Chapter 27: Is One Soul Puppet Not Enough? Then Let’s Bring Out Another!
In the capital of the Great Qian Dynasty, within the Second Prime Minister’s Mansion inside the Imperial City.
Once disciples of the Shangqing Sect arrived at the capital, they all took residence here.
As the foremost of the five righteous sects, their treatment in the capital naturally wasn’t lacking.
Thus, the Second Residence of the nation’s Prime Minister became the Shangqing Sect’s base of operations.
This also signified that the faction supporting the Second Imperial Prince was backed by the Shangqing Sect.
Meanwhile, the other four righteous sects also dispatched many disciples to the capital, joining the favored camps.
Overall, each faction had its own supporters—after all, the imperial succession was the most turbulent moment in a nation’s history, and a prime opportunity for major sects to gain advantage.
Within the Great Qian Court, only three princes had genuine prospects.
The Crown Prince, Prince Zhou Jing—the legitimate heir closest to the throne—championed martial arts and weaponry. He himself was a formidable cultivator, wise and decisive, carrying an air of extraordinariness.
The Third Prince, Prince Zhou Sheng, excelled in political maneuvering. Having cultivated influence in the inner palace for years, he commanded the strongest support among the capital’s citizenry.
The Fourth Prince, Prince Zhou Qin, was ruthless in his methods but insisted on fairness and justice. His subordinates were fiercely loyal to him.
Only the Second Prince, Prince Zhou Rong, was thought to be peaceful and unambitious; he had once been gravely injured in his youth and appeared content with being a simple prince, living out his remaining days in comfort.
Yet only the three princes knew that this “Second Prince” was not as calm and steady as he appeared.
Even so, the three did not take him seriously, since among the five righteous sects, none had pledged support for him.
At this moment, many disciples of the Shangqing Sect had gathered inside the Prime Minister’s Mansion.
“Elders who follow the Crown Prince are with him every day—staying here is dreadfully dull!”
“Have you heard of the so-called Demonic Twin Stars? Word is they’ve arrived in the capital.”
“Hmph! They’ve only slaughtered some trash—if we weren’t trapped here, we’d have suppressed them long ago. Where’s this ‘Twin Stars’ hype from?”
“That’s true—if we’d been able to act, those two wouldn’t even have been able to enter the Great Qian territory.”
The disciples sipped tea and chatted, their numbers here showing they weren’t among the elite who followed a prince’s entourage.
Aside from the few strongest brothers and sisters, the rest were held in reserve at the mansion.
Just then, a fellow disciple dressed in the same sect garb entered, his expression tinged with anxiety.
“Brothers, news just came in—Frostwind Tower and Jialan Gate have both been attacked!”
The group froze and quickly stood up to ask more questions.
“Who did this? Those two sects support the Third Prince—could this be the work of the Fourth Prince’s backers, Liuli Garden and Chiyang Palace?”
“It shouldn’t be—that’d be shameless for fellow righteous sects. Who’d dare strike in secret?”
The disciple who’d brought the news shook his head, contradicting their guesses.
“It was someone from the demonic path!”
At this, the others gasped in disbelief.
The demonic sects had rarely ever meddled in court affairs—if they did, there’d always be forewarning.
“Not one of the six demonic sects has stationed in the capital. Little brother, are you sure this intel’s correct?”
The messenger’s face fell as he explained:
“Who said no demonic sects entered the capital? Are you forgetting the Twin Stars?!”
His words stunned them into silence for a few seconds, then a low voice spoke up.
“That’s impossible! Who among those vying in the capital has sect backing weaker than theirs… two brats assaulted their bases?”
“Right—if those two are really that powerful. Frostwind Tower and Jialan Gate alone aren’t pushovers—just these two?”
“Does that mean… we’re in danger too?”
Suddenly—rumble!
Before the last word fell, the mansion shook violently.
“Enemy assault!”
A massive figure burst into the courtyard.
Its face was hideously contorted, roaring like an evil ghost as it charged everyone.
“It’s a Soul Puppet from the Heavenly Evil Sect!”
“A Soul Puppet? Damn, I’ve never seen one so enormous!”
