Chapter 246: Chapter 212: Tier 2 Puppet Master, Signs of a Tier 2 Demon Beast

BOOM!

The crimson light surged once more!

This time, it was no longer an ethereal afterimage but a solid, brilliant glow! The light spread rapidly across the Puppet Body refined from the Red-Feathered Black-Footed Bird!

In that instant, the crimson Feathers seemed to have been infused with life. They stood on end, each one shimmering with a fiery luster.

The jet-black talons grew sharper and more menacing. Enveloped in the crimson light, the entire Puppet Body seemed reborn from flames. An aura, far more condensed and ferocious than it ever possessed in life, erupted forth!

The light lasted for several breaths before slowly receding inward.

In the center of the Artifact Refining Chamber stood a giant bird Puppet. With a wingspan of nearly thirty feet, its body was entirely crimson, its Feathers blazed like fire, and its eye sockets were embedded with two pulsating Red Crystal Stones.

It radiated a powerful Tier Two Spiritual Pressure—ferocious and scorching, yet possessed of the cold, orderly nature unique to a Puppet.

The Red Feather Fire Sun Bird!

A Tier Two Lower Grade Puppet!

Success!

It’s finally done!

Lu Zhao gazed at the Puppet before him, which radiated a powerful aura. He felt the flawless flow of energy between the Puppet Core and the Puppet Body, and an indescribable wave of joy erupted in his chest, instantly washing away all his fatigue and tension!

He shot to his feet, his hands trembling slightly with excitement. He gently stroked the Red Feather Fire Sun Bird’s flame-like Feathers, feeling the warmth and immense power transmitted through his fingertips.

"A Tier Two Puppet Master..."

Lu Zhao murmured, his voice a bit hoarse. His whisper then turned into a long, hearty laugh that echoed through the empty Artifact Refining Chamber, filled with the satisfaction of vindication and unprecedented confidence!

"I, Lu Zhao, have finally become a Tier Two Puppet Master today!"

「Meanwhile, deep within the Broken River Plains.」

By a depression backed by jagged black rocks, five travel-worn figures sat in a circle. The atmosphere, however, was tense.

A campfire crackled, illuminating their weary and anxious faces. In the distance, the faint, low roars of unknown Demon Beasts added to the oppressive mood.

"I disagree!" A middle-aged Cultivator with a weathered face and a scar by his eye slapped his thigh, his voice thick with suppressed anger. "We’ve already found that beast’s tracks and droppings over there. Isn’t that enough?"

"Traces of a Tier Two Demon Beast! Bringing that news back is enough to complete our mission! Why do we need to push deeper? You think you’ve lived too long?"

Across from him, a sharp-eyed young Cultivator who looked to be in his early twenties immediately retorted, "Brother Wang, what are you talking about? What do you mean, ’traces’? Those tracks have been nearly washed away by the rain, and who knows how many days old those droppings are! Who’s to say if the beast was just passing through or actually lives nearby?"

"What if we go back all excited and report this, only for Elder Lu to bring people here and find nothing, not even a single hair? What do you think will happen then? A reward? We’ll probably be accused of filing a false report and being incompetent! We’d be lucky not to get punished, let alone be rewarded!"

"You!"

The Cultivator named Wang was at a loss for words, his face flushing red. "But we can’t bet our lives on it! That’s a Tier Two Demon Beast! It could tear us all apart in a single encounter! You only get one life!"

The young Cultivator didn’t back down, letting out a sneer. "Scared of dying? If you’re so scared of dying, what are you doing deep in the Wilderness? Aren’t we all here to trade our lives for a future?"

"Fortune favors the bold! If we don’t get closer, find its exact lair, and figure out its patterns, what are we supposed to report when we get back?"

"Just that there was a ’suspected’ Tier Two Demon Beast passing through? How many Minor Merits do you think that kind of ambiguous intelligence is worth?"

"Say that again?!" The Cultivator named Wang shot to his feet, a vicious glint in his eyes.

"I’ll say it ten more times and it’ll still be the truth!" the young Cultivator shot back, craning his neck and glaring without a hint of weakness.

Just as the conflict was about to escalate, the old Cultivator sitting between them, who had been silently smoking his pipe, finally let out a heavy cough.

His hair and beard were graying, and his face was deeply lined. He was the only Late-stage Qi Cultivator in the group and the pillar of their party.

"Enough!" The old Cultivator’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an undeniable authority. "Both of you, sit down! What’s all the shouting about? Are you trying to attract every Demon Beast around here?"

His cloudy yet sharp gaze swept over the two of them. "Wang the Fourth, it’s not wrong to cherish your life. Fellow Daoist Xu, it’s not wrong to want to fight for a better future, either. But this is no time for infighting."

He tapped his pipe bowl and said slowly, "How about this? We’ll scout another eight miles forward."

"But to be safe, we’ll split up. One person will act as a forward scout to check out the situation. If they find anything unusual, they are to retreat immediately."

"The other four will remain behind as support. A distance of a mile and a half isn’t that far, so we can react quickly if something happens."

"Once the scout returns safely, the rest of us will advance together. We’ll rotate like this, with each person taking a turn as the forward scout. We will only do one round of this, pushing our total advance to eight miles. Whether we find anything definitive or not, as soon as we’ve covered that distance, we immediately turn back to report. How does that sound?"

Wang the Fourth and the young Cultivator Xu glared at each other. Although they were still not convinced, the old Cultivator’s prestige and his compromise solution left them unable to argue. The other two members also nodded in agreement.

"Fine. We’ll do as Fellow Daoist Hann says," Wang the Fourth grumbled, sitting back down.

"I have no objections," the young Cultivator Xu huffed in agreement.

The old Cultivator nodded, a sharp glint flashing in his cloudy eyes. "Then it’s settled. Fellow Daoist Xu, you’re young, fast, and have sharp eyes. You’ll be the scout for the first round."

"Remember, your limit is a mile and a half. Just observe, don’t engage. At the slightest sign of trouble, retreat at full speed! We’ll wait for you right here."

The young Cultivator Xu took a deep breath, suppressing his nervousness and a flicker of excitement. He nodded firmly. "Don’t worry, Fellow Daoist Hann! I understand!"

He quickly checked the Talismans and Magical Artifacts on his person, tightened his belt, and with a flicker of movement, vanished as silently as a phantom cat into the deeper, darker jungle ahead.

The remaining four quickly dispersed, each finding a concealed position. They held their breath and focused, their eyes locked on the direction where the young Cultivator Xu had disappeared. Gripping their Magical Artifacts, the atmosphere once again grew heavy and oppressive.

Deep in the Wilderness of the Broken River Plains, every breath carried the weight of unknown danger.

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