Chapter 1053: Slaying the Jade Leaf King

"Hmph!"

The Jade Leaf King snorted coldly, his mind racing.

Now that his physical body was destroyed, if he truly killed this Purple Leaf King, the Heaven-Recognized Master would surely die. Once this fellow died... all hope would be lost.

As long as he kept him alive and returned to the clan, just as the other had said, there would be endless rewards, his primordial spirit would grow stronger, his cultivation higher, and even seizing a more powerful cultivator's body would not be difficult.

"Better to agree for now. As long as I survive, returning to the clan will take a long time. I can take advantage of his carelessness and kill him..."

One scheme after another flowed through his mind.

Returning to the clan from here would take a long time. As long as this fellow showed any flaw, he could kill him on the spot!

Then, he would neither harm the Heaven-Recognized Master nor fail to avenge his grievance.

But now, the other was clearly on guard. If they continued to stalemate, he would surely be the one to suffer.

After all, his current state was that of a primordial spirit. Though his strength was great, he could not sustain it for long.

"Let me first take a look..."

Having finished his deliberation, the Jade Leaf King moved his spirit, and the puppet standing on the ground flew toward him. His divine sense examined it carefully in the blink of an eye.

This puppet was a masterpiece of craftsmanship, using the simplest materials to unleash the greatest power. It was indeed a fine thing. Although its strength was somewhat weak, when combined with his primordial spirit, it could still unleash formidable combat power.

Though far inferior to before, it was still enough to deal with a Purple Leaf King.

Having calculated the result, he examined the puppet inside and out and found no traps or anything else. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Whoosh!

His primordial spirit stirred and plunged straight in.

After a moment, the puppet opened its eyes, moved its limbs, and looked again at the nearby Purple Leaf King: "Alright, you can now release this Heaven-Recognized Master!"

"Of course!"

With a light laugh, Zhang Xuan casually threw Feng Xun to the ground.

The power of the brick earlier had been too great; this fellow had not yet woken up.

"Released?"

The Jade Leaf King was stunned.

According to his speculation, the other would surely continue to threaten him to ensure his own safety. But now he obediently let go... Was he really not afraid that he would turn around and kill him?

"He's asking for death..."

His eyes lit up. With a grab of his hand, he protected the unconscious Heaven-Recognized Master lying on the ground. At the same time, his body flickered and charged toward the Purple Leaf King before him.

Since this fellow was courting death, how could he, the dignified Jade Leaf King, miss the opportunity!

The third-ranked super-strong among the Upper Five Kings, having been toyed with by the other, was already furious enough to explode.

"Sigh, I gave you a chance to live, but you didn't know how to cherish it..."

Seeing him charge, the Purple Leaf King opposite did not dodge or counterattack. Instead, he shook his head, sighed, raised his hand, and snapped his fingers: "Lie down!"

Crack!

The charging Jade Leaf King suddenly felt an intense pain inside his body. His body stiffened, and with a "thud," he fell to the ground.

"You... you poisoned this puppet?"

His pupils contracted, and the Jade Leaf King's eyes blazed with fury.

In an instant, he understood why the other had been so emboldened. It turned out this puppet had been poisoned, and even his powerful primordial spirit had not escaped; he had been hit directly!

"Smart. Obey me obediently and be my puppet, and I'll spare your life," Zhang Xuan said calmly.

When he took out the puppet, he had already made his plan. He patted it a few times, injecting the Heavenly Dao true energy from his body into it.

The true energy had no attributes. Even if discovered, it would be mistaken for the puppet's own true energy, arousing no suspicion... Once his primordial spirit entered, he would activate it all at once, causing him to be poisoned, even his primordial spirit not exempt.

"Let me obey you? Dream on..."

The Jade Leaf King gritted his teeth, and his primordial spirit surged violently, charging straight toward the acupoints on the puppet's body.

Since he could enter, he could naturally also exit.

"Since you've come in, wanting to get out... how could that be possible!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Hearing this, the Jade Leaf King's heart turned cold. He then realized that all the acupoints on the puppet's body were sealed by a special true energy. Even with his formidable strength, he could not break out.

In other words, all avenues of retreat were completely blocked. Even with his current strength, there was no way.

Having been extremely cautious, he still fell into the trap. The Jade Leaf King was so angry he wanted to vomit blood, but found the puppet had no blood to vomit. The more he thought, the colder he felt, the more afraid he became.

The one before him had left nothing to chance. Not only had he made him and the Stone Leaf King fight each other, but he had even planned how to deal with him after his victory, preparing a puppet laced with poison in advance...

Since when had the Purple Leaf King become so formidable?

"You are not... the Purple Leaf King!"

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him.

"Not bad, quite smart. You've finally figured it out in the end..." Zhang Xuan smiled lightly. He no longer pretended. His muscles creaked and popped, and after a moment, he transformed back into his own appearance.

"You are a human? Could it be... could it be that you are the Heaven-Recognized Master?"

His body stiffened, and the Jade Leaf King's pupils contracted.

