The villain also has spring 2

Chapter 2008, Section 2.6: Even the best of us make mistakes.

"Look!" The person upstairs pointed to the spot where the knife had been held, and there were countless needle-like golden threads shot out by the power of the "Peacock Gallbladder" metal. Just like the legendary "pulse diagnosis by hanging thread", one end of the golden thread pierced into the vital acupoints of the blood gu substitute, and the other end was twisted into a rope, firmly wrapped around the withered wood hairpin of the Seven Heart Begonia.

The flying, kite-like clone immediately went out of control. While plummeting from mid-air, it was manipulated by Cheng Lingsu, the sect leader of the Medicine King Sect, with golden threads, and immediately turned to pounce on the ten-zhang avatar of the Illusionary Demoness Li Xiaocui. In this critical moment, the Illusionary Demoness Li Xiaocui immediately used Shadow Escape, but was unexpectedly grabbed tightly from behind by a Blood Gu clone.

"Die!" The ten-foot-tall avatar struggled to break free. With a flick of her hand, she shattered the substitute's head. However, before the demonic Taoist Li Xiaocui could even finish her cry, the situation suddenly changed!
Like a kite with a broken string, the substitutes swarmed at her from all directions, unleashing the exact same sixth move of the "Hundred Flowers Killing - Burning Heart Gu Finger" technique, "Burial of Flowers Finger." Those struck by it lost their life force like blooming flowers withering, their inner strength dissipated, and they rapidly declined.

Each gust of wind is as powerful as a sword's aura, howling and crisscrossing.

Unable to dodge in time, the demonic sorceress Li Xiaocui was struck repeatedly in vital areas. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, her body bursting open. The wounds were as large as bowls.

Even more bizarrely, the stand-ins who rushed towards her from all directions almost simultaneously burst into blood and flesh, their bodies exploding.

"What happened?" Everyone upstairs who had been spared from execution was dumbfounded.

"Then came up with the 'transplanting flower and grafting tree' technique!" Someone, who had spared the life of the condemned, saw through it first.

Yes, it is the incredibly profound seventh move of the "Secret Techniques of the Treasure Book: Blood Gu Substitute," called "Transferring Flowers and Grafting Trees." By using this move, one can transfer a portion of the damage received to a substitute.

"Since the seventh move, 'Transplanting Flowers and Grafting Trees,' has already been used, why can the Blood Gu substitute use the sixth move, 'Myriad Flower Soul Substitute,' a move that is identical to the original?" another person asked, puzzled.

"This might be the secret of the *Spider Flower Manual*." Someone else pondered the key: "From the third form, 'Corrosive Poison Blood Puppet,' to the fifth form, 'Thousand Spider Blood Gu,' then to the sixth form, 'Ten Thousand Flower Soul Substitute,' and the seventh form, 'Transplanting Flowers and Grafting Trees.' The blood gu substitutes, formed from the qi and blood forced out of the body by the Illusionary Demoness Li Xiaocui, will continuously advance in rank as the technique progresses. Furthermore, with each advancement, she will learn the new level's divine skill. And all previously learned divine skills will be retained, just like practicing martial arts!"

"Brother, you mean the seventh level 'Myriad Flowers Soul Substitute' blood gu substitute possesses the secret techniques of the first to sixth levels of the 'Treasury Manual'?" Such an absurdity made it impossible not to exclaim in shock before sparing his life.

“That’s exactly right,” the man said firmly.

Upon hearing this, the person upstairs couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spine.

Speaking of which, the nine forms of "Secret Techniques of the Treasure Book: Blood Gu Substitute" represent the continuous evolution of the Blood Gu Substitute.

The second technique, "Blood Shadow Earth Escape," transforms essence blood into a shadow, forming a nascent substitute with a basic shape, allowing the true body to escape a hundred feet away. The fourth technique, "Spirit Gu Incarnation," gives the substitute a trace of sentience, enabling it to execute simple commands and fight independently for a short time. The sixth technique, "Myriad Flower Soul Substitute," creates an extremely realistic substitute capable of mimicking the original's aura and speech, making it virtually indistinguishable from the real thing.

From its initial formation to a trace of sentience, and then to its ultimate realism, isn't this precisely the rapid evolution of a blood curse substitute?
Even at the ultimate level, the ninth technique, "Myriad Substitute Death," the natal Gu transforms into a perfect substitute, dying in place of the real body, deceiving everyone without harming the true self. This so-called "perfect substitute" is equivalent to the Blood Gu substitute rapidly evolving to a level where it is "indistinguishable from the real thing," or even "difficult to tell the difference!"

While upstairs, the thought of sparing someone's life was running wild, his mind wandering far away.

