Chapter 562: Slaying the Demonic Heart within the Formation!
“Finally, the Mechanical Carriage Compartment has fallen into my hands!” Ning Zhuo’s heart surged with excitement.
Previously, after rashly intruding into the Six Caves Sect’s stationed territory, Ning Zhuo no longer dared to recklessly advance again using the Puppet Dragon.
Direct confrontation became the preferred choice.
In the end, he caught Lin You completely off guard. The latter had greatly underestimated Ning Zhuo’s hostility.
Ning Zhuo was adept at endurance.
He had begun enduring since the age of two. After more than ten years of restraint, he had achieved extraordinary success atop the Lava Immortal Palace.
This time, in Liangzhu Kingdom, he endured once again—and once again accomplished his objective!
“My son!”
At the Liangzhu Kingdom frontline main camp, where fierce fighting was raging, the Heart Demon Cave Lord suddenly underwent a drastic change in expression.
Clutching his chest, he sensed that a certain warning method planted within Lin You had been triggered.
This demonic cave lord of the Six Caves Sect instantly realized that his most valued junior had suffered a calamity!
“You two keep fighting!”
After tossing these words to the Poison Scorpion Cave Lord and Blood Shadow Cave Lord beside him, the Heart Demon Cave Lord immediately withdrew from the core battlefield.
“What?!”
The two cave lords, Poison Scorpion and Blood Shadow, were instantly dumbfounded.
The demonic path was inherently selfish. The Heart Demon Cave Lord did not care about them in the slightest. Burning with fury, he followed the sensing method and immediately discovered the culprit.
“You dare lay hands on my son?! All of you die!”
He shot into the sky and charged toward Ning Zhuo and his group.
Flying high above, he was immediately bombarded by numerous military weapons.
Magic—Coiling Tendon Demonic Scales!
He had been maintaining this demonic spell the entire time. His entire body was covered in a layer of blood-tendon armor—thick and resilient.
This protective spell allowed the Heart Demon Cave Lord to withstand numerous attacks. He swiftly crossed the battlefield and arrived above his enemies.
Magic—Nine Abyss Devouring Heart!
Boom.
It was as if someone had struck a drum inside their chests. With that single strike, the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp and Red Flower Camp felt their hearts accelerate, skipping an extra beat.
Boom.
Another drum-like shock. Their heartbeats sped up again.
Boom.
The third thunderous beat caused many soldiers to feel their hearts palpitate violently.
Boom boom boom…
Three more consecutive heartbeats followed. Many soldiers clutched their chests, collapsing to their knees or falling headlong to the ground.
The battle formations of the Three Generals Camp and Red Flower Camp immediately came under severe strain. Nearly half the soldiers lost their ability to act.
Their heartbeats accelerated yet again.
“Ugh…”
Some soldiers rolled their eyes back as blood flowed from their seven orifices, their hearts bursting instantly.
This was the full effort of the Heart Demon Cave Lord. As the second cave lord of the Six Caves Sect, he displayed a terrifying offensive power.
Seeing that the Three Generals Camp and Red Flower Camp were about to suffer catastrophic casualties, Zhang Chongyi quickly intervened. He scattered a large number of medicinal pills, which instantly transformed into pill vapor that protected everyone’s heart meridians.
Even so, after the seventh heartbeat, more than fifty people still died.
One must know—this was a cultivation army enhanced with military law techniques.
“What a vicious and bizarre attack!” Liu Er spat blood from the corner of his mouth.
“We cannot allow him to continue attacking!” Mu Lan frowned deeply as she drew her bow.
Military Art—Bluffing!
Yet the Heart Demon Cave Lord ignored everything and continued his assault.
Boom.
With the eighth drum-like heartbeat, more than sixty people died on the spot.
Mu Lan’s bluff accomplished absolutely nothing, and her brows furrowed even deeper. She was not foolish enough to believe the Heart Demon Cave Lord had lost his sanity. The answer was obvious—he had seen through her ruse.
Liu Er, Guan Hong, and Zhang Hei attacked in succession. But with the Three Generals Camp’s morale shaken and military strength greatly reduced, their attacks appeared weak and ineffective. Even when some attacks struck the Heart Demon Cave Lord, he easily endured them.
This was the drawback of the military strategist path.
