The Heavenly Puppet Sect, Shu Tianhe!

With one sword stroke, Chen Guan chopped off the head of the puppet before him, erasing the imprint within it. Leaning against the dimly lit wall, he gasped for breath.

On the ground lay a heap of over a dozen dark puppet remnants. Chen Guan glanced warily at the inner chamber, took out a bottle of pills, poured one out, and reluctantly swallowed it.

It was a third-grade Qi Restoration Pill, capable of quickly replenishing Dou Qi. Even though he only had five pills on him, he had no choice but to use one now. His stock of second-grade recovery pills was already depleted after seven continuous days of fighting. Through these battles, Chen Guan had noticed a pattern—after destroying each puppet, he would get half an hour to rest and recover.

The next puppet would surely be even stronger, so he had to stay in peak condition.

Flashback to seven days ago.

That day, Chen Guan excitedly pushed open the stone door at the bottom of the lake and entered. With a swift sword strike, he ended the life of the Scarlet Ice Snake King, which had been lurking to ambush him.

Chen Guan had given the snake a chance, but since it didn't seize it, he showed no mercy. Besides, he was more curious about the opportunities hidden within this place than wasting time on the snake king.

Inside the stone door was utter darkness. He threw a few moonlight stones into the corners to light up the area. Though still dim, he could now see the surroundings more clearly.

The chamber was an empty, dimly lit space, no larger than half a basketball court. It resembled an emptied burial chamber—nothing but emptiness except for a stone table on the right, which held several jars, some unknown material components, and a few depleted magic cores.

With a light tap of his sword, the remaining components disintegrated into ash, revealing just how ancient this "tomb" truly was.

The pills in the jars had long lost their potency, turning into waste, except for one large jar that contained a strange yellowish liquid. The liquid gave off a strong, chilling aura and looked so foul that it practically screamed "poison."

Chen Guan sensed a familiar presence within it, similar to the venom spat by the Scarlet Ice Snake King, and guessed that this liquid might have caused the snake's mutation.

Though he couldn't identify the substance, he didn't dwell on it, packing it away into his storage ring.

Chen Guan then arrived at the inner chamber's door. Just as he was contemplating how to open it, the door opened on its own, and a shadow attacked him.

His expression changed instantly. Not because the shadow posed any significant threat, but because he heard the sound of the outer stone door sealing shut behind him.

He repelled the shadow with one sword strike and checked the stone door. It was tightly sealed, not a single crack to be seen. He pushed against it with both palms, but it didn't budge.

"Destroy all test puppets, and you may leave."

A barely audible voice came from the inner chamber.

Not wanting to be trapped, Chen Guan resigned himself to the situation. He realized this place was indeed an opportunity, one that depended on his strength to grasp. The danger was unknown, but it didn't seem life-threatening.

With no other choice, he accepted the arrangement.

His attention shifted to the shadow before him—it was a humanoid puppet. From their brief encounter, he gauged that it had the strength of an early-stage Dou Master, though it wasn't as agile as a human. Other than being quite durable, it posed no real threat to him.

As expected, within a short time, Chen Guan dismantled the puppet, revealing a spent magic core inside.

These puppets were powered by magic cores.

After half an hour, another puppet emerged from the inner chamber. This one was noticeably stronger, but still not enough to pressure Chen Guan.

The third and fourth puppets followed.

Soon, the room was littered with puppet remains, and Chen Guan began to doubt their level of challenge. Then, a puppet appeared, roughly as strong as a five- or six-star Dou Master.

Unlike the previous puppets, this one remained active even after its head was severed, moving with more agility and seeming almost "intelligent."

Through trial and error, Chen Guan discovered the key to defeating them—he had to erase the imprints within their bodies to destroy them completely.

From that point, Chen Guan found himself locked in an exhausting battle, the combined mental and physical strain pushing him to his limits. He had already consumed all his second-grade recovery pills by then.

While the depletion of Dou Qi was manageable—he could recover that with his Xuan-level technique—his greatest concern was his mental exhaustion.

After swallowing another Qi Restoration Pill, his Dou Qi rapidly replenished, yet he still felt overwhelmingly fatigued. It was a sign of extreme mental depletion, which made him worry about the next fight.

The previous puppet had been nearly as strong as a Dou Spirit. Had it possessed any intelligence, Chen Guan would have had to use all his trump cards to survive.

The next puppet would likely reach true Dou Spirit level. In his current condition...

Half an hour passed quickly. Chen Guan stood up, ready for the next opponent.

The inner chamber's door opened with a loud rumble, but no puppet emerged after several moments.

Confused, he suddenly saw a strange glow rise from the pitch-black inner chamber. The torches on the walls mysteriously ignited.

"Come in, young man."

It was that voice again!

This time, it was clearer, and the speaker seemed quite old.

After hesitating for a moment, Chen Guan stepped inside.

The inner chamber was smaller than the outer one, and a stone bed suggested it was merely a resting area.

The decor was simple. After a quick look around, Chen Guan found nothing unusual—everything appeared ordinary.

On the stone bed sat a skeletal figure in a meditative pose, with a dark blue ring on its left hand. The ring was the only thing that stood out.

As Chen Guan was silently observing, a ghostly figure, faint and translucent, emerged from the ring. It was indeed an elderly man with white hair and a sage-like appearance, reminiscent of a character from an old "Shushan" movie—a white-browed elder.

Surprisingly, Chen Guan didn't feel afraid. Perhaps because he sensed no ill will, he even felt an odd urge to mock the situation.

Yao Chen lived inside a ring.

The Heavenly Fire Sovereign lived in a low-budget version of a ring.

And now, I have one too?

Is the Dou Qi Continent known for producing old men in rings?

"You've expended quite a bit of mental energy. Let's restore it before we talk."

As the old man spoke, a nearly invisible, pale-yellow dust-like substance flew from the ring towards Chen Guan's forehead.

Chen Guan felt a cool sensation between his brows, and his fatigued mind drank it in like parched land receiving rain. His mental energy recovered at an astonishing rate.

Within moments, his fatigue was gone.

Not only that—he felt better than ever. His vision was sharper, and his whole body felt as if it were soaking in a warm, comforting spring. The sensation was incredible.

"This is..."

"Just a small benefit from the sect I once belonged to, nothing noteworthy," the old man replied casually.

If Chen Guan hadn't seen the old man's smug grin, he might have believed him. True master of humblebragging!

"Young man, let's introduce ourselves. I am Shu Tianhe, of the Heavenly Puppet Sect!"

(End of chapter)