Martial Peak-Chapter 2338: Spirit Puppet

Liu Yan was swallowed up by that strange stone, but after breaking out of the shell, she now had her own body.

No matter how Yang Kai thought about it, it was unbelievable.

Does that mean that the stone had a similar effect to the Flesh Incarnation Fruit? What sort of Heaven-defying thing was this?

Liu Yan frowned, “I think I understand a little bit about the situation now… I can’t tell why, but I get the feeling this body feels a bit like a puppet.”

“A puppet?” Yang Kai raised his brows.

Liu Yan gently nodded, “En. There are many array diagrams and subtle refinement traces inside my body, but the traces seem completely natural and very old. It should have been refined by a Grandmaster many years ago.”

Yang Kai was piqued. Seemingly having remembered something, he exclaimed, “Spirit-Grade Puppet?”

He previously heard from Hua Qing Si that the puppets of the Thousand Leaves Sect were divided into several grades. Other than the Earth Grade and Heaven Grade puppets he had seen before, there was an even higher grade of puppet called Spirit Grade, and it was rumoured that these Spirit-Grade Puppets had their own sentience. Not only could they think for themselves, but they could also become even stronger by cultivating. However, even at their peak, the Thousand Leaves Sect did not have many Spirit-Grade Puppets. After their decline, who knows where these Spirit-Grade puppets had gone.

Yang Kai did not believe it before, but Liu Yan’s current situation can only be explained by the existence of Spirit-Grade puppets.

The strange stone wasn’t something that came from nature, it was something refined by one generation of the Thousand Leaves Sect’s Grandmasters and was likely a prototype for Spirit-Grade Puppets. After Liu Yan’s Soul entered and broke out of it, this was the final state she transformed into.

In that case, it seems these Spirit-Grade Puppets were not born sentient, but rather by a fusion similar to a living being’s Soul and a puppet’s body.

Considering all this, Yang Kai understood. Now, he felt even more certain that his guesses were correct.

It was no wonder Ye Chong kept staring at Liu Yan when he talked about the opportunity.

With his senses, he could naturally see at a glance that Liu Yan was not a physical entity, but rather an Artifact Spirit that assumed human form. And, the prototype of the Spirit-Grade Puppet inside the cave was undoubtedly the best choice to become Liu Yan’s body.

In that case, if he hadn’t seen Liu Yan back then, this opportunity may not have been mentioned. It was precisely because he saw Liu Yan that he pointed it out.

But he didn’t mention it too clearly. It was likely there was still some reluctance in his heart. That strange stone was likely the last Spirit-Grade Puppet prototype. Perhaps no one would be able to refine such a thing again in the future, so he naturally would want to leave such a thing to the descendants of Thousand Leaves Sect.

[That guy is a bit sentimental, but it’s just useless baggage if no one can really use it…] Yang Kai secretly criticized him.

But very soon, he put his thoughts aside. No matter what, it was a fact that Liu Yan possessed her own body now. Even though her body was a little odd, compared to her previous human form, it was undoubtedly much better.

Having a physical body and not having one are two completely different things.

Liu Yan also seemed to finally be rejoicing. She tossed aside the inconvenience that this little body would bring to her in the future and brought her two hands before her eyes, turning them over and examining them, smiles covering her face.

“How is the integration of your Soul to this body? Any signs of incompatibility?” Yang Kai asked in concern.

This Spirit-Grade Puppet was not Liu Yan’s natural body after all, so if the fusion of body and Soul was not perfect, it was likely to come with serious consequences in the future. Just like possession, the reason why that was difficult and the success rate low was because of a compatibility problem between the Soul and the possessed body.

If a powerful Soul wishes to possess a cultivator, it must find a body that is highly compatible with them. Even so, it was not always possible to succeed, and a slight mistake could ruin everything.

Hearing this, Liu Yan shook her head, “There aren’t any problems. It feels… like I was just born, like this body was made just for me.”

[Is that so?] Yang Kai had watched with his own eyes as she broke out of the shell and gained new life. But hearing Liu Yan say this did reassure him a lot.

He was afraid that the body wouldn’t integrate well with Liu Yan’s Soul, but now it seemed Thousand Leaves Sect must have considered these problems perfectly when their Grandmaster refined the strange stone and managed to solve the issue through some special means.

Otherwise, how could they refine a human-shaped puppet and force a living Soul into it?

It was precisely because of this shell-breaking experience that Liu Yan’s Soul was able to merge perfectly with her present body.

Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel impressed inside.

“Hehe, now I will be able to have a childhood.” Liu Yan smiled as prettily as a flower.

“Be careful, you might not be able to grow at all and look like this for the rest of your life.” Yang Kai poured cold water on her.

Liu Yan’s face went dark instantly. After pausing for a while though, she easily nodded, “Then I’ll just accept it for what it is.”

…

After a day of experimentation, Yang Kai finally learned of the might of a Spirit-Grade Puppet. The current Liu Yan could actually cultivate to enhance her own strength. If it were before, this would have been impossible.

Before this, Liu Yan could only assume human form and devour Fire Attribute precious treasures to enhance her strength. She had been using the Sun’s True Essence that Yang Kai obtained long ago, and now the energy inside of it had already been depleted by half.

But now, Liu Yan could absorb World Energy and refine it for herself.

