One more catty, one more attribute point

Boom!

Su Heng let out a cold snort, spread his five fingers, and clenched them fiercely.

A tremendous force compressed the air, forming white streamer-like gusts that dispersed in all directions. The surrounding bamboo forest quivered and shattered into pieces, exploding around him.

With wings outstretched, he was about to take off.

But a rustling sound from beneath his feet drew Su Heng's attention back.

He stopped in his tracks and looked down.

Amongst the cracked and sinking ground, in the midst of the scarlet chaos, strange, eyeless rats the size of calves, their claws and teeth gleaming with a metallic luster, were emerging from the fissures. These creatures seemed to lack any notable intelligence.

They relied entirely on their sense of smell and the two whiskers on their mouths to discern their surroundings, and at that moment, they lifted their heads to sniff the air outside.

Upon detecting Su Heng's presence, they opened their mouths and bit towards him.

Spurt!

Su Heng stomped down with his foot.

The rat-shaped demon exploded on the spot, turning into a splash of fresh red.

"These things are 'Mole Crickets'!" Su Heng frowned slightly, recognizing the origin of these rat demons by their external features.

Mole Crickets were a very common type of low-level demon in the Eternal Heavens.

Their individual strength was ordinary; even a normal person armed with a weapon could kill one on their own.

However, these demons were numerous, appearing in swarms. And Mole Crickets' sharp teeth and claws could penetrate the barriers around the Mythical Battlefield. If left uncontrolled, these demons could keep widening the cracks and expand the range of the Mythical Battlefield.

In the worst-case scenario,

Mole Crickets could pull an entire world into the Eternal Heavens.

Then, apart from a few mighty beings of the Heavenly Deceit, for the common populace of this world, it would undoubtedly be an absolute disaster.

When the nest is overturned, can any egg remain intact?

"It seems the situation is worse than I imagined," Su Heng murmured.

Everything happening here seemed premeditated. On one side, the Corruption Demon God Marpa had just escaped confinement, and on the other, some powerful beings couldn't wait to summon Mole Crickets in large numbers, seeking to pierce through the barrier and invade.

They really considered his side a pushover.

However...

On the other hand,

Without Su Heng, relying solely on the several immortal sects and noble families of the Jiang E region to hold off a sector of the God Demon Battlefield was indeed a hopeless endeavor.

After all, these people couldn't even pacify Skull Plain, engaging in an evenly matched, indecisive struggle with the three Esoteric Sects.

Let alone the Eternal Heavens' Mythical Battlefield, which was far more dangerous and bizarre than Skull Plain.

"But, since you are so eager. Then, I'll send you a big gift as well," Su Heng said with a corner of his mouth pulling into a fierce smile.

He took a deep breath.

And within his chest, his second heart beat slowly and heavily.

A dangerous buzzing sound filled the air, and the gathered dust in the sky dispersed, but the sunlight at dawn suddenly dimmed. Bits of dark red light floated in the void, then converged and collapsed in Su Heng's mouth, turning pure white, exposing the unstable core inside—

Boom!

A blazing beam of light burst forth from Su Heng's mouth.

It followed the fissures in the ground into another section of the barrier, causing a violent explosion.

An angry roar, filled with extreme rage, came faintly from the void, but was quickly drowned out by the violent aftermath of the explosion.

Rumble, rumble!

The ground vibrated with a humming sound, undulating up and down.

Blinding white beams of light, sharp as blades, shot straight up through the cracks into the sky.

A catastrophic event was triggered here—the ground collapsed as if doomsday had arrived. Huge chunks of the ground and rocks were thrown hundreds of meters into the air; violet plasma clouds exploded violently, heating the air and forming a towering curtain of flames that surged upward.

Black smoke billowed; the heat-expanded air created a great suction force, pulling ground dust into the sky and further dispersing it across the vast, clear firmament.

From afar, it looked like a huge mushroom cloud slowly rising in the darkened sky, overlooking the vast expanse of the steppe below.

Whoosh!

In the instant the explosion occurred,

Su Heng flapped his wings, catching the rapidly ascending current to fly high into the sky, then hovered in place.

He spread his arms wide, feeling the hot airflow scattering his long hair. Intense light mixed with high temperature and radiation fell on Su Heng's formidable and burly frame, bringing a tingling sensation, but it only sharpened his consciousness.

His eyes glowed with a faint red light as he looked downward.

The tremendous destructive force of his breath had turned the space on the other side of the Fa King Temple into a fiery abyss. The high temperatures and frightening radiation burned the ground, preventing weaker demons from moving in the explosion's core area for a while, thereby impeding the invasion from the other side.

However, the aftermath of the explosion inevitably damaged the barrier as well. The two effects neutralized each other, and whether the final outcome was good or bad, Su Heng couldn't be sure.

But that was just his character.

Since the war was inevitable, he would be the one to instigate it.

He was unwilling to lose the initiative in this war.

However...

