Faced with the sudden ferocity of the attack, Xie Zhaolin's pupils contracted, but her heart didn't waver in surprise. She'd expected this. The pure yinsha qi inside her body was basically a walking feast for this puppet that fed on wandering souls and had a yin jade core! It waking up early and locking onto her so violently was completely normal.
"Careful!" Jiu Jiu cried out in panic from the side.
Xie Zhaolin tapped the ground with the tip of her toe, her Misty Steps pushed to the limit as her body shot backward. At the same time, her waist twisted at an impossible angle, letting her slip narrowly through the gap between the puppet's closing claws!
Boom!
The yin puppet's claw missed and slammed into the ground, carving out a corrosive pit. Missing its target, the puppet roared with rage, its deathly aura swelling as it lunged at her again, its offensive even fiercer than before! Despite its massive body, it moved with unnerving agility. Twisting its frame, it stomped forward, its right leg sweeping across with a deep whoosh that sealed off Xie Zhaolin's flank!
She dodged rapidly while circulating her technique, ghostly light flashing faintly in her eyes. Thanks to the Xuanyin Foundation Technique, she saw the yinsha qi swirling around the puppet wasn't evenly spread. It flowed like meridians in a human body, condensing at certain nodes where it pulsed with activity.
At the same time, where the chest's soul jade core connected with the limbs, some of the meridian intersections seemed sluggish and dim.
"A weakness…" Realization struck instantly.
She could use a thunder talisman to smash the core, sure, but that would definitely damage the yin soul jade with its pure yang lightning. That wasn't what she wanted.
She needed it whole, intact. That jade would benefit both her and her beast soul tremendously. But if she struck those circulation nodes instead, she might restrain it while keeping the jade safe!
Her eyes sharpened as she made her decision. Instead of retreating, she charged straight in!
The Liuyun Ribbon slid from her sleeve, infused with yinsha power. Once pure white, it now glowed with a dark luster, turning impossibly tough. With a flick of her wrist, the ribbon unfurled and whipped around, not to clash head-on, but to coil tightly around the back of the puppet's sweeping knee joint!
"Bind!"
The Liuyun Ribbon tightened instantly!
Yinsha qi clashed with the puppet's deathly aura, sizzling loudly. It couldn't completely block the sweeping strike, but it slowed it just enough, forcing the blow slightly off course!
That single instant of delay was all she needed.
Borrowing the rebound, Xie Zhaolin floated backward, her left hand forming a seal as several arrows of yinsha condensed in the air. With a sharp whistle, they shot straight at the puppet's face and the wavering soul flame in its chest!
Pfft pfft pfft!
Most of the arrows shattered against the puppet's deathly armor, but one pierced the gap in the flickering soul flame, striking right at the edge of its eye socket!
"Roar!"
The puppet howled, the flame in its chest shuddering violently. Its attack faltered. Even a puppet couldn't ignore a blow to its core flame.
Xie Zhaolin didn't stop. Her figure blurred into a streak of shadow, circling around it with blinding speed. Her divine sense locked onto every circulation node and weak meridian.
"Sever the limb!"
Her body flickered, suddenly appearing at its left side!
The Liuyun Ribbon lashed out again, its tip twisting into a sharp spiral that stabbed into the sluggish node at the puppet's left shoulder joint.
"Break!"
Ssshhhk!
The ribbon pierced true, releasing a concentrated blast of yinsha qi that tore through the node's deathly aura!
Crack!
Something inside shifted out of place!
The puppet's left arm froze, its swing slowing unnaturally before it dropped limply, no longer under its own control!
"Roar!"
The puppet went berserk!
Its right claw came crashing down on Xie Zhaolin's head! Her expression changed slightly. She didn't dare block it. Her figure shot backward!
At the same time, she flipped the low-grade fire talisman hidden in her right hand and flicked it straight at a nearly stagnant meridian point at the puppet's right ankle!
Boom!
The fire talisman exploded, flames rushing into the joint!
The giant puppet staggered, its right leg suddenly stiff. Its balance shattered!
"Now!"
Xie Zhaolin's eyes flashed brilliantly. With the puppet swaying and its vision obscured by its own massive body, this was the perfect opening!
Her left hand surged with baleful qi, five fingers forming a claw as she silently plunged it into the glowing point at the puppet's chest—the only safe way to touch the yin soul jade!
This was why the jade had survived until now. Ordinary cultivators either couldn't touch it safely or refused to destroy it, leaving it embedded in this resilient puppet body. Her hand pierced through the puppet's defenses without resistance and clamped tightly around the jade, which pulsed with pure yin energy!
Sensing power even purer than its own, the jade trembled lightly, but it didn't resist.
"Come out!"
With a fierce tug and a surge of suction from her palm, the connecting meridians ripped apart with a sharp crack!
At the same instant, her right hand slapped the small pure yang thunder talisman onto the puppet's empty chest cavity.
"Shatter!"
As she hissed the word, she yanked the jade free and slipped it silently into her storage ring!
Boom!
The talisman detonated, releasing blinding violet-gold lightning that blasted into the puppet's hollow chest!
"Wuuuu—!"
The puppet shrieked, its body spasming violently before it collapsed with a thunderous crash. Its chest cavity smoldered with a charred hole, smoke curling out.
The battle was over.
Everything had happened in a flash. Thanks to her cunning use of blind spots, Jiu Jiu never saw the moment Xie Zhaolin snatched the jade. She exhaled softly, calming her turbulent qi and blood.
Those rapid strikes had tested both her strength and her control.
From outside the fight, Jiu Jiu had stood with her arms crossed, watching every move without blinking. To her, it only looked like Xie Zhaolin had barely dodged the attacks, risked going in close, and finally destroyed the puppet with a thunder talisman.
When the fight ended, she walked up with a perfectly timed look of awe.
"Benefactor, you're incredible! That was way too close!"
But deep in her eyes, a fleeting glimmer of thought flashed by, gone in an instant. She looked at the smoking wreck of the puppet and patted her chest. "Good thing you used that thunder talisman! That thing was terrifying! Too bad the yin soul jade got destroyed though…"
Her voice carried genuine-sounding regret, as if she truly believed the jade had been ruined.
Xie Zhaolin's expression didn't change. She shot Jiu Jiu a cool glance and said simply, "What matters is that it's dealt with."
She knew the truth. The jade had survived because only pure yinsha power could touch it. Destroying it with yang force would've wasted its value, and most intruders had either died or never realized its worth. She'd just gotten lucky.
Jiu Jiu didn't suspect anything. "Alright, watchdog's down. Let's head in, there's even better stuff inside!"