1682

### Chapter 1682: What Genius, It's All About Puppets

Lin Moyu transformed into a stream of light and rushed into the maple forest. Lei Wenbin's pupils contracted, "So fast!"

Mastering the law of thunder, he had always prided himself on his speed. He could transform into thunder, moving at an astonishing speed, almost unrivaled in the minor god realm. Even some cultivators who mastered speed-related laws were only slightly faster than him. However, their attack power was far inferior to his.

Whether in speed or attack, the law of thunder ranked among the top. In battle, it allowed for both offense and retreat, making it very formidable. Lei Wenbin believed that only the minor gods of the Golden Eagle Clan could surpass him in speed. But now, Lin Moyu's speed had far exceeded his expectations.

While Lei Wenbin was shocked by Lin Moyu's speed, he also chuckled, "Rushing in like that will attract attacks!"

Lin Moyu was evidently entering the maple forest for the first time and was unaware of some of its rules. The best way to enter the maple forest was quietly, so as not to alarm the poisonous creatures inside. Even if a few were disturbed, they might still be manageable. However, if the disturbance was too great, it would provoke a group attack, which would be dangerous.

Lin Moyu made a common mistake by rushing in so blatantly. Before he could get the blood-red maple leaves, the poisonous creatures in the forest had already started to act. As Lin Moyu approached the forest, it seemed to come alive. Terrifying auras awakened, and colorful poisonous insects began to stir among the dense leaves. On the branches, flat-headed venomous snakes raised their heads, looking at Lin Moyu.

These poisonous insects and snakes were hard to detect before they attacked. Cultivators often fell victim to their ambushes, realizing the danger only when the attack was imminent. However, for Lin Moyu, no matter how well they hid, they couldn't escape his undead vision.

The rune beasts were evolved from ancient runes, incredibly realistic, seeming both real and illusory. All rune beasts had souls, and whether these souls were real or not didn't matter to Lin Moyu. What mattered was that they existed and could be seen by his undead vision.

While searching for the blood-red maple leaves, Lin Moyu had already scanned the area with his undead vision. He knew exactly where the hidden rune beasts were. How could he not know the rules of the maple forest? He had studied so much information, not in vain. His understanding of the Maple Forest Secret Realm far exceeded those who had entered it multiple times just to earn merit points.

The space around him fluctuated, and five skeletal god generals appeared beside him. The aura of a god surged into the sky. After Lin Moyu reached the sixth rank of the god king, the skeletal god generals had crossed the threshold of minor gods and entered the god realm!

Before the rune beasts could attack, the skeletal god generals had already made their move. Sword energy flew through the forest, instantly killing a large number of poisonous insects. Maple trees exploded under the sword energy, sending countless leaves flying into the sky. Hidden among the leaves were many rune beasts, which the skeletal god generals quickly killed with their sharp bone swords.

With the undead vision, these rune beasts had nowhere to hide. They were all killed before they could attack. Lin Moyu moved through the forest as if it were uninhabited, easily picking up a blood-red maple leaf.

Lei Wenbin was stunned; the expected scene of Lin Moyu being besieged did not occur. His mouth twitched, and his whole body trembled. "What are these things? Puppets? And god-level puppets at that."

"A god king with five god-level skeletons, this is completely unreasonable. The cultivators of the Xuanwu Star Domain are skilled in controlling puppets, but there are limits to their levels."

"How can a god king control god-level puppets?"

"And these puppets are so strong, they seem to be able to see the poisonous insects!"

"With such powerful puppets, ordinary secret realms are no challenge for him." Lei Wenbin felt a surge of uncontrollable envy and a bit of jealousy. He felt he had discovered Lin Moyu's secret to clearing secret realms.

"What top genius, it's all about the puppets."

"Without the puppets, he's nothing."

"Those people are blind to think so highly of Lin Moyu."

His perspective changed, mixing envy and jealousy with a hint of disdain. In his view, Lin Moyu himself was not impressive and did not deserve the title of top genius.

After entering the maple forest, Lin Moyu no longer paid attention to Lei Wenbin. He had already obtained the second blood-red maple leaf. The skeletal god generals were sweeping through the forest, killing all the hidden rune beasts. There were no fierce beasts in this forest, only small poisonous insects and snakes. Most were hidden behind leaves, on branches, or underground. The underground rune beasts were covered by layers of leaves, usually invisible until they attacked passing cultivators. But now, they were all found and killed.

In terms of pure combat power, these small rune beasts were not strong. Their danger lay in their concealment and the power of their rules. Against the god-level skeletal generals, they had no resistance.

Lin Moyu walked through the forest as if it were his backyard, finding three more blood-red maple leaves. One was in a pile of fallen leaves, and the other two were on the trees. The trees were cut down by the skeletal generals, killing the rune beasts inside.

Lin Moyu looked at the five blood-red maple leaves in his hand. Each leaf was as red as blood, seemingly exuding a faint bloody smell. Blood-red maple leaves differed from ordinary ones, with blood-red veins that looked like human blood vessels. The leaves varied in size, with the largest over half a meter in diameter and the smallest only 30 centimeters. But for the Human Emperor Network, they were all treated equally.

Lin Moyu opened his soul eye, seeing the essence through the phenomenon, and clearly saw the ancient rune fragments within the blood-red maple leaves. Each leaf contained 0.6 ancient rune fragments, each slightly different. This was what the Human Emperor Network needed, as the fragments provided information related to ancient runes. Though the information was minimal, it accumulated over time.

Of course, if someone cleared the secret realm and obtained the final ancient rune piece, that would be ideal. The battle in the maple forest lasted for over ten minutes, ending with all the rune beasts killed. Lin Moyu obtained 12 blood-red maple leaves, completing his task and earning two extra merit points.

Lin Moyu glanced at Lei Wenbin, still in the air, "I'm leaving, see you around!"

With that, he chose a direction and left. This maple forest was too small, with no fierce beasts. Lin Moyu needed to find a larger maple forest and try to unlock the conditions for entering the second stage.