The sequence is too involutional, luckily I am too.

Chapter 97 The Essence of Puppetry, Entrance to the Secret Realm

"So weak————"

Lu Yan frowned slightly. He had fought Sequence 6 opponents before, but this was the first time he had seen one this weak.

Not only could it not harm him, it couldn't even break through the defenses of Nature's Protection.

Despite his doubts, Lu Yan continued his actions, swinging his fists to charge forward.

The puppet messenger dodged repeatedly, his face filled with astonishment, clearly unable to accept what had just happened.

He, a messenger of the monstrous god comparable to a Sequence 6, failed in his attempt to parasitize a Sequence 7 superhuman.

It's not that it can't parasitize, but rather that the moment it touches Lu Yan, it is briefly dragged into some mysterious space, and when it returns, it has already been hit by Lu Yan.

Is it some kind of strange object? Or some sequence he's never heard of before?

The puppet messenger's mind raced. Seeing Lu Yan attack again, it didn't retreat but advanced, taking the initiative to meet him.

In fact, his gaze toward Lu Yan was somewhat fiery.

Being able to easily deal with the siege of so many believers and even discover his disguise, if it could be made into a doll, it would definitely be a treasure!

Lu Yan felt a chill run down his spine when he was stared at like that.

"Is this guy a pervert?"

Suddenly, Lu Yan's strength increased by three points, and the natural protective spirit of the soldier appeared, attaching itself to Lu Yan's body and smashing towards the puppet messenger.

But just as he was about to touch the puppet messenger, the puppet messenger suddenly twisted and transformed into a worm with a pointed head, nimbly dodging Lu Yan's right fist and heading straight for his chest.

This is the ability that a puppeteer can only master after becoming an emissary: ​​Parasitism. When he transforms into a parasitic form, all of his physical attributes will be weakened, but in return, he gains the indestructible armor-piercing ability of the pointed horns on his head.

Once he penetrates someone's body, he can quickly take control of their physical body and mind, turning them into his puppet.

He had used this ability to parasitize multiple Sequence 6 superhumans before, and he didn't believe that Lu Yan, a Sequence 7, could withstand it.

However, Lu Yan also sensed the danger. He lightly stepped forward and his figure suddenly disappeared into the darkness, directly avoiding the puppet messenger's surprise attack.

Just as he was about to disappear, the puppet cultist's horns suddenly lengthened and pierced Lu Yan's chest.

Lu Yan was about to activate the Beast King Transformation for defense without hesitation, but found that the puppet messenger had disappeared into thin air for a moment.

When it reappears, most of the impact force has been dissipated, and it poses no threat whatsoever.

The Dream Shepherd has captured an abandoned dream and is very curious.

"The Dream World—is it the Emerald Dream?"

Lu Yan suddenly realized that this was the ability he gained after being enchanted by the Heart of Nature.

However, he had never been able to trigger it since he obtained it, and gradually forgot about it.

He never expected that it would be triggered here, and twice in a row.

"This luck is unbelievable."

Lu Yan clicked his tongue in amazement, then casually grabbed the worm-like body of the puppet messenger and squeezed it hard.

Unlike the indestructible sharp corners, the puppet messenger's worm-like body was incredibly fragile, and was crushed into dust.

[Executioner Promotion Requirement 1: Proficiency in ten execution techniques (3/10)]

[Executor Promotion Condition Three: Successfully execute a Sequence 6 Extraordinary! (Completed)]

Lu Yan stared silently at the worm corpse in his hand.

So, does strangling someone to death count as an execution?

The next instant, countless threads gushed out from the worm's body and began to entangle Lu Yan.

The puppet has sensed your presence; it covets your perfect body and soul!

He decided to descend in person and make you his refuge on Earth.

Before the black subtitles could finish flashing, they were covered by new subtitles.

[The will of a strange god has been detected; in the process of being recovered and purified.]

[Recycling successful, obtained Puppet Essence*1]

[Puppet Essence: Can be used on artifacts to activate or enhance their spirituality (limited to gem-grade and below)]

"Hmm—should I thank nature for its gifts?"

Lu Yan grinned. Recently, the efficiency of this panel in recovering the power of the Ghost God has been getting higher and higher.

However, this time the reward for recycling seems to be different; it is no longer the power of the evil god, but essence.

[Essence: Three portions of the power of the Demon God can be fused into one essence.]

Lu Yan suddenly realized, and then began to ponder who should use this essence.

Unlike Shadow Serpent and Death, the Puppet Essence is used not on sequences, but on wonders.

But this gives him a lot more options.

Dawnbreaker Spear, Moonshadow Dagger, Three Swords in the Sword Box, Emberfire Bow, and Nature's Protection.

Upon careful calculation, he possessed as many as eight rare silver artifacts.

"One serving of the essence isn't quite enough."

Lu Yan sighed helplessly, and after a moment's thought, he decided to use the essence on the Protection of Nature.

Nature's Protection is his only defensive artifact, so strengthening his defense is never a bad idea.

But the main reason is still the Jade Dream.

He wanted to see if the birth of the Nature's Guardian, after it gained spirituality, would create more connections with the Emerald Dream.

[The Guardian of Nature has absorbed the essence of the puppet and is now giving birth to spirituality.]

