1291 How Much Is Your Nether Puppet?

Outside the Black Temple, one of the forbidden lands in Earth Prison…

A rumbling sound suddenly rang out, accompanied by a deafening dog bark. The next moment, a horrible plume of Nether energy burst out and enveloped the entire temple in an instant.

Amid the monstrous Nether energy, a looming black dog raised his paw and slapped it hard at the Black Temple. With a loud boom, the whole building shook violently, while a huge dog paw print appeared on the temple's tough wall!

Scary killing intent rose up from the Black Temple, and then the shadow of a dagger shot out from it.

"Damn mangy dog! You're courting death!" A thunderous roar rang through the void. The voice was old and filled with towering rage.

Suddenly, a shocking aura exploded out of the temple, and an expert wrapped in black bandages like a mummy flew out, hovering in the void. However, when he came out, the black dog was already gone, leaving only the paw print on the wall.

At the sight, the expert almost vomited blood in fury. He had never seen such an impudent dog.

"How I regret it! If I had known this, I would have killed this mangy dog with a dagger, and I wouldn't have to suffer this today!"

The dog didn't fight him but kept harassing the Black Temple. It annoyed him very much.

It would have been better if the dog's strength was weak, but he was very strong! It would be even better if he dared to rush into the Black Temple. After all, it was a forbidden land and full of all kinds of forbidden means. If the dog dared to enter, he would lose a layer of skin at the least. However, he just wouldn't go in. He just kept harassing the Black Temple from the outside, leaving a paw print on the wall from time to time.

This was so irritating!

"Don't let me catch you, or I'll skin you and make you into a dog meat hotpot!" The expert's deafening voice spread far and wide as if to shatter the surrounding void.

With a buzzing sound, a figure flew out of the Black Temple. This was also an expert wrapped in black bandages.

"We didn't get the Senseless Lotus… This shouldn't have happened! I can't believe that piece of crap failed to snatch the lotus from a One-revolution Little Saint! I want you to go to Nether Prison immediately and assassinate that worm. Assassination is what we are best at. You're not allowed to fail. Bring me the Senseless Lotus!

"With the Senseless Lotus, the key… I'll be able to get out of the shackles of this forbidden land and be free to go anywhere! Then, I'll find that black dog and kill him, no matter where he's hiding!"

The second figure nodded, his eyes flickering with a dark-gold gleam.

With a tearing sound, a dagger emitting black smoke floated out of the first figure and fell into the hands of the second figure.

The figure with dark golden eyes nodded, then turned into a shadow and disappeared into the void.

…

Nether Prison was quite vast, but it was still much smaller than Earth Prison.

There were three prisons in the Netherworld, namely Ruin Prison, Earth Prison, and Nether Prison. Ruin Prison was the smallest, and its energy level was the lowest, so it didn't produce too many top experts.

Earth Prison and Nether Prison were actually about the same, but because Earth Prison had a much larger area, its spiritual energy was thinner than that of Nether Prison. As a result, it didn't produce as many top experts as Nether Prison. 

However, although Nether Prison had more resources than Earth Prison, it had a larger population and more geniuses, resulting in higher consumption of resources. Therefore, Nether Prison experts had always wanted to invade Earth Prison.

Unfortunately, Nether King Tian Cang had led an army into Nether Prison and seriously injured many experts from the nine clans. After that, Nether Prison fell into a period of recuperation, which also gave Earth Prison time to breathe.

Tian Cang was dead now, and the Great Saints of the nine clans were almost fully recovered. Once they had recovered, they would invade Earth Prison again. Without Tian Cang, Earth Prison could not resist the invasion of Nether Prison.

However, Nether Prison was also facing a major foreign threat. That was also why it had been in a hurry to expand. The threat was like a monster that kept devouring the void, constantly devouring it. One day, it would completely swallow the whole Nether Prison. 

…

There were nine clans in Nether Prison but only five major cities, which were built by the top five clans. Although the remaining four clans also had their cities, they were not considered major cities.

The Sacred Puppet City belonged to the Nether Puppeteer Clan, the second strongest clan of the nine Nether Prison clans. It was a grand city where many famous figures of Nether Prison gathered.

Of course, the clan lands of the nine clans were separated from their cities. Cities were used to accommodate people and earn them resources, while clan lands were the most important places for each clan. 

Although it was the major city of the Nether Puppeteer Clan, the experts from the other eight clans also gathered here, and the finals of the Netherworld's Tournament of the Great Path would also be held here. 

In the Sacred Puppet City's transport pavilion…

With a buzzing sound, a flash of light began to flicker, and then a mysterious wave spread out of the pavilion. After a long time, when the light finally faded away, many figures appeared.

Bu Fang opened his eyes and put his hands behind his back. His Vermilion Chef Robe fluttered in the wind. He looked around and found himself in a long and resplendent pavilion.

Zhu Yan and the others stood behind him, glancing around with wide eyes and an incredulous look on their faces. It was their first time at Nether Prison, so they were naturally curious about everything.

Nether Prison was an overlord-class small world. Before this, Zhu Yan and the others did not even dare to think that they could come here. The spiritual energy in the air was very rich, and it seemed to be richer than Earth Prison. Of course, what shocked them most was the transport pavilion, which was what they saw first the moment they arrived. A dazzling array of cool portraits were painted on its ceilings.

"This transport pavilion was made by a grandmaster in the Sacred Puppet City, and each of these portraits can fetch a very high price at auction!" Lu Cheng was pleased to see the shocked faces of the crowd. He was a Nether Puppeteer, so naturally, he was proud of what the clan had. There was a touch of indifference on his face as he looked at Bu Fang, Fa Wu, and the others.