Since it gathered the strength of many, targeting the army itself could shake its very foundation.
Of course, this was not something an ordinary person could accomplish.
The Heart Demon Cave Lord’s demonic methods directly influenced the hearts of others, bypassing many conventional military strategy defenses and achieving extraordinary results.
“You dared lay hands on my son—who gave you such courage?!”
“All of you die!!!”
Clang!
A streak of golden light shot forth like lightning and struck the Heart Demon Cave Lord in the chest, halting his violent momentum.
In the next instant, a torrential rain of Five Elements spells rained down upon him, forcibly smashing him to the ground.
The Heart Demon Cave Lord looked disheveled. The Coiling Tendon Demonic Scales spell he had been maintaining showed flaws, causing him to suffer injuries.
More importantly, the external assault forcibly interrupted the Nine Abyss Devouring Heart spell. The backlash made him spit out a mouthful of blood.
“Impossible! Why weren’t you suppressed?”
The Heart Demon Cave Lord stared in shock at the one who had attacked him and caused his injury—the culprit, Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo stood upright, his body straight like a spear.
The earlier blood-spitting, frowning, and expressions of pain had all been an act.
He had not suffered the slightest injury!
“Husband.” Mu Lan’s eyes shimmered with admiration.
“Military Advisor, you’re incredible!” Zhang Hei exclaimed joyfully, struggling to raise a thumbs-up.
Just as Jin Tunhe’s Warrior Returns Art restrained Ning Zhuo, Ning Zhuo’s Fire-Element Heart Temple perfectly countered the Heart Demon Cave Lord’s ultimate technique!
The white-clothed youth’s heart had already been modified. Although it was still affected, the impact was far weaker than under normal circumstances.
“After beating the little one, the big one comes.” Ning Zhuo shouted sharply. “Perfect! You father and son have committed countless evils and sins. At this very moment, it is time for me to eliminate demons and defend the Dao—for the benefit of all living beings under heaven!”
The Heart Demon Cave Lord’s eyes twitched with rage. “Brat, I will grind your bones to dust!”
Boom boom boom…
Both sides clashed violently.
The Heart Demon Cave Lord’s demonic energy surged to the heavens. His physical foundation was powerful, his attacks ferocious, and his heart-targeting techniques were extremely difficult to defend against.
Ning Zhuo adopted a steady approach. Relying on the Hundred-Armed Arhat Armor and the Fire-Element Heart Temple for protection, he used various Five Elements spells to suppress the Heart Demon Cave Lord’s momentum.
The Heart Demon Cave Lord became increasingly shocked. After truly fighting him, he found the situation unbelievable.
“What is going on? Isn’t this kid only at the Foundation Establishment Stage? How is he actually fighting me on equal footing?”
Even though intelligence reports had already told him that Ning Zhuo could display Golden Core–level combat power through military strategies—
He himself was a genuine Nascent Soul cultivator!
Although he was not as strong as Lu Hongtu and far inferior to figures like Grandfather Long and Xiang Yue, he was still considered mid-to-upper tier among Nascent Soul cultivators.
Yet now—
He could not defeat Ning Zhuo!
Ning Zhuo gritted his teeth and endured.
Previously, he had only caught the Heart Demon Cave Lord off guard. Now that they were truly clashing, the young man immediately felt overwhelming pressure.
“Fortunately, the Heart Demon Cave Lord consumed too much strength in the core battle zone. His combat power has dropped significantly. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to hold on at all!” Ning Zhuo felt fortunate.
After several exchanges, Ning Zhuo gradually fell into a disadvantage.
Without others supporting him, in a one-on-one fight the Heart Demon Cave Lord would soon gain the upper hand, convert that advantage into victory, and ultimately take Ning Zhuo’s life.
But the reality was—
The Heart Demon Cave Lord fought alone, while Ning Zhuo had Liu Er, Guan Hong, Zhang Hei, Mu Lan, and Sun Qian supporting him.
Thus, a coordinated siege against the Heart Demon Cave Lord unfolded around Ning Zhuo.
Meanwhile, transmissions from the battlefield repeatedly reached him.
“Heart Demon, where did you run off to? Get back here!”
“Heart Demon, return quickly—we can’t hold on any longer!”
The Blood Shadow Cave Lord and Poison Scorpion Cave Lord sent frantic messages, but they sank like stones into the sea without any response.
