Chapter 357: Breaking the Array – Hei Qi Zhi Jian, Giant Hand Lu Qing

The speed of this arrow was faster than any Spirit Arrow Lu Qing had ever fired before. In an instant, it reached the Disheveled Figure’s position. The immense power embedded in the arrow struck the already stunned figure, jolting him back to full awareness.

He didn’t have time to ponder how Lu Qing had so accurately revealed his origin. His mind raced, and instantly a Black Bone Sword materialized before him. At the same time, Array Power surged from behind, rushing toward the incoming Spirit Arrow.

Boom!

A deafening explosion echoed through the air. The clash of two forces far exceeding the Xian Tian Jing limit tore the surrounding atmosphere apart, transforming it into a swirling White Mist that filled a radius of dozens of meters. The entire Zhou Fu Cheng gate trembled violently—had it not been shielded by the Hei Se Zhen Fa Guang Mu, the structure would have collapsed.

“Not bad,” Lu Qing murmured, watching the Disheveled Figure emerge unscathed from the dissipating mist. He was genuinely surprised.

But the Disheveled Figure was not so lucky. His face darkened as he stared at the Black Bone Sword before him. The blood mist swirling around it had vanished completely. Worse, the tiniest fragment of the Tianmo Benyuan he’d painstakingly nurtured and strengthened through Xue Ji feeding had been consumed in the clash—nearly half of it lost in a single blow.

All that effort, all that time spent cultivating his demonic essence, now reduced to ruin. How could he not feel agony?

Even more alarming was the sheer power of Lu Qing’s arrow—far beyond what he had anticipated. How could the boy have grown so strong in such a short time? One arrow alone had nearly overwhelmed him, even with the array’s protection and the Black Bone Sword in hand.

And now, the sudden revelation of his identity…

In that moment, the Disheveled Figure’s fear of Lu Qing reached its peak. He realized this youth, blessed by celestial fortune, had reached a level of strength utterly beyond comprehension. Even with the array, unless Lu Qing entered it willingly, he could do nothing to stop him.

“Tianmo Gu Jian?” Lu Qing’s Abilities confirmed the origin of the Black Bone Sword. At once, the truth dawned on him.

The purpose of this entire demonic array—its core, as hinted in the earlier note—was not to destroy the city, but to use the lives of tens of thousands of ordinary citizens within Zhou Fu Cheng as nourishment. Their blood essence, drained through the Xue Ji, would feed the sword, amplifying its Tianmo Benyuan until it could be consumed by the Disheveled Figure himself—forging a Demon Body.

“So that’s what the ‘Array Core’ was all along,” Lu Qing realized. Without hesitation, he drew another Spirit Arrow, gathered Qi, and launched a glowing beam straight toward the city gate.

But this time, the Disheveled Figure was prepared. Having witnessed Lu Qing’s bow’s power, he would not meet it head-on. With a flicker of motion, he dodged the arrow, avoiding contact entirely.

Yet, far from disappointment, Lu Qing’s expression twisted into a faint, mocking smirk.

The moment the arrow passed, the Mind Force attached to it activated. The projectile abruptly veered midair, its tip now pointing downward—plummeting into the heart of the city.

Boom!

A deep, thunderous impact rang out from within the city. The Disheveled Figure’s face turned ashen.

He felt it—the destruction of another Zhen Fa Jie Dian.

“Demon spawn! You think hiding behind your array makes you safe? I’ll see how many more of your Zhen Fa Jie Dian I can destroy!” Lu Qing declared.

He moved his hand, and three Spirit Arrows appeared in his grasp. Drawing the bow, he aimed upward, releasing three beams of glowing light into the sky—another incantation of the Tian Zui technique, aimed at shattering the remaining Zhen Fa Jie Dian.

“Damn it!” The Disheveled Figure’s face twisted in fury. He was trapped between two impossible choices.

