Chapter 362: Chapter 362: So That’s How It Is
If it were an ordinary disciple of the White Cloud Temple, they might not be able to defeat this Mountain Demon, after all, this Mountain Demon’s body is indeed incredibly strong, full of Blood Qi, and as hard as iron.
But Lu Zheng is different; his greatest feature is his diverse array of methods.
When he discovered that even the Body-Freezing Curse was ineffective against the Mountain Demon, he recalled how the demon avoided Hu Cai Niang’s gaze.
Could it be that its True Spirit is not strong enough?
As soon as he thought of it, he tried. Lu Zheng immediately slashed with a stroke of the Golden Palace Heart Sword.
No harm in trying first with a slash; if it’s effective, great, if not, he’ll consider other methods.
The Golden Palace Heart Sword directly cleaves at the True Spirit, and the Mountain Demon only feels a dazzling Divine Sword appearing in its mind, cutting toward its Divine Soul.
"Squeak squeak!"
The Mountain Demon’s expression changed dramatically, guarding its Divine Soul closely, then paused, turning around to leave.
"Huh?"
Lu Zheng smirked at the corners of his mouth; wasn’t that the answer?
"So your Divine Soul is this weak!"
Compared to the Mountain Demon relying on its body to fight against Martial Artists, Demons, or even Qi Refiners across realms, its Divine Soul is relatively weak; encountering a Refining Spirit practitioner would leave it helpless.
In that case...
"Golden Palace Divine Palace, suppress!"
Lu Zheng decisively used a spell from the "Golden Palace Secret Technique."
The Golden Palace Heart Sword is for breaking defenses, while the Golden Palace Divine Palace is for direct suppression.
The Mountain Demon only felt a golden shining palace appear in its Sea of Consciousness, radiating bright light, with streams of golden light shooting into the depths of its Divine Soul, erasing traces of its True Spirit.
"Squeak squeak!"
The Mountain Demon’s eyes revealed a look of terror, propelling itself forward, crashing into the forest with even greater speed than before to flee rapidly.
"Can you escape?"
Lu Zheng sneered coldly and followed along.
...
"Squeak squeak!"
The crisp sound echoed through the forest, but the commotion that followed was significant, as if a dump truck were rampaging through the deep forests, shaking the ground, breaking trees, and raising clouds of dust.
"Golden Palace Heart Sword, slash!"
"Golden Palace Divine Palace, suppress!"
"Golden Palace Treasure Mirror, disperse!"
"Golden Palace Illusion Realm, confuse!"
Lu Zheng tested various techniques from the "Golden Palace Secret Technique" along the way.
The Mountain Demon could only guard its True Spirit, turning back several times to try to kill Lu Zheng, but Lu Zheng countered with the Cloud Technique and Flying Sword, thwarting its attempts.
The Mountain Demon was helpless, gradually feeling a splitting headache, its Divine Soul worn down, unable to counterattack, forced to flee deeper into the mountains.
...
Thirty miles deep into the mountains, Lu Zheng sensed that the Mountain Demon was unable to resist any longer. Just as he was about to deliver the final blow, he saw it suddenly turn a corner, breaking into a valley.
Following inside, Lu Zheng saw the Mountain Demon dive into a cave and vanish.
In the valley, mist lingered, perhaps due to the terrain, making the air feel a bit lighter than outside.
Lu Zheng looked around and found many broken trees and human bones in the valley.
This was the lair of the group of Mountain Demons.
"Squeak squeak!"
From the cave came the Mountain Demon’s crisp voice, "Human! All the people in that mountain village have been eaten clean by us; why don’t you come in and avenge them? Hahaha!"
Lu Zheng’s eyes turned sharp.
The Mountain Demon’s voice came from deep inside the cave, indicating the cave was not shallow.
And Lu Zheng did not have the ability to attack the Mountain Demon’s Divine Soul from such a distance.
Thus, the Mountain Demon rather hoped Lu Zheng would enter the cave, planning to use the narrow confines to turn the tables on Lu Zheng.
Reaching the cave entrance, Lu Zheng glanced inside, seeing darkness within, less than three zhang before it turned left, hiding what lay further inside.
"Tsk tsk, you think I don’t dare to go in?"
"Well, come in if you dare!"
"As you wish, I’m coming in!"
With those words, Lu Zheng stepped into the cave.
Not only did he enter the cave, but Lu Zheng drew the Seven-Star Sword and with a few reverse strokes, chopped down the surrounding rocks, sealing the cave entrance.
Then Lu Zheng proceeded deeper into the cave, continuously destroying the passage behind him, sealing it tighter and tighter.
"What are you doing!" The Mountain Demon was a bit panicked, was the other intending to perish together?
"Hehe! Guess?"
Lu Zheng chuckled, not quickening his pace, but destroying as he advanced.
Seeing Lu Zheng had already advanced dozens of zhang, sealing dozens more behind him, the Mountain Demon finally couldn’t wait, lunging forward.
In the cave, three zhang high, the Mountain Demon nearly filled the space, leaving Lu Zheng with no room to escape or retreat.
"Die!"
The Mountain Demon roared, seeming to envision hammering Lu Zheng into pulp.
Then Lu Zheng simply waved at it, taking a step back.
"Boom!"
The Mountain Demon couldn’t stop in time, crashing into the rock wall Lu Zheng had sealed behind him.
"What?"
"Golden Palace Heart Sword, slash!"
"Ah!"
The Mountain Demon screamed, trying to run deeper into the cave, only to see Lu Zheng suddenly appear on its path, swinging his sword again.
The Sword Qi swept through, shattering rock, stones falling in a cascade, blocking its way back.
"Earth Travel Technique!"
"Correct!" Lu Zheng said with a smile, telling an outdated joke, "No prize!"
The Mountain Demon couldn’t understand the cold joke, only punching at the rocks blocking the path, trying to smash through.
Logically, heading towards the outside should be safer, but it knew clearly that Lu Zheng had sealed dozens of zhang along the way.
So it could only retreat inward, hoping to break through the rocks while Lu Zheng hadn’t sealed more, continuing deeper into the cave.
Unfortunately...
Lu Zheng wasn’t weaker; while retreating with the Earth Travel Technique, he shattered rocks blocking the path, while using Spirit Secret Techniques to attack.
The Mountain Demon couldn’t reach Lu Zheng at all, completely overpowered without any ability to fight back.
"Squeak squeak!"
"Ahhhh!"
"Huff—huff—"
"Ugh...ugh..."
"Bang!"
Finally, the Mountain Demon collapsed like a toppled pillar, crashing into the rubble pile, breathing its last.
Confirming the Mountain Demon’s Divine Soul True Spirit had dissipated, Lu Zheng appeared, storing its body in the Storage Gourd.
"Buzz!"
A hundred and forty-one strands of the Light of Fortune accounted.
"That’s not right!" Lu Zheng’s eyes narrowed.
Despite its fearsome appearance, the Mountain Demon’s Dao Practice wasn’t high. Even with potential, seven to eighty strands of the Light of Fortune would be the most it could yield, definitely not over a hundred.
Yet the Jade Seal had gathered one hundred and forty-one strands, indicating the Mountain Demon was fated for great potential and had already seized its opportunity.
Lu Zheng’s eyes flared as he looked at the dark passage ahead, stepping silently onward.
Traveling several more dozen zhang, he finally emerged from the cave passage into a slightly larger chamber.
Dim red light faintly illuminated the cave space, revealing to Lu Zheng the scene at the mountain’s heart.
"So that’s it!"