CHAPTER 77: 72. THE LAST CHANCE (3.8K WORDS - SUBSCRIPTION REQUEST)_2

The shadow puppet car carried a load of corpses.

Judging by the appearance, they were all newly deceased servants.

This stirred up some memories in Song Yan.

Previously, when he was at the Tannery on South Bamboo Peak, anyone who died nearby would be carted away like this.

To mortals, even after death, the soul remains for seven days... and seven days’ time is enough for the Puppet Sect to perform many dirty deeds.

Truly, in life, one serves the Puppet Sect; in death, one becomes its ghost.

Song Yan sighed, ready to tackle the day’s tasks, when he saw that the last shadow puppet cart had stopped right in front of the Shadow Puppet Pavilion.

The disciple controlling the car dismounted and clasped his fists, saying, "Master Song, there’s a batch of new skins, and the Sect Leader wants to know if you can use them."

Song Yan asked curiously, "What new skins?"

The disciple lifted the thick cloth.

Song Yan’s pupils slightly contracted.

By a stroke of luck, the cart was carrying heaps of bloody "One-Tailed Fox Demon Skins."

The disciple said, "These were all hunted by our brothers in recent days. However, these fox demons vary greatly in power; some still at Intermediate Demon Beast level, while others have reached High Tier... Master Song, can you work with them? If you can, I’ll leave them here."

Song Yan’s thoughts flashed like lightning.

A test?

Unlikely.

Yet "One-Tailed Fox Demon Skin" was indeed something he desperately needed. If he were to replicate his old trick of "making a fox demon shadow puppet, while hiding one," it would remain undiscovered.

However...

He squinted slightly and said, "I’ll give it a try!"

The car disciple laughed, "I knew a skin-making genius like Master Song wouldn’t refuse."

Song Yan smiled and nodded, eagerly staring at the pile of skins. Once unloaded, he quickly cleaned them up. He then purposely selected a "one-tailed demon fox shadow puppet similar to a high-tier demon beast" and excitedly began crafting.

...

...

By evening.

A sharp scream pierced the air in Shadow Puppet Pavilion from Yuzhuang, the Little Maiden.

Chaos followed shortly after.

Song Yan’s two disciples rushed out the door, swiftly seeking out the Elder on duty. By the time the Elder arrived at the pavilion, many had already gathered outside.

The Elder stepped inside, only to find Song Yan lying weakly on the bed inside the pavilion, his face pale as gold paper.

"What happened?" The Elder was both hurried and shocked.

He knew of Song Yan’s importance; as the "bridge connecting the Puppet Sect and the Nanwu Sword Sect," nothing could go wrong with him. Otherwise, any bad signal could ruin major plans.

Yuzhuang, the Little Maiden, sobbed, "Master was shadow puppeting, and suddenly seemed to be cursed. Then Master rushed out from the room used for soul summoning, locked the door tightly, and became like this..."

The Elder looked at the bed again and saw Song Yan opening his eyes, weakly rasping, "Don’t... open the door..."

The Elder squinted, dismissed the disciples, and opened the soul summoning room door.

As soon as the door opened, a dark figure lunged forward.

The Elder raised his hand, grabbed fiercely, and crushed it instantly.

Upon a closer look, it was a broken One-Tailed Demon Fox Shadow Puppet.

The Elder instantly understood.

Master Song couldn’t yet craft a "Demon Fox Shadow Puppet," and hence suffered backlash. But it seemed the backlash occurred immediately upon summoning, so the puppet with an evil soul wasn’t strong.

Dealing with the trouble, the Elder approached Song Yan.

Song Yan weakly whispered, "I... am fine... just need some rest..."

The Elder said, "You must not strain yourself like this if you can’t manage it."

Song Yan fell silent.

The Elder continued, "That batch of fox skins is material designated by the Sect Leader for the upcoming battle. I... will send someone to retrieve them later. It’s none of your concern."

"Retrieve... them?" Song Yan rasped, eyes showing reluctance, "Retrieve... to where?"

