the Mo Yuan Heavy Blade was summoned from mid-air, hovering to protect the opening behind him. The force under his feet burst forth, and his figure suddenly rushed forward.

With immense force in both fists, he charged into the encirclement of puppets!

With his powerful physique honed by the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, Chu Zifei's fists were fierce and powerful; each punch could shatter a puppet.

As his body crisscrossed, he smashed several approaching puppets one after another with the force of his physical collisions alone.

The puppet that was lurking behind him was cleaved into countless pieces by the Mo Yuan Heavy Blade, which he controlled with a sliver of his mind.

While the battle raged outside, those inside the cave remained indifferent. He was currently focused on interrogating his senior brother Lin's remaining primordial spirit, his mind highly concentrated, and he had no time to pay attention to the outside world.

On the battlefield, oversights are often fatal.

Just as Chu Zifei was sweeping through the puppets head-on, a humanoid puppet wielding a long sword seized an opening and launched a surprise attack, its blade slashing straight at his back!

The longsword struck the protective shield of the close-fitting spirit silk robe, but failed to cause any damage.

Chu Zifei remained motionless, his body suddenly trembled, and a tremendous force exploded, shattering the attacking puppet into pieces.

But the endless stream of fearless puppets and their relentless attacks filled him with dread.

Chu Zifei no longer held back, and with one hand he made a hand seal to activate his magic weapon, causing the Mo Yuan Heavy Blade, which was suspended in mid-air, to suddenly expand several times in size.

He exerted force with both arms, firmly gripped the hilt, gritted his teeth, and forcefully lifted the battle sword, which was far larger than his own body.

The next moment, the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts were activated at full power!

His veins bulged all over his body, and the veins in his arms stood out, unleashing an explosive force!

The incredibly heavy Mo Yuan sword was actually swung around in a wide arc by him!

Centered on Chu Zifei, the sword energy swept across the land, his figure transforming into a whirlwind, sweeping in all directions!

In just a few breaths, the puppet army that had surrounded them was mostly cleaved in two by the fierce blade, leaving behind only fragments of puppet remains scattered all over the ground.

Chu Zifei landed heavily, plunging the tip of his knife into the ground.

The giant sword stood upright on the ground, its height far exceeding his own stature. He breathed slightly, raised his eyes to gaze at the Thousand Bamboo Sect members not far away, and spoke in a steady tone:

"You think you can win me over so easily?"

Huang Long looked at the humanoid puppet, which was more than half destroyed, without the slightest surprise on his face.

These low-level puppets were originally cannon fodder he deliberately sent out, their only purpose being to deplete the opponent's spiritual power. Now that his goal has been achieved.

He slowly raised his hand, and the six disciples of the Thousand Bamboo Sect behind him formed hand seals in unison, each summoning a beast-shaped puppet at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Huang Long himself summoned three beast-shaped puppets in one go. One of them, a giant tiger puppet, was five or six zhang tall and had the strength of the late Foundation Establishment stage!

Chu Zifei felt a sudden tightness in his chest, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

Even if his physical body was incredibly strong, there was absolutely no way he could withstand the repeated attacks of nine Foundation Establishment puppets.

Huang Long lightly touched the ground with his toes, leaping into the air and landing steadily on the giant tiger puppet's head, looking down with disdain:

"Now that things have come to this, are you still going to resist? Just surrender obediently!"

escape!

This was the only thought in Chu Zifei's mind at that moment.

We must get out of here immediately and get away from this place of trouble!