However, even the strongest Heaven Puppet only had strength comparable to a Martial Cultivator at the peak of the Quintessential Saint Stage! Faced with powerhouses at the Saint Celestial Stage and above, Heaven Puppets were nothing at all! For this reason, Devil Cultivators who excelled in controlling puppets would not use puppets when confronting Saint Celestial powerhouses since the puppets would only be a hindrance!
In fact, Li An had noticed earlier that the humanoid stone figure who was emitting an oppressive and pure Devil Qi was so strong that it was not inferior to him at all. However, when he discovered the humanoid stone figure was not sentient, he sighed in relief! However, when he saw Duan Ru Feng had disappeared, he instantly deduced that Duan Ru Feng had merged with the humanoid stone figure since the stone figure seemed to be sentient now.
Li An quickly turned back to look at the Northern Plethora Sect's Saint Celestial powerhouse who had cried out in horror earlier and asked in a hurried tone, "Saint Devil Puppet? What's a Saint Devil Puppet?"
The Saint Celestial powerhouse from the Northern Plethora Sect did not delay and instantly responded to Li An's question, "Rumor has it that the last time a Saint Devil Puppet had appeared was a during an era a long time ago. It was known as the Human-Devil Era.
"Human-Devil Era?" Li An could not help but narrow his eyes when he heard this.
Li An might not have heard of Saint Devil Puppets, but he was not unfamiliar with the Human-Devil Era. He knew that era was utterly chaotic. During that era, the Devil Clan had slaughtered their way out from the Land of Exile and caused rivers of blood to flow in the Dao Martial Saint Land.
In the end, all the human powerhouses in the Dao Martial Saint Land had joined forces before they finally defeated the Devil Clans and forced them to return to the Land of Exile.
"Yes," the Celestial Stage powerhouse who came from the Northern Plethora Sect nodded before he said, "I've read about it from an ancient book. During the Human-Devil Era, some of the Devil Clans and the Devil Cultivators who cultivated the Devil Clan's cultivation method knew a secret tactic that enabled them to summon Saint Devil Puppets! Saint Devil Puppets are different from Human, Earth, and Heaven Puppets. The three kinds of puppets were created by Devil Cultivators using humans. However, Saint Devil Puppets came from the Land of Exile. It's said that only the Saint Land Devil Altar in the Land of Exile could create Saint Devil Puppets!" His expression turned grave when he reached the end of his sentence.
"The weakest Saint Devil Puppets has strength comparable to powerhouses at the First Form of the Saint Celestial Stage while the strongest one has strength comparable to powerhouses at the Ninth Form of the Saint Celestial Stage!" The Northern Plethora Sect's Saint Celestial Stage powerhouse looked at the humanoid stone figure, the Saint Devil Puppet, and said, "This Saint Devil Puppet is summoned from the Land of Exile by Mansion Master Duan Ru Feng of the Azure Cloud Mansion through a secret tactic. It's been so long since the Human-Devil Era, I can't believe there's someone who knows the secret tactic to summon a Saint Devil Puppet! Although the Saint Devil Puppet is powerful, it's not sentient. Only when it merges with its summoner that its true potential could be unleashed. The summoner would have full control of the puppet!" The Northern Plethora Sect's Saint Celestial Stage powerhouse's expression turned even graver when he finished speaking.

Swoos.h.!.+
Li An's expression changed dramatically as soon as the Saint Celestial Stage powerhouse from the Northern Plethora Sect finished speaking.
The strength of the Saint Devil Puppet before Li An was definitely stronger and not weaker than him. He would still be able to deal with the Saint Devil Puppet if it was not sentient. However, the Saint Devil Puppet had sentience now that it had merged with Duan Ru Feng. Moreover, Duan Ru Feng had the strength of the Saint Devil Puppet at his disposal. This was certainly bad news to Li An.
"Saint Devil Puppet?!" The group of people from the Azure Cloud Mansion, including Rong Yuan and Tong Zhong, also heard the explanation by the Northern Plethora Sect's Saint Celestial Stage powerhouse.
"Li An's expression seems to have changed!"
"It seems like the Saint Devil Puppet that Lord Mansion Master controls is strong enough to threaten him. Otherwise, his expression wouldn't have changed so abruptly."
"You have a point!"
Rong Yuan, Tong Zhong, and the Black Armored Guards noticed this. They had an excited expression on their faces.
Although they were prepared to sacrifice their lives, naturally, if there was a chance, they wanted to live.
