Chapter 1221: The Brain and the Eyes

Whoosh!

The sneak attack severely wounded this soulless golden man, rendering it combat-ineffective. Hall Master Xing and Master Wu both stood up and each made their move, quickly slaying the surrounding soulless golden men.

The two had undergone the thunder tribulation and were now true nascent soul stage experts. These golden men, only at the primordial spirit stage, were utterly unable to withstand them.

After dealing with the other golden men, Master Wu approached the injured Zhang Jiuxiao, Hall Master Wei, and others, took out a gourd of fine wine, and gave each of them a swig.

After a few breaths, the injured individuals recovered from their wounds and stood up one after another.

"Hall Master Xing, Master Wu... what is going on? You..."

Everyone was filled with astonishment, unable to believe it.

These two were clearly in the Out-of-Body Tribulation, severely injured, on the verge of death at any moment. How... in the blink of an eye, had they become so fierce?

"It was Master Zhang who had us feign weakness, lulling the enemy into complacency, and only strike at the last moment..."

Hall Master Xing said.

He had undergone the lightning tribulation and had indeed escaped death by a hair's breadth, suffering severe injuries.

Under normal circumstances, without months of recuperation, recovery would be difficult. But the medicinal wine in that gourd given by Master Zhang was simply too potent; it not only healed his physical wounds but also replenished his damaged soul.

Master Wu also nodded.

Although he hadn't drunk any wine, Master Zhang had personally infused true qi into his body, and that slight injury, just formed, was already healed.

"Master Zhang has just gone ahead; let's go over and take a look too!"

Finding a way out of desperation, everyone sighed with emotion before continuing forward.

After watching all this, the ruthless man's face turned ashen.

He had originally intended to trigger Hall Master Xing's tribulation lightning to make them lose a general, but never dreamed it would instead do them a great favor.

"Did you know I would send people to kill them?" He looked over, his pitch-black eyes filled with murderous intent.

"I didn't know, but being prepared in advance never hurts!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

He hadn't expected the other party to use Master Wu and the others as leverage, but one shouldn't put all eggs in one basket... no matter what one does, one must be prepared for any contingency.

Especially facing such an old monster who had lived for who knows how long, if he didn't prepare in advance, he might really die here.

"Very well... Do you think I really don't dare to kill you?"

Seeing that the man before him seemed unafraid and utterly confident, the ruthless man trembled, his voice filled with anger.

"Of course you dare to kill me... but can you kill me?"

With a light smile, Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow: "If you truly could, you would have acted long ago and wouldn't be wasting so many words with me!"

He had encountered the ruthless man twice.

The first time, when he encountered his heart, the man had tried to kill him without a word; with no other choice, he had summoned the Heavenly Dao Scroll to subdue him.

The second time he encountered the Finger Bone, it was likewise indiscriminate, striking directly... Since it was the same person reborn from a drop of blood, their nature must be the same. How could it be fierce the first two times, yet become merciful this time and negotiate?

Clearly, the other party was just talking. Killing him would not be so easy.

Otherwise, he would not have wasted words and would have acted directly.

Or perhaps... he still wanted to use his hand to escape suppression, hesitating because of scruples, and thus stirred up so much trouble.

If so, what was there to fear?

"You..."

The ruthless man was stunned.

"What? Don't want to talk? Then I'll go back first..."

Too lazy to bother with him, Zhang Xuan circulated the Heavenly Dao true qi within his body. His soul trembled, and in an instant, his vision blurred. He found himself still standing in the same place; everything just now seemed like an illusion.

Seeing that it matched his guess, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Earlier, at Chen Zhe's home, when the other party attacked him, he had found it strange. Later, when he came here and deliberately triggered Hall Master Xing's Out-of-Body Tribulation, it made him even more suspicious.

If he were truly powerful, regardless of Hall Master Xing, he could easily crush him; there was no need for such superfluous actions.

Later, when Qingtian Emperor was beaten so badly, nearly dead, he still did not appear...

Zhang Xuan had already confirmed this in his heart, but he dared not take risks and continued to verify.

When his soul was seized by the other party, and he found that the other party still did not act but instead negotiated, even threatening the lives of Master Wu and others, he finally understood...

This ruthless man was not as terrifying as imagined; he might not even be as strong as Qingtian Emperor!

Otherwise, he would not have kept hiding, controlling these soulless golden men to kill people everywhere.

He wanted to pretend to be an expert, to subdue without fighting, to make him yield...

Anyone else would have fallen for it, but he might never have dreamed that when it came to pretending to be an expert... Zhang Xuan was a professional!

He had pretended to be Master Yang and scared away even a Saint Domain Seventh Layer powerhouse. Trying to fool him—how could it be that easy?

His body flickered, and he arrived at the wall where Qingtian Emperor had suddenly appeared. Zhang Xuan reached out his hand and touched it.

After a moment, he smiled slightly, raised his eyebrows, and pointed his fingers like a sword, tapping out repeatedly.

Seven times in succession.

Crack!

The sound of a spring mechanism opening. A passage continued downward.

Inside, it was pitch black, and even divine sense could not penetrate it.

"Doppelganger, you go ahead..."

Zhang Xuan turned his head and called out.

