Chapter 63: Raising An Army From Beans
The golden puppets were extremely agile, and they were wielding a diverse range of weapons, such as swords, spears, axes, and maces. As soon as they landed on the ground, some of them immediately leaped up into the air before gliding through the sky like huge golden birds, while others galloped over the ground, causing the earth to rumble and quake violently.
In the blink of an eye, countless golden puppets were charging toward Han Li from all directions, presenting a formidable sight to behold.
Han Li stood completely still on the spot as he calmly swept his gaze over his surroundings.
In the next instant, the first golden puppet reached him before thrusting its spear forward, unleashing a series of spear projections that screeched through the air as they hurtled directly toward Han Li.
Instead of retreating from the attack, he advanced toward the oncoming spear projections, then reached out with one hand like lightning to grab onto the spear.
A burst of enormous force surged through his arm, causing him to sway in a slightly unsteady manner, and even though he was able to instantly steady himself, he still couldn't help but be stunned by the strength of the golden warrior.
He pulled back on the spear with his arm, causing the spear-wielding golden puppet to stumble forward, then threw a punch with his other hand.
The spear slipped out of the golden puppet's grasp as it was sent flying back, crashing heavily into the army of golden puppets behind it, knocking down dozens of its comrades in a row before finally coming to a rest.
However, the golden puppet was able to immediately spring to its feet, but there was a very clear fist indentation on its chest.
After withstanding that blow, its movements had become slightly slower and more sluggish, but it continued to charge toward Han Li alongside all of the other golden puppets.
Han Li casually hurled the spear in his hand backward to send several of the golden puppets flying, then turned back just in time to see the fallen golden puppet spring back to its feet, and his pupils contracted slightly in alarm. He had used 50% of his strength in that punch, and it would've been capable of shattering an entire mountain, but it wasn't able to kill even a single one of these golden puppets.
At this point, all of the golden puppets had already swarmed around Han Li, and he gave a cold harrumph as he moved rapidly through the air, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake while lashing out with his fists.
Countless fist projections appeared before erupting in all directions, and the golden puppets were sent flying one after another.
All of the golden puppets that were struck received deep fist indentations on their chests before crashing into the puppets behind them, knocking dozens over at a time. As a result, the momentum of the attack was halted.
The puppets that were sent flying immediately sprang to their feet again after landing on the ground, and a cold look appeared in Han Li's eyes as he abruptly appeared in a wraith-like manner in front of one of the golden puppets that had just been flying, then threw another punch at the fist indentation on its chest.
The golden puppet shuddered as a series of cracks appeared over its body. Beams of yellow light filtered out of the cracks, following which the puppet exploded violently, disintegrating into a cloud of yellow mist.
Han Li's expression eased slightly upon seeing this. These golden puppets possessed extremely resolute bodies, but they weren't indestructible.
The surrounding golden puppets continued to storm Han Li from all directions.
In response, Han Li took a deep breath, and six specks of blue light emerged on his chest and abdomen. His body abruptly swelled in size, and he began his retaliation.
A string of dull thumps rang out as seven or eight of the golden puppets closest to him were sent flying back before exploding.
Han Li's hands flashed through the air in a blur, unleashing countless fist projections that erupted through the air amid a string of resounding booms.
All of the golden puppets within close to 200 feet of him were sent flying before exploding into clouds of yellow mist.
With his strength enhanced by the Big Dipper Origin Arts, these golden puppets were no match for his fists.
……
There was a vast inky-black sea in the Immortal Realm.
Black mist permeated throughout the area, and gusts of Yin wind were howling incessantly over the surface of the sea, constantly raising massive waves that rose up to over 100 feet tall.
There was a massive black city situated in the area of the sea where the black mist was at its densest, floating atop the waves in a remarkably stable manner.
The city was over 1,000 feet tall and was over 100 kilometers in size. A plaque that bore the words "Black Water City" in large archaic characters was hanging above the northern city gate.
The walls of the city were constructed from giant rectangular black stones that reflected a crystalline gleam under the occasional ray of sunlight that managed to filter through the black mist. On the inside, the city appeared to be just like any other city, with rivers and farmland, streets and houses, everything that one would expect to see in the average city.
There were also many people roaming through the city, presenting a lively and bustling scene.
The terrain inside the city wasn't completely flat and steady. The closer one drew to the center of the city, the higher up they would find themselves, and the more closely packed the buildings became. The central area was also home to the most majestic palaces and pavilions in the city.
At the highest point of the entire city was a small inner city, which was clearly separated from all of the other buildings by a black river.
Inside the inner city were intricately constructed pavilions, soothing bodies of running water, and a series of fake mountains and well-maintained gardens. At the center of the inner city was a spacious platform, atop which stood a three-story pavilion that was entirely constructed from wood with intertwining arches and a glazed yellow tile roof. On top of the roof were beautiful dragon and phoenix statues that presented a display of remarkable craftsmanship.
On the top floor of the pavilion, all of the windows were opened, providing an extremely wide field of view. From this vantage point, not only could one see the entire inner city, there was even a clear view of the vast black sea outside of the giant city.
The furnishings inside the pavilion were very simple, with only a square table at the center, on either side of which was placed a round silken futon.
