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The Science of Cultivation - Chapter 262: Puppets Versus Coalition
🕑 Added 2025-03-18 22:30:01 +0000 UTCAbove the seas west of Sword Saint Isle, the majority of the area was engulfed in dark clouds with intense flashes of light peeking through every so often. The scene could easily be mistaken for a fierce thunderstorm passing through the area. However, the eye of the storm wasn’t fixed like it would naturally be. That was because everything was a result of two powerful cultivators clashing.
The Abductress’ figure was completely hidden in the darkest part of the clouds, but a large army of wooden puppets repeatedly dashed in and out of the fog, launching numerous attacks from different angles by taking advantage of the limited line of sight.
Not even an expert like the Sword Saint could see through the dark smoke. As a result, he was constantly on the move, while countless branches kept extending in the skies around him. These branches would intercept anything launched toward him and would constantly regrow while idle. At the same time, the Sword Saint would occasionally launch pure Qi attacks by swinging his sword around. The unremarkable wave of energy would cause a deafening explosion whenever they were sent into the dark clouds.
Taking in the scene, most spectators would conclude the Abductress was at a disadvantage, but that was only true if you looked at their fight in isolation. Numerous fights were also taking place all around the eye of the storm. While the majority of the participants were either disciples of Sword Saint Isle or the wooden puppets, the more critical fights were between cultivators participating in the Dark Sea Arena and the mysterious allies of the Abductress.
Their strength ranged from the late Foundation Establishment to the peak of the Violet Core Realm. As a result of this large variance in strength, both sides took a drastically different approach to play into their advantages or cover for their weaknesses.
For the side of the defenders, they avoided a scattered free-for-all. The encroaching dark smoke was already hindering their senses. If they split up as well, the chaos that would ensue wasn’t something they could afford. That meant their cultivators were tightly huddled together, forming several groups that worked in unison.
Among these groups, Jian Beiyun from the Nightmoon Valley was naturally leading one of them. He stood at the core of the demonic cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm, while the orthodox cultivators formed their own group, as well as those in the Violet Core Realm.
A constant stream of flashy Qi arts was on full display as they repelled the onslaught of wooden puppets. However, unlike in the Sword Saint’s case, these defenders were on the back foot. No matter how strong or talented they were, none of it mattered before someone in the Spirit Divide Realm.
As the battle dragged on, it started to sway toward the attackers. They consisted mostly of puppets, allowing their human combatants to take breaks when needed. As a result, half a day after the beginning of the skirmish, a few weaker individuals started making mistakes due to their fatigue. Mistakes that cost them their life.
Jian Beiyun was just repelling another attack when a cry of pain sounded out from below him. They were one of the defenders taking on the role as a frontline shield so their allies at the core of the formation could fire off their Qi arts.
“Ten Mo!” Jian Beiyun shouted upon recognizing the man as a member of the Eroding March Pavilion.
The man's arm pierced through the torso of a wooden puppet, but in exchange, he received a similar wound near his heart. Blood leaked from his lips as he struggled to breathe. The people behind him immediately tried to pull him back into the formation so someone could address his wounds, but they were cut off by yet another attack. Jian Beiyun himself didn’t fare any better, as everyone was overwhelmed.
With no one there to assist the poor man, an unseen force yanked him away with terrifying force. Before the eyes of numerous defenders, Ten Mo disappeared into the pitch-dark cloud.
However, that wasn’t the worst part. A few moments later, an ear-piercing shriek came from within the dark clouds. Then, another figure dashed out from within, right at Jian Beiyun. It came at terrifying speed and locked swords with the Nightmoon Valley expert. It gave him a few moments to observe his opponent—yet another puppet, but it was wearing bloodied tanned robes with white embroidery that had designs that were shockingly similar to the one Ten Mo had been wearing.
Jian Beiyun faltered for a split second due to this realization, giving his opponent an opening to stab their arm toward his neck. Reacting late, all Jian Beiyun could do was dodge out of the way, thus failing his role as a shield for the people behind him in the process—or so he thought. The puppet’s attack didn’t even make it halfway when two explosions rang out around the wooden elbows from opposite directions. Within a split second, it ripped the entire arm off, sending it tumbling toward the sea.
“Some Slithering Shadow you are. I’m disappointed.” A quiet voice somehow reached Jian Beiyun’s ears with perfect clarity.
“Thank you, Wang Yongjun, but do you have to whisper into my ear like that? You don’t have to live up to those titles other people give us, you know?”
“Hmph, you want me to yell over all this chaos happening? Not my style.”
While the battle continually grew worse for most of the participants, the Sword Saint wasn’t blind to their peril. He kept track of everything happening, but there was only so much he could do when the Abductress kept him in check.
He had heard numerous rumors about this villainess demonic cultivator, but it was the first time he had encountered her.
“Come on, this is only our first meeting,” he complained as he sent yet another stream of Qi into the abyss. “I’ve heard a lot about you from the great sects and organizations. I know we must’ve stepped on your toes somehow for you to do this, but I promise it wasn’t Sword Saint Isle’s intention. Why don’t we talk it out, and I can compensate you appropriately for whatever we have done?”
In response, hysterical laughter sounded out from every direction.
“I don’t need any apologies. As they say, I’m only interested in having your stupid island pay tenfold for what your disciples have done!”
A weary sigh escaped from the Sword Saint’s mouth as the Abductress lived up to her reputation of being unreasonable.
The Abductress was known to come and go as she pleased, with no permanent residence. It made it almost impossible to track her movements. If anyone came into conflict with her, they would be stuck defending their territory while she could show up at any time. It was why every faction on the mainland of Violet Isle avoided her with a ten-foot pole.
“Is there really no possibility of reconciliation? Our Sword Saint Isle has always been neutral to the infighting of Violet Isle. Our only enemies are the hundred races and their allies. We’re only exhausting ourselves for no reason,” Sword Saint Jun Heng despondently explained.
He received no more responses as another wave of attacks struck him and the other defenders. Seeing this, Jun Heng finally realized there was no hope of de-escalation. He closed his eyes as the tree branches positioned themselves protectively around him, and everything around him began to tremble.
Ripples in the sea quickly turned into large waves. The island behind suffered from an earthquake, as the sword-shaped mountain rumbled. Pieces of debris fell from the summit, then everything was deathly quiet for a split second. It was as if the entire world lost the capability to produce sound.
Then, a soundless explosion created a crater at the summit of the mountain within a split second, and a blurry figure shot toward the fight. It traversed the distance so fast that only the two Spirit Divide Realm cultivators detected it at all. However, the other noticed the aftermath it left behind, notably clearing all the dark clouds in its path.
None of them could even cheer at the disappearance of the annoying smokescreen when an intense light drew their attention. They quickly found that the area where the two apex experts had been fighting turned into a battle between darkness and light. All the dark clouds gathered together in an attempt to push the bright light away. The two energies were locked in a tug-of-war.
It shouldn’t have been anything special to these experienced cultivators on scene, but for some mysterious reason, they were all mesmerized by the spectacle. They couldn’t even gauge how long had passed since the light appeared, as their eyes refused to move away while their thoughts dulled.
After an unknown amount of time, the struggle between the radiant light and the dreary void finally ceased. As a result of it, every single person who was watching coughed out a mouthful of blood and found themselves momentarily blinded. The powerful cultivators recovered quickly, spotting a lone figure hovering in the aftermath.
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Comments
Scrutinizer
These branches would intercept anything launched toward him and /wound/->[would] constantly regrow while idle.
Scrutinizer
And the winner is... some guy from the mainland who just happened to be passing through at that exact moment.
