The steepdevil flower king was a flower king that had reached the Sovereign level. Although it was not quite at the level of the immortal dead tree and blood devil vine, it still couldn't be underestimated.

  Amid the sea of flowers, it pulsed with a faint misty energy that stopped the fire from spreading. A certain fragrance also started spreading from it, something capable of paralyzing its prey for it to slaughter. Both Xiang Shaoyun and Lady Shura held their breaths, but Lady Shura still fainted.

  "Money, deal with that flower king!" said Xiang Shaoyun.

  Money had an innate lightning physique. The innate lightning power in his body could easily expel any flower poison from his body. He rushed over fearlessly and launched one lightning punch after another at the flowers.

  However, the steepdevil flower king was no pushover. Its petals started rippling as it erupted with bursts of energy, blocking Money's attacks.

  "Wow, a tiny flower is dreaming of stopping Grandpa Money? Die, all of you!" Money roared as he started bombarding the flowers with a massive number of lightning bolts.

  Meanwhile, Xiang Shaoyun retreated with Lady Shura so she wouldn't inhale more of the poison. His energy was wrapped around her, protecting her from any further harm.

  "Let's see where the ancient stele is at," Xiang Shaoyun muttered as he spread his Nether Soul Domain's senses deeper into the field of flowers.

  Sure enough, he sensed an ancient stele deep inside the field of flowers. He was overjoyed at that discovery.

  "I wonder what treasures are on this stele? It better be good," said Xiang Shaoyun.

  Suddenly, alarm bells rang in Xiang Shaoyun's head. Without a second thought, he dodged to the side. At that same instant, a sharp claw tore through the spot he was just at.

  The ambush was, in fact, an incredibly impressive sneak attack. If it wasn't for the fact that Xiang Shaoyun had recently grown stronger, the attack would have succeeded.

  "Which scoundrel is here?" Xiang Shaoyun roared as he palmed behind him.

  Bang!

  Xiang Shaoyun's palm was incredibly powerful, instantly creating a massive crater behind him.

  The ambusher wasn't hit. Rather, he started laughing sinisterly before saying, "Xiang Shaoyun, you're indeed strong. Come, see how strong my puppets are."

  The ambusher was none other than Gui Mochou the Young Master Ghost. He summoned eight puppets out and formed a unique formation with them before charging Xiang Shaoyun. Each puppet was a peak Emperor, and they even possessed life force. Hence, they could use their astral energies, something that caused Xiang Shaoyun to be perplexed.

  "Gui Mochou, I was still worrying that I wouldn't be able to find you, but here you are, seeking death here!" roared Xiang Shaoyun after he saw who the attacker was.

  \r\r\r

  However, the eight puppets were already attacking him in their formation. They unleashed a massive bombardment of attacks that looked incredibly powerful.

  The eight sources of attacks weren't as simple as a concentrated bombardment. Rather, they were all coming from different angles, completely sealing any avenue of escape or counterattack Xiang Shaoyun might have. One of the puppets even aimed for Lady Shura.

  Xiang Shaoyun had not expected that Gui Mochou would actually fight in this manner. He was confused and wondered just what kind of grudge Gui Mochou had against him, but since he needed to focus on dealing with the eight puppets, his confusion did not matter anymore.

  "Get lost!" Xiang Shaoyun roared as his battle intent surged. He activated a terrifying fist intent and punched eight times with his fist, aiming for each puppet.

  Rumble! Rumble!

  His fist intent crushed through their attacks before sending the puppets flying away. At this time, Gui Mochou sneaked another attack at Xiang Shaoyun from a different direction.

  Eight Kalpa Claw!

  Instantly, Xiang Shaoyun was surrounded by numerous claws. Each claw seemed to have phantoms swirling around it, looking incredibly sinister, and seemed capable of causing one's heart to waver.

  This was Gui Mochou's unique technique. By causing his opponent's heart to waver, he could kill his opponent while they were distracted. It was an incredibly effective technique.

  Xiang Shaoyun had resilient willpower, so his heart would not waver so easily. He reacted by releasing a simple punch, blasting all the claws apart. He then locked his gaze at Gui Mochou, aiming to punch him to death.

