Chapter 132: Entrusted to Another

Within the nameless, forested mountains, inside the illusion formation, Liao Yonghuai, who had been sitting cross-legged with his eyes loosely shut, suddenly snapped them open. At that moment, his broad face twisted into a mask of agony, his eyes bloodshot. He clutched his head as if enduring excruciating torture, writhing on the ground.

After a few moments, his face finally settled back into a semblance of its original shape, and Liao managed to steady himself.

"What kind of flame was that? Jiang Chen must possess a technique that is an absolute bane to me."

His voice was rasping and dry. As he looked toward the direction of Muyu Island, his face was filled with terror.

His silver puppet possessed a unique nature; as long as its core remained intact, ordinary spells could not harm it. Jiang Chen’s sword strike earlier had severed one of the puppet's arms, but that was nothing to the construct. However, the blood-colored fire Jiang Chen unleashed at the end was entirely different.

"No, that spell counters me too effectively. If it can do that to the silver puppet, the gold puppet will be no different."

Overcome by dread and not daring to linger—even with his head throbbing as if it were splitting apart—Liao Yonghuai cleaned up the traces around him and retreated immediately. At this moment, the threat to his life completely eclipsed the greed in his heart. The peach wood spirit treasures were now the last thing on his mind.

The gold and silver puppets were special; in a sense, they had become extensions of his own body. When he piloted the silver puppet, he had channeled a portion of his consciousness into it. Now that the puppet was destroyed, that fragment of his soul had suffered a devastating blow, leaving his spirit wounded.

Meanwhile, on Muyu Island, Jiang Chen frowned as he looked at the silver puppet, which had completely melted into a puddle of silver liquid, its mystical properties lost.

"It truly is a puppet, yet far more profound than standard ones. If my senses are correct, this puppet was indeed carrying a portion of a cultivator's consciousness."

As he pondered, Jiang Chen channeled his Soul-Illumination technique, attempting to capture the lingering soul fragments, but the harvest was meager.

"Although the person behind this did not come in person this time, their soul has definitely been injured, and not lightly."

Looking at the faint, flickering wisp of soul energy in his palm, Jiang Chen confirmed his suspicions.

"To divide a portion of one's consciousness and anchor it to a puppet—this method is truly profound. While I can tear apart my own soul through spirit-infusion, I cannot freely anchor it to other objects."

As his thoughts collided, Jiang Chen tried to further comprehend the mysteries of the soul wisp, feeling curious about this method of projection. Using the wisp as a guide, he pushed his perception to the limit, yet he failed to detect the presence of the mastermind.

"Black and White Elders, take your men to search the surroundings of Muyu Island and investigate any abnormalities."

Withdrawing his perception, Jiang Chen issued his command. Upon hearing this, the Black and White Elders, who had been waiting outside, immediately bowed in acknowledgment.

***

Meanwhile, the figure of Rat Tianjiao walked in from outside.

Ever since deciding to lure the snake out of its hole, Jiang Chen had made preparations. Beyond using the power of Taoyao to monitor most of Muyu Island, he had also released Rat Tianjiao’s rat swarm to act as a supplement to his surveillance network.

*Squeak, squeak, squeak.* Arriving before Jiang Chen, Rat Tianjiao reported the intelligence it had gathered. Once Jiang Chen had identified the unique nature of the silver puppet, it had immediately dispatched its subordinates to scour the area around Muyu Island, but they had found no suspicious tracks.

"It seems the opponent is hiding even further away than I anticipated."

After hearing the report, Jiang Chen fell into deep thought.

Although he had easily suppressed the silver puppet, its strength was not trivial—at the very least, it was stronger than Luo Qiao had been. Most importantly, its unique nature meant that, caught off guard, an ordinary practitioner in the early stages of Qi Refinement could easily have fallen victim to it.

From this, it was highly probable that the mastermind’s cultivation was at the early stage of Qi Refinement. As for the late stage, the possibility was infinitesimal; if the opponent truly possessed that level of strength, they would have attacked Muyu Island directly.

"Although the chance of finding them is slim, it is still worth a try."

Glancing at the soul energy in his hand and giving a few instructions to Rat Tianjiao, Jiang Chen rode the wind and departed from Muyu Island.

With the wisp of soul energy as a guide, so long as the opponent lacked secret arts to conceal their soul’s aura, he could detect their tracks within a certain range, though that range was not particularly vast.

The following morning, carrying a hint of fatigue, Jiang Chen returned to Muyu Island.

After a night of investigation, the members of the Taiping Sect had combed the area around the island, yet they had gained little. Jiang Chen, too, had failed to locate the culprit.

"The opponent’s soul is injured and will not heal easily; they are unlikely to strike again in the short term. If possible, we should keep an eye on the Yanhui Market; they might go there to seek treasures that can repair soul damage. We could even try to set a trap."

"Otherwise, there is the tedious method: exhaustive screening, step by step."

Returning to his courtyard, Jiang Chen sank into contemplation. Wang Yuan, the Black and White Elders, and others stood to the side, all with their heads bowed, waiting in silence.

"Wang Yuan, stop waiting. Capture all the spies of the Taiping Sect, try to trace them back to the source, and find the original root."

Recalling his thoughts, Jiang Chen issued his order. Upon hearing this, Wang Yuan bowed immediately. He had already secretly locked onto those spies; he had merely refrained from acting sooner for fear of alerting the enemy.

***

After Wang Yuan departed, Jiang Chen turned his gaze toward the Black and White Elders.

"The opponent’s soul is injured, likely severely. They may not have left Qinghe County yet. Begin a county-wide search immediately. Pay attention to any abnormalities and have the various clans cooperate. If they refuse, handle it as you see fit."

Although he knew the possibility of finding the mastermind with only the Taiping Sect’s resources was slim, Jiang Chen still wanted to try.

Upon hearing this, the Black and White Elders did not ask questions and immediately set out to execute the order.

That their Sect Master had been ambushed was the most significant event for the entire Taiping Sect. While they lacked the reach elsewhere, conducting a search of Qinghe County was entirely normal; after all, in the current Qinghe County, the Taiping Sect held up half the sky.

After everyone had left, Jiang Chen looked at Rat Tianjiao.

Meeting Jiang Chen’s gaze, Rat Tianjiao felt its heart skip a beat for no apparent reason, a sense of foreboding washing over it.

"The preparations are nearly complete. It is time to attempt to elevate your bloodline."

After a brief pause, Jiang Chen spoke. Hearing this, Rat Tianjiao finally understood the source of its foreboding.

For a demonic beast, elevating one's bloodline was never an easy task. It had actually tried during this period, having consumed no small amount of the Wolf-Poison Vine’s leaves and stems. Each time, it had been in excruciating pain, yet there had been no results.

While the sap of the Wolf-Poison Vine could help wild beasts awaken their bloodlines, it was of little use to a beast that had already awakened.

Thinking of the suffering it had endured, Rat Tianjiao instinctively wanted to shrink back, but seeing the expectation in Jiang Chen's eyes, it suppressed its instinct.

"Squeak!"

With a resolute look, Rat Tianjiao puffed out its chest.

The recent events had also spurred it on; it felt that it was becoming less and less capable of helping Jiang Chen. It desperately wanted to improve its strength, and bloodline elevation was indeed an effective method. After all, compared to human cultivators, demonic beasts relied far more on their bloodlines.

Watching Rat Tianjiao, Jiang Chen felt a sense of relief. If it had truly been unwilling to try, it would essentially have been destined for elimination.