Everyone felt their skin become slightly numb when they saw the five figures appear in front of the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree. They would not have imagined that there were Ban Sheng class experts hidden within this Bodhisattva Ancient Tree!

“Five elite Ban Sheng—there is no life in them...”

Xiao Yan inhaled a deep breath. He suppressed the shock in his heart. His eyes suddenly swept over the five figures before twitching.

“Nor are their souls present... they are merely puppets.” Xun Er softly came to a conclusion. Her face was filled with a seriousness.

Puppet... one need not use one’s head to know that these elite Ban Shengs had been turned into puppets by this Bodhisattva Ancient Tree. Everyone began to feel as though they were covered in a cold sweat when they thought of what happened. Turning an elite Ban Sheng into a puppet, who across the continent possessed the frightening strength to do this?

Once one reached the Ban Sheng class, one would be an existence close to the peak of the world. Ban Shengs were a relatively powerful force even in the ancient clans, but experts of such a level had been captured and turned into puppets. This scene undoubtedly caused everyone present to feel a chill in their hearts.

Hun Yu’s expression had become relatively ugly because of these puppets, especially after his eyes landed on a skinny black-robed elite Ban Sheng. The shock in his eyes had suddenly reached as dense as it could get. “Isn’t this our missing Ban Sheng ancestor? The one said to have disappeared with the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree in the old texts of the clan?”

The faces of everyone involuntarily twitched upon hearing Hun Yu’s exclamation. Their eyes looked at the black-robed Ban Sheng. At this moment, his face was hollow, and his eyes did not contain the slightest ripple. The figure’s skin vaguely showed signs of cracking from being too dry. The puppet did not display any reaction to Hun Yu’s voice.

“What should we do now?”

Gu Qing Yang’s face was grave. Five elite Ban Shengs was a lineup that could only be described with the word horrifying. Even if all of them here were to combine their strength, they would probably still be no match for this lineup, despite their numerical superiority...

Xiao Yan frowned. His eyes glanced at the light cluster being emitted from the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree. The Bodhisattva Heart was in front of him. He really did not possess the decisiveness to give it up so easily.

“We should be able to hold against an elite Ban Sheng if our group join hands.” Xiao Yan’s eyes glanced at the lineup beside him. Xun Er and Gu Qing Yang were all experts at the peak of the Dou Zun class. Xun Er was on the eighth change while Gu Qing Yang was on the sixth change. Adding Xiao Yan, whose strength was comparable to a sixth or seventh change expert, as well as Cai Lin, the Little Fairy Doctor, Yun Yun, Qing Cheng, Gu Hua, Gu Li, and the rest should be able to fight against an elite Ban Sheng. However, there was more than just one elite Ban Sheng here. There were five of them!

“Everyone, is there anyone who wishes to give up now and leave? From the looks of it, as long as we do not advance further, these Ban Sheng puppets will not attack. In other words, we still have a chance to retreat now if we wish to.” Xiao Yan mused for a moment before turning his head to inquire in a faint voice.

Everyone present knit their brows upon hearing Xiao Yan’s words. Finally, they shook their heads.

“Since no one wishes to withdraw, we can only try and engage in an all out fight. Our side has seven groups. My group will block one elite Ban Sheng. The other four will be distributed among the rest of you. What do you say?”

Among the groups that had arrived, there was the Hun clan and the Heaven Demon Phoenix tribe besides Xiao Yan’s group. Xiao Yan had never met the other four groups before, but it was likely that they belonged to some other factions within the Central Plains. Their lineup might not be comparable to Xiao Yan, Hun Ya, or Jiu Feng, but they could not be underestimated. Each of their groups had at least two experts who had reached the peak of the Dou Zun class.

“We can block one of them.” Hun Yu glanced at Xiao Yan, but he did not cause any trouble at this moment. He understood that if someone really chose to withdraw, the remaining people would definitely not be able to fight with the five elite Ban Shengs.

“Leave one of them to us.” Jiu Feng hesitated for a moment before taking one. These experts might be frightening, but they were only puppets and could not compare to a genuine Ban Sheng. They should be able to fight these puppets by relying on their large numbers.

“The remaining two Ban Shengs will be left to the other four groups. What do you say?” Xiao Yan’s eyes jumped between the remaining four groups. The strength of any single one of these groups might not be comparable to Xiao Yan’s, but it should be possible for two groups to deal with one Ban Sheng puppet alone.

“Aye.” The people in the four groups looked at each other after hearing Xiao Yan’s words. After which, they looked at the spot where the Bodhisattva Heart was before violently nodding. They were willing to risk it because of the temptation of the Bodhisattva Heart.

“Since no one has any objections... let’s attack!”

Xiao Yan slowly exhaled. His expression became extremely grave. This was the first time he would be fighting an elite Ban Sheng. Although the fighting strength of this puppet was not comparable to a genuine Ban Sheng, it was still ultimately an expert who could be considered a “Sheng” no matter how one put it. Anything that was even the least bit related to this word could be considered extremely powerful.

Xiao Yan slowly took three steps forward after his final word sounded. Dou Qi whistled from within his body in all directions.[a][b]

“Bang!”

Those five unmoving statue-like puppets’ empty eyes suddenly landed on Xiao Yan when he took a third step forward. Their hollow eyes remained watching him as one of them stepped forward with a stiff and unusual gait. It appeared in front of Xiao Yan in a flash. That figure did not speak as a frightening palm shattered space and slammed toward Xiao Yan with lightning-like speed.

