Swish!
"Name: Liu Zhi (Black Iron Puppet)." "Cultivation: Second Layer of the Spirit Opening Realm." "Talents: Spirit-grade cultivation talent, top-grade strength talent, top-grade speed talent, high-grade blade path talent, high-grade gale attribute talent, top-grade sharp metal attribute talent, top-grade thick earth attribute talent." "Martial Art: Heavy Mountain Fist (Sixth-rank, Mid-grade, Mastery)." "Carried Treasures: None."
What Lin Xuan saw was none other than the attribute panel.
"Unexpected—these puppets are actually forged from the corpses of martial artists."
Lin Xuan's heart trembled inwardly.
Though he had heard that this world wasn't limited to ordinary martial artists, but also included邪道 practitioners like demonic path and corpse path, he never imagined he'd witness it here.
Even the dead couldn't find peace, turned into puppets.
This world was truly brutal.
Lin Xuan silently resolved to gain greater strength.
Otherwise, not only would life and death be beyond his control, but even his corpse after death could be exploited.
That would be the real tragedy.
Soon, Lin Xuan calmed down.
These martial artists' corpses being turned into puppets wasn't his concern—he just needed to stay vigilant.
He wasn't a demon, but he wasn't a saint either; he couldn't uphold justice.
His top priority now was to seize every moment to enhance his strength.
Only with enough power could he control his own life, do what he wanted, and protect what he cherished.
These puppets, made from martial artists' corpses, still retained their original talents.
That worked perfectly.
He could simply copy them to boost himself.
Just then, several startled cries rang out beside him.
"Senior Brother Lin, watch out!" "The Black Iron Puppets are closing in!" "..."
It was Xu Anlan and the others.
Lin Xuan snapped back to reality and swept his gaze around.
He saw dozens of puppets encircling them.
Though these Black Iron Puppets were only equivalent to early Spirit Opening Realm, each with just one martial art and no artistic conception boost, making them weaker than ordinary cultivators of the same rank, their bodies seemed forged from steel—strong in defense and utterly fearless.
Pushing them back was easy, but finishing them off was a hassle.
Moreover, the sheer number of Black Iron Puppets far exceeded the martial artists present.
Every martial artist was surrounded by several puppets, trapped in danger.
Lin Xuan ignored them and continued scanning.
Aside from their group, the other martial artists here were only at early Spirit Opening Realm.
So where were those at mid, late, or even peak Spirit Opening?
There had to be an entrance to another layer.
Soon, Lin Xuan spotted it—several thousand meters to the east.
That area had the most Black Iron Puppets and the fiercest battles.
Behind it stood a translucent barrier, identical to the one on the desolate plain.
"That barrier must be the gateway to the next layer."
Lin Xuan's eyes flickered.
Meanwhile, Xu Anlan and the others were already locked in battle with the encroaching puppets.
"Senior Brother Lin, three Black Iron Puppets are charging at you!"
Xu Anlan shouted from nearby, warning Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan felt a sharp gust of fist wind approaching.
His expression turned cold as he swung his sword horizontally.
Whoosh!
A dazzling sword light sliced through the air.
Screech, screech, screech...
A grating metallic sound rang out.
Sparks flew everywhere.
The three Black Iron Puppets rushing at Lin Xuan froze mid-step.
The next moment, they split cleanly in half like tofu, their cuts as smooth as a mirror, unable to move again.
"This..."
The others, who had been about to warn him, swallowed their words.
They inwardly cursed him as a freak.
Did he even need their warnings?
He was one-shotting Black Iron Puppets.
Recalling how their own attacks only pushed the puppets back a few steps, leaving shallow white marks, while Lin Xuan killed three with a single slash, they realized the chasm between their strength and his.
It was incomparable.
And they were three or four layers higher in cultivation than him.
This only deepened their awe of Lin Xuan's terrifying talent.
But Lin Xuan paid them no mind.
"Move aside!"
His cold shout struck like thunder, jolting them awake as they instinctively stepped back.
"Die!"
Several more icy sword lights tore through the void and descended.
The others watched as the ferocious Black Iron Puppets were split in two, collapsing motionless to the ground.
In an instant, the over twenty puppets surrounding them were all eliminated.
They gasped sharply, utterly stunned.
This gave them a clearer understanding of Lin Xuan's power.
"Senior Brother Lin, be careful—these Black Iron Puppets' auras are still growing stronger..."
Xu Anlan warned Lin Xuan.
But his voice trailed off, fading into silence.
Staring at the dozen or so puppets cleaved in half, Xu Anlan's mouth hung open in disbelief.
Then he let out a bitter laugh.
Against Lin Xuan's monstrous strength, even if these puppets grew stronger, they were just cannon fodder—utterly useless.
He was once again awed by Lin Xuan's terrifying might.
"Let's go. That should be the entrance to the next layer."
Lin Xuan walked over and said calmly.
These people were all core disciples of the four great sects of Cangyuan Kingdom and friends of Xu Anlan.
He'd give them a hand for now—it wouldn't cost much time or effort.
Once they reached the next layer, if things got inconvenient or he had business, he wouldn't bother with them anymore.
Hearing this, they nodded instinctively, nearly numb from Lin Xuan's overwhelming strength.
Then, led by Lin Xuan, they headed east toward the translucent barrier.
Their pace was steady, neither fast nor slow.
Naturally, this drew hordes of Black Iron Puppets to attack.
But whenever a puppet got within thirty meters, a sharp sword beam shot from Lin Xuan's blade, taking it out.
Wherever he passed, a trail of Black Iron Puppet corpses littered the ground.
Dozens or even hundreds of puppets swarmed them, yet couldn't slow Lin Xuan's group by a single step.
The other martial artists on the field noticed and turned to look.
Seeing this, they froze in shock.
Their eyes widened, filled with disbelief and awe.
What were they witnessing?
Someone was slaughtering dozens of Black Iron Puppets like chopping vegetables?
Even late or peak Spirit Opening cultivators might not manage that.
And more crucially, the leader's aura seemed to be only early Spirit Opening.
Everyone was stunned to the core, almost doubting their senses.