Under One Person: The Puppet Immortal in the Tang Sect

He pried open a child's eyelids to examine the pupils, then pinched the child's bones and nodded.

"This batch of bone marrow is good, better than last month's."

The old man's voice was hoarse.

"Send it to the 'pharmacy,' soak it for three days, and then plant the Gu."

Two Miao people stepped forward and dragged the children into another passage inside the cave.

Wei Shufen clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.

Cui Ming pressed down on her shoulder and shook his head.

Now is not the time to take action.

He continued to observe.

The old man in the gray robe spoke with the leader of the Quanxing sect, mentioning that "the next batch of goods will arrive in seven days," "the psychology master from the north has arrived at the stronghold," and "the prisoner surnamed Li is stubborn, but he won't last long."

There were at least twenty people inside the cave, more than half of whom exuded an aura of strangeness.

A direct assault is not the best strategy, especially since the children are in their hands.

Cui Ming retracted the flying insect and said in a low voice.

"First, find out the structure of the stronghold and locate the places where the children and Li Muxuan are being held. Make your move at night."

Wei Shufen took a deep breath and nodded.

The two quietly retreated and disappeared into the misty mountains and forests.

As the sun began to set, the light in the mountains and forests gradually dimmed.

Cui Ming and Wei Shufen hid in a crevice in the cliff opposite the waterfall, where they had a wide view and could observe the movements at the cave entrance.

They took turns monitoring the area throughout the afternoon, recording the patterns of people entering and leaving the base.

There are four guards at the cave entrance, rotating shifts: two in the open and two in the shadows.

Every hour, a team of three people patrols the mountain along a fixed route.

The internal structure of the cave has been roughly clarified through the exploration by the flying insect golems.

The main hall is used for gatherings. The three side passages on the left lead to the "pharmacy", prison, and storage area, respectively, while the two side passages on the right lead to the living area and the cultivation room.

The "pharmacy" was actually where the children were imprisoned.

Inside the prison were several prisoners, one of whom resembled Li Muxuan but was in extremely poor condition.

Night falls.

Cui Ming took out the Earth Vein Mystic Armor from the Devouring Pouch and quickly put it on using the hidden threads. The chest armor, arm armor, and leg armor were fastened one by one, and finally the face armor was placed on top.

The Mysterious Armor was activated, and its patterns emitted a faint earthy yellow light.

As Cui Ming sensed the earth's energy, his body gradually merged with the mountain rocks.

"Miss Wei, please forgive me."

Cui Ming turned to Wei Shufen.

"The Earth Movement Technique cast by the Earth Vein Mystic Armor has a relatively small range of influence; we must be close to it to ensure that it completely covers both of us."

Without hesitation, Wei Shufen stepped forward.

Cui Ming put his left arm around her shoulder and back, and his right hand on her waist, protecting her against his chest.

Wei Shufen wrapped her arms around Cui Ming's neck, her body pressed against the armor, the Miao silver ornaments rubbing against the metal making a slight sound.

"Hold your breath and relax."

Cui Ming said in a low voice.

The Earth Vein Mystic Armor shone brightly as the two figures sank into the mountain rocks, like drops of water falling into the sea.

The rocks did not hinder them; instead, they became the medium for the flow.

Cui Ming activated the earth vein stone inside the Xuanji Armor with his true qi, mobilizing the earth's energy to completely cover him and Wei Shufen, allowing them to move freely underground.

Wei Shufen felt a chaotic earth element aura all around her, and her vision was completely black, but she could sense Cui Ming's steady heartbeat and the flow of true qi.

She concealed her aura and retracted all the Gu worms into her body to prevent them from being injured or killed.

The stealth lasted for about half a cup of tea's time.

Cui Ming adjusted his direction based on the direction of the earth's veins and the location in his memory, and finally stopped three zhang below the cave.

He moved upwards, and the rock layers gradually thinned.

Through the earth's veins, one could sense an empty stone chamber above, uninhabited.

The two slowly rose to the surface and emerged silently from the ground.

