Puppet
Mu Yu inspected Zhuge Xiaosheng using with his spiritual energy. “No Divine Soul Formation?”
“Sir, our patriarch needs to be treated!” urged Lu Deyi.
“You’re not under someone’s control, correct?” Mu Yu questioned.
Panting, Zhuge Xiaosheng answered, “No.”
“Sorry about that.” Mu Yu passed Zhuge Xiaosheng back to Lu Deyi.
Lu Deyi and Mu Chenghong backed off from Mu Yu as soon as they collected Zhuge Xiaosheng.
Maybe Zhuge Xiaosheng already defused Divine Soul Formation using the knowledge I shared with him. Daoist Chu Buqu must’ve made a mistake, Mu Yu inwardly assumed. “Recover as fast as you can for elemental demons have sealed this area. Nobody can come to help us, while there might be more elemental demons lurking around, so keep your eyes open while you recover.”
Xiaoshuai stayed hidden while Mu Yu recuperated. Moments later, Jin Xiyun and Dong Zhi surfaced again, spurring Mu Yu to go help.
“Where are you going?” inquired Daoist Yuan De.
“Wait here and take care of each other,” Mu Yu responded, taking off.
“Since when did someone so strong emerge in our race…?”
***
Chu Buqu strolled into an ultimate immortals betting shop at Gamble City, a small city under the jurisdiction of Du Buying that was close to Pill City.
“Shifu, what are we betting on this time?” Chu Xiachi effused, juggling three spirit stones.
“Let’s see… The same as always! Let’s go all in this time!” Daoist Chu Buqu whipped his arm, dropping nine spirit stones, every spirit stone Chu Xiaoqing gave him, into the table’s formation.
“You’re betting on this again? Why do you like was betting whether the top twenty ranks would change in a month? It hasn’t changed once ever since Xiang Nan took ninth rank two years ago. You’re wasting spirit stones,” griped Chu Xiachi.
“Hehehe, want to loan me another spirit stone?”
Chu Xiachi stopped juggling his spirit stones, clutching them with a vice-like grip. “No way. I’m going to place my three stones on three different bets to increase my chances of winning.”
“You’ll never win big like that. If you want to make big money, you need to take big risks. Look at how high the payouts are for this because it’s unpopular. My nine spirit stones can become nine thousand spirit stones. Lend me one, and I’ll give you a commission next time.”
Chu Xiachi ran off for dear life.
Chu Xiaoqing turned the conversation elsewhere, asking, “Shifu, do you think Mu Yu will be all right?”
“What happened to calling him True God’s disciple?”
“Well, I asked him if I could address him by his name in my mind, and he nodded.”
“You disappointment. When will you ever stop drooling over pretty boys? If you saw me in my younger days, you’d never have eyes for another man.” Daoist Chu Buqu ran his hand through his bald head.
“It’s too early to be sleep talking. Shifu, do you think Mu Yu understands your hint?”
“That as explicit as it gets. How could he not?”
“What did you tell him?”
“Watch out for Zhuge Xiaosheng. He is an obstacle. Can it be any more obvious?”
“Watch out for Zhuge Xiaosheng. He is an obstacle? Shifu, that’s as ambiguous as can be?”
“How? It clearly says, watch out for Zhuge Xiaosheng because he is an obstacle to Third Heaven Palace?”
“Why didn’t you just write that? Your version could be interpreted as Zhuge Xiaosheng being someone Mu Yu has to beware of. That’s the complete opposite of your instructions!”
“It’s a hassle to conjure more characters.”
“Wait, Shifu! I just remembered: since you mentioned that Third Heaven Palace is controlling numerous big names, does that mean someone has cast Divine Soul Formation on him?”
“That’s why I told Mu Yu to watch out for Zhuge Xiaosheng’s safety…”
“Why didn’t you explicate that?!”
“Get off my case!”
***
Incensed that Mu Yu drove off Earth Reverend but noticing something else, Jin Xiyun cracked a grin, muttering, “Finally within distance. It’s time you do your job. Dong Zhi, just you wait!”
Jin Xiyun retreated into her avoid, privy to the short time length that Divine Soul Formation lasted.
***
Zhuge Xiaosheng looked as haggard as the environment around him after the brawl, leading to Daoist Yuan De being extra caring toward the former compared to everyone else. Zhuge Xiaosheng expressed, “I am hurt bad. This ambush caught all of us by surprise.”
“Indeed. Had it not been for our saviour, we would likely be dead now,” Yao Wuji opined.
“Let us consider ourselves fortunate,” voiced Lu Deyi.
Daoist Yuan De, eyes on the direction Mu Yu departed, asked, “Patriarch Zhuge, what do you suppose the earth demons ambushed us here for?”
Zhuge Xiaosheng anticipated high risks for the high-reward job, not to mention his abilities would categorise him as a nuisance to the elemental demons. As he checked on Mu Hao, he proposed, “They must have been targeting me.”
Daoist Yuan De agreed, “Indeed, your ability to fix barriers is not something they would like.”
Daoist Yuan De’s statement is true, but why do I feel that he’s highlighting something? Zhuge Xiaosheng deliberated.
“Uncle, you should give your level seven heart restoration pill to Patriarch Zhuge,” advised Yao Wuji.
“I need it,” disputed Daoist Yuan De, stunning everyone present.
“What do you mean, Martial Uncle? This is not time for japes.”
Something’s amiss, thought Zhuge Xiaosheng.
Zhuge Xiaosheng felt something was off ever since meeting Daoist Yuan De but brushed it off as his imagination for the reason that Daoist Yuan De was a respected individual. In saying that, refusing to spare a pill for their sect’s important guest made no sense in that situation. What was more, Daoist Yuan De was the only one who didn no offer Zhuge Xiaosheng any spiritual energy to recover.
“You know,” began Daoist Yuan De, “the elemental demons are not the only ones who want to kill you.” Daoist Yuan De revealed his white-glowing eyes. “I’m another one who wants you dead.”
Zhuge Xiaosheng summoned an eight trigrams formation using Universe Hexagram Seal Star as a shield. Alas, Daoist Yuan De effortlessly tore through, creating a new hole in Zhuge Xiaosheng’s body.
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