Chapter 968
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The disciple’s face twisted into an odd expression as he exclaimed, “There’s an eyeball on your head!”
“Damn it!” Ji Ou quickly fumbled, and an eyeball fell to the ground, splattering and bursting into pieces with a sickening *plop*.
“Too damn disgusting!” Ji Ou muttered, his eyes darting to the blood-bone figures surrounding the azure pillar. He couldn’t help but curse, “Where on earth did these things come from?”
Though they had entered the azure pillar, the dozens of blood-bone figures surrounding them showed no signs of leaving. It seemed as if they were waiting—waiting for something, or someone. These blood-bone figures were truly terrifying to behold. Some were nothing but skeletons, clutching long knives with hollow eye sockets that glowed with a dark red light, staring intently at them. Others still had bits of flesh and entrails clinging to their bones, emitting a foul stench that was almost unbearable, making one wish they were just skeletons instead. There were even those who, despite having only their upper bodies left, crawled on the ground, gripping swords and glaring menacingly at them.
“These guys are really determined to keep us in their sights, aren’t they?” Jiang Yihan clicked his tongue and said, “Senior Brother Mu, Junior Brother Ye, what do we do?”
Ye Wushuang, at this moment, moved closer to the edge of the azure pillar, gazing at the blood-bone figures outside. “These are likely blood puppets created through some secret technique,” he said.
Blood puppets?
Everyone turned their attention to Ye Wushuang.
He continued, “In this world, aside from alchemy, array techniques, and artifact techniques, there are also many rare, eerie, and peculiar methods, such as puppetry and beast taming.”
“These blood puppets…” Ye Wushuang took a step out of the range of the azure pillar. Immediately, a nearby blood-bone figure lunged at him with a sword. Without a word, Ye Wushuang reached out with a claw-like hand, grabbed the neck of the blood-bone figure, which was at the level of the First Stage of the Myriad Methods, and snapped it in an instant. Before the other blood-bone figures could close in, Ye Wushuang brought the corpse of the blood-bone figure, its neck broken, back into the azure pillar.
This time, the azure pillar did not shatter the dead blood-bone figure. Ye Wushuang dropped the corpse on the ground and examined it carefully, even feeling around in the decaying flesh that still clung to the blood-bone figure.
“Amazing!” Ji Ou expressed his admiration in awe. He felt like vomiting just by looking at it, yet Ye Wushuang remained unfazed, studying the corpse with utmost seriousness. It was truly extraordinary composure!
After a while, Ye Wushuang stood up. “Did you find out anything?” Mu Zi Li, Ji Ou, and Jiang Yihan all asked curiously.
“Indeed, they are blood puppets, and they were created through a very brutal process,” Ye Wushuang replied. “These blood puppets… they were likely human warriors, forcibly turned into puppets while still alive. The process was so cruel that these living people, unable to endure the pain and torment, would mutilate themselves by scratching, tearing, and ripping their own flesh and entrails until they became what we see now…”
Upon hearing this, the faces of the dozen or so people present changed dramatically. The thought of turning living humans into such blood puppets was horrifying, sending chills down their spines just by hearing about it.
“Junior Brother Ye, how did you know that these azure pillars could make these blood-bone figures wary?” Mu Zi Li was extremely curious.
The others also looked at Ye Wushuang with interest.
“Earlier, when the earth trembled and the blood-red pillars rose into the sky, followed by these azure pillars…” Ye Wushuang explained. “The aura within the blood-red pillars is completely opposite to that of the azure pillars. Moreover, I noticed that these blood puppets, as they approached us, seemed to avoid the azure pillars along the way, either intentionally or unintentionally.”
“I was just making an educated guess based on these observations. When the blood-red pillars rose, I sensed an invisible barrier enveloping this entire area. I realized that escaping was impossible, so I led everyone to the nearest azure pillar, hoping for the best.”
Upon hearing this, everyone felt a deep sense of admiration. In the midst of that crisis, while they were preoccupied with worrying about the people from Tianji Mansion and Shengdan Sect, as well as the dangers posed by the ancient city’s anomalies, they had no time to pay attention to anything else. Yet Ye Wushuang, with his keen attention to detail, had observed these subtle clues.
At this moment, several disciples climbed to the top of the pavilion within the azure pillar and looked into the distance.
“Come and see this,” they called out.
Instantly, everyone else climbed to the rooftop of the pavilion. From the hundred-meter-high vantage point, they could see for several miles around.
“My goodness…” they gasped.
Below them, within the entire Tianlin Ancient City, the streets, mansions, taverns, and palaces were all teeming with blood-bone figures. These figures, either in pairs, small groups, or even larger packs of dozens, roamed about, attacking any warriors they encountered.
“Look over there!” Mu Zi Li pointed in a certain direction, his face turning pale.
Ten miles to the northwest, on a wide street, a group of more than ten warriors from a certain faction were surrounded by dozens of blood-bone figures.
“They’re from the Qinglong Hall!” someone recognized the group.
At that moment, the dozen or so warriors were trapped by the blood-bone figures and had no chance of escape. They could only fight to the death. But soon, nearly half of them were killed.
“Hold on, take a closer look!” Yun Yin pointed at the battle on the street, her expression one of utter astonishment.