A Heaven-acknowledged Master is recognized by both heaven and earth. Such a person is blessed with fortune—how could he be easily captured and remain unconscious until now? Combined with the fact that this guy insisted on standing under the light of the altar earlier... it's easy to guess the truth.

"Consider it—become my servant!"

Not answering his words, Zhang Xuan said calmly.

The matter of the Heaven-acknowledged Master was too significant. He hadn't admitted it even in the Master Teacher Hall, let alone in front of an Otherworldly Clan member.

"Make me your servant? Dream on... But to die at the hands of a Heaven-acknowledged Master who appears once in ten thousand years, I accept it!"

Jade Leaf King sneered coldly, shook his head, and golden liquid flowed from the puppet's eyes before it crashed heavily to the ground.

"You..."

Hurrying over, he found that the fellow had already stopped breathing.

With his primordial spirit trapped inside the puppet, unable to escape or self-destruct, and unwilling to submit, this guy was resolute enough to choose suicide directly!

"Quite decisive, and very loyal to the Otherworldly Clan..." Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Knowing there was no escape, he chose suicide. This Jade Leaf King, though somewhat selfish and indifferent to his comrades' lives, was unquestionably loyal to the Otherworldly Clan.

"It's just... a waste of my puppet!"

Looking down at the puppet lying on the ground, Zhang Xuan felt a pang of pain.

The other's primordial spirit was too strong. Although he could seal it with Heaven's Path True Energy to prevent escape, this suicide had completely destroyed the puppet's internal structure. The treasure that had barely been promoted to Saint Domain Tier 3 was now utterly ruined.

"But these two kings have plenty of treasures. Not to mention others, this long blade and long spear are both at the Saint Artifact level. Though only low-grade, they're not bad..."

The puppet was broken, and with his artifact-refining ability, it seemed... he couldn't repair it. Still, killing these two fellows wasn't a loss.

He had only lost one puppet, but these two had far too many treasures on them.

The long blade and long spear used in the earlier battle were already at the Saint Artifact level.

Not to mention Jade Leaf King's numerous sacrificial items and that strange altar.

"Collect them first..."

Putting aside other thoughts, he first gathered the storage rings left by the two, then walked toward the Thunder Origin Pearl lying flat on the ground not far away.

This item had been grasped in Stone Leaf King's hand, but after his palm was severed, it fell to the ground, landing not far away, emitting a faint glow.

Approaching it in a few steps, he gently reached out his hand to touch it.

Crackle!

Before he even got close, he felt a scorching pain, and countless bolts of lightning struck at him, as if to burn him to ashes.

Dodging the attack with a flicker of his body, Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched.

This Thunder Origin Pearl was good, very powerful, but with his current strength, it seemed... he couldn't even get close, let alone refine it.

"Throwing away such a formidable treasure is such a waste..."

He rubbed his brow.

If he hadn't seen it, it would be one thing. But having seen it and being not far away, not taking such a powerful treasure would be a disservice to himself.

"Let's try this..."

After hesitating for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up. He grabbed Stone Leaf King's physical body and held it in front of him, then slowly walked toward the Thunder Origin Pearl again.

Crack!

As if sensing life approaching, lightning struck again, but all of it was blocked by Stone Leaf King's body.

After a moment, Zhang Xuan reached the pearl and quickly brushed his hand over it.

Crack!

He had only just shouted "flaw" in his mind when the next moment he was sent flying backward, his whole body stiff, hair standing on end and smoking, his clothes blasted to shreds—a perfect image of someone struck by lightning.

"This... is too powerful..."

It took him a long while to recover.

Fortunately, his witch soul had been tempered by lightning and become stronger, and his physical body had reached the Saint Artifact level. Otherwise, this strike would have left him bedridden for days, unable to move, even if it didn't kill him.

"Let's see if there's a way to refine it even with insufficient strength..."

Knowing his current strength was still lacking, Zhang Xuan wasn't discouraged. Instead, he looked toward the library.

When he touched it just now, he had shouted "flaw." Though he was in a sorry state, he should have achieved his goal and obtained the corresponding book.

Sure enough, as this thought came to him, a book flew over from the shelf and landed in his palm.

He casually opened it.

"Thunder Origin Pearl: born from the gathering place of thunder, can be used as a formation foundation to control the Thunder Sea Grand Formation..."

The content of the book flowed into his mind like water, and in a short while, he learned the flaw of this item.

"So that's it... With my current strength, I can refine it, but using it will be difficult unless I reach the Primordial Spirit realm..."

Understanding the situation, Zhang Xuan smiled bitterly.

This Thunder Sea, as he had guessed earlier, was an eighth-level grand formation that could only be controlled by a Primordial Spirit. Even if he knew the flaw of the Thunder Origin Pearl and could refine it smoothly, he still couldn't fully control the formation for his own use.

"Forget it, I won't think too much. Let's refine it first..."

Setting aside this issue, Zhang Xuan looked at the sphere not far away again, his eyes shining.

He couldn't use it now, but he could use it later when his strength increased. An eighth-level killing formation... was a rare and invaluable treasure!