Chapter 1062: Seventy-two Earth Fiends

The puppet was colossal; its shoulders were twice as wide as its body. Its entire form gleamed with the hard luster of rock, like a mountain that had been manipulated and laboriously dragged out of the earth. On its shoulders, the characters "Dan Shan" (Carry Mountain) were scrawled in black brushstrokes.

The massive puppet crashed down from the sky. The terrifying force nearly embedded half its body into the ground. As dust billowed up, Huai Mang gracefully slid back nearly a hundred meters before stumbling to a halt.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough..." Even the residual shockwaves made Huai Mang extremely uncomfortable. As he coughed softly, as if realizing something, he lunged with all his might to the side!

Bang, bang, bang—!! Almost simultaneously, a dozen sharp stone spikes erupted from underground, piercing through Huai Mang's previous position.

Despite his quick reactions, even though Huai Mang knew all of "Dan Shan" puppet's abilities, he still found it hard to escape under the absolute suppression of its power. Mid-air, Huai Mang felt a strong wind pressure sweep over him. The rock puppet had already raised its right hand, overshadowing him like a dark cloud, and slammed it down with a thunderous impact!

"You're taking on an Arbiter Agent alone? Huai Mang, are you insane?!" Several figures darted in from behind him.

Tu Tian's voice was like thunder. The next moment, a burning banner, like a fiery meteor, was hurled with all his might. Blazing flames soared into the sky.

Immediately after, a slender figure, riding the wind, spun above the raging flames.

Pu Xiachen frowned, watching the colossal figure slowly raise its fist. Obscure, mysterious words spilled from her tongue. A hurricane swept forth from nothingness, magnifying the already surging flames severalfold. They enveloped Tu Tian's banner, forming a spear of fire that pierced the heavens.

Boom—!! The banner collided with the giant's arm, producing a deafening roar. Visible shockwaves swept across the sky.

Huai Mang, closest to the explosion, suddenly found his vision brightening. Then, petals of light suddenly drifted through the void. A hand suddenly clasped his shoulder, pulling his body sharply backward...

In the blink of an eye, he had moved hundreds of meters away.

"You're truly bold," the assassin Cui Ran said helplessly. "Even if he was once your brother, he's an eighth-tier now... and he won't hold back against you."

Huai Mang gave a bitter smile. "Why are you here?"

"This guy was heading straight for the civilians; we couldn't just stand by."

Li Shengmen floated slowly from behind. His eyes fixed intently on the lingering embers in the distance, his expression solemn. "But... this thing is really troublesome."

Tu Tian and Pu Xiachen's combined full-power attack failed to completely block the "Dan Shan" puppet's assault. It only managed to blow off half of its fist. As the swirling dust dissipated in the air, the colossal body remained as steady as a mountain.

"That's Dan Shan, one of my brother's 'Seventy-Two Fiends'. Its strength is immense, and its elemental resistance is extremely high..." Huai Mang shook his head. "It's very difficult for us to defeat it as we are now."

"Seventy-Two Fiends?" Pu Xiachen was stunned. She glanced at the other boxes floating behind Tian Huai, an expression of disbelief on her face. "You mean, your brother has seventy-one more puppets as powerful as this stone monster?!"

"...Yes."

The members of the Tongtian Constellation immediately turned ashen.

"Don't worry about those puppets," a voice suddenly rang out from behind them. "Just tie down Tian Huai's main body as much as possible, and create an opening for me."

The group paused, then turned to look. They saw a familiar large red opera robe, standing in the shadows of the ruins, having appeared unnoticed, silently gazing at Tian Huai amidst the numerous boxes like a phantom.

Seeing Chen Ling, everyone was startled!

"You??"

Although Chen Ling had caused them considerable trouble in the Tianshu Realm, if not for him, they would have long been killed by Kong Wang. In a sense, Chen Ling was their savior.

Tu Tian's expression was the most grim, but he knew it wasn't the time to settle scores with Chen Ling, so he said in a deep voice:

"Are you confident you can deal with the Arbiter Agent?"

"Yes," Chen Ling nodded slightly. "But I need an opportunity... a chance to get close to his main body."

Boom—!! The Dan Shan puppet's palm merged into the earth, and grotesque cracks, like a subterranean abyss devouring everything, rapidly spread towards Tu Tian and the others.

Tu Tian and the others now had no choice. After exchanging glances, they nodded heavily:

"In that case, we'll trust you this once... Disperse!"

The group scattered without hesitation in different directions. While evading the Dan Shan puppet, they circled around to approach Tian Huai's main body.

Only one person remained.

"Chen Ling..." Huai Mang stood his ground, hesitating to speak. "Are you going to kill my brother?"

"Of course not, I don't have that ability yet," Chen Ling shook his head. "I want to make him confused and help him regain his memories."

Huai Mang's eyes lit up.

He took a deep breath, as if making a decision. He whispered to Chen Ling, "Since that's the case, I'll tell you a secret about my brother. You must never tell anyone..."

Chen Ling's eyebrows slightly rose as he listened to Huai Mang's words.

Whoosh—whoosh... As the Grip of Evolution covered the entire city, two more "lucky" members of the Twilight Society were restrained, temporarily suspended near the battlefield like prey caught in a spiderweb. However, Tian Huai had no time to deal with them; his attention was fully on the reckless young people before him.

"Troublesome..." Tian Huai didn't want to waste time. He lightly raised his finger again, and two more Void Boxes were unsealed.

As the lids opened, two palm-sized puppets swelled rapidly in the wind. In just half a second, they transformed into two gigantic puppets, each the same size as "Dan Shan." One was etched with flame patterns, while the other, slender in build, carried a long purple saber on its back.

Zuo Huo (Seated Fire), Zhan Yao (Slaying Demon).

The addition of the two puppets worsened the already difficult situation for Tu Tian and the others. Previously, they could maneuver around Dan Shan while trying to find an opportunity to approach Tian Huai, but now their escape routes were completely blocked...

The two puppets, with flames seemingly capable of melting anything and a saber intent that could sever all, rapidly spread their influence through the air!

"It seems it's our turn to enter the fray..."

Sun Bumian stretched his neck and wrists. Behind his small, round sunglasses, a pair of ringed eyes watched Zuo Huo. As he spoke calmly, wisps of colorful flames ignited at his temples.

He glanced sideways at the silent Jiang Xiaohua, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"The one with the saber, that's yours?"

Jiang Xiaohua spoke dully, "...But I can't hold it off for too long."

"Stop pretending. You broke free much more easily than I did back in the Tribunal Hall... While I don't know what your secret is, now isn't the time to hold back."

"...Understood."