The Elder laughed, "Here’s some good news: Although Master Shi hasn’t broken through the Crimson Palace Realm, he successfully extended his life, though he can’t leave the Evil Land. This batch of fox skins is meant for him, to make what he needs for the alliance with the Ghost Cultivators. He will craft for us."

Only then did the reluctance in Song Yan’s eyes fade away, and he sighed, "If it were Teacher, he certainly could do it... Teacher is far superior to me."

The Elder said, "You shouldn’t underestimate yourself, you’re still young. Rest well first, recover your health, and then continue skin-making."

With that, the Elder left.

Shortly thereafter, more disciples arrived with an empty shadow puppet cart to take away all of the One-Tailed Fox Demon Skins from the Shadow Puppet Pavilion.

Song Yan silently watched the cart leave.

He thought of Grandma Fox, and how he’d once scavenged in her little treasury.

Though he didn’t know if his scavenging was too harsh, he felt that, at times like these, making a "One-Tailed Fox Demon Shadow Puppet" didn’t seem to be auspicious...

...

...

In the following days, Song Yan recuperated in his Cave Mansion, occasionally wandering the nearby mountain peaks alone.

During this time, he found an opportunity and, with some luck, managed to hunt a demon fox akin to a high-tier demon beast, then crafted a "Deformed Soul Shadow Puppet."

...

After two more days, Song Yan was "recovered."

He returned to the main peak of Paperman Peak.

At this point, there were already very few disciples exchanging Profound Jade in front of Paper Money Tower, so Song Yan directly stepped forward, presented his identity plate, and said, "Exchange for Profound Jade."

The disciple looked and blinked wide-eyed.

"All of your 256,000-plus Contribution Points exchanged?"

"Exchange."

"Then I should exchange Profound Crystals for you, Master Song. One Profound Crystal is worth ten small Profound Jades, five Great Profound Jades. How does that sound?"

"Agreed."

Song Yan understood well the basic exchange rates.

A small Profound Jade can provide 1 year of normal Cave Mansion cultivation even where there is no Profound Qi, and also offers additional Profound Qi during cultivation sessions in a Cave Mansion.

A Great Profound Jade, 2 years.

Profound Crystal, 10 years.

Elsewhere, Profound Crystals might need to be weighed, but those from Puppet Sect are standardized.

The Paper Money Tower disciple muttered calculations: "256,484 Contribution Points, I’ll exchange them for 80 Profound Crystals, 20 Great Profound Jades, 16 Small Profound Jades, and half of the Small Profound Jades will be with Profound Jade Beans, so that’s 800 beans."

Song Yan nodded.

Though his storage space isn’t large, it is enough to hold those Profound Crystals and Jades alongside the shadow puppets.

Just as he was waiting, someone walked out from Paper Money Tower, dressed in a white robe, exuding a chilling aura with a touch of inexplicable nervousness.

Song Yan looked over and clasped his hands, "Brother Yin."

The person was none other than Gu Huangzi’s other direct disciple — Yin Wutai.

Yin Wutai sneered, "Junior Brother, you’re exchanging so many Profound Crystals, are you planning not to return?"

Song Yan replied, "Skin-making is my lifelong passion; I’ve already regarded this place as home. Why would Brother Yin say such a thing? Moreover, with the upcoming alliance between Nanwu Sword Sect and our Puppet Sect, how could I possibly not return?"

Yin Wutai frowned, "Then what are you planning to buy with all those Profound Crystals?"

Song Yan said, "That’s none of Brother Yin’s concern."

Yin Wutai said no more, smirking and nodding, as he noticed the disciple watching him eagerly, Yin Wutai waved and said, "Don’t you help your uncle with the exchange?"

Finally the disciple hastily fetched a box and handed it to Song Yan.

After counting the contents, Song Yan saluted and swiftly left.

Yin Wutai watched his retreating figure, chuckled bizarrely, and refrained from further commentary, turning back and only after several steps murmuring, "Junior Brother, buy what you can, because afterward... there may be no chance to go out, hehehe..."