The seventh move of "Secret Techniques of the Treasure Book: Blood Gu Substitute," "Transplanting Flowers and Grafting Trees," continuously transfers the damage from the sixth move of "Myriad Flower Soul Substitute," "Hundred Flower Kill: Burning Heart Gu Finger," to the Blood Gu Substitute, back to the Blood Gu Substitute.

The size of a bowl kept bursting out of the bodies of the Blood Gu substitute and the ten-foot-tall incarnation, and the scene of blood and flesh flying everywhere was truly terrifying.

In particular, the ten-foot-tall avatar, which was subjected to a concentrated attack by the Blood Gu substitute, was the most severely injured.

It was almost predictable that this would be a lose-lose situation.

Fortunately, while her arms were still intact, the demonic cultivator Li Xiaocui exerted all her strength, bracing herself against the sky, and forcibly circulated her divine power. "Three Flowers Gather at the Top!"

A stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune. Though the reversal of time was delayed, it still arrived, and in the blink of an eye, it brought everyone back to the moment when the drums had stopped and the performance began.

The ten-zhang-tall incarnation of the demonic Taoist Li Xiaocui suddenly went black and knelt on one knee.

Breathing heavily.

The expressions on the faces of those watching upstairs were truly lifeless. To be honest, it was incredibly shameless.

This is clearly a martial arts version of the "SL technique"!

"SL technique" originally refers to a technique used by players in video games to repeatedly try different strategies to achieve a desired outcome. This method is common in single-player games, where players repeatedly save and load their game progress to change the results of random events, optimize game decisions, or even revive a lost game.

However, the frustration of repeated failures is something that even the "SL method" cannot erase. This is because it directly affects the mind and then feeds back to the body.

When he looked up again, he saw Cheng Lingsu, the sect leader of the Medicine King Sect, standing with his hands behind his back, ethereal and otherworldly.

In a daze, the illusionary Taoist Li Xiaocui had a fleeting thought. It was as if the two had never fought. Nor had she ever used the "Three Flowers Gathering at the Top Divine Skill" to turn back time.

If distracting thoughts arise, this battle will be in grave danger.

If fear takes hold and one backs down before the battle even begins, there may be no chance of turning the tide in this lifetime.

"Since the 'Secret Scroll of Poison Arts' is called 'Nine Abyss,' could it be that there are nine prescriptions in total?" The enchanting sorceress Li Xiaocui tried her best to calm herself down.

"That's right." Cheng Lingsu, the sect leader of the Medicine King Sect, had already seen through the hint of panic in her eyes.

"So there are still four doses of poison left." The enchanting sorceress Li Xiaocui seemed to be rambling on, but in reality, she was regrouping her fighting spirit.

“That’s right.” Cheng Lingsu, the sect leader of the Medicine King Sect, didn’t seem to mind at all.

"Very well." The demonic Taoist Li Xiaocui focused her energy in her dantian, confirming that the "Three Flowers Gathering at the Top Divine Skill" had perfectly reversed time, and that she was still at the peak of her combat power. Only then did she feel at ease: "Then let's fight again."

"As you wish." Everything was perfect, according to Cheng Lingsu, the sect leader of the Medicine King Sect.

"May I ask, sir, is it true that the Six Meridians Divine Sword is sometimes present and sometimes absent?" The man upstairs, though he had something on his mind, asked the question.

"Indeed." Another person, who had been spared execution, replied, "The Six Meridians Divine Sword is not a real sword, but rather sword energy transformed from the power of the 'One-Finger Divine Skill,' possessing substance but no form. The so-called six meridians refer to the six meridians of the hand: the Taiyin Lung Meridian, the Jueyin Pericardium Meridian, the Shaoyin Heart Meridian, the Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian, the Yangming Stomach Meridian, and the Shaoyang Triple Energizer Meridian. These correspond to the Shaoze, Zhongchong, Shangyang, Shaochong, Guanchong, and Shaoshang meridians, representing six different sword techniques. The Six Meridians Divine Sword should ideally be wielded by one person using all six meridians' sword energy, but due to the decline of martial arts in the world, no one can cultivate such powerful and profound internal energy anymore. Therefore, six people must share the six meridians' sword energy. Throughout the world, only Duan Yu has mastered the Six Meridians Sword Energy. Moreover, because it is extremely difficult to cultivate, even though Duan Yu possesses the 'Northern Darkness Divine Skill,' he cannot use it at will."

"Whether it's possible or not, the 'sometimes it' or 'sometimes it' isn't just because of insufficient internal strength." The words "Spare the life" reveal a deeper meaning: "As the saying goes, 'Even a man can make a mistake, and even a horse can stumble.'"

"Huh?" The speaker meant something, and the listener was even more interested.