Chapter 211: Sudden change

One hour before Li Qi made his move.

The battle instantly turned into a bloody slaughter.

The Asura and the Hungry Ghosts fought fiercely with the Guangyang soldiers.

You must use every means to kill every living thing you see, otherwise, you will be the one to die.

This was the rule of this battlefield.

No one could retreat, no one could escape; the consequence of retreating or escaping was death.

Chan Zhi Monk gasped for breath; the battle below had reached a fever pitch.

The soldiers formed their arrays, their long spears forming a Formation, thrusting straight forward, with officers leading the charge, desperately blocking the advancing Asura and Hungry Ghosts.

Chan Zhi Monk’s strength was limited; the Gate of Six Paths he opened could only allow a very small number of eighth and ninth-rank beings to appear, most of the Asura and Hungry Ghosts were unranked beings.

But even so, if left unchecked, it might truly be able to devour the entire Guangyang.

Because, whether it was the Asura or the Hungry Ghosts, they could rapidly improve themselves through combat and feeding.

However, the White Rhinoceros Army stubbornly held them back.

Even knowing that defeat was inevitable, they did not retreat an inch.

Accompanied by thousands of continuous spells flashing, the light of Spiritual Artifacts tore the ground, arrows, like a downpour, shattered the black Qi protective barriers of the Asura, interweaving with the blazing white explosions.

Wave after wave of spell volleys crashed down, smashing into the enemy forces.

Loud and clear battle cries rang out, various cultivation methods and Divine Abilities erupted, scattering across the sky, then swirling down to cover the earth.

A line of shield-wielding warriors stood at the front, clad in heavy armor, with incredibly thick great shields, forming a military Formation, shimmering with layers of spell protection, while soldier Qi also coiled around them, weakening the impact of external damage.

An eighth-rank Asura stood at the very front, unleashing terrifying Qi, his Aura powerful, capable of crushing hills with every strike.

But at this moment, after hundreds of strikes, he still couldn't break through the established military Formation.

All offensive power was evenly distributed among everyone by the barrier, and at the same time, spread across their armor and heavy shields; even Qi strong enough to crush a small mountain still couldn't harm the overall military Formation.

While defending, the middle-ranking officers on the other side quickly issued commands, simultaneously leading by example and meeting the enemy head-on!

Orders were relayed by messengers to the lower ranks, and then carried out by the soldiers under the command of lower-ranking officers, layer by layer, orderly and disciplined, with strict obedience!

Elite legions were capable of encircling and killing powerful individuals, relying on soldier Qi and seamless coordination.

There was only one way for these unranked soldiers to contend with powerful individuals: iron discipline and a fearless spirit!

The battle was not without casualties, but when it was their turn to die, no one retreated.

The soldier Qi on the White Rhinoceros Army banner grew increasingly intense; though originally bluish-white, it was now tinged with a bloody hue.

Soldier Qi lined the dawn, Killing Intent stretched like a rainbow.

Soldier Qi connected to the clouds, ancient cliffs roared and split.

The sky was clear, the wilderness vast for a fierce battle, with earth-shaking cries and raging winds!

This interception battle had already lasted for over an hour.

Fire burned in the air, ashes and flames condensed into large amounts of black smoke, making people cough.

But all that was seen were broken precious blades, resolved life and death, congealed souls, gathered ghosts and gods, scattered bones and sand, and countless corpses strewn across the wilderness.

Rivers wound like sashes, mountains intertwined.

Gloomy and desolate, wind sorrowful, sun dim.

Broken weeds and withered grass, chilling like a frosty morning.

Birds flew not down, beasts scattered from their herds.

Corpses lay along the long road, blood filled the plain.

Generals fell from their horses, soldiers died in battle.

No noble, no humble, all became withered bones.

The casualties were heavy.

Even though the White Rhinoceros Army fought to the death, the number of Asura and Hungry Ghosts was simply too vast, and there were endless reinforcements; in this hour, the White Rhinoceros Army had already lost more than half its strength.

