"Clack, clack."
Gongshu San stood up and clapped his hands. Immediately, several figures walked in from the back of the grand hall, including Gongshu Yi and Gongshu Er.
Among these people were some wearing scholar's robes, some in kasayas, and others in tattered clothing with messy hair.
Seeing several puppets with identical faces but different expressions, Xu Yi felt a chill run down her spine.
Fortunately, they bore her no ill will. Xu Yi stood obediently in place, awaiting the final outcome.
Gongshu Yi stepped forward, cupped his hands, and smiled, "Fellow Daoist Xu, congratulations."
Xu Yi returned the gesture, hesitating to speak.
"If Fellow Daoist Xu has something to say, please do not hesitate," Gongshu Yi said with a gentle attitude.
"Senior Gongshu, is Senior Artifact Demon truly going to pass the secret realm to me?"
"Naturally," Gongshu Yi laughed, pulling a rhombus-shaped crystal core from his sleeve and holding it out to Xu Yi. "Inject your spiritual sense into it, and from now on, you will be the master of this secret realm. You may take anything within the secret realm, including that artifact refining platform and those qi refining materials."
Xu Yi's eyes brightened, and a burning warmth spread from her heart to her limbs.
Her fingers moved slightly, about to take the crystal core, but her actions suddenly stopped. She looked sharply at Gongshu Yi, "Once the secret realm recognizes me as its master, what about you all..."
Xu Yi wondered if it was what she was thinking.
Gongshu Yi smiled slightly, "We have fulfilled our master's wishes, and it is only natural that we should follow our master."
Just as she feared.
Xu Yi's heart sank, and her arm felt as heavy as if it were weighing a thousand pounds, making it impossible to lift with ease.
Even though she had repeatedly told herself that the people before her were merely puppets, upon learning about the process of their creation, especially Gongshu San's life story, she simply could not treat them as soulless, unfeeling objects.
Once she took possession of the secret realm, the puppets before her would die.
She pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Senior Gongshu, the secret realm is currently useless to me. Perhaps..."
"Xu Yi."
"What?"
Gongshu Yi interrupted Xu Yi and revealed a smile of relief. "You do not need to consider us. We have long wished to depart, and have merely been enduring all these years. The secret realm recognizing its master will fulfill our final wish and allow us to be truly free."
Xu Yi was stunned and stiffly turned her head to look at Gongshu Er and the other puppets.
Gongshu Er and Gongshu San were both nodding at her, their expressions encouraging.
Xu Yi suddenly understood their thoughts.
As sentient beings, they had been trapped in the secret realm for a thousand years, unable to leave or escape, and had long grown weary of such a life.
Xu Yi's arrival was the key to unlocking the shackles that had bound them for a millennium, restoring their freedom.
Even if the ultimate outcome was dissipation into nothingness, unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation, their will would drift with the wind, unhindered.
"Fellow Daoist Xu, please help us return to the world!"
"Fellow Daoist Xu, please help us return to the world!"
"Fellow Daoist Xu, please help us return to the world!"
The voices surged towards Xu Yi like a tide. Under everyone's gaze, Xu Yi raised her hand and grasped the crystal core, imprinting her spiritual sense mark upon it.
Boom—
In an instant, countless fragments flooded into Xu Yi's sea of consciousness. In a daze, Xu Yi saw a middle-aged man in a red robe, unrestrained and uninhibited, standing before the artifact refining platform, laughing wildly.
And before her, puppets, one by one, fell silently. Wisps of spiritual light emerged from them and then dissipated into the air.
The puppets, having lost their sentience, were like rotten wood, devoid of their spirit.
Xu Yi could no longer pay attention to her surroundings. Her entire focus was on the man in her sea of consciousness.
"I am Gongshu Ao, the Artifact Demon! My artifact refining techniques are unprecedented. Watch carefully!"
Xu Yi watched as the man waved his hand, igniting the artifact refining platform, and then throwing all the refining materials into the flames, her soul trembling.
So this was how artifact refining could be done.
The Artifact Demon's demonstration opened up a new avenue of thought for Xu Yi.
She watched with such intensity, so absorbed, that she was unaware of the passage of time.
...
"Nephew Sect Leader, signs of demon activity have been discovered again in Dengcheng, south of Zhongzhou."
Elder Qingfeng strode into the Main Hall, his face, usually adorned with a hearty smile, now devoid of its usual ease and contentment.
Ji Buwang took the jade slip handed to him by Elder Qingfeng. After a scan of his spiritual sense, his eyes turned cold.
"This is the first discovery of demon traces since those in Angzhou, twenty years ago. Furthermore, the current actions of the perpetrators are more ostentatious, a clear provocation to the Xuanji Gate. Truly despicable!"
Elder Qingfeng sat down with a grim expression.
The demons' choice to operate in Yancheng, not far from the Xuanji Gate, was clearly meant to provoke them.
What was most infuriating was that when Xuanji Gate disciples discovered the situation and rushed over, the culprits had already vanished without a trace.
The Xuanji Gate disciples had no choice but to suppress their anger and remain in Yancheng to clean up the aftermath.
It was not out of absolute necessity that the five great sects were unwilling to publicize the news of the demons' potential return to the Nine Provinces Continent.
Because this would undoubtedly shatter the hard-won stability of the Nine Provinces Continent.
"Has the news of the demons' reappearance been conveyed to the four great sects?"
"The message has been sent. The four great sects must have received the news by now."
Upon hearing this, Ji Buwang's expression slightly softened.
The four great sects, upon receiving the news, would undoubtedly prepare their defenses. If the demons tried to repeat their tactics, they would face a joint strike from the five great sects.
"By the way, there is also something else..."
Elder Qingfeng's brow furrowed, a look of distress on his face.
Ji Buwang did not urge him on, merely looking at him calmly.
After a moment, Elder Qingfeng finally found the words. "Recently, a 'Holy Maiden Cult' has inexplicably appeared somewhere on the Nine Provinces Continent. Rumor has it that the Holy Maiden of this cult is a reincarnation of the Nine Heavens Profound Lady, possessing the power of heavenly lightning, and is vigorously recruiting followers.
It is said that this Holy Maiden Cult now has over ten thousand members."
"Holy Maiden Cult?"
Upon hearing the name of the cult, a cold glint flashed in Ji Buwang's eyes.
He did not like that name.
"What is the origin of that Holy Maiden?"
Nine Heavens Profound Lady? Utterly preposterous.
Elder Qingfeng's face immediately showed distress. He ran a hand through his hair, "This is where my greatest difficulty lies. Previously, I was focused on the demon issue and overlooked the Holy Maiden Cult.
When the cult's influence grew, and I sent people to investigate, we could find no clues whatsoever related to this Holy Maiden. It is truly bizarre."
"When strange things happen, there is always a reason. If even the Xuanji Gate cannot find any clues, the Holy Maiden Cult must have problems."
At this juncture, the sudden appearance of the Holy Maiden Cult made Ji Buwang suspicious.
"Dispatch some disciples to investigate the Holy Maiden's origins. Additionally, send a letter to the four great sects, informing them to participate in the investigation as well. We must not overlook the Holy Maiden Cult because of the demons."
"Very well, I will issue the order immediately."
Elder Qingfeng also disliked the Holy Maiden Cult. Now that he had the sect leader's command, he was about to go down to convey the order. He had only taken a few steps when he suddenly stopped and turned back to ask, "Is our Ancestor still in seclusion? It has been nearly thirty years since we received any news from her, which truly makes one worry."