'Now that we're in Nether Prison, let's see if you can still be so arrogant!' he thought to himself.

He couldn't believe that the first place in the semifinals was won by the Immortal Cooking Realm, a small world that had fallen behind for countless years. It was a slap in the face for Nether Prison. But it didn't matter, for they had arrived at Nether Prison now, and they were about to face geniuses from the best team. Zhang Xuan was good, but he was a weakling compared to those geniuses.

"Come on, let's leave the transport pavilion first. The organizers should have had someone waiting for us at the door," Lu Cheng said, glancing at Bu Fang and the others as they looked around in amazement.

The Nether Prison contestants were looking at Bu Fang and the others with disdain. In their eyes, this group of people was like bumpkins from the countryside who had never seen the world.

Lu Cheng led the way, his hips slightly tilted. It was obvious that he had not recovered from his injury. Out of the transport array, the crowd came to a long corridor. They walked along it and soon left the building.

As soon as they came out, a massive and magnificent city lay before them. In their eyes, they were people everywhere, as well as a variety of flying devices traveling back and forth in the air. There were also many flickering light screens, which were broadcasting all kinds of pictures.

The culture, entertainment, and the arts of cultivation of a major city in Nether Prison were at least twice as developed and advanced as any other small world. The scene was transmitted to all the other small worlds through the projection array. The reason why Nether Prison chose the Sacred Puppet City as the venue for the finals was to make the other small worlds feel its advanced and mighty strength. It wanted to create the perception that Nether Prison was like a holy city.

Clearly, when such scenes spread through the projection array, they shocked the people in other small worlds, including Winged Man Valley, West Little Buddhism Realm, Earth Prison, and Immortal Cooking Realm. They suddenly felt that their worlds were so backward.

Bu Fang didn't feel anything, though. Nether Prison's spiritual civilization was indeed developed, and there were signs that it was transiting into a technological civilization. However, he had been exposed to technology in his previous life, so he wasn't impressed by what he saw now.

Just then, a clear sound of footsteps rang out. A young man with a giant puppet on his back was slowly approaching from a distance with a group of people.

"It's Lu Yu! A gifted Nether Puppeteer from the best team!" Someone among the Nether Prison contestants immediately recognized the young man.

The young man, with a puppet on his back, had a pale, clean face and cold eyes, and he gave off an arrogant air. As a genius from the second strongest clan of the nine clans, he naturally was proud of himself.

Lu Cheng led the crowd toward the young man.

"How's everything?" Lu Yu gave Lu Cheng a look as his face turned slightly gentler. After all, Lu Cheng was also a Nether Puppeteer, and they were on good terms. After greeting each other, his eyes fell on Bu Fang and the others.

Lu Cheng whispered many things in Lu Yu's ears, causing the latter's eyes to grow colder and sharper. Finally, he focused on Bu Fang.

"He won first place in the semifinal of the individual competition?"

The corners of Lu Yu's mouth curved upward into a disdainful sneer.

"Alright, thanks for telling me… The members of the second-best team are, after all, contestants who have been eliminated from the geniuses' competition. As good as Zhang Xuan is, he can't represent our actual strength. In Nether Prison, these people cannot be as arrogant as they are elsewhere," Lu Yu said.

Lu Cheng nodded.

Bu Fang stared at Lu Yu. Lu Cheng's Sacred Nether Puppet was destroyed by the skeleton, and its heart was also smashed, so he no longer paid attention to him. Since a Sacred Nether Puppet's heart was required to repair Whitey, he focused his attention on Lu Yu now, who was carrying a puppet.

The way Bu Fang looked at him made Lu Yu frown slightly, and he felt a little confused. However, he didn't think too much. The Nether Puppeteer Clan had two contestants in the best team. Besides him, there was a more formidable genius. Even if he couldn't stop this group of fellows from the Immortal Cooking Realm, they couldn't cause any trouble in the face of that genius.

Besides, how could he fail to stop them?

Lu Yu smiled disdainfully at the thought.

"Welcome to Nether Prison. The draw for the finals will be held tomorrow. As the host, we have prepared a reception for you in Nether Prison's largest restaurant. I hope everyone can be there on time," Lu Yu said with a chuckle. The next moment, he produced many jade talismans and threw them at Bu Fang and the others.

"This is the ticket to the reception. Please keep it carefully. You can't get into the restaurant without it. It would be embarrassing if you were stopped from joining the party."

Bu Fang raised his hand and grabbed the jade talisman, then slowly withdrew his gaze and looked at it. He could sense gentle energy flowing inside.

After distributing the jade talismans, Lu Yu fixed his eyes on Bu Fang and said in a somewhat disdainful tone, "I heard that you won first place in the semifinal of the individual competition, and you're also the one who schemed against Zhang Xuan and got him killed. 

"You're famous now. You've picked the Senseless Lotus, killed Zhang Xuan, and won first place in the semifinal of the individual competition… Many people want to meet you, so make sure you come to the reception tonight." Lu Yu clapped a hand on Bu Fang's shoulder, showing a look of admiration.

The Nether Prison experts couldn't help laughing, their eyes fixed on Bu Fang with amusement.

Bu Fang gave Lu Yu an expressionless look, then shifted his eyes on the puppet. He raised his hand and gently patted the puppet on the shoulder.

His move quieted everyone down, and Lu Yu's face immediately turned cold.

The experts of the Nether Puppeteer Clan would never allow others to touch their puppets. That was their pride and dignity.

However, just as Lu Yu was about to speak, Bu Fang looked up slightly at him with a hint of seriousness and sincerity in his eyes and said, "You have a good puppet… How do you sell it? How much is a kilo?"

Everyone was struck dumb by his words.