Ten people quickly scattered in a fan shape, surrounding the puppets. Their fierce attacks immediately poured down like a torrential rain.
In an instant, the lights of spells intertwined and flashed, and the sounds of explosions were incessant.
What seemed like an easy fight for Fang Zheng now began to make him realize he had underestimated them.
Though these people looked a bit foolish at first glance, their coordination was impeccable. The transition between offense and defense was smooth, with almost no flaws, causing Fang Zheng to fall into a difficult battle, clearly struggling.
He couldn't help it; in his previous life, he had lived in an ordinary world and never really learned combat techniques. Now, facing these battle-hardened cultivators, the vast gap in real combat experience became glaringly obvious.
In just a short time, three of the four puppets Fang Zheng controlled had been reduced to broken, motionless heaps on the ground. The enemy, however, only suffered a few superficial injuries thanks to their seamless teamwork.
"You brought this upon yourselves," Fang Zheng's cold, bone-chilling voice rang out as he controlled the last remaining puppet, exuding a terrifying chill.
As soon as he spoke, he severed the connection with the puppet. His aura suddenly changed, preparing to step in himself and teach these people a lesson.
Meanwhile, Xia Wan Ning and the others cautiously watched the still lifeless puppet on the ground, unwilling to act recklessly.
"I'll go take a look," Su Yu said impatiently, ignoring Xia Wan Ning's attempt to stop him. He quickly picked up a branch and rushed forward, poking the puppet.
It felt hard. Dropping the branch, he reached out and touched it with his hand, a chill running through his fingers.
"Captain, captain! This person is dead!" Su Yu shouted, excitedly calling out to Xia Wan Ning.
Xia Wan Ning furrowed her brows, a look of confusion and wariness crossing her face as she walked up to investigate.
When she got closer, indeed, as Su Yu had said, the puppet showed no signs of life. It was merely a lifeless thing.
"Captain, these seem to be puppets," said Ma Yichen, the scout of their team, as he emerged from the crowd.
He walked up, bent over, and with great effort, lifted the puppet. Pointing to a black rod embedded in it, he explained, "Captain, look, based on my years of experience in scouting and studying various magical items, these black rods are likely the key to remotely controlling these puppets."
Just as Ma Yichen was about to continue explaining his deductions, a powerful surge of spiritual energy suddenly approached from afar, Fang Zheng had arrived.
"Universal Heaven Draw!"
A powerful gravitational force instantly surged toward Ma Yichen, warping the air around him into visible ripples.
The others, seeing this, were stunned and immediately tried to rush forward to intervene. However, the vast difference in strength between Fang Zheng and them was like an insurmountable chasm, leaving them unable to help.
Ma Yichen felt a terrifying force pulling him in, his body uncontrollably flying toward Fang Zheng. Struggling desperately, he flailed his arms in vain.
In the blink of an eye, Ma Yichen was pulled to Fang Zheng's side. Fang Zheng reached out and gripped his neck, lifting him off the ground.
Ma Yichen's legs dangled helplessly, his hands desperately trying to pry Fang Zheng's fingers away. His face turned bright red, his eyes bulging from lack of oxygen, and a hissing sound escaped his mouth.
Fang Zheng looked coldly at the crowd, still gripping Ma Yichen's neck.
Xia Wan Ning, her face full of urgency, shouted, "Who are you? Let him go!"
"Oh? Let him go, huh? Sure," Fang Zheng's lips curled into a slight, mocking smile.
Then, he tightened his grip on Ma Yichen's neck. The cultivator felt his neck snap as though a massive vice had clamped down on him.
With a sharp crack, Ma Yichen's neck was broken, his eyes widening in shock, his bulging eyeballs nearly bursting. His limbs went limp as he lost all signs of life.
Looking at the lifeless body in his hands, Fang Zheng formed a chakra black rod to control the corpse, storing it in his system space.
"Old Ma... Bastard, I killed you!" Zhang Yuting's eyes turned bloodshot, his tear-filled gaze locked onto Fang Zheng.
Ma Yichen had been his closest friend for over thirty years. They had grown up together as orphans, supporting each other through hardship. The bond they shared was stronger than mere brotherhood.
Now, Ma Yichen lay dead before him, and Zhang Yuting's heart was filled with a burning desire for vengeance. He couldn't bear the thought of his only brother being taken from him like this, and he was ready to risk everything for revenge.
With a furious roar, Zhang Yuting disregarded the captain's warning and charged at Fang Zheng.
"Fool," Fang Zheng muttered under his breath, watching Zhang Yuting come at him. He could hardly understand why people who knew they were outmatched still chose to rush toward their deaths.
"Since you want to die, I'll grant you that."
"Quick! Help Zhang Yuting! Contact the security bureau for backup!" Xia Wan Ning urgently ordered her companions, not willing to watch her team member perish needlessly.
Without waiting for a response, she soared into the air, intent on helping.
"Flame Crush Palm!"
Xia Wan Ning shouted, drawing upon all her spiritual power to rapidly condense a massive fireball in front of her chest. She then struck it with a palm, and countless fire palms shot out, roaring toward Fang Zheng.
However, just as the flames were about to strike, they suddenly halted and were blasted away by an invisible force, dissipating into the air.
Fang Zheng gave a cold smile, slowly descending from the sky, his gaze icy as he looked at the remaining opponents.
At that moment, Zhang Yuting roared and hurled two explosive talismans toward Fang Zheng.
The talismans burned quickly in midair but were easily deflected by Fang Zheng's technique, flying off into the distance and exploding in the air, leaving only a cloud of smoke.
"Yama!"
Suddenly, a tear in space appeared behind Fang Zheng. The head of Yama emerged from the rift, a terrifying figure with a dark blue face and sharp fangs. His massive head was covered in cracks, and his blood-red mouth was half of his face. His purple-black tongue coiled like a serpent.
With the Reincarnation Eye etched in his forehead, his eyes were wide open, his chains rattling as he crawled from the ground with an eerie wind howling around him, resembling an embodiment of death.