Chapter 14- Puppetry

Bao was calmly meditating under the Bo tree behind the mansion the next morning. The last ceremonial rite took place about three years ago. Yue informed Bao last night that the ceremonial person should arrive tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. He was curious as to how the ceremonial person acquired the array technique and the porcelain capable of storing spirits.

While meditating, he received a call from Yue informing him that the ceremonial person had come. Yue's parents had already prepared the essential supplies for the ceremonial procedure a few days before. Then Bao went to the hospital as well. He was eager to see the individual who had come to create an array beneath the hospital.

He went to Yue's office after arriving at the hospital. Yue, her parents, and the ceremonial individual were all present. In comparison to what Yue described to Bao, he appeared to be quite youthful. He appeared to be the same age as Bao. He was dressed in a Taoist robe and headgear. He had a Taoist whisk as well. He appeared to be a moral man. But Bao was well aware of his nature. Bao sensed that the individual was just a peak foundation master as he entered.

"Why are you all staring blankly at my face?" The Taoist said, "You go bring me some cold water."

That Taoist was haughty, perhaps because he was stronger than others or because of his background. He didn't care about Yue's or her parents' position when he told them to bring water. Yue's assistant gave some water to the Taoist.

"Where is your master, young Taoist?" old Luo said. "I didn't see him come with you."

"Do you question my abilities? Do you believe I'm not as good as my master?" the Taoist said with a loud voice

"I apologize if I offended the young Taoist. "I'm merely intrigued every time the young Taoist's teacher performs the ceremonial procedure," old Luo explained.

"My master is busy; master has some important tasks to attend to." The Taoist explained,

"The supplies for the ceremonial rite are ready; let us go," Old Luo said.

They all then proceeded to the hospital's basement.

"Isn't he the one you mentioned to me before, Yue'er?" Bao asked.

"No, he isn't; when I was here, his master was the one performing the ceremonies," Yue answered.

They eventually arrived in the basement, where the ceremonial rite was held every three years. That Taoist was taken aback when he entered the basement. He noticed only porcelain and no other markings on the walls or the ground. When he looked into the porcelain, he found it to be cracked and devoid of any spirit.

The porcelain were already placed were it was before, after Bao finished refining all the energy.

[Perhaps due to dampness or the passing of time, markings vanished, and the porcelain was already old. This is something I need to report to the master about] Taoist thought

"Bring me the goods, and I will begin the ceremonial process!"The Taoist informed old Luo

The Taoist set a jade cup in the center, drew some lines around the walls and grounds, and then began the ceremonial procedures once old Luo brought the goods. That Taoist was dancing around the center while waving his Taoist whisk. That phony Taoist hopped around like a monkey who had just discovered a banana. There were several Taoist dances, such as Quillin Dance, Wudang Dance, Wu Tao Dance, and so on, but the one that a fake Taoist did consist solely of random swings and hops. It was a funny scenario for Bao.

After a half-hour ritual, the Taoist declared that the ceremony had accomplished nothing visually, but that the spirit gathering array had been formed again. The Taoists then returned in the late afternoon. Bao followed him without alerting anyone else, he then called the Taoist after following him for a long down a clear street.

"Would you mind taking me along, Taoist brother? "I'd like to meet your master face to face,"  Bao said to the Taoists

"What the hell? When did you decide to follow me? Go away, not every cat and dog could meet my master," that haughty Taoist replied.

"I AM NOT ASKING; I AM COMMANDING YOU!" "Take me to your master's place," Bao said

"Yes," please follow me." That Taoist obediently Said

That Taoist was not taking Bao to his master's place of his will; it was a puppet command. Puppetry is a middle-grade technique in the immortal world. Not everyone uses it since it consumes soul force. It was not Bao's technique; he received it as recompense from someone. Wshéng puppetry was the name given to this technique.

Puppets can be made of bronze, metal, gold, and other costly materials. Puppetry was originally not considered an unorthodox art, but a puppet made of a human or used on a living human is unusual. A person who uses such technique in the immortal world would be hunted by the righteous group, and his tribulation would be far more severe than usual.

Bao used to be a Puppetry master. He disliked utilizing such despicable tactics, but he perfected them due to circumstances. He never used it on humans or opponents, though, because none were worthy. This puppetry technique can't be utilized against someone with more soul power or a mental barrier; they'd be able to break through it. That Taoist was already weak, so Bao had no trouble controlling him.

"Where is your Master at the moment? How far away is it?" Bao asked

"My master now resides near the forest, just outside the city..." responded the Taoist.

Then Bao and that Taoist took a taxi to that master's house. They arrived outside the city after some time. They had to trek through the forest, so they got out of the taxi and started walking. Bao noticed a little building in the distance after traveling for a few hundred meters.

"Illusion array, perhaps?" "Lead the way," Bao commands the Taoist.

They passed the illusion array after strolling left and right a few times. Although Bao could have easily smashed it, doing so would have alerted the master, causing him to flee. The Taoist was then instructed to summon Bao's master.

"Master, I have returned."

After that, he went inside. He was followed by Bao. Inside the cottage, there was no one. Bao detected a faint spirit emanating from beneath the ground. He descended the stairwell to find the master preparing something.

" Oh, my disciple, how could you return so quickly? "Shouldn't you be spending more time in the city?"

"How come you're not saying anything?" He turned his head back to see someone he didn't wish to.

He was both nervous and terrified after turning his head back and seeing who it was.

"It's you...", "Where has my disciple disappeared to?" "What did you do to him?" That old master asked

"It appears that you didn't forget about me, old man," Bao said

It was the same old man who was knocked out in the battle arena by Bao. It was a one-sided battle. The old man didn't even get a chance to defend himself before Bao knocked him out in the arena.

"What brings you here?" That old man stated, "We have no animosity."

"After everything you've done, you claim we have no animosity,"

"What do you mean, I've never done you any harm?"

"That array beneath the hospital is your doing right, and now you're still attempting to attack me behind my back, Allow me to crush your confidence," Bao added "activating all of your arrays."

That elderly man was better at arrays than physical combat, thus he was defeated in a single slap in the arena, but now he prepared he was confident in his Killing arrays.

"Let me see how long you can be so arrogant," the elderly guy remarked, turning on the full array he'd put up in the cottage to target Bao.

while the old man was activating his arrays, Bao inhaled deeply, and waves of energy came out, pure and dense enough to cause other objects to tremble. then he suddenly emitted a large wave of energy. The old man's cottage, as well as the entire array he had prepared, was destroyed.

That old man fell to his knees. He couldn't believe all of his years of research on arrays had been blown away in an instant.

"how can this be?"

"We both are the same"

"How is this fair?" That trembling old man said

"There is always a higher mountain, but no matter how tall the mountain is, it cannot block the sun,"