Once, Bai He’er had a doubt: between itself and the other one, who was the fake?

Why did it even have the Talisman Needle?

Li Zhuiyuan’s hands continued to form seals, his eyes tightly fixed on the mask wearer’s Talisman Needle.

The Sealing Talisman, the Evil Breaking Talisman Needle—completely identical.

But how was this possible?

Li Zhuiyuan’s understanding of talismans was incomplete. All the talismans he used were drawn by A Li. And the Pure Heart, Sealing, and Evil Breaking talismans originated from Wei Zhengdao’s book, meaning they were created by Wei Zhengdao himself.

In the jianghu, there were definitely many talismans with similar effects to these three, but if even their external patterns looked completely consistent, that was absolutely impossible.

Therefore, Li Zhuiyuan guessed that this Talisman Needle might just be an empty shell.

The speed of the hands on the coffin accelerated again. From a distance, they already appeared as streaks of afterimages.

Li Zhuiyuan forced himself to keep up. He could feel that the amount of deduction was elevating another step at this moment.

The young man raised his eyes, the doubt in them receding, replaced by certainty.

That’s right, the Talisman Needle was indeed fake.

If the Talisman Needle were real, then next, the matter could be left to the effect of the Talisman Needle itself to play out. There was fundamentally no need to suddenly elevate such a large amount of deduction.

Talisman paper, formations—weren’t these meant to provide convenience and save effort?

How could it become more tiring and cumbersome for you?

Because what you were now deducing was actually the effect after the Talisman Needle entered the body.

In this Nuo Play Puppet Technique, all forms were just forms, including the Three Steps Praise Body Method and the Trident’s phantom. They were all just for display, just taking shape. Their substantial effects all relied on laborious deduction to replicate.

Just like a block of wood arbitrarily chopped with a knife to make a concave mark, and if you wanted to copy it, you had to measure it precisely, use a small engraving knife to carve carefully point by point, then patiently polish it, and finally perfectly restore this concave mark.

The accelerating speed of deduction, and that black shadow integrating into the white cocoon, were the tools and raw materials.

This was truly… so luxurious, so wasteful.

Compared to Xu Yijin’s heavy suitcase, it all seemed as light as a feather.

Her suitcase could at least be carried or shouldered. He couldn’t possibly always stay here without going out or move this place away.

Then what was the point of him learning this Nuo Play Puppet Technique?

It was very profound, but to him, it was completely without value.

This kind of practice, like shooting a mosquito with a big cannon, was really too divorced from reality.

Li Zhuiyuan’s eyes gradually turned red, his eyebrows furrowed.

Zhao Yi noticed this point and was immediately greatly shocked: Was this losing control and entering qi deviation?

This situation was not rare during perceptual learning. Once it occurred, it could lead to immediate fainting in severe cases and unclear mind in mild cases.

Hey, don’t scare me. If you have a problem, what will I do?

Zhao Yi reached out to pull Li Zhuiyuan, but even if he grabbed his arm, the young man’s hands still continued to form seals, seeming to have already fallen into it, fundamentally unable to stop.

Below, the mask wearer stabbed the Talisman Needle into its body, its aura rapidly climbing. In comparison, Bai He’er, who had just inserted three joss sticks, showed no other improvement except for a round of extended duration.

The mask wearer rushed up again. This time during the fight, the child was completely at a disadvantage, being hit and only able to defend and dodge, without any ability to retaliate. It gritted its teeth and took a kick from the opponent, using the force to bounce itself open and create distance.

It also took out a Talisman Needle. Come on, let’s stab needles together.

Being suppressed by a counterfeit, the child was truly angry.

Behind him, a trace of fresh blood overflowed from the corner of Li Zhuiyuan’s mouth, but the red color in his eyes was rapidly receding. His eyes returned to cold, calm clarity.

Zhao Yi, who was about to forcibly wake the young man, saw this scene and blinked his eyes in disbelief.

No, you recovered so fast after entering qi deviation?

Earlier, Zhao Yi was worried that Yuan-gege would have a problem. Now seeing that the Li-surname guy was fine quickly, his heart felt a bit uncomfortable again.

Li Zhuiyuan had no time to respond to Zhao Yi in front of him. He shouted to the child in front:

“Don’t insert the Talisman Needle!”

