A sudden female voice startled everyone.
Feng Ninghe rarely showed signs of panic; anything that could fluster her must be serious.
Although they didn't know what had happened, they trusted Feng Ninghe and bolted.
Bai Niannian ran without a word, but a large hand gently patted her shoulder at that moment.
A sinister voice slowly echoed from behind: "Heh heh... where... where are you going?"
The unfamiliar voice instilled fear. Bai Niannian stood frozen, her entire body stiffening.
She stiffly turned her head to look behind her.
A terrifying face loomed before her. A massive human puppet, baring its teeth, with glowing red eyes, stared intently at Bai Niannian.
This human puppet was slightly larger than ordinary ones.
Moreover, it was a human puppet that could speak and had gained sentience.
"Ah!"
Caught off guard, Bai Niannian screamed.
Feng Ninghe, who had just escaped the cave, now held a Xuan Yue Bow in her hand.
Seeing that the human puppet had caught up to Bai Niannian, she unhesitatingly drew the Xuan Yue Bow and shot fiercely at the puppet.
The human puppet tilted its head, its ferocious face appearing somewhat dull. It raised its palm and directly swatted the incoming arrow to the ground.
Bai Niannian fled without a second thought.
Her speed was fast, but nowhere near that of the human puppet.
The human puppet stomped its foot, and a powerful surge of spiritual energy emanated from its body.
"This... a peak Nascent Soul stage human puppet!"
Su Hongxiu gasped, her face solemn. She raised her bone fan and swung it towards the human puppet.
A peak Nascent Soul stage human puppet was far beyond the capabilities of cultivators of the same cultivation level.
Even if the few of them could destroy this puppet by working together, they would have to pay a considerable price. The trial was not over yet, and they needed to conserve their strength to last until the end.
Fighting this human puppet was an unwise choice.
Feng Linyuan was not idle; he quickly drew a dagger and threw it at the human puppet.
"Heh heh... heh..."
The human puppet let out a sinister sound, easily blocking their attacks.
A figure also swiftly entered the cave at this moment.
Feng Xing grabbed Bai Niannian and pulled her away without a word.
Feng Ninghe's delicate eyebrows furrowed, and she quickly called out, "Axing, crush the jade slip and deploy the shield!"
Upon receiving the order, Feng Xing did not delay and quickly crushed a jade slip.
A shield firmly protected him and Bai Niannian, also blocking the human puppet.
Bang bang!
The human puppet's eyes widened in anger, and it furiously slammed its massive body against the shield.
The shield was incredibly sturdy, showing no signs of cracking no matter how the human puppet rammed it.
Bai Niannian also breathed a sigh of relief at this moment, quickly patting her chest. Fine beads of sweat had unknowingly formed on her forehead.
She stared at the human puppet before her with lingering fear: "This human puppet's cultivation is so powerful, and it can even speak. If we hadn't deployed the shield, even if we escaped, the puppet would have caught up quickly."
Once caught by the human puppet, an intense battle would be unavoidable.
The shield trapping the human puppet allowed them a moment of respite.
"Heh heh!"
The human puppet let out a long cry, as if calling for something, its sharp red eyes filled with rage.
Feng Ninghe's delicate eyebrows knitted as she sensed something amiss. She quickly said, "It's trying to summon more human puppets. Since there are no human puppets around now, let's escape this place as quickly as possible!"
Human puppets that had gained sentience were particularly dangerous.
Survival was the most important thing!
The group no longer hesitated and quickly left the area.
The shield could trap the human puppet for half an incense stick's time, enough for them to escape, but reaching a safe place would not be easy.
"Help! Is anyone willing to help me!"
"There are too many human puppets here. We only have one jade slip left. If we use the last one, we probably won't be able to last until the end of the trial!"
"But if we don't use the jade slip, we'll just exhaust our spiritual energy and might not even last an hour..."
From not far away, faint sounds could be heard.
Xiao Zhao, with his keen senses, heard the conversation immediately. He pointed forward and said, "Master, there seems to be some movement ahead. Shall we go and see?"
Feng Ninghe nodded gently.
She had also heard the sounds.
Soon, they saw the scene ahead.
Over a hundred human puppets were chasing a team of five, surrounding them.
These individuals were all injured to varying degrees. The woman leading them had blood trickling from her lips. She was fiddling with a jade slip in her slender hand, seemingly hesitating.
She glanced at those beside her.
Her companions were all severely injured and couldn't hold on much longer.
The woman bit her lip decisively: "The situation is critical. We can't afford to hesitate. Let's use the jade slip first. We'll catch our breath, recover some spiritual energy, and then figure out how to deal with these human puppets!"
Behind a lush jungle.
Several figures were crawling in the shadows.
Su Hongxiu was using a handkerchief to gently wipe her bone fan.
After wiping, he disdainfully tossed the handkerchief to the ground and turned to Feng Ninghe: "Are you going to save them?"
Facing the question, Feng Ninghe pondered for a moment before speaking: "If we help them, we can definitely save them. The most important thing in this jungle is to conserve energy and spiritual energy, but we also need the help of other teams."
They had tried their best to avoid human puppets on their journey.
Despite this, they still encountered fierce battles.
With just their group, they could not successfully pass the third trial. If they could get help from other cultivators, their chances of success would increase.
"Master, but the rule of the third trial is that only five people can travel together."
Bai Niannian's beautiful face showed a hint of hesitation: "Even if we save them, they might not be able to help us much."
There were a hundred human puppets ahead.
No one wanted to face human puppets. While they could retreat safely by saving them, it would also consume a lot of energy.
Feng Ninghe smiled at this, her expression showing a touch of fearlessness: "Rules are dead, but people are alive. The third trial does stipulate that only five people can travel as a pair, but it doesn't say that teams cannot help each other."
They could help each other.
They would still travel in teams of five, not breaking the rules.
If they strictly followed the literal meaning, it would be impossible for just five people to safely pass through this jungle filled with human puppets.
Feng Linyuan nodded with a hint of approval: "With one more team helping, there's one more hope of passing."
Feng Xing's eyes lit up instantly: "Master, I understand what you mean. Let's make our move."
Not far away.
Several cultivators were fighting desperately.
Their speed was slowing down, and their injuries were increasing.
"Sister Nan, I can't hold on anymore! If we don't use the jade slip soon, we'll fail right now!"