Three days ago, two girls led Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor to the Holy City.
Three days later, on this main road, they were also seeing the two off.
"Big Brother, Big Sister, goodbye~"
Xing Yao waved her small hands, while Qing Huan quietly watched them go.
Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor smiled and waved back. With a few steps, their figures disappeared from the girls' sight.
...
Setting off from the Holy City and heading west, Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor traveled swiftly to reach Tinglan City before the arrival of Cold Night.
In this state, they crossed mountains and rivers in just one hour, arriving outside Tinglan City as indicated on the map.
Compared to the grandeur of the Holy City, Tinglan City appeared rather ordinary, with a scale comparable to Purple Cloud City in the Black-Corner Region.
Here, the most striking feature was a towering stone tablet outside the city. It was over a hundred zhang tall, piercing the sky, and entirely black, resembling a locked abyss gate.
Beneath the stone tablet, a crowd had gathered, all gazing up at the seemingly miraculous monument.
Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor quietly landed amidst the crowd. Their gazes shifted upwards, and they discovered that the stone tablet was inscribed with dense rows of names.
Yu Yuhan, Lu Chen, Zhang Xinghan, Qiao Lingyun...
Adorned with these names, the vast stone tablet exuded an aura of solemnity.
"What do these names mean?" Chen Xiao muttered, frowning.
"They are all seniors who died fighting for the Dream Realm," a middle-aged man nearby overheard Chen Xiao's muttering and explained with a sigh.
This man possessed only Peak Dou Huang strength. Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor had noticed him earlier but hadn't paid much attention.
Now that he had spoken, it caught them by surprise.
Upon careful consideration, even the High Priest of the Holy City was only a Dou Zong. This man, at Peak Dou Huang, likely held a significant position in Tinglan City.
"I am Bai Heng, the City Lord of Tinglan City, and also the adopted son of the High Priest of the Holy City. This morning, I received news from the Holy City that two distinguished guests might be coming to Tinglan City. I didn't expect the distinguished guests to arrive so quickly," the middle-aged man introduced himself.
The news from the Holy City had been sent a few days ago and only arrived this morning.
Meanwhile, Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor, who had departed the Holy City that morning, had already reached Tinglan City. The difference in speed was significant.
Chen Xiao nodded slightly, understanding. The City Lord's strength was average, but his identity was somewhat surprising.
"Adopted son of the High Priest?"
"Distinguished guests need not be surprised. I am not the High Priest's only adopted son. Throughout history, High Priests have had no children. To cultivate the next successor, they adopt a group of children as adopted sons in their youth and nurture them diligently. Once they achieve some success, they are sent to various regions for training. When the High Priest's lifespan nears its end, the strongest among these adopted sons can go to the Holy City and inherit the position of High Priest." Bai Heng explained.
Chen Xiao nodded slightly, offering no comment on this method of succession.
Relatively speaking, he was more interested in the stone tablet before him.
"City Lord, you just said that everyone whose names are on this monument died for the Dream Realm. Does the Dream Realm have hidden dangers? Why didn't we hear about it in the Holy City?"
"In this world, are there truly any places of absolute peace? You haven't heard of it simply because these dangers are not fatal at the moment."
Bai Heng shook his head slightly and continued, "The Dream Realm is peaceful and harmonious, a picture of tranquility. However, this is merely an appearance. Since ten thousand years ago, dangers have already begun to emerge."
"What makes you say that?"
"The danger stems from the stone tablet you see before you. For over ten thousand years, this stone tablet has presented problems. From time to time, puppets emerge from it. They have no consciousness, only the instinct to kill. To prevent the situation from escalating, the forces stationed in Tinglan City are the strongest among all cities."
Hearing this, Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor were stunned.
They could sense that there were several Dou Huang experts in this city, and dozens of Dou Wang experts.
With their current perception, these individuals' strength was naturally not something they needed to concern themselves with.
But after hearing Bai Heng's explanation, they realized that compared to the cities they had passed on their journey, the strength gathered here was indeed greater.
"You said the danger isn't fatal. Does that mean the puppets are of average strength?" Little Fairy Doctor inquired.
"Indeed. According to records, the first puppets that appeared were only at the Dou Ling level and were easily dealt with. However, since then, every three to five years, or at most ten years, a new batch of puppets would emerge. Their strength grew stronger, and their numbers increased. Under such circumstances, casualties also rose dramatically. The last time puppets emerged, the leaders were already at the Dou Huang level."
As their strength and numbers grew, this place would eventually fall.
It could even threaten the entire Dream Realm.
The severity of this matter was easily discernible.
However, Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor felt utterly perplexed.
Over ten thousand years, the change in the puppets' strength was so minimal?
This clearly defied common sense.
Chen Xiao even suspected that the puppets were being controlled by someone. For instance, perhaps the two Saintesses in the trial grounds, finding the Dream Realm too complacent, deliberately created the puppets to foster a sense of crisis, thereby altering the cultivation atmosphere of the Dream Realm...
Although this speculation was wild, it wasn't entirely impossible.
After all, for cultivators, a lack of motivation was a terrifying thing.
As Chen Xiao was contemplating, his peripheral vision caught sight of a youth, who had just entered the Dou Wang realm, biting his finger and smearing blood onto the stone tablet.
Instantly, the material on the surface of the stone tablet began to flow like sand. The youth, without hesitation, walked towards the stone tablet. With a flash, he was swallowed by the stone tablet and disappeared from everyone's sight.
"Within this stone tablet lies the inheritance left by a powerful senior. To obtain the inheritance, one must enter and pass a trial. In the Dream Realm, everyone above Dou Wang knows this, and only those above Dou Wang can enter this place. Regrettably, over the years, countless people have entered, but not a single one has emerged, including generations of Saintesses."
Bai Heng's eyes were filled with sorrow. He wanted to prevent this tragedy, but he was powerless and had no reason to intervene.
Because there was too little conflict in the Dream Realm, the cultivation atmosphere was not strong. Only a small portion of people strived to improve, constantly wishing to become stronger.
And such a place of opportunity was what they dreamed of.
The three of them stared at the tall stone tablet. After the young man stepped into it, the surface, which had been surging like quicksand, did not stop. Instead, it became more and more rapid. Gradually, a spatial portal, about several zhang in size, formed on the stone tablet.
While Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor were still in doubt, Bai Heng, who was beside them, changed his expression and quickly flew up.
"Everyone below Dou Wang, leave quickly!"
"Assemble!"
Bai Heng shouted loudly, and the spacious ground immediately fell into chaos. Those with weaker strength scrambled to escape, leaving only a few people behind.
At the same time, figures were rapidly flying over from the nearby city, all with serious expressions, as if facing a great enemy.
"Could it be... such a coincidence?"
Looking at Bai Heng's actions, Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor also guessed the reason. Most likely, the murderous puppets he mentioned were reappearing.
With this thought, they exchanged glances and both sensed something unusual.
The puppets had appeared neither too early nor too late, but precisely after they arrived at this place. Rather than believing it was a coincidence, they were more inclined to believe that someone had deliberately arranged it.
Swish!
Just then, a sound of breaking wind echoed, and a humanoid puppet, completely black and unrecognizable, flew out of the spatial portal.
Boom!
A torrent of Dou Skills instantly struck. Before the puppet could even make the slightest resistance, it was swarmed and killed, leaving nothing behind but a brilliant 'firework'.
After quickly dealing with one puppet, Bai Heng and the others in the sky did not relax at all. Their gazes were like falcons, fixated on the spatial portal.
Under the tense gazes of everyone, the sound of rapid breaking wind came from the spatial portal. Following that, dozens of puppets swept out from within.
When they sensed the imposing aura displayed by the two leading puppets, Bai Heng and his group's expressions changed drastically.
"Dou Zong level puppets!"
"Most of them are ordinary puppets, likely controlled by some secret method or other means. The two leading ones are Heavenly Demon Puppets, and they are no weaker than mine."
Looking at the large group of puppets, Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor were stunned.
The person behind this was truly not even pretending anymore.
Puppets of this level had not appeared for countless years. Puppets that could always be dealt with by the people of the Dream Realm at a certain cost, but today, two Dou Zong level puppets appeared all at once.
If Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor did not intervene, with the overt strength of the Dream Realm, even the High Priest from the Holy City would be unable to deal with such puppets.
"They really aren't afraid of bloodshed."
Chen Xiao let out a long sigh, feeling extremely disgusted with the instigator.
Boom! Boom!
In the sky, a chaotic battle had already erupted.
Led by the two Heavenly Demon Puppets, Bai Heng and the other Dou Wangs and Dou Huangs retreated steadily. From time to time, one could see a Dou Wang or Dou Huang bleeding and falling from the sky.
Bai Heng was only at the Peak Dou Huang stage. To alleviate the pressure on the others, he faced the two Heavenly Demon Puppets alone with a death wish.
However, the difference between a Dou Huang and a Dou Zong, one realm apart, was like heaven and earth.
