The Confucian and Taoist Sages of Mortal Cultivation

As the giant tiger puppet ran, it shook the ground and arrived a hundred paces away from Yang Qingyuan in the blink of an eye.

The man in the straw hat stood atop the giant tiger's head, sizing up Yang Qingyuan, and said coldly, "Fellow Daoist, this is your last chance. Hand over the essence of that level-two demonic beast, the Ice Silkworm."

"Never refuse a toast offered politely, or you'll suffer the consequences."

Yang Qingyuan, however, remained fearless and replied, "You don't think you can take me down just because you have a puppet at the Pseudo-Core Formation stage?"

"Hehe..." The man in the straw hat was about to reply when his expression changed, and he turned to look in the direction of the market.

But then another giant tiger puppet came hurtling towards them from the horizon.

Standing atop the giant tiger's head was a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, the same strange man with the cloth bag he had seen in the secret shop.

When the bag-shaped monster saw the giant tiger puppet beneath the man in the straw hat, it exclaimed in surprise, "How do you know puppetry?"

Seeing this, the man in the straw hat raised his hand and took off his hat, revealing a weathered face, and replied, "Huanglong, do you still remember who secretly taught you the first level of the Great Evolution Technique back in the Thousand Bamboo Sect?"

Upon hearing this, the strange man with the cloth bag trembled, removed the cloth bag from his head, revealing the face of a young man in his twenties, and shouted, "Senior Brother Lin, it's you!"

"Didn't you die back then?"

Upon hearing this, Deacon Lin shook his head repeatedly, looking deeply saddened, and replied, "It was just a fake death back then."

"I've been living in exile all these years, unable to sleep at night, while you, Huanglong, have actually reached the Foundation Establishment stage. It seems you're doing quite well."

Upon hearing this, Huang Long became emotional and said, "Senior Brother Lin, all these years I have been thinking about avenging you and Sect Leader Lin. That's why I endured humiliation and worked hard to cultivate, and finally broke through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment."

"I am overjoyed to see that my senior brother is still alive."

Yang Qingyuan, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but grumble inwardly when he saw Huang Long's "loyal" appearance.

He knew perfectly well that Huang Long's actions were actually an act, and his purpose was to launch a sneak attack on Deacon Lin.

However, Deacon Lin's forceful buying and selling just now also severed Yang Qingyuan's last bit of goodwill towards him.

Therefore, Yang Qingyuan simply watched coldly and did not intend to expose Huanglong's disguise.

At this moment, Senior Brother Lin, completely unaware of the impending doom, actually laughed at the yellow dragon, saying, "It's rare that you still acknowledge me as your senior brother!"

"If there had been more loyal followers like you in the church back then, my father would not have died."

Upon hearing this, Huang Long's face showed a look of "grief," and he replied, "Senior Brother Lin, since you are still alive, why not come back to the Thousand Bamboo Sect with me, raise your arms, and reclaim the position of sect leader!"

Senior Brother Lin shook his head and sighed, "With the few puppets I have, going back would only lead to certain death. I should stay outside and accumulate strength."

Upon hearing this, Huang Long's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He pointed at Yang Qingyuan beside him and said, "Senior Brother Lin, perfect timing. I'll kill this person for you first and take his essence. That way, you'll have two more giant tiger puppets in your hands."

Upon hearing this, Deacon Lin was very satisfied and nodded repeatedly.

Huang Long slowly guided the giant tiger puppet, gradually approaching Senior Brother Lin and Yang Qingyuan.

At this moment, Senior Brother Lin had not yet realized that Huang Long harbored malicious intentions. Instead, he looked at Yang Qingyuan, opened his mouth, and was about to say something sarcastic when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his wrist. His face showed pain, and he hurriedly raised his right hand to check.

Two deep, bloody holes, each about the thickness of a chopstick, appeared on his wrist.

Dark black blood was flowing continuously out of the wound, clearly indicating that a strange poison had been planted.

"Black Silk Gu!" Deacon Lin was shocked and hurriedly took out a medicine bottle from his pocket, pouring out a large amount of green powder onto the wound.

Huang Long, abandoning his previous respectful attitude, chuckled coldly and said sarcastically, "Senior Brother Lin, how could you be so stupid?"