On the table sat a dark red copper incense burner, protruding out of which were a few sticks of burning incense that were releasing fragrant smoke throughout the entire room.
On the futon to the right of the table sat a thin elderly man with a purple lotus crown on his head. He was currently holding a beautiful teacup and carefully savoring its contents.
Inside the teacup was an elegant green tea that resembled translucent liquid jade, and its fragrance was extremely faint, somewhat overshadowed by the aroma of the incense smoke, but it was extremely pleasant on the tongue and rich in spiritual qi, providing a delightful drinking experience.
The elderly man slowly set down his teacup as he praised in an earnest manner, "This Black Water Spirit Tea truly lives up to all of the good things I've heard about it, Fellow Daoist Bone Flame."
Seated across from him was a black-robed man with a sickly yellow complexion, who replied in an indifferent voice, "You're far too kind, Fellow Daoist Clear Bright. If you like it, you can take some back with you."
"In the past, we've rarely had any interactions due to the opposing nature of our sects in the lower realm, but here in the Immortal Realm, we should strive to work together more for mutual benefit," Daoist Clear Bright said with a warm smile.
Layman Bone Flame nodded in response. "If we can capture that Han Li, we'll most likely have to work together to uncover the potential secrets that he's harboring."
"Speaking of him, have you managed to find out anything about his history and origins?" Daoist Clear Bright asked as a serious look appeared on his face.
Layman Bone Flame shook his head in response. "I've done some investigation through certain avenues since you last contacted me, but I wasn't able to find any useful information. Have you made any discoveries on your end?"
"I'm afraid I was also unable to gather any useful information on him. The information that the Ubiquitous Pavilion is willing to divulge is very limited. All we know is that the client is a very powerful figure, but that's the extent of my knowledge on the matter for now," Daoist Clear Bright sighed.
"I'm even more interested in the secrets that this Han Li could potentially be harboring now. Looks like we'll have to interrogate him thoroughly after we capture him," Layman Bone Flame chuckled.
"You seem extremely confident, Brother Bone Flame. I presume you must've bestowed some powerful treasures upon your disciples, right?" Daoist Clear Bright asked.
"Are you saying you haven't done the same thing?" Layman Bone Flame countered as he took a glance at Daoist Clear Bright.
The latter gave a faint smile in response. "I naturally had to take some measures to ensure the success of this operation."
Daoist Clear Bright was clearly unwilling to divulge any specific details, so Layman Bone Flame didn't pry any further. Instead, he said in a nonchalant voice, "I managed to grow some Warrior Beans by chance a while ago, and only half a month ago was I able to successfully convert them into Dao Warriors. They're perfect for this cause, so I bestowed them upon my disciples."
Despite the nonchalance with which the statement had been made, Daoist Clear Bright seemed to be very surprised to hear this.
"You are incredibly fortunate to have been able to nurture Dao Warriors, Fellow Daoist Bone Flame."
"You flatter me, Fellow Daoist Clear Bright. The Dao Warriors that I managed to nurture are only Golden Dao Warriors, a type of lower third-grade Dao Warrior. That's hardly worthy of praise," Layman Bone Flame said with a dismissive sweep of his sleeve, but a hint of barely detectable pride flashed through his eyes as he spoke.
"Even so, those Dao Warriors will be far more powerful than most other treasures. With those Dao Warriors on our side, there's no way that Han Li would be able to slip out of our grasp," Daoist Clear Bright said with a clear hint of envy in his voice.
Layman Bone Flame merely smiled and offered no response.
All of a sudden, a thought occurred to Daoist Clear Bright, and he said, "By the way, that Han Li is technically a guest elder of the Cold Flame Sect. You don't think Cold Flame is going to get in our way, do you?"
"Unless he wants there to only be two top sects left in the Spirit Domain Realm, he would be wise not to get involved," Layman Bone Flame replied as a cold look appeared on his face.
Daoist Clear Bright nodded in response.
……
Inside a mysterious space, above a dense layer of gray clouds, three figures were standing in mid-air. They were none other than Tong Ren'e, Daoist Closed Mountain, and Duan Renli.
At this moment, Duan Renli was holding a yellow gourd while chanting an incantation.
The gourd was around half the size of an adult human, and there were circles of shimmering golden text on its surface. A series of golden runes that were similar to the text were drifting around the opening of the gourd, giving off an ethereal aura.
As his incantation rang out, a burst of golden light circled around the opening of the gourd, and a series of yellow bean-like objects flew out from within before descending out of the sky.
As soon as these beans came into contact with the gray clouds, a series of tiny vortexes instantly appeared in the clouds, swallowing up the yellow beans in a flash.
"Is this... the art of raising an army from beans? I didn't think your sect would be capable of unleashing such a legendary immortal art!" Daoist Closed Mountain exclaimed as he cast his gaze toward the yellow gourd in Duan Renli's hands with an envious expression.
"You're certainly very knowledgeable, Fellow Daoist Closed Mountain. Truth be told, this immortal secret technique is far beyond anything that I can wield. I'm only able to summon these Dao Warriors using this immortal treasure bestowed upon me by our sect's patriarch," Tong Ren'e replied in an indifferent manner.
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