  However, Gui Mochou was incredibly nimble as well. He moved rapidly, leaving numerous afterimages all around Xiang Shaoyun. His actual body was no longer distinguishable from his afterimages, and even more claw attacks shot at Xiang Shaoyun.

  Gui Mochou was an eighth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. He had an impressive combat strength, and since Xiang Shaoyun was hindered by having Lady Shura in his arms, he was forced to put his full focus into dealing with Gui Mochou and the eight puppets.

  As for Money, he did sense what was happening at Xiang Shaoyun's side, but he couldn't help immediately since the steepdevil flower king was a thorny opponent. Petals filled the air, constantly sticking to Money's body and causing him extreme discomfort.

  Apart from that, the steepdevil flower king was also attacking with numerous vines, completely blocking Money's escape path. The plant aimed to turn Money into its meal today. Of course, it was not like Money was completely helpless against it. He only needed some time.

  Relying on his speed, Xiang Shaoyun avoided the numerous incoming attacks before finally approaching one of the puppets. An alarming amount of battle intent rose from him as he unleashed a torrential fist intent that seemed capable of crushing everything in its path. The fist intent easily destroyed the puppet's emperor armor.

  Xiang Shaoyun's entire body was protected by his Goldplates, so he was unafraid of the puppets' attacks. He only feared Gui Mochou's attacks, but Gui Mochou had been attacking from far behind the puppets, not daring to launch a frontal attack.

  A sinister look covered Xiang Shaoyun's eyes as he said, "Gui Mochou, you will regret ever deciding to come after me!"

  He started moving like a phantom, repeatedly dodging the puppets' attacks while he closed in on Gui Mochou.

  Gui Mochou might be fast, but he wasn't as fast as Xiang Shaoyun. As Xiang Shaoyun approached, he readied his Lightning Bolt Fist. A dense fist intent converged around his clenched fist, awaiting to unleash an earth-shattering might.

  Gui Mochou was able to sense an intense pressure, but a smile still formed on his face as he said, "Lady Shura, make a move!"

  The instant he said that, Lady Shura, who was still in Xiang Shaoyun's arms, suddenly opened her eyes and slammed her palm into Xiang Shaoyun's heart. That was a fatal attack.

  Chapter 879: You Know Puppet Manipulation Technique as Well?

  Xiang Shaoyun could be ready against everything, but he definitely wasn't prepared against an attack from Lady Shura. Only when he felt a sharp pain in his chest did he realize that the lady in his arms had attacked him.

  The heart was the weakest part of a human body, and even if Xiang Shaoyun had an incredibly tough body, when someone struck his heart while he was completely unprepared, he still felt as if his heart was going to burst apart.

  He suffered an intense injury, and he pushed Lady Shura away. But at this time, the other puppets charged him. One of them swung a massive saber at his head. At this point, Xiang Shaoyun was weakened too much to dodge, so he was forced to raise his arm to block the slash.

  "AHHH!"

  A wound deep enough that his bone could be seen appeared on his arm as he was sent flying away. Behind him, another puppet kicked him, giving him even more injuries. Regardless of the injuries caused by the slash or the kick, they weren't actually too bad for Xiang Shaoyun. However, the hit he took to his heart was actually fatal.

  As he crashed heavily into the ground, the other puppets followed up with even more attacks. His entire body was under intense assault. If his body hadn't gone through the tempering of lightning and fire, he would probably be a corpse by now.

  By the side, Gui Mochou roared with laughter, "Hahaha, well done!"

  When Gui Mochou sensed that Xiang Shaoyun's life force had reached the lowest point, he quickly ordered his puppets to capture him. He himself was staying behind. It was clear he was an extremely cautious person.

  However, it didn't matter how cautious he was, as he had no idea how many trump cards Xiang Shaoyun had. In fact, even after getting Lady Shura under his control, he hadn't been able to gather too much information from her.

  When two of the puppets approached to capture Xiang Shaoyun, Xiang Shaoyun relied on his many years of experience threading at the edge of death and dissolved the spring water in his astral cosmos sea. His heart started healing rapidly, and he immediately activated the Nether Soul Domain and wrapped everyone in it.

