Chapter 0: Secret Realm Treasury
“If I could describe you in one word, it would definitely be ‘moody’.”
Luo Cangming, trailing behind Qin Gou and Yi Chengying, rubbed the large bump on his head with a pained groan.
Suddenly, the sounds of intense combat erupted.
Qin Gou and the others exchanged glances and quietly moved forward, following the noise.
They found themselves in a wide open area, surrounded by a large number of Spirit Puppets. Cooperating with each other, they had formed battle formations, significantly amplifying their strength. The person currently being besieged by these Spirit Puppets was none other than Li Yuanzhen.
“A’Qin!” Upon spotting Qin Gou and his companions, the Little Gambler’s eyes flashed with unconcealed joy. “Excellent! You bunch of blockheads are done for now. Didn’t this humble Daoist say ages ago that even beating a dog depends on its owner… it takes a village to raise a hero! This humble Daoist has backing!”
“Old Luo, you’re injured, be careful,” Qin Gou said.
With that, Qin Gou and Yi Chengying made the first move, followed closely by Luo Cangming. The three of them plunged into the enemy formation like a sharp blade, quickly defeating many Spirit Puppets and reaching Li Yuanzhen’s side.
“Yuan Zhenjie, are you alright?” The Little Chair asked, taking out a bottle of spiritual liquid from her Nas from the interspatial ring and inquiring with concern.
Li Yuanzhen chuckled with a carefree smile, “I’m not seriously injured, just entangled with these guys for too long, and my spiritual power is quite depleted.”
Qin Gou, fending off the Spirit Puppets with his sword, asked, “Where did these guys come from? Is this some kind of trial?”
Li Yuanzhen replied with a wry smile, “You could say that. This humble Daoist doesn’t know if I was lucky or unlucky this time. Not long after entering the secret realm, I discovered a treasure vault, but simultaneously, I was targeted by these testers. Their terrifying numbers and tireless nature make them extremely troublesome.”
“So that’s how it is.”
Qin Gou nodded slightly, but then, among the wave of Spirit Puppets that suddenly attacked, he recognized many familiar faces. Not long ago, they had been smashed to pieces by him and the Little Chair.
“Lord Qin, these Spirit Puppets seem to be able to restore themselves through some means, and their regeneration speed is terrifyingly fast,” Yi Chengying obviously also quickly noticed this.
“Indeed, that’s why this humble Daoist has been trapped for so long. What’s more annoying is that I was previously informed that the spiritual treasures within the treasure vault are consumed to fuel the regeneration of these Spirit Puppets. In other words, the longer we fight them, the greater our loss in the end!”
Li Yuanzhen gritted her teeth, utterly frustrated, “It’s highly possible that by the time we finally enter the treasure vault, we’ll find it completely empty, already depleted by these Spirit Puppets.”
“What did you say?!”
It had to be said, this move by Luo Wei Ban, the Nine Saint Monarch, was truly shocking.
Luo Cangming immediately cried out in extreme heartache, “Then we should stop right now and run!”
“What’s the use of running? Only by defeating all these Spirit Puppets can the seal on the treasure vault be broken,” Li Yuanzhen shook her head. “Although the trials set by the Nine Saint Monarch are difficult, there must be a way to break through. For example, if there’s a way to defeat all these Spirit Puppets in a short period, or to find the most crucial one among them.”
Hearing this, Qin Gou immediately took out several array flags from his Nas. “If you can buy me some time, I can set up a powerful killing array and destroy all these Spirit Puppets in an instant.”
“Setting up an array? That would take an hour, wouldn’t it?” Luo Cangming asked doubtfully.
“For me, it certainly won’t take that long,” Qin Gou said confidently.
“Is that true? When did you become so proficient in array formations?” Luo Cangming asked, surprised and delighted, this clearly didn’t match his memory of Qin Gou.
“But the biggest problem now is that these Spirit Puppets definitely won’t allow me to set up the array properly; they’ll even actively destroy my array flags,” Qin Gou frowned, contemplating how to assign Luo Cangming and the others to distract the Spirit Puppets for him.
“Lord Qin Gou, so you’re all here!”
Suddenly, Mo Ning’s voice rang out. Looking at the familiar figure, Qin Gou’s eyes lit up. “Since Ning’er is here, all problems will be easily solved!”
“Lord Qin Gou, these Spirit Puppets…”
“Mo Ning, immediately unleash the ‘Illusory Sea Tide’ with all your might. If we don’t defeat these Spirit Puppets quickly, they will regenerate endlessly. And judging by their ability to cooperate and counter-attack, these guys clearly possess some form of spiritual intelligence. Your specialty, illusory arts, is the best solution!” Qin Gou said immediately.
Upon hearing this, Yi Chengying, Li Yuanzhen, and the others also showed happy expressions. Mo Ning’s arrival was indeed timely.
“But…”
Suddenly, Mo Ning’s expression turned embarrassed, and she said with shame, “Lord Qin Gou, Ning’er can indeed unleash the ‘Illusory Sea Tide,’ but that is ultimately Kong Ling’s signature skill. If I use it now, the effect will inevitably be greatly reduced. Based on the number of Spirit Puppets here, even if Ning’er exerts all her effort, she can only barely control one-third of them.”
At this, Qin Gou fell silent.
In fact, Qin Gou could have broken Mo Ning’s illusion on herself with a simple sentence, making her instantly realize that she and Kong Ling were not separate. Then she could have fully displayed the true power of ‘Illusory Sea Tide.’
However, that would inevitably cause Kong Ling and Mo Ning mental turmoil, bringing them intense pain, and in the end, it might even require the Little Gambler’s Invisible Slash to resolve it. Qin Gou would never do such a thing.
Just then, Mo Ning cast her illusion, quickly breaking through the encirclement and reaching Qin Gou and the others. “Therefore, the only way now is for Kong Ling to act personally!”
“What did you say?” Qin Gou was taken aback, puzzled. “Kong Tou should still be at Zi Xuan Academy right now, and in her current condition, she shouldn’t be able to use the ‘Illusory Sea Tide’ technique at all.”
“But if she were to regain control of this Dao Body, wouldn’t that work?”
“Does Ning’er have a way to initiate a consciousness swap with Kong Ling?” Qin Gou asked in surprise.
“I can’t, but you definitely can,” Mo Ning pointed at Qin Gou and mused, “Lord Qin Gou, what kind of person do you think Kong Ling is?”
“Kong Tou? She has always been an Orchid heart, pure, and respectful of her teachers, and also…”
“Stop! That’s enough.” Mo Ning said with a hint of jealousy, “Once before, out of curiosity, I secretly played with a miniature statue of you, Lord Qin Gou, in her room. Kong Ling wasn’t even present, but somehow she found out and got so angry. At that moment, I felt like I was just a little bit away from her regaining control of this body!”
Speaking, Mo Ning revealed a mischievous, devilish smile and said playfully, “So… if merely touching a fake of her could cause that reaction, what if I play for real this time?”
