The Eternal Way-Chapter 210: Sudden Change

Before Li Qi made his move, an hour had passed.

The battlefield was drenched in blood almost instantly.

The Asura and Hungry Ghost factions were locked in fierce combat with the Guangyang soldiers.

Every means must be used to kill every visible being; otherwise, one would die themselves.

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, the monk, was breathing heavily; the battle below had reached a fever pitch.

The soldiers formed arrays, their long spears held straight and thrust forward. The officers led the charge, desperately blocking the advancing Asuras and Hungry Ghosts.

Chan Zhi's strength was limited; the Six Realms Gate he opened could only allow a few Eighth and Ninth Rank beings to pass through, while most of the Asuras and Hungry Ghosts were unranked.

But even so, if left unchecked, they could devour the entire Guangyang.

This was because both the Asuras and Hungry Ghosts could rapidly enhance themselves through combat and feeding.

However, the White Rhino Army held their ground.

Even knowing the outcome would be defeat, they did not retreat a single step.

With thousands of spells flashing and the glow of magical treasures tearing the ground, arrows like a torrent shattered the black aura shields of the Asuras, piercing through the blinding explosions.

Wave after wave of spells rained down, crashing into the enemy ranks.

Loud battle cries echoed, various techniques and powers surged, filling the sky, then spiraling down to cover the earth.

A row of shield-bearing warriors stood at the front, clad in heavy armor, their shields thick and sturdy, forming a military array, shimmering with layers of spell protections, and martial qi wrapped around them, reducing the impact of external damage.

An Eighth Rank Asura stood at the forefront, emitting a terrifying aura, powerful enough to crush mountains.

But at this moment, despite unleashing hundreds of attacks, he could not break through the military array.

All the offensive power was evenly distributed among each person, and then spread across their armor and shields. Even the force capable of crushing a small mountain could not harm the array as a whole.

While defending, the mid-level officers quickly issued commands and led the charge.

Orders were relayed by messengers to the lower-level officers, who then commanded the soldiers, layer by layer, in a well-ordered and disciplined manner.

A elite army could encircle and kill powerful foes through martial qi and seamless coordination.

The only way for unranked soldiers to resist powerful foes was through iron discipline and fearless spirit!

There were casualties in the battle, but when it was their turn to die, no one retreated.

The martial qi on the White Rhino Army's banner grew more intense, the originally green and white martial qi now tinged with blood.

Martial qi formed the array, killing aura stretched like a rainbow.

Martial qi gathered like clouds, the cliffs roared as they split.

Under the clear sky and vast wilderness, the battle raged, the cries of killing shook the heavens, and the wind howled in anger!

This interception battle had lasted for over an hour.

The air was filled with burning flames, ashes, and smoke, choking the throat.

But all that could be seen was the breaking of precious blades, the determination of life and death, the entanglement of souls, the gathering of ghosts and deities, bones scattered on the sand, and corpses strewn across the fields.

Rivers meandered, mountains intertwined.

The sky was dark and gloomy, the wind mournful, and the sun dim.

The grass was withered, the air as cold as frost.

Birds did not dare to land, beasts fled in panic.

Corpses lined the roads, blood filled the plains.

Generals fell from their horses, soldiers died in battle.

Regardless of rank, all became dry bones.

The casualties were heavy.

Even though the White Rhino Army fought to the death, the numbers of the Asuras and Hungry Ghosts were overwhelming, with endless reinforcements. In this hour, the White Rhino Army had lost more than half its strength.

"Rat King! Do you still intend to obstruct me!?" Chan Zhi, the monk, unleashed his full power, a massive pressure descending. At this point, there was no longer any talk of life and death.

Every move was the ultimate, every attack was a full-out strike.

Black flames burned on the body of the demon, flames erupting from every limb, like a strongman carrying a large torch against the wind, the flames blazing fiercely, as if to consume everything.

This was the hellfire of the demon.

But these attacks did not reach the ground.

A golden-furred rat, the size of a small dog, was continuously blocking all of Chan Zhi's attacks.

It did not intend to confront Chan Zhi head-on; everything it did was to defend and buy time.

Continuously defending, continuously dodging, if it could not block, it would try to deflect.

Rats were best at digging and hiding.

Moreover, the Rat Mound had a unique power.

As recorded in the legend, Shen Shuibei and Li Qi had both mentioned it.

