Chapter 512

Chapter 512: Xu Fan’s Counterattack

“The Grand Elder used that Avatar Jade Talisman. Go ahead and send him another one,” said the Third Grand Elder.

Master Qianling paused.

“Shouldn’t the big brother be the one to tell me this? Why is it your turn?”

“Because what you’re sending is the Avatar Jade Talisman that the big brother gave me,” the Third Grand Elder replied, his tone tinged with melancholy.

“Should I mark it as a gift from you?”

Hearing this, Master Qianling perked up.

“No, that would make me seem too opportunistic,” the Third Grand Elder said, shaking his head.

He had already planned that once the Elder of the Hidden Spirit Sect became a Great Master of Qi Refinement, he could leverage his connections with the big brother and second brother to secure a spot for crafting celestial tools.

“This time, you’ve actually done something I can appreciate,” Master Qianling said with a nod.

The Third Grand Elder of Qianling Sect turned his head away, unwilling to speak to the second brother.

Over the Ten Thousand-Mile Giant Lake, Xu Fan was fishing with his Tianji Turtle.

“Old Turtle, do you think I’ve been having bad luck lately?” Xu Fan asked.

“Woo~” the Tianji Turtle murmured softly.

“You’re right. Luck is fickle—no one can stay lucky forever,” Xu Fan replied.

Ever since his Merit and Fortune Aura disappeared, he felt like something was missing.

The overwhelming sense of security he once had now had a crack in it, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was plotting against him.

“Woo~” the Tianji Turtle murmured again.

“I’d like to find a safe place to settle down too, but I don’t like being too restricted. I still think it’s better to rely on myself,” Xu Fan said with a deep sigh.

At that moment, the Tianji Turtle glanced at Xu Fan, then slowly crawled out of the spiritual boat and plunged into the Ten Thousand-Mile Giant Lake, swimming toward the Hidden Spirit Sect.

Talking to this guy was just too exhausting.

That was the Tianji Turtle’s current thought.

“You don’t even want to chat with me anymore?” Xu Fan said, annoyed.

“The two realms passage is gone—one was absorbed, and the other collapsed due to unstable spatial force.”

“Should I go and claim another passage in the neighboring fairy city? After all, that area is now under the beast race’s control,” Xu Fan mused.

“Never mind. I should just go into seclusion for now,” Xu Fan decided, causing his temporary avatar to burst into the purest Five Elements of Spiritual Energy.

In the seclusion chamber, Xu Fan glanced uneasily toward Nine Phoenix Island.

“Why do I feel like someone’s up to no good?”

Ever since his Merit and Fortune Aura vanished, he’d had this nagging feeling of being watched.

And that feeling seemed to be coming from the direction of Nine Phoenix Island.

“Is it that big shot supporting Feng Chang Ning who’s planning to make a move against me?” Xu Fan wondered.

Just then, Xu Fan suddenly sensed something unusual about Grape.

“Master, we’ve captured a group of Core Formation Stage Puppets,” Grape said, her tone tinged with surprise.

“Did they come from Nine Phoenix Island?” Xu Fan asked.

“Yes, these puppets were produced on their Production Line,” Grape replied.

“Bring them over for inspection.”

“Understood.”

Soon, twelve Core Formation Stage Puppets appeared in Xu Fan’s courtyard.

“They’re on the path of self-evolution through spiritual cultivation,” Xu Fan observed, studying the puppets.

“It feels like an intelligent revolution—weak computing power but strong logical abilities. Interesting,” Xu Fan mused, stroking his chin.

“But their combat strength improves remarkably fast.”

“These puppets can rapidly advance their levels by refining suitable spirit ore into their spiritual energy cores. The only limitation is they need a powerful treasure to suppress them,” Xu Fan commented as he assessed them.

“Master, can I devour them?” Grape asked.

“Not now. Stop thinking about devouring everything. You’ve already grown quite plump—focus on digesting what you’ve consumed,” Xu Fan chided.

Lately, Grape had been devouring too many valuable resources, risking indigestion.

“I’ve been feeling uneasy recently; turns out someone’s been plotting against me,” Xu Fan said with a smile, eyeing the twelve puppets.

“Well, don’t blame me for not holding back,” Xu Fan added.

Three days later, twelve orbs of spiritual light, each the size of a glass ball, appeared.

“Go back now and serve your master well,” Xu Fan said with a smile.

The orbs flew from Xu Fan’s hands and merged into the puppets’ cores.

“The great being supporting Feng Chang Ning is more formidable than I thought. If Grape hadn’t evolved recently, I might’ve fallen into his trap.”

“You’ve made your move, so our confrontation begins,” Xu Fan said, gazing toward Nine Phoenix Island.

“If you can send twelve puppets, I can send them back.”

In the underground space, a teleportation formation embedded with five node artifacts stood ready, the twelve puppets positioned atop it.

“Activate the formation. As the saying goes, what goes around comes around. I’m sure sending them here cost you dearly,” Xu Fan said, activating the teleportation formation.

After a surge of energy, the puppets vanished, and the five node artifacts were destroyed.

“The cost of this teleportation was steep—five node artifacts. I’ll make sure to settle this debt later.”

With that, Xu Fan returned to seclusion.

On Jiufeng Continent, thousands of miles from the Royal City, a flash of spiritual light appeared, and the twelve Core Formation Stage Puppets materialized.

“Mission failed. Return and report to the National Master,” the lead Void Refinement Stage puppet commanded.

“Reporting to the National Master now would only risk our deactivation,” one puppet said, its eyes flickering.

“Does anyone have a better plan?” the lead puppet asked, seemingly open to suggestions.

“Downgrade to Void Refinement Stage, alter our identification codes, and resume serving our master,” another puppet proposed.

“The logic is sound. Execute the plan,” the lead puppet ordered.

In the Royal City of Nine Phoenix, at the National Master’s residence,

“It seems the plan has failed,” the young National Master sighed.

He waved his hand, dispersing the array disk formed from Merit and Fortune.

“I underestimated my opponent. Next time, I’ll send a team of Great Ascension Stage puppets and see how they handle that,” the young National Master muttered, acknowledging his mistake.

“How’s the construction of the Sea Ships progressing?” he asked, turning to the humanoid puppet behind him.

“Two Sea Ships have been launched and are operational. Three more are under construction,” the puppet replied respectfully.

“How many resources are we really finding in the Endless Sea? It’s not enough to quickly produce Great Ascension Stage puppets,” the young National Master sighed again.

He then looked up at the sky, a mysterious glint in his eyes.

“I wonder how far I’ll go in this lifetime?”

“When I return, I’ll make sure you pay—your celestial spirit will fuel a heavenly spirit lamp,” the young National Master vowed, his eyes burning with hatred.