The doppelganger was a Nine Heavens Lotus Fetus; even if it encountered danger and was split in two, it would not be harmed. He himself could not do that.

Although he knew that hating someone might not be as terrifying as imagined, it was still better to be cautious. After all, if an old monster who had lived for who knows how many years only had such means, it would have been impossible for Qingtian Huang to be so devoted.

"Follow behind me, I'll protect you... If it really doesn't work, I'll come out as the original body, and you can be the clone!"

With a proud and disdainful look, the clone glanced contemptuously at the original body and strode ahead.

The dignified original body couldn't even defeat its clone, and on top of that, it was so timid—how did it even manage to get by?

Ignoring the narcissistic clone, Zhang Xuan put the Gold Origin Cauldron and the Ice Rain Sword into his storage ring and followed closely behind, heading toward the passage.

"Let me tell you, as the original body, you should be wise, decisive, and exceptionally powerful. Acting timid and afraid to even walk through a passage—how can you be worthy of such an impressive clone like me?"

The clone grumbled as it walked, greatly dissatisfied.

"It's better to be careful!"

Seeing him talk more and more, Zhang Xuan felt a bit embarrassed.

This might be the most pathetic original body under heaven—after condensing a clone, the clone was even better at showing off than he was. Just thinking about it was intoxicating.

"What's there to be careful about? Do you think I'm afraid?"

With a cold laugh, the clone was about to continue speaking when suddenly a tremendous force rushed toward it.

Slap!

Before it could react, its head was smashed flat on the spot, looking like an oil cake.

"Ah... who ambushed me..."

With a furious roar, the clone quickly rushed toward the direction of the attack. By then, it had reached the end of the stone steps, which opened into another spacious hall.

Whoosh!

Several figures suddenly burst out, blocking the way. The clone's head had been smashed into that state by one of them with a single punch.

Seeing that there was indeed danger, Zhang Xuan realized that if it had been him, he would probably be dead already. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and looked carefully.

There were four of them, about the same height as him. They were neither alien tribesmen nor soulless golden men.

"Are they Heavenly Craft Puppets?"

He frowned.

The four figures before him turned out to be extremely intricate Heavenly Craft Puppets.

Unlike the puppets that Wu Yangzi had previously refined using alien tribesmen as templates, Heavenly Craft Puppets were entirely composed of parts, equipped with springs and mechanisms, capable of unleashing formidable combat power.

Judging from the fact that one punch had flattened the clone's head, their strength was probably not inferior to his own, at least reaching the mid-stage of the Out-of-Body realm.

"Damn it!"

The clone was furious enough to explode.

It had just wanted to show off as a master before the original body, seeking a worthy opponent, and even mock him a bit, only to end up beaten like this. The frustration in its heart was imaginable. With a shout, its head returned to its original shape, and it charged straight at the puppet that had attacked it.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The one and the puppet clashed with over a dozen punches. The immense force caused the surrounding air to crackle loudly, rocks flew everywhere, and cracks appeared on the ground. However, neither side took a step back.

"So strong..."

His eyes twitched.

This puppet's strength was not at all inferior to that of Qingtian Huang from before.

And there were three more beside it...

If they joined forces, even he and his clone, along with the Gold Origin Cauldron, would be no match.

"What? Do you really think I can't kill you?"

The ruthless man's voice continued.

"You mean, relying on these puppets?"

Zhang Xuan said.

"No matter what means, as long as they can kill, they are the best means..."

The ruthless man sneered.

"So you admit that, relying on your own strength alone, you can't kill me..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

First creating Qingtian Huang, and now these puppets—it seemed that the other party indeed found it very difficult to kill him with his own strength.

"Master, I've confirmed it... he is my brain and eyes!"

The voice of the ruthless man from within the Book of Heavenly Dao sounded.

"Brain and eyes?"

"Yes, the brain contains memories, so he knows so much, even remembering the matter of trapping Master Kong..."

The ruthless man in the Book of Heavenly Dao analyzed: "However, the brain and eyes cannot fight; at most, they can deceive some subordinates to act for him... or use some secret soul techniques! That's why he hasn't appeared until now, always using these underhanded tricks!"

"Not bad!"

Hearing his analysis, Zhang Xuan nodded.

When he encountered the finger bone before, it attacked without a word. This one, using either alien tribesmen, puppets, or soul-possession methods, clearly couldn't kill him with pure strength.

"But, Master, be careful. Although the brain's combat ability is weak, it has memories and knows a lot. It will be very difficult to kill and seize it..."

The ruthless man in the Book of Heavenly Dao shook his head.

Although his strength had improved after the lightning tribulation, he couldn't match the other party's numerous tricks.

The brain, possessing complete memories, would surely know how to seize and maximize power—it was definitely not something a heart and a finger could contend with...

"Most importantly, the brain is the center of the body. Back then, it always obeyed orders, like the relationship between a king and soldiers in the alien tribe, with a special oppressive force. I'm afraid... as soon as we get close, we might not be able to resist and will involuntarily obey its commands!"

The voice of the ruthless man in the Book of Heavenly Dao carried worry.

Not to mention him, even if all the torso parts were gathered, they would still have to obey the brain... Rushing over like this might not only fail to seize it but also turn them into puppets controlled by the other party.