Upon witnessing the three disciples of the Hundred Poisons Sect vanish into the inky black mist, Ye Tian furrowed his brow.
"The methods employed by the Hundred Poisons Sect are indeed unique, but is poison truly effective against lifeless battle puppets?" Ye Tian pondered, filled with doubt.
What astonished Ye Tian the most was the eerie silence that enveloped the black mist; not a single sound of combat emerged from within.
In stark contrast, Lang Tianjiao and his adversary were embroiled in a tumultuous clash, each swing of his sword radiating brilliance that made the entire hall tremble. Had it not been for the palace's formidable structure, it might have already collapsed under the force of their battle.
The battle puppet's sword, though not a spiritual weapon, was forged from an exceptionally hard material, allowing it to withstand Lang Tianjiao's strikes without shattering.
Each clash of their swords produced a deafening cacophony, sending visible ripples of energy through the air.
Wang Zhongshan could only occasionally launch a strike to restrain the battle puppet, his strength insufficient to inflict any real damage.
"Reversal Sword Technique!"
Lang Tianjiao, true to his reputation as the top powerhouse on the Divine Star Ranking, shouted loudly. His green longsword erupted with blinding light, unleashing a barrage of dazzling sword beams that overwhelmed the battle puppet.
Boom!
Lang Tianjiao, oblivious to friend or foe, disregarded Wang Zhongshan's safety as the sword beams engulfed him.
Wang Zhongshan, filled with a mix of shock and anger, had no time to evade and was struck by a sword beam, sending him flying and causing blood to spray forth.
"Lang Tianjiao!" After regaining his footing, Wang Zhongshan glared at Lang Tianjiao, his eyes ablaze with fury.
"Fool, step aside! I can handle this alone!" Lang Tianjiao shot him a disdainful glance, his face a mask of contempt.
Wang Zhongshan, seething with rage, was about to retort when Ye Tian intervened, grasping his arm.
"Brother Wang, let him confront the battle puppet alone; we can enjoy the spectacle!" Ye Tian whispered.
"That scoundrel! If it weren't for that sword, he wouldn't be much stronger than I am!" Although Wang Zhongshan remained furious, he heeded Ye Tian's advice and refrained from acting impulsively.
Meanwhile, Lang Tianjiao continued to engage the battle puppet. Since employing the sword technique, his power had surged dramatically. With the might of his green sword, he forced the battle puppet into retreat, exuding an air of invincibility.
"This sword technique is impressive!" Ye Tian's eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Indeed, it's called the Reversal Sword Technique, a top-tier mystic sword art just beneath the Earth rank, acquired by his brother, Lang Fantian, during his adventures," Wang Zhongshan replied with a hint of jealousy. "If it weren't for his brother's influence, he wouldn't deserve to be ranked first on the Divine Star Ranking. Hmph!"
"Lang Fantian!" A glimmer of recognition flashed in Ye Tian's eyes. Though the master brother of the Divine Star Sect was not present, his reputation instilled fear in all, undeniably marking him as a formidable figure.
"Brother Wang, do you have any idea what methods the three disciples of the Hundred Poisons Sect are employing? Why is there not a whisper of combat sounds?" Ye Tian suddenly inquired, gesturing toward the distant black mist.
The disciples had been inside for quite some time, but apart from the initial sounds of conflict, silence had now fallen.
"Hmm… I'm not certain."
Upon hearing Ye Tian's question, Wang Zhongshan frowned and shook his head. "The Hundred Poisons Sect is notoriously cunning, employing numerous underhanded tactics unlike our Divine Star Sect's straightforward approach. You should exercise caution when encountering them in the future."
"Indeed!" Ye Tian nodded. Having forged a deadly enmity with the Hundred Poisons Sect, he knew he must remain vigilant.
Boom!
As the might of the Reversal Sword Technique intensified, the brilliance of Lang Tianjiao's sword beams grew ever more dazzling. He successfully deflected the battle puppet's sword, gaining a decisive advantage.
Roar!
The battle puppet's eyes glowed a fierce red, and even as a lifeless entity, it seemed to embody rage. It unleashed a series of powerful strikes, countering Lang Tianjiao's sword technique with a ferocious martial style.
The two forces clashed with earth-shattering intensity, each collision causing the entire hall to tremble, while the surging waves of energy sent air rippling outward, creating a massive shockwave.
Ye Tian and Wang Zhongshan quickly activated their true essence shields to protect themselves from the overwhelming force.
"Hmm?" At that moment, Ye Tian noticed a gap in the black mist, revealing a pair of sinister eyes for a fleeting instant before the mist closed in again.
"Could I have been mistaken?" Ye Tian frowned; he had clearly seen those treacherous eyes, likely belonging to the disciple known as Yin Blood Sword from the Hundred Poisons Sect.
Yet, weren't they supposed to be besieging the battle puppet? Why were they so preoccupied with Lang Tianjiao? And where was the battle puppet?
Ye Tian felt a twinge of confusion but dismissed it, focusing instead on Lang Tianjiao, whose prowess was momentarily stunning: "This martial style…"
At that moment, the battle puppet, having discarded its longsword, unleashed a formidable fist technique, brimming with lethal intent, each blow resonating with unmatched power, forcing Lang Tianjiao's Reversal Sword Technique to falter.
"Just a lifeless construct, and it dares to think it can contend with me!"
Frustrated by his inability to gain the upper hand, Lang Tianjiao's pride was provoked. With a thunderous roar, he unleashed a fierce wave of true essence, akin to a mighty river, channeling it into his green sword.
The green sword, invigorated by the essence, erupted in a blaze of radiant light, unleashing an overwhelming sword beam that soared skyward, bearing down on the battle puppet with tremendous pressure.
"I knew this fellow was concealing his true strength!" Wang Zhongshan scoffed.