[The Grandmaster of Weapons seems to have gained some insight, summoning the protective spirit of nature and merging it with his spirituality (72 hours)]

On the panel, a countdown appeared after the Protection of Nature, indicating that the fusion would be successful in three days.

Lu Yan wasn't in a hurry; in fact, he was somewhat looking forward to it.

If it takes this long to complete, the results probably won't be bad.

Lu Yan looked around and saw that the puppet messenger's sharp horn was still on the ground, so he immediately picked it up.

[The alchemist sensed a strong extraordinary quality in it and suggested that the host give it to him to analyze and attempt to make it into a potion.]

The Master of Weapons had a different opinion, believing that this material was more suitable for crafting weapons.

Lu Yan frowned slightly. The Alchemist Doctor could improve his attributes by making potions, while the Master of Weapons could forge weapons to increase his combat power.

Both are useful to him, since he doesn't have a situation where his weapons are of too low a rank and would be wasted.

But the problem is, he wants both!

[Dr. Alchemy sensed the host's needs and, after discussing with Master of Weapons, decided to take only a small amount of materials for research, using the remainder to forge weapons.]

[Dr. Alchemist's potion is under development —]

[Master of Weapons Weapon Forging in Progress ——————]

Two progress bars appeared before his eyes, and the sharp corner disappeared as a result.

Seeing this, Lu Yan stopped paying attention to the panel, retrieved the Dawnbreaker Spear and the Seven Emotions Ghost, and called Yao Qing to walk out of the mechanical fortress.

The scattered remains of dolls along the way added to the eeriness of the surrounding desolation.

"Lu Yan, where are we going now?"

Yao Qing clung tightly to Lu Yan's clothes and asked.

"Go outside and take a look; maybe we can find some clues."

Xiao Yiren and her two companions disappeared without a trace, while the followers of the Ghost God ran directly into the mechanical fortress.

These two things together seem very problematic no matter how you look at it.

Following his memory, Lu Yan found the exit and slowly landed.

Because of the Traveler's Fortress, much of the surrounding gray fog was dispelled, but it also exposed the puppet believers hidden within.

However, these puppet followers all looked pained, clutching their heads and wailing on the ground.

Even if it was only passively triggered, the mental impact brought by the military strategist was something that these low-level believers could not withstand.

Apart from that, he couldn't find anything else unusual.

"Could it really just be bad luck, running into a follower of a cult?"

Lu Yan clicked his tongue in amazement. Yu Zheng's mouth was truly terrifying; he could encounter such a thing before he could even finish speaking.

Unfortunately, the followers of the Ghost God need to be branded with a soul mark; otherwise, if Yu Zheng were sent as an undercover agent, they would all be wiped out in no time.

Adhering to the principle of not wasting anything, Lu Yan summoned three flying swords and killed all the puppet believers.

[Executioner Promotion Condition Two: Execute ten Sequence 7 Extraordinary Individuals (3/10) using different methods]

Just then, a subtitle popped up in front of Lu Yan's eyes.

The executioner detected a lingering scent of evil and decided to give chase.

"Are there still some who escaped the net?"

Lu Yan raised an eyebrow and immediately decided to give chase.

Yao Qing didn't hesitate and followed Lu Yan.

From the moment the cultists of the Devil appeared at the mechanical fortress, it was no longer safe.

It would be better to turn stillness into movement and take the initiative.

The two of them rushed into the gray fog one after the other and quickly disappeared.

After Lu Yan left, a man whose entire body was tightly wrapped in a cloak suddenly poked his head out from the ground.

Upon seeing the corpses scattered on the ground, the man's pupils constricted, and without hesitation, he once again vanished into the earth.

"We must tell Young Master Chu what happened here as soon as possible!"

Lu Yan and his companion sped along, soon penetrating deep into the gray fog, where the executioner's prompts became increasingly frequent.

Before long, the two found a destroyed temporary stronghold.

Lu Yan quickly glanced around and said, "It looks like there was just a battle here, and it was probably Xiao Yiren and her group who were behind it."

Although there was some chaos, the air was still filled with the strong scent of the sun; who else could it be but Xiao Yiren?

"Have they discovered something?"

He didn't think Xiao Yiren would be so foolish as to be lured away from her post, leaving not a single person behind to go out and chase after these followers of the evil god.

The only possibility is that they discovered something.

It could be a person, or it could be an object, but its value was definitely enough to warrant all three of them being mobilized at the same time.

"Lu Yan, come and see this!"

At this moment, Yao Qing suddenly found something and shouted loudly.

Lu Yan walked quickly over, only to find Yao Qing walking towards him with a map in her hand.

"I've seen this mark on the map before; it's the coordinates for the entrance to the secret realm!"

"A secret realm?"

Lu Yan's eyes lit up. If it was a secret realm, then that made sense.

Just then, the subtitles popped up in front of him again.

The executioners pursued the criminal relentlessly until they finally located him.

Suddenly, Lu Yan's five senses connected with the executioner, and his vision switched accordingly.

What appeared before him was a large number of puppet followers, all of whom were on high alert and ready to fight at any moment.

In the center of them stood a dilapidated stone gate.

"Found it!"

Lu Yan's eyes lit up. After sensing the location and comparing it with the map, he immediately grabbed Yao Qing and ran there quickly.

A wild, hidden paradise; there must be lots of good stuff inside.

For example, the Primal Potion?

Or perhaps—the original card!