novelapdf Chapter 274 Planning
Chapter 274 Planning
The Spirit Puppet Palace.
In the endless darkness, a corpse sat on the head seat, its magnificent attire clearly indicating that its owner had been a person of high status in life.
Below the steps, in the very center of the main hall, stands a long sword, most of its blade submerged in the jade floor, with only the hilt and a small section of the blade protruding.
Centered around this magic sword, more than twenty jade boxes of varying sizes and shapes were placed on the ground around it.
Just by looking at its patterns, you can tell that what's inside is quite unusual.
After an unknown amount of time, a ripple suddenly appeared in the center of the hall without warning. The spiritual light was extremely unstable and flickered a few times. Then, a figure staggered out of it and fell heavily to the ground.
The man in black appeared somewhat disheveled, and his aura fluctuated slightly, yet his cultivation had clearly reached the late Foundation Establishment stage.
After falling to the ground, the man in black quickly got up, looking around at his surroundings with a blank and astonished expression.
"I...I already crushed the teleportation token and was about to leave the ruins, right? Where...where am I?"
He clearly remembered that after a life-or-death struggle, feeling that he had gained enough and that his injuries were not minor, he decisively crushed the life-saving teleportation token he had obtained when entering the ruins.
Logically, he should have already been teleported out of the Spirit Puppet Sect ruins and appeared in a safe area outside by now.
However, he did not see anything from the outside world; instead, he found himself in an unknown grand hall.
The sudden turn of events filled my heart with immense panic.
Immediately, like a startled bird, it turned its head sharply, looked around, trying to figure out its situation and find a possible exit or threat.
Unfortunately, the main hall was extremely dimly lit. The only sources of light came from the faint glow left on the magnificent robes of the skeleton at the head of the hall, and from the firefly-like spiritual light on the surfaces of the jade boxes in the center.
This light provided only a very limited view, barely outlining the contours of the main hall and the blurry shapes of nearby objects.
After the black-clad man's bewildered gaze adjusted to the dim light, it finally landed on the skeleton in the seat of honor.
"Hmm!"
He glanced at it once, then immediately closed his eyes tightly. He stumbled back several steps uncontrollably, his face drained of color, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
There was no other reason than that, after just one glance at the skeleton, without even being able to see the details clearly, an indescribable immense pressure crashed down like an invisible mountain!
The oppressive aura was not released intentionally; rather, it was more like the immense cultivation that the skeleton itself retained from its lifetime after enduring countless years.
The oppressive aura indicated that this skeleton must have been a terrifying being at least at the Golden Core stage in life, possibly even at the late or peak Golden Core stage.
"A Golden Core cultivator?"
The man in black was filled with horrified shock; his initial panic was replaced by a deeper sense of astonishment.
A thought flashed through his mind like lightning: 'Could it be... I'm currently... in the Spirit Puppet Palace?!'
Based on the series of events of that year and the current scene, his identity immediately becomes clear.
Sect Master of the Spirit Puppet Sect!
Upon realizing the extraordinary nature of the skeleton, the man in black was momentarily stunned, but an overwhelming surge of joy instantly overwhelmed the shock and panic on his face.
If this is truly the Spirit Puppet Palace, if this is truly the place where the Spirit Puppet Sect Master passed away, then these jade boxes shimmering with spiritual light all around, and the magic sword stuck in the ground in the center...
Everything here is his lifelong treasure and legacy.
A miraculous escape from a desperate situation?
No, this is a blessing from heaven!
It was an unparalleled opportunity that could change his entire life's path and even lay the foundation for his Nascent Soul cultivation!
"The Spirit Puppet Transformation Box has chosen me as its successor..."
Ignoring everything else, he immediately rushed forward, took one of the jade boxes in his hand, and slowly opened it. His breathing became heavier, for inside lay the very thing that all those who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage had been dreaming of.
Golden Core Formation!
"Mine, all of it is mine!"
He laughed loudly and immediately prepared to put the jade boxes into his storage bag, but unexpectedly, he collapsed to the ground without warning and fainted.
Wisps of spiritual light slowly emerged from between his brows, gradually taking shape in mid-air, and it looked exactly like his soul!
The black-clad cultivator's soul showed pain on its face, and tried to open its mouth several times but could not speak. The next moment, it transformed into a torrent and actually surged into the mouth of the skeleton above.
After the last wisp of soul was absorbed, several puppets suddenly emerged from the endless darkness, dragging the black-clad cultivator's corpse and slowly disappearing into the side hall.
Inside that side hall, the black-clad cultivators were piled up like a small mountain, but upon closer inspection, they all seemed to be rogue cultivators, with very few disciples from sects or aristocratic families.
Or rather, sects and families specializing in Golden Core or Nascent Soul cultivation.
"Da da..."
After a while, another puppet emerged from the corner, stopped in the center of the hall, looked at the skeleton at the head of the table, and said, "Sect Master, everything is ready."
"Da da..."
After a while, another puppet emerged from the corner, stopped in the center of the hall, looked at the skeleton at the head of the table, and said, "Sect Master, everything is ready."
"Okay, thank you for your trouble, senior."
The skeleton remained motionless, but a majestic voice entered its ears, saying:
"Having consumed the souls of so many cultivators, my spiritual strength has recovered to that of the early Golden Core stage, barely enough to perform the possession technique. I was just waiting for those cultivators to enter the hall first, but alas..."
"It's a pity we can't devour the souls of cultivators from the Six Sects and other major powers on a large scale, otherwise the recovery wouldn't be so slow, right?"
"You're right, senior."
The skeleton said:
"Those little guys all have considerable skills, and they even have backup plans in their souls. Once they perish, the Golden Core cultivators outside will definitely notice. That's why I asked you to agree to those Golden Core cultivators' conditions: issue each cultivator a teleportation token. This way, we can avoid alerting them."
Since his fall, the soul of the Spirit Puppet Sect Master has remained intact for some unknown reason. After hundreds of years, it has become extremely weak. He can only open the ruins to attract cultivators from all sides, and recover his strength by devouring the souls of other cultivators, and then find a suitable body to possess and be reborn.
He ordered the Spirit Puppet Myriad Transformations Box to issue teleportation tokens, giving cultivators from all sides a glimmer of hope. They might not be able to teleport out, but that wasn't up to the cultivators to decide.
The only ones who didn't stop them were the cultivators from the six sects and those powerful forces, in order to prevent the Golden Core cultivators outside from discovering anything amiss.
Most of the rogue cultivators and those without backgrounds thought they had been teleported out of the ruins, unaware that they had already become someone else's prey.
Of course, some lucky rogue cultivators will still be released.
The puppet simply said, "Since that's the case, have you chosen your target for possession?"
"Through observation, we've already identified a candidate. It's a pity they can't be cultivators from the six sects, otherwise they'll be detected as soon as they go out..."
The skeleton said:
"However, the rogue cultivators who have survived this long are no ordinary people. They are no worse than some disciples of the Six Sects. Reaching the Golden Core stage is no problem for them. As for the Nascent Soul stage... I dare not say."
"You didn't have that strength back then either. Besides, why would someone who can reach the Nascent Soul stage come here to fight to the death? The Six Sects have already prepared the resources for them."
The puppet scoffed, staring at the former sect leader of the Spirit Puppet Sect, and said sternly:
"I'll send a few more people over in a bit. Don't try any forced possession techniques; I want you to succeed at possession one hundred percent!"
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