Although Bai He’er didn’t understand, it chose to obey and retracted the Talisman Needle.

The gap created by taking a kick earlier was also wasted along with it.

The mask wearer attacked again. Bai He’er could only try its best to maneuver and endure.

It wouldn’t be good to fight like this. It wasn’t sure if it could last until the opponent’s time was up.

But soon, a turning point appeared.

The mask wearer’s body began to crack, and sounds of tearing fabric came from it. Its entire body was like a leaking balloon.

Just as the two sides exchanged blows again this time, the child was originally prepared to take a loss and get injured, but unexpectedly, as their fists met, it stood still while the mask wearer’s arm broke open.

Even though it didn’t know exactly what happened, the child wouldn’t let go of this opportunity.

It immediately took the advantage and pressed forward, stabbing fiercely at the mask wearer with the trident. The mask wearer waved the phantom trident in its hand to block, but before the phantom came into contact, the technique effect dissipated, and the trident also disappeared along with it.

“Crash…”

Bai He’er cut off the mask wearer’s head.

The headless mask wearer staggered backward. As it retreated, parts of its body began to fall off.

Among some of the fragments, Li Zhuiyuan saw white bones belonging to a human.

These white bones were exposed for only an instant, then flames rose, burning all the fragments into ashes.

Bai He’er stood in place, holding the trident, panting, somewhat blank.

This fight today was baffling from beginning to end.

But thankfully, it listened to that young man’s words and didn’t stab itself with the Talisman Needle, otherwise its diviner child would have to lie down again.

Fainting in this strange place and becoming a burden to the team was very unwise.

The child was now very concerned about Lin Shuyou. If Lin Shuyou had an accident, the bond between it and the young man would also break.

Li Zhuiyuan: “Did you see it just now? White bones.”

Zhao Yi: “Saw it. It’s human bones. So, these black shadows inside the wall are all people.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “They are dead people.”

Zhao Yi: “Doesn’t seem necessary to deliberately emphasize this.”

Having been sealed here for so many years, it was unrealistic to expect them to be very healthy.

“No, it needs to be emphasized, dead people!”

Earlier, Li Zhuiyuan had indeed entered qi deviation because his thoughts had hit a dead end, constantly clashing in chaos.

He knew that this Nuo Play Puppet Technique was very profound and deep, otherwise he wouldn’t have persisted in imitating and learning it until now. But when its practical value was ruthlessly doused with cold water, Li Zhuiyuan fell into deep self-doubt.

Fortunately, he soon figured it out.

This puppet technique was indeed excellent. The reason there was a gap with reality was, firstly, because the hands on the coffin performed very well, and secondly, because the performance was simply too good.

The former was because those hands presented the most standard and perfect Nuo Play Puppet Technique. The latter was because the special environment here allowed it to spread waste leisurely.

But this didn’t mean there was no solution. That was… reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Knowing that those black shadows were all corpses, although they had undergone some changes from being soaked here for a long time, a corpse was ultimately a corpse. There were many here, but there were more in the outside world.

Theoretically, as long as it was a relatively complete corpse, this Nuo Play Puppet Technique could be applied.

As for the huge consumption in terms of deduction, that was even easier to solve.

Influenced by the record of the deceased Xu Yijin, the puppet created by these hands, under the current rules, could only replicate the abilities used by the imitated person because they knew the “what” but not the “why”. This led to a huge increase in deduction costs.

He didn’t need to do that.

Just like the previous “Puppet Bai He’er”, when Li Zhuiyuan displayed this puppet technique, many things didn’t need to be deduced because he already knew them.

He had mastered the “Earth Store King Bodhisattva Sutra”, which was even more complete and comprehensive than the official general system.

It wasn’t because those Yin Gods were unwilling to descend to his body; he could completely become a better diviner child than Lin Shuyou.

Very early on, during the conflict on the training ground, when he pretended to invite down the Injury General, Bai He’er couldn’t distinguish the real from the fake.

As for the Talisman Needle, that was even less necessary to deduce. He had it in his hand; he could directly equip the puppet with it.

He knew this skill, he had the equipment, and he was familiar with the fighting style and routines. Wouldn’t the maintenance cost of this puppet be drastically reduced at once?

