Chapter 702

Chapter 702: Black Eat Black

After hearing the old bird’s words, Fang Lie curled his lips, not taking it seriously at all. He knew that this was clearly impossible. Even if the Mo Sect’s Eighth-Rank Earth Element magical tools came, he would still need a long time for refining them before he could use them—certainly years.

The open time for the Dragon Palace Deadly Area is only three months; he obviously cannot waste it all on refining magical tools.

As for the Semi-Immortal-level Xuan Water Puppet, Fang Lie had no desire to provoke it. Although the Tenth-Rank Semi-Immortal puppet is definitely not as powerful as a Semi-Immortal or a Demon King—and even weaker than slightly stronger Thunder Tribulation Immortals who could escape—Fang Lie still could not defeat it. Its Magic is real, and he doesn’t even need to mention divine skills; even a gust of wind would be impossible for Fang Lie to withstand right now.

In fact, regarding this Ninth-Rank puppet, if it weren’t for Fang Lie’s Healing Art and his undying nature, he wouldn’t even be able to get close. Although it had only unleashed two or three special water element Dao magic techniques, it had already caused Fang Lie to suffer broken bones and shattered internal organs, demonstrating its incredible power!

In this water-filled environment, the Xuan Water Puppet’s strength would be nearly doubled, which was quite terrifying. Fortunately, both the intruders and the demons had prepared ways to counter water element Dao magic; otherwise, who knows how many living beings would be left to leave.

After sending the old bird away, Fang Lie approached a pillar and found that it was a special magical tool meant for growing Sea Spirit Grass, essentially a special flowerpot. The Sea Spirit Grass grew particularly well inside, and the Spirit Liquid it condensed could immediately spread out, increasing the Spiritual Energy throughout the entire Dragon Palace.

Sea Spirit Grass has always been a precious spirit herb, even famous during ancient times, and now it is worth more than gold. However, this treasure is merely an ordinary spirit plant in the Dragon Palace, cultivated in a special dragon pillar in the quarters of the servants, and it seems rather unvalued.

Fang Lie quickly realized that since this thing was undervalued, the numbers might not be small. He hurriedly collected it and sent his three hundred clones to search for more.

As a result, the three hundred clones searched for over an hour and indeed found dozens of similar dragon pillars; however, all were ruined. Some had been destroyed in ancient times, but one or two had definitely been taken away in recent millennia, clearly benefiting other Cultivators.

Fang Lie felt helpless but accepted his bad luck. Just then, he suddenly noticed something worse; his three hundred clones might be searching freely, but they also easily attracted trouble. In a short time, dozens had met a tragic end, resulting in quite a loss!

The clones that had perished had been inexplicably attacked by terrifying restrictions while moving. Some had immediately turned to clear water, others had been brutally crushed into pulp by overwhelming power, and two had vanished without a trace, leaving Fang Lie clueless about what happened.

The remaining clones had run into patrol teams of Xuan Water Puppets. Xuan Water Puppet is actually a general term for all the puppets controlled by the Dragon Palace, made from Xuan Water. However, there are many types of Xuan Water Puppets, and the ones Fang Lie had just captured were guardian puppets assigned to protect specific areas.

In addition, there are patrolling guard puppets, servant puppets that serve the masters, artisan puppets used for alchemy, tool-making, breeding Spirit Beasts, and Spirit Plants; combat puppets clad in armor, strong in battle and dedicated to guarding Secret Places; and the strongest, the puppet generals who command battles.

These puppets vary significantly in quality. Although they can all be leveled up, their combat strength within the same rank can differ greatly. The weakest ones are the servant puppets, which are typically hastily made and rarely advance to Eighth-Rank, and most are permanently damaged.

As for the strongest, they are the puppet generals. Even though they are also Ninth-Rank, if encountered, Fang Lie’s three hundred clones would likely struggle to defeat them. However, there are very few generals, making them hard to come by, and almost all of them are Tenth-Rank, usually accompanied by a group of puppet warriors, making them definitely tough opponents.

