[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals":3,"chapter-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-996":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Cluster Artillery: Shattering the Immortals",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2343007,4578,"Chapter 996","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-996",996,"\u003Cp>Hundreds of thousands of slave tribe troops and the Jiao Demon Emperor Clan’s army converged at the Firestone Emperor Palace, then under the command of Flameflow Emperor’s Son, they surged through teleportation arrays toward the vicinity of the Demon Vine Small World where Cangkong Emperor’s Son resided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The star-domain war was about to erupt, but the Demon Stone Small World temporarily fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vast majority of Golden Core and Nascent Soul experts had been conscripted away, as had the Foundation Establishment core forces; only the elderly and weak remained, too feeble to cause any trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Those nine individuals are no weaklings—they’ve already influenced and controlled Gao Jie experts in such a short time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Compared to them, I’ve fallen behind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding murmured to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The minor demon he possessed was named Hua Teng, an ordinary member of the Skullblood Vine Demon race, with Qi Refining fifth-layer cultivation, its skull glow dim, the vines symbiotically entwined with its body slightly yellowed and lifeless, a pink flower drooping weakly, its blood-filled pupils lacking vitality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a very ordinary Skullblood Vine Demon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had no remarkable talent, innate quality, or family background.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet it possessed one special trait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After bidding farewell to the departing tribal army, Hua Teng returned home, carried a flask of blood wine, and entered a cave carved into the mountain rocks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dilapidated door of the cave was pulled open, revealing an old skull lying on the ground, fast asleep, surrounded by the stench of cheap mortal-animal blood wine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the Skullblood Vine Demon race, the indicator of age is the vines wrapped around the skull—the fewer green leaves and the more wrinkles on the vines, the older the individual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This old skull was likely forty or fifty years old, nearing the absolute lifespan limit of ordinary Skullblood Vine Demons in the Demon Stone Small World.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as human cultivators at forty or fifty are considered elderly, under the rule of the Mo Yan Clan, surviving to this age was already considered extraordinary talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...White Grandpa... White Grandpa...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Teng nudged the old skull, cooing: “Teach me the Bone Refining Art again... just one more time...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This old skull was her great-uncle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many years ago, when Hua Teng’s father used his thigh bone to give birth to the vine life, this old Skullblood Vine Demon had been watching, had infused spirit into Hua Teng’s bones, and under harsh conditions, had used his own vital energy to slightly enhance Hua Teng’s innate quality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hua Teng...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t bother...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old skull, half-asleep, sensed something but had no desire to wake, swatted away Hua Teng’s hand and resumed snoring loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hehe!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Teng had anticipated this; she wasn’t in a hurry, took out the blood wine she’d brought, and uncorked it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thick, pungent stench of blood spread outward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the specialty of the Skullblood Vine Demon race—blood wine, brewed by mixing the fresh blood of living beings with thousands of spiritual herbs, then fermented using the clan’s secret technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It strengthens the soul and forges the bones, renowned in surrounding regions and one of the designated tributes demanded by the Mo Yan Clan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The quality of the blood wine depends on the rank of the living blood, the grade of the spiritual herbs, and the skill of the Skullblood Vine Demon who brews it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Legend says the ancestral Skullblood Vine Demon himself brewed a blood wine so beloved by a certain Sovereign that the clan rose to prominence and produced a Jiang-level expert.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Teng’s blood wine, though incomparable to that divine substance, still fell within the category of spiritual wine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old Skullblood Vine Demon’s thunderous snoring abruptly ceased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two withered, yellow vines on his cheekbones twitched repeatedly, confirming the scent, as if unable to believe it, thinking it a dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whose blood spirit wine is this...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Teng feigned surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Blood spirit wine!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old skull instantly awoke; initially annoyed, he burst into joy upon seeing the wine, snatching it up: “Hua Teng girl, you’re the best—you still remember this old thing near death.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Great-uncle, don’t talk nonsense—you won’t die.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ll live to be a hundred! I heard once of an elder named Gu Li who lived a hundred years—you should be able to too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Teng let the old skull take the blood spirit wine, pouting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahaha!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A hundred years—good, good, let’s live a hundred years!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old skull laughed heartily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Hua Teng’s surprise, the old skull didn’t greedily gulp down half the bottle; instead, he carefully tucked it into his chest, as if planning to save it for later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How is your Bone Refining Art coming along?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old skull asked with concern: “Don’t underestimate this art—it was a rare fortune I gained in childhood, and it’s the reason I’m still alive while other Skullblood Vine Demons die by forty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too bad your father was as stupid as a pig—he couldn’t learn it...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Great-uncle, I’m almost done mastering it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Teng said proudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grandfather and granddaughter, one teaching, one asking, soon passed several hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hua Teng felt reluctant, but her time had come—she had to return to the cave to refine blood wine with her own life essence, and bid him a reluctant farewell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the girl’s departure, the old skull’s stone cave returned to its former cold, lifeless silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sigh...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hua Teng is a good girl.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old skull sighed softly, took out the precious blood spirit wine he hadn’t tasted in ten years, and stared at it blankly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew this was Hua Teng’s accumulated savings over many years, meant to let this dying old man enjoy one final pleasure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, this bottle of wine was brewed with human blood—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>specifically, the fresh blood of a human Qi Refining girl. Though not killed by Hua Teng, it was refined by her own hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old skull stared a while longer, then buried the blood spirit wine underground and ignored it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rummaged through his belongings, found another cheap mortal blood wine, drank it down in one gulp, and sank back into drowsy sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a soft voice appeared in the cave, curious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why don’t you drink this bottle of blood spirit wine?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A servant born in suffering, fleeing desperately, a cultivator still recovering—you should seize every wisp of spiritual energy. Blood cultivators are always greedy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice echoed through the cave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old skull jolted awake, bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our Blood River King, the human race’s eternal first prodigy...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice was gentle, indistinct, emotionless, speaking faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old skull’s pupils contracted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The direct naming left no room for hope—he was being hunted again by a powerful enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shhh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, without a word, the old skull burned his blood essence and unleashed his strongest evasion technique, vanishing in an instant—decisive, not wasting even a ten-thousandth of a breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qing!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint sword hum echoed in his ears, lingering, clear and melodious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the old skull, it was like heaven collapsing, earth cracking, the sun falling—his soul instantly suppressed, body stiffened, tumbling out of space, all blood-dashing techniques useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old skull cried out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merely a sound wave had completely suppressed him, stripping all resistance—beyond his comprehension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boundless despair arose in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when facing the Jiao Demon Emperor Clan’s Sovereign, he’d never felt this powerless—he’d still had some means to resist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No reply came from the other side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He seemed stunned, the descending sword light slowly retracting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re at the peak of Soul Transformation—how weak are you? You’re barely stronger than a beginner Soul Transformation cultivator.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How far has your lineage decayed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding sighed faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>",1274,"2026-06-20T23:34:28.016Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","79f43785a3116095be7c5c0648f4d793df171fccac9aa424db1c7a389256dafc","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-997","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-995",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-cover.jpg"]