"A self-born spirit… How is that even possible?!"
Li Ye blurted out in shock.
His life-bound puppet instantly flared with faint cyan runes, summoning a sudden breeze that lightened its body, allowing it to swiftly retreat toward the edge of the formation.
At the same time, the rest of the puppet squad was driven forward, forming a makeshift wall of bodies to block the incoming spiritual light and buy precious moments for the life-bound puppet.
Swish
In a mere flash of light before he could even get a clear look at what treasure the light contained puppet after puppet was shattered and destroyed on the spot.
But they had completed their final mission: giving the life-bound puppet just enough time to escape.
The formation at the entrance hadn't yet fully recovered to its previous state and could still be influenced by the Core Disciple token. In those few precious breaths, the life-bound puppet swiftly pried open a narrow gap.
Just as it was about to slip through, a sudden flash of light erupted behind it.
Swish
The stone armor crafted from the same materials as the lava palace walls held firm for a brief instant then shattered into pieces.
But that force also propelled the puppet forward, helping it dash through the narrow opening and out of the Artifact Crafting Pavilion.
The moment the puppet left, the token's influence ended, and the gap immediately sealed shut blocking the spiritual light that had been close behind.
Even though it had escaped, the life-bound puppet didn't dare slow down it didn't pause for a single step.
Despite its severely damaged body, several parts still burst with sparks of flame. Coupled with the wind wrapped around it, the resulting propulsion flung it rapidly into the distance.
Back in the rear area, Li Ye remotely sensing all of this also turned and fled without hesitation. He didn't stop until he had run all the way to the lava cave where his spiritual sense no longer detected any pursuing activity. Only then did he dare glance back.
From both his own eyes and the puppet's perspective, there was no sign of the spiritual light chasing them. There was only some minor activity from the ruined Artifact Crafting Pavilion, which, from start to finish, never broke through the formation barrier.
Drenched in cold sweat, Li Ye finally let out a long breath.
"What the hell… How can something with spirit consciousness show up in such an outer section?!"
He cursed under his breath, years of cultivation in composure completely unraveling, his face full of lingering fear.
Thank heavens he had always been cautious and never explored these island structures in person otherwise, he might've died in that ruined Artifact Crafting Pavilion today!
Although the spiritual light had obscured the object itself, he could still tell that whatever it was possessed its sentience. That meant it was, at the very least, a Nascent Soul-grade magic treasure, the kind said to be refined to perfection in legends.
And if its consciousness were to fully awaken and become whole… then it would truly become a Spirit Treasure!
Such a treasure could unleash formidable power even without a cultivator controlling it. In the hands of a Nascent Soul cultivator, it could autonomously protect and fight for its owner…
But if it had no master and its sentience leaned toward aggression, as long as it still retained sufficient power, it would likely attack anyone who came near without hesitation.
Forget Li Ye even a Golden Core cultivator could be heavily injured or outright killed by a single strike!
"All these years of caution finally paid off. Who would've thought a Spirit Treasure of Nascent Soul level could be hidden in a place this far out…"
The life-bound puppet quickly returned to his side.
Li Ye frowned as he looked at the shattered stone armor falling away despite only being hit by the aftershock, most of the puppet's components had been nearly destroyed. Only the skeletal frame remained relatively intact.
He knew just how tough that stone armor was. Even when the formation had erupted in full force before, its terrifying power had done minimal damage to the various building islets.
His use of the Wood God's True Flame to burn and erode the material had only worked because he carefully selected stones already close in shape and lightly reshaped them barely causing any real damage.
Yet now, with just a single strike, that spiritual light had utterly shattered the armor.
The power it held was truly terrifying.
Watching the now-settling activity in the ruined Artifact Crafting Pavilion, Li Ye's expression turned complex.
"With the Mechanism Hall on the verge of collapse back then, how could a treasure of this level remain hidden here, instead of being used in battle?"
"Could it be that this thing was refined over thousands of years by the pavilion's self-operating systems, finally developing its own spirit?"
Li Ye silently speculated.
Why such a terrifying treasure would appear in this broken-down outer region was beyond him.
But one thing was certain this thing was deadly!
Let alone trying to seize it even just approaching it, Li Ye had now completely lost the desire.
"I really thought I was gonna strike it lucky… but looking at it now, losing just the stone armor and a few puppets and not having that thing escape and kill me that's already a blessing!"
He shook his head, gradually calming down.
"If that thing could be of any use to me… maybe only as a trap to kill higher-realm cultivators."
For a Nascent Soul cultivator, encountering this treasure would be a heaven-sent opportunity.
But for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it would mean certain death and even Core Formation ones might be heavily injured if caught off guard.
Those like Master Zixuan, Daoist Feiyu, or that Core Formation cultivator from Thousand Island Water City with their dwindling lifespans and plummeting strength they'd probably die on the spot if they ran into this.
"But if it really can kill a Core Formation cultivator… I might not escape myself, either!"
"Unless necessary, this damn thing is best left sealed. I'd better steer clear of that ruined Artifact Crafting Pavilion from now on… I'll switch to exploring other broken but hopefully less dangerous functional buildings…"
Although Li Ye said this, the way he looked at the Artifact Crafting Pavilion was deeply intense.
He had set his sights on this place years ago, thinking he could finally reap the rewards. Never did he expect it to turn into such a massive trap!
After years of cautious exploration, this was the first time he'd suffered such a serious loss…
He would remember this.
After fully replacing its parts and undergoing a complete overhaul, the newly repaired life-bound puppet led a squad of puppets cautiously onto another building islet.
Fortunately, although that unknown spirit-infused treasure had scared Li Ye half to death, it was still trapped within the ruined pavilion and hadn't caused a major incident.
Even though the surrounding formations continued to ripple and expand, at least there hadn't been a second eruption. That allowed Li Ye to once again imitate previous tactics to stabilize the area, carving out a safe zone where he could continue searching for spiritual treasures.
This particular islet was one he had previously marked as having faint signs of spiritual light.
Its structure was somewhat standardized he had seen similar ones elsewhere, which were usually either disciple quarters or miscellaneous storage halls.
The formation strength in these types of buildings was completely random. Thankfully, this one had no particularly dangerous traits.
Even so, Li Ye kept his distance ready to flee at any sign of trouble, prepared to seal the passage and run with his main body.
He had learned his lesson from earlier.
This time, the puppet team's exploration went surprisingly smoothly.
With the help of the Core Disciple token and a proper battle formation, they moved through the weak formation resistance almost effortlessly.
After a thorough search, Li Ye was pleasantly surprised to discover a high-grade spirit sword and a piece of Tier 2 top-quality external armor seemingly designed for puppets…
And lastly three tokens!
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