But tough opponents have their advantages; generally, the stronger the puppet, the greater the benefits gained after defeating them. If one could truly slay a puppet general, just the armor and weapons they carry would be worth the effort, surely being Eighth-Rank treasures.

Even the armor on the guardian puppets boasts many Eighth-Rank items, at least of Seventh-Rank quality. Given the Dragon Palace’s wealth, they definitely wouldn’t have any trash goods.

However, those patrolling puppet guards are the most annoying ones. They often come in groups of ten or a hundred, and when they fight, they coordinate with each other skillfully, making them extremely hard to deal with. What’s even more frustrating is that they are empty-handed, meaning that even if they exhaust themselves to death fighting, they won’t earn any rewards.

So after Fang Lie’s mechanical puppet clones encountered a large group of puppet guards and were destroyed, Fang Lie could only swallow his losses without even considering revenge.

Of course, despite the heavy sacrifices, Fang Lie did gain some useful information. He’d identified two locations likely containing treasures.

The first was an undamaged small building shielded by powerful restrictions, which had miraculously survived battles between two Thunder Tribulation cultivators.

Inside stood two armored puppet guards. When one of Fang Lie’s clones entered, the Ninth-Rank puppets obliterated it instantly. The clone didn’t even comprehend how it died, only recalling the puppets’ majestic blue metal armor radiating the aura of Eighth-Rank Treasures.

Another clone vanished entirely. It had discovered an underground secret room beneath some ruins. After entering, all communication ceased. Fang Lie’s main body sensed only its death, with no clues about the cause.

Notably, though the area lay in ruins, remnants suggested it had been a workshop for crafting bows and arrows.

From gathered knowledge, Fang Lie knew Dragon Palace workshops mass-produced treasures to arm their forces.

In ancient times, abundant materials—especially undersea minerals—allowed the Dragon Palace to forge peerless weapons and armor, many capable of evolving into Eighth-Rank Treasures.

Securing this workshop’s stockpile could yield immense rewards.

This left Fang Lie torn: should his main body confront the armored puppets or investigate the mysterious workshop?

Two unexpected visitors soon decided for him.

Bare-chested, muscle-bound Great Demons wielding bone axes descended from the sky. Their Ninth-Rank Demon King aura pulsed with menace.

Spotting the intact building, they charged. A nearby clone monitoring the area alerted Fang Lie immediately.

Without hesitation, Fang Lie summoned an altar bearing the Wonderful Bodhi Tree—now rivaling his own strength—and 108 Bronze Chime Bells. Even Fang Lie would struggle against this combination.

He dispatched them with one clone and a hundred others to encircle the building. Their orders: avoid direct conflict but block all escape routes.

Given spatial restrictions, Fang Lie doubted the intruders could escape with treasures past his hundred-clone cordon.

His plan was clear—let them retrieve the goods, then ambush them. Black eat black at its finest.

Meanwhile, Fang Lie’s main body headed toward the workshop ruins while attempting to contact Mo Lanyun and Mao Mao via Mo Sect secret methods.

No responses came. Mo Sect communication reached only disciples within ten thousand miles.

The Dragon Palace’s true scale remained mysterious. Legends spoke of eight domains, each ruled by an Earth-Immortal Dragon Emperor with millions of followers across territories spanning millions of miles.

Finding two people here resembled searching for a needle in the ocean.

Resigned, Fang Lie pressed onward while monitoring the distant clash. The two Great Demons had already breached the building.

Violent Magic fluctuations and Spiritual Pressure hurled debris skyward. Such force would’ve flattened hundreds of miles elsewhere, but Dragon Palace restrictions confined the devastation to a few hundred feet.

The building’s protections held firm throughout the fifteen-minute battle. Eventually, the wounded Demons emerged, laughing despite injuries sealed by blue ice. Their depleted aura hinted at hard-won gains.

Yet as they descended the steps, triumph turned to terror—the ambush struck!