Puppet (2)

"I'd like to start by making contact with the Qingyun Merchant Guild."

At Cheon Woo-jin's answer, Seo Seol-ryeong nodded without protest.

"Understood. They're organizing a retrieval team of their own, so we should make contact with them."

"I'll leave it to you."

She raised no objection whatsoever. If Cheon Woo-jin had decided on it, her attitude was clear: she would simply do her part as the intermediary.

"Daoist Cheon."

But she added one last thing.

"I do not doubt your ability. If it were you, retrieving the Yin-Yang Wondrous Pearl from the Blood Puppet Sect branch would certainly be possible."

"……"

"However…… there is a saying: the tree that stands out in the forest will inevitably be broken by the wind. Please be careful."

The reason Cheon Woo-jin had been able to operate relatively freely until now was that the truly powerful had paid him no mind. No matter how spectacular his exploits, from their perspective it was nothing more than the last flailing of worms crawling along the ground. But if one of those worms suddenly spread its wings, took flight, and began buzzing right in front of their faces, even they would have no choice but to react.

"I'll take that to heart."

With that answer, Cheon Woo-jin stepped out of the tent.

Just as Seo Seol-ryeong had said, he needed to be careful this time. He could not approach it the way he had when striking down mid-sized and small dark sects.

'Especially the fact that the enemy is the Blood Puppet Sect—that's the real problem.'

The Blood Puppet Sect was a sect that wielded puppets. The word "puppet" referred to marionettes, but in the immortal world it was the general term for humanoid artifacts that moved according to their master's commands.

And every one of the Blood Puppet Sect's puppets was linked to the consciousness of the Blood Puppet Ancestor, Gu Do-ryun. In ordinary times they behaved like any common puppet, but the moment something unusual occurred, the situation was transmitted to Gu Do-ryun at once. He would then "transfer" his consciousness and intervene on the scene through the puppet itself.

If Cheon Woo-jin unleashed his strength and ravaged the Blood Puppet Sect branch, there was a high chance Gu Do-ryun would descend. It wouldn't be a direct confrontation with the man himself, but Gu Do-ryun would nonetheless become aware of Cheon Woo-jin's existence.

'And since I wouldn't be facing Gu Do-ryun in person, the Instant Killing Heavenly Eye won't work either.'

The Instant Killing Heavenly Eye could only be activated when facing the person directly. No matter how many times he used it on a puppet, it would have zero effect on Gu Do-ryun's true body.

'If this incident makes Gu Do-ryun aware of me and he dispatches powerful puppets to capture me…… then it ends there.'

Gu Do-ryun was a Nascent Soul cultivator. Moreover, many of the puppets he had crafted possessed combat power rivaling a Core Formation cultivator or above. If a swarm of those things attacked, Cheon Woo-jin's own strength would be hard-pressed to resist them.

'But even so, I can't give up this chance to get my hands on the Yin-Yang Wondrous Pearl.'

Of all the foundation-grade spirit treasures available to him at this point in time, the Yin-Yang Wondrous Pearl boasted the finest performance. Combining it with the Five Elements spirit treasures he had gathered so far to create a Foundation Establishment Pill would be an enormous aid when he stepped into the Foundation Establishment realm.

With the best item in the world sitting right before his eyes, he could hardly pretend not to see it just because there was risk involved.

'So what should I do?'

Charging in blindly would be the act of a fool. He needed a countermeasure.

Five days later.

Cheon Woo-jin headed for the southern reaches of Guisu Castle's 3rd Layer. In that southern district there was a section where the outer wall had been torn open by a massive hole, connecting the interior to the outside world. At a glance it looked like nothing more than a crumbling cliff edge, but in truth it was a port through which flying vessels and other airborne transport came and went. Large cargo vessels in particular could not enter through the 1st Layer's gates, so they used this landing dock instead.

A flying vessel was already moored at that dock. It belonged to the Qingyun Merchant Guild, which operated across all of Weijin Country, and today it would be departing not with cargo, but carrying something else entirely.

"Quite the turnout."

A tall woman was inspecting the assembled personnel in front of the vessel. She was Bang Wi-sun, a Foundation Establishment cultivator affiliated with the Qingyun Merchant Guild.

"Thank you all for volunteering for this retrieval mission. Together with me, you will assault the Blood Puppet Sect branch and reclaim the guild's cargo."

