Just as the two sides were about to clash, Elder Wu suddenly stopped and said, "You are indeed very courageous! However, I do not wish to cause a major war between our sects. How about this? I no longer want the White Fox Demon Crystal. Please only transfer the White Fox's spirit to me. I will still pay you a hundred thousand crystals for it."
Fellow Daoist Danyang was stunned. "White fox spirit?"
"Indeed, fellow Daoist, you don't know much about puppetry, do you?" Elder Wu said sarcastically. "My Demonic Puppetry Sect is renowned for this art, and I, Wu, have practiced it for many years and have some experience. Generally speaking, puppetry involves first refining a puppet using artifacts, and then using a crystal as the core to drive the puppet. What sets my Demonic Puppetry Sect apart from other puppetry sects is that, in addition to the crystal, we can also seal a trace of the demonic beast's spirit into the puppet, allowing the puppet to mimic some of the demonic beast's skills in life."
Taoist Danyang didn't know much about puppetry, but he had heard that the Demon Puppet Sect had a book called "Blood Puppet Technique", which contained various puppet secrets, and even recorded the rumored spirit puppets that could give birth to self-awareness.
Elder Wu continued, "My original intention was to take both the white fox's demon crystal and spirit. However, since you refuse, I will settle for the next best thing: just the white fox's spirit. Demonic beasts that can give birth to spirits are rare, and while demon crystals are precious, they can barely be replaced by crystals. Fellow Daoist Danyang, how about this proposal? The demon crystals are yours, the spirit is mine, and I will compensate you with 100,000 crystals."
Taoist Danyang couldn't help but be moved. He was only interested in the crystal core of the fox demon, but he didn't know much about the use of its spirit.
Seeing the other party hesitate, Elder Wu continued to persuade him, "I'm afraid you don't know how to extract the demon spirit. Once the spirit leaves the body for three breaths, it will naturally disappear. Since it is useless to you and there is no way to get it back, it is just a waste. It is truly a waste of natural resources."
Taoist Danyang couldn't help but agree. After all, the other party was a cultivator of the same rank. He had already exhausted his mana and energy after the fierce battle, and if he attacked, he might not be able to defeat him. Just as he was about to agree, he suddenly felt something. Something was wrong. Elder Wu was notorious, responsible for numerous murders and treasure-stealing. Many members of major righteous sects had fallen tragically at his hands. How could he have worried about provoking a war between the righteous and evil factions? He knew nothing about the method of extracting essence and soul, so how could he be sure that the other party wouldn't play tricks?
Thinking of this, Taoist Danyang looked around and said, "Elder Wu, you are in great spirits. You have been talking for so long, but your helpers haven't arrived yet?"
Elder Wu was stunned for a moment, his expression suddenly turning ferocious. "Hehe, fellow Daoist, aren't you thinking the same thing? However, I'm afraid your companion won't be able to make it. I've already sent word to all the sect masters to come out. I'm afraid she's already been killed by the sword. Hehe, fellow Daoist, cultivation is not easy. Hand over the demon fox now, and I, Wu, can still spare your life."
It turned out that a few months ago, Fairy Ying from Lingxiao Pavilion, another righteous sect in Yan State, wanted to refine a treasure and urgently needed thousand-year-old ice jade, so she asked her good friend Taoist Danyang to go to the far north to collect ice jade.
The two stayed there for several months and collected a lot of ice jade. Just as they were about to return home, they suddenly saw a thunderstorm in the sky.
Both of them were experts and immediately recognized that this was a demon beast undergoing a tribulation. They rushed over after hearing the sound and found the fox demon in an ice valley.
The two of them hid aside quietly. The thunder tribulation was so fierce that all the treasures on the white fox were destroyed, and it barely managed to survive.
After the demon beast had passed its tribulation, it was at its weakest, and the two rushed out to kill it. A fierce battle ensued, and the outcome was far beyond their expectations. Although the white fox had no magic weapon, it was extremely slippery. Even with their powerful attacks, they were unable to capture it, and it escaped.
The two chased the white fox all the way. The white fox had very advanced escape techniques and was good at setting up traps, which almost let the fox escape several times. During the chase, the two discovered that the white fox had probably practiced for a thousand years and was undergoing the calamity of transforming into a human form and gaining wisdom. The crystal of such a monster was a priceless treasure. The two were very excited and gave chase to it relentlessly.
They chased all the way to the Da Cang Mountains. Seeing that it could not shake off the pursuers, the white fox plunged into a thousand-foot cold pool and could not come out. The two tried to dive into the pool, but after entering the water for a hundred feet, the cold air was too strong and they could not go deeper.
