Chapter 2322, All Puppets
Translator: Silavin & frozenfire
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Although the current Thousand Leaves Sect couldn’t compare to a real peak Sect at the moment, they were still able to carve out an impressive image due to the various inheritances passed down from ten thousand years ago. This left Yang Kai relishing in satisfaction as he travelled along.
Nevertheless, he was able to sense that the World Energy within Thousand Leaves Sect was indeed quite sparse, giving the impression of a treasured spiritual mountain without the corresponding World Energy that should encircle it. This meant that the Earth Vein present here was not outstanding. Such a piece of land ideally wouldn’t be used as a place to establish a Sect; however, the Ancestral Founders of Thousand Leaves Sect had still chosen to take root here. Clearly, this was due to the existence of the Sealed World.
This was just like Wen Zi Shan choosing to establish the Azure Sun Temple within the Azure Sun Mountain Range. The existence of the Divine Ascension Mirror was the deciding factor.
The group flew along the undulating mountain paths, which, alongside the swirling sea of clouds beneath, provided for a beautiful sight to behold.
“Eh… Look at that small mountain. It looks like a Monster Beast.” All of a sudden, Chi Yue appeared to have discovered something as she pointed towards a small mountain peak that was approximately fifty metres tall.
“The one by its side is also a little interesting, it looks like a person standing with a sword in his hand!” Gu Cang Yun’s eyes lit up like torches as he looked towards another small mountain peak with an exceedingly excited look on his face.
The group turned their heads to look and quickly discovered that those two peaks were not the only interesting peaks present. There were at least several dozen peculiar-looking mountain peaks present within the inner sanctum of Thousand Leaves Sect. These peaks were all quite short in height, with only a few of them towering over a thousand metres tall. What’s more, all of them appeared to be shaped like living creatures, albeit ones that were magnified countless times over.
Feeling interested, Yang Kai could not help but to take a few more looks at these mountain peaks; however, his expression quickly changed as he released his Divine Sense to investigate these strangely shaped mountain peaks.
After a moment, his expression changed again as he suddenly asked, “Sect Master Ye, those small mountain peaks… aren’t as simple as they look, right?”
Ye Hen gave a faint smile and replied, “Young Master Yang’s vision is indeed sharp to be able to notice this. This Ye is impressed.”
“Is it really as I’ve imagined?” Yang Kai’s expression instantly turned solemn.
Ye Hen nodded and replied, “Indeed, it is what Young Master Yang is thinking.”
“Father, what are you two talking about?” A blank look appeared on Ye Jing Han’s face as she looked towards her father, not knowing what mysterious thing he was talking about with Yang Kai.
Chi Yue and the rest were also confused by the conversation, though it felt awkward for them to interject so they held their curiosity.
Yang Kai could not help but let a respectful look appear on his face before giving praise, “Your noble Sect’s Ancestors are indeed extraordinary. Originally, I had assumed that Sister Ye’s praise for the past grandeur of your Thousand Leaves Sect was somewhat exaggerated; however, from the looks of it, she was actually being quite reserved.”
Ye Hen sighed, “Although our heritage still exists, the core inheritance has already disappeared. This Ye feels extremely guilty about this.”
Ye Jing Han interjected, “This isn’t your fault, father! If not for that generation’s Ancestor losing our Sect’s inheritance, how would we end up in this state?”
“Impudence!” Ye Hen shot a fierce glare at Ye Jing Han, “How can you recklessly judge the matters of our Ancestors like that?”
Ye Jing Han pouted in response, while a look of unhappiness appeared on her face.
Seeing the darkening of Ye Hen’s mood, Yang Kai did not say anything else, though his impression of Thousand Leaves Sect had grown by quite a bit. He felt that if the Thousand Leaves Sect was able to regain some of its core inheritance, they might be able to reach the same level as the other first-class Sects after just a hundred years. Those unassuming, weirdly shaped mountain peaks were more than sufficient to show the potential present within those lost inheritances.