Xiao Yan stomped his foot on the ground as the Ban Sheng puppet ferociously attacked. An enormous lava pillar shot out of the ground and violently collided with the puppet. However, the lava pillar, which was strong enough to force an ordinary nine star Dou Zun back and cough out blood, only caused that Ban Sheng’s puppet to tremble. The ferocious palm wind continued to slam toward Xiao Yan without any changes.

“Bang bang bang!”

Over a dozen extremely powerful Dou Qi pillars suddenly whistled from behind Xiao Yan when the Ban Sheng puppet’s attack was about to strike him. All of them struck the puppet. With the combined attacks of so many people, even an expert who had reached the top of the ninth change of the peak Dou Zun class would not dare to forcefully receive them all, yet this Ban Sheng puppet received the attacks even though its palm attack was shattered.

“Attack!”

While Xiao Yan’s group was beginning to exchange blows with a Ban Sheng puppet, Hun Yu’s group did not delay any longer. They let out a cold cry. Many figures rushed out at the same time and surrounded the Ban Sheng puppet from the Hun clan.

“Ancestor, we will help relieve you of your pain...”

Hun Yu looked at the hollow-faced puppet and spoke in a faint voice. After which, he charged forward. There were over ten extremely powerful Hall of Souls experts swiftly following behind him. Majestic Dou Qi began to pester that Ban Sheng puppet.

Jiu Feng’s group and the others also began to act after Xiao Yan’s and Hun Yu’s group did. They unleashed the Dou Qi within their bodies to the limit. After which, they wildly charged forward and encircled the remaining three Ban Sheng puppets in separate areas. In an instant, frightening Dou Qi spread over this spacious plains. The Dou Qi was like sharp wind that devastated the surroundings.

Although they had an advantage in numbers, not one of them was a genuine Ban Sheng. Hence, this would undoubtedly be an extremely miserable battle!

“Bang!”

Gu Hua and Gu Xing rushed down from the air as Dou Qi erupted from both of their palms in all directions. Their Dou Qi violently smashed into the back of that Ban Sheng puppet, but their incomparably ferocious attack appeared like a rock sinking in the ocean when it landed on the Ban Sheng puppet. Their bodies shook while a terrifying force followed their arms and surged into them.

“Grug!”

With the reflection of such a frightening force, the defenses on both Gu Hua and Gu Xing were instantly destroyed. Their bodies flew back before they were hurriedly received by a couple of Flower Sect Elders. Both parties had already exchanged blows for twenty minutes since they had begun to fight. On Xiao Yan’s side, the Flower Sect Elders would momentarily lose their fighting strength if they came into contact with some of the forceful wind from the puppet. Fortunately, Xiao Yan, Gu Qing Yang, Xun Er, and the other main pillars of strength were powerful. Hence, they were able to firmly restrain this Ban Sheng puppet.

“Attack its head!”

Xiao Yan cried out loud. The puppet was without life. Other than bursting apart its head, it was basically impossible to stop a puppet.

“King Kong Glass Body!”

“Octane Blast!”

A golden glow suddenly surged from Xiao Yan’s body when his cry sounded. His body suddenly swelled at this moment. His fist, which seemed to be made of metal, took advantage of when the Ban Sheng puppet’s attention was attracted by Gu Qing Yang. He swung his fist into the puppet’s head with lightning-like speed!

“Bang!”

Xiao Yan’s fist, which contained a frightening strength, ruthlessly smashed into the puppet’s head. A powerful force shook the Ban Sheng puppet’s head until some cracks formed, but no fresh blood flowed from those cracks. Clearly, these puppets’ bodies had dried after a countless number of years of weathering...

The Ban Sheng puppet suddenly turned when the punch hit its head. Its stiff arm was slammed into Xiao Yan’s shoulder like a bolt of lightning.

“Clang!”

Xiao Yan’s body staggered over a dozen steps back after being struck by the Ban Sheng puppet. Part of his shoulder had even been dented in. However, it was fortunate that his body had become extremely hard after activating the King Kong Glass Body. There was also the existence of the Insect Emperor Cloth and the Dragon Phoenix Ancient Armor protecting him. These factors helped him to not split out blood and fly backwards.

“Continue attacking its head! Destroy it!”

“Great Silent Destruction Finger!”

Xun Er and Gu Qing Yang attacked at the same time. Gu Qing Yang’s face was solemn as his hand seals rapidly changed. Two enormous energy fingers that carried an annihilation aura suddenly broke through the sky and furiously pressed down on the Ban Sheng puppet’s head with lightning-like speed.

“Great Silent Destruction Finger!”

Behind Xun Er and Gu Qing Yang, Gu Hua and Gu Xing also unleashed this extremely powerful Tian class Dou Skill with pale faces. Two somewhat dim energy fingers quickly appeared.

“Bang!”

Colorful thunderbolts seemed to have gathered in the sky at this moment before striking the Ban Sheng puppet. The thunderbolt attack was from Cai Lin.

Everyone seemed to have attacked at the same time as if they had made a tacit agreement. Many frightening attacks simultaneously landed on the Ban Sheng puppet’s head. The body of that Ban Sheng puppet suddenly trembled as so many frightening attacks accumulated. The head of the puppet, where many crack lines had appeared because of Xiao Yan’s attack earlier, emitted a bang and suddenly disappeared...

[a]Does the story ever mention him taking his first step forward?

[b]My mistake