Upon learning of their plan, Jing Xingzhi was brimming with enthusiasm.
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi were both quiet by nature. Although being trapped in the Underground Palace was somewhat uncomfortable, it was still bearable. Jing Xingzhi, however, was different. Apart from meditation and practicing sword arts, his favorite pastime was wandering around—sometimes just strolling within the Underground Palace, sometimes venturing out at risk.
Because of the existence of that Corpse Puppet, he had to be extremely cautious every time he left the Underground Palace, which was quite frustrating. Now that there was a way to trap that Corpse Puppet, he was very proactive.
For this plan, the three of them made extensive preparations. Mo Tiange spent a fortune, using Crystal Jade to create many more Core Formation Stage Puppets. Qin Xi, needless to say, spent his days drawing Illusion Transformation Talismans. As for Jing Xingzhi, he and the spirit beast Feifei went everywhere to search for a suitable location.
Feifei was very familiar with the Immortal Palace and quickly selected several potential spots, which Jing Xingzhi then personally scouted.
Obviously, this on-site scouting was the most dangerous part, but it was also the part that required no capital investment. Jing Xingzhi muttered a few complaints but obediently went. After all, he neither knew mechanism arts nor how to draw talismans, and he was also reluctant to part with that Crystal Jade. It was better to just sell his labor.
After several months like this, they finally selected a valley. This valley was located at the very edge of the Immortal Palace's restrictions. It covered a large area, but the spiritual energy was not dense, with only a few abandoned cave abodes scattered about. Jing Xingzhi had explored them; they were likely inhabited by low-level cultivators and contained nothing of great value. Most importantly, the valley was naturally enclosed, with steep cliffs on both sides, requiring no modification to be usable.
By this time, Mo Tiange had already produced over a dozen Puppets, expending a great deal of Crystal Jade in the process. These Puppets were meant to lure the Corpse Puppet and were basically impossible to recover. But to escape the Underground Palace, they had no choice but to accept these losses.
She had already obtained enough treasures from the Immortal Palace; losing some was not a big deal.
Qin Xi's Illusion Transformation Talismans were quite challenging. He had only begun studying talisman-making techniques at the Core Formation Stage. Although he was quite talented, creating high-grade Illusion Transformation Talismans was not easy. To improve the grade of the talismans, he set aside all other matters and focused entirely on talisman-making. After wasting many talisman papers and beast blood, and almost exhausting his materials, he finally managed to draw enough Illusion Transformation Talismans for their use.
With all preparations complete, the Corpse Trapping Operation finally began.
At the exit of the Underground Palace, Feifei poked its head out, looked around carefully to confirm no danger, and then cautiously emerged.
Following behind was Jing Xingzhi, muttering, "Are you sure that Corpse Puppet isn't nearby? It would be terrible if this entrance were discovered."
Feifei raised its head, nibbled at his sleeve in displeasure, then turned and led the way.
Next came Mo Tiange and Qin Xi. Although they could control the Puppets from within the Underground Palace using Divine Sense restrictions, it was still better to be personally on the scene.
The trio and the spirit beast, all wearing concealment talismans, quickly located the Corpse Puppet under Feifei's guidance.
The Corpse Puppet was wandering along a mountain path. When it encountered a dead end, it would simply change direction. The three observed it for a while, seeing it move in a dull, dazed manner, completely unaware of how to bypass obstacles.
"Is the route selected?" Jing Xingzhi asked.
Mo Tiange nodded and began taking out the Puppets one by one from her Qiankun Ring.
These Puppets were lined up in a row, over a dozen in total, each the size of a real person, standing silently.
Mo Tiange then took out over a dozen pieces of Crystal Jade from her bosom and opened the abdominal cavity of a Puppet. Inside was a small groove, perfectly sized to embed a piece of Crystal Jade.
Watching this scene, Jing Xingzhi's eyes burned with envy. "So much Crystal Jade! You're really willing to part with it!"
Mo Tiange shot him a glance. "If I'm not willing, then you provide it!"
Jing Xingzhi immediately shut up. He knew that in the past period, her spirit beast and Puppets had scoured the entire Immortal Palace. He even harbored the dark suspicion: Had these two planned this? Scooping up all the good treasures from the Immortal Palace before proposing this plan, leaving him with only scraps after the Corpse Puppet was dealt with?
However, he only thought this to himself. After all, they had the means. He neither had a clever spirit beast, nor knew how to make Puppets, nor was willing to part with Crystal Jade. He could only admit his bad luck.
After embedding the Crystal Jade, the over a dozen mindless Puppets instantly transformed, emitting the aura of Core Formation cultivators.
Mo Tiange said, "Five Puppets each, no problem?"
Controlling these Puppets required setting restrictions with Divine Sense. The stronger one's Divine Sense, the more Puppets one could control. Although she possessed the Refining Spirit Art, controlling over a dozen Puppets at once would compromise precision.
After the three of them took control of the Puppets, Qin Xi took out a stack of Illusion Transformation Talismans and distributed them to each Puppet. Controlling Puppets to use talismans was somewhat difficult, but fortunately, their Divine Sense was not weak, and they had practiced many times. It shouldn't be a major issue.
With all preparations made, Mo Tiange took a deep breath. "I'll go first."
She stepped forward, her Divine Sense stirring. The Puppet at the far end floated up lightly.
The Puppet landed beside the Corpse Puppet, which remained completely unaware. This Puppet only emitted faint spiritual energy fluctuations and had no life force, utterly failing to attract the Corpse Puppet's attention.
Mo Tiange manipulated the Puppet, slowly increasing the distance from the Corpse Puppet. This distance had also been riskily tested by Jing Xingzhi; within a radius of several li, the Corpse Puppet could sense life force.
