I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

The monster slowly stood up, its enormous body surging with new energy.

Those once shattered seams are now reactivating at an unprecedented pace after Lieshan's soul power was injected into them.

Dark red spiritual light and crimson gold soul flames intertwined, fused, and solidified in those cold metal joints, filling, reinforcing, and sealing the cracks that Fang Tianheng had cleaved open layer by layer.

Golden flames now burn within those once empty eye sockets, like eyes being rekindled, examining this world that it had missed for thousands of years from a new perspective.

Lieshan slowly lowered his head, looking at his new body.

Those cold metal armor plates, like bones infused with blood, were trembling slightly at a frequency synchronized with its will.

It could sense the spiritual pathways at every joint, feel the reconnected array patterns pushing power to every part of its body, and feel the soul core, compressed to its limit, pulsating with a completely new rhythm.

This is a completely new power, stronger than I was in life, even more than twice as strong.

It raised the battle blade in its right hand, and pale blue energy began to spread across the blade.

Raise the sword and swing it!

A terrifying blade of light drew a huge arc across the sky, like a curtain being cut open, creating a clear crack in the previously blurred boundary between the sky and the earth.

The blade's edge struck a mountain peak a hundred miles away, cleaving it in two the instant it made contact.

The mountainside slowly tilted, slid, and fell, crashing into the valley below and stirring up a cloud of dust and rubble that blotted out the sky.

"Haha, that's impressive! Only you humans could come up with something so outrageous!" Lieshan looked at his new body with admiration.

The battle intent belonging to the peak of the fourth tier was surging, expanding, and being released in its soul core, like a caged beast that had been imprisoned for thousands of years finally being released from its cage, and was feeling the power that this body could bear in an almost greedy way.

Below him, Lin Che patted the giant puppet's feet.

"Alright, let's go back to Chuyang City first. The breakthrough over there is about to begin, so let's not let it affect us." Lin Che's gaze turned to the area hundreds of miles behind them.

At this moment, the sky above the area was filled with thunderclouds, and purple-gold lightning snakes shuttled, intertwined, and condensed in the clouds, like a sea of ​​lightning being repeatedly stirred up. Each flash pushed the pressure of heaven and earth to a higher level.

Qin Wudao's breakthrough was about to begin. The thunderclouds were shrinking, expanding, and churning at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a giant beast awakening from its slumber, accumulating the thunder that was about to fall with every breath.

It could be said that Lin Che and his group were dancing on the edge of a knife. Their audacity was astounding, daring to make a fuss in front of a cultivator who was about to break through to the Nascent Soul stage and steal the monster they had created.

Without a doubt, the Lin family will be the first to be targeted by the Demon Palace of Rebellion.

Without this monster, the Lin family would have faced annihilation, but things are different now.

"Let's go, let's walk back like this. I want the entire Southern Region to know of your existence!" This monster needs no hiding; he is the Lin family's weapon to intimidate all the forces in the Southern Region.

As long as he remains in Chuyang City, as long as he exists, any force will have to think twice before taking action, considering whether they can withstand the counterattack of this behemoth.

Those forces that were originally observing and plotting how to divide up the Lin family would have to recalculate their gains and losses after seeing this monster.

"Okay!" Lieshan took a step forward and began to move in the direction Lin Che pointed out.

Its enormous size caused the earth to tremble with every step it took, and each step left a footprint several feet deep in the ground. The edges of those footprints emitted a faint warmth in the blazing sun, which was the white smoke that evaporated when the soul flames came into contact with the earth's vein energy.

Finally, Lin Che glanced in Qin Wudao's direction again and muttered to himself, "I hope you don't skip it!"

Lin Che's actions were completely undisguised; he made no attempt to conceal his identity and simply snatched the monster away from Qin Wudao.

This is a slap in the face to any power, an insult to their head, and absolutely no power can tolerate this.

Lin Che wanted Qin Wudao, after his breakthrough, to personally visit Chuyang City, where he would discover the surprise he had prepared for him.

Make the Lin family's name known to all forces in the Southern Region—on the day Qin Wudao breaks through!

