The road is vague

Chapter 427 Deterrence
The Mortise and Tenon Master is one of the Nascent Soul Ancestors of the Puppet Sect.

Since he returned from the battlefield wounded twenty years ago, he has been in charge of purchasing and selling goods for the Puppet Sect in Yuancheng, Jingzhou.

Previously, the Puppet Sect's main business in Yuancheng consisted only of puppet parts and finished puppets.

However, with the rise of the Lü family workshop in recent years, the cost of producing wooden oxen and flowing horses has been greatly reduced, and energy conservation and consumption reduction have reached a level that is acceptable to ordinary people, resulting in huge profits.

The master craftsman was immediately itching to join the game and decided to participate.

But how easy is it to compete with Lü's Workshop?

The master craftsman first tried to support other workshops to form a new operating system, but normal business competition was clearly no match for the Lü family workshop.

Fortunately, Lü Cuicui was only a Qi Refining stage disciple, and in the eyes of Master Xunmao, she was almost no different from an ordinary person.

For the sake of the sect's development, Master Xunmao once considered taking things by force, but in the end, she discovered that the real trouble was the mysterious Nascent Soul female cultivator behind her.

to this end.

The master of mortise and tenon had tried to inquire from various sources, but had not obtained any information about this person. This in itself explained the problem, and the person must be from another country.

When neither gentle persuasion nor force worked, Master Mortise and Tenon had no choice but to wait for an opportunity. He discovered that a crisis of trust seemed to be brewing within the Lü family workshop, involving an old story. Master Mortise and Tenon was not interested in the specific dramatic details; he simply sensed an opportunity to take advantage of. So he took the initiative to propose cooperation with Lü Cuicui and subsequently arranged for his nephews and nieces to join the workshop as managers.

Ordinary people only live for a mere sixty years.

Even if one were to consume the Longevity Pill at any cost, it would only slightly prolong life and prolong existence. From the perspective of a Nascent Soul cultivator, as long as one persists and brings the Puppet Sect disciples into the workshop, one can subtly influence them and allow them to take over the workshop.

However, the Spiritual Immortal Puppet Conference that Lü Cuicui was determined to convene caught the Mortise and Tenon Master off guard!

Lu Cuicui used this as leverage, demanding that he hand over a treasure from his sect as a condition for continuing to invest. Otherwise, after the conference ended, she would select elites from among the talented individuals who attended to gradually replace the puppet sect disciples in the workshop. This infuriated the Mortise and Tenon Master.

The cooked duck is about to fly away?

So he immediately made a harsh statement and left in anger.

a few days later.

After receiving a communication talisman, Li Mo quickly headed to the headquarters of the Road Guidance Bureau.

In the underground hall of the headquarters of the Road Guiding Bureau, there is a secret room, which is where Old Ghost Zhong works. As Li Mo arrived, Old Ghost Zhong chuckled.

"sit."

Li Mo nodded and sat down, looking at the other person.

"The message said I have a mission to complete. Should I set off now?"

Li Mo was still thinking about the Danjing and the Ten-Thousand-Year True Essence Ginseng, but Old Ghost Zhong waved his hand.

"This is not a mission from above, but my personal mission. Since you have joined my ranks and are determined to become the Director of the Road Guidance Division and fight against that old dragon to the end, you should first get to know your colleagues as the Commanders of the Road Guidance Division. These Commanders will be your capital to ensure your invincibility in the future fight against that old dragon."

"Oh?"

Li Mo looked somewhat curious.

Needless to say, these people must all be at the Nascent Soul level.

"These people can be considered my colleagues or my friends. They are not human, but within the Road Guiding Bureau, they are similar to that old dragon, each with their own power. They are not entirely subordinate to each other and do not easily show themselves to others. However, one of them has recently encountered some minor trouble, so you will handle it for me. Once you gain their approval, you will be able to move freely within the Bureau in the future."

"I will obey your orders."

Seeing Li Mo's sincere attitude, Zhong Laogui nodded.

"At noon three days from now, you will meet at Jiandang Mountain, three hundred miles south of the city. The person you meet will be called Puppet. You only need to give him my name."

"it is good."

Three days flew by.

On Jiandang Mountain, three figures seemed to have been waiting there for a long time.

One of the strange men, wearing a black straw hat, uttered a hoarse, questioning voice.

"What do you think Old Ghost really means? Didn't he just take a Longevity Pill? And who is this Black Dog? We've always acted together as a group. Is he really planning to retire?"

As he spoke, several parrots flew out of his sleeve and landed on his shoulder.

Upon hearing this, another extremely burly man slowly responded.

"I heard that he failed in his last attempt to cultivate the secret technique, which damaged his foundation and probably caused him to lose some of his vital essence."

Finally, there was a female cultivator.

She turned to look into the distance and said, "They're here."