Not only that, but Liu Yan even had a strong cultivation at the level of Third-Order Dao Source Realm! That meant that as long as she was given a suitable Secret Art, then she would be able to cultivate and become stronger like a normal person. One day, she may even be able to advance to the Emperor Realm!

She was currently a completely separate entity. The moment she was swallowed up by the strange stone, her connection with Yang Kai had been cut off.

Liu Yan had truly been reborn!

Yang Kai was happy for her from the bottom of his heart. He had originally planned to build a body for Liu Yan in the future when he was strong enough to go and find a Flesh Incarnation Fruit and refine a Flesh Incarnation Pill for her, but he didn’t expect such a joyful event to come so quickly. This Spirit-Grade Puppet body had perfectly solved this problem.

Yang Kai gave Liu Yan a Space Ring containing many Source Crystals, various healing pills, cultivation pills, as well as several artifacts he couldn’t use but were of good quality. There was even the Emperor Artifact, Annihilation Thunder Bead, that he passed to her for her use. That was because the Annihilation Thunder Bead did not need much refining and only needed to be filled with power to use, which was perfect for Liu Yan.

It was the first time Liu Yan got to have her own Space Ring and even so many things that belonged to her, so she was overjoyed. She was playing non-stop with the Space Ring, enjoying herself massively.

A day later, the two of them returned to the base platform of the Space Array.

Yang Kai did not intend to continue exploring this Sealed World as he had already gotten a lot out of this trip, so he took it for what it was worth. There were no grudges between him and Thousand Leaves Sect and this Sealed World belonged to them after all. Yang Kai couldn’t just take away all the good things from here, that would be far too rude of him.

It wasn’t too much trouble for Yang Kai to repair the base platform of the array. In just four hours, the marks were completely gone from the base platform, and the entire thing looked just like new. Yang Kai took out a few Source Crystals and placed them in the grooves of the platform and began circulating his Source Qi.

After a flash of light, the platform was empty.

Thousand Leaves Sect, in a nameless mountain valley.

The beauty that was refreshing like a spring day from before had all disappeared. The entire place was a wreck and traces of battle could be seen all over. Many cultivator corpses could be seen strewn across the mountain valley and the ground was dyed red with blood. The stench of blood in the air alone was enough to make a person gag.

There, at the base platform, Ye Jing Han’s face was as pale as a sheet of paper, and her tender body was covered in blood. A bone-deep wound spread from her shoulder blade down to her arm, a shocking sight to behold.

Beside her, Hua Qing Si, Chi Yue, Gui Ze, Ai Ou, and Gu Cang Yun all looked exhausted. They more or less had traces of injuries on their bodies, and among them, Hua Qing Si seemed to be the most heavily injured. She seemed to have suffered internal injuries and her face was drained of blood.

At this moment, Thousand Leaves Sect had encountered their greatest crisis ever, Vice Sect Master Shi Cang Ying had betrayed them and colluded with Palace Master Qiu Ze from Sky Illumination Palace. Together, they broke through the Sect Defending Array of Thousand Leaves Sect and slaughtered more than a thousand of their disciples.

Ye Hen led several Elders to meet the enemy, but they were outnumbered and outmatched. Many died and many more who were injured. The Sect disciples who were able to run had also fled. If they couldn’t, they were either killed or captured. It took only half a day to turn a Sect into a ghost town. Battle scars could be seen all throughout the entire Thousand Leaves Mountain Range with countless lives claimed.

Hua Qing Si and the others were also embroiled in the mess. Even though Hua Qing Si had already touched upon Emperor Intent, the disparity between her and Qiu Ze was still great. After a great battle, Hua Qing Si was lucky to come out of it with her life. Under Ye Jing Han’s aid, they brought Chi Yue and the others with them and fled to this nameless mountain valley.

This place has now become the last refuge of Thousand Leaves Sect.

The Masters of various foreign Sects gathered together with Qiu Ze in the lead outside the mountain valley, staring intently into it.

“This is the Restricted Area of your noble Sect?” Qiu Ze stood outside the mountain valley with his hands behind his back, looking on coldly before him while he asked the men at his side.

His face was not as rosy as before. Even though he had an absolute advantage in the battle with Hua Qing Si, he never would have thought a fight with a Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator would nearly injure him.

[That woman is no ordinary cultivator! She likely comes from one of the top Sects. Otherwise, she would not have such power.]

If there was someone Qiu Ze was most afraid of right now, then it was undoubtedly Hua Qing Si.

He was afraid of provoking someone he should not provoke, but in this situation, he had no choice but to cut the weeds and pull out the roots. Otherwise, once the news spreads to the Sect behind this woman, then there was no way Sky Illumination Palace could withstand the consequences. So, he led his men all the way here in pursuit of her, but they were blocked by the many mysterious Spirit Arrays protecting this place. After many attempts to attack it, he was shocked to find that the Spirit Arrays within this valley were not something he could break.

So, he could only ask the man beside him.

Upon hearing this, Shi Cang Ying had a flattering smile on his face and bowed, “Reporting to Palace Lord Qiu, this is indeed the Sect’s Restricted Area. For generations, no one except the Sect Master could step foot inside.”

“Not even you?” Qiu Ze glanced lightly at Shi Cang Ying.

Shi Cang Ying said with some embarrassment, “Not even I have been inside before.”