Zhou Yan felt a wave of dizziness in his mind, his eyelids heavy, almost succumbing to sleep.
However, Zhou Yan forced back his fatigue, propped himself up, and willed himself to stay awake.
"Hoo!"
The next moment, he stumbled and fell to the ground.
"Cough, cough!"
Zhou Yan coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of clotted blood.
Although he had narrowly escaped death with that last move, he was severely injured.
Especially the terrifying recoil force, which had almost completely mangled his internal organs.
Such an injury was extremely tricky.
For an ordinary martial artist, it would have been fatal!
"As expected of a humanoid puppet, its strength is truly formidable."
"Even such a fatal blow couldn't kill me..."
Zhou Yan took a few deep breaths, struggled to his feet, and surveyed his surroundings.
In front of him was a mountain cave.
And at the edge of the cave stood that humanoid puppet!
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Zhou Yan sensed something and turned his gaze towards the depths of the cave.
"Swish!"
The instant Zhou Yan looked, a silver gleam streaked towards him and landed directly in his embrace.
It was a jade slip.
And on this jade slip were inscribed dense characters.
It contained an ancient cultivation technique: "Xuan Yin Ghost Art."
"It's actually a top-tier cultivation technique."
"With this technique, even a cripple can cultivate into an unparalleled genius!"
Upon seeing the contents of the jade slip, Zhou Yan's eyes blazed with intensity.
This was a cultivation technique extremely suitable for girls to practice.
"I wonder who left this inheritance!"
"Perhaps, that ancestor, during his lifetime, met some female martial artist and left this wealth for her."
Zhou Yan sighed softly.
He could only explain it this way.
Otherwise, he couldn't imagine what kind of woman would be willing to abandon such a precious cultivation technique and stay with him.
"Since this ancestor left behind this inheritance, I won't be polite."
"After I leave, I hope to help her take good care of this family..."
Muttering to himself, Zhou Yan took out his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and carefully put away the jade slip.
The value of this cultivation technique far exceeded his expectations.
At this moment, Zhou Yan raised his head and looked at the humanoid puppet.
In his eyes, a flicker of killing intent flashed and vanished.
"Rumble!"
Then, without hesitation, he used his movement technique and charged towards the humanoid puppet.
This time, he had to subdue this humanoid puppet and obtain the "Xuan Yin Ghost Art."
"Bang bang bang!"
Zhou Yan unleashed his full power, employing various offensive techniques.
Over the years, his martial skills and cultivation had grown significantly.
Coupled with his mastery of artifact refining, he unleashed everything he had.
Instantly, sharp sword lights slashed out, striking the puppet's body.
However, this time, he was horrified to discover.
The puppet's defense was incredibly tenacious, remaining completely unharmed.
Instead, he himself suffered a backlash, his body battered and on the verge of collapse.
"Damn it!"
Zhou Yan's face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth.
At this moment, he was filled with regret. He could have captured the humanoid puppet alive, but greed had made him take the risk.
He had even paid a heavy price.
"If I hadn't been so overconfident, how would I have ended up in this state..."
Zhou Yan gave a wry smile.
His eyes were filled with intense unwillingness.
Not only had his efforts been in vain, but he had also risked his life!
But just then.
"Thump!"
The humanoid puppet suddenly knelt down and kowtowed three times to Zhou Yan.
"Hmm?"
Seeing this, Zhou Yan frowned slightly.
He hadn't expected this puppet to pay him homage at such a critical juncture.
"Could it be..."
Immediately, he seemed to recall something, his gaze becoming scorching.
"Could this puppet be an item left by my ancestor, and it's recognizing me as its master?"
"Hahaha, I searched high and low for something I found effortlessly!"
"With this humanoid puppet, I will surely sweep through all eight directions!"
"Chu Kuangren, I will personally cut off his dog head!"
In an instant, Zhou Yan's heart surged.
This humanoid puppet gave him immense hope.
After all, in his current state, he was in no position to control this humanoid puppet.
But with the humanoid puppet as his mount, he would have a fighting chance even if he encountered Chu Kuangren.
"Hum!"
At this moment, the humanoid puppet trembled. Then, a ball of black mist spewed out, forming a dark cloud that enveloped Zhou Yan.
"Bad, this is demonic energy!"
Zhou Yan's pupils contracted, his face filled with terror.
He quickly identified that the demonic energy came from the humanoid puppet.
As the black mist spread, a cold and sinister aura slowly permeated the air.
Under the influence of this demonic energy, Zhou Yan felt his body stiffen, as if he were being targeted by some evil entity, and his heart clenched.
Moreover, the blood in his body was being agitated, boiling incessantly.
"Ah..."
Zhou Yan roared, struggling desperately to break free from the restraint.
"Not good, this humanoid puppet has a problem!"
Zhou Yan's heart turned cold, and he immediately sensed something was wrong.
"Whoosh!"
Without a second word, Zhou Yan turned around, intending to flee.
However, the thought had barely formed when he realized he was trapped.
"It seems a confinement formation has been laid out here!"
Zhou Yan looked around and quickly discovered the anomaly.
He saw that the walls of the cave were covered with runes, interwoven into a giant net that sealed him within.
"The power of this confinement formation doesn't seem very strong."
Zhou Yan pondered for a moment and felt relieved.
Because he could clearly feel that this confinement formation had not reached the level of a spirit formation.
If it were a true spirit formation, with Zhou Yan's current strength, let alone breaking it, even staying half a second longer would likely result in him being corroded by demonic energy and driven mad.
"You're forcing me!"
Zhou Yan's gaze suddenly turned icy.
"Screech~"
He tore off his upper garment, revealing a bare chest with muscles bulging like small hills.
"Bang!"
Zhou Yan punched down, smashing through the cave wall.
On his chest, a gruesome black hole appeared.
This was his secret technique - Demonic Body!
The strength of the Demonic Body far surpassed that of a normal human.
"Crack, crack!"
As Zhou Yan activated his Demonic Body, his bones and muscles creaked, and his physique doubled in size.
His once gaunt body became robust and powerful.
Moreover, his speed also greatly increased.
"Swoosh!"
Zhou Yan's body flickered, like a swift wind and lightning, instantly appearing before the humanoid puppet.
"Clang!"
The next moment, he raised his iron fist and struck the puppet's body fiercely.
But to Zhou Yan's shock, the puppet's body remained completely unharmed.
"How can this be?"
Zhou Yan's eyes widened in astonishment.
He had never imagined this puppet to be so formidable!
Even with his strongest attacks, he couldn't inflict any damage.