"Horse reins, human clothing, bowstrings, armor straps—anything tied or fastened, the rats gnawed through it all."

That was, gnawing through magical treasures!

Chan Zhi could only fight with his physical body; his three-inch demon realm was also a magical treasure, and he had many other treasures he had not yet used.

But now, he could not bring them out.

Any treasure that could be brought out, the Rat King of the Rat Mound was not afraid of. His large front teeth could gnaw through metal, wood, and soil.

Of the Five Elements, only water and fire were not restrained; the other three could be eaten as snacks. Water and fire had no physical form, so his large front teeth were useless against them.

Therefore, Chan Zhi activated the hellfire of the demon to avoid the Rat King's large front teeth.

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

Those golden hairs stood straight like steel needles, smooth like armor, impervious to water and fire, and could penetrate the soil without obstruction.

Faced with such a tough opponent, even Chan Zhi had no solution.

If they really fought to the death, Chan Zhi believed he could easily defeat the Rat King. But to match him, the entire Rat Mound would have to join in.

However, this rat was slippery, quick to dodge, and hard to catch, just dragging time, not fighting, forcing a delay.

This made Chan Zhi furious, yet helpless.

As his anger grew, demonic thoughts began to rise in his heart.

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

The demonic aura intensified, leading to delusions and brutality.

He immediately realized and stopped, sitting in meditation, arousing his Buddhist heart to suppress the demonic thoughts.

Chan Zhi recited the scriptures:

"Disperse all the bonds of the gates of affliction! Even the subtle afflictions are immediately severed. Once they are removed, it is called returning the spirit to dwell in the empty cave, also known as liberation from the bonds of the demon!"

"Recite the incomparable spell, no ordinary demons come, no lesser demons come, no Bodhisattva demons come, and even no Buddha demons come!"

"Still in the formless realm, avoid falling into the lesser path, avoid falling into the path of demons!"

He was doing his utmost to suppress the demonic thoughts that arose from his anger!

However, just as he was exerting all his efforts, suddenly, he missed.

Yes, he missed.

The demonic thoughts were gone.

Someone had helped him suppress the demonic thoughts.

But the scriptures had already been recited, and the Buddhist heart had already arisen.

The balance between Buddha and demon was lost in an instant.

Chan Zhi felt a loud, crisp sound in his mind.

It was like using all his strength to punch a cotton ball, only to hurt himself.

His Dao foundation... had a crack.

This even caused his demonic heart to shatter instantly, losing his mental control.

The Dao heart of Chan Zhi, the monk, was divided into a Buddha Heart and a Demon Heart. The unity of both while maintaining balance was the path of Mahakala.

He had always been meticulously maintaining this balance.

Earlier, his demonic thoughts were intense, so he elevated his Buddha Heart to counterbalance them.

But the demonic thoughts mysteriously vanished.

Without opposition, the Buddha Heart became unbalanced.

Chan Zhi often spoke about imbalance in demonic thoughts as if only they could go awry.

Could the Buddha Heart not do the same?

Li Qi clearly understood this point.

Therefore, when setting up the plan, he arranged everything accordingly.

Firstly, deceive Chan Zhi into going to the location of the formation.

Secondly, Zhang Lan and Shen Shuibei would ambush and then retreat.

At this point, Chan Zhi would inevitably become suspicious.

Thirdly, Wang Baisan, who had been prepared on the outskirts, would deliver Bo Yue's reply letter to the fleeing Sima of Guangyang, whom Li Qi had calculated upon.

Upon reading it, the Sima of Guangyang would realize that two Young Masters were present. Naturally, such a coward would know which choice to make and would return without hesitation.

Because failing to fight now meant certain death.

Fourthly, coordination between Bo Yue and the Rat King.

Since a promise from one Young Master wasn't enough for the Rat King of the Rat Mound, Li Qi also brought in Bo Yue, giving him confidence in victory and making him determined to stall Chan Zhi.

With the Rat King, they could slow down Chan Zhi, preventing him from fully focusing on his enemies or Bo Yue's grand landscape formation, forcing him to multitask, thereby intensifying his anger.

Fifthly, after the previous four layers of traps.

In those few moves, Chan Zhi would begin to suspect Li Qi.

Here, he would surely be enraged.

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Though still within his control, his anger would be palpable yet manageable.