The Mythical Battlefield had not been fully opened after all.

Reaching this point was already Su Heng's limit.

Next, it was time to think of a way to thoroughly clean up the various scattered issues and integrate all the usable forces within the Jiang E Seven States. Only by resolving the internal conflicts could he fight a satisfying battle without any concerns for what was behind him.

Swish!

With that thought, Su Heng no longer lingered.

His broad wings slightly spread out, flapping violently before circling around the rising column of flame in the sky and quickly disappearing into the clouds on the other side.

...

...

...

On the other hand, outside the Temple of the King of Dharma on Skull Plain.

After Lin Xiaoye and He Xingyun left, they hurriedly rushed with Su Heng's orders to the temporary camp built at the foot of Wulian Mountain.

After all, this matter involved the Mythical Battlefield and was extremely urgent; neither of them dared to delay.

In a makeshift meeting hall converted from a monk's quarters.

The two of them found Ling Weizi.

But before He Xingyun could even knock on the door, they heard heated arguments coming from inside the meeting room.

Crack!

The door was opened by a disciple of the Fiery Sun Sect standing outside.

He Xingyun whispered a word of thanks and entered the room.

The small room was slightly dim, illuminated only by two candles on the table. The windows and doors were tightly closed, creating an unusually serious atmosphere.

There were three groups of people inside. One was Ling Weizi, dressed in red, standing by the window with a teacup in hand and an expression of slight helplessness on her face. Another group consisted of three young monks in tattered robes and injuries on their bodies, their origins unclear.

As for the last person, he was the most domineering.

This man had a rat-like face, a slight frown, and a gloomy air about him, wearing an exquisite brocade robe. Though not particularly burly in stature, the aura he exuded was quite strong. His eyes shone with a cold light, and every time he spoke, his unyielding refusals gave off an oppressive vibe.

Lin Xiaoye and He Xingyun, after briefly listening to a few exchanges, quickly understood the situation.

The man in the brocade robe with a rat-like face was named Wu Weihan, an elder of the Wu Family from the Northern Jiang Province.

In the land of Jiang E Seven States, there were three great immortal sects and four great families.

Among the three great immortal sects, Wuji Sword Sect, where He Xingyun belonged, was the strongest, with an exceptional Sword God residing above Heavenly Deceit.

And among the four great families...

The strength of the Wu Family from the Northern Jiang Province was undoubtedly number one, also presenting an ancestor above Heavenly Deceit.

The Northern Jiang Province was closest to Skull Plain, and the Temple of the King of Dharma had manifested there.

The Wu Family was hosting a temporary market outside the temple while recruiting a large number of people to excavate Daoist heritages within. A pact was signed between the two parties: the Wu Family would provide resource maps, and these Loose Cultivators would return an agreed portion of their findings to the elders of the Wu Family.

While the Wu Family oversaw the market—simply offering some mass-produced resources—they could continuously obtain precious Daoist treasures from within the temple, which seemed like a guaranteed profit.

But with the resurgence of the Corruption Demon God and Deceit Beasts running rampant,

not to mention the opening of the Mythical Battlefield and the repercussions of Su Heng's interactions with the demon god,

if at first some ordinary monks could try their luck inside the temple, by now, the temple had become a place of absolute peril. Even a top powerhouse in the third step of Heavenly Deceit like He Xingyun could encounter danger within, let alone those ordinary Loose Cultivators who weren't even at the level of Heavenly Deceit.

The dispute arose from this.

Those Loose Cultivators wanted to leave the temple, unwilling to venture further and needlessly sacrifice their lives.

But how could an elder from the Wu Family agree to such a thing?

Within the Jiang E Seven States, the four great families were high above; they never regarded these ordinary monks from humble backgrounds.

Moreover, among the noble families, the Wu Family from Northern Jiang Province stood alone at the top, exceedingly confident.

What you Loose Cultivators would lose are just your lives, but what my Wu Family would be losing are resources and money—where in this world would you find the strong suffering losses?

"You want to leave, you can," Wu Weihan said coldly.

The leader of the Loose Cultivators was named Guan Luo, from a small sect in Liuzhou.

Upon hearing this, he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a look of joy appearing on his face. But the next sentence from Wu Weihan made his heart sink, "However, you must return tenfold the resources you owe to my Wu Family, as listed."

"You merely provided some maps and charms, and you want us to pay such a price." Seeing his aggressive attitude, anger rose in Guan Luo's heart.

Yet he still suppressed his anger and humbled himself, "We are willing to do our best to repay, but the listed items are too extensive, beyond our capacity to bear."

"If you are unable to bear it, no problem," Wu Weihan seemed just to be waiting for this response, smiling, "You can ask for assistance from the elders of your sect, or alternatively, you can join my Wu Family's treasure digging team and become a miner. There are many ways to repay; there will always be one that suits you."

"Whether you'll be able to live through it..." Wu Weihan's mouth twitched as he spread his hands, "That I don't care about."