I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Chapter 343 The Late Nascent Soul Puppet is Created! The Great Jin Dynasty is in an uproar! The Nascent Soul Elder is searching!

As Zhou Yuan transformed into a golden rainbow and disappeared into the horizon of the Fangmang Mountains, the earth-shattering battle within the Yinluo Sect's mountain gate spread like wildfire throughout the entire Great Jin cultivation world!

"Have you heard? That Zhou Yuan, the overseas rogue cultivator who's been making waves lately, single-handedly stormed the Yinluo Sect's mountain gate!"

"It's more than just storming the mountain gate! It's said that he single-handedly killed six Nascent Soul cultivators from the Yinluo Sect, including the Grand Elder, Old Demon Qian! He even subdued Old Demon Qian's formidable Five-Hearted Demon!"

"Hiss—! Old Demon Qian was a renowned late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator who had been famous for hundreds of years! The Five-Hearted Demon was even more infamous, and it was said that even the Seven Wonders True Person of the Heavenly Demon Sect was wary of him! Yet he was wiped out by Zhou Yuan alone?"

"It's absolutely true! A distant cousin of mine cultivates at a small sect near the Fangmang Mountains. He personally witnessed flames shooting into the sky within the Yinluo Sect's mountain gate, causing a cataclysmic battle! Afterwards, he secretly went to take a look, and good heavens, half of the Yinluo Sect's mountain gate had collapsed! The treasure vault had been completely emptied!"

"It's not just the Nascent Soul elders! Seventy or eighty percent of the disciples within the Yinluo Sect's mountain gate fled overnight! Most of the remaining ones scattered like monkeys fleeing a collapsing tree, each running for their own lives! The Yinluo Sect is utterly finished!"

"Terrifying! This person's strength is practically comparable to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator!"

For a time, the entire cultivation world of the Great Jin Dynasty, whether righteous or demonic, whether major sects or minor forces, was discussing Zhou Yuan's name and his astonishing achievements.

Some were amazed, some were terrified, some were skeptical, and some secretly gloated.

But in any case, no one dared to regard this "overseas rogue cultivator" as an ordinary late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator anymore.

At this time, in Bingzhou of the Great Jin Dynasty.

On the summit of an unnamed, desolate mountain, a group of people gathered together, their faces ashen.

It was Lin Yinping, Xu Changqing, and Sun Erniang from Tianlan Grassland, as well as the eight Nascent Soul elders of Yinluo Sect who were away and had not yet returned.

"Gentlemen, our sect leader was publicly killed by Zhou Yuan in Jinjing, his physical body destroyed and his nascent soul captured. This is a great disgrace to our Yinluo Sect! However, I'm sure that when Elder Qian the Demon learns of this, he will be furious and will personally take action to avenge us!"

The speaker was an old man in black robes with a sinister face and an aura at the mid-Nascent Soul stage; he was none other than Ge Tianhao, the fifth elder of the Yinluo Sect.

He is the one with the highest cultivation and the most senior among the current Yinluo Sect elders.

"If Fellow Daoist Qian could personally take action, that would be best. However, the next time we surround Zhou Yuan, we must learn from our mistakes and formulate a more meticulous plan, ensuring he has no chance of escape again!"

Lin Yinping nodded, her tone grave. Although she felt a deep sense of dread regarding Zhou Yuan's elusive spatial abilities and terrifying combat power, she couldn't easily give up, knowing that the sacred beast was still in Zhou Yuan's hands.

-

However, just as everyone was discussing their next move, a black light shot out like a meteor from the distant horizon and landed precisely in Ge Tianhao's hand.

It was a communication talisman that was completely black and exuded a cold aura, with the unique emergency symbol of the Yinluo Sect engraved on it.

Ge Tianhao frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. He channeled his magic power and activated the communication talisman.

The next moment, a hurried, tearful, and even somewhat incoherent voice came from the communication talisman: "Fifth Elder! Something terrible has happened! That—that Zhou Yuan has attacked the mountain gate! He—he broke through the protective formation and killed the six elders left behind! Even—even the Grand Elder, Old Demon Qian, was defeated by him, and his Nascent Soul was captured alive! The sect—the sect is finished!"

"What?!"

"impossible!!"

"That's absolutely impossible!"

The words in the message talisman struck like a bolt from the blue, hitting the hearts of everyone present! Ge Tianhao and the seven Yinluo Sect elders behind him turned pale instantly and cried out in shock!

Their first reaction was disbelief!

The Great Elder, Old Demon Qian, is a renowned late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator who has been famous for thousands of years. He possesses great supernatural powers and is protected by the Five-Hearted Demon, a ferocious creature. How could he possibly be defeated by Zhou Yuan alone, with even his Nascent Soul being captured alive?!

