Chapter 8

Chen Hai knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch. Zuo Er had given him a great benefit, but naturally, he still needed to serve the temple first.

Looking at the puppet body that resembled a blood corpse, Chen Hai thought to himself, since it was positioned at the level of a martial soldier, it shouldn't be particularly powerful. He asked with concern:

"Can I really hold back the invading Rakshasa demons? Senior, aren't you worried that I might ruin the grand plan?"

"You don't need to worry. The laws of the Blood Cloud Wasteland are still in effect. The initial Rakshasa demons that can invade won't be much stronger than you. You've also seen that these seven puppet bodies are actually made from the tendons, bones, and flesh of Rakshasa demons. Although the temple will sink into the depths of the Blood Cloud Wasteland with me, if you can continuously slay Rakshasa demons, you will naturally be able to comprehend the secret techniques to strengthen the puppet body!"

Chen Hai inwardly cried out, what kind of golden finger is this?

A true golden finger shouldn't allow him to summon the puppet body to defend against enemies whenever he encounters danger, right?

Now, his puppet body is left in the Blood Cloud Wasteland, and with the giant temple sinking underground, he has to face the Rakshasa demons that might invade the Blood Cloud Wasteland at any time. He also needs to find ways to enhance the puppet body himself.

What kind of golden finger is this?

And from the tone of Zuo Er, this puppet body he was given might be the weakest kind!

Looking at the ground outside the giant temple, covered with fierce and withered bones, Chen Hai thought that if Rakshasa demons really invaded, it wouldn't be just one or two, but possibly thousands or even tens of thousands at once. If his weak puppet body dared to show itself, it would be torn to pieces immediately.

Chen Hai gritted his teeth and asked, "Since you're already treating a dead horse as if it were alive, why not directly refine a more powerful divine guard puppet instead of wasting mana to refine seven that aren't the strongest? And the extra six divine guard puppets, aren't they a waste?"

"Ordinary mystic cultivators can only cultivate a second soul after they have cultivated a second divine soul. Your divine soul is so weak, yet you can possess a martial soldier-level puppet body, which shows how precious the snake bracelet and the divine guard puppet body are. However, this doesn't mean that the external consciousness you split from the snake bracelet can control a stronger puppet body. Whether you can eventually enhance the puppet body to the level of a martial marquis or even a divine marquis ultimately depends on the strength of your divine soul."

Zuo Er said,

"Your divine soul is too weak. If it weren't for the Dragon Emperor's insistence, I wouldn't waste any effort on you. But even this martial soldier-level puppet body requires your physical body to truly open the spirit sea before you can control it at will. Additionally, if you feel too weak alone, I will leave the other six martial soldier-level puppet bodies outside. The snake bracelet can connect the consciousness of up to seven people to the Blood Cloud Wasteland..."

Chen Hai didn't expect that he could bring up to six people into the Blood Cloud Wasteland in the future, but thinking about the desolate state of the Blood Cloud Wasteland, no one would be willing to come in with him unless he could bring the six puppet bodies out of the Blood Cloud Wasteland.

But Chen Hai guessed that Zuo Er was still worried about him leaking the temple's legacy, so he set so many restrictions. He asked, "How long will it take me to open the spirit sea?"

"Your body has been crippled, and you want to cultivate again, which is already extremely difficult. Moreover, you need to first cultivate your soul and body to a preliminary harmony, which is even more difficult. But as long as you are not afraid of difficulties, there is still a glimmer of hope to open the spirit sea..."

Seeing a glimmer of hope for survival, Chen Hai could only force himself to remain calm, thinking that if there were no hope, Zuo Er wouldn't have gone through so much trouble.

He could only comfort himself like this for now.

"Alright, go out now. Unless the channel to the Rakshasa Domain is fully opened, I won't wake up from the depths to make a final stand. You should take care of yourself..." As Zuo Er finished speaking, Chen Hai's consciousness and puppet body were moved out of the temple by Zuo Er.

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Chen Hai was moved out of the giant temple and stood in a pile of fierce and withered bones.

At this moment, he realized that as long as his divine consciousness entered the Blood Cloud Wasteland through the snake bracelet, it would always be connected to the puppet body and could not be separated, drifting like a lonely ghost under the blood clouds, overlooking this extremely eerie land.

His vision was blocked by a pile of bones, and Chen Hai couldn't see where the temple was. He thought that Zuo Er would no longer care about him from now on, and he couldn't even curse, as Zuo Er didn't owe him anything. What could he expect?

Fortunately, the puppet body was very flexible, just like Chen Hai's real body. Under the drive of his divine consciousness, it climbed up a black skeleton over ten meters tall.

Chen Hai couldn't imagine how terrifying these Rakshasa demons were in life. Looking at this eerie land of corpses, he felt a chill in his heart. Then he heard a loud crack behind him. Turning around, he saw the wasteland crack open like a magic eye, and the giant temple was slowly sinking into the ground.