The Qingyun Merchant Guild had hired some twenty rogue cultivators for the job. They had also requested aid from other sects, but every one of them balked at the prospect of opposing the Blood Puppet Sect, and so in the end they had been forced to gather rogue cultivators alone.

"You've all been briefed already, but the Blood Puppet Sect branch we're attacking holds only a handful of Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation cultivators. Everything else is just puppets."

"……"

"The Blood Puppet Sect's puppets are stronger than those of other small and mid-sized sects. But it has already been confirmed that no high-tier puppets are stationed at this branch. We can take it with our own strength, easily."

At Bang Wi-sun's explanation, many in the crowd wore visibly relieved expressions. They weren't fighting the Blood Puppet Sect's main forces, just a pack of cargo thieves. It was hard not to think of the mission as entirely manageable.

Of course, this was Bang Wi-sun deliberately spinning the situation to put the recruits at ease. If the enemy had truly been that weak, the cargo would never have been stolen in the first place.

"Excuse me, but allow me to ask one thing."

At that moment, an elderly rogue cultivator raised his hand.

"If the Blood Puppet Ancestor suddenly descends, how do we intend to handle it? They say he's connected to all of his puppets……"

"The Blood Puppet Ancestor?"

Bang Wi-sun laughed as if the question were absurd.

"One of the Thirteen Sovereigns, stooping to peer into some backwater branch like this? He wouldn't bat an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eye even if every puppet here were annihilated. Don't worry over nothing."

"Hmm……"

"Then we depart. Everyone, board the vessel!"

The rogue cultivators lined up and boarded the flying vessel one by one. Once all twenty-odd had climbed aboard, Bang Wi-sun raised her voice.

"Cast off!"

The cultivator piloting the vessel weighed anchor and began chanting an incantation.

"Ride the Wind and Go!"

At the final, sharply accented command, the vessel stirred and began to rise into the air. The airborne ship slipped out through the hole in the outer wall, crossed the gray sky, and set its course for the destination.

"……"

Cheon Woo-jin watched it all from the dock. He had never been a participant in today's operation in the first place. He had held a certain amount of negotiation with the Qingyun Merchant Guild, but in the end he had declined the commission.

The stated reason for refusing was that the terms weren't good enough. In truth, of course, he had another design entirely.

'Well then…… it's about time I set out as well.'

Cheon Woo-jin drew out a single sword. Not the Thunderous Sky-Piercing Sword, but a mid-grade artifact that had been gathering dust among Tae Sa-ryang's possessions.

He first infused the blade with spiritual power, setting it afloat in midair, then stepped up onto it with both feet.

"Sword-Riding Flight!"

The laborers passing nearby marveled at the sight of a man soaring skyward astride a blade. But because he wore unfamiliar clothes with a hood pulled low over his head, no one recognized him.

'For long-distance travel, sword-riding flight is far more comfortable than flying on my own.'

His steady cultivation of the Grand Supreme Mysterious Sword Art had brought him to the point of mastering the technique. However, there had been little need for it inside Guisu Castle, so today marked the first time he truly put it to use.

'I'll follow at a sufficient distance.'

Cheon Woo-jin passed out through the hole in the outer wall and began flying in the same direction as the vessel. His ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠destination, like the retrieval team ahead of him, was the Blood Puppet Sect branch. He would simply not be fighting alongside them.

The following morning.

The retrieval team led by Bang Wi-sun arrived at the valley where the Blood Puppet Sect branch lay. Since the flying vessel could go no further, they disembarked and advanced on foot.

Contrary to expectations, however, they could not even get close to the branch. Hidden mechanical devices scattered throughout the valley activated, dropping the retrieval team into trap after trap.

"No one said anything about traps like these……!"

"D-don't panic! We can break through something like this easily……!"

Bang Wi-sun exhorted her recruits, but the casualties only mounted. They had yet to exchange a single blow with the Blood Puppet Sect's puppets, and as the losses piled up before any real fighting even began, the team's morale plummeted.

As they struggled forward, a lone figure emerged from deep within the valley. It was a Blood Puppet Sect cultivator, finally showing himself.

"You fools. Did you truly think we wouldn't anticipate an attack?"

"What—!"

"Traps like these can be set up overnight if you put puppets to work. We built them in advance, in preparation for your little raid."

He snickered as he taunted the retrieval team.

"The cargo will be disposed of properly and added to the tribute we pay the Blood Puppet Ancestor, so you'd best give up now."

