When Golden Finger Meets Salted Fish

The group had barely exchanged a few private transmissions, while the others had only managed to glance around briefly. Some hadn't even realized they were in the North Abyss when the Third Elder who led the team began to move forward... Yes, they still needed to travel, as the teleportation scroll hadn't transported them directly to their destination. The principle behind teleportation scrolls was to tear through space and fold distances—any minor mishap could lead to unimaginable consequences.

Clearly, the Nine Abyss Sect's destination was important, so the Third Elder didn't take any risks. Fearing detection by others nearby, she didn't even have the disciples fly; instead, she employed a ground-shrinking technique to advance.

Seeing this, Jiang Mo's group followed again, though privately they remained curious—what was in this desert? Why had the Nine Abyss Sect sent people here? If there truly was a sealing site here, how had the Nine Abyss Sect learned of such a secret matter? Finally, in this vast desert without any landmarks, how was the Third Elder finding her way?

One question followed another, and surely Jiang Mo wasn't the only one filled with doubts, yet among the several dozen people, not a single one spoke up. Moreover, these Nine Abyss Sect disciples genuinely possessed only Void Crossing cultivation, and Jiang Mo hadn't detected any voice transmissions among them.

Weren't these people curious? Since when had the Nine Abyss Sect become so strictly disciplined?!

As time passed, Jiang Mo's questions multiplied, but apart from complaining to the system, she couldn't risk appearing too independent-minded. However, a tiger that had just reached adulthood clearly lacked patience. After walking for a while, she found the journey utterly boring, especially since the desert offered no scenery whatsoever. So she surreptitiously took out an object and held it out toward her Senior Sister.

Yun Qingyue had remained silent throughout the journey, neither looking at her two "mothers" nor showing any closeness with Jiang Mo. Half her mind was immersed in her own world, with the other half maintaining necessary vigilance.

Thus, when Jiang Mo's hand appeared before her, her body instinctively tensed before she looked at the outstretched palm.

In Jiang Mo's palm, a sand figurine barely larger than a palm jumped up and down, waving its arms at her. Upon catching her gaze, it grew even more excited, its demeanor suggesting it would have howled in greeting if it could, like seeing a long-lost friend.

The description of a long-lost friend wasn't wrong—Yun Qingyue recognized it immediately as the sand puppet from the Canglán Secret Realm years ago. However, the sand puppet from back then had been full of killing intent, showing no mercy in battle. Seeing it now was... quite indescribable. Though objects often resembled their owners, how could a puppet, an actual puppet, undergo such a personality change after falling into Jiang Mo's hands?!

Seeing Yun Qingyue's expression finally change, Jiang Mo narrowed her eyes in a smile and whispered, "It's quite fun."

Well, it seemed that over these eighty years, the Puppet Heart had been reduced to the tiger's plaything.

A plaything it truly was. After initially displaying its original sand puppet form for Yun Qingyue to recognize, Jiang Mo began to experiment. She tossed the sand puppet to the ground, where it immediately "poof!" fell apart. However, Yun Qingyue, knowing the Puppet Heart's capabilities, wasn't concerned at all. Sure enough, after a moment, a sand figure emerged from the pile.

Looking closer, she realized it wasn't just one figure but many figures successively climbing out of the sand, making it impossible to tell which one contained the true Puppet Heart.

But this wasn't the main point. What mattered was that the puppets emerging from the sand no longer resembled the original sand puppet. The original had been shaped like a general, wearing armor and wielding a heavy sword, but those now climbing from the sand had diverse appearances—a dignified scholar with a tall hat and broad belt, a student in long robes, a charming and adorable young girl—various lifelike puppet forms.

These puppets gathered around Yun Qingyue and, under her puzzled gaze, performed a wonderful mime show.

An automated puppet show... who would have thought the Puppet Heart had such uses?!

Yun Qingyue was extremely surprised, to the point where she didn't have time to dwell on her troubled thoughts, her attention unconsciously drawn to the puppet show. Naturally, the puppeteer was Jiang Mo, who had long refined the Puppet Heart. Seeing her Senior Sister's attention captured by the puppets, she directed her thoughts, and a vivid little tiger appeared on the sandy ground.

The tiger formed from yellow sand was only palm-sized and didn't participate in the ongoing puppet show. It "huff-puffed" as it ran toward Yun Qingyue, reaching her feet and nearly being kicked away by her as she walked.