The puppets only knew to obey orders and would not show mercy. With just one head-on collision, Bai Heng was heavily injured, coughed up large amounts of blood, and was sent flying back like a sack, his aura extremely weak.
In this state, if he took another punch, he would likely not survive.
Seeing the two puppets attacking from the left and right, Bai Heng closed his eyes in despair, waiting for death.
But to his surprise, after a considerable amount of time, the expected attack did not land on him.
Bai Heng opened his eyes and immediately saw a phantom hand firmly grasping the two Heavenly Demon Puppets, which could have easily killed him, in its palm. No matter how the puppets struggled, they could not break free from its control.
In addition to these two Heavenly Demon Puppets, the remaining puppets were eerily frozen, as if a force was trapping them tightly within a seven-foot space.
"Spatial Strangulation!"
Little Fairy Doctor's delicate mouth uttered the words, and instantly, the frozen puppets turned into ashes on the spot. The terrifying scene made everyone present gasp in unison.
Chen Xiao changed his hand seals, and the soul hand immediately seized the two Heavenly Demon Puppets before him.
These two Heavenly Demon Puppets, with strength no less than a five-star Dou Zong, had no silver markings on them, falling under the category of human-grade Heavenly Demon Puppets.
"Good foundation, the refining materials should be much better than mine. This can be considered a harvest."
After examining the Heavenly Demon Puppets, Chen Xiao nodded slightly.
After making his assessment, Chen Xiao closed his eyes, and vast Soul Power poured out from between his eyebrows, invading the bodies of the two Heavenly Demon Puppets.
Thanks to his thorough understanding of Heavenly Demon Puppets, Chen Xiao soon found the soul imprint left by their master within their bodies.
Chen Xiao's heart stirred, and he immediately mobilized his Soul Power to erase the soul imprint.
He had originally thought that as long as their master was not dead, erasing the soul imprint would inevitably be met with fierce resistance from the other party.
But strangely, the process of erasing the soul imprint was incredibly simple, without encountering the slightest resistance.
It was as if the other party was controlling the puppets, allowing him to do as he pleased.
Releasing the restraints on the two Heavenly Demon Puppets, Chen Xiao willed them, and the two puppets knelt down with a bang, completely under his control.
Seeing this, Chen Xiao casually put them into his storage ring and then looked at the spatial portal that had never closed but also hadn't produced any more puppets.
He seemed to understand what the other party meant.
These two Heavenly Demon Puppets were the reward for him and Little Fairy Doctor's assistance!
"What exactly does that Saintess Xuanyin want to do?"
Little Fairy Doctor had also heard Chen Xiao talk about the scene in the trial grounds and knew about the existence of the two saintesses. Coupled with the increasing amount of information she had, she had a suspect in mind.
"Whether it's her, I can't be sure yet..." Chen Xiao shook his head slightly, organizing his thoughts.
The more he understood, the clearer the picture became.
He had a premonition that the truth would be revealed soon.
While they were talking, Bai Heng finally came to his senses and, with more than ten people looking quite disheveled, stepped forward to express his gratitude.
"Thank you both for your assistance. Otherwise, we would have surely died today. Two Dou Zong level puppets that only know how to kill are enough to cause a catastrophe in the Dream Realm."
The Dou Wangs and Dou Huangs behind Bai Heng also cupped their fists and bowed, all still trembling with fear.
They hadn't expected that Dou Zong level puppets would appear this time. Although they had narrowly escaped the crisis, they didn't dare to relax in the slightest; instead, their hearts felt incredibly heavy.
According to the patterns of previous years, the number of puppets appearing would increase, and their strength would become even greater.
This time, they had only narrowly escaped. What about next time...
At this thought, an unprecedented sense of crisis enveloped their hearts.
"You are already at the Peak Dou Huang, one step away from Dou Zong. Once your injuries are healed, try to break through to Dou Zong. Xian'er and I can only help you this once."
Chen Xiao vaguely guessed that the two Heavenly Demon Puppets appeared because he and Little Fairy Doctor had arrived, but he didn't point it out. This sense of crisis might be what the person in the shadows wanted.
Only with greater pressure would there be motivation.
Bai Heng nodded heavily. He wanted to say something more, but Chen Xiao interrupted him with a raised hand.
"You go attend to your business. Don't worry about us. Xian'er and I will enter and participate in the trial."
As his voice fell, regardless of what Bai Heng and the others thought, Chen Xiao and Little Fairy Doctor exchanged a glance and stepped into the spatial portal first.
Little Fairy Doctor smiled slightly and followed closely behind.
It was only after the two of them entered that the long-open spatial portal finally slowly closed.
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