An Advanced Cursed Puppet Doll? Boy, your luck is complete bullshit at this point.
What is it, senior? There was a similar item that I have seen in the System Store before. It was a Cursed Puppet Doll which only worked up to the Bone Tempering realm. It also only weakens the target while rebuffing the user.
Yeah, that is the baby version of it. This version is way spicier...well the way this thing works, you probably would find out soon. It is very useful in this situation. Previously, I would not imagine you being able to run away. But now, the chances are very high.
Oh, that sounds reassuring.
Yeah it is a really great item to pull at this point, just that...well it is nothing much of a concern.
The two silently conversed as the opposing personas of Shaggaroth observed in boredom. There was a brief moment of silence which nothing much happened. At this point, the main mouth was impatiently stretching her body.
"Well then, I think that is enough playing around. Time to finish this."
She stretched her arms and fingers as she looked at the two injured beings in front of her.
"Well, do not mess things up this time."
The main eye warned, whilst crouching on the ground as he was slowly restoring his qi.
"Yeah, yeah...now then boy, entertain me."
She said as she disappeared in a flash.
[Devouring blade kick incoming from the front (Overwhelming).]
[Devouring blade kick incoming from the front (Overwhelming).]
[Devouring blade kick incoming from the front (Overwhelming).]
.
.
Numerous messages appeared once again as the main mouth rushed up towards him. Yet, Liu Xun was rather relaxed at this point. He had faith that the senior had found a way to counter this problem. Otherwise, there was nothing much he could do as his remaining qi was scant, basically an empty tank.
<Well then Liu boy, it was nice talking to you. Remember our promise. Hey, system or whatever you are called, take out the Advanced Puppet Doll, I'm the one using it.>
He silently transmitted to the youth as a bright red straw doll materialized in front of him.
<Wait, senior what do you...>
"Well then bitch, I had always wanted to say this. But you shouldn't act all slutty when you are so ugly, hah! Activate!"
The senior taunted out as he flashed the red straw doll in front of him towards the main mouth. The red straw doll in front of Liu Xun started glowing with an eerie red glow as binding chains burst out from within it. The four sets of chains crept forward with a fast pace as they slithered towards the main mouth.
"Wh-what!?"
The main mouth cried out as she jumped away in the midst of her attack while trying to avoid the chains. However, the chains turned as they followed the main mouth. She leaped far away as she sent a flurry of kicks against the chains. Still, her kicks were fruitless as they barely scathed the creeping chains.
DING-DING-DING-DING.
The chains rattled as they rushed forth whilst homing towards the main mouth. One of the chains managed to clasp around her left foot as the other chains hurriedly caught up and bound her. The main mouth began to struggle desperately, yet her efforts were vastly fruitless as the chains refused to budge nor break apart.
"Argh, get off me! You damn things!"
She screamed out as she jostled for freedom, but the chains were firm and unrelenting.
"Mouth! Shit, I still lack the time to gain my qi!"
The elderly man wanted to move forward to assist. However, the previous spell he used was still tolling a huge price on his body.
The red ominous chains started to glow with a brighter red as eerie cursed qi flowed through them. The main mouth which was entangled struggled even more at the sight of that qi.
"NOOOO, get away from me! AHHHHHH!"
She screamed out in pain as the eerie qi seeped into her body via the metal links. Eerie red tattoos engraved upon her body was the qi spread throughout her body. Spreading from her four limbs, to her forearm and thighs, up to her pelvis and torso. Lastly, it travelled all the way up to her head as the curse slowly spread through every inch of her.
"STOP, LET ME GO!"
The main mouth screamed even more as she jostled even harder, Liu Xun could imagine the pain that the main mouth was feeling as she wrestled the chains. The chain links kept ringing as she moved about, but there were no signs of the links breaking apart. As time passed by, her soft and tender flesh started to wither and sag as the links drain the life force and qi out of her body as if a voracious bloodsucker. The mouth's struggles got weaker by the minute.
"S...stop it, no mo-re."
