Chapter 506: Chapter 2 Ningning Learns to Use Stratagems
The thatched cottage had an entrance leading underground. Together they followed the subterranean passage, and at last, a light appeared ahead.
It turned out to be on the cliffside of a valley.
Strictly speaking, the valley here and the fully developed land they had just passed were not the sa world, but more like the relationship between the second and first floors of a building.
If it weren’t for the deepening resurgence of Spiritual Energy to start up the “elevator”, no matter how much you wandered on the first floor, you would never reach the second floor.
The Zhendong Army had sent drones ahead of ti to scout the terrain of the valley in this world, with rivers winding around it like silk ribbons, lush with beautiful trees and orchids, and nurous houses scattered amidst them.
The military manor’s research experts believed that within the Wuyi Mountain Secret Realm, there must have once been a sect skilled in growing dicinal herbs and alchemy. The cottage on the first layer was where the guest receptionist lived, used to welco outsiders, while the second layer was for the daily practice and dwelling of the sect’s cultivators.
According to docunts obtained from other mysterious realms, with the coming of the Age of Dharma Decline, many cultivation sects, to escape the increasingly thin spiritual environnt outside, fled to the mysterious realms and Grotto Heavens rich in Spiritual Energy. Unfortunately, what followed the Age of Dharma Decline was the Era of Dharma Extinction with a complete absence of Spiritual Energy where cultivators no longer appeared, and sects one by one t their demise.
Only the “security restrictions” left within the secret realms went back into operation after the Spiritual Energy began to revive.
Yan Yu looked down from the cliff and saw many puppets moving back and forth within the valley. So were pruning the jade trees and orchids; so were repairing the walls of houses; others were practicing swordsmanship, giving off quite the vibe of robots.
According to the intelligence provided by Jiang Weiming, reconnaissance drones, once they approached, would be attacked by the puppets’ Sword Control, so they were unable to get near the ground.
“Let’s go,” he ordered casually, “Ling Yun will command.”
“Then let’s send one up to test the waters,” Chen Lingyun communicated through a transmission, “Ningning, you take the lead.”
“Alright.” Lin Ning imdiately began controlling her sword to descend.
“Flight restriction, about 3 ters in height,” she reported via transmission as she moved down along the mountain’s terrain. “The further down we move, the denser the Spiritual Energy becos, very noticeable.”
“Hmm,” Yan Yu was not surprised.
The global resurgence of Spiritual Energy this ti far exceeded the norm, and even soone like him who was sowhat insensitive to the external Spiritual Energy could sense a significant change in the environnt. Considering that the second layer of the Wuyi Mountain Secret Realm was the place with the most concentrated Spiritual Energy in the six eastern provinces, what Lin Ning said was “very noticeable” was within expectations.
If it weren’t for the dense Spiritual Energy, we wouldn’t even bother coming here!
Lin Ning landed at the edge of the valley, and about fifty ters ahead, a puppet was using a Flying Sword to build a lawn.
With each pass of the brilliant sword light, the grass clippings fell in showers, leaving behind a lawn as neat as if it had been trimd by a mower.
After observing for two or three seconds, Lin Ning decisively chose to approach for a probe.
Cloud Dividing Eight Trigrams Step, activate!
As she rapidly closed in, the puppet suddenly looked up. The Flying Sword, previously tending the lawn, soared up and charged towards Lin Ning.
So quick! Those left on the cliff were all startled.
The puppet’s sword light flew faster than the typical cultivator’s Sword Control Technique by approximately twenty percent. Yet, Lin Ning was fearless. Her hand ford a sword technique, and her Green Bamboo Sword flew out of its sword box, executing the move Cang Song Ying Ke to intercept.
The swords clashed, ringing out crisply. The Puppet Flying Sword took the path of Phoenix Cos to the Ceremony, to which Lin Ning imdiately responded with Bai Niao Chao Feng, striking fiercely, sending a string of bright sparks flying.
The puppet had no fingers, so its sword techniques were indiscernible, forcing Lin Ning to focus intently on the puppet’s Flying Sword. Seeing the blade tilt down in a move like Wild Goose Falling on the Flat Sand, she switched to Overlord Splitting Mountains, a downward chop hitting the center of the sword’s balance, destabilizing the Flying Sword.
From above, Su Yunjin watched. Having frequently practiced swordsmanship with Lin Ning, she had developed good observatory skills and could tell that the puppet’s swordsmanship wasn’t sophisticated, following a by-the-book approach and technically overwheld by Ningning.
With such a puppet, if I went down, I, too, could win…
Just as she thought this, Lin Ning initiated another move, White Rainbow Across the Sky, which was barely blocked by the opposing Phoenix Dance to the Nine Heavens. With a dull thud, the Green Bamboo Sword, utterly incapable in a head-on struggle, was sent flying by the Puppet Flying Sword.
Everyone: ???