However, the little tiger remained undeterred. Taking advantage of Yun Qingyue's approaching foot, it pounced up, jumping directly onto the top of her foot.

Yun Qingyue's attention had already been drawn to this sand tiger, and now she was even more curious about what it intended to do, so she fully focused on it. She then watched as the little tiger rolled steadily on her foot before starting to climb up her shoe and pant leg. Twice it pretended to lose its grip and slide down, appearing utterly endearing.

Evidently, her Senior Sister had no resistance to such cute creatures; her previously cold expression unconsciously softened. Finally, when the sand tiger climbed near her hand, it suddenly approached and kissed her fingertip.

With the sandy texture, calling it a kiss was generous—it was more accurately just a touch.

Yun Qingyue sharply withdrew her hand, a hint of something unusual flashing in her eyes—she knew this sand tiger was controlled by Jiang Mo, and the little tiger's appearance matched the tiger cub from years ago perfectly, yet she didn't turn around now.

No questions, no desire to see Jiang Mo's current expression.

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Jiang Mo had brought out the Puppet Heart to cheer up Yun Qingyue and also to subtly flirt with her—she didn't know if her Senior Sister had awakened to such feelings, but after experiencing the matter of having two mothers, surely her Senior Sister couldn't remain completely ignorant about such things. She didn't know whether this situation was good or bad, but regardless, she needed to test the waters first; what if her advances actually moved her Senior Sister?

Of course, creating a bunch of puppets for a puppet show wasn't something that could escape others' notice. Even though they walked at the back of the group and those ahead didn't turn around, at least Qingyu and Zhu Baiyi could see what was happening.

The expressions of the two "mothers" were somewhat peculiar. Though they had long suspected the tiger of harboring ulterior motives, wasn't this current display a bit too blatant?!

Qingyu's lips moved slightly, as if wanting to say something, but before the words could emerge, Zhu Baiyi stopped her. She turned to look as the latter gently shook her head. Whatever understanding Qingyu reached, she sighed lightly and ultimately remained silent.

Thus, the group continued with this subtle atmosphere from midday until the sun began to set in the west.

The Third Elder at the front climbed a towering sand dune. The setting sun stretched her shadow to great length, encompassing even Jiang Mo's group at the rear. Then they noticed that the swiftly moving Third Elder had suddenly stopped, and the Nine Abyss Sect disciples following her had also halted, with everyone except the Third Elder remaining at the foot of the dune.

Perhaps they had arrived?

Jiang Mo's group's attention was immediately drawn; the puppet performers who had been putting on such a lively show all suddenly dispersed.

Originally composed of sand, their bodies scattered and reverted to sand, becoming small mounds no larger than a fist in the desert. With the wind blowing over them, they flattened and completely disappeared without a trace. The only remaining puppet was the sand tiger that had stolen a kiss on her Senior Sister's fingertip, which, already small in size, had hidden itself further within her Senior Sister's garments, equally inconspicuous.

Yun Qingyue seemed to glance down but ultimately said nothing.

At the front, the Third Elder spoke: "We've arrived."

As her words fell, the Nine Abyss Sect disciples following her gradually moved forward. Jiang Mo's group, walking at the back, didn't lag far behind. They likewise climbed the sand dune and immediately saw, amidst the surrounding dunes, a dilapidated temple standing silently on the sandy ground—broken walls, crumbling ruins, with half of it already buried in the yellow sand.

Was this the Nine Abyss Sect's destination? Didn't it look a bit too decrepit?!

Not just Jiang Mo, but almost everyone present had this thought. Then, in the very next moment as the thought arose, under the setting sun's glow, the ruined temple before them suddenly began to change...

In an instant, the temple seemed to come alive—it shook off the sand and dust, brushed away the marks of decay, revealing its former magnificence. Golden glazed tiles reflected the sunset's remaining light, red courtyard walls stood out strikingly in the desert, and even from a distance, the sound of Buddhist chants mixed with the wind!

Witnessing this transformation, everyone simultaneously formed the same thought: the temple had come back to life. It seemed to have transcended time, directly manifesting from another temporal dimension before their eyes.

For a moment, Jiang Mo felt the scene before her was somehow familiar, but couldn't immediately recall where she had seen it before.