By this analogy, Runsheng practiced the “Qin Clan View Flood Dragon Method” to refine his body. He understood the profound meaning of the Air Gate operation better than Runsheng himself. He was also more familiar with the distribution of evil qi in Runsheng’s body since he had personally helped Runsheng suppress it. So, he could also follow the pattern and create a Runsheng puppet.

Next was Tan Wenbin. Tan Wenbin’s ghost control technique was also designed by him, it was just that the two vengeful infants were not easy to find. If there was no wandering soul or wild ghost conveniently available nearby, he wouldn’t be able to create a Tan Wenbin puppet.

Lastly, Yin Meng…

Hmm, Mengmeng, let’s forget about her.

In short, creating puppets based on his companions had the highest cost-effectiveness.

“Pa!”

On the coffin, the ten fingers clenched tightly again.

Above a green stone cone, ten black shadows slid down, all integrating into the white cocoon at the tip below.

The reason the mask wearer collapsed in the previous round was because it was made of five black shadows, and its quality could not support the load after the Talisman Needle was stabbed in.

Li Zhuiyuan analyzed based on the number of black shadows in the previous two rounds and the strength they displayed, predicting this point in advance, which was why he notified the child not to insert the needle itself.

But now, the opponent had elevated its teaching quality. The next mask wearer condensed from ten black shadows would definitely have sufficient quality and could withstand the effect of the Talisman Needle being stabbed in.

Zhao Yi: “Or, let’s just end it like this. I just discovered that this puppet technique is good, but it seems a bit impractical.”

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t speak.

Zhao Yi continued to persuade him: “I know you might not be willing, but sometimes, there’s just no other way. This opportunity isn’t ideal; aren’t there future opportunities?

I suspect why the mask wearer self-destructed earlier was because the number of black shadows used to condense it wasn’t enough. Look now, ten sliding down in one go. That white cocoon was supported so largely, and now it hasn’t fallen. The new one that comes out will probably be able to perfectly display the previous strength.

Even if this is also solved… it can still continue to come out. Maybe next time it will use more black shadows to condense, creating a bigger one.”

Runsheng shook the Yellow River Shovel in his hand and said: “We can go down and help.”

Yin Meng nodded.

Tan Wenbin supported his chin, thinking. He felt that the three of them couldn’t go down, just a feeling. He still hadn’t thought of a specific reason.

Zhao Yi: “You absolutely cannot go down now. Those hands are now coming out step by step according to their rhythm. If you go down, you might disrupt the rhythm of the problem. Originally, it was one-on-one. After you go down, it will become two-on-two, three-on-three, and completely turn into a big melee.”

Tan Wenbin suddenly nodded. This was probably why Yuan-gege only let Lin Shuyou go down to fight at the beginning.

This Zhao Three Eyes’ brain is indeed good.

He considered him the smartest person he had encountered besides Yuan-gege.

Runsheng reached out and patted Tan Wenbin’s shoulder, saying:

“It doesn’t matter. No matter how good the gold mules and silver mules are outside, they can’t compare to your own home-grown mule.”

“Maybe I really didn’t think in that direction.”

Tan Wenbin felt no jealousy towards Zhao Yi, and even felt pity because he had already illuminated the lamp and walked the river. Because Tan Wenbin’s position was to yell at the boat head, not a wise general. The reason he often guest-starred was not because he was smart, but purely based on comparison with his peers.

Zhao Yi pointed to the white cocoon that was already hanging down, pulled very long:

“Look, that thing is already having a difficult birth. Waiting for this mask wearer to come out, the situation will be relatively difficult. At most, we can only get through this round. Beyond this round, the situation will fall out of control.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “En.”

Seeing that he was convinced, Zhao Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief and said: “Or let’s take advantage of that thing not being down yet, we rush past and seal that coffin back?”

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head: “It hasn’t finished performing yet, and I haven’t completely learned it. I want to get through this round.”

Zhao Yi: “Learning this or not learning this doesn’t really mean much, unless you…”

Li Zhuiyuan: “En, I’ve made improvements.”

Zhao Yi: “……”

Young Master Zhao clenched his fists tightly, wanting to beat his chest, but thinking about his current fragile state, he was afraid of beating himself to death violently. In the end, he could only beat the ground.

Li Zhuiyuan: “This is a good opportunity. I don’t want to miss it. I want to learn it completely.”

