The energy in the thin man’s body slowly accumulated as time trickled by. Although this was not the first time he had merged with a formation, he had never done it with a powerful one like this and the process was taking far longer than he had imagined.

  “I finally have a chance to get to see you in person. How about we have a little chat?” said the thin man.

  Bai Xiaofei laughed. “Good. I love explaining things, even to my enemies. After all, I should let you die knowing why you died, right?” He didn’t refuse. The thin man needed time, and so did he!

  While the two chatted, Ling Yue and his troops clashed with the human puppets. Shouts and screams never ceased, but it was as if all that was happening had nothing to do with the two chatting people.

  “When did you know that Pinocchio wasn’t real?” asked the thin man.

  “It was just a doubt before, but I confirmed it half a month ago. After their discussion, the other four godsmiths sent out secret codes, and all of them were surprisingly consistent: Pinocchio,” replied Bai Xiaofei with a smile.

  This answer was not what the thin man had expected. He thought Bai Xiaofei had already known it for sure for a long time.

  “So you’re not as magical as you are rumored to be. You are also just an ordinary person,” the thin man commented with a hint of disappointment.

  “In this world, everyone is an ordinary person. Aren’t you born from your mother? I just do things that other ordinary people rarely think about, and in my opinion, it’s best to leave no room for error.” Bai Xiaofei chuckled.

  The thin man looked curious. “Since you already determined that Pinocchio was fake half a month ago, why did you wait until now to handle it? Don’t you know trouble breeds over a long delay?”


  Hearing this, Bai Xiaofei revealed a look of contempt. “I thought you were smart, but it turns out you’re on the same level as an idiot.” He threw the thin man’s words back to him.

  The thin man had an urge to charge at Bai Xiaofei but resisted it. He still needed more time! Although he seemed to have an absolute advantage in the exchange of blows just now, he knew very well that Bai Xiaofei hadn’t used his all. Therefore, he had to ensure that he was at his peak in the next exchange.

  “Then tell me, how am I an idiot?” he asked with gritted teeth.

  “Pinocchio is but a chess pawn being used by Shadow Death, or to be exact, only one of many. What I want to do has never been finding out the creator of human puppets, because Pinocchio never thought of using human puppets to cause trouble, he only wanted to give his daughter a second life,” said Bai Xiaofei, having pieced together all the information he had gathered.

  Pinocchio’s daughter died at an early age, which tormented him for a long time. It was also during that time that he decided to refine his daughter through the human puppet technique.

  However, as time passed, he discovered that this method could not bring his daughter back from death. But he had already developed affection for his near-finished creation, the kind of affection a father had for his daughter.

  Therefore, he proceeded with his plan, wanting to make that creation into a substitute for his daughter. In order to do this, he did not hesitate to cooperate with Shadow Death.

  After his purpose was achieved, Pinocchio wanted to break away from this relationship, so he started to release his defective products everywhere to Shadow Death’s ignorance. As a result, there were ghost villages.

  Then, Pinocchio let himself be chased and attacked by human puppets to wash away any suspicion of him, and also to give his ‘daughter’ an identity.

  Yes, Yan Ran’er was his creation.

  That was why she kept becoming stronger without having to do anything. It was not growth, but the ability that originally belonged to her gradually awakening!

  Then, after Bai Xiaofei arrived at Ethereal, Pinocchio guided Bai Xiaofei to solve his troubles. He who was powerless pinned his hope on Bai Xiaofei!

  “So, what I’ve been doing is finding your lair, making sure that you will be uprooted from here! After half a month of investigation, I’ve ruled out all other possibilities. Within the range of two thousand miles around the imperial city, only the Holy Puppetsmith Mountain can meet the conditions for forging human puppets!” Bai Xiaofei stared intently at the thin man. “I’m afraid even Pinocchio doesn’t know you set up the formation here, does he?”


  The thin man burst out laughing.

  “Beautifully done! I take back what I said before. You really are extraordinary!” he praised. Then, his laughter gradually stopped and his expression became cold. “In that case, you seek to oppose Shadow Death?”


  “I’ve never wanted to oppose anyone, it was Shadow Death who offended me first! In other words, you have been seeking death yourself!” Bai Xiaofei said coldly as the scene of the academy anniversary replayed in his mind, stopping at the monument in Starnet Square. Every name on it could have had a different life, but it all ended because of Shadow Death!

  “Shadow Death never thought of targeting a greenhorn boy either. It’s you who insists on wanting to die, Bai Xiaofei. You will soon know what kind of monster you are facing!” With a fanatic expression, the thin man felt the energy in his body reaching its peak.

  At that moment, from underground shone several violet-gold lights, along with a black-gold light!

  It was a blackgold grade puppet! Pinocchio really did it! And he not only created a blackgold puppet, but also accompanied it with a number of violetgold puppets!!

  Seeing these lights, the thin man found his confidence. He declared, “I’m sorry, you won’t have a chance to see the real Shadow Death. Today, this place shall be your graveyard!”


  Bai Xiaofei snorted. “After chatting for so long, you still haven’t told me your name yet.”


  The suddenly irrelevant question made the thin man pause. Then with a sneer, he said, “Remember, the person who is going to take your life is called Fire of Punishment!”


  As soon as Fire of Punishment finished his words, Bai Xiaofei’s aura suddenly changed as eerie and powerful energy spread from his body.

  “Do you know why I asked your name?” Bai Xiaofei asked as Blackie, Huskie, Purple Luan, and Mind Sunder appeared and successively merged into his body. “Because I want to know who I’m going to kill!”