Lu Qing’s arrows were too powerful. The Array Light Screen alone could not withstand them. Only by drawing on the Black Bone Sword could he hope to block them—yet doing so would drain the very Tianmo Benyuan he had spent so long cultivating.

But if he did nothing, the arrows would keep destroying the Zhen Fa Jie Dian, destabilizing the entire array. Once the network of nodes was shattered beyond recovery, the array would collapse. Without its power, he’d be no match for Lu Qing.

“Boy,” the Disheveled Figure growled, eyes locked on Lu Qing, “must you be so relentless?”

Lu Qing said nothing. Instead, he drew three more Spirit Arrows, nocking them to the bowstring.

“Fine,” the Disheveled Figure snarled. “You leave me no choice.”

With cold, unyielding eyes, he formed a hand seal. As his mind surged with intent, the Hei Se Zhen Fa Guang Mu that shrouded Zhou Fu Cheng began to shift.

The Hei Qi Zhi She—previously roaming the city, hunting for blood and essence—abandoned their targets instantly, rushing skyward to merge into the dark light screen. Simultaneously, the screen itself began shrinking rapidly, drawing in the dark energy and funneling it toward the Black Bone Sword before the Disheveled Figure.

Everything happened in a blur. Within mere seconds, the vast, oppressive Hei Se Zhen Fa Guang Mu—once suffocating the entire city in darkness—had vanished completely, fully absorbed into the Black Bone Sword.

Wei Xinghe and the others, who had been clearing the Hei Qi Zhi She, froze mid-motion, staring in shock at the sky.

“What… what happened? The black curtain just disappeared?” one of the Xian Tian Jing murmured, bewildered.

Only Wei Xinghe understood immediately. His eyes lit up with joy. “It’s the master! He’s broken the array! Come on—let’s get out of here!”

He didn’t wait. With a burst of speed, he leapt toward the city gate, the others following in swift succession.

“Boy,” the Disheveled Figure stood at the gate, the Black Bone Sword floating before him, radiating terrifying energy. Having absorbed the entire Array Light Screen, it seemed on the verge of a monstrous transformation.

Lu Qing didn’t hesitate. He fired another arrow.

He had allowed the Disheveled Figure to dismantle the array because it meant fewer casualties for the people inside. But now, with the array gone and the sword clearly corrupted, he would not hold back.

The Spirit Arrow shot forward like a beam of light, speeding toward the sword. It was almost upon its target—when suddenly, a hand seized the blade. A single flick of the wrist, and the arrow was sent flying off course with a sharp crack.

“Boy,” the Disheveled Figure snarled, his face twisted with malice. “You forced my hand. I’ll tear your soul from your body and burn it in demonic fire. You’ll live in endless agony—neither dead nor alive!”

Lu Qing tensed, bracing for a devastating technique.

But then—his eyes widened.

The Disheveled Figure suddenly opened his mouth wide and swallowed the Black Bone Sword whole.

Instantly, a monstrous aura erupted from his body. Black Qi surged forth in waves, wrapping around him like a living storm. The energy spiraled violently, coalescing into a massive black cocoon over ten meters tall, hovering above the city gate.

“What… is that?” Wei Xinghe and the others, racing toward the gate, felt their hearts freeze. A terrifying, oppressive presence was forming ahead of them—dark, ancient, and utterly evil. Merely sensing it sent chills down their spines.

“Little Master,” a voice echoed in Lu Qing’s mind. “He’s attempting a forced breakthrough—into Zhu Ji Realm!”

It was Yan, watching closely all along.

“I know,” Lu Qing nodded.

He had already seen what the man was trying to do—consume the Tianmo Gu Jian to forge a Demon Body. That was the true purpose of the entire array. But to think that, even under his interference, the man still managed to execute this forbidden technique…

“Still,” Lu Qing said, “he’ll have to ask me first.”