After a short while, the group arrived at the main peak of Thousand Leaves Mountain Range, Thousand Leaves Peak. Just like other Sects, luxurious buildings and pavilions were constructed here, brimming with an awe-inspiring grandeur. Clearly, this was an extremely important location for Thousand Leaves Sect.
Present on the apex of the mountain peak was an ancient-looking great hall that had an ancient and imposing aura gushing out from it.
The group landed right before the great hall.
The other members of Thousand Leaves Sect were already present here, appearing to have received news of their impending arrival. Upon the arrival of Ye Hen and the others, they proceeded to bow in respect, though Shi Cang Ying was absent.
Ye Hen proceeded to introduce every high-ranking member of Thousand Leaves Sect to Yang Kai.
After breaking the ice, Ye Hen led the group into the great hall for a reception.
Along the sides of the great hall stood two rows of spear-wielding guards. Not only that, they were accompanied by a few strange looking Monster Beasts that sat still on the ground, not moving even an inch.
As Yang Kai and the group walked past these guards, they noticed that they were not moving even an inch, to the point where they were not even blinking, nor did they show any intent of greeting the group at all.
This strange phenomenon piqued Yang Kai’s interest, and after taking a few more looks at the guards, his entire body shook as he immediately came to a halt before sending out his Divine Sense to sweep across the bodies of those guards in shock.
Seeing this, Ye Hen also proceeded to stop and grinned as he looked at Yang Kai.
“What happened, Sect Master Yang?” Gu Cang Yun asked in doubt, confused over what Yang Kai had discovered.
Yang Kai shot a look to his left and right. Only then did he take a deep breath, before looking towards Ye Hen to ask, “Sect Master Ye… are all of these guards puppets?”
“What?” The eyes of Chi Yue and the others snapped wide open as they looked incredulously towards the row of guards by their sides, proceeding to send their Divine Sense out to investigate.
After a short while, all of them had their eyes wide open with looks of disbelief blanketing their faces.
Earlier, other than feeling that they appeared somewhat weird, no one had too much of an impression after seeing those guards. It was only after Yang Kai’s question did everyone realise that all of those black armoured, weapon-wielding guards were not living beings, but exceedingly lifelike puppets.
They appeared to be completely identical to living humans. Even the skin exposed between the gaps of their armour was of the same shade as a human being’s.
Chi Yue and the others turned their heads to look around and discovered that the weirdly-shaped Monster Beasts lying on the ground also seemed to be puppets.
This left them in utter shock from their discovery.
With a faint smile, Ye Hen said, “These are a small number of the Earth Grade puppets present in our Sect. I apologize to Young Master Yang for our lacking display.”
Although his words were humble, an unmistakable hint of pride was present within his eyes. Clearly, he was extremely proud of his Sect’s heritage.
The other higher-ups from Thousand Leaves Sect also wore proud looks on their faces.
Yang Kai’s eyebrows rose up as he asked, “Puppets are also categorized into different grades?”
Ye Hen replied, “Of course. Within our Thousand Leaves Sect, all of the puppets here are classified into the four grades, Heaven, Earth, Black and Yellow. Every category is further split into three ranks. The higher the grade, the stronger the puppet.”
“Then those Earth Grade puppets…” Chi Yue asked in curiosity as she pointed to the approximately thirty puppets present here, “What is the level of combat strength they can display?”
With a solemn voice, Ye Hen replied, “The strongest ones are able to rival Third-Order Dao Source Realm cultivators, with the weakest being able to rival First-Order Dao Source Realms!”
A series of gasps rang out as the group looked at Ye Hen in disbelief.
If everything was as what he had said, the over thirty puppets present here would equate to the same number of Dao Source Realm Masters, with some Third-Order-rivalling existences among their ranks.
How powerful would such a force be?
Furthermore, that was just the combat strength of the puppets! The cultivators controlling them had not been accounted for yet.