She cried out helplessly as she twitched bout with the last bits of her strength. At this point, her skin was all wrinkled and dried up, her hair turned from luscious black to dull grey as if she were an old lady. Liu Xun would have probably felt a bit of pity for her if it weren't for the fact she was a mass murderer who had caused endless suffering to countless other beings. It was fortunate that the main eye could not assist her since he himself was bounded on the spot while casting out those chains using the Cursed Puppet.
"Mouth!"
The elderly man shouted out as he finally got to his feet and dashed forward to the decaying body. He thrusted his palms towards the chain links which still remained unscathed after his countless blows. Soon afterward, the chains finally let loose the bound prey and the main mouth fell onto the ground limp. She was no longer moving as all of her qi and life force was completely devoured by the parasitic chains. An ironic end for the devouring beast it was.
=======
"S-senior, we have done it. Now it is just the main eye remaining."
Liu Xun exclaimed as he looked at the elderly man who was grasping into the shriveled corpse of the main mouth. It was initially 2-on-1 with Millie being disabled, but at this point it could be said to be a 1-on-1. Even though Liu Xun no longer had any supply of qi to use, he could still use the restraining talisman and probably put up a decent fight or retreat with ease. Perhaps even Millie could be saved at this rate!
In the midst of his excitement, he noticed that there was no reply from the demonic senior. This was a rather odd scenario since that talkative senior would definitely not miss the chance to boast at this point. Feeling that things were off, he decided to question the system.
"System, is there anything wrong with the senior at the moment?"
[Host...the demonic soul had activated the advanced cursed puppet using his soul at stake. An eye for an eye, a soul for a soul.]
"What!? But the cursed puppet doll would only weaken the host right?"
Liu Xun asked doubtfully, he rightly remembered the description that the system explain to him previously and it definitely only weakened the user and did not kill him.
[That is the normal cursed puppet. This is a much more dangerous version, mainly used by sacrificial devil cultivators to take down their foes along with them. It is a very rare item in this realm and there are barely any counters to it. The only chance the host has at living is if the target escapes the bindings, which is a rather difficult task even for true Nascent Soul cultivators, much less this pseudo being. To be able to activate it, one must have significant cultivation not too far from the target and be willing to stake their lives to activate the bindings. Once the chains wither both the target's and host's souls would be reaped by the Ruler of Death Yanwang, the patron of the chains. Originally the system would charge you for this information, but the system knows that it is a sensitive moment and thus will waive the fee this time...]
"No...senior."
Liu Xun sighed sadly as he remembered the other soul which resided in his body.
"I won't let your efforts go to waste."
[Another thing to note, the senior exhausted his soul to regenerate about 5000 qi into your body before activating the puppet. This is using his last bits of strength which was used to initially maintain his sentience while possessing your body. Your current remaining qi is 5039/560670(from 560678). Due to the disappearance of the possessed soul, your cultivation will slowly return back towards your normal limit, please make your decisions with haste host.]
"Damn you, DAMN YOU, YOU FILTHY HUMAN CULTIVATOR! HOW DARE YOU KILL OFF MY PARTNER!!!!"
The main eye slowly stood up as he charged forth with enraged eyes. If he was still he usual rational self, perhaps he would have entertained the idea of retreating. The main eye has barely any qi left as well since he previous usage of the Cursed Binding Stare. Regenerating just the slight bit through that short break, the maddened man jumped forward as he lifted his palms once again.
[Eye beam thrust incoming from the front (Overwhelming).]
[Eye beam thrust incoming from the front (Overwhelming).]
[Eye beam thrust incoming from the front (Overwhelming).]
[Eye beam thrust incoming from the front (Overwhelming).]
[Eye beam thrust incoming from the front (Overwhelming).]
[Eye beam thrust incoming from the front (Overwhelming).]
.
.
.
A bunch of warnings came about once again as the enraged eye released a flurry of blows. It seems that at this point it no longer cared about self-perseverance as it released everything it could muster so that it could kill Liu Xun. As the blows approached the black-robed youth, a white talisman suddenly appeared before him as words echoed from the youth's mouth.