Without the Heart Demon Cave Lord, the Thousand Peaks Forest side in the core battlefield revealed numerous new weaknesses.
Shen Qinghe seized the opportunity and suddenly attacked.
Qingling Detoxification Scripture!
Tu Ming watched in grief and helplessness as his poison techniques melted like snow under the scorching sun beneath Shen Qinghe’s attack, dissolving rapidly without any resistance.
“Damn it! How can something like the Qingling Detoxification Scripture exist in this world?!”
Tu Ming fled in a miserable panic.
The Qingling detoxifying light shone upon him, causing purple poisonous mist to rise from his entire body. The poison he had painstakingly accumulated over years rapidly dissolved, and the pain made him scream as he fled.
Such miserable screams drew attention from many observers, causing Thousand Peaks Forest’s morale to drop even further.
But the next moment, Shen Qinghe suddenly staggered, nearly falling from the sky.
“Hehehe, little girl, I’ll deal with you first!” Li Jiuqu had successfully ambushed Shen Qinghe. “My Gu insects aren’t afraid of your detoxifying light.”
But the moment he finished speaking, his expression changed drastically as he turned to look behind him.
A shadow silently approached and suddenly exploded into action, crashing violently into Li Jiuqu’s back.
To Li Jiuqu’s horror, all his defensive measures collapsed instantly, unable to stop it.
Caw!
With a sharp cry, the black shadow that had severely wounded Li Jiuqu swiftly retreated, dodging his terrifying counterattack before flapping its wings into the air.
It was none other than Mo Yechen’s demon pet—the Eight-Brother bird.
Li Jiuqu had just ambushed Shen Qinghe, only to be ambushed in turn by Mo Yechen.
He stared fiercely at Mo Yechen in the distance. The latter was riding a “giant Eight-Brother bird.” Clearly, the real body that had just struck him was the true bird, while the one Mo Yechen rode was merely an illusion.
“Immortal Fairy Shen, be careful.”
Mo Yechen’s deceptive tactic succeeded, and he seized the opportunity to rescue Shen Qinghe.
Shen Qinghe’s clear and elegant gaze lingered on Mo Yechen, causing rare ripples in the calm of his heart.
“Thank you. I will repay this favor after the battle.”
After greeting him, Shen Qinghe immediately transformed into escaping light and flew away from the core battlefield.
She was not fleeing battle—she was pursuing Tu Ming.
When Tu Ming glanced back and saw Shen Qinghe, he trembled with rage. “That madwoman is targeting me again!”
Mo Yechen watched Shen Qinghe depart. A sudden impulse rose in his heart to help her—but the wavering lasted only a moment. He turned his gaze back toward Li Jiuqu.
“Daoist Friend Li, let us continue our battle.”
Li Jiuqu burned with anger and hatred, healing himself while attacking Mo Yechen.
But unlike before, the two now fought evenly.
Elsewhere on the vast battlefield—
“Eat! Eat it all!” Jia Wan raised a hotpot high in the air, pouring the cooked Spirit Food inside toward the front.
In his true form as the Three-Legged Golden Toad, Jin Tunhe immediately smelled the rich fragrance. Seeing the various Spirit Food, his gluttonous desires surged uncontrollably, and he devoured everything without hesitation.
The next moment, the Three-Legged Golden Toad suddenly froze.
His body swelled, and massive amounts of spiritual energy and mana burst out from hundreds of thousands of pores.
Jin Tunhe subconsciously closed his mouth, but spiritual energy continued leaking uncontrollably!
He was utterly shocked. Attempting to revert to human form, he found his mana chaotic and impossible to control.
“My Through-the-Intestines Sky-Piercing Soup isn’t something ordinary people can handle!”
Spirit Chef Ding Bi smiled faintly.
With a single move, he defeated Jin Tunhe and achieved great merit.
Jin Tunhe exerted strength with his three legs and fled in utter embarrassment while spiritual energy poured from his body.
“Chen Lingfeng, you idiot!” Lone Fang cursed helplessly.
Chen Lingfeng had completely lost his sanity in his frenzy, wreaking havoc among Lone Fang’s wolf pack.
After numerous battles, Lone Fang’s wolf pack had nearly been wiped out. The demon beasts he had painstakingly raised for most of his life were almost completely annihilated!
