A puppet?
Xu Yi’s mind trembled. She turned her head to look at Zhang Tianbao in astonishment, never expecting that the Zhang family ancestor had already mastered the puppet technique she most wished to comprehend.
Thinking of the puppet in the secret realm, which showed no flaws in its appearance, Xu Yi immediately believed this statement and developed strong curiosity and good feelings towards the Zhang family ancestor whom she had never met.
This Zhang family ancestor was truly a pure artifact cultivator, even conceiving the idea of using a puppet to deceive the heavens and avoid unnecessary entanglements.
“Puppet?”
Not just Yu Datong, all the cultivators present were stunned.
Ancestor Zhuang Jia’s Dao companion was not a real person, but an inanimate puppet?
How could this be possible?
“Impossible! Zhang Tianbao, do you take me for a three-year-old child to believe your ridiculous claims?” Yu Datong sneered.
“Impossible? What is impossible about it? Patriarch Yu has seen too little, which is why you have such a reaction.”
Although Zhang Tianbao’s target was Yu Datong, he knew that others would also have doubts about his statement.
He suddenly turned around and knelt at the entrance of Qiwuzhai, kowtowing three times towards the plaque of Qiwuzhai. “Ancestor above, today my ancestor’s reputation has been slandered, and I, as a junior, have no choice but to request the ancestor’s appearance. I hope the ancestor will forgive me.”
Bang bang bang!
Three dull thuds, as if striking Yu Datong’s heart.
Yu Datong shook his head, thinking in his heart that this could not be true.
Then he saw Zhang Tianbao take out a coffin from his storage bag.
Yu Datong stood frozen as if struck by lightning.
Seeing the coffin, Xu Yi’s eyes lit up, and she wished she could directly probe it with her divine sense. But thinking that the coffin likely contained the Zhang family ancestor, she hastily suppressed her thoughts and repeatedly confessed her guilt.
“Zhang Tianbao, who are you trying to scare by bringing out a coffin!” Yu Datong’s intimidation was laced with fear, and anyone could hear his lack of confidence.
Zhang Tianbao did not reply, but instead, under everyone’s watchful eyes, he lifted the coffin lid.
“Ah!”
Amidst a chorus of exclamations, a man with ordinary features revealed his true form in the coffin.
Zhang Tianbao then turned to Yu Datong. “Open your damn eyes and look carefully. This is my ancestor’s puppet, the so-called Dao companion you mentioned.”
“A puppet? This is a puppet?”
“This puppet is too lifelike!”
“Indeed, the Zhang family ancestor actually mastered such profound puppet techniques. It’s truly hard to believe!”
“…”
Before Yu Datong could reply, the surrounding crowd erupted.
Puppet techniques were not uncommon on the Jiuzhou Continent. However, most puppets had dull expressions and stiff bodies, making their flaws easily discernible.
But this puppet, at first glance, appeared no different from a real person, even showing distinct eyelashes and fine lines on the face.
Everyone knew that the Zhang family had produced a formidable artifact refining master in the past, but no one had ever heard that this artifact refining master also crafted puppets.
Therefore, even with the puppet placed before them, it was difficult for them to believe.
“You must be wondering why this has never been heard of before. Shamefully, because the refining method for this puppet is mastered only by my ancestor, no one else.
My ancestor, with foresight, feared that this puppet technique would bring disaster, so he kept it a secret, never mentioning it to outsiders. Thus, no one knows.”
Zhang Tianbao spoke with a hint of shame. The talent of his lineage in artifact refining was truly lacking. Even with his ancestor’s meticulous guidance, they could not learn even a tenth of it.
Zhang Tianbao’s explanation was logical and well-founded, and the cultivators present nodded in agreement.
“So, it’s a puppet just because you say it is? I say it’s a corpse you’ve moved from somewhere to impersonate your ancestor!”
Yu Datong was now devoid of reason, latching onto any loophole to desperately refute, as if this would prove his claims true.
“The old saying goes that one won’t shed tears without seeing the coffin. I didn’t expect you to remain unconvinced even after seeing it.”
Zhang Tianbao sighed lightly and, under everyone’s gaze, stepped forward, gently grabbed the arm of the man in the coffin, and then twisted it to the right.
“Click!”
The arm detached with a snap.
Zhang Tianbao held the severed arm and displayed the broken end to everyone. The clean, horizontal fracture and the intricate metal structure were immediately revealed.
No further explanation was needed; seeing was believing.
“Ah!”
Someone gasped a meaningless exclamation.
Following this, a multitude of meaningful glances instantly converged on Yu Datong.
Zhang Tianbao’s puppet had proven his words to be true. Consequently, everything Yu Datong had said earlier was false.
The Yu family’s conduct was truly despicable.
The impression that the crowd had only recently regained was now utterly ruined and plummeted to the bottom.
Even the Yu family members lowered their heads in shame, their eyes faintly revealing resentment towards their patriarch.
Yu Datong was now completely panicked.
How could he have imagined that the Zhang family ancestor was an emotionless monster, preferring to have a puppet act as his Dao companion rather than accept the overtures from his ancestor?
“I… this…”
He stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence, and in the end, simply gave up, turning his head aside in silence.
“Patriarch Yu, you must apologize to my ancestor for your words!”
Zhang Tianbao carefully reattached the arm to the puppet’s body, put away the coffin, and looked intently at Yu Datong.
“Dream on!”
Apologize?
He, Yu Datong, had never apologized to anyone in his life.
Want him to apologize? Ask him again in the next life!
“You!”
Zhang Tianbao was so angered by Yu Datong’s attitude that he almost ground his teeth to dust.
Yu Datong, as the head of a family, was shamelessly egregious.
Zhang Tianbao seemed to understand why his ancestor had preferred to live a lonely life rather than have any dealings with the Yu family.
The Yu family’s moral compass was askew; they were rotten to the core.
“Apologize to the Zhang family ancestor!”
Xu Yi’s words earned a grateful glance from Zhang Tianbao.
Facing Xu Yi, Yu Datong did not adopt the same forceful attitude as he did towards Zhang Tianbao. However, he still did not apologize, remaining silent, seemingly determined not to yield.
“Hmph!”
A burst of disdain erupted from the crowd, expressing their dissatisfaction with Yu Datong’s stubborn defiance.
Yu Datong feigned deafness, thinking that since the Yu family’s reputation was already ruined, there was no need for him to humble himself further.
Zhang Tianbao felt both stifled and helpless.
Since Yu Datong refused to apologize, he couldn’t resort to forceful means to coerce him like the other party; wouldn’t that make him like Yu Datong?
However, thinking of Yu Datong’s abusive remarks, Zhang Tianbao felt it was too lenient to let him off so easily, leaving him in a dilemma.
Xu Yi noticed Zhang Tianbao’s mood and gave him a slight smile, gesturing for him to calm down.
“Patriarch Yu, if I told you that a single apology from you could bring your ancestor back to life, would you offer it?”
“What?”
Yu Datong suddenly looked at Xu Yi, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.
Resurrection?
This was impossible!