This is simply a fantasy!

However, the voice coming from the communication talisman was indeed that of their trusted disciples who stayed behind in the sect, and the fear and despair in their tone were definitely not fake!

Moreover, no one would dare to lie about such important news!

Although Lin Yinping, Xu Changqing, and Sun Erniang did not lose their composure like the elder of the Yinluo Sect, their faces also turned pale.

They exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and disbelief in each other's eyes!

If Zhou Yuan's sudden breakout and swift killing of Li Gu in Jinjing demonstrated his elusive methods and precise assassination skills, then his actions in Jinjing showcased his ability to appear and disappear unpredictably.

This time, he single-handedly stormed the Yinluo Sect's lair, directly killing six Nascent Soul cultivators, including Old Demon Qian, and completely destroying this ancient demonic sect. What he demonstrated was an absolute power capable of crushing all others of the same level.

Terrifying, domineering power!

"Holy Maiden, the situation has changed."

Xu Changqing took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart, and secretly transmitted his voice to Lin Yinping, his voice filled with unprecedented solemnity, "Zhou Yuan's strength far exceeds our previous estimates. He probably already possesses combat power close to, or even comparable to, a Nascent Soul cultivator! Continuing to be his enemy is tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock! Not only will we fail to reclaim the Sacred Beast, but we may also bring annihilation to the Tianlan Grassland!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yinping's delicate body trembled slightly. She bit her lower lip tightly, her beautiful eyes filled with resentment and struggle.

The sacred beast is crucial to the future of the Tianlan Clan; how could she give it up so easily?

But Xu Changqing's words were like a bucket of cold water, waking her up.

Yes, even the combined power of Qian Laomo and the entire Yinluo Sect was wiped out by Zhou Yuan alone. What could these few grassland cultivators possibly do?

Continuing to entangle them will only draw Zhou Yuan's anger to the Tianlan Grassland, at which point the entire clan may suffer as a result!

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, as if she had made an extremely difficult decision.

When she opened her eyes again, there was still resentment in them, but more than that, there was reason and determination.

"Master Xu is right."

Lin Yinping's voice carried a hint of bitterness, but her tone was exceptionally firm. "Give up. The feud with Zhou Yuan ends here. We must not only give up, but also find a way—to take the initiative to make amends and resolve this enmity. Otherwise, my Tianlan Grassland may face annihilation."

She turned to Ge Tianhao and the others, who were still immersed in shock and grief, and coldly said, "Elder Ge, things have come to this point, further words are useless. The alliance between my Tianlan Grassland and your sect is hereby terminated. Farewell!"

After saying that, she ignored the extremely ugly expressions on Ge Tianhao and the others' faces, transformed into a streak of silver light, and sped off towards the Tianlan Grassland in the north.

Xu Changqing and Sun Erniang exchanged a glance and immediately followed.

Only Ge Tianhao and eight other Yinluo Sect elders remained, standing on the desolate mountain peak like stray dogs, looking at each other with blank and despair on their faces.

With the sect gone and the Grand Elder dead, what will become of those of them who are outside?

Jinjing, the imperial city.

Inside the secret chamber, Ye Tianshi, the First Elder of the Ye family, Ye Tianhua, the Second Elder, and several other core members of the Ye family were gathered together. Their faces were filled with undisguised shock and relief.

"A few days ago, he told me that he wanted to make the Yinluo Sect cease to exist—at the time, I thought he was just saying that to put it nicely, or that he needed to think about it for a long time—"

Ye Tianshi put down the intelligence jade slip in his hand, let out a long breath, and his face showed a trace of lingering fear and relief. "I never expected that he would actually do it! And so cleanly and efficiently, so domineeringly!"

"Indeed, one man with a single sword, he flattened the Yinluo Sect's mountain gate, killed six Nascent Soul cultivators, including Old Demon Qian, captured their Nascent Soul cultivators alive, and emptied their treasure vault—such a feat is simply unheard of!"

Ye Tianhua sighed repeatedly, "Fortunately, my Ye family showed him goodwill from the very beginning and did not antagonize him. Otherwise..."

but--

'

Thinking of the terrible consequences, the several high-ranking members of the Ye family present were all terrified.

"This child—is no longer someone to be underestimated." Ye Tianshi said slowly, his gaze profound. "The combat power he has displayed now cannot be measured by the late Nascent Soul stage. He has probably already touched the threshold of the Deity Transformation stage, and even—in some aspects, he is no less than a Deity Transformation cultivator."

