Chapter 572: Puppet (II)
With a flap of his wings, Lin Zheyu plunged into the purple-red magma and sped toward the location of the mysterious formation. The Heavenly Eye consumed the golden energy within his body, and the expenditure was substantial, so he could not use it recklessly. Even without activating it, however, his greatly enhanced perception was more than sufficient for most situations.
Lin Zheyu soon arrived near the mysterious formation. The yao that was on the verge of developing intelligence was still lying beside it, dozing with its eyes closed.
Lin Zheyu narrowed his eyes as demonic qi silently surged through his body.
"Time to send this thing on its way. Let's see how the Heavenly Eye performs in actual combat."
Deep within his sea of consciousness, the golden Heavenly Eye suddenly opened and fixed its gaze upon the distant yao. The Heavenly Eye possessed the ability to see through appearances and perceive the underlying essence of things. Applied to combat, it could easily expose an opponent's weaknesses. Lin Zheyu had already discovered this while studying his own body.
The magma flowed steadily. Keeping his eyes closed, Lin Zheyu observed the distant yao through the Heavenly Eye. Within its vision, he could clearly see the flow of energy throughout the Purple Flame Qilin, as well as every point where those energies converged. The circulation, intersection, and transformation between its demonic patterns and energy were all laid bare before him.
Time slowly passed, but Lin Zheyu made no move to attack. Concealed in the darkness, he quietly observed through the Heavenly Eye for more than ten minutes. Eventually, a sharp gleam flashed across his dark eyes.
Lin Zheyu's heart stirred. "Found it!"
After careful observation and analysis, he had finally discovered the distant yao's fatal weakness. However, the opportunity would last only an instant. If he wanted to avoid drawing the attention of the powerful yaos lurking deep within the purple-red magma, he had to kill the Purple Flame Qilin in a single move before it could react, leaving it no chance to resist.
Lin Zheyu held his breath as demonic qi churned within him, building toward a violent release. Then, in an instant, he burst forward like a torpedo. His right hand swept out, fingers pressed together, demonic pattern energy coursing across them until it resembled an incomparably sharp blade capable of slicing through anything before it.
"Grr?"
A jolt of terror surged through the Purple Flame Qilin as it sensed an overwhelming threat. Its eyes snapped open, but before its roar could leave its throat, a burst of agonizing pain erupted from the spot between its neck and right forelimb. Lin Zheyu's right hand pierced into its body like a blade. Violent demonic qi exploded outward, severing the flow of demon essence within the yao. The yao still managed to let out a roar, but with its internal energy circulation disrupted, the sound carried no power and could not travel far.
At the same moment, Lin Zheyu threw a punch with his left fist straight at the yao's head. Under the Purple Flame Qilin's terrified and unwilling gaze, its head exploded.
"Done!"
Having dealt with the troublesome yao without causing much of a disturbance, Lin Zheyu finally relaxed. Grabbing the headless corpse by the neck, he poured vast amounts of demon essence energy into its body to suppress its remaining vitality.
Lin Zheyu looked toward the mysterious formation and smiled. "From now on, this place belongs to me."
At last, he could study this mysterious formation freely. Sitting down cross-legged beside it, Lin Zheyu opened the golden Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness and turned its gaze toward the formation suspended in the void. Through the Heavenly Eye's vision, he could see waves of mysterious and unfamiliar energy radiating from it.
So this is why that yao refused to leave... Lin Zheyu thought as he studied the unknown energy emanating from the formation.
Before awakening the Heavenly Eye, Lin Zheyu had been completely unable to perceive this kind of energy. His gaze shifted to the headless yao corpse in his hand. Since the creature had been able to sense this mysterious energy, it clearly possessed a unique perceptive talent. The reason he had deliberately preserved its body was to see whether he could learn something by studying the demonic patterns it carried.
***
Within the demon cave. In the dark void, an elderly man with the bearing of an immortal suddenly opened his eyes.
"Dead!" Fan Hongwei's eyes widened in surprise.
Just moments ago, while using a secret technique to locate Lin Zheyu, he discovered that the mark he had planted inside him had vanished. There were only two possible explanations. Either a powerful expert had intervened and removed the tracking mark, or Lin Zheyu was dead.
"Strange. From what I saw, this boy isn't someone destined for an early death. How could he perish within such a minor space-time node? Could it be that the demon realm beyond this space-time node hides some great danger?" Fan Hongwei muttered in confusion.
He had already sent people to investigate the area. Aside from the concentration of frenzied yaos around the node fissure, there were no major threats. Many cultivators had entered and returned safely. With the remarkable perceptive abilities of that martial artist called Xiao Yu, he should not have died there.
"Could he have somehow stumbled upon a way to erase the mark in the demon realm? Impossible. Even a peak Golden Core realm cultivator might not be able to detect that mark, much less a mere Divine Repository realm martial artist." Fan Hongwei shook his head slightly. In his heart, he had already concluded that Lin Zheyu was dead.
That little fellow didn't look fated for an early death—cultivators with perception as powerful as his are usually blessed with extraordinary fortune. I'll leave behind a puppet to keep watch. Perhaps there'll be a surprise, Fan Hongwei thought to himself.
Fan Hongwei had studied the arts of fortune reading and divination, allowing him to glimpse the vague fate and blessings surrounding cultivators. Lin Zheyu possessed not only extraordinary perception but also astonishing fortune and destiny. That was why Fan Hongwei had chosen him from the very beginning and had never once considered replacing him. Exploring secret realms alongside someone blessed with such profound fortune was the safest course of action.
Fan Hongwei lightly tapped his storage pouch. A young man who resembled him by roughly sixty percent immediately appeared before him. It was a puppet crafted from precious materials and possessed the formidable strength of an early-stage Golden Core realm cultivator.
"Little fellow, I hope you'll bring me a pleasant surprise," Fan Hongwei said lightly as he looked in the direction of the space-time node.
Any cultivator capable of reaching the peak of the Golden Core realm either possessed extraordinary talent, a powerful background, or some unique gift. Fan Hongwei belonged to the third category. Through his mastery of fortune reading and divination, he had stolen countless opportunities from cultivators blessed with great fortune. Step-by-step, he had risen from a collateral branch of a minor family to his current peak Golden Core realm cultivation. With a thought, Fan Hongwei issued an order to the puppet. Then his figure faded into the void and disappeared.
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