Starting From A Son In Law To Build An Long Lasting Family Chapter 1817: 465: Peerless Genius of the Puppet Dao! Peach Blossom Fate! (part 2)

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"Hm?"

Inside a mountain cavern, Lu Changsheng sat enveloped in swirling Yin Yang energies. His eyes snapped open, shifting his gaze toward the Sun and Moon Taiji Mysterious Light Mirror cradled in his arms.

While the Golden-Winged Heavenly Peng had been standing guard outside these past few days, his primary line of defense was actually this Sun and Moon Taiji Mysterious Light Mirror!

Despite lacking the Sun and Moon Token and a bloodline medium to provide high-definition imagery, the mirror remained capable of monitoring the Qi signatures within a hundred-mile radius.

The Sun and Moon Taiji Mysterious Light Mirror would trigger an immediate warning if it detected the spiritual pressure of a Nascent Soul expert or the Qi signature of a Fourth Rank Demon King.

Even if a cultivator utilized exotic treasures to mask their Qi, escaping the detection of the Sun and Moon Taiji Mysterious Light Mirror upon closer approach was nearly impossible.

At that moment, the mirror picked up a powerful fluctuation heading in his direction.

Lu Changsheng promptly channeled his divine sense into the Sun and Moon Taiji Mysterious Light Mirror to investigate the disturbance.

Roughly three hundred miles away, several blurred figures were locked in combat, drifting toward his location.

As A Wu took control of the Sun and Moon Taiji Mysterious Light Mirror, the visual clarity improved significantly.

"Is this a puppet battle formation?"

Lu Changsheng observed a man manipulating thirteen puppets to besiege a pair of Core Formation Peak cultivators, a man and a woman.

The Sun and Moon Taiji Mysterious Light Mirror didn't allow him to perfectly sense the magic power flow, but he could determine it was a puppet battle formation by the way the thirteen puppets were linked together to form a formation map.

"A late-stage Core Formation cultivator managing thirteen puppets, all of which are at least third rank middle grade... Indeed, the world’s heroes are as numerous as carps in a river."

Lu Changsheng was naturally well-versed in the arts of puppetry and puppet battle formations.

However, because the creation of puppets was incredibly demanding of both time and materials for relatively low returns, he hadn't advanced his studies further after reaching Second Rank puppet skills.

He was aware that the divine sense of a typical late-stage Core Formation cultivator could, at most, handle seven or eight third-rank puppets.

Even for someone at the Core Formation Peak, controlling more than ten third-rank puppets should be an impossible task.

To command thirteen at once—could his soul have already attained the Nascent Soul level?

Had it not been for his prior experiences within the Soul Path Dreams, the condensation of his Great Dao Golden Core, and the awakening of his Taiyi Soul Body, Lu Changsheng’s own soul would never have reached the Nascent Soul level while still in the late stage of Core Formation.

Consequently, he was genuinely shocked that this individual could achieve such a feat at the late stage of Core Formation.

"Truly, those Core Formation cultivators brave enough to enter the Vast Sand Illusion Realm possess the skills and methods to barely face off against a Nascent Soul; otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to step foot here."

Although puppet battle formations are typically better suited for stationary defense,

this man’s thirteen puppets were truly exceptional.

Beyond merely forming a puppet formation map etched with complex, glowing patterns, the coordination between the puppets' offense and defense was incredibly seamless.

His daughter, Lu Wangshu, had spent considerable time studying puppet battle formations, yet she could only synchronize their Qi mechanisms for rigid team movements, which paled in comparison to the fluid grace of this person's formation.

The man and woman under attack appeared to be a husband and wife team with excellent synergy.

Nevertheless, they were severely wounded and struggling to survive under the relentless assault of the thirteen puppets, even shouting their willingness to pay compensation for their lives.

The puppet master ignored their pleas, instead deploying a set of needle-like magical treasures to finish them off.

"Damn, does this man really possess a Nascent Soul level soul?"

Lu Changsheng breathed out in astonishment.

He suddenly realized how others must have perceived him when he fought Nascent Soul cultivators as a Core Formation practitioner.

This late-stage Core Formation cultivator was not only managing thirteen puppets but could also split his focus to manipulate treasures for the kill?

Could things get any more ridiculous?

But as Lu Changsheng continued to watch, he began to notice some subtle details.

One of the thirteen puppets was a top-tier third-rank main puppet that seemed to act as the commander for the rest.

"This person likely practices a specialized puppet cultivation technique, perhaps something like the ’Ninety-Nine Mystical Talisman Scripture,’ which allows puppets to be refined as lifebound puppets to lower the control requirements."

Lu Changsheng mused to himself.

The Lu Family’s fourth-rank puppet techniques were inherited from Tianyuan True Monarch.

They were clever, but they were not the pinnacle of the craft.

Lu Changsheng deduced that the battle formation and control techniques used by this man likely originated from a top-tier puppet cultivation manual.

This was the only logical explanation for how a Core Formation cultivator could command so many puppets at once.

A moment later, after seeing the couple fall before the thirteen-puppet battle formation, Lu Changsheng shook his head slightly, having no desire to play the vulture and scavenge their remains.

Even though the man’s puppets had sustained significant wear and damage, Lu Changsheng was not at his full strength and wanted to avoid unnecessary conflict.

He watched the man loot the bodies, retract twelve of the puppets, and fly toward his location accompanied by the main puppet. Lu Changsheng immediately activated the Reversal Yin Yang Glazed Glass Wall to hide himself and the unconscious Lu Ping’an.

However, as the man flew past, he seemed to spot the Golden-Winged Heavenly Peng perched near the cave entrance. He shared a look with his main puppet before redeploying the other twelve puppets.

"Damn!"

Lu Changsheng hadn't anticipated that the stranger would target the Golden Peng.

On second thought, it made sense.

Eight of the man's twelve puppets were beast-shaped and clearly constructed from the bones of Demon Kings.

How could he ignore a Third Rank Demon King, especially a Golden-Winged Heavenly Peng with such a majestic aura?

"Screech!"

Realizing the threat, the Golden-Winged Heavenly Peng let out a piercing cry and took to the skies, sending a mental query to Lu Changsheng asking whether they should flee or fight, as it could provide a distraction.

"Since trouble has come to my door, why should I run!"

Lu Changsheng simply wanted to avoid a headache, but he was certainly not afraid.

Even if he wasn't at his peak, he wasn't someone a mere Core Formation cultivator could push around!

Furthermore, he had to admit he was quite intrigued by those thirteen third-rank middle-grade puppets.