If a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator was able to control a Third-Order Dao Source Realm puppet, they should be able to put up a fight even if they were up against an enemy at the peak of the Dao Source Realm.
Gu Zu said with a face covered in shock, “Despite how extraordinary the Dao of Puppetry is for your noble Sect, there are still people who want to find other Secret Arts and Techniques to replace it? They’re basically blind and don’t know how blessed they are!”
Ye Hen’s face dimmed, “Our Sect no longer has the methods to control these puppets. As of now, the only thing we can do is to display them here.”
The group of Thousand Leaves Sect leaders all turned silent and depressed, their expressions crestfallen, with no trace of the earlier pride they had shown.
“That’s enough gossip. Young Master Yang and our guests have just arrived from afar. Our Sect has prepared water and wine to help our honoured guests wash away their weariness. Please, do not reject our hospitality! This way!” Ye Hen quickly changed the subject, clearly not wanting to continue talking about this painful spot any longer.
Yang Kai and the others did not reject the hospitality, as it would not look good on them if they were to refuse other people’s good intentions. Therefore, they followed Ye Hen and entered the great hall.
The higher-realm Thousand Leaves Sect cultivators did not know why their Sect Master was treating Yang Kai with such importance, to the point of going all the way out to greet the latter at the entrance of the Sect. Nevertheless, they did not dare to ask too many questions. This let a good atmosphere develop in the reception hall, and coupled with the repeated cheers and drinking, left the guests brimming with happiness.
Seated beside each other, both Yang Kai and Ye Hen did not keep a reserved stance as they maintained an exceedingly outspoken attitude. They drank and laughed with anyone who came forward to drink with them, giving people an impression of them being very open-minded and friendly.
Only after three rounds of drinks did people begin to leave.
Yang Kai and the others were arranged to rest in a large courtyard on the main peak.
Other than a few maidservants and service-related personnel, there was no one else present, as all of the Thousand Leaves Sect disciples had already taken their leave.
Chi Yue and the others retreated to their assigned rooms, with Yang Kai also arriving at his assigned room through the guidance of a maidservant. After instructing her to not disturb him unless he called for her, Yang Kai proceeded to open the room’s barriers.
After doing so, he waved his hand before an elegant looking beauty appeared in front of him.
After taking a look at her surroundings, Hua Qing Si said in a discontented tone, “I’m at the critical period of my cultivation. Why did you summon me?”
As of now, the Small Seal World had been saturated with World Energy. Other than the incomplete World Principles, the environment within it was better for cultivation than even Star Soul Palace’s Heaven Grade Cultivation Paradises’ rooms. This was a matter of great joy for Hua Qing Si and Zhang Ruo Xi, who had been cultivating within it.
This was especially significant for Zhang Ruo Xi, whose cultivation had soared upwards. At this moment, she had impressively broken through to the Origin King Realm, something which Yang Kai had taken keen notice of. After the awakening of the bloodline present within her, Zhang Ruo Xi simply appeared to be a completely new person.
Although Hua Qing Si had yet to break through, the Source Qi circulating within her body had grown substantially purer than before, forming a rather strong foundation that was absolutely beneficial to her impending breakthrough to the Emperor Realm.
Therefore, she was naturally unhappy with Yang Kai’s sudden summoning.
“How is Sister Hua’s cultivation going?” Yang Kai asked in interest. The greater her strength, the greater the help she would be able to provide to him; therefore, he naturally hoped for Hua Qing Si to break through to the Emperor Realm as soon as possible.
If she managed to break through, it would mean that he would have an Emperor Realm goon by his side at all times that could fight anyone he wanted to fight against.
Hua Qing Si frowned in response, “I’m still lacking a little bit. I feel as if I am still missing something. Perhaps my opportunity has yet to arrive.”
Shades of vexation were present in her tone; after all, with Yang Kai handing an exceedingly precious treasure like the Extraordinary Treasure Pill to her to consume, it would be inexcusable for her to not break through into the Emperor Realm.
