Chapter 401

Chapter 401: Hand-to-Hand Combat

Just when Zheng Cai thought obtaining the Mine Spirit was a sure thing, the next scene left him speechless.

He saw his puppet, attacking with full force, get caught by Ji Yang, who grabbed two of its arms, rendering it immobile.

But that was still acceptable since his puppet had Three Heads and Six Arms.

However, when the remaining four arms, equipped with magical weapons, swung toward Ji Yang, a crisp sound reached Zheng Cai’s ears.

It felt as though the strikes from his puppet were not hitting a physical body, but rather striking against another puppet of equal rank.

After all, only a puppet of the same level could withstand that blow.

Upon hearing the sound, Zheng Cai couldn’t help but rub his eyes, staring in disbelief.

Ji Yang, who should have been torn to pieces by the puppet, stood unharmed in place, gripping the puppet’s two arms with his body standing solidly, while the other four arms had already been deflected away.

That last strike had only caused Ji Yang’s clothes to shred a little.

“Impossible, this can’t be happening!”

Zheng Cai’s eyes widened in fear, mumbling to himself.

He couldn’t believe that Ji Yang could block his Life Puppet with just his physical body.

But with the evidence in front of him, even as panic consumed Zheng Cai, he had to accept that Ji Yang not only defended against the attack but hadn’t sustained a scratch.

This was absolutely something a master of body-refining could not achieve; only a cultivator at the Unity with the Dao stage could use the essence of the Way to block the attack of his puppet.

Could Ji Yang be a hidden cultivator at the Unity with the Dao stage? Yet, he hadn’t sensed any fluctuations of the essence of the Way just moments before.

Zheng Cai’s mind raced with thoughts, but no matter what, Ji Yang’s performance had already frightened him deeply.

With a retreating gaze, Zheng Cai unconsciously glanced back at the tunnel behind him.

If his Life Puppet hadn’t been caught by Ji Yang, he would have wanted to flee right then.

After all, the main strength of a Qianji Gate cultivator lay in their puppet; as for other aspects, they were not particularly skilled.

Losing that puppet would drastically reduce his strength in the secret realm.

At that point, forget about searching for the essence of the Way in the upper levels of the secret realm; he might not even make it to the middle levels.

Zheng Cai found himself in a dilemma: should he retrieve his Life Puppet before running or escape immediately?

While his mind raced, Ji Yang gripped the puppet tightly and then lifted it up, throwing it against the nearby mine wall with a loud crash.

Countless pieces of rubble fell, but the puppet wasn’t harmed by the impact.

Seeing this, Ji Yang couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed; it truly was sturdy.

However, this experience was quite exhilarating; he realized that he hadn’t had much opportunity to engage in hand-to-hand combat with other cultivators!

The sound instantly jolted Zheng Cai out of his thoughts.

In that moment, he made a decision.

He definitely needed to run, but this kid wasn’t human; he had to retrieve his puppet before escaping!

Seeing his puppet thrown aside, Zheng Cai quickly issued commands for the puppet to take him away.

However, before the order could be delivered, Ji Yang made his move again, engaging in battle with his puppet once more.

“Such a freak!”

In the fixed-point object, Huang Tian looked at the scene before him and couldn’t help but exclaim.

His judgment had been spot on; Ji Yang’s body, primordial spirit energy, and talent were all exceptional!

Unfortunately, the only flaw was that he couldn’t defeat him!

Thinking about the missed opportunity, Huang Tian sighed inwardly.

On the other side, Zheng Cai watched his Life Puppet in Ji Yang’s hands unable to resist at all. The magical weapons that were once placed on its six arms had now fallen to the ground in a disorganized heap, leaving his face blank.

Recalling how Ji Yang had caught his arrow with his bare hands, Zheng Cai finally realized that it wasn’t just luck; it wasn’t the sword energy he had unleashed that weakened the arrow’s power. Ji Yang had truly relied on his physical body to block the attack.

Had he known this before, he would have definitely turned and fled.

But it wasn’t too late now.

He could refine another puppet if he lost this one; he could search for another opportunity. Although the loss of his puppet might mean he would miss his chance at the Unity with the Dao stage,

As long as he was alive, there was still hope. After all, surviving great disaster must lead to future blessings.

The fear in his heart drove Zheng Cai to stop lingering and turn to escape.

At that moment, Ji Yang was still engaged in close combat with the puppet, and the exhilarating feeling of each punch felt hard to resist.

Compared to magical battles, this seemed to be the real way for a man to fight!

It was certainly a case of competing with an equal, meeting a worthy opponent.

“Hey, kid, he’s running away!”

The middle-aged man’s reminder snapped Ji Yang back to reality. He turned to see Zheng Cai nearly out of the tunnel and tossed the puppet aside again, stepping on its body to restrict its movements.

After doing this, Ji Yang calmly took out the fixed-point object. He threw several recently acquired Superior flying swords into the fixed-point object and activated the magical item.

As the light surged from the fixed-point object, Zheng Cai’s figure quickly materialized in the mirror surface.

With the added spiritual energy from the magical items, the effect of this fixed-point object was much stronger than before.

Seeing the distance between himself and Ji Yang increasing, Zheng Cai felt a flicker of joy.

Although he had lost the puppet, at least he was still alive and had a chance to rise again.

But just as Zheng Cai thought he was about to escape safely, he suddenly felt a strong feeling of confinement wash over him.

It felt like sinking into quicksand, making it hard for him to break free.

Even without looking, Zheng Cai knew this had to be Ji Yang attacking him.

Knowing that if he stopped, he would surely perish, Zheng Cai could no longer hold back. He unleashed the might of the Void Refinement stage, causing the surrounding quicksand to loosen slightly.

Just as he was about to use this chance to flee, he suddenly felt his body tighten, and the flexibility he had to struggle was completely lost. No matter how hard he tried to escape, he could not move.

Even as he circulated his True Essence, his body showed no signs of movement.

With his primordial spirit energy expanding, Zheng Cai saw Ji Yang behind him throwing more Superior flying swords into the fixed-point object. Ji Yang’s face was now furrowed in concentration, and the copper mirror in his hand shone brightly.

At this moment, Zheng Cai understood that the ancient copper mirror in Ji Yang’s hand had trapped him in this state.

It was definitely not an ordinary magical item!

And regarding Ji Yang’s rank, Zheng Cai no longer doubted.

He was most certainly a cultivator at the Unity with the Dao stage!

However, he hadn’t expected this person to be so despicable—disguising himself as a Golden Core stage cultivator to enter the secret realm and pretending to be harmless while mining.

This had completely clouded his judgment. If this person had shown his true strength earlier, he wouldn’t have competed for the Mine Spirit!

Although the Ancient Realm of Yuan Kong did not permit cultivators at the Unity with the Dao stage to enter, elite sects always had some means to conceal their strength and evade secret realm exploration.

These elite sects were truly infuriating!

This was the last thought that flashed through Zheng Cai’s mind before he fainted!