Chapter 020

Chapter 20: Formless Canon

As soon as these words echoed through the air, the black-robed middle-aged man’s expression shifted drastically. Instantly alert, he scanned the surroundings, vigilance etched deep into his eyes. His gaze finally landed on Li Mu Sheng, who stood not far away.

“What are you looking at me for? Look over there!” Li Mu Sheng quickly pointed toward the valley.

Just at that moment, Meng Shan and Yuan Mei, who had been preparing to escape upon seeing the masked woman heavily injured and cornered, suddenly felt the world spin violently. In the next instant, both fell straight to the ground, unmoving.

Meanwhile, the shabby scholar who had accompanied them under their protection stood slowly upright, casting off his earlier timid and pitiful appearance. Instead, his face now revealed a cold, indifferent expression filled with supreme confidence.

“Senior sister was so obsessed with mastering that ‘Blood Aspect Poison Claw Technique’ to Great Completion that she grew careless after all,” he murmured, shaking his head lightly.

“Enough talk, junior brother! Hurry and act! If you delay any longer, senior sister might truly perish at the hands of these humble ones!” the masked woman shouted urgently. She had just barely withstood a fierce blow from the elder attacking her; the dark green poison Qi surrounding her had nearly been entirely dispersed. She spat out a mouthful of blood, her face ghastly pale.

“So, my eyes deceived me. Who would have guessed that this poisonous woman murdered so many from our alliance, all for the sake of a mere scholar,” said the black-robed man, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Without any warning, he launched a sudden strike.

His Thousand Leaf Wind Crushing Palm surged forth quietly. Martial Qi spun within him, swiftly forming into a two-foot-wide palm print, carrying the fierce force of wind and thunder as it struck toward the masked woman.

His intention was clear—to eliminate the masked woman with her deadly poison skills first, and then deal with the mysterious scholar afterward. After all, the scholar’s true power was still unknown. If the two managed to join forces, the situation would quickly spiral out of control.

“Be careful, senior sister. If you survive this strike, you’ll be safe!” the scholar called out with a carefree laugh.

The masked woman’s expression turned grim. [You really have done it now. After this, senior sister won’t be able to protect you any longer. You better watch out for yourself!] Gritting her teeth, she gathered every last bit of Qi remaining in her dantian into her claws, desperately meeting the destructive palm strike.

At the same time, the black-robed man and the two other elders suddenly felt their expressions change dramatically. Without knowing why, they found their bodies becoming stiff and unresponsive. The martial Qi flowing in their meridians suddenly became sluggish, as if an unseen force were holding back their movements, leaving them unable to move according to their own will.

“What’s happening?!” the black-robed man cried in shock. He was certain he had not been poisoned but could not understand why he had become immobilized. Alongside the two elders, he turned his gaze to the shabby scholar, who had not yet even joined the fight.

Seeing their stares, the scholar’s thin, sallow face twisted into a mocking smile. Slowly, he extended his fingers and grasped sharply in mid-air. Fine threads of martial Qi appeared, shimmering faintly in the empty space between his fingertips and the three men.

The black-robed man and the elders widened their eyes in horror as they noticed countless invisible threads suddenly revealed, densely connecting their bodies to the scholar’s fingertips.

With a slight movement of his pinky, the scholar caused one elder’s arms to jerk upward uncontrollably. In the next instant, the elder’s own fists slammed violently into his head. He desperately tried to circulate his martial Qi to break these invisible strings binding him, yet it was useless. Even his martial Qi had been seized, leaving him powerless.

“So this is Formless Puppet Art!” Cang Yin Yue, watching from outside the valley, exclaimed softly in astonishment.

Seeing Li Mu Sheng’s puzzled glance, she explained in a low voice, “Formless Puppet Art originates from the ‘Formless Canon.’ And the Formless Canon itself was once the supreme martial scripture of a sect called the ‘Infinite Forms Demon Sect,’ which existed hundreds of years ago.”

“However, that Infinite Forms Demon Sect was destroyed centuries ago. Occasionally, remnants of their arts resurface within the Martial World, but rarely cause significant disturbance. Yet, the Formless Puppet Art is truly formidable—it can shape Qi into invisible threads, quietly invading an opponent’s body and Qi, impossible to detect. Once controlled, one’s life and death fall entirely into the wielder’s hands.”

Her eyes returned gravely to the valley.

Now, under the scholar’s control, the black-robed man and the two elders helplessly began harming themselves. Despite their status as martial masters who had initially sustained no injuries and expended little strength while ambushing the masked woman, they now found themselves unable to resist. Even at their peak, they would have been powerless once captured by Formless Puppet Art, incapable even of ending their own lives.

“Your skills truly surpass mine, junior brother. If only my talent were stronger, master might have taught me more than just poison skills,” the masked woman muttered bitterly as she dragged herself toward the scholar.

With a twitch of his fingers, the scholar forced the black-robed man’s palm into the face of another elder, smashing it so forcefully that the elder’s cheekbones shattered gruesomely. Another elder punched the black-robed man’s shoulder, crushing bones and leaving behind a deep, bloody wound.

“Don’t say junior brother never avenged you. Are you satisfied now?” the scholar asked, glancing toward her with a smirk.

The masked woman stared coldly at the three suffering men, then reached up and tore away her veil, revealing vicious scars of dark green and black across her face. Wiping the blood from her lips, she replied icily, “I’d be even more satisfied if junior brother would leave them to me for practicing my Blood Aspect Poison Claw Technique!”

The scholar shook his head calmly. “Don’t rush. Once I capture those two over there, all these people will belong to senior sister!”

With a sinister smile tugging at his lips, the scholar slowly turned his gaze toward Li Mu Sheng and Cang Yin Yue, a calculating gleam in his eyes.

“Oh no!” Cang Yin Yue’s face paled in alarm. She tried swiftly to pull Li Mu Sheng away, only to feel her limbs suddenly stiffen.

Her heart tightened, and immediately, a shadowy force surged from within, attempting to rush through her body toward the soft blade at her waist. But halfway there, the shadow abruptly vanished, dissolving helplessly. Cang Yin Yue’s expression grew grim.

“I was careless. This is the complete Formless Puppet Art,” she whispered urgently.

She knew this art well. The versions circulating in the Martial World for centuries had been incomplete, limiting control to within ten zhang. But clearly, the scholar before her wielded the perfected form, far exceeding that distance.