At the center of the cave realm.
A human settlement.
Even in the center, not every place is a battlefield.
Take this settlement, for example.
This settlement primarily serves as a refuge for those who no longer wish to fight and for those seeking to exchange information and resources.
Therefore, it is relatively peaceful here.
Anyone who causes trouble here will find themselves surrounded and beaten by a dozen people.
Inside the settlement.
A group of people gathered together, exchanging information.
"By the way, have you heard? Beneath the wasteland in the central area, there’s supposedly a massive tomb."
"That tomb? Don’t even mention it. There’s a mid-stage triple-tier puppet inside, capable of switching combat modes and rapidly healing its injuries. It’s absolutely disgusting. I led a group to fight it, and in the end, I was the only one who survived."
"Good heavens, it’s that strong? What kind of heartless artifact cultivator would leave such a puppet there!"
"Who knows?"
As they were discussing,
Ye Wangchuan walked over, casually tossing out a bag of money, and asked,
"Can you tell me more about the location of the wasteland?"
"Uh..."
The group was momentarily stunned.
One of them silently opened the money bag, confirmed that the money was real, and then decisively began explaining.
Ye Wangchuan listened while deep in thought.
Based on his past life’s experience of reading novels, mysterious ruins guarded by powerful mechanisms like these usually held great treasures and opportunities.
A mid-stage triple-tier puppet was something he could still handle, albeit with some difficulty.
"By the way, which child of fortune does this opportunity belong to? Are there other children of fortune in this cave realm?"
"After all, the cave realm has multiple entrances. It’s possible that children of fortune from other cities have entered as well."
Ye Wangchuan pondered silently.
……
……
Inside a tomb.
"Ugh! What is this?!"
"A puppet! A triple-tier puppet!"
"Why is there a triple-tier puppet in the cave realm?!"
Three people were frantically running for their lives inside the tomb.
Their cultivation levels were all at the second tier.
This wasn’t because second-tier cultivators were common.
Rather, in this central area of the cave realm, battles never ceased.
First-tier weaklings had already been wiped out!
Except for one black-haired loli, who was constantly protected by a second-tier man.
Boom—!
As the three were fleeing, suddenly, a meteor hammer flew out from the depths!
The diameter of the meteor hammer was a staggering hundred meters!
"Ugh!"
One person was immediately smashed into the wall by the meteor hammer.
Their body was flattened!
The other two were also blocked by the meteor hammer, sealing off their escape route.
They were so terrified that their legs began to tremble.
"Eighteen Martial Arts—Bow—"
A cold, emotionless voice echoed from the darkness.
A black wooden puppet, about ten meters tall, with glowing red eyes, stepped forward.
Its appearance resembled that of a terracotta warrior.
Though made of wood, it was inexplicably indestructible and incredibly tough.
Creak—Creak—
As the sound of creaking wood echoed, the puppet’s left arm began to transform. In just a few seconds, it had turned into a massive bow!
"Eighteen Martial Arts—Arrow—"
As the puppet spoke, it extended its right hand, and the spiritual energy in the air gathered into its palm, forming a seven-meter-long spiritual arrow.
Creak—!
The arrow was nocked onto the bow and fired toward the two humans.
Boom—!
A tremendous force erupted, causing the entire tomb to tremble slightly!
The spiritual arrow, like a giant serpent, opened its maw and devoured everything in its path as it surged toward the two.
Boom—!
Without any surprise, the two were instantly torn apart.
But the arrow didn’t stop. It continued to rampage underground, carving out a spiral tunnel a thousand meters long before finally dissipating into the air.
"Tomb raiders eliminated—"
The puppet confirmed the deaths of the three, and the red light in its eyes began to fade.
At that moment.
"Ugh! The battle traces underground are so chaotic! Ye Wangchuan, are you sure there’s treasure here?"
"Don’t worry."
At the entrance of the tomb.
Ye Wangchuan, with Li Luo on his back, stepped inside.
As soon as they entered, they locked eyes with the puppet.
Ye Wangchuan: "..."
Li Luo: "..."
Puppet: (The red light in its eyes flared up.)
"Eighteen Mar—"
Boom!
Before the puppet could finish, Ye Wangchuan immediately smashed it with his spear.
With a single strike, the puppet’s head was blown apart.
But in the next second, several root-like tendrils emerged from the puppet’s broken neck, intertwining and quickly restoring its head.
"Eighteen Mar—"
Boom!
Before it could finish, its head was smashed again.
The roots extended, restoring the head.
"Eighteen Mar—"
Boom!
Head smashed again.
Restored.
"Eighteen Mar—"
Boom!
……
……
After three minutes.
The two sides were still repeating this process.
One couldn’t believe the other had so many spears.
The other couldn’t believe the puppet could keep regenerating.
Finally, at a certain moment.
"Eighteen Martial Arts—Shield—"
At the puppet’s command, it immediately raised a massive wooden shield.
Though the puppet didn’t understand why the opponent had stopped throwing spears, it was a soulless machine.
It only needed to execute what it deemed the optimal solution.
With that, the puppet charged forward with the shield! Charge! Charge!
The shield was indestructible; even the powerful spears from earlier couldn’t break it.
As long as it charged, it could crush this mid-stage second-tier human.
At that moment.
"Li Luo, detonate."
"Got it."
As soon as Li Luo spoke,
Two red lights lit up on the puppet’s legs.
Boom—Boom—!
Two consecutive explosions rang out, instantly blowing the puppet’s lower half to pieces!
It collapsed to the ground, its body sprouting roots in an attempt to regenerate.
Whoosh—!
Ye Wangchuan rushed over, smashing the roots with his spear.
"Li Luo. Give it another one."
"Okay!"
Li Luo ran over.
During this time, the puppet’s brain began calculating furiously.
"Body severely damaged—Core under threat—"
"Calculating resistance outcomes—"
"Forceful resistance—Failure—"
"Material temptation—Failure—"
"Desperate escape—Failure—"
"Attempting to please—"
While calculating this option, the puppet looked up at Li Luo.
"Calculating—Girl’s affection toward man—Extremely high, as if he were a treasure trove—"
"Calculating—Man’s affection toward girl—Extremely high, as if she were a treasure trove—"
"Calculated assumption—Man prefers petite females—"
"Pleasing mode—Activate—!"
After a series of calculations, the puppet confirmed its course of action.
In the next second, the puppet’s entire body began to glow.
Ye Wangchuan quickly retreated, fearing the puppet might self-destruct.
But instead of expanding, the puppet’s body began to shrink.
Soon, the puppet had shrunk into... a 138.8 cm tall loli?