Chapter 281: Holy Puppet Sect

On the silver crescent-shaped spirit boat was a three-pavilion that was entirely white in color, looking as if it had been chiseled out of a chunk of jade, and there were also all types of beautiful diagrams and hidden runes engraved upon its surface.

"The first floor had resting chambers that each of you can choose one of. We'll assemble here again in three days, and I'll explain the mission to all of you then. However, I don't know too much myself, and all of the details will be revealed once we get to the Holy Puppet Sect," Qilin 3 said to everyone, then rose up into the air.

With each step that she took through the air, a projection of a snow lotus flower would bloom beneath her feet, forming a staircase that led to the third floor of the pavilion, where she opened the door before stepping inside.

Han Li was looking up at the third floor of the pavilion with a perplexed look on his face.

Qilin 3 was wearing a crimson mask, just like the one worn by Wyrm 3, so she was clearly a higher level member than Transient Guild members with azure masks. Even though he was unable to detect her cultivation base, he had a feeling that there was a very good chance that she was a Golden Immortal.

If this mission really were being led by a Golden Immortal cultivator, then it was most likely going to be a very difficult one, so he had to be very careful.

Right at this moment, he was approached by Qilin 9, who smiled as he said, "I didn't think that you would've also accepted this mission, Fellow Daoist Wyrm 15. It looks like we'll be working together again."

"The reward offered is quite substantial, so I couldn't not be tempted," Han Li replied with a smile.

"This mission is a rather special one. I'm sure you've also noticed that, right, Fellow Daoist?" Qilin 9 asked.

Han Li nodded in response. "You're referring to the circumstances surrounding the mission and the inexplicably high reward being offered, right?"

"Precisely. The puppets created by the Holy Puppet Sect have always been exceptional and possess remarkable spiritual nature, making them extremely popular among many sects. Hence, they're on very good terms with a large number of sects, and I've heard that the sect master of the Spirit Taste Sect and the mountain master of Lurking Armor Mountain share extremely close personal ties with the sect master of the Holy Puppet Sect.

“However, according to my knowledge, the Holy Puppet Sect hasn't turned to either of these sects to ward off the enemies described in the mission. Instead, they've turned exclusively to the Transient Guild," Qilin 9 mused.

"Perhaps the Holy Puppet Sect has encountered some severe trouble on this occasion, so those smaller sects may not have sufficient power to help them. In any case, that's not something for us to worry about. All we need to do is complete the mission for the reward," Han Li replied with a nonchalant smile.

"That's true. In any case, the Holy Puppet Sect is extremely wealthy, so I'm sure they'll be able to afford the offered reward. I've been running a bit short on Immortal Origin Stones recently," Qilin 9 chuckled.

Both of them already had an idea of one another's identities, but neither of them chose to voice their suspicions. Instead, they began to chat about some inconsequential subjects, and there even seemed to have been some type of tacit understanding between them not to discuss the previous mission.

Moments later, the spirit boat began to tremble slightly as all of the runes all over its surface lit up, it set off from the coast of the Ancient Cloud Continent, flying in the southwestern direction.

Everyone one spirit boat quickly made their way to the first floor of the pavilion before each selecting a room for themselves and going inside.

Qilin 9 also did the same, and it didn't take long before Han Li was the only one left on the deck, looking out into the distance.

The slightly murky seawater near the coastline was crashing against all of the jagged rocks on the shore, sending clumps of white foam splashing in all directions.

……

Several months later.

In the southeastern corner of the Infernal Frost Continent was a vast blue sea with rippling waves and a light breeze blowing over its surface.

In the clear, blue sky above, a crescent-shaped spirit boat was rapidly approaching from afar with about a dozen people standing on its deck, peering into the distance, where a gray smudge could be seen on the horizon.

As the spirit boat drew closer and closer, the gray began to expand before its full appearance was finally revealed.

It was a massive ovular island that was riddled with rocks and some sparse vegetation, and even from a very long distance away, one could see the stone halls littered throughout the island.

Around the island were seven or eight smaller islands that surrounded it like guards, and it didn't take long before the spirit boat arrived in the sky directly above the island.

Han Li was standing to the left of the spirit boat next to the railing, peering at the island down below with blue light flashing in his eyes, and he suddenly raised an eyebrow.

He had discovered that the entire island and the surrounding smaller islands were all encompassed under a near-transparent semi-spherical light barrier with wave-like ripples constantly surging over its surface.

All of the giant rocks on the island had been sliced into even and uniform shapes before being piled up along the coastline in a way that appeared to have been completely without rhyme or reason, but was actually meticulously thought out.

For those who weren't proficient in the art of arrays, they would've most likely thought that these rocks had been piled up to form a rather uneven defensive wall, but Han Li could tell that these rocks were the foundation of the array that protected the island, while the surrounding islands were important points in the array.

He directed his gaze toward the smaller island that was nearest to him, and he noticed that at the center of the island was a round pagoda, which was surrounded by a series of wide paths that were interconnected to form an array.

