CHAPTER 58: CHAPTER 58: THE ENTRY CALLED DEMON PUPPET

Chen Xu thought: The Mud Ball Daoist Soldier isn’t really growing taller in the wind.

Combining what Little Mouse Ashi said earlier: "Your puppet isn’t suppressed by the Shejun Ruins..."

That’s it, the Mud Ball Daoist Soldier is a dead object, unaffected by the "Shejun Ruins" pressure.

So who is being suppressed?

At that moment, an answer kept popping up in Chen Xu’s mind: "When did the Daoist Soldier grow? It’s actually me who has shrunk!"

It’s not the Daoist Soldier that’s being suppressed, but Chen Xu himself.

The moment he stepped into the Mouse Demon’s cave, Chen Xu’s body was mysteriously pressed by the "Shejun Ruins," unknowingly shrinking.

He shrank, which is why the cave appeared so grand and imposing in his eyes.

The Mouse Demon became a giant mouse as tall as half a person, and the Cat Demon was even larger, its ferocious visage almost filling the entire cave.

But the truth is, the mouse hole is small, and the cat body is large, as it has always been.

Just like the natural blooming of spring flowers, and the falling of autumn leaves, it’s a law of nature.

When Chen Xu understood this, the feeling inside him was both wondrous and profound.

Innate Qi circulated within his body, and the originally subtle and hazy perception suddenly got an indescribable enhancement.

Daoist Soldiers charged ahead, wielding long spears like dragons emerging from a cave.

The mangy cat lacked agility but had sharp claws to pounce and fend off attacks.

Occasionally emitting a mournful cat cry, its strange rhythm made Little Mouse suddenly cry out painfully, "My head hurts!"

Little Mouse squeaked, suddenly remembering something, quickly ran back to the elder mouse Master Jiu, anxiously shouting, "Master Jiu, why are you bleeding again? Wake up quickly..."

The cave shook, and Master Jiu’s life or death was unknown.

Chen Xu urged the Innate Qi within, capturing a moment of subtle inspiration.

At this moment, the Daoist Soldier thrust forward with its long spear.

Like a dragon rising from the sea, and stars falling from the sky.

A violent wind suddenly burst from the spear tip, blowing forward, intending to push back the mangy cat, but then an odd bell sound was heard: "Ding..."

Then, Chen Xu saw.

The mangy cat lifted its patchy chin, where a dark red bell, like a blood rust, was tied.

At the sight of this bell, Chen Xu immediately felt a warning in his heart.

But the sudden change was too fast.

In a flash, the bell chimed.

"Meow!"

The mangy cat opened its sharp teeth, and then, a mottled cat skin... was peeled off from the cat’s body like a coat.

Once the cat skin hit the ground, what was revealed was a skeletal white cat skeleton.

It was not a mangy cat at all; it was a cat skeleton, donning a ragged cat skin, pretending to be alive.

When the cat skeleton shed its rotten skin, its stature became flexibly agile, now only half the height of the cave.

It leaped, its skeleton twisting in mid-air; it somehow evaded the Daoist Soldier’s spear.

Then, with a flicker of white shadow, in the next instant, the cat skeleton appeared in front of Chen Xu like lightning.

With a massive white shadow overhead, the tiny Chen Xu stood below, as minuscule as an ant.

"Meow!"

The skeleton howled, mournful yet joyous.

But unbeknownst to it, Chen Xu had long awaited this moment.

Chen Xu did not anticipate the cat skeleton’s intention, but as the cat skeleton shed its rotten skin, he saw a description atop the white skeleton!

[Demon Bone Puppet, Fiendish Qi condensed, fears fire. After burning, ground into powder, it’s toxic to humans; demon food can alleviate illnesses to some extent.]

The skeleton had such a description atop its head?

The timing of the description was such a massive surprise.

Chen Xu instantly made a decision.

He abandoned the thought of using Fire Control Skill through the Daoist Soldier, instead covertly gathering energy himself.

At the moment the cat skeleton twisted and appeared, the tension in Chen Xu’s mind snapped, exploding.

He sank his energy into his dantian, exclaiming, "Hah!"

The Heart Fire burst forth, carrying a resolute momentum as if to burn the entire world, hurtling towards the pressing cat skeleton.

Chen Xu’s figure was tiny, but the cat skeleton was as vast as a mountain.

Yet at this moment, white bones meeting fire were like dry twigs soaked in fuel.

A single spark fell, and the fire surged instantly, enveloping the entire body of the cat skeleton.

"Meow!" Within the flames, the skeletal cat’s voice was mournful.

Sensing the fire-consuming its entire body, it tried to flee, but the Mud Ball Daoist Soldier swiftly arrived, thrusting its long spear.

Boom!

The spear pierced through the roaring flames.

Puncturing straight through the spinal column of the skeletal cat, with a crumbling sound, the bones scattered on the ground, engulfed in fire.

[You killed the Demon Bone Puppet, obtaining Spiritual Material Demon Bone.]

[Unlocked new spiritual material, Fireworks Value +100.]

The formidable enemy was thus dealt with, but the matter didn’t conclude there.

As the cat skeleton fell apart, engulfed in flames on the cave floor, Little Mouse squeaked excitedly from behind, "Master Jiu, you’re awake!"

Master Jiu’s elderly voice, frail and astonished, said, "This isn’t good; the Demon Bone Puppet’s death marks you, Mr. Chen."

What?

Chen Xu hadn’t grasped it yet when suddenly a nameless anxiety rushed upon him from an indescribable void.

Instinctively wanting to evade, he found that the anxiety offered no space to dodge.

This sense, deriving from the indescribable, provided no specific direction, leaving him nowhere to hide.

As Chen Xu braced himself for the worst, he suddenly heard something hurling towards him from behind.

He instinctively sidestepped, seeing a dark brown branch, resembling a cane, whizz past his side.

Crack—

The branch brushed past but seemed to intercept something peculiar in the void.

With a faint crack, thud!

The branch hit the ground, bringing relief to Chen Xu’s heart.

The branch hitting the ground dispelled the ominous feeling, revealing it broke the "mark" mentioned by Master Jiu.

Turning back, Chen Xu saw Little Mouse Ashi hugging a white-furred old mouse, weeping.

"Master Jiu, stop vomiting blood, please stop!" Ashi sobbed, suddenly raising its left paw to its mouth.

The fuzzy little mouse had two prominent front teeth, sharp enough to easily bite through its left paw.

"Don’t..." Master Jiu painfully spoke.

Speech was difficult, but his actions were swift.

With a flash in its eyes, not knowing what technique was used, the entire body of Little Mouse Ashi raising its paw got frozen, as if struck by the Body-Freezing Technique.

Ashi was immobilized and speechless.

Only tears pooled in its glossy big eyes, perched, on the verge of falling, as if accusing something.

Chen Xu hurriedly approached.