The stone chamber was filled with wooden crates and burlap sacks, and appeared to be a storage room.

There was an oil lamp in the corner, casting a dim light.

Cui Ming dispelled his ground-walking state, and the faint light of the Xuanji Armor receded.

Wei Shufen let go of her hand and landed firmly on her feet.

Cui Ming immediately released three spider puppets, which crawled out through the crack in the door.

Cui Ming also observed the outside world through the puppet.

Outside is a passageway with lampstands carved into the stone walls on both sides, the flames flickering.

The passageway was quiet and deserted, but a faint, sweet, fishy smell filled the air.

Wei Shufen took a palm-sized white jade toad from her basket and placed it on the ground.

The toad's abdomen rose and fell, its mouth open but silent, slowly inhaling the poisonous miasma and venomous insects within a three-zhang radius.

This is a secret Miao ethnic group technique called "Purifying Miasma Gu," which can purify the environment while masking the presence of living beings.

"Come with me."

Wei Shufen whispered, having already identified the types and distribution of the Gu worms in the air.

The two quietly left the storage room.

Wei Shufen led the way, her keen sense of Gu worms allowing her to avoid the Gu traps set by the Medicine Immortal Society.

Cui Ming followed closely behind, his feet wrapped in specially made soft padding, making no sound as he stepped on the ground.

Chapter 188 The Great Cleanup (4K)

The two continued walking until they reached a fork in the path, where Wei Shufen abruptly stopped.

She flicked a wisp of extremely fine powder from her fingertip, which drifted towards the left passage.

When the powder touched the air, it revealed almost invisible threads—the warning net laid by the "Spider Silk Gu".

"right."

Wei Shufen turned onto another road.

As the tunnel led deeper, the fishy, ​​sweet smell grew stronger.

Stone chambers appeared on both sides, some of which were filled with pottery jars, which made a rustling sound.

Some rooms had iron pots on the shelves, with purple liquid bubbling inside, emitting a pungent odor.

Wei Shufen's face turned ashen as she suppressed her anger.

A faint sound of water could be heard ahead.

The two approached the wall and saw a heavy wooden door slightly ajar, through which purple light shone.

Cui Ming peeked through the crack in the door.

Inside was a stone pool, about ten feet square, filled with a viscous purple liquid.

Nine children were submerged in the water, with only their heads above the surface.

Their eyes were closed and their faces were deathly pale.

Many black insect eggs floated in the liquid, some of which had already hatched into larvae that were crawling on the child's skin.

Two disciples of the Medicine Immortal Society stood by the pool, adding medicinal powder to it.

One of them said.

"This batch of materials is of good quality; after soaking for another two days, it will be ready to be used to plant the Gu."

Another person laughed.

"I heard that the master from the north has a new method that can make the Gu poison grow deeper and the 'Holy Child' he creates will be stronger."

"Stop dreaming and take good care of this batch first. The Grand Elder said that things are tense lately, and the Quanxing faction has lost several people."

The two were talking, completely unaware that someone was outside the door.

Cui Ming withdrew his gaze and gestured to Wei Shufen.

The two continued to explore further.

The prison area was located at the deepest part of the stronghold, and perhaps due to overconfidence in their own lair, the guards were quite sparse.

Wei Shufen broke through the three Gu formations, and the two arrived at a dark passageway.

On both sides were iron-barred cells, most of which were empty, but the innermost cell had faint breathing sounds coming from it.

Cui Ming walked to the front of the cell and glanced inside.

Inside the prison, a figure slumped on a pile of straw in a corner.

By the dim light of the oil lamp at the end of the passageway, one could see that the person's limbs were severed at the shoulder and hip, the wounds covered with dark plaster, and a dark shadow could be vaguely seen wriggling under the plaster.

The figure's face was swollen, and he did indeed resemble Li Muxuan by seven points. His original arrogant eyebrows and eyes had disappeared.

His body was covered with old and new wounds, some of which were festering and oozing pus.

The strangest thing is that, despite being so severely injured, this person is still alive.

His chest rose and fell slightly, and his breath, though weak, continued through his mouth and nose.