Chapter 347: Learned
"So, Meng Zizhong changed his tactics again, adopting the Earth Python Technique. Since his offensive was ineffective, he switched to a controlling method, restricting the Black Wind Tiger Demon to maintain his own advantage."
"Learned."
Ning Zhuo carefully observed and continuously analyzed Meng Zizhong's choice of tactics.
The latter constantly probed and quickly adjusted the type of spells according to the results, thereby keeping control of the battlefield in his hands.
Ning Zhuo placed himself in Meng Zizhong's shoes and asked himself, "If I were Meng Zizhong, could I do the same?"
He shook his head inwardly.
On the surface, what Meng Zizhong did wasn't spectacular, just ordinary.
But accomplishing ordinary things was not easy.
Ning Zhuo had self-awareness. He knew he lacked combat experience and proficient spell-casting skills, which made it easy for him to lose rhythm.
Although it seemed like both sides were not engaging in close combat, the frequency of exchanges was actually very high.
If Ning Zhuo slowed down even slightly, just pondering for a moment, he would miss the opportunity and allow the Black Wind Tiger Demon to close in.
Once that happened, Ning Zhuo's situation would become very passive.
"Meng Zizhong is obviously highly skilled in earth-element spells, having practiced them for many years. His Earth Spike Technique strikes at sharp and precise angles, specifically targeting the lower regions and exploiting the enemy's weaknesses, truly a model for practitioners like us."
"Learned, learned."
That wave of attacks using the Earth Spike Technique left a deep impression on Ning Zhuo.
He silently took note, determined to study this skill well. By absorbing others' strengths and turning them into his own, he could make himself better.
The Black Wind Tiger Demon roared, its roar filled with pain.
Meng Zizhong maintained the Earth Python Technique while exerting all his spiritual energy, controlling his Golden Core and releasing mana to perform the Earth Spike Technique.
Compared to before, this time he executed the Earth Spike Technique with great difficulty and slowness.
It was like two strong men grappling, with no extra strength to launch an additional attack.
Earth Spike, Earth Spike, Earth Spike!
The first Earth Spike pierced the Black Wind Tiger Demon's thigh, shattering its leg bone.
The second Earth Spike aimed to pierce the demon's eye socket, but it narrowly dodged, losing half the flesh on its cheek.
The third Earth Spike targeted the demon's immobilized chest, heading straight for its heart!
If this hit, the Black Wind Tiger Demon would either be dead or crippled.
At the critical moment, the Black Wind Tiger Demon unleashed its potential, activating a demonic skill—Meat Grinder.
The muscles on its chest suddenly thickened, forming a whirlpool that caught the Earth Spike's attack.
After a few breaths of stalemate, the muscles, like living creatures, exerted force and directly crushed the tip of the Earth Spike!
The Black Wind Tiger Demon let out a roar, exerting its full strength, gradually lifting its arms.
The Earth Python continuously emitted cracking sounds, like the sound of a great bow's string being repeatedly plucked.
Cracks rapidly spread across the entire body of the Earth Python.
In the end, the Black Wind Tiger Demon forcefully lifted its arms, tearing the two Earth Pythons into dozens of pieces.
The Black Wind Tiger Demon raised its head and roared, breaking free from its restraints, then charged toward Meng Zizhong.
"What a pity," the Fox God sighed, "Meng Zizhong's mastery of the Earth Python Technique is limited. If he had mastered the Earth Dragon Technique, he could have completely trapped the Black Wind Tiger Demon."
Sun Lingtong, however, stared at the charging Black Wind Tiger Demon and said, "Its Giantification Technique isn't top-tier either."
"The reason why it performs so well in battle is mainly because it practiced the Flesh Tank Blood Swallowing Technique."
"This demonic technique is excellent at nourishing flesh and blood, so when it uses the Giantification Technique, its defense increases significantly as well."
"This battle still has a long way to go!"
Meng Zizhong's expression remained stern as he retreated continuously, creating distance while casting the Earth Wall Technique, doing his utmost to slow down the Black Wind Tiger Demon's charge.
However, the previous rounds of full-power spell-casting had drained much of his mana, and his Golden Core was now dim.
Bang, bang, bang!
The Black Wind Tiger Demon charged repeatedly, smashing through the earth walls one after another.
Its speed not only didn't decrease but increased instead. Its roars echoed continuously, and its momentum kept rising.
Meng Zizhong helplessly realized that his attempts to weaken the Black Wind Tiger Demon through long-range attacks had backfired, as his mana was now almost exhausted, leaving him in a lull.
"I can't retreat anymore!"
Meng Zizhong found himself at the point where he could retreat no further.
If he retreated any further, he would endanger his subordinate army's battle. Although entering the battle formation would grant him powerful support and additional offensive measures, even if they won, it would be a costly victory.
His fellow cultivators would be used as cannon fodder, heavily sacrificed.
Meng Zizhong trained his soldiers diligently, cherishing the elite troops that he had painstakingly cultivated with time and effort.
He gritted his teeth and thought, "Forget it."
He made his decision and ignited the Summoning Talisman!
The spirit-infused Summoning Talisman instantly burned to ashes.
"Great Spirit, come to me!" Meng Zizhong roared in a low voice.
In the next moment, a pillar of divine light pierced through the clouds from high above, shooting straight down and enveloping Meng Zizhong in an instant.
Meng Zizhong screamed, his body in immense pain.
His entire physique swelled continuously under the divine light, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into a small giant!