"Restrain!"
Liu Xun shouted out as a bunch of entangling vines burst out from the ground, tying themselves onto the main eye's entire body.
"What!? Is this another one of your petty tricks!? How much longer are you going to look down on us and deceive us!? All of that dodging, flashing out restraining spells at the last moment and then showing us despair! Heh, I guess that is what we used to do when we were the ones in power..."
The main eye said to himself in an angered voice before slowly coming to the realization of his actions.
"Well, I will only need a moment to break free from these restraints. Wait till then!"
He said as the main eye continued to struggle free. The vines started to tear at their seams as it looked like the spell would only last for a few more moments.
"All you should know is that I am fighting with my life at stake here. This has definitely not been easy!"
Liu Xun shouted out as he trusted the green-white spear forward, Silent Sparrow! The spear seamlessly rushed past the main eye's defense as it impaled the restrained being directly into the eye on the forehead. The eye above turned bright red as blood clouded around it and started to leak from every orifice including the other eyes. It seems that he has finally struck the weak point of the new main eye!
UAAAGGGGHHHH!
The main eye groaned out in pain as it began to resist harder. By this point, most of the restraints were already broken.
"Puht...impressive that you actually managed to push us to this extent, young cultivator. I am actually impressed by this entire sequence of events. I am actually at my limit right now. Even though it may seem like conceit and the fight is not over, but can I have your name?"
Spitting out the blood from his lone mouth, the main eye then looked towards the youth. For some reason, there were no longer any stronger emotions emanating from him. It was just a sense of calm and seriousness.
"Liu Xun..."
He replied seriously as he swung upon the ax on his left hand after he realized that the spear would not budge from the main eye's forehead. The ax just cracked immediately upon coming into contact with the main eye's body. It seemed that he had already expended all his qi, and this all of his attacks now were just weak attacks.
"I should have known...that stupid fox was always calling out your name the entire time. Anyway Liu Xun, this will be the final exchange. Perhaps this is what the male human cultivator I have previously devoured wished for, a glorious fight to the death. Ironically, he could only meet such an end after being possessed by me. Well then, do you best because I may not live for long now that my core is pierced but I am not resigned to going down alone!"
The main eye said with a serious voice as all the restraints binding him were broken free. The main eye had barely any strength left as he released one final palm thrust.
[Eye beam thrust incoming from the front (Overwhelming).]
The calm attack was launched against Liu Xun who no longer had any more qi. To be honest, he also no longer had any way of dodging the palm thrust as well. The brave youth looked toward the approaching elderly man as he slowly gripped upon the Twin Reprivers (blue short swords) since they were the last of his weapons.
"It looks like you have also completely run out of juice huh...well then let us just end this."
The senior said looking at the auraless youth meet his blow with two weak shortswords.
Swinging the two short swords, Liu Xun bravely faced against the dying lion. The two shortswords were rather ordinary before the pseudo-Nascent Soul being's palms. As the palm pressed against them, the two sword just flew out of his hands with minimal resistance as the thrust moved forward unimpeded. Liu Xun knows that he was also at his last legs at this point as he may have minimal injuries but he completely lacked the qi and stamina to fight any longer. Perhaps he could have been a hero amongst men should he live past this day, but alas all heroes die young. He closed his eyes in peace as he was resigned to his fate. It was a good fight.
CLANG. CLANG.
The sounds of impacting metal were heard as the youth opened his eyes in surprise. What could have changed this situation, was it Millie? No, laying beside him were two rusted copper mirrors that used to be Senior Gan's. It seems that they moved by their own will to try and protect their new owner for the first and last time. This had probably used up all of Senior Gan's remnant qi inside them as they dropped lifelessly onto the ground.
"Heh, it seems everything in the world is trying to help you live. But no matter, even if I can no longer launch a move, I can still just crush you using the strength of my body itself."
The main eye shook his head as he laughed out while stretching his left arm out slowly using the last bits of his strength.