“Rat King! Are you still going to stop me!?” Chan Zhi Monk unleashed his full power, a massive pressure descending. At this point, there was no talk of mutual generation or restraint.

Every move was extreme, every move was made with full power.

His Demonic God Physical Body ignited with black flames, flames emerging from all his limbs and joints, like a strong man holding a large torch walking against the wind, its flames blazing fiercely, incredibly raging, seemingly intending to incinerate everything.

This was the Karma Fire of a Hell Demonic Overlord.

However, these attacks couldn't reach the ground.

A golden-furred rat, about the size of a Xiao Gou, was constantly parrying all of Chan Zhi Monk's attacks.

He had no intention of fighting Chan Zhi Monk head-on; everything he did was focused on full defense, trying to drag out the time as much as possible.

Constantly defending, constantly dodging, if he couldn't block, he would try his best to deflect.

Rats were best at digging holes and hiding.

Moreover, the Rat Soil Mound had a unique Divine Ability.

It was also recorded in the original legends, and both Shen Shuibi and Li Qi had mentioned it.

'Horse bridles, human clothing, bowstrings, armor laces, all things that bind, rats can gnaw through.'

That was, gnawing on Spiritual Artifacts!

Chan Zhi Monk could only fight with his Physical Body; his Three-Inch Demonic Kingdom was also a Spiritual Artifact, and in fact, he had many other Spiritual Artifacts he hadn't brought out.

But now, he couldn't bring them out.

Any Spiritual Artifact that could be brought out, the Rat King of the Rat Soil Mound wasn't afraid of; his large front teeth could gnaw through metal when encountering metal, gnaw through wood when encountering wood, and chew through earth when encountering earth.

Among the Five Elements, only water and fire were not restrained; the other three would be eaten by him as snacks. Water and fire had no physical form, so his large front teeth were useless.

It was precisely for this reason that Chan Zhi Monk activated the Karma Fire of the Hell Demonic Overlord, using the fire element to bypass the Rat King's large front teeth.

However, the Rat King's golden fur was also a Divine Ability.

Those golden hairs stood up like steel needles, lay flat like armor, impervious to water and fire, impenetrable by blades and spears, and could also burrow into the earth, with the soil naturally parting, offering no obstruction.

Facing such a persistent opponent, even Chan Zhi Monk had no recourse.

If they were truly fighting to the death, Chan Zhi Monk felt he could easily defeat the Rat King; it would take the entire Rat Soil Mound working together to match him.

But, this rat was too slippery, too quick to hide, and couldn't be caught; he just kept dragging you, not fighting you, forcibly stalling for time.

This infuriated Chan Zhi Monk, yet he was helpless.

And as his anger gradually intensified, demonic thoughtss also began to rise in his heart.

After fighting for a full hour, Chan Zhi Monk finally lost control.

Demonic Qi gathered, deceitful and tyrannical.

He immediately reacted, stopped his movements, sat down cross-legged, and roused the Buddhist Heart within him to suppress the demonic thoughtss.

Then Chan Zhi Monk recited scriptures:

“Disperse all bonds of vexations! Subtle vexations are immediately cut off, and once cut off, it is called the return of the Spirit Soul to the empty cave, also called liberation from the Devil’s bondage!”

“Recite the peerless mantra, no mundane Devil comes, no Two-Vehicle Devil comes, no Bodhisattva Devil comes, and even no Buddha Devil comes!”

“Still remaining in the Formless Realm, avoiding falling into the Two-Vehicle path, avoiding falling into the Demonic Path!”

He was trying his best to suppress the demonic thoughtss that arose from his anger!

However, just as he was trying his best to suppress them, he suddenly missed.

Yes, he missed.

The demonic thoughtss were gone.

Someone had helped him suppress the demonic thoughtss.

But the scripture had already been recited, and the Buddhist Heart had already risen.

The balance between Buddha and Devil was instantly lost.

Chan Zhi Monk felt a crisp 'bang' in his brain, extremely clear.