When it was about right, the Puppet's fingertip moved. An Illusion Transformation Talisman ignited, instantly catching the Corpse Puppet's attention.
The Corpse Puppet, which had been wandering for years, finally had a target. It paused its feet and chased toward the Puppet's location.
Carrying the fluctuations from the burned Illusion Transformation Talisman, the Puppet swiftly fled along the predetermined route toward the valley.
However, a Core Formation Stage Puppet's speed was limited. It only lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before being caught by the Corpse Puppet and shattered to pieces with a single blow.
Seeing this, Mo Tiange immediately sent out a Message Talisman.
During this time, Qin Xi had already manipulated his Puppet to the predetermined location. Upon receiving the Message Talisman, he similarly had his Puppet activate an Illusion Transformation Talisman and continue sprint along the predetermined route.
Meanwhile, Jing Xingzhi had already taken his Puppet to the next location.
The three of them divided the labor in this relay manner. Upon receiving a Message Talisman, they would activate an Illusion Transformation Talisman, manipulate their Puppet to run along the predetermined route toward the valley. Once caught, they would immediately send a Message Talisman to the next person and then rush to the next point.
The whole operation wasn't difficult, but it demanded a high degree of tacit coordination between the three. If any mistake occurred, the Corpse Puppet might deviate from the predetermined direction, disrupting the steps.
It also placed high demands on their Divine Sense. Controlling five Puppets alone was no simple task, let alone arriving at the right place at the right time, activating the Illusion Transformation Talisman at that precise moment, and trying to prolong the time before being caught.
However, they had prepared thoroughly and had practiced several times before. Even when occasional accidents occurred, they managed to pull the Corpse Puppet back onto the predetermined route in time.
The first Puppet, the second Puppet... One by one, the Puppets were shattered by the Corpse Puppet, and the Corpse Puppet drew closer and closer to the valley.
Finally, the last Puppet controlled by Mo Tiange reached the edge of the valley and jumped down.
The Corpse Puppet, chasing behind, followed without hesitation.
"Activate the formation!" The trio and the spirit beast reunited outside the valley. Mo Tiange shouted.
Upon hearing this, Feifei immediately turned and ran, pulling high-grade spirit stones from its own storage space while on the move. With several "snap" sounds, it embedded the spirit stones into the already-prepared formation.
A clear "hum" resonated. Several beams of clear light lit up around the valley, shooting toward the center. The clear light converged above the valley, instantly forming a transparent protective shield that covered the entire valley.
Seeing the formation activate, Mo Tiange breathed a sigh of relief and looked down.
With concealment talismans on them, the Corpse Puppet couldn't sense their presence at this distance, allowing them to observe the situation safely.
The Puppet she had manipulated was shattered by a swipe of the Corpse Puppet's claw the moment it fell into the valley. Now, having lost its target, the Corpse Puppet was wandering within the valley.
The three of them focused intently on observing. Although they had successfully lured the Corpse Puppet into the valley, they still needed to see if it truly wouldn't fly out before considering it a success. This Corpse Puppet's cultivation was too high. The formation outside the valley could only partially isolate life force, making its sensing dulled, but it couldn't prevent it from leaving the valley nor completely seal its ability to sense life force.
After an hour, seeing the Corpse Puppet hit a mountain wall and simply turn in another direction, showing no intention of flying out of the valley, the three finally relaxed their tense nerves.
This was, after all, a God Transformation Stage Corpse Puppet. If anything went wrong, their lives would be forfeit.
"Finally safe now," Jing Xingzhi said, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Right, we can move out of the Underground Palace," Mo Tiange added, looking up at the Immortal Palace before them with a sigh. "Living outside will be much more comfortable than in the Underground Palace."
After they finished speaking, they turned to see Qin Xi still intently observing the valley.
"What's wrong? Still not reassured?" Jing Xingzhi patted his shoulder.
Qin Xi shook his head without answering. Instead, he manipulated the one remaining Puppet under his control to jump down.
This Puppet hadn't activated an Illusion Transformation Talisman. The Corpse Puppet ignored it completely, allowing it to easily approach the Corpse Puppet's vicinity.
The valley was deep. Even with a cultivator's eyesight, they couldn't clearly see the scene below and could only sense it with Divine Sense.
Sensing Qin Xi manipulating the Puppet to brush against the Corpse Puppet's right hand, Mo Tiange suddenly understood. "The Qiankun Ring!"
This Corpse Puppet was originally a God Transformation Stage cultivator, so of course it had a Qiankun Ring. After becoming a Corpse Puppet, no one dared approach it, so the Qiankun Ring remained intact on its hand. Now that almost all the God Transformation Stage cultivators' cave abodes in the Immortal Palace had been ransacked, this Qiankun Ring might be the only one preserved intact.
Realizing what Qin Xi was doing, Jing Xingzhi became excited. "Quick, quick! Get that Qiankun Ring off! We'll split the loot!" The Qiankun Rings previously obtained from Perfected One Yuanmu had already had most of their items taken. With so many treasures still there, if this was an intact Qiankun Ring, how much wealth would it contain?
Qin Xi ignored him, still focused manipulating the Puppet.
Finally, the Puppet managed to brush the Qiankun Ring off the Corpse Puppet's hand. But at the same moment, the Corpse Puppet seemed to sense the disturbance and swung its arm. The Puppet shattered in response, and the Qiankun Ring fell into the grass.
Qin Xi let out a relieved breath and turned to Jing Xingzhi. "What are you standing there for? Go pick it up!" Of the fifteen Puppets, only the one controlled by Jing Xingzhi remained.
For once, Jing Xingzhi didn't object to his tone. He manipulated the last Puppet to jump down into the valley and retrieve the Qiankun Ring.