Ye Tian nodded slightly; Lang Tianjiao had fully unleashed the power of his spiritual weapon, significantly enhancing his combat prowess.
Indeed!
A deep, resonant thud echoed through the hall.
The battle puppet, ultimately unable to withstand the might of the sword, was sent flying, its arms severed in the process.
Yet, astonishingly, the puppet's body remained remarkably resilient; despite enduring such a formidable assault, it suffered only the loss of its arms, with no other damage to its form.
"If only my Ye family had such a battle puppet to guard us, I would feel considerably more secure!" A glimmer of hope flickered in Ye Tian's eyes.
"It is time to conclude this!"
Lang Tianjiao roared, striking once more with his sword, delivering a potentially fatal blow to the battle puppet.
But at that moment, an unexpected turn of events unfolded. The three disciples of the Hundred Poisons Sect, previously shrouded in the toxic mist, suddenly emerged, launching their most powerful assault against Lang Tianjiao.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Clearly, these three had anticipated this moment; each of their attacks was devastating, taking full advantage of the situation, leaving Lang Tianjiao utterly defenseless.
Wang Zhongshan was left in shock!
Ye Tian, too, was inwardly astounded, recalling the treacherous gaze he had seen earlier. It became evident that the Hundred Poisons Sect had long devised this scheme. But how had they managed to eliminate the battle puppet so silently?
Ye Tian turned his gaze toward the dissipating mist, which had now cleared to reveal a black battle puppet, its longsword raised high, yet seemingly immobilized, its blood-red eyes dimming.
"What a truly cunning tactic!" Ye Tian couldn't help but admire their strategy.
"Despicable!"
Lang Tianjiao's furious shout reverberated throughout the grand hall.
The combined assault from the three disciples enveloped him, leaving him with no avenue for escape. More critically, he had just unleashed a fatal strike against the battle puppet, rendering him unable to muster any significant power.
It was fair to say that the timing of the three from the Hundred Poisons Sect was impeccable.
Even Ye Tian believed that Lang Tianjiao was as good as dead, slowly reaching for the blood blade at his waist, preparing to intervene.
"Hahaha… Lang Tianjiao, if it weren't for your reliance on that spiritual weapon, do you truly think you merit such elaborate schemes against you?" sneered Yin Blood Sword.
"Despicable?" Yan Lie retorted, his face twisted in mockery. "You, Lang Tianjiao, dare to label others as despicable? I daresay the members of your Divine Star Sect would consider you the most contemptible of all!"
"Die!" The last disciple of the Hundred Poisons Sect exuded a murderous aura.
Lang Tianjiao's complexion turned ashen, clearly enraged, his body trembling with fury.
"Do you truly believe you have me cornered?" Suddenly, Lang Tianjiao's expression shifted to one of calm, his gaze icy as he regarded the advancing disciples.
"Hmm?"
A sense of foreboding gripped the three disciples of the Hundred Poisons Sect, an ominous feeling settling in their hearts.
At that moment, Lang Tianjiao produced a golden talisman from his robe, radiating a hazy light and emanating a palpable aura of danger.
"What is this…" Ye Tian's eyes fixated on the talisman in Lang Tianjiao's hand, his pupils narrowing as the sense of impending peril intensified.
Meanwhile, the three disciples rushing toward Lang Tianjiao were struck with horror, their faces paling in terror.
"It's the Soul-Sealing Talisman!" Wang Zhongshan exclaimed in shock beside Ye Tian.
"The Soul-Sealing Talisman?" Ye Tian furrowed his brow, then bitterly smiled, realizing he ought to familiarize himself with the Chronicles of the Northern Sea, lest he remain ignorant of such matters.
"This is bad!"
"It's the Soul-Sealing Talisman!"
"Could it be that Lang Fantian bestowed this upon him?"
The three disciples of the Hundred Poisons Sect cried out, abandoning their attack on Lang Tianjiao, turning to flee the hall, their expressions rife with panic and dread.
"Now you wish to escape? It is too late!" Lang Tianjiao sneered; he had already ignited the golden talisman with a flash of sword light, unleashing a terrifying aura that enveloped the entire hall.
The oppressive force was immense; even Ye Tian felt his legs tremble, and had he not secretly summoned his knife intent for support, he might have collapsed to the ground.
Wang Zhongshan, positioned beside Ye Tian, succumbed to the overwhelming pressure, kneeling in submission.
"Hahaha… I told you, none of you will escape!"
Lang Tianjiao laughed heartily as the talisman soared into the air, transforming into a brilliant sphere of golden light, from which emerged a youth of half a man's stature.
The youth was translucent, radiating a resplendent glow, his pitch-black eyes shining like the sun, exuding an aura of invincibility despite his diminutive size.
He extended a hand, resembling a mountain descending with thunderous force, as the three disciples of the Hundred Poisons Sect turned to face him, their souls fleeing in terror, their faces drained of color.
"Lang—Fantian!"
Yin Blood Sword realized there was no escape, and defiantly charged toward the invincible youth, shouting, "Lang Tianjiao, you truly are a spoiled heir; your brother even resorted to self-harm to grant you the Soul-Sealing Talisman!"
"Self-harm? You underestimate my brother; he merely utilized another's martial soul, merging it with a fragment of his own will! If it were his own martial soul, it would suffice to contend with a Martial Sovereign!" Lang Tianjiao retorted with a cold sneer.
Boom!
The invincible youth remained silent as gold, his hand descending to crush Yin Blood Sword, obliterating him in a gruesome explosion of flesh and blood that splattered across the ground.
Yan Lie and another disciple of the Hundred Poisons Sect were paralyzed with terror, unable to escape as the invincible youth dispatched them with brutal efficiency, the scene unfolding with merciless savagery.