After secretly arranging for the Thousand-Faced King and Princess Dai to meet him, Li Mo flew towards Jiandang Mountain. He spotted the three people in the distance. He was fine with the other two, but when he saw the only female cultivator, his pupils shrank.

This person was none other than the mysterious female cultivator beside Lü Cuicui!
The female cultivator looked at Li Mo and said calmly, "Black dog?"

"puppet?"

After exchanging the password with a question, Li Mo said in a low voice, "Old Ghost Zhong sent me."

"quack!"

Upon hearing this, the mysterious cloaked cultivator let out a strange laugh.

"It seems you are the successor chosen by Old Ghost. The three of us have been friends with Old Ghost for many years. We are nominally his subordinates, but in reality, we only use the name of the Travel Authority to ensure our legal status in Yuan City. When there are important missions, we will selectively take action depending on the situation. You can call me Evil Crow from now on. Also... eh!?"

The crow was halfway through its sentence when it suddenly realized something and let out a soft exclamation.

Li Mo vaguely sensed that the other party was looking at the "Dark Thunder Heavenly Book" in his hand.

"You can call me Stone Man."

The burly, tall man spoke in a deep, muffled voice.

Li Mo nodded calmly, then looked at the puppet.

It was clear that there was a hint of shock in her eyes. Li Mo could not hide his disbelief either. He had not expected that the other party's background was actually Zhong Laogui. What did the code name "Puppet" mean?
However, the stone man and the evil crow had already been guessed by his true spirit eye.

This so-called stone man is actually an elf life left behind in the Yuanling World, while the evil crow seems to be an evil spirit similar to the Dark Thunder Heavenly Book, but unlike the Dark Thunder Heavenly Book, it has become a spirit and can move freely within the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Moreover, the aura emanating from him was similar to that of the crows who were responsible for receiving the deceased during the seventh day after his death.

The puppet gave Li Mo a deep look.

“Evil Raven was right about one thing: the three of us and Old Ghost have been friends for many years. Over the years, he has helped us solve a lot of troubles, and in return, we have served the Road Guide Bureau many times. But there is one thing I must make clear: we are only partners, not completely subordinates. If you take over Old Ghost’s position in the future, we will decide our relationship based on your actions.”

Li Mo nodded.

"Gentlemen, please rest assured. I joined the Road Guiding Bureau not for power, but simply to settle some personal grudges. I can maintain the cooperative relationship between you and Old Ghost Zhong."

"That's good."

After nodding, the puppet began to recount the trouble it had encountered. "My friend's Lü Family Workshop, located on Jimu Mountain, is coveted by the Puppet Sect. The Mortise and Tenon Master wants to take over their business, and they even caused a huge disturbance a few days ago. So, the reason I asked you all to step in this time is simply to intimidate them and make them back down."

"Heh heh! That guy actually dared to set his sights on us, he's really courting death!"

After regaining his senses, Evil Crow chuckled strangely.

A quarter of an hour later.

The four arrived outside the temporary cave dwelling of the Mortise and Tenon Master. The place was shrouded in an illusion array, making it impossible to see what was inside.

"quack!"

Li Mo originally intended to observe the formation through the Eye of True Spirit and attempt to break it, but the Alkyne Evil Crow let out a strange laugh and countless ghost crows flew out from his sleeves.

Although these ghost crows were not of a high level, the sheer number of ghostly flames falling created a truly earth-shattering spectacle.

It instantly destroyed the outer illusion array, revealing the ice and wind attribute killing flag array inside.

Immediately, as if a hornet's nest had been stirred up, a tiger's roar came from the flag formation, countless puppets shot out beams of spiritual light, and hordes of melee puppets swarmed out.

"Quack quack!"

Seeing this, the evil crow became even more excited, driving countless ghost crows to continuously spew ghost fire, so much so that the surrounding world seemed to have become a place of the underworld, with fierce ghosts flying everywhere. This made Li Mo, who was about to draw the Flowing Gold Fire Sword, stop his actions and look at the evil crow helplessly.

The two entities are incompatible; if they are too close together, their strength will be diminished.

So he switched to summoning the Seven-Headed Black Dragon Matrix Puppet and controlled it with the Shadow Line Secret Technique, which actually allowed this puppet, which was already at the peak of the Golden Core stage, to advance to another level.

The puppet's seven heads continuously emitted spiritual light, destroying the horde of puppets and drawing slight glances from the other three.

"Blue-eyed Golden-eyed Tiger!!"

After the guardian beast rushed out, the stone man recognized its species and excitedly rushed over.

During his charge, his size grew larger and larger, eventually transforming into a granite giant over ten zhang tall. With every gesture, he caused the surrounding spiritual energy to fluctuate and the earth to tremble violently, as if an earthquake had struck.

