49. Demonic Puppetry
“Done.”
Gong Yiling clapped her hands and gave Qiu Shui a thumbs-up.
She kicked the unconscious man aside and began examining the dazed disciples.
“Brother? Miss?”
She prodded several of them, but they all reacted the same way—no reaction.
“Master, should I try?” Qiu Shui asked curiously.
“No need.” After a brief examination, Gong Yiling stood up and shook her head. “As expected, they’ve been poisoned by Gu.”
“Gu…” Qiu Shui looked at the dazed crowd, a chill running down her spine. “What kind of Gu turns people into this?”
“This condition is probably temporary.” Gong Yiling crossed her arms, deep in thought. “The competition will end soon. If they’re still like this by then, Wen Qiyin won’t be able to get away with it.”
This Gu was likely very subtle. Even if someone witnessed it, once the victims recovered, no one would know what had been planted inside them.
“Then what’s the point of us being here?” Qiu Shui asked. “We can’t prove they were poisoned, and we can’t prove what Wen Qiyin did.”
“Originally, yes.”
Gong Yiling smiled and rubbed Qiu Shui’s head. “But I’m the Young Palace Master of a demonic sect. Naturally, I have my own methods.”
“Eh?”
Gong Yiling chose a rather handsome man from the crowd, placed her right hand on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.
A powerful demonic energy gathered in her dantian and, through the point of contact, flowed into the man’s body.
Similar to the method used to control the twins, this was a puppetry technique favored by some demonic cultivators.
But this technique had a drawback: it took a long time to cultivate. If a reliable puppet was needed quickly, this wasn’t the most effective method.
So, a genius from the demonic sects created a different puppetry technique.
This technique only worked on those who weren’t under the influence of any mental spiritual arts and whose meridians were undamaged. It required a direct invasion of the target’s body with demonic energy, planting a mark while suppressing their resistance. If the target regained control of even a single meridian, the technique would fail.
Such strict conditions yielded incredible results.
For a period of time, the target’s mind would be connected to the caster’s, unconditionally obeying their commands. The duration of the mark depended not on cultivation level, but on the caster’s bloodline proximity to the technique’s creator.
This ensured that even if the technique were to be leaked, its full potential could only be unleashed by her direct blood relatives.
And who was this genius?
The one who reached the Soul Origin realm at the age of eighteen, then ascended to the Immortal Mansion realm in just seven years, the most talented genius in the history of the Five Demonic Abysses, even earning the title of the Ghost Empress.
Gong Muzhi.
“Hunyuan Demonic Art: Ghost God Mind Control!”
Opening her eyes, a sharp glint flashed within them. A special black spider lily mark appeared on the man’s forehead.
The mark vanished after a moment, but Gong Yiling knew it had been imprinted on his mind, a spiritual bond formed between them.
“That should do it.”
Gong Yiling released her hand and quickly fled the scene with Qiu Shui.
For safety, she didn’t use an Invisibility Talisman to hide and observe, but instead circled around to find Lan Suqin and the others.
Shortly after she left, Wen Qiyin arrived. She glanced at the two unconscious men on the ground, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
“So it was a diversion?” Lei Che, following behind her, asked. “They’re quite bold.”
While pursuing the Ruohuai Daoist Mountain members, Wen Qiyin had sensed something was amiss. Their path was unnatural.
Normally, when injured and pursued, one would seek a crowded area for safety.
But the Ruohuai Daoist Mountain members had headed towards the most remote area, a place where they would be completely isolated.
With Lan Suqin’s intelligence, she wouldn’t have made such a mistake.
So, they had returned as quickly as possible, but unexpectedly, the girl had turned the tables on them.
“But Saintess,” Lei Che looked at the poisoned cultivators and asked, “could those people have figured out your intentions or done something?”
Wen Qiyin’s gaze swept over them, but she didn’t see anything worth her attention.
“How could they possibly understand the Divine King’s Court’s unique Gu? And they’re not demonic cultivators. How could they possibly use puppetry techniques?”
She scoffed at Lei Che’s words.
However, she couldn’t help but frown.
If it were the Ruohuai Daoist Mountain members, what would they do after discovering this camp?
Especially—that Miss Lü.
At that moment, Gong Yiling, a thousand meters away, let out a loud sneeze.
“Master?”
“Nothing.” Gong Yiling smiled. “I have a feeling I was just mentioned. Wen Qiyin has probably returned to the camp.”
“Will she discover what you’ve done?” Qiu Shui was still worried. After all, if someone carefully examined them, they might find traces of demonic cultivation.
“I don’t know about others, but Wen Qiyin definitely won’t. Or rather, with her confidence, she wouldn’t even consider that the Ruohuai Daoist Mountain members are capable of such a thing.”
After their encounter, Miss Gong was certain of this.
That woman’s biggest weakness was her overconfidence. She believed no one in the world could decipher her Gu poison, unaware that a protagonist’s halo was far more powerful than any scheme.
