[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-starting-from-the-apocalypse-i-alone-severed-ete":3,"chapter-starting-from-the-apocalypse-i-alone-severed-ete-starting-from-the-apocalypse-i-alone-severed-ete-chapter-96":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Starting from the Apocalypse, I Alone Severed Eternity",{"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},2312478,4518,"Chapter 96: Unsolvable Heart Demon: Secret Meeting in the Forest","starting-from-the-apocalypse-i-alone-severed-ete-chapter-96",96,"\u003Cp>“Heart demon? This is indeed difficult.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the vast, empty hall, Fang Shi sat facing a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There must be some way to handle it; otherwise, a cultivator would carry a heart demon for life and never break through their realm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After seeking out experts in alchemy, Fang Shi found another cultivator reputed to be a master of mental cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man was also at the Spiritual Sense realm, born into a scholarly clan, said to have served as an official before thirty and taken the Dao after thirty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another thirty years of cultivation brought him to the Spiritual Sense realm—he was gifted, and also a Golden Core seed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged man said: “It’s simple: cultivate your body and nurture your nature.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The rules of the heart demon were established by the Sage, and the Sage’s intent was never to cut off a cultivator’s path.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They were meant only to warn cultivators not to misuse their power for evil.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thus, as long as you refrain from killing for a long time, the resentment of living beings clinging to you will fade, and the heart demon will not haunt you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Shi frowned: “Heart demon resentment? How is it I haven’t sensed any?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s the Sage’s method—you naturally cannot perceive it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve always heard tales of the Sage—who exactly is the Sage?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged scholar didn’t mind Fang Shi’s status as a lone cultivator and answered patiently: “No one knows the Sage’s life story; only fragments of legends remain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The era in which he lived is too ancient—far older than the Ancient Age.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And all memories of the Ancient Age were lost in war.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If not for the rules the Sage established, which still govern the world, everyone would doubt whether he ever existed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Shi said again: “But this is unreasonable—I killed some infected to save humans, yet now I’m burdened with the resentment of living beings? What sin is that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged scholar laughed: “Of course it is. Monsters are living beings too—even demons and yao are living beings.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Monsters have parents, demons have mothers and fathers—they’re all born of flesh and blood. Killing them isn’t a sin?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides, perhaps in the Sage’s eyes, there is no distinction between human, demon, spirit, or monster.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In the Ancient Age, all life mixed together; humans were merely one kind among countless others.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So the Sage established his rules according to the context of his time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Shi fell silent. Ancient rules were truly deadly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then is there no way to accelerate the process? Must I just wait it out?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course. The Sage’s rules are ironclad—you cannot escape them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How long does it take to purge the sin of killing one infected?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It depends. When the day comes that you carry no sin, Heaven’s Dao will remind you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Discretion—he understood. It was just a matter of mood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then is there truly no other way to deal with the heart demon? I have little time left—I simply cannot wait.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged scholar paused thoughtfully: “That’s true. Your situation is not uncommon among cultivators.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But there is truly no effective method—no array, incantation, or talisman can weaken a heart demon bound by the Sage’s rules.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And the heart demon’s strength equals your own—how strong you are, so strong is the heart demon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yet, conversely, it is said that cultivators who defeat their heart demons gain great benefits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is the one thread of hope the Sage left behind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But such people are rare—I don’t know what those benefits are.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Shi thought of his increased Spiritual Sense value—defeating the heart demon truly did bring benefits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spiritual Sense was notoriously hard to cultivate—that was universally acknowledged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sudden increase of five points was unimaginable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was equivalent to years of arduous cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed the Sage wasn’t rigid—he didn’t just punish, he also rewarded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He granted special favors to those of exceptional talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was precisely because of this boost in Spiritual Sense that Fang Shi now concealed his true cultivation base with ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply covering his body with Spiritual Sense was enough to mask his true level.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other Spiritual Sense cultivators could judge a cultivator’s approximate strength by the intensity of Spiritual Sense radiating from their skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Shi’s enhanced Spiritual Sense was now no weaker than that of other Spiritual Sense cultivators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as he didn’t fight, no one could detect his true cultivation base.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, even if he did fight,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>how do you know that’s his full strength?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You can’t forbid someone from holding back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Fang Shi used his identity as a Spiritual Sense elder to move freely through Long Yu Mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anything he wished to ask, others would grant him the courtesy of an answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like the middle-aged scholar—if you were a Qi Refining cultivator, you wouldn’t even get to see his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or like the former Zuo Yuan Sect—you wouldn’t dare disturb their work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let alone expect free Dao script teachings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then, Dao Brother, may I ask you about Dao script?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, of course. Let us exchange insights and enhance our cultivation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long Yu, Zhang Cheng pulled Zhang Zihui’s hand and ran swiftly down the mountain into the forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhang Cheng, why did you bring me here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zihui felt a blush of shyness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier, Zhang Cheng had been assigned duties relocating civilians.