Chapter 2014: Mother

He Lingchuan followed closely behind, patting him on the shoulder again.

The shoulder beast instantly came to life, transforming into a fire lion over a person tall, spewing true fire in all directions!

Its flames were bluish-white, burning everything. The monsters in the front row instantly vaporized, those in the middle turned to charcoal, and the ones at the back wailed as they rolled on the ground to extinguish the flames.

Still twenty zhang away.

He Lingchuan could now see clearly: ahead was the small lake at the valley bottom, covering about five mu, its surface undisturbed and unusually calm.

From behind came a loud shout from Heavy Martial: "He Huo, die!"

Seeing he couldn't catch up to He Lingchuan, he turned his long spear into a javelin and hurled it fiercely at He Lingchuan's back.

This move also had a name: "Heart-Piercing Spear." After release, it spun forward, flying faster and faster, reaching the enemy in a flash of lightning, nearly impossible to block.

With He Lingchuan's skill, he could only just turn around to face the incoming spear.

He also happened to summon the Soul-Capturing Mirror, using it as a shield before him.

With a clear "ding," this spear shoved him and his shield back ten zhang—ironically pushing him toward the lake.

But at the last moment, the spear suddenly turned into a fire snake, a snake head bursting from before the shield, lunging fiercely at He Lingchuan's eyes.

This came utterly unexpectedly; if it truly struck, he would be blinded.

Even the blood demon nearby jumped in shock, about to intervene, when the fire snake suddenly shrank downward, as if pulled back by something.

It struggled desperately, but could not resist the irresistible force—with a swoosh, it was sucked into the mirror-shield.

"It's Qingyang's move again!" the mirror fumed, "Good thing I had foresight!"

Can't let the blood demon steal all the glory—it is the lord's most loyal guardian!

When He Lingchuan stole treasure from the Star-Plucking Pavilion in the Heavenly Palace, Qingyang emerged from prison and shot him with the very first arrow—just like this. Back then, He Lingchuan also used the mirror-shield to block, but the arrow turned into a fire snake for a sneak attack, and was directly dragged by the mirror into the mirror world.

This was one of Qingyang's signature moves; it seems he passed it on to Heavy Martial.

One time raw, two times familiar—the mirror is getting experienced.

"My spear!" Heavy Martial gritted his teeth, watching helplessly as his strike sent He Lingchuan flying,

directly pushing him into the lake.

Plunk.

After entering the water, He Lingchuan turned around and saw clearly what lay beneath the lake.

The lake bottom was dark, actually very dim, especially for someone just entering the water—pitch black.

But the night crawlers of Lake Chao originally dwelled in lightless deep seas, and He Lingchuan gripped the night crawler halberd,

as if gaining the night crawler's deep-sea vision; dim light and rippling waves could not hinder his sight.

He almost instantly saw that the calm lake bottom concealed a person!

A woman.

She lay face-up on the lake bottom, her limbs and torso tightly wrapped in strange grayish-white bindings.

The ends of these bindings seemed fused with her body, the other ends stretching flat along the lakebed, vanishing into who knows where.

Nearly the entire lake bottom was paved with this grayish-white.

This wasn't spider silk—He Lingchuan immediately recognized it as tendons, one after another!

Elastic, fleshy.

The woman was bound so tightly only her face remained exposed, eyes shut tight, but her expression showed extreme pain.

Seeing this, He Lingchuan knew his deduction was correct.

She was the "formation eye" of that outer formation, and also the "mother body" to which countless monsters clung!

He Lingchuan was still at least ten zhang away, but near the woman two shadows emerged—likewise monsters, yet more crocodile- or lizard-like, with flat, long tails usable as rudders, making their turning and propulsion extraordinarily agile.

They moved through the water like torpedoes, shooting toward He Lingchuan.

At that moment, splashing sounds came from behind—denser than dumplings being dropped into a pot.

He Lingchuan didn't need to turn back to know: the monsters on shore were also jumping in. Enemies rushed straight for the "mother body," desperate to reach it.

Monsters ahead, behind, above, below!

And this was still underwater.

He Lingchuan flourished his halberd, and the still pond water suddenly began to churn.

Immediately, he spun half a circle in the water, using the halberd as an axe, and fiercely chopped downward at the lake bottom.

This wave of halberd wind and energy did not vanish in the water—on the contrary, the farther it conducted, the more exaggerated, the more solid, the faster it became. By the time it crossed over ten zhang, the condensed water-axe had reached five zhang in length!

Its sharpness was no less than that of divine weapons.

Back then, just such a water-axe left scar after scar on Qinglong's hard scales.

When it reappeared in the human world, it cleanly severed the woman before him along with the two phantoms in one blow—two strikes, swift as a blink,

and He Lingchuan was certain this was the best release for her.

He had seen precedents, knew the agony of being a "mother body"—like purgatory.

In the lake, a huge mass of blood water burst forth, far exceeding the total blood volume of a single body.

This was what the blood demon meant by the source of blood energy.

And just after this halberd strike, the monsters in the water and on land—once vigorous and tireless—suddenly all went limp, collapsing to the ground, still twitching repeatedly, as if their bones had been violently ripped out.

Then their bodies began to dissolve, faster than the effect of the night crawler halberd's "all become bubbles."

Within thirty breaths, the once-living monsters turned into pools of blood and pus on land and in the lake.

Only five monsters remained standing in place, their appearances originally distinct from the others.

As He Lingchuan said, they were not temporarily created "consumables." One was larger than its companions, its skin-and-bones face even more ferocious. Just now, within ten breaths, it had wounded two Black Shen soldiers, then fought Luo Xie to a stalemate.

But now all monsters faced the lake's center, low growls escaping them, their pupils filled not only with hatred but also fear.

The gray, murky sky suddenly cleared, as if a barrier had opened—fresh air surged in, and everyone felt a hint of coolness on their faces.

This was spiritual rain brushing the face.

That strange formation, after He Lingchuan rushed into the lake bottom, after the pool water suddenly violently trembled,

completely disappeared.

The hearts of Zhong Wu and the others, however, instantly dropped into an ice cellar.

The monster was gone, the environment had changed too, the last shred of hope of defeating He Xiao was like a candle in the wind, *puff*—snuffed out in one go.

With the most troublesome opponent gone, the Black Armored Army silently turned their heads, pressing step by step toward the Pixa people.

At this moment another figure walked up from the lake, step by step.

The Nine Nether Great Emperor!

Black flames surged all over his body; these few steps seemed as if he had crawled back to the mortal world from purgatory.

The Pixa people involuntarily retreated several steps, their resolve uneasy.

The Nine Nether Great Emperor still held two heads in his hand; after coming ashore he threw them toward General Zhong Wu. The heads spun two circles on the ground, and everyone saw clearly — they were the heads of two monsters.

"Even the Blood Flesh Fortress and the Jin Du Ghost Spawn were given to you; Qingyang truly favors you. It's just a pity that among the ghost spawn, the strongest Devourer alone is missing."