Wild Dogs

Zhou Peng nodded repeatedly, naturally daring not to disobey Yang Fan's orders.

Yang Fan then released several more puppets.

"With your divine sense, you can probably control several puppets, so don't just sit idle."

"Have these puppets scout out the surrounding area more thoroughly, and try to make the protective array as large as possible to completely cover this area."

"I don't want anyone else to interfere with my practice here."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Peng nodded repeatedly, indicating that he would absolutely obey the arrangements.

"Master, you can rest assured that with me here, not a single bird will be able to fly in."

Zhou Peng expressed his loyalty to Yang Fan.

If Zhou Peng initially submitted to Yang Fan somewhat reluctantly, he is now clearly much more sincere.

He could sense that his master was growing stronger and stronger, and that he was poised to soar to great heights.

"Alright, then you'd better keep watch over the surroundings."

"By the way, we must be careful to grow the spirit rice properly, and we must never let its fragrance leak out."

"Also, if any cultivators approach this place, find a way to lure them away. Under no circumstances should they be allowed to discover the secrets of this place."

Yang Fan gave Zhou Peng earnest instructions, and Zhou Peng nodded repeatedly.

He then obediently left the cave. After Zhou Peng left, Yang Fan laid everything out in front of him and took a deep breath.

Breaking through to the Core Formation Realm is far more troublesome than breaking through to the Foundation Establishment or Qi Refining Realm. Not only does it consume far more resources, but it is also much more difficult to achieve.

Fortunately, Yang Fan had enough things to use.

Taking a deep breath, Yang Fan clenched his fist. Now that he had enough resources and equipment, he would try to cultivate to a higher level in one go.

I'll make plans after I reach the mid-stage of Core Formation.

And so, Yang Fan clenched his fists and continued his secluded cultivation.

Spring goes and autumn comes, flowers bloom and wither, clouds roll and unroll, and time flies by.

That day, Zhou Peng was tending to his cave dwelling as usual. He patiently tended to the spirit field and then gathered some medicinal herbs from the nearby area.

Ever since Yang Fan discovered the abundance of medicinal herbs in the vicinity a few years ago, Zhou Peng has had to take care of the spirit field, clean up the surrounding area, and occasionally go to distant or nearby places to collect herbs.

The purpose of gathering herbs was twofold: firstly, to gather more cultivation resources for Yang Fan, and secondly, to prevent others from approaching this place by following the trail of herbs gathered.

Fortunately, nothing major has happened during this period.

That day, Zhou Peng had just finished collecting medicinal herbs as usual, and was about to leave when a sound suddenly came from afar.

not good.

Zhou Peng hurriedly looked up, and then he saw several figures flying over from a distance.

He immediately held his breath and huddled in the ravine, trying his best not to be discovered by the people on the other side.

While concealing himself, he cautiously peeked out to see which cultivators were there.

After a short while, his pupils suddenly contracted. Among the newcomers were three late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators and two early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Peng's expression changed slightly.

Oh no, we must quickly notify the master and find a way to lure these people away, otherwise it will be troublesome if they discover the master's secluded cave.

Thinking of this, Zhou Peng immediately and carefully released a puppet.

Over the years, he has lured away all the monks who might have come near here in this way.

After the puppet was put down, it immediately made some noise on purpose.

"Who is it?"

The group was immediately drawn to the commotion created by the puppet, and then, under Zhou Peng's control, the puppet fled into the distance at an extremely fast speed.

"Hmph, where did this wretched creature come from? Leave it here!"

Although this puppet is extremely fast, its strength is only equivalent to the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Once they realized this, the group immediately gave chase to the puppet.

Seeing this, Zhou Peng breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Once these people are lured away, and the puppets are allowed to circle around the area a few times, we can get rid of them.

Under normal circumstances, these puppets are naturally not as fast as cultivators.

However, a few years ago, Yang Fan emerged from seclusion and subsequently modified the puppet.

From then on, the puppet's speed became incredibly fast. Not to mention these ordinary late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, even if Zhou Peng himself wanted to catch up with the puppet to compete in speed, it would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Thinking of this, Zhou Peng couldn't help but smile.

The master is truly remarkable; in just a few years, he has mastered the Heavenly Secret Puppet Technique to such a profound degree.

Seeing that the group had been lured away enough, Zhou Peng clapped his hands and prepared to turn and leave.

Just as he was about to leave, a gentle voice came from above.

"Oh, so you're here. It seems you were the one controlling that puppet."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Peng felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

He couldn't help but tremble. He never expected that someone would get so close without him noticing.

He knew all too well what this meant.

He swallowed hard, raised his head shakily, and then discovered that a middle-aged man was standing in mid-air at some unknown time.

The middle-aged man was refined and elegant, and he kept looking him over.

Upon seeing the man clearly, Zhou Peng's pupils constricted, and he knelt down with a thud.

"This humble one greets Your Excellency."

As he spoke, he kowtowed repeatedly.

The middle-aged man in mid-air was actually a cultivator in the early stage of Core Formation.

After glancing at Zhou Peng, the middle-aged man raised his hand slightly, and Zhou Peng found that he could no longer kneel down. He was directly lifted up by this force.

"Alright, stop kneeling. I have something to ask you. Just answer honestly, and I won't kill you."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Peng broke out in a cold sweat; it seemed this person had discovered something.

Zhou Peng dared not play any tricks and hurriedly bowed to the other party repeatedly.

"Please speak, sir. What do you need to ask me? I will answer to the best of my knowledge."

Upon hearing this, the man smiled and nodded.

"Alright, then tell me, where exactly did you possess this puppet from?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Peng was struck dumb.

It was obvious that the middle-aged man could tell at a glance that the body he was currently inhabiting was not his own.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Peng wanted to argue, but he hesitated for a long time.

"What do you mean by that, senior? This is my original physical body."

Before he could finish speaking, a tremendous force descended from the sky, pressing Zhou Peng down firmly.

"You're really dishonest. Why don't you just tell the truth? Why do you have to lie to me? Tell me where you got this body from? And why are you here?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Peng swallowed hard.

He quickly raised his head.

"My lord, I was fighting with someone before, and my physical body was shattered. My consciousness barely escaped, but later, because I couldn't find a suitable target to possess, I possessed a corpse."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I know you possessed the Corpse Demon. My question is, where did you obtain this Corpse Demon from? And who created it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Pengqian chuckled.

"This was obtained by the younger one from Dali."