Deacon Lin clutched his wound, his brows furrowed in anger, his face ashen. He could no longer care about Yang Qingyuan and confronted Huang Long, demanding, "Damn it, that traitor surnamed Jin sent you here, didn't he?"

"That's right." Huang Long shrugged and replied, "It's all Senior Brother's fault. Since he had already faked his death and escaped, why did he bother contacting his old subordinates and trying to steal the second half of the 'Great Evolution Technique'!"

"When Master Jin found out, he was very unhappy and had no choice but to send his junior brother to eliminate the threat completely."

Upon hearing this, Deacon Lin felt as if his heart was being torn apart. Clutching his wound, he asked, "The former subordinate who delivered the message to me said that these puppet beasts possess the second half of the 'Great Evolution Technique'..."

"Heh heh," Huang Long scoffed dismissively, "It's all fake."

"The old subordinates left behind by Senior Brother Lin have long since defected to Leader Jin."

"Master Jin is much more righteous than the deceased Master Lin. He has taught us the first four levels of the Great Evolution Technique. Following Master Jin is more promising than following your Lin family."

"By the way, let me introduce you to our sect's two new protectors, Junior Sister Dai and Junior Brother Xie."

As soon as he finished speaking, a large bulge suddenly appeared on the ground not far away, and then two unfamiliar cultivators, a man and a woman, emerged from it.

The woman appeared to be in her early twenties, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a long red silk dress, had broad shoulders and hips, and a tall and slender figure. She was clearly not from the Yue Kingdom or the Yuanwu Kingdom, and her cultivation level was at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

The man was about thirty years old, with blond hair, a full beard, and tattered clothes, looking like a savage. His cultivation level was also at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

"I've heard that Master Lin's only son is very handsome, but seeing him today, I'm utterly disappointed." The golden-haired woman looked at Deacon Lin, gave a coquettish laugh, and said, "Since that's the case, then please, Senior Brother Lin, die."

Huanglong then pointed at Yang Qingyuan and said, "This man possesses the essence of a level-two demon beast. Kill him and this Lin fellow together, then extract their souls and interrogate them thoroughly to find out where these demon beast essences came from."

Upon hearing this, Protector Dai and Protector Xie of the Thousand Bamboo Sect exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

"The essence of a level-two demon beast?"

"I didn't expect this trip to yield such an unexpected gain. In that case, I'll hand this person over to Protector Huang for disposal."

After saying this, Qianzhu and the other two patted their storage bags at their waists in unison.

Hundreds of beams of spiritual light shot out from the storage bag and landed on the surrounding open ground.

When the light faded, fully armed puppet soldiers were revealed.

The puppet soldiers grew from small to large until they reached adult size, numbering as many as three hundred, a truly spectacular sight.

Seeing this, Deacon Lin gritted his teeth and said, "I never thought that you traitors could also cultivate the second level of the Great Evolution Technique."

Immediately afterward, despite his injuries, he patted his storage bag, which also released a large amount of spiritual light.

The light fell to the ground and transformed into more than two hundred puppets.

Huang Long, a protector of the Thousand Bamboo Sect, was slightly surprised upon seeing this and said, "Be careful, this Lin has actually mastered the third level of the Great Evolution Technique. Everyone, hold him off."

"Once the black silk poison in his body takes effect, even if he has extraordinary abilities, he will only face certain death."

As soon as he finished speaking, more than three hundred puppets attacked Yang Qingyuan and Steward Lin simultaneously.

Deacon Lin's more than two hundred puppet soldiers were the first to rush forward and immediately engaged in a fierce battle with the puppets of the Thousand Bamboo Sect.

Hundreds of dagger-wielding puppet soldiers clashed in close combat, fighting like ordinary soldiers. Behind them, archer puppets kept drawing their bows and shooting at each other. The scene was completely different from the battles of ordinary cultivators, and it was quite a novel sight.

Meanwhile, puppet beasts were fighting each other nearby, causing the situation to reach a stalemate.

Although Deacon Lin was superior in the "Great Evolution Technique," he had been ambushed by Huang Long and was already poisoned. He could only look at Yang Qingyuan and say, "Junior Brother Yang, right? Actually, I recognized you a long time ago..."