  Generally speaking, when someone was badly injured, one's soul would be greatly weakened as well. That was completely not the case for Xiang Shaoyun. He had a filthless soul and the Nether Dragon Soul Headband's protection on top of that. Thus, his soul was still relatively well, and by extension, his Nether Soul Domain still worked.

  The moment Gui Mochou and his puppets were pulled into the Nether Soul Domain, Gui Mochou's expression underwent a rapid change. He cried out in alarm, "What the hell is this? Break it!"

  He started raking at his surroundings with his steel claws, trying to tear a way out. Unfortunately, his strength was greatly suppressed in the domain. He was unable to display his usual strength—not that it mattered, as it was unlikely that he could destroy the Nether Soul Domain even at full strength.

  When Xiang Shaoyun was only a third-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator, his soul was already comparable with a third-stage Soul Foundation Realm cultivator. Now that he was at the seventh stage, his soul had strengthened considerably as well. It was now no weaker than the soul of a fifth-stage Soul Foundation Realm cultivator. Similarly, his Nether Soul Domain was also at that level of strength.

  Gui Mochou was basically dreaming if he thought he could break out of the realm. Numerous chains shot out, shackling Gui Mochou, Lady Shura, and the puppets.

  \r\r\r

  "Bastard, what is going on here? Get away from me!" Gui Mochou roared in panic.

  Alas, he had no way of breaking free from the chains. He no longer had any hope of escaping.

  After capturing them, Xiang Shaoyun wasn't in any rush to interrogate them. Instead, he used the Secret Reversal Technique and gathered a massive amount of life force to heal his heart. As the life force flowed into his heart, it started stabilizing, and he was no longer in danger of dropping dead at any moment.

  After all, Lady Shura had placed a lot of force behind that attack. If it wasn't for his tough body, his heart would have been crushed by that attack. It was already lucky for him to be able to last this long. With his heart condition stabilizing, he could finally shift his attention to Gui Mochou.

  His soul appeared before Gui Mochou, and he asked with a cold look in his eyes, "Say it. Why did you attack me, and how did you put Lady Shura under your control?"

  He was confident Lady Shura hadn't willingly betrayed him. That definitely had something to do with Gui Mochou. It was obvious enough from the fact that Gui Mochou controlled living puppets.

  "Release me right now, or I can kill her with a single thought," Gui Mochou threatened. "Of course, you can choose to kill me. But she will definitely die as well. Hahaha."

  He was feeling rather complacent with Lady Shura as his puppet.

  "You really think I won't kill you?" Xiang Shaoyun said.

  "Oh, I don't mind. I'm not going to die alone anyway," replied Gui Mochou unyielding.

  "Looks like questioning you is pointless. Well, time for you to have a taste of how it feels to be someone else's puppet," said Xiang Shaoyun. He couldn't be bothered to waste more time and started using the Nether Dragon Soul Curse on Gui Mochou instead.

  Gui Mochou was still confused when he suddenly sensed an ancient curse invading his mind. Finally, his expression changed greatly as he exclaimed, "You know puppet manipulation techniques as well? Impossible! I'm an expert in this, and you won't be able to compete with me in this! Break!"

  Gui Mochou was indeed proficient in puppet manipulation, and he also possessed stronger soul power than his peers. He was confident Xiang Shaoyun stood absolutely no chance using such a technique against him.

  But even as the curse symbols neared his soul, he still couldn’t destroy them. It was then that he realized how much stronger this curse was than he had imagined.

  "No, I will not be subjected to your control! Protective jade, break!" Gui Mochou quickly crushed his jade before he fully fell under Xiang Shaoyun's control.

  There was no way for Xiang Shaoyun to prevent this method of extraction. Of course, he had a chance to kill Gui Mochou, but he was afraid of harming Lady Shura as well.

  Thus, he could only watch on as Gui Mochou vanished before him. His killing intent was incredibly thick as he said, "You can run for now, but you won't be able to keep running from me."

  One could say that Gui Mochou had entered the top of his must-kill list. Gui Mochou had actually dared to put his woman under control. The galls of him!

  Xiang Shaoyun decided to forget Gui Mochou for now. He was still worried about Lady Shura. He immediately destroyed all the puppets with his chains, sparing only Lady Shura. He then started checking Lady Shura's condition, searching for a way to solve the puppet manipulation issue.