Without his demon beasts, Lone Fang lost much of his sense of security and his combat power dropped sharply. He could only swing his spiked wolf club while fighting with difficulty.
“We should retreat!”
Cang Teng King put away his stringless bow and led his tribe in retreat.
More and more cultivators and groups from Thousand Peaks Forest began withdrawing. Some who had been on the battlefield’s edge were already preparing to leave entirely.
The outcome of the battle seemed to be gradually becoming clear.
Within the core battlefield, the walls of the Liangzhu Kingdom main camp had already collapsed by more than half during the chaotic fighting. Most heavy military weapons had been destroyed.
The battle between Qianye and Song Ji had also entered its final stage.
Qianye was a Phantom Fox Demon capable of creating illusions indistinguishable from reality, each with offensive ability.
Song Ji, however, was a national offering skilled in fortune calculations. Although his combat power was not outstanding among Nascent Soul cultivators, his divination easily identified Qianye’s true body.
Moreover, Song Ji excelled at borrowing the power of others. Forced step by step, Qianye finally retreated from the core battlefield.
As more and more people withdrew, Thousand Peaks Forest’s morale continued to plummet—and the decline grew increasingly rapid.
Magic—Blood Vortex Rapid Flow!
The Heart Demon Cave Lord’s eye sockets contained no eyeballs—only swirling masses of blood energy.
The blood vortex rotated faster and faster, expanding until it overflowed from his eye sockets.
It was both offensive and defensive, capable of devouring incoming attacks while shredding enemies.
Zhang Hei’s arm had been torn off by this blood vortex!
Buddhist Art—Diamond Body Protection.
Martial Formation—Zen Wind Flying Fist Formation.
Buddhist Art—Moonlight Universal Salvation Technique.
Three techniques combined!
Mechanism Art—Golden Moon Zen Wind Fist!
Ning Zhuo unleashed countless fist shadows once more. The wind roared as the attack forcibly shattered the blood vortex.
“Opportunity!” Mu Lan drew her bow again.
This time, she was not bluffing.
Vermilion Phoenix Bow.
Fiery Heart Arrow.
Divine Ability—Crimson-Heart Swan Arrow!
The arrow nearly pierced through space itself. Its speed was astonishing, and the distance between them was short. Perhaps the previous bluffs had also numbed the Heart Demon Cave Lord.
In almost an instant, the arrow shot into his body and pierced straight through his heart.
The Heart Demon Cave Lord suffered a devastating injury—yet he did not die!
For someone like Grandfather Long or Xiang Yue, destruction of the heart would mean certain death.
But not for him.
“I still have a spare heart!” the Heart Demon Cave Lord declared triumphantly.
At that moment, Ning Zhuo suddenly spat out an attack.
Metal Element—Mysterious Gold Slash!
Metal-Element Lung Temple!!
All his mana poured into a single strike!!!
The Mysterious Gold Slash shot into the wound like lightning, entering the Heart Demon Cave Lord’s body and shredding all his internal organs.
“This domineering Metal-Element spell… it can actually turn corners?!”
The Heart Demon Cave Lord was utterly shocked.
He glared at Ning Zhuo in grief and fury.
This brat had been hiding his strength all along! If he had revealed this move earlier, the Heart Demon Cave Lord would certainly have guarded against it.
“You die with me!!!”
Even at the moment of death, despite losing all his hearts, the Heart Demon Cave Lord still retained the ability to act.
Boom!
His final desperate strike landed on Ning Zhuo.
Liu Er, Guan Hong, Zhang Hei, and Mu Lan all changed expressions drastically. The Heart Demon Cave Lord’s dying attack was terrifying. If it struck them, none would survive.
“Military Advisor!”
“Husband!!”
Ning Zhuo had no time to even cry out. His body instantly dissolved in the blood-red explosion, completely reduced to ashes.
But the next moment—
Ning Zhuo appeared not far away.
His face was pale with lingering fear.
The Heart Demon Cave Lord turned his head to stare at him, before the final trace of life faded away with the wind.
Substitution Talisman.
Directional Escape Talisman.
And the Mechanical Ring that had issued an early warning at the critical moment.
Their combined effect allowed Ning Zhuo to escape this deadly calamity.
Ning Zhuo had slain the Heart Demon Cave Lord within the formation!