At this moment, a wave of indescribable desolation surged in Chen Hai's heart, and he couldn't suppress the fear that welled up inside him.

He didn't know where the spatial rift was, but he saw lightning moving in the gaps of the blood clouds. Any bolt of lightning could shatter his puppet body, which was not much stronger than a normal adult...

Let alone thousands or tens of thousands. If even three or five Rakshasa demons invaded, could he really hold them back?

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"Master Xing..."

Chen Hai heard someone calling him and instinctively turned around.

Under the blood clouds, the giant temple had already sunk into the ground, leaving only a field of Rakshasa demon corpses. Chen Hai couldn't see where the puppet refining pool was, only the indescribable desolation and silence, the shocking corpses and bones, and the blood clouds and lightning...

"Master Xing..."

Chen Hai heard someone calling him again and suddenly realized that someone was calling him in the bedroom of the Splash Cloud Cliff. In this desolate land covered by blood clouds, if there was any movement after the temple sank into the ground, it would mean that Rakshasa demons had invaded.

Chen Hai cut off his connection with the snake bracelet, noticing that it had been absorbed into the skin of his left wrist, as if it didn't exist. He thought this was good, as he wouldn't have to explain the origin of the snake bracelet to others, and he wouldn't have to worry about others coveting the strange treasure.

He was a man of some experience and guessed that the snake bracelet, as a bridge between his true body and the puppet body, was unimaginably powerful, but perhaps there were more mysterious properties waiting for him to discover.

Chen Hai turned around and saw Su Ziling standing at the door.

Su Ziling was holding a jade bowl, with steam rising and a strong medicinal aroma. Chen Hai realized that under Chen Lie's orders, Su Ziling was now his personal attendant, but he didn't know where Chen Lie and Chen Qing had gone, as he hadn't seen them for half a day.

Chen Hai saw the unwillingness in Su Ziling's eyes and smiled inwardly. She had been a slave in the Chen clan since childhood, and although she was like a sister to Chen Qing, how could she defy Chen Lie's will?

But Su Ziling's eyes also hid a hint of fear and panic.

Chen Hai was puzzled and thought to himself. Su Ziling came from a poor background and had served her cousin Chen Qing since childhood. She cultivated some basic mystic techniques and reached the Mystic Realm before the age of fifteen, which showed her excellent talent and high self-esteem. It was normal for her to look down on Yao Xing, who had been crippled and disgraced, and she might still be very unwilling. But why did her eyes show fear and panic?

Chen Hai was mysteriously brought to this world by Cang Yu. Although his life might not be safe, he was not like Yao Xing, who had become depressed and reckless after being struck.

Many things had greatly impacted Chen Hai, and his head ached, making it hard to focus on too many things. But seeing Su Ziling's unusual expression, he couldn't help but think more.

Although Su Ziling's cultivation wasn't very high, she was still a Mystic Realm cultivator compared to the crippled Yao Xing. How could she be frightened and almost fall off the cliff by Yao Xing's light-hearted teasing?

Could there be some hidden truth behind Yao Xing's fall off the cliff?

Thinking about it, there were indeed some inconsistencies.

Even if Su Ziling disliked Yao Xing and didn't know how to face his teasing, Yao Xing had clearly fallen off the cliff to save her. But when she reported to Chen Lie and Chen Qing, she said that Yao Xing had accidentally slipped while they were struggling.

Su Ziling's statement, which seemed to have only minor changes, gave a completely different impression, leading Chen Qing and others to believe that he had evil intentions and tried to force himself on Su Ziling.

This not only made Chen Qing hate and distrust him, but even Chen Lie, who usually doted on him, had a look of disappointment in his eyes.

But Chen Hai was at a loss to defend himself. He had committed a major crime and was expelled from the Yao clan, ending up at the Taiwei Sect. After joining the Taiwei Sect, he didn't know how to restrain himself and became disgraced. What could he defend himself with now?

Who would believe his defense?

Was this Su Ziling's desired effect?

In fact, Chen Hai couldn't piece together from Yao Xing's fragmented memories what major crime he had committed that was intolerable to the Yao clan. He didn't want to reveal any inconsistencies and couldn't ask Chen Lie or Chen Qing about what he had done in the Yao clan, which made him very frustrated.

Thinking about the pain Su Qian had brought him, he felt that Su Ziling might be a venomous and vicious woman, and he mustn't be deceived by her charming and alluring appearance.

She might have thought that as long as Yao Xing, the useless one, fell off the cliff and Chen Lie and others couldn't find any clues, she could find a better match or continue cultivating at the Taiwei Sect with Chen Qing, which would be much better than being tied to him, the useless one.

Many doubts swirled in Chen Hai's mind, but he knew that Chen Lie and Chen Qing might not believe him, and he had no direct evidence. It seemed he had to pretend to be ignorant to avoid provoking Su Ziling into a desperate act and trying to kill him to silence him...