[Palm incoming from the front (Overwhelming).]
Even though the arm was traveling towards Liu Xun at a snail's pace, the youth could tell that he was not able to avoid it at this point. Moreover, most items with him are unable to counteract this situation. The fireball talisman? Liu Xun would rather choose death alongside the main eye than sacrifice countless lives to save his skin from a dying foe.
Twiiing.
A silent hum was heard as a nudge was felt in his empty left hand. In place was a broken ax, the one he had been using since he was young. The ax had for some reason appeared out of his inventory out of its own will and chose to fight together with him one last time.
"I am sorry, partner. It looks like both you and I will no longer be able to continue our journey together."
He said with a light smile before he decisively swung the ax in his left hand with his entire might. This was also his last attack, similar to the main eye as he placed all his remaining strength towards this blow.
Pak.
The damaged ax lightly came into contact with main eye's palm as it shattered away in an instant. Looking at this, Liu Xun knew that it was already the best he could have done as he looked forward bravely as the palm in the front continued to approach him.
It is okay, you have done your best. I cannot observe your future any longer, but know that I will always be rooting for you...
A tender sweet voice brushed past his ear as Liu Xun saw a small shining fragment of his ax flew into the wound which was pierced by the White Viradiance (white-green spear).
====
Inside the sea of qi within the main eye, was a calm void. What was initially a vibrant sea which belonged to a pseudo-Nascent Soul being was already dried up as every bit of energy left was exhausted. In the middle lay a familiar elderly man.
"Oh, another guest into our fight at this late of a time. Man, this party was more lively than what mouth and I had ever expected."
The elderly man looked forward as he saw a bright shining figure before him. The figure slowly revealed its form as a beautiful gentle lady wearing torn foreign garbs was looking towards him. Her damaged clothing gave off a rather surreal feeling of nobility and pride rather than that of vulnerability.
"Wow, look at you. That brat must have saved the world in his past life. He has so many lucky occurrences and beauties surrounding him."
The main eye laughingly joked about. Perhaps he was being slightly serious of his words as Shaggaroth himself had never met such an absurd existence before, Liu Xun that is.
"Hmm...I guess you could say so. That personage told me to look after him since he was a child so I have always been watching him by his side. I guess this will be our final farewell, and I won't be letting you end his journey prematurely. This was what I was destined to do."
She replied in a light and relaxed tone. Despite her speaking of a sad parting, she seemed rather happy about it as the young boy she watched over the past few years slowly grew up and actually displayed a magnificent fight which she could be a part of. It is a pity that she would no longer be able to witness his journey, but this is all fated.
"So, even you will try to stop me huh. Well, do try your best because I will resist with all my might."
The main eye muttered in resignment as he felt the power within the ax fragment. It was something he could probably have withstood if he had a fraction of his strength left, but now he was powerless.
"Well then, farewell devourer. And farewell, partner."
The graceful figure gave a light curtsey as she turned back into a bright glow. The figure then burst into a bright light as it spilled out within the sea of qi a foreign blast of power. This foreign power encroached upon the dead sea of qi as it spread across the entire interior, creating a kaleidoscope of beautiful colors. Yes, it was a bright, resplendent, and colorful destruction that is similar to a display of fireworks.
=====
The shining fragment quickly buried itself into the main eye whose arm was just inches away from Liu Xun. He looked on as the hand was about to touch him before staying rooted on the spot. A moment later, the body faded away into dust as if the main eye had never existed in the first place.
Liu Xun looked at the whole surreal scene with shock as he could not comprehend what had happened. Whose voice it was, what the fragment had done, where the main eye disappeared to. Many of these questions in his head remained unanswered as he witnessed a completely unpredictable sequence of events. A miracle one may call.
Still, the youth could no longer think of much as his body crumbled down. He no longer had any energy to spare as he fell powerlessly onto the ground. Every inch of his body was devoid of strength as he expended every inch of it to fight for his life. He had somehow emerged victorious. But all he felt like doing right now was sleep as his vision started to blur and fade.
