Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Chapter 727: Chapter 229: Ning Zhuo vs Xiang Yue! (Extra update +2)

Ning Zhuo looked up and saw Xiang Yue looking down at him, his towering figure like a mountain.

Swoosh.

A strong wind suddenly rose!

Xiang Yue showed no mercy to Ning Zhuo, sweeping his arm out casually.

In an instant, Ning Zhuo felt the world darken. Xiang Yue’s thick arm, carrying immense power, moved to sweep away everything in its path.

Ning Zhuo quickly positioned his mechanical puppets in front of him.

Clatter.

Xiang Yue’s arm swept across, smashing all the mechanical puppets into countless pieces, annihilating them effortlessly!

Ning Zhuo retreated with difficulty.

Xiang Yue took a heavy step forward, causing the ground to tremble.

He reached out his left hand, spreading his fingers wide, and moved to cover Ning Zhuo from above.

Martial Arts—One Palm Covers the Sky!

In an instant, Ning Zhuo’s pupils shrunk to pinpoints.

He felt the sky darken, Xiang Yue’s palm growing infinitely large in his eyes. He had no place to hide, no way to dodge, all resistance seemed futile!

Ning Zhuo stood there, stunned.

“Don’t you dare harm our strategist!!” At the critical moment, Zhang Hei roared, rushing to Ning Zhuo’s side without regard for his own safety.

His voice thundered in Ning Zhuo’s ears, jolting him awake.

“So this is what it feels like to face Xiang Yue directly?!”

“What immense pressure!”

This was not something that could be felt as a mere spectator.

Ning Zhuo felt suffocated, entirely overawed, until Zhang Hei’s roar woke him from his nightmare.

Without that, he might have been doomed!

Boom.

Zhang Hei raised his Black Snake Spear, employing martial arts to withstand Xiang Yue’s One Palm Covers the Sky.

Xiang Yue grabbed the Black Snake Spear, then swept his arm, hitting Zhang Hei’s side and sending him flying.

Zhang Hei not only lost his weapon but spat blood in midair. One side of his ribs shattered completely, and even his spine showed large cracks.

Bang.

Zhang Hei hit the ground heavily, leaving a trail of blood. Even someone as strong as him couldn’t get up for a moment.

Liu Er rushed to his side, immediately using a talisman to heal him.

Xiang Yue held the Black Snake Spear with both hands, exerting his strength. His muscles bulged, generating enormous force, bending the spear in half with a snap.

With his weapon seriously damaged, Zhang Hei suffered backlash, coughing up more blood in pain.

Xiang Yue discarded the broken spear and charged at Ning Zhuo again.

He used his martial arts, closing the distance with giant strides.

Innate—Purple Bearded Shocking Swallow!

Guan Hong’s beard had turned crimson like blood, now tinged with purple, restraining Xiang Yue and freezing him for a moment.

Ning Zhuo finally pulled away, finding temporary safety.

Pulling away, he felt like a fish returning to water from the shore, a sense of freedom restored.

“Strategist, be careful! Don’t get too close to Xiang Yue. He’s maintaining the Undaunted Stance!” Guan Hong transmitted thoughts with divine sense.

The seemingly long exchanges were, in reality, intense and rapid close combat. Only now did Guan Hong have a chance to communicate with Ning Zhuo.

Martial Arts—Undaunted Stance!

Ning Zhuo’s heart surged, realization dawning on him.

Once this martial art was activated, each movement would exude immense pressure on its surroundings.

Liu Guanzhang was alright, at least at the Golden Core level.

Though Ning Zhuo’s combat power was at Golden Core, in essence, he was still at Foundation Establishment, with a fundamental mental gap.

That’s why he struggled so much.

“Elephant King used Breaking Army Stance before, now it’s Undaunted Stance. This means he belongs to the ‘Stance’ school of martial arts.” Sun Lingtong reminded Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo nodded, summoning Yuan Dasheng and Mengye Tiger to attack.

Meanwhile, Guan Hong seized the opportunity, wielding his repaired Blood Dragon Saber, and charged at Xiang Yue.

The two Golden Core mechanical puppets, combined with Guan Hong, surrounded Xiang Yue.

Xiang Yue remained unmoved, only attacking without defending, allowing all kinds of assaults to land on him.

Martial Arts—Unmoving Stance!

Xiang Yue’s defense was astonishing! Even the Blood Dragon Saber, employed with sword skills and bolstered by military art, only managed to leave some knife marks.

After a few pokes with the Ghostly Slaughter Claw, Mengye Tiger’s claws broke, merely piercing Xiang Yue’s surface.

Xiang Yue swung a hard punch, shoulder-checking, directly knocking Heavy Blood Ape Dasheng over. The heavy armor of the three-story-tall Yuan Dasheng deformed badly.

Xiang Yue stomped heavily.

Martial Arts—One Foot Cracks the Earth!

Boom.

He stomped down hard, crushing Yuan Dasheng’s chest, rendering the mechanical puppet useless on the spot.

Almost simultaneously, Ning Zhuo’s entire body bristled, his energy surging.

“Little Zhuo!” Sun Lingtong cried softly, her eyes full of worry.

Ning Zhuo exhaled a breath of foul air, his body breaking out in an instant sweat, steam rising and seeping through the gaps of the Hundred-Armed Arhat Armor.