…………

Outside Chuyang City, the earth was trembling.

The logistics troops who were cleaning up the battlefield were the first to sense the continuous, heavy footsteps coming from afar.

The cultivators who were bending over to collect the corpses of the demonic beasts straightened up, their eyes fixed on the direction from which the tremor came. Their hands froze in mid-air, and some even subconsciously took a few steps back, gripping their weapons tightly at their waists again.

On the city wall, the garrison soldiers who were taking turns on duty also stopped what they were doing, their gazes passing over the twilight and dust, landing on the shadow that was being approached in the distance.

"What's going on? Why is the ground shaking?" A young cultivator who was packing up supplies looked up, his face full of confusion, unaware that the bag of spiritual materials in his hand had slipped to the ground.

"Is the monster attacking again? Quick, let's get back to the city and prepare!" Another voice was even more urgent, carrying the instinctive stress response of someone who had just experienced a bloody battle.

"Boom, boom, boom—" The heavy footsteps were crossing the plain with an unstoppable rhythm, each step making the ground bounce, like a drum being repeatedly struck.

The logistics unit commander immediately issued an order, his voice booming through the twilight: "Withdraw! Abandon all supplies and retreat back inside the city walls immediately!" The spiritual materials being collected were left behind, the supplies being loaded were hastily unloaded, and all the cultivators turned around at the same time and ran towards the city gate.

The garrison squad leader atop the city wall immediately issued the order: "Quickly! Load the crossbows! Prepare for battle!"

The archers, who had just relaxed, gripped their crossbows again, their fingers on the triggers. The array masters who were repairing the array patterns also stopped what they were doing, their eyes fixed on the approaching shadow.

A sense of tension began to spread, and the entire defensive line came to a standstill, like a war machine being restarted.

But just then, an order came from the command center through the communication array: "Don't panic, there was no attack from demonic beasts. It's the head of the Lin family, Master Lin, who has returned!"

Upon hearing the order, each unit breathed a sigh of relief, then looked out of the city wall towards the direction from which the tremor came, their hearts filled with curiosity.

"Master Lin is back? But why is there such a commotion?"

"Yeah, that's way too much noise!"

"It seems like Patriarch Lin brought something big back!"

The discussion was everywhere—on the city walls, on the plains below, and in the camp—with everyone expressing their curiosity.

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox camp stationed north of the city and the Green-Faced Fox King camp stationed west of the city all craned their necks to look in the direction from which the tremor came, equally curious.

The warriors of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox stood in a row at the edge of the camp, their silvery-white fur fluttering slightly in the night breeze, their vertical pupils all looking in the same direction.

The demon kings under the Green-Faced Fox King also peeked out from their respective tents. The Lava Lizard King lay on a high rock outside the tent, the Iron-Backed Bear King stood up straight, and the Green-Eyed Toad King jumped to the top of a low tree, all craning their necks to look around.

Before long, everyone's eyes widened as they saw a black dot moving toward them, but it was too far away.

As cultivators, they can see farther than ordinary people, but the fact that they can see it from such a distance undoubtedly indicates that it is a behemoth!

As it drew closer, everyone's mouths gaped wider and their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"What is that?!"

"My God, that's outrageous!"

A gigantic puppet, hundreds of feet tall, was walking towards Chuyang City; it was even taller than the city walls.

Its shape is like a moving mountain, leaving a deep mark on the earth with every step, and redrawing the horizon of Chuyang City with every step.

Those monsters that once roamed freely on the battlefield were like ants walking beside a giant in front of this puppet.

At this moment, the Lin family members also walked out of the city gate and stood at the city entrance.

Lin Xuanqi stood at the forefront, his gaze fixed on the enormous creature approaching, his usually calm eyes still brimming with barely suppressed excitement.

Lin Xuanjing stood beside him, the spear in his hand already sheathed, arms crossed, a barely suppressed smile on his lips.

Lin Xuanfeng stood slightly behind, his gaze quickly sweeping between the joints and metal gaps of the puppet, pondering the difference between this thing and what he had in mind.