However, when Bo Yue activated the grand landscape formation, summoning the power of myriad deities, he truly gained the strength to kill Chan Zhi.

Then, fear replaced anger.

Because there was a real possibility of death.

Thus, he would deploy all backup forces, including the Grade Seven puppet held by the Sima of Guangyang.

Chan Zhi would certainly try to stop Bo Yue from fully controlling the grand landscape formation.

This forced him to split his attention, dealing with Bo Yue while managing the main battlefield.

Fear turned into anxiety.

Finally, Li Qi firmly believed that Chan Zhi wouldn't break through his setup quickly.

He would only grow more desperate.

Suspicion, anger, fear, anxiety, all coalescing into killing intent.

Each step pushed Chan Zhi closer to his weakness.

Suspicion, anger, fear, anxiety, killing—five poisons gnawing at his heart, causing demonic thoughts to surge!

Seizing the moment when Chan Zhi's demonic thoughts swelled and required suppression by the Buddha Heart, using the resonance of the Māra Dao to suppress these thoughts, the Buddha Heart would naturally lose balance.

Chan Zhi fell for it immediately, losing his Dao heart!

However, this wasn't a severe injury to him.

The Buddha Heart was easier to control than the demonic thoughts.

Yet, even easily controlled, it needed a few seconds to stabilize.

The Rat King wouldn't give him that chance.

Nor would Bo Yue.

---

As Chan Zhi lost his mental focus, the Rat King instantly struck!

His large front teeth acted like a carpenter's plane, swiftly cutting and chewing through Chan Zhi's flesh!

Teeth capable of breaking magical treasures left the demon body defenseless.

Meanwhile, Bo Yue seized the opportunity.

Chan Zhi's brief lapse allowed an immediate counterattack.

Within just a couple of seconds.

The grand landscape formation rose!

A muffled sound echoed throughout Guangyang!

Countless mountain veins erupted with magnificent power, forming near-perfect shapes along pre-designed conduits. Endless energy surged through, emerald light descending like a galaxy connecting heaven and earth.

An awe-inspiring array appeared.

Simply running this array required immense energy.

Every second drained countless mountain vein powers.

Using it once would leave myriad deities weakened for a year, disrupt Feng Shui in Guangyang for three years, reduce land productivity, and cause crop failures. Animals would struggle to reproduce, and people would feel lethargic.

It was a devastating array built at the cost of extreme exploitation of earth energies and mountain deities—a final weapon for the region.

Bo Yue manipulated the grand landscape formation, bringing its power down.

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

Because... everything around was gone!

Mountains outside... melted completely, lava rivers cascading down cliffs, creating spectacular firefalls, splashing magma everywhere like boiling rain...

The ground turned into a sea of flames, hot lava sweeping around, shaking the earth with unimaginable force... even hundreds of miles away, the power was felt.

The White Rhino Army was protected by a strange force, unaffected.

But Chan Zhi, the Asuras, Hungry Ghosts, and other creatures faced this power directly.

The Rat King reacted faster, diving underground and curling into a ball the instant the landscape formation activated.

He was only grazed by the aftershock.

Still, his golden fur scorched, turning black in spots, causing him pain.

But it was worth it.

Because the blood sacrifice centered on the landscape formation began.

Chan Zhi, the Asuras, Hungry Ghosts, and beasts were sacrifices.

And benefiting from this sacrifice were all the rats of the Rat Mound.

Achieving transcendence from demons to gods was happening today!

Ignoring his burnt fur, the Rat King joyfully felt the sacrificial power spreading through his body!

Suddenly, he froze.

Because a giant black hand descended from the sky, shielding Chan Zhi's spiritual essence.

Only the spirit remained, as his physical body was shattered.

The blood sacrifice was forcibly interrupted!

The grand landscape formation shattered.

Myriad deities wailed; thousands of mountain spirits were severely injured, some weaker ones dying on the spot.

Guangyang's mountain veins cried out!

Bo Yue, as the conductor, spat blood, his human microcosm suffering severe backlash, leaving him exhausted.

He hurriedly drank a potion but was shocked beyond measure.

Looking around, he saw countless mountain veins severed, predicting decades of desolation for Guangyang, with dried-up trees, broken rivers, and barren lands.

To forcibly shatter the grand landscape formation, this... this was a Fifth Rank descent! ?