“I’m fine! Don’t worry, boss.” Ning Zhuo quickly scanned his body with divine sense, finding no issues. He felt reinvigorated.

He had integrated Yuan Dasheng and Mengye Tiger into the Heroic Return Skill.

Yuan Dasheng, unlike ordinary mechanical puppets or Mechanical Golden Swallows, had considerable combat power. It was just suppressed before Xiang Yue, unable to display it.

With Yuan Dasheng destroyed, Ning Zhuo’s combat power skyrocketed!

Xiang Yue landed two more punches, repelling Mengye Tiger and Guan Hong.

Ning Zhuo dared not approach lightly, attacking from a distance with Five Elements Magic and other spells.

Liu Er helped Zhang Hei. Seeing he could now heal himself, he quickly joined the battle.

Zhang Hei took strong medicine, forcing himself to recover enough to re-enter the battlefield.

After so many days, Liu Guan Zhang Ning teamed up once again for an intense fight.

Their tacit understanding had long been formed; their collaboration was seamless, like flowing clouds and running water.

But this enemy, today’s Elephant King – Xiang Yue, was simply too strong!

His original form was a Pale Barbaric Elephant, inherently formidable, with divine skills and immense martial arts prowess.

Though Liu Guanzhang Ning had more people, they were utterly outmatched.

They were frequently blown away, spitting blood, urgently healing before quickly rejoining the fight.

The main force of the Three Generals Camp huddled in the rear, using the Iron Bucket Formation to hold. They supplied military power, not daring to approach the battle.

Snap!

Guan Hong’s Blood Dragon Saber, stressed by constant blocking of Xiang Yue’s strikes, finally gave way, leaving only the hilt in his hand.

Liu Er’s Xuanhuang Sword was also severely deformed, clearly unable to last much longer.

“Damn, at this rate, the three generals will be left weaponless,” Ning Zhuo worried.

In the next moment, Xiang Yue seized the opportunity, grabbing Mengye Tiger’s right calf.

His other hand immediately reached out, tearing at Mengye Tiger’s left arm.

Xiang Yue roared, unleashing terrifying strength, tearing Ghostly Slaughter Claw Tiger in two.

Although Mengye Tiger had the Hundred Blades Concealed Blade, unleashing it would trigger a storm of blades, harming both friend and foe alike, thus could not be used.

Ning Zhuo could only watch as Mengye Tiger was destroyed.

His heartbeat raced, his body sweating profusely. If it weren’t for his mechanical heavy armor, his hair would be standing on end.

His energy soared again!

Even Liu Guanzhang in the midst of battle cast curious glances his way.

Martial Arts—One Punch Shatters the Mountain.

Xiang Yue extended his arm, his right fist striking straight out.

Bam.

The air exploded, the fist gleaming like steel, struck Ning Zhuo’s chest hard.

With a dull thud, Ning Zhuo stumbled back three steps.

For the first time since the battle began, Xiang Yue’s expression changed: “Hmm?”

Liu Guanzhang’s eyes widened: ??!

“!!?” Ning Zhuo himself was equally stunned.

He hadn’t expected to merely step back three large paces and stabilize without being blown away.

“Wait.”

“Elephant King has maintained Undaunted Stance, but when I closed in just now, I was not intimidated.”

Ning Zhuo suddenly realized that after losing Mengye Tiger, Yuan Dasheng, and numerous mechanical puppets, his combat power had risen to the point of being able to directly confront Xiang Yue.

Within the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon, Sun Lingtong shouted: “Little Zhuo, you can fight!”

“We can still fight!!” Liu Guanzhang’s hearts were filled with similar thoughts.

The first to notice this shift was Lin Bufan, hidden at the edge of the battlefield.

“Ning Zhuo can actually withstand Xiang Yue’s attack.”

Lin Bufan was full of disbelief, turning sharply to Zhu Xuanji beside him.

At that moment, he suddenly understood why Zhu Xuanji had remained relaxed about Ning Zhuo’s safety throughout the battle.

“Divine Hunter Zhu knows Ning Zhuo well, understanding that this kid cannot be judged by conventional means!” Lin Bufan thought.

Zhu Xuanji truly did not seem surprised: “Ning Zhuo was chosen by the three sects as the Son of Destiny. Such performance is expected.”

Ning Zhuo let out a short cry, charging forward to engage Xiang Yue again.

His proactive attack brought a fundamental shift to the battle.

No longer were Liu Guanzhang Ning merely on the defensive, they were now nearly in a stalemate!

With Ning Zhuo as the main force, bearing Xiang Yue’s pressure, Liu Guanzhang decisively revolved around him, constantly assisting with attacks or helping share the pressure and using healing spells.

After collecting the main remains of Yuan Dasheng and Mengye Tiger, Ning Zhuo entered a state of undivided focus, engaging Xiang Yue with full concentration!

It was his first time facing such a strong opponent in direct combat.

In fact, he never imagined having this kind of combat experience.

The pressure Xiang Yue exerted on him remained immense, even though his combat power had risen to this level.

The advantage was that Xiang Yue’s moves were straightforward and clear.

For Xiang Yue, his terrifying physicality, Nascent Soul-level cultivation, martial arts, and divine skills were enough to handle almost any challenge in life.

For Ning Zhuo, lacking in close combat skills, this was very friendly.

In some ways, the huge, often unmoving or charging straight at him Xiang Yue was the best target for Ning Zhuo.