"You wretch—!"

In the very next moment, the puppets came pouring out. They were all wooden figures shaped like humans, but with no faces on their heads, which lent them an eerie, unsettling air. The cultivators hurled spells at the puppets as they swung their massive wooden fists in relentless assault.

But whether their heads were blown off or their limbs torn away, the puppets paid no heed and kept charging until the very end. One sword cultivator unleashed his sword qi and cleaved a puppet cleanly in two—only to lose heart at the sight of its upper and lower halves moving independently and resuming their attack.

"They're not like ordinary puppets!"

"L-let's retreat for now! This isn't working!"

"You there! Do not fall back without orders……!"

Even Bang Wi-sun, the commander, had been thrown into confusion and could not mount a proper response. The operation was a failure. So everyone thought.

'What a mess.'

Watching the scene unfold from atop a ridge, Cheon Woo-jin clicked his tongue. The Blood Puppet Sect was a sect with deep expertise not only in puppets but in mechanical arrays as well. The Qingyun Merchant Guild had clearly been far too complacent.

'I'd best move quickly. That way, they'll keep their losses to a minimum too.'

With that thought, Cheon Woo-jin removed his hood. The face revealed beneath was not his usual one—because he was wearing a human-skin mask turned inside out.

In truth, despite the name, it was not made of actual human skin. It was a mask crafted by a deft-handed cultivator who had combined various materials to recreate the texture of human flesh, far more natural-looking than the masks common among martial world practitioners. On top of that, Cheon Woo-jin had applied the Art of Transformation and Reshaping.

It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a technique for altering one's face and physique, which Cheon Woo-jin had learned from a book found among Tae Sa-ryang's possessions. It was still rudimentary, and far from perfect. But combined with the mask, even someone capable of seeing through the Art of Transformation would never uncover Cheon Woo-jin's bare face.

'And……'

Cheon Woo-jin drew a small vial from his robe and sprinkled its contents over his outer garment. The drab cloth shifted into a vivid, blazing red.

This was a dye he had recently concocted himself, made using the alchemy furnace he had received from Jo Hyu.

'This should do.'

Having checked his disguise, Cheon Woo-jin rose to his feet. The Blood Puppet Sect side immediately noticed his presence.

"Who goes there!"

A Blood Puppet Sect cultivator roared and raised his hand. In response, more than a dozen puppets swarmed up the slope toward Cheon Woo-jin. Watching them come, Cheon Woo-jin slipped a hand into his robe.

But he drew out neither the Thunderous Sky-Piercing Sword nor the Iron Armor Flying Spirits. Nor did he intend to bring out the Silver Shadow Ridge Warding Formation today. Those were artifacts he had used openly in front of others many times before—producing them now would render his careful disguise of his appearance meaningless.

For the same reason, he had no intention of using black lightning arts or sword qi today either. If he employed such ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠techniques, Gu Do-ryun of the Blood Puppet Sect might sense the Present Manifestation Earth-Knowing Physique beneath Cheon Woo-jin's disguised spirit roots. No matter how thoroughly Cheon Woo-jin camouflaged his spiritual energy, Gu Do-ryun's ability would be capable of seeing through it.

So—was it truly possible to take on the Blood Puppet Sect branch while sealing away every artifact and technique he had relied on until now?

It was.

"……"

Cheon Woo-jin drew a single talisman from within his robe. To any outward eye, it looked perfectly ordinary. But Cheon Woo-jin had staked everything on that slip of paper, and he thrust it forward.

'True Fire is not common fire.'

'Meeting the wind, it flourishes; meeting water, it rages. The more one seeks to douse it, the hotter it blazes; the more one seeks to extinguish it, the more fiercely it reignites.'

'Refining essence, qi, and spirit into the Samadhi of One, I nurture the core of the Li trigram to burn away all wicked spirits with flame.'

Fwoooosh!

A tidal wave of flame, hot enough to burn the world itself to ash, erupted forth and lit the entire valley bone-bright. The puppets crawling up the slope to seize Cheon Woo-jin were reduced to cinders in an instant, and the wave swallowed even the Blood Puppet Sect cultivator directing them from beyond, erasing him from existence entirely. It then devoured whole the final massive mechanical device that had been hidden away to deliver the raiders their last moment of despair, leaving nothing along the road to the stronghold but pitch-black ash.