Lin Xinyao stood at the very back, her natal spirit beast Wangtianyin perched on her shoulder, tilting its head as it looked at the approaching behemoth, making a low gurgling sound in its throat.

Those present had all held high positions for many years and had become quite composed in their actions, yet their faces still betrayed their barely concealed excitement.

This is the result of their long-planned strategy; it is the weapon that enabled the Lin family to gain a foothold in the Southern Region; it is the key to the Lin family's rise.

Finally, the puppet came to a stop on the plain south of Chuyang City.

It didn't move forward anymore; it just stood there, like a mountain that had been moved, casting a shadow that covered the entire city in the sunlight.

The cultivators who were still looking up from the city wall involuntarily took a half step back, but no one looked away. They just looked up and marveled at the colossal creature that was taller than the city wall.

Everyone present was deeply moved.

A moment of silence lingered in the crowd, then was broken by a series of gasps of amazement.

"This is outrageous! This...this...this...where did Master Lin get such a puppet?"

"My God, just looking at this giant puppet, I can feel the terrifying energy it contains!"

"This puppet isn't just at the fourth tier, it might have already reached the combat power of the fifth tier!"

"Fifth Rank? That's Nascent Soul stage! My god, is our Chuyang City really about to rise to power?"

"The Lin family is just too awesome!"

Discussions arose everywhere. They were all stunned by the enormous thing in front of them, but they also understood one thing in their hearts—the Lin family was really about to rise!

Under the leadership of the Lin family, they defended Chuyang City, witnessed the spirit beast legion, and now witnessed this behemoth. A sense of belonging gradually welled up in their hearts.

That feeling was completely different from the mentality of a rogue cultivator in the past. He was no longer just a demon hunter fighting for spirit stones, no longer just a passerby who resigned himself to fate, but a part of this city, a part of this land, a part of everything that was rising.

At that moment, Lin Che, standing above the puppet, spoke, his voice echoing throughout the entire city of Chuyang:

"A week from now, the Lin family will hold a victory banquet, and all the cultivators who defended Chuyang City will receive their due rewards!"

Upon hearing this, a deafening roar echoed throughout the entire city of Chuyang.

All those feelings of exhaustion, shock, confusion, and excitement converged into a scalding torrent, surging and rising both inside and outside the city walls, like a volcano that had been suppressed for too long finally finding an outlet, releasing all the tension and repression that had accumulated over countless days and nights.

Everyone was filled with anticipation.

Those rogue cultivators who once thought they were just wasting their time in Chuyang City, those family members who once thought the city would be swallowed up by the beast tide sooner or later, and those cultivators who once thought the Lin family was just another temporary visitor, all heard a future worth looking forward to in that voice.

After making the announcement, Lin Che landed in front of the Lin family members.

Smiling, he looked at his clansmen and said, "Easy job! This puppet now belongs to the Lin family!"

Lin Xuanqi was the first to step forward. He stood at the feet of the puppet, looking up at the patterns of dark red spiritual light and crimson gold soul flames that were slowly flowing. He remained silent for a while before speaking, his voice filled with a sense of awe and emotion: "Father... this puppet is even more exaggerated in size than what we saw on the projection array. The gaps between the pieces are completely invisible, as if it was formed from a single piece from the beginning."

Lin Xuanfeng also circled around to the puppet's left leg, crouched down, and gently touched the spirit runes on the edge of an armor plate with his fingers. A glint of light flashed in his calm eyes:

"The puppet's joint structure has seventeen more reinforcing nodes than the Xuankui Sect's original design. If I'm not mistaken, these were automatically generated by Lieshan's soul power during the fusion process. It filled the design gaps with its own will, making this body more stable than its original limit."

He stood up, his gaze following the leg armor covered in soul flames upwards, sweeping over the array patterns reactivated by the dark red spiritual light, before settling back on the slowly flowing crimson-gold soul flames: "If only I could take this thing apart and see its internal structure, I could definitely study it thoroughly!"

"Hey friends, I'm still standing here, can't you guys talk behind my back?"