Zhao Yi lifted his red fists and blew on them by his mouth. Benefiting from the reopening of his life-and-death acupoint, his whole body was soft and powerless. He smashed the ground for so long and surprisingly didn’t break the skin.

“But, have you considered, if it still doesn’t finish performing in the next round?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Then we’ll find a way to prompt it to finish performing.”

The young man raised his head and looked towards the green inverted cone high up in front.

He stopped his hands and began to form seals again. This time, however, he no longer followed the rhythm of the hands on the coffin.

This was his own rhythm.

Zhao Yi’s lips began to twitch.

He had actually also learned quite a bit, but he didn’t have the young man’s courage and bravery, daring to directly use it just like that.

Inside the green rock wall above, a black shadow, as if receiving traction, began to move towards the inverted cone.

It was his first time attempting it, and Li Zhuiyuan was still a bit rough, mainly due to his unfamiliarity with the terrain here. After three continuous attempts, none of them managed to make that black shadow slide down.

However, on the fourth attempt, it finally hit the mark.

The black shadow slid down and entered the white cocoon at the tip.

Zhao Yi: “Can you pull it down and create a puppet?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Not enough.”

The young man began to continue to traction the second black shadow, making it slide down. Immediately after, he began to traction the third one.

The raw materials here were abundant, and he could take materials on-site. If he missed this village, he wouldn’t have this class.

The third… fourth… fifth!

Li Zhuiyuan wasn’t greedy. He didn’t condense ten black shadows like the opponent did. He only selected five, which was the number the opponent used in the previous round.

The five black shadows had now all entered the white cocoon.

The young man crossed his ten fingers and arched upward!

“Pa!”

The white cocoon fell, smashing onto the ground.

The double hands on the coffin in the distance also made the same action. The white cocoon containing the ten black shadows also fell.

On the ground of the round arc hall, two pools of white appeared, both wriggling crazily.

Perhaps stimulated by this situation, the hands on the coffin at this moment actually performed actions they had never done before. Between the changes of the double hands, there seemed to be a faint white light flowing.

Zhao Yi: “It’s taking effect.”

Li Zhuiyuan continued to form hand seals while looking at his own pool of white cocoon. At the same time, he still had to continue to pay attention to the actions of those hands and learn from them.

He was using one mind for three purposes, which the young man could do, but under this high-intensity situation, efficiency would inevitably decrease, and the pressure was also really too great.

In the opponent’s pool of white cocoon, a human shape was already trying to stand up, while in his own pool, it was still kneeling, and still a bit wobbly, with unstable center of gravity.

This was a very awkward situation. If the next person could run, jump, and fight, and his own hadn’t even taken shape, then the other person only needed to walk over and step on his puppet to finish it.

Li Zhuiyuan forced himself to keep up, squeezing his brainpower. Sure enough, his pool began to stand up, but at the same time, he felt liquid flowing out of his nose. This was a nosebleed.

This was still in the puppet creation stage, not even fighting yet, and he was already having a nosebleed. If he forced himself to complete it, he was afraid it wouldn’t be far from bleeding from the eyes and overdrawing himself to blindness.

The main thing was that learning this aspect involved too much energy. Perhaps the problem was that his original intention was just to completely learn this set of puppet technique. Where else would he focus if not on this?

And this was not like a book, where the text was recorded and could be read slowly and repeatedly.

The performance of those hands was very likely only happening this one time. If he missed it, it would be forever.

He had to find a way.

Li Zhuiyuan turned his head and looked at Zhao Yi beside him. Good, the way was right in front of him.

Zhao Yi was startled by this gaze and asked, “What are you doing!”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Borrow your brain.”

Zhao Yi: “On what basis?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “You’re just idling anyway.”

Zhao Yi: “That’s not a reason.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “If I overdraw myself and faint, what will you do when you encounter the Yu family people again? What’s more, there’s still more danger behind. If I’m not awake, my people will only focus on protecting me to leave.”

Zhao Yi: “You… really don’t care about face.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Hurry.”

Zhao Yi sighed, stood up, pressed his right hand on the life-and-death acupoint on his forehead, and placed his left hand on Li Zhuiyuan’s head.

Li Zhuiyuan and Zhao Yi closed their eyes simultaneously.

Entering the Underworld!