He paused, his tone becoming even more serious: "Pass on my order! From this day forward, all members of the Ye family who are active outside must act with extreme discretion! Especially in the next two years, try to avoid participating in any events that might cause conflict! Zhou Yuan's commotion this time has been too great. I estimate that those old Nascent Soul cultivators in the Great Jin cultivation world who have been in seclusion for years are probably starting to get restless!"

"To avoid being caught in the crossfire, our Ye family must remain completely in hiding during this period and observe the situation quietly!"

Ye Tianshi said decisively.

"Yes, Elder!" the Ye family members replied in unison.

Millions of miles away from the Fangmang Mountains, deep in a desolate, primeval mountain range.

Zhou Yuan has created a temporary cave dwelling, setting up layers of concealment and defensive restrictions, and has been in seclusion there for several months.

At this moment, inside the cave, Zhou Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, the light landing contentedly on the humanoid puppet standing silently before him—

on.

This puppet, with its deep dark gold color, is about twelve feet tall, with a well-proportioned body and smooth lines, resembling a sleeping war god.

Every joint and every plate of its armor gleams with a cold metallic luster, exuding a chilling sense of solidity and power.

To create this puppet, Zhou Yuan used almost all the top-quality materials he had collected since arriving in the Great Jin Dynasty, and devoted countless efforts to it.

The puppet's eyes were made of dazzling crystals.

On the milky yellow body of the Radiant Crystal, rings of pale purple light flowed slowly, as if it possessed magic, capable of causing any enemy who met its gaze to instantly fall into an illusion and lose their composure.

The puppet's torso was forged from a single piece of "Heavenly Fire Divine Chain"!

This item is one of the most advanced defensive materials in the world; even Zhou Yuan's flying sword, which incorporated Geng essence, could not damage it despite repeated slashes.

A torso made from this material is the most sturdy in the human world!

Even for top-tier magic treasures, it is extremely difficult to leave a mark on them.

Not to mention destroying it.

Inside the puppet's body, there was also a complete piece of Five Elements Jade.

Zhou Yuan activated the power of the Five Elements Jade using a secret method, enabling it to automatically release the "Five Elements Shield," a continuously circulating...

The ever-renewing, top-tier defensive shield greatly enhances the puppet's survivability.

In addition, Zhou Yuan also refined the Golden Thunder Bamboo Arrow that he had obtained from Xuan Gu Shangren and installed it in the puppet's right arm as its main means of long-range attack.

If it were equipped with a powerful bow, this puppet's long-range sniping ability would become even more terrifying!

The energy core that powers this puppet is an energy tank that Zhou Yuan specially crafted for it, capable of holding high-grade spirit stones.

A single high-grade spirit stone is enough to enable this puppet, whose strength is comparable to that of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, to fight at full power for half an hour!

What Zhou Yuan has in abundance is spirit stones!

But the most essential and precious part of this puppet is its "soul"—the divine soul of the Great Evolution God!

Before his complete passing away, the Great Evolution Divine Lord, in accordance with his agreement with Zhou Yuan, used a secret technique to separate and fuse half of his divine soul, and implanted it into the core of this puppet!

This gave the puppet almost human-like combat awareness and combat intelligence!

It is no longer the clumsy puppet that can only act on simple commands, but a top combat master who has been through countless battles and has rich experience!

The remaining half of the Great Evolution Divine Lord's divine soul peacefully passed away after completing the final inheritance imprint.

He meticulously copied all his cultivation insights, techniques, and experiences throughout his life, including the secret formula for the seventh level of the "Great Evolution Technique" which he had never shown to anyone, onto a jade slip and left it to Zhou Yuan.

The value of this legacy even surpasses that of the puppet itself!

"Very good—from now on, you will be called 'Divine Lord'."

Looking at the perfect work before him, Zhou Yuan smiled sincerely.

He named the puppet after the title of the Great Evolution God.

In memory of the old man who, despite his eccentric personality, had given him tremendous help.

With this "Divine Lord" puppet, his strength has undoubtedly reached a new level.

At this moment, Zhou Yuan was unaware that he had killed several people in the Yinluo Sect last time.

Right now, a Nascent Soul stage expert is frantically searching for him in the prefectures and counties near the Yinluo Sect.

"My only direct descendant was killed just like that, Zhou Yuan, right? When I find you, I'll make you give me an explanation—"

On a mountain peak within the Yinluo Sect, an elderly man who appeared to be over sixty years old stood.

He had his hair tied in a triangular bun, his feet were bare, and his long, horse-like face was extremely eye-catching. At this moment, the remaining elders of the Yinluo Sect had gathered here.

His eyes were filled with awe as he looked at the old man.