Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

Chapter 5380 Controlling Puppets

As the devil corpse's runes activated, its aura surged, and its body began to swell rapidly. Long Chen jumped in fright. The green parrot had never mentioned this kind of scenario in the technique it had taught him.

Just as Long Chen prepared to eject the corpse from his spiritual space to let it explode outside, the golden Divine Gate quivered. In an instant, the devil corpse vanished and reappeared in the primal chaos space, where its exploding runes crumbled under the primal chaos laws.

Long Chen breathed a sigh of relief. Looking into the primal chaos space and seeing the corpse, he saw that it was already ruined, its runes black and smoking. Long Chen then tossed it onto the black soil and returned to his spiritual space. When he looked at the next corpse, he couldn’t help but hesitate.

“Don’t be suspicious. The green parrot’s curse art is correct. This process just has a chance of failure. Keep going,” the Earth Cauldron urged.

Hearing that, Long Chen felt much more at ease. No longer doubting the curse art, he tried it again.

Buzz.

“Fuck!” Long Chen cursed furiously.

It was another failure. Once again, the Divine Gate transported the corpse into the primal chaos space, and Long Chen tossed it onto the black soil.

“Settle down. You planned to use these as fertilizer anyway. Even if you fail with all of them, you won’t have lost anything, and you still get free experience,” advised the Earth Cauldron.

Long Chen took a deep breath and nodded. “Senior’s teachings are correct. I was too impatient.”

After calming down, Long Chen recognized his own greed and changed his approach. Even if they all failed, he’d still have fertilizer.

Buzz.

Another failure.

Buzz.

And another.

Success or failure no longer mattered; he was simply experimenting with the curse art, testing different techniques with his Spiritual Strength. Although the green parrot had taught him the basics, he was certain it had held back a few tricks.

However, there was no room for him to grumble, as it was something he had conned out of the parrot anyway. Was he really hoping for the parrot to teach him its secret techniques whole-heartedly?

After seven failed attempts, he finally succeeded on the eighth. This time, the devil corpse’s runes vibrated harmoniously without losing control, connecting seamlessly.

“Ah, I get it now,” Long Chen said with a smile, seeing the flashing runes around the corpse’s body. With this insight, he tried again, succeeding on the next attempt.

In the end, out of twelve corpses, he managed to activate the blood curse on only three. Now, the curse would slowly awaken them, gradually restoring the blood and qi in their bodies over ten days as per the parrot’s instructions. Once complete, they would be his most powerful puppets.

Long Chen was in an excellent mood. If he could control these three corpses, wouldn’t he be unmatched in the Wind Domain Battlefield?

After dealing with the devil corpses, Long Chen turned his focus to studying the Radiant World Star Crystal. With his prior experience, he sensed that its defenses had relaxed. When his soul connected with it, its power once again flowed into the starry sea within his Dantian.

This time, however, Long Chen didn’t dare to let it move unchecked. Although it wasn’t trying to harm him, it had no sense of when to stop. Allowing it free rein could very well cripple him.

According to the Earth Cauldron, the Radiant World Star Crystal contained the power of an entire starry river. The starry river had long since perished, but the star crystal remained eternal. To wield its power, Long Chen would need its acceptance and the physical resilience to contain it. His goal was to let the Radiant World Star Crystal’s energy upgrade his starry sea.

With this strengthening, his starry sea would eventually contain the crystal’s immense power without risk of shattering—though the path would be long and painful.

Luckily, the Radiant World Star Crystal lacked any wariness toward Long Chen and seemed to only want to help him. This was beyond the Earth Cauldron’s expectations.

This time, as the Radiant World Star Crystal’s energy entered Long Chen’s starry sea, it caused the entire space to boil. At the same time, he felt a burst of pain in his meridians.

Previously, the crystal had strengthened his body by forcibly injecting astral energy throughout his meridians and flesh. But now, with his starry sea activated, the energy immediately filled every part of his body.

Despite the extreme pain, Long Chen was thrilled. Previously, mobilizing his astral energy would require a long process and preparations, but now, he could freely move his astral energy through his body just like his bloodline power. He could freely summon it at will.

The pain basically stemmed from the inability of his physical body to endure this astral energy, but he knew that it would adapt soon.

Thinking of how he would be able to freely use astral energy, he was excited. If he could use his astral energy at will, wouldn’t he be able to easily use the nine star heir’s secret arts he had learned in secret? The prospect of unleashing those formidable attacks ignited a fierce anticipation within him.

However, he first needed to carefully control the Radiant World Star Crystal’s energy. Its power was overwhelming, and he had to handle it cautiously. The crystal seemed impatient, constantly pressing to advance his body beyond its limits.

His astral energy coursed through his meridians, diffusing throughout his body. However, the Radiant World Star Crystal wasn’t content with a gradual spread. It attempted to force his astral energy deeper, directly into his flesh and blood.

Long Chen immediately intervened. Regardless of whether he could endure the pain, the strain would leave him half-crippled, unable to fight for some time. With the Wind Domain Battlefield opening soon, he couldn’t risk it.

Thankfully, he managed to stop the crystal’s advance in time. The Radiant World Star Crystal reluctantly withdrew. Long Chen, on the other hand, was left drenched in sweat, his vision spinning with stars as he fought off the dizziness from the intense pain.

Before he even had time to consume a medicinal pill to recover, the void around him shuddered, and an immense Blood Qi surged through the air. Long Chen heard the Qilin Horn Heaven Swallowing Sparrow’s startled cry, which was laced with fierce fighting spirit.