Right at this moment, the island down below suddenly began to tremble violently amid a loud buzzing sound.

Wary looks appeared on the faces of everyone on the spirit boat upon seeing this, and they looked down to find that seawater surrounding the island had begun churning violently as if it had been brought to a boil, sweeping up massive waves that were hundreds of feet tall.

The seawater was relatively clear a moment ago, but it had become quite murky in the wake of this disturbance.

A series of uniform rifts that were each several dozen feet wide opened up on the island, and they continued to expand further and further, slowly opening up the entire island like a box.

Amid the loud rumbling, many large sections of the island began to slowly rise up from the ground into the air before shifting horizontally to reveal the areas down below.

The area of the entire island was instantly significantly increased, and with the sections that were hovering in mid-air, it had turned into a three-tier island.

In contrast with the gray and barren top layer, the two lower layers were lush and vibrant with far more beautiful environments.

Those layers were riddled with forests and rivers, one of which flowed from the second layer to the bottom layer, forming a vertical waterfall in mid-air that presented a uniquely stunning sight to behold.

Even all the Transient Guild members on the spirit boat couldn't help but be surprised by what they were seeing, clearly impressed with the mechanisms set up on the island.

Right at this moment, the protective array above the island flashed, and an opening appeared in its center that was just large enough to accommodate the spirit boat.

The spirit boat passed through the array, then slowly descended toward a white stone plaza on the first level of the island.

After everyone had disembarked from the boat, Qilin 3 stowed it away with a sweep of her hand.

At this point, there were already around a dozen people waiting on the plaza, led by a woman in a blue palace dress. She wasn't very tall, but she had a very curvaceous figure, and even through the thin veil that obscured her face, one could still see the outlines of a set of gorgeous facial features, leaving much to the imagination.

Han Li quickly noticed that the woman was a late-True Immortal cultivator, and her aura was very stable and condensed, indicating that she had already been at the late-True Immortal Stage for many years.

The dozen or so people standing behind her were also True Immortal cultivators, but most of them were only at the early-True Immortal Stage.

There were no particularly noteworthy expressions on any of their faces, but for some reason, all of them seemed to have been harboring hints of concern deep in their eyes.

"You must be tired from your travels, fellow daoists. Please take a rest in the hall, and I'll disclose the details of the mission to all of you soon," the woman in the palace dress said as she extended a slight curtsey.

Qilin 3 nodded in response, and the woman in the palace dress led everyone into the hall.

The terrain around the plaza varied quite drastically, and the entire landscape was riddled with round or square gray stone pillars, upon which were engraved all types of hidden runes and strange lines, while the ground was also covered in complex array patterns.

Han Li could even detect hints of array fluctuation from the antiquated buildings that were concealed among the trees in the surrounding forest.

He wasn't surprised in the slightest to make this observation. Most cultivators who were adept in the art of puppetry also held considerable degrees of expertise in arrays, given that a high level of mastery in arrays was required for puppet refinement.

Back in the Spirit Realm, Han Li had become quite an expert in the art of puppetry, but ever since his arrival in the Northern Glacial Immortal Region, he had constantly been busy with cultivation and hadn't dabbled in the art of puppetry for quite some time.

Now that he had come to the renowned Holy Puppet Sect of the Northern Glacial Immortal Region, he was going to try and find an opportunity to ask about how he could refine a suitable new vessel for Daoist Xie.

However, for now, his priority was to help the sect overcome its current crisis first.

With that in mind, he couldn't help but wonder who their enemies were going to be.

Everyone walked along the plaza for a long while before finally arriving at a slightly antiquated-looking red hall.

During this time, Han Li noticed that the woman in the palace dress had turned around on several occasions, and on every single one of those occasions, her gaze had landed upon the rabbit-masked Bai Suyuan.

After entering the hall, the woman in the palace dress and Qilin 3 sat down onto the two main seats, while the elders of the Holy Puppet Sect and the rest of the Transient Guild members sat down on either side of them.

The servants waiting by the entrance of the hall had already brewed some spirit tea, which was offered to everyone as soon as they sat down.

The translucent green tea was poured into cups, sending clouds of white steam rising up into the air, and the entire hall was filled with a fragrant aroma.

Han Li raised an eyebrow as he looked down into his teacup to find a series of tea leaves that were as green and vibrant as jade unfurling in the water. Furthermore, they were releasing abundant spiritual qi, indicating that this was an extremely high-quality spirit tea.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He was just about to pick up his teacup when he noticed out of the corner of his eye that there were some faint circles of golden patterns on the fingers of their teapot-bearing hand.

He was rather taken aback to see this, and he immediately looked up to discover that these servants were all puppets, despite the fact that appearance and the smoothness of their movements were no different from a normal person, and they were giving off auras that were identical to low-grade cultivators.

The devil was always in the details, and from this alone, Han Li could tell that the Holy Puppet Sect truly did have some unique expertise in the art of puppet refinement, and that only made him more curious about the sect's puppetry techniques.