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"Put the medicine on the table, I'll drink it later..."

Chen Hai was worried that Su Ziling might do something to the medicine if he drank it immediately, so he asked her to put the jade bowl down first.

Su Ziling put down the medicine but didn't leave. She gritted her teeth and said, "The clan head has urgent matters and has returned to Wuyi. Miss Chen Qing said your injuries are almost healed, and this courtyard is too small to accommodate too many people. Coincidentally, the Iron Stream Ridge Dao Academy is recruiting Dao soldiers from various families. Miss Chen Qing wants you to drink the medicine and then send you to Iron Stream Ridge!"

Chen Hai's face immediately darkened. He had hoped Su Ziling would submit, but he didn't expect Chen Lie to have urgent matters and leave, and Chen Qing to be so heartless, wanting to drive him out of Splash Cloud Cliff.

"Since Chen Qing doesn't like me, I won't drink the medicine!" Chen Hai said in a huff, thinking that he was looking for an excuse to pour the medicine away. He walked out of the courtyard, thinking that since Su Ziling might have ulterior motives, it was better for him to leave Splash Cloud Cliff now.

Chen Hai walked out of the courtyard, and two middle-aged warriors in light armor approached, looking grim. "Master Xing, Miss Chen Qing ordered us to send you to Iron Stream Ridge..."

One was named Zhao Shan, and the other was named Qian Wenyi. Both were fierce soldiers who had followed Chen Lie in the Wuwei Army. They had lean faces but gave a sense of firmness. They had offended powerful figures in the army and followed Chen Lie to the Taiwei Sect, staying as family guards and guarding the Splash Cloud Cliff cave with Yao Xing.

Since Chen Lie had left the Taiwei Sect on urgent matters, Chen Qing was in charge, and they would only follow her orders.

Yao Xing had always acted like a young master, lacking the awareness of a "servant," and had often ordered Zhao Shan and Qian Wenyi around. They didn't say anything because of Chen Lie, but they were very disgusted.

Chen Hai was no longer the self-destructive and rebellious Yao Xing and wouldn't take out his anger on Zhao Shan and Qian Wenyi. He politely said, "Thank you, Uncle Zhao and Uncle Qian..."

Hearing Chen Hai's polite words, Zhao Shan and Qian Wenyi were a bit confused but didn't say anything. Their task was to watch closely and send Master Xing to the Iron Stream Ridge Dao Academy at the foot of the mountain.

Seeing that Zhao Shan and Qian Wenyi didn't give him a chance to get closer, Chen Hai stood in the courtyard, looking around. Outside, it was truly a different world.

Above the sea of clouds, seven peaks stood tall, like seven giant islands enveloped in spiritual light, making one feel small. On the seven peaks, there were pavilions and halls of various sizes, all emitting spiritual light from the array formations.

These were the upper seven peaks of the Taiwei Sect, where the seven major spiritual veins of the Taiwei Mountains were located.

The seven peaks, seemingly floating above the sea of clouds, were extremely tall and steep, with abundant spiritual energy. The boundary arrays, refracting sunlight, looked like seven golden, transparent domes, making the peaks look like a fairyland from a distance.

The seven peaks were also the true inner sect of the Taiwei Sect.

Although Chen Lie was a general in the Wuwei Army, as a third-generation true disciple of the Taiwei Sect, he had not left the sect and had opened a cave for cultivation on Qingxi Peak, one of the seven peaks, at Splash Cloud Cliff.

Splash Cloud Cliff was not large, a protruding stone cliff on the waist of Qingxi Peak, about a hundred meters deep.

Chen Lie had opened many stone caves and chambers for cultivation, treasure storage, and scripture storage on the side close to the cliff wall. In front of the stone caves, he built a garden of about ten acres, which Chen Lie and Chen Qing used for daily life. Yao Xing and other servants, attendants, and guards also lived in this garden.

Outside the garden was a cliff hundreds of meters deep, with only a narrow, steep stone staircase leading to the outside.

A spiritual spring flowed down from the high cliff, forming a deep pool in the center of Splash Cloud Cliff. The water then overflowed to the southeast, falling again from the cliff, forming a waterfall with mist like flowing clouds.

This was the origin of the name Splash Cloud Cliff.

Around the pool, there were many spiritual herbs and trees, such as jade mushrooms and purple catalpas, which didn't need special array formations. The spiritual energy from the spring was mostly absorbed by these lush herbs and trees, and even ordinary people living here could extend their lives.

Several spiritual cranes raised on Splash Cloud Cliff were flying and playing in the air, splashing the waterfall like jade. Chen Hai felt that this place was truly a fairyland, incomparably better than the Blood Cloud Wasteland filled with Rakshasa demon corpses, but unfortunately, he was about to be driven down the mountain.