It was like exerting all his strength to punch cotton, only to sprain his own back.

His Dao foundation… had cracked.

This even caused his Demonic Heart to shatter and his mind to lose control in an instant.

Chan Zhi Monk’s Dao Heart was divided into a Buddhist Heart and a Demonic Heart; only when the two were united and balanced was it the Dao path of the Mahakala lineage.

He had always carefully maintained this balance.

Just now, his demonic thoughtss were rampant, so he boosted his Buddhist thoughts to counterbalance them.

But the demonic thoughtss mysteriously disappeared.

The Buddhist thoughts had no more counterbalance.

Chan Zhi Monk always talked about 'demonic thoughtss losing balance' and similar phrases, as if only demonic thoughtss could run wild.

Couldn't Buddhist thoughts as well?

Li Qi clearly realized this point.

Therefore, when planning, he had arranged everything.

The first step: trick Chan Zhi Monk into going to the Formation's location.

The second step: Zhang Lan and Shen Shuibi's sneak attack, followed by their withdrawal.

At this point, Chan Zhi Monk would inevitably become suspicious.

The third step: Wang Baiyan, who had been prepared in the outer perimeter, would deliver Bo Yue's reply to Li Qi into the hands of Guangyang Sicheng, who had escaped due to Li Qi's calculations.

Guangyang Sicheng only needed to read it once to know that two Young Masters were present. Such a timid person would naturally know how to choose; he would definitely return without hesitation.

Because if he didn't fight desperately now, he would surely lose his life.

The fourth step was the cooperation between Bo Yue and the Rat King.

Regarding the Rat King of the Rat Soil Mound, a Young Master's promise was not enough, so Li Qi also brought in Bo Yue, giving the opponent absolute confidence in victory, making him determined to tie down Chan Zhi Monk.

With the Rat King, they could cooperate with the White Rhinoceros Army to stall Chan Zhi Monk, preventing him from fully concentrating on the enemy in front of him, or from focusing on Bo Yue's Mountain and River Grand Formation, forcing him to multitask and further intensifying the anger in his heart.

The fifth step, after the first four ambushes.

In the previous few moves, a trace of Chan Zhi Monk's consciousness would realize Li Qi's problem.

By this point, he would definitely be furious.

Although this was useless, because everything was still within Chan Zhi Monk's control, angry as he was, he could still endure it.

However, when Bo Yue began to offer sacrifices and preside over the Mountain and River Grand Formation, condensing the power of myriad Mountain and Water Deities , he truly gained the strength to slay Chan Zhi Monk.

At this point, anger turned into fear.

Because he really might die.

Therefore, he would directly commit all his reserve forces, which was Guangyang Sicheng's seventh-rank Puppet.

Chan Zhi Monk would certainly try to prevent Bo Yue from truly bringing the Mountain and River Grand Formation under his control.

Thus, he would have to divide his attention, both stopping Bo Yue and resisting the distractions on the front lines.

At this point, fear turned into anxiety.

Finally, Li Qi firmly believed that Chan Zhi Monk would not be able to break through his arrangements in a short time.

He would only become more and more desperate.

Doubt, anger, fear, anxiety, and finally Killing Intent, all condensed in his heart.

The interlocking arrangements forced Chan Zhi Monk step by step to his weakness on his Dao path.

Doubt, anger, fear, anxiety, killing, the five poisons devoured his heart, and demonic thoughtss naturally surged!

As long as he seized the moment when Chan Zhi Monk's demonic thoughtss expanded and he had to raise his Buddhist Heart to suppress them, using the Heavenly Demon’s Dao Resonance to suppress the demonic thoughtss, the Buddhist Heart would naturally lose balance.

Chan Zhi Monk was instantly affected, his Dao Heart losing control!

However, for him, this was not a very serious injury.

Buddhist thoughts were different from demon thoughts; Buddhist thoughts were very easy to control.

But no matter how easy to control, it still required a few seconds to stabilize.

The Rat King would not give him this opportunity.