"The Great Spirit!" The Fox God murmured, her eyes filled with envy and longing.
There were distinctions between deities.
The Fox God, for instance, belonged to the earth spirits, bound to Wuyin Mountain and rarely able to leave.
In contrast, there were also heavenly spirits.
The Great Spirit was a heavenly spirit, free to roam beneath the heavens without restrictions.
Bang, bang, bang!
The Black Wind Tiger Demon finally pulled Meng Zizhong into close combat.
The Black Wind Tiger Demon's punches and kicks were as violent as a hurricane, clearly holding the upper hand.
Meng Zizhong gritted his teeth, relying on his long-handled warhammer to hold his ground.
With the help of the Summoning Technique, he was able to stabilize the situation, exchanging blows with the Black Wind Tiger Demon.
Ning Zhuo didn't blink, watching the battle intently, gaining new insights.
"The pace of close combat is too fast. Although Meng Zizhong excels at spells, after being suppressed, he's only managed to release a single Stone Armor Technique to protect himself."
"This time, it's the Black Wind Tiger Demon's turn to take the initiative."
The battle between the two had reached a stalemate.
At this point, Ning Zhuo could roughly gauge the battle prowess of both the Black Wind Tiger Demon and Meng Zizhong.
The Black Wind Tiger Demon was heavily focused on close-quarters combat and lacked long-range capabilities.
Meng Zizhong, on the other hand, was well-rounded, proficient in both long-range and close-quarters combat.
In long-range combat, he primarily used earth-element spells.
In close combat, he relied on the Summoning Talisman to empower himself.
Given the Great Spirit's quick response, Meng Zizhong was either highly devout or had made considerable offerings to the temple.
"If these two Golden Core cultivators can't determine the outcome, the deciding factor in this battle might be their subordinates."
Realizing this, Ning Zhuo shifted more of his attention to other parts of the battlefield.
The demon cultivators, following their king, charged down the mountain with roars, deliberately avoiding the battle between the two Golden Core cultivators and targeting the human cultivator army with their fangs.
The demon cultivators were like battering rams, crashing directly into the human ranks.
The human cultivators were knocked flying one after another!
But they quickly got back up, nonchalantly running back to rejoin the battle.
Each of these cultivators was clad in uniform heavy armor.
The primary material of the armor was Jade-Polished Mysterious Steel, and with the defensive formations inscribed on the armor, part of the force from the demon cultivators' attacks would be deflected, making the strikes less effective.
This effect immediately reminded Ning Zhuo of the Slippery Oil Talisman he carried.
"No, the armor alone wouldn't achieve such defensive results."
"There must also be a large-scale formation enhancing the human army, benefiting each soldier significantly."
Ning Zhuo quickly discerned the situation.
This was the result of the human cultivators' earlier formation setup.
The demon cultivators struggled to inflict fatal damage on the armored cultivators.
Once they fell into the formation, it felt as if they were trapped in a swamp. Every movement they made was restrained, and their speed dropped significantly.
"This should be the Earth Element Formation—The Earth Pit Formation, right?" Ning Zhuo asked, his tone uncertain.
He had learned about the Earth Pit Formation from books but had never witnessed it firsthand.
The Fox God nodded. "Indeed, it's the Earth Pit Formation."
As they spoke, chaos erupted at the center of the cultivator army.
A Ground Rat demon launched a surprise attack from underground, successfully breaking through the formation disk buried four feet deep.
With the disk broken, the entire Earth Pit Formation quickly collapsed.
The demon cultivators were freed, their speed returning to normal, and
they seized the opportunity to counterattack, unleashing a bloody massacre among the human cultivators.
Many human cultivators, suffering a backlash from the formation's destruction, were in poor condition and died miserably at the hands of the demon cultivators.
In this critical moment, the Meng Family's core members showcased their valor, stepping forward and loudly commanding, "Form the battle formation!"
After a bout of chaos, the cultivator army suffered many casualties, but they managed to catch their breath and reassemble into a battle formation.
This time, the formation was a mobile array, significantly different from the previous static formation set up with the formation disk.
The center of the formation was the main general, while the array's focal points were the elite officers.
The battle formation activated, empowering each human cultivator.
Especially the elite officers, who felt an immense surge of strength from the powerful support. They were so empowered that they felt invincible!
With the officers bearing the brunt of the pressure, the other cultivators felt more at ease, maintaining the formation with increasing fluidity and confidence.
This newfound ease allowed the battle formation to accelerate, granting the officers even more power.
Gradually, the human officers began to suppress the demon cultivators.
Victory slowly tipped in favor of the human cultivators.
One by one, the demon cultivators fell under the siege of the human forces, meeting their deaths on the battlefield.
The Black Wind Tiger Demon, unable to break through for so long, became agitated upon seeing this scene.
It shook its entire body, casting its innate Night Shadow Yin Fiend technique.
In the next moment, black fiendish energy erupted from its body, causing its shadow on the ground to come alive, rising and moving like a pool of dark ink.
The shadow was about to pounce on Meng Zizhong, but instead of being alarmed, Meng Zizhong was overjoyed, shouting, "I've been waiting for this move!"
The Black Wind Tiger Demon's innate abilities had long been exposed, and Meng Zizhong had come prepared.
A mirror flew out from his chest.
The mirror hovered above Meng Zizhong's head, emitting a beam of light that trapped the tiger demon's shadow.
The shadow was thoroughly restrained, quickly wilting, and finally dissipated!
(End of this chapter)