“Damn it!” Lin Ning was the first to react, but she was taken aback.
The Shakse Sword Box she carried on her back, a treasure from the Secret Realm of Li Palace, could attach three layers of sharp energy to the Flying Sword, making its attack significantly more powerful than that of ordinary Sword Control. However, each collision consud one layer.
Now, after three clashes, all the sharp energy on the sword had dissipated—she had forgotten about this buff and continued to foolishly duel with that puppet, revealing her true form in the next second.
Although the swordsmanship of the puppet was extrely crude, its True Yuan was so vigorous it was terrifying, like a Qi Sect master with plain sword techniques but astonishing internal strength. Even if you could see through his moves, you still had to worry about whether you could withstand them!
Quickly reassessing the situation, Lin Ning imdiately changed her tactics again, this ti shifting from offense to defense. She pulled her Green Bamboo Sword closer to her side, provoking the puppet’s Sword Control to attack.
The puppet’s Sword Control had no spirituality and, as expected, fell right into the trap. The Flying Sword executed a move called White Rainbow Across the Sky, aiming for Lin Ning.
Lin Ning perford the Eight Directional Night Battle, barely blocking the Flying Sword’s attack and retreating continuously to avoid its sharpness. The relentless puppet’s Sword Control pressed on, delivering a White Crane Spreads Wings, sweeping towards her.
At this mont, the Green Bamboo Sword was still reeling from the aftershock of the last collision. If she were to force it around for a close defense, her guard would surely be breached. If the puppet were to deliver a third strike then, with Lin Ning’s guard wide open and the Green Bamboo Sword unable to assist, she would be in an inescapable predicant.
Yan Yu saw everything clearly from above, his hand already forming a sword technique, preparing to send the fastest Liangyi Sword to the rescue. But he saw that Lin Ning didn’t continue to defend; instead, she used the critical mont to execute the Cloud Dividing Eight Trigrams Step—a ghostly sidestep with a backward lean of her body—rolling on the ground like a falling Green Bamboo to narrowly avoid the slash of the puppet’s Flying Sword.
With the sword technique in her hand continuing without pause, the Green Bamboo Sword turned into a streak of light, not turning back to save her, but instead striking towards the distant puppet.
Only then did everyone realize: Lin Ning had switched from attack to defense, step by step, luring the puppet to chase with the Flying Sword, all to separate the puppet from its weapon long enough that she could suddenly activate the Green Bamboo Sword to strike!
The Green Bamboo Sword attacked at full speed with White Rainbow Across the Sky. The puppet hurriedly maneuvered the Flying Sword to rescue itself, and though its Flying Sword was further away, relying on its abounding True Yuan for speed, it nearly caught up with the Green Bamboo Sword—missing by about 0.3 seconds, the Green Bamboo Sword pierced through the puppet’s body, cutting off the supply of Spiritual Power, causing it to fall to the ground instantly.
Lin Ning also felt a lingering fear; she hadn’t expected the opponent’s sword speed to be so fast, nearly allowing the rescue to succeed.
She manipulated the light of the Green Bamboo Sword to lift the fallen Flying Sword, flying it back to her hand, and then returned to the mountain cliff to report to the captain.
Yan Yu took the Flying Sword, scanning it with his Divine Sense.
“A very ordinary Flying Sword,” he quickly concluded. “The reason it suppressed you earlier isn’t the sword itself, but the puppet.”
“Mmm,” Lin Ning nodded and said, “The quality of the puppet’s True Yuan is definitely not at the Marrow Cleansing Stage.”
“Late Hua Fu Stage, I’d say,” Yan Yu judged more accurately. “They are not unassailable, just a bit troubleso.”
“Because there are too many of them,” Chen Lingyun said with a smile.
In terms of the quality and capacity of True Yuan, the Hua Fu Stage of the Foundation Establishnt Realm’s third rank is certainly far superior to that of the second rank, the Marrow Cleansing Stage.
Luckily, these puppets lacked advanced spiritual intelligence, and their swordsmanship was also quite diocre. Thus, soone like Lin Ning, by employing a bit of strategy and cunning, could indeed overco the stronger with the weaker—but, co to think of it, Ningning actually using tactical maneuvers? Unbelievable!
“What’s the next step?” Lin Ning asked.
“No more wasting ti,” Yan Yu estimated the number of puppets in the entire valley and made the call decisively, “Lure them out and kill them wave by wave.”
“How many in a wave?” Chen Lingyun purposely asked.
“As many as we can draw out,” Yan Yu replied.
“Can we win if we attract too many?” Lin Ning asked worriedly. “Even if their swordsmanship is inadequate, the True Yuan driving them is of a Hua Mansion Realm Sword Immortal’s level, right? If they were to surge forward all at once, can we really beat them?”
“We have Ruoxi,” Yan Yu said.
Xie Ruoxi was taken aback for a mont and then proudly puffed out her chest.
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