Bo Yue, even less so.

— — — — — — — —

The moment Chan Zhi Monk lost control of his mind, the Rat King instantly burst forth!

The Rat King's large front teeth were like a carpenter's plane, quickly cutting and chewing through Chan Zhi Monk's Physical Body!

Teeth that could bite through Spiritual Artifacts meant the Demonic God's body had no resistance whatsoever.

At the same time, Bo Yue also seized the opportunity.

Chan Zhi Monk's momentary lapse allowed him to immediately launch a counterattack.

It was almost just two or three seconds.

The Mountain and River Grand Formation, activate!

The entire Guangyang could hear a muffled thud!

Countless mountain and water ley lines instantly erupted with magnificent power, forming a nearly perfect shape along pre-planned conduits, countless energies surging through them, emerald green light descending from above, as if seeing the Milky Way falling from the celestial dome, connecting heaven and earth.

A shocking Great Formation appeared here.

Just to keep this Great Formation running normally required an immeasurable amount of vast energy.

Every second of operation extracted countless ley line energies.

Using it once would cause all Mountain and Water Deities to be weakened for a year, and the entire Guangyang Prefecture would experience chaotic Feng Shui, reduced land yields, or even total crop failure for three years, countless animals would struggle to reproduce, and people would also feel dispirited.

This was a Great Formation constructed at the cost of extreme exploitation and destruction of earth Qi and Mountain and Water Deities , it was the ultimate hidden weapon of a prefecture.

Bo Yue manipulated the Mountain and River Grand Formation, bringing its power down.

Suddenly, a vast and clean sky appeared before his eyes.

Because… there was nothing left around!

The surrounding mountains… were completely melted, the molten lava rivers rushed down cliffs, forming massive and spectacular fire waterfalls, with splashing lava everywhere, truly a boiling rain…

The ground turned into a red sea where everything was incinerated, scorching lava currents swept all around, this power was enough to shake the earth… even hundreds of miles away, one could feel an indescribably immense power descending.

The White Rhinoceros Army was protected by a strange force and was not affected.

As for Chan Zhi Monk, and the Asura, Hungry Ghosts, and Beastly Beings, they remained in place and directly faced this power.

The Rat King was horrified; his reaction speed was faster, almost immediately burrowing into the ground and curling into a ball the moment the Mountain and River Grand Formation activated.

He was only grazed by the aftershock.

But even so, he was scalded bald, and a patch of black fur appeared on his golden coat, making him cry out in distress.

However, it was still a gain.

Because the blood sacrifice, with the Mountain and River Grand Formation as its core, had begun.

Chan Zhi Monk, the Asura, the Hungry Ghosts, and the Beastly Beings were all sacrifices for the blood sacrifice.

And those who would enjoy this sacrifice were all the demonic rats of the Rat Soil Mound.

Demonic Transformation and Soul Transformation, today!

The Rat King ignored his burnt fur; he joyfully felt the power of the blood sacrifice spreading through his body!

However, suddenly, the Rat King froze.

Because a large black hand descended from the sky, protecting Chan Zhi Monk's Spirit Soul.

Only his Spirit Soul, because his Physical Body had already been shattered.

The blood sacrifice was forcibly terminated and interrupted!

The Mountain and River Grand Formation shattered in response.

Myriad Mountain and Water Deities wailed, tens of thousands of Mountain and Water Deities were instantly heavily wounded! Some weaker ones even died on the spot.

The entire Guangyang's ley lines were wailing!

Bo Yue, as the host, spewed out a mouthful of blood; his human body, a small heaven and earth, suffered a severe backlash, and he became completely listless.

He quickly took out a bottle of potion and drank it, but as he drank, his heart was filled with immense horror.

He looked around and saw countless ley lines directly broken in half; this place, Guangyang, would likely see all trees wither, rivers dry up, and land yield nothing for ten years or more before gradually recovering!

To be able to forcibly shatter the Mountain and River Grand Formation, this… this was a fifth-rank descending!?