Li Mo had seen Yuanling life forms in the Heavenly Realm and the Seven Star Corridor. He thought that these spirit life forms formed from rocks and trees were hiding in the dark corners of the Mountain and Sea Realm. However, he did not expect that there was a terrifying existence in the court of the Great Qian Kingdom that was comparable to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul stage!
The guardian beasts of the mountain were almost powerless to resist his attacks.

"Who dares to be so insolent here!"

A loud shout came from the mountains. The Mortise and Tenon Master was not meditating and cultivating. He flew out of his cave in a rage, accompanied by two other people, both of whom were Nascent Soul cultivators. This made Li Mo's eyes narrow slightly.

"The master of mortise and tenon joints!"

The puppet took the initiative and shouted first.

"Didn't you say you were going to tear down my mountain of building blocks? Today I'll see if you have the ability!"

"It's you?"

Master Xunmao was initially furious, but upon seeing the stone man, the evil crow, and Li Mo, his expression changed. These faces were all quite unfamiliar to him; he had never heard of them before. He then looked at his senior brothers and friends.

After frowning slightly, both of them shook their heads.

Just then, the evil crow let out another eerie laugh.

"Hehe! The Old Monster of Mechanisms and the Master of Mortise and Tenon are fellow disciples of the Puppet Sect. I can understand their collusion, but you, Ancestor Xuanyuan, a master of the Cart Martial Sect, have also joined forces with him. Tsk tsk, your future is truly worrisome!"

After Chewu Kingdom was merged into Daqian Kingdom, the original Qiancheng Sect and Lianwu Sect were merged into one sect.

Upon hearing this, Ancestor Xuanyuan's expression changed slightly, as if he was somewhat worried, but he did not say anything more.

When Li Mo looked at the Ancestor Xuanyuan, he suddenly thought of an old friend, Xuanyuan Zuolan. However, the two were just casual acquaintances, and since he had now turned over a new leaf, it was impossible for them to develop anything further.

Upon hearing this, the mortise and tenon master let out a cold laugh.

"Why hide here? Why not show your true colors? Do you think I'm afraid of you just because you outnumber me?"

He spoke in hushed tones as he spoke.

"Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan, there's no need to worry. Fellow Daoist Xuwu from the Nine Nether Sect and Fairy Bingding from the Holy Cauldron Sect should be arriving soon. We have the advantage in numbers."

"kindness."

After a stalemate, the two sides remained deadlocked for a while. However, Xie Ya, Shi Ren, and Li Mo did not stop, causing the Tenon and Mortise Master to suffer heavy losses and his eyelids to twitch incessantly.

Fortunately at this time.

Two figures appeared in the distance.

"Who is fighting here!"

The Void True Man of the Nine Netherworld Sect was established by splitting off from the royal family in accordance with the will of the Six Doors.

He was invited here as a guest today, but he never expected to encounter a battle between Nascent Soul cultivators. Although it seemed that the two sides were only in the probing stage and had not yet reached the point of a real fight, this place was, after all, near Yuan City, and it would probably not be long before the people from the Heavenly Fate Bureau arrived.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Void, Fairy Ice Cauldron, you've come at the perfect time! These villains..."

The master of mortise and tenon had only spoken halfway when he stopped abruptly, looking in another direction with a look of astonishment.

Two more people suddenly flew over at high speed.

The newcomers were none other than the Thousand-Faced King and Princess Dai, who were responsible for receiving the guests. They released their spiritual pressure and stood behind the sneering Li Mo.

In this way, the number of Nascent Soul stage cultivators on Li Mo's side has reached as many as six!

Even the puppet, the stone man, and the evil crow were taken aback. After Li Mo gave a low signal, the three of them were greatly surprised and secretly began to guess Li Mo's true identity.

that's it.

Eleven Nascent Soul level cultivators have gathered on this small, unremarkable mountain peak.

The appearance of six Nascent Soul stage cultivators at once was truly unbelievable to Master Shenmao. Apart from the royal family, he couldn't imagine where so many Nascent Soul stage cultivators would appear all at once.

However, when he glanced at the Void Immortal, the other party slowly shook his head.

As a member of the Imperial Six Doors, he knew the unfathomable depths of the palace, but it was impossible for so many unfamiliar faces to appear all at once.

Upon seeing this, the master of mortise and tenon joints looked extremely displeased.

He immediately realized that he seemed to have provoked a terrifying, highly secretive organization, and the thought of retreating arose in his mind.

"Fortunately, this is Yuancheng. It seems that the other party is only here to intimidate us. Let's use that treasure as compensation."

Half an hour later.

Once the puppet achieved its desired result and successfully intimidated the real mortise and tenon joint, the crowd dispersed.

Immediately afterwards, the people from the Heavenly Mandate Bureau arrived and conducted a brief investigation. After confirming that no one had died, and since it was a remote and desolate place, they reported the incident and then dispersed.

(End of this chapter)