The two of them discussed it and decided to have Fairy Ying return to the mountain to borrow the sect's treasure, the Kangyang Pearl, to control the negative energy of the cold pond, while Taoist Danyang would stay here to monitor the white fox.
Taoist Danyang connected several magic arrays on the surface of the pond and meditated on Deer Head Peak. Shortly after Fairy Ying left, the white fox realized that only one of its pursuers remained. Guessing that the other must have gone to get reinforcements, it immediately broke out of the array and attempted to escape. A fierce battle ensued, severely damaging Taoist Danyang's vitality. Finally, he used the sect's secret treasure, the Seven-Order Exquisite Pagoda, to capture the other.
From what Elder Wu said, Taoist Danyang seemed to have discovered Fairy Ying and informed the masters of the Demon Puppet Sect to plot against Fairy Ying. At this moment, Elder Wu was delaying with him, naturally to stabilize himself and wait for support from the sect.
However, on second thought, Elder Wu was extremely selfish. He wouldn't necessarily report the White Fox to the sect if he spotted it. If that were the case, the White Fox Demon Crystal wouldn't have fallen into his hands. Furthermore, if all eight elders of the Demonic Puppet Sect were to attack, they could split into two groups: four against Fairy Ying and four against him, guaranteeing victory. Thinking this way, the most likely scenario was that Elder Wu had simply summoned one or two helpers to hold Fairy Ying back while he personally rushed to the cold pond to deal with him.
If he was lucky, Fairy Ying would defeat the opponent's helpers and they would come to help him, but if Fairy Ying was defeated, he would have to face the siege of two masters.
In an instant, Taoist Danyang had thoroughly analyzed the situation. He weighed it all and decided that any further stalemate would only put him in a disadvantageous position. Without another word, he raised his palm, and the flying sword in the air hummed and suddenly transformed into a streak of white light, hurtling down.
Elder Wu let out a "Hey", a black shadow flashed, and he nodded his hands repeatedly. Four streams of black air sank into the four black tiger puppets. As soon as the black air entered their bodies, the four puppets suddenly opened their mouths, and four red rays as thick as buckets shot out, hitting the Tiangang Sword that had just flown there.
The Tiangang Sword was knocked somersaulting mid-air, yet remained unscathed. A flash of white light, like lightning, slashed across the neck of a black tiger puppet, sending sparks flying. Elder Wu was shocked to see the three-inch-deep cut on the puppet. The Taiji Sect's sword-wielding technique was truly unique. He had no idea what the opponent's sword was made of. His own black tiger puppet, forged from Yangshan Xuantie, had also been wounded by the sword.
Taoist Danyang muttered softly, his Tiangang Sword surging upwards and downwards, attacking like a violent storm. He knew his mana was severely depleted, and a prolonged battle would be disadvantageous, so he launched an all-out attack. Elder Wu was caught off guard, commanding his four Black Tiger puppets to parry repeatedly. While the puppets were powerful, their weakness lay in their lack of agility. In the blink of an eye, all four were covered in wounds. One puppet had sustained a severe neck injury, preventing it from spitting out crimson flames.
Elder Wu was in a panic and shouted angrily, "Damn Taoist, don't be so complacent!", and pursed his lips and let out a sharp scream. Suddenly, a dark cloud appeared behind him and flew towards Taoist Danyang. Taoist Danyang took a look and saw a group of black poisonous bees. These poisonous bees were obviously puppets. Although their wings were not spread, they flew very fast and were close to him in the blink of an eye. The poisonous bees had a two-inch long stinger on their heads, shining with blue light, which was obviously highly poisonous. It seemed that this stinger was specifically designed to break the cultivator's body protection true qi.
Taoist Danyang flicked his sleeves, and the beads flew up. A purple light spurted out, covering the group of poisonous bees. This purple light had the ability to melt a hundred pieces of gold. It was a famous magic weapon of Tai Chi. The group of poisonous bees were covered by the purple light, but with just a slight obstruction, they broke through the purple light and continued to fly over.
Taoist Danyang flew back, and two talismans flew out, transforming into two beams of light: one chilling, the other blazing. The venomous bees, struck by the cold, froze and fell, while the bees in the blazing light remained unharmed, charging forward with fangs and claws bared. Taoist Danyang raised his hand and crushed another ice talisman. The remaining bees froze as soon as they reached him.
Elder Wu sneered repeatedly, "Let me see how many magical weapons and treasures you have." He was famous for his puppets, and he carried quite a few puppets with him. These puppets only consumed crystals to drive them, but his own magic power was not much consumed, which was very beneficial for long battles.