From the Qiankun Yiqi Dai, he drew another Spirit Arrow. Nostrils flaring, he drew back the bow, gathered Qi, and fired.

The arrow shot forth like a streak of daylight—razor-fast, straight for the Hei Qi Zhi Jian.

As if sensing the threat, the cocoon’s surface rippled, sprouting countless Black Qi tendrils that lashed out to intercept the arrow.

Despite the arrow’s immense power, the tendrils were thick and resilient. And with their sheer number, they managed to halt the Spirit Arrow mid-flight.

“Hmm?” Lu Qing’s expression darkened. This was the strongest arrow he could fire—his limit, not due to lack of strength, but because the Spirit Arrows from the Qiankun Yiqi Dai were forged from Qianlian Baogang, their power inherently constrained.

“If only I’d made a few with Celestial Meteor Iron… let’s see how well you block that.”

He stowed the bow back into the bag, then drew a new weapon—a War Blade.

The blade was pure white, its edge radiating an invisible, cutting force that sliced through the air. Forged entirely from Celestial Meteor Iron and reborn in the Lihuo Ding, this was no ordinary weapon.

“Bafang,” Lu Qing whispered, stroking the blade’s hilt. “You’ve never drawn blood since your rebirth. Today, I’ll let you taste demon’s flesh.”

With a roar, golden light flared around him. He stomped down—cracking the ground beneath him for dozens of meters. Then, with a burst of White Mist, he vanished from sight, reappearing atop the city gate in an instant, directly before the Hei Qi Zhi Jian.

Facing the web of Black Qi tendrils like a stormy net, he raised the War Blade high—then brought it down in a single, thunderous slash.

A sword qi over thirty meters long erupted into the sky, cleaving through the air like a god’s wrath. The tendrils shattered instantly, torn apart before they could even touch him. The qi struck the cocoon head-on.

Boom!

The impact was catastrophic. The towering Zhou Fu Cheng gate—once a mighty fortress—crumbled into dust, exploding outward in a storm of flying bricks and debris. Dust clouds rose high into the sky.

Had anyone been near, they would have been crushed instantly. But the area was empty—thanks to the earlier evacuation.

Lu Qing hovered midair, a single strand of Clear Wind wrapping around him. He sensed it—his slash had not killed the man inside. A powerful presence still lingered beneath the ruins.

Sure enough, before the dust even settled, a sudden whirlwind erupted.

A massive black shadow burst from the smoke, lunging at Lu Qing.

Lu Qing instinctively dodged—his eyes widening at the sight.

A giant black hand, monstrous and inhuman, had emerged from the smoke, reaching for him.

The first strike missed. The hand twisted midair, then swung again—this time with the force of a hurricane. The wind alone was enough to destabilize Lu Qing in midair.

Wei Xinghe and the others watched in horror as the enormous hand swept toward Lu Qing, nearly striking him.

But Lu Qing’s talisman mastery held. At the last possible moment, he stabilized himself, dodging the blow. With a flick of his body, he descended swiftly toward the ground.

His Jingshen was still only in the Lianqi Realm. He could hover briefly thanks to talismans—but real combat power came from the earth. Only on solid ground could he fight at his peak.

But just as he landed, a second black hand shot up from the still-dissipating smoke—this one above, the other below—forming a crushing pincer trap around him.

The sudden move, combined with the wind, disrupted his Clear Wind. Unable to fully control his movements, Lu Qing couldn’t avoid it.

Thud!

The two massive hands clamped down on him—slamming him into the ground with crushing force.

“Lu Xiao Langjun!” Wei Xinghe screamed in panic.

The impact sent shockwaves through the air, and the wind finally cleared the smoke.

And then, they saw it.

The truth.

A massive, towering silhouette—half-human, half-demon—stood in the ruins, its body formed from swirling Black Qi, its eyes burning with demonic fire.

The people froze. Their breaths stopped. Their bodies trembled.

No one spoke.

The scene was beyond horror.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end