Heaven and Earth bear witness—they were truly dumbfounded!
It wasn’t like they had never fought disciples from the Heavenly Evil Sect before.
Soul Puppets were rare, yes, but over the years, they had encountered a few demonic cultivators who managed to refine them.
But those were already troublesome enough at two meters tall.
Now, this monster in front of them was twice that size—was it seriously also a Soul Puppet?
How the hell could this be the same thing?
“Everyone, attack together!”
Someone took the lead, charging with a longsword in hand, unleashing sword techniques at the Soul Puppet!
Immediately, the disciples all unleashed their offensive techniques, surrounding the Soul Puppet.
Roar!
The Soul Puppet let out a furious howl, relying on the most primitive method of combat—
Rampaging and slaughtering.
For a moment, fierce gales raged within the battlefield.
The entire Prime Minister’s Mansion was reduced to rubble.
Boom! Boom!
All kinds of attacks landed on the Soul Puppet’s body.
Finally, after one Shangqing Sect disciple summoned a restraining treasure, the Soul Puppet was jointly suppressed under a massive net!
“Caught it! Hahaha!”
“No matter how fierce you are, you’ve still been entangled by my Spider Silk Net! Even a peak Spirit Sea Realm cultivator would have no choice but to surrender if caught!”
“That’s right. Just a mere Soul Puppet, and it dares to run amok in Shangqing Sect’s territory!”
After a fierce battle and not without heavy injuries, they finally subdued the Soul Puppet.
The disciples were elated, their morale soaring.
“Huh? So Shangqing Sect is actually competent? The Soul Puppet didn’t manage to kill them all?”
Amid the wreckage, all the Shangqing Sect disciples froze stiff.
They turned to look—two figures floated in mid-air, one clad in black, the other in white, extraordinarily eye-catching.
The black-clothed youth was leisurely slurping a bowl of noodles.
Only then did the Shangqing Sect disciples remember—
The one they had fought so hard to subdue was merely a Soul Puppet!
The battle had been so intense that they’d forgotten—the Soul Puppet’s master was the true threat!
And the ridiculous part?
They had actually gotten thrilled over capturing a Soul Puppet, even rallying their spirits with impassioned declarations.
It was like going through the trouble of slaying a great villain, only to find out he was just the watchdog raised by the real mastermind behind the scenes!
In an instant, their faces were filled with shame and rage!
Utter humiliation!
This was the ultimate disgrace!
While slurping his noodles, Gu Fan grumbled to Lin Yi in dissatisfaction.
“This Soul Puppet must’ve been a dud—it couldn’t even deal with this pile of trash.”
“I’ll handle it. Won’t even interrupt your meal.”
“No need. If one’s not enough, we’ll just send out another.”
With a casual wave of his hand, another Soul Puppet appeared before them.
It was the same one crafted from the Bone-armored Zombie’s living soul!
Now refined into his second Soul Puppet by Gu Fan, its strength even surpassed the previous one—brutal and terrifying.
All the Shangqing Sect disciples turned pale instantly.
So this was the true prowess behind the Demonic Twin Stars?
The same Shangqing Sect disciples who were boasting moments ago were now trembling in their boots!
Looking at the five-meter-tall Soul Puppet before them, encased in a horrifying suit of bone armor—
They seriously doubted if they could even break through its defenses!
“Attack!”
Receiving the command, the Soul Puppet flicked its wrists, and two long bone sabers appeared in its hands.
With a stomp, it charged into the crowd.
Swoosh!
In the blink of an eye, a disciple who failed to dodge became its first victim!
With one vertical slash, he was split cleanly in half—his organs spilled out in a bloody heap!
The other disciples, stunned for a split second, broke into terrified screams and scattered.
“Run! Quick! Go to the palace and summon the senior brothers and sisters!”
But before he could finish, the disciple who spoke was decapitated.
The Soul Puppet didn’t stop.
It turned into a shadow and resumed the slaughter, targeting the nearest people.
In an instant, blood flowed like rivers in the mansion.
Screams echoed nonstop—it was like hell on earth!