Everyone was afraid of death, including them as well!
However, in their hearts, there were some things that were much more important than their lives and were worthy of sacrificing their lives for.
"Li An, do you dare to fight with me?" Duan Ru Feng spoke in a thunderous voice at this moment. It caused pain in the ears of everyone present on the scene. His voice caught everyone's attention.
The humanoid stone figure, the Devil Saint Puppet that Duan Ru Feng controlled, emitted a dense and pure Devil Qi. The purity of the Devil Qi was not something Devil Cultivators from the Dao Martial Saint Land possessed. Only real devils from the Devil Clan possessed such pure Devil Qi.
Saint Devil Puppets were created from the Saint Devil Altar in the Land of Exile. The Devil Qi it possessed was, naturally, pure and similar to those from the Devil Clan!
Currently, Duan Ru Feng who was controlling the Saint Devil Puppet whose Devil Qi was as pure as those from the Devil Clan had issued a challenge to Li An.
After Duan Ru Feng issued the challenge to Li An, not only did the people from the Azure Cloud Mansion turned to look at him, but even the Saint Celestial Stage powerhouses from the Northern Plethora Sect turned to look at him as well.
Everyone was curious if Li An would accept the challenge or not.
"Hurmph!" Li An refused to show his weakness when faced with Duan Ru Feng's challenge. He snorted coldly and said contemptuously, "Duan Ru Feng, the difference between our strength is as wide as the sky. Even if you're able to summon this Saint Devil Puppet from the Land of Exile, you're nothing but trash to me. You're not a match for me at all. How bold of you to challenge me. Why would I be afraid to accept your challenge?!" Based on Li An's words, it was obvious he had accepted Duan Ru Feng's challenge.
Battle!
After Li An agreed to the challenge, the atmosphere was tensed before a commotion broke out. Everyone was staring intently at the Saint Devil Puppet that Duan Ru Feng controlled and Li An.
They were the main characters after all.
Whoos.h.!.+
Li An made his move without any warning at the speed of lightning. He charged furiously toward the Saint Devil Puppet that Duan Ru Feng controlled. His speed was extremely fast!
One could sense his strength at the Fourth Form of the Saint Celestial Stage!
Faced with the furious Li An, the Saint Devil Puppet controlled by Duan Ru Feng easily dodged Li An's attack in an agile manner despite its clumsy appearance.
Under the watchful eyes of the others, Li An and the Saint Devil Puppet controlled by Duan Ru Feng began to battle in earnest.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of thunderous explosions that seemed capable of shaking the Heaven reverberated in the air.
The Saint Devil Puppet controlled by Duan Ru Feng and Li An engaged in hand-to-hand combat. In the beginning, both of them were on even ground. Neither of them managed to gain the upper hand. However, as time continued to pa.s.s, Li An seemed to be getting weaker and weaker.
Naturally, Li An did not get weaker. It was Duan Ru Feng who had gained better control of the Saint Devil Puppet who had gotten stronger. It was only natural Li An would seem weaker in comparison.
Bang!
The sound of flesh being hit sounded in the air as the Saint Devil Puppet that Duan Ru Feng controlled found a perfect opening and attacked Li An's weak point. Its attack landed heavily on Li An's chest. The attack sent Li An flying back with a bang like an arrow that had been shot out. He flew back toward the Saint Celestial Stage powerhouses, appearing wretched.
"Is this all there is to a Silver Flame Elder from the Fire Wors.h.i.+p Sect!" Duan Ru Feng who was controlling the Saint Devil Puppet remarked nonchalantly. His voice was filled with disdain.
Li An was so infuriated he threw up a mouthful of blood when he heard Duan Ru Feng's disdainful words. The blood was dazzling and eye-catching! Naturally, Li An had thrown up blood due to the injury caused by the Saint Devil Puppet controlled by Duan Ru Feng.
Originally, he wanted to swallow this mouthful of blood but he could no longer endure it.
"Duan Ru Feng, don't be so smug! If that's the extent of Saint Devil Puppet's strength, I'm going to destroy this puppet and kill you! I'm not afraid Duan Ling Tian won't be lured out even if you're missing!" Li An said as he tried to force himself to stay calm. His eyes were narrowed as he spoke with killing intent.
Whoos.h.!.+
Somehow, a saber had appeared in Li An's hand.
This saber was blood-red as though it had been dyed in blood. The divine dragon carved on its hilt gave it a tyrannical aura.
The Asura Saber!
This was Li An's biggest trump card!