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So when Zhang Zihui arrived at Long Yu Mountain, she hadn’t seen him at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, upon his return today, Zhang Cheng had rushed to find her and invited her out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng smiled warmly: “Don’t you think this place is beautiful? I searched for half a day to find it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was night, yet the forest of Long Yu Mountain was not dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dark green leaves had turned translucent pale blue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tiny glimmers of light rose from the leaves, drifting in the air like a pale blue luminescence—like spirits dancing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chirping of insects and birds blended into a symphony, dreamlike and serene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What kind of tree is this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zihui had never seen such beauty before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had stayed on Long Yu Mountain but never had the mood to wander its interior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s called the Heart-Remembering Tree. Its core can be used to forge communication talismans—that’s how it got its name.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng sighed with emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zihui grew even shyer: “You’ve been thinking of me all this time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course!” Zhang Cheng suddenly embraced Zhang Zihui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think of you every moment. I heard about your family’s fate immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The first thing I thought of was your safety—I wanted to come, but my senior brothers stopped me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They held me tightly, wouldn’t let me leave their side.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Said my cultivation was too low—that going there would be suicide.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if you died, I’d be no different from dead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zihui nestled in Zhang Cheng’s arms, tears falling drop by drop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Everyone’s dead, everyone’s dead—my whole family is gone. Only you remain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So I came. The moment I heard you were alive, I dropped everything and rushed here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng held her tighter, as if he never wanted to let go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm,” Zhang Zihui whispered, sorrowful and shy, her head buried deep in Zhang Cheng’s chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while of quiet warmth, once Zhang Zihui’s emotions steadied, Zhang Cheng asked again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, who exactly is Fang Shi, the one who escorted you back?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Along the way, I heard he’s a newly arrived Spiritual Sense elder—and the man who burned down the village.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But isn’t he a long-lost member of your Zhang family? He knew nothing of cultivation—how did he become a Spiritual Sense cultivator?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zihui hesitated: “I don’t know. He says he’s a cultivator who wanders the world, and he was just fooling us before.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng was astonished: “But his acting was too convincing—he seemed exactly like a cultivator who accidentally awakened Immortal Bones.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He even asked me detailed questions about breaking limits—sounded nothing like a high-level elder.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zihui said: “That’s true, but one thing is strange—I saw him again, and his hair was completely silver.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He even claimed he used the limit-breaking method. Are there really cultivators who don’t care about their lifespan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng said: “He’s lying to you. No cultivator ignores lifespan. He’s probably just pretending again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zihui sighed: “Sigh… that’s probably the only possibility. If only he’d said he was a Zhang family member—our family now has no heir left, not even distant branches survive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng chuckled: “But you’re still here—you can have a child.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zihui blushed: “Pfft! What are you saying? I’m still unmarried—how could I have a child?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng’s smile widened: “Don’t I count?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zihui’s face turned even redder, and for a moment she didn’t know how to respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She felt Zhang Cheng’s hand growing unrestrained, stroking her body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet somehow, she didn’t resist—instead, a faint, elusive anticipation stirred within her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But gradually, Zhang Zihui sensed something was wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhang Cheng, where’s your left hand?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The night was dark and windy, and Zhang Cheng wore a long robe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zihui hadn’t noticed anything amiss until now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier, when he held her, she’d thought him a gentleman, content to stop at mere contact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, with no sign of his left hand, it was clearly wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could Zhang Cheng really be this well-behaved? If he was truly well-behaved, why was he touching her at all?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh, you caught me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zihui touched the empty sleeve of Zhang Cheng’s arm, panicked: “What happened to your left hand?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhang Cheng didn’t answer—he only stared fixedly at Zhang Zihui, his eyes gleaming with strange light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zihui assumed she’d touched on his painful memory and steadied her voice: “It’s fine. Limb loss isn’t fatal. You can ask your Master to restore your body.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng smiled strangely: “I don’t need it anymore. After tonight, you and I will become one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zihui rebuked sharply: “What nonsense are you spouting? Even injured, you’re still daydreaming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No. I’m telling the truth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, from the stump of his severed arm, a mass swelled rapidly, tearing through his robe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a colossal arm, dragging along the ground, covered in gray-brown scales and slick, slimy mucus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, it wrapped around her waist and snapped her in two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the disbelief still lingering in Zhang Zihui’s eyes, Zhang Cheng chuckled: “Didn’t you want me to hold you? I’ve fulfilled your wish—why are you so unhappy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I get it. It’s because we haven’t merged yet—you’re not used to it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry. It’ll be quick.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had he spoken than the massive arm split open, dividing into eight segments, each lined with sharp teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was clearly a gigantic mouth, its tongue lapping at the teeth within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crunch!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the deep blue forest, continuous chewing sounds echoed without end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the chirping of insects and birds, it formed a symphony of feeding.\u003C\u002Fp>",1817,"2026-06-20T12:43:33.559Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","411e03e7d548c832746a0a117c8a3077108a420d20978e1b208e47c08deb9f63","starting-from-the-apocalypse-i-alone-severed-ete-chapter-97","starting-from-the-apocalypse-i-alone-severed-ete-chapter-95",109,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstarting-from-the-apocalypse-i-alone-severed-ete-cover.jpg"]