Chapter 358: Cutting Like Melons and Vegetables — Fourth Heaven and Earth Dao Yin

“What… what kind of monster is that?!”

When Wei Xinghe and the others finally saw the true form of the massive silhouette emerging from the dust, their eyes widened in sheer horror.

Before them stood a towering figure, easily five or six zhang tall, standing precisely where the city gate had collapsed.

Its face was green, its fangs long and jagged, its entire body covered in thick, black fur.

Its arms were nearly as long as its body, and its broad hands—like massive gates—looked terrifyingly formidable.

It was a creature they had never seen before, utterly alien and monstrous.

The oppressive aura radiating from it made Wei Xinghe and the others tremble.

They could sense that this being was immensely powerful—far beyond the limits of Xian Tian Jing, even reaching into another realm altogether.

“Lu Xiao Langjun…”

Wei Xinghe stared in shock at the massive, closed palms of the beast, his voice hollow with dread.

Even if he had absolute faith in Lu Qing, he couldn’t believe the young man could survive this.

But before he could fully despair, a deafening scream tore through the air from the monster.

In an instant, a flash of cold light sliced through the air.

A surge of sword qi erupted, cleaving the ground into a massive crack.

The lower half of the beast’s hand was severed clean off, spraying blood in a violent arc.

As the severed limb fell and blood rained down, Lu Qing’s figure appeared in a blur, landing lightly on the earth.

“Lu Xiao Langjun’s unharmed!”

Wei Xinghe let out a cry of pure astonishment.

He couldn’t believe his eyes—the man stood there, untouched, as if the entire battle had been a mere stroll.

“Demon spawn,” Lu Qing said coolly, stepping aside to avoid the blood spray, “I didn’t expect you to evolve so fast.”

Even he hadn’t anticipated the beast would have already forged a Demon Body so quickly.

“Kid, you’re asking for death!”

The monster roared in agony, clutching its wounded hand, then raised its right foot and brought it down with crushing force toward Lu Qing.

The massive foot completely blocked out the light above, descending like a boulder, a crushing blow aimed to obliterate the young warrior.

“Still no sense of self-preservation,” Lu Qing murmured, not the slightest hint of fear on his face.

Instead, a faint smirk curled his lips.

Instantly, a dazzling sword light flared from his hand.

With a single, fluid motion, he slashed upward, cutting through the descending foot midair.

No surprise at all—against the War Blade forged entirely from Celestial Meteor Iron, a Treasure Artifact in rank, even the beast’s hardened Demon Body couldn’t withstand its divine sharpness.

The foot, still suspended in midair, split cleanly in two, like a block of tofu.

“AAAAAHHHHH!!”

The monster screamed again, agony ripping through its voice.

But Lu Qing didn’t give it a chance to recover.

With a powerful thrust of his foot, he drove the ground downward, then shot forward like a bolt of lightning.

Human and blade became one.

The War Blade, blazing with radiant light, pierced straight through the monster’s chest.

When Lu Qing landed again, a gaping hole—three feet wide—gaped through the creature’s body, from front to back.

Inside, its heart had been reduced to pulp by Lu Qing’s sword qi, utterly destroyed.

The beast staggered, its massive frame stiffening.

The scream cut off abruptly.

Its body swayed, then collapsed backward, crashing into the city wall with a thunderous boom.

Rocks and debris rained down, and dust billowed into the air.

But this time, when the dust settled, nothing more happened.

The beast remained motionless on the ground—no further movement, no sign of life.

“Lu Xiao Langjun… won?”

Wei Xinghe blinked, still stunned.

He hadn’t expected victory to come so easily.

The giant monster, so fearsome a moment ago, had been utterly helpless before Lu Qing—like prey under a butcher’s blade.

Even Zhou Fu Cheng and the others, who had been standing nearby, were utterly speechless, their minds reeling.

The sheer power displayed—by both the beast and Lu Qing—far exceeded anything they had ever imagined.

“Idiot,” Lu Qing said, shaking his head as he looked down at the dying monster.

“If you hadn’t grown so large, I’d have had to go through more trouble to deal with you.”

The beast’s Demon Body was indeed formidable—tough, resilient, nearly impervious to blades and ordinary sword qi.

A typical Xian Tian Jing cultivator would need dozens of attacks, even then, to make a dent.

But it had met Lu Qing.

His War Blade, forged from Celestial Meteor Iron and ranked as a Treasure Artifact, was simply too powerful.

No matter how tough the Demon Body, it couldn’t withstand such divine sharpness.

In the end, the beast’s greatest strength—its massive form—became its fatal weakness.

“Honestly… I didn’t expect you to possess a Treasure Artifact-grade sword,” the Demon Cultivator gasped, its voice strained despite its near-death state.

Even without a heart, its life aura remained stubbornly intact—evidence of a secret technique keeping it alive.

Its gaze locked onto Lu Qing’s sword.

It knew—this time, it had lost… not to strength, but to a weapon beyond its understanding.

Had it known Lu Qing wielded such a blade, it would never have rushed into battle so recklessly.

It would have fled.

It would have waited—until it had fully cultivated its techniques, until its Demon Body was complete.

But now, it was too late.

“More things you don’t know,” Lu Qing replied calmly, not rushing to finish it.

Instead, he activated his abilities, scanning the beast’s essence.

A moment later, a look of realization crossed his face.

“Ah… so it’s just a half-finished Demon Body.”

That explained why it had been so easy to defeat.

It had brute strength, nothing more.

No tricks, no hidden powers—nothing like the legendary, cunning Demon Cultivators of legend.

And this one?

A powerful demon general reborn from a great world.

It had been forced to act prematurely, driven mad by repeated failures—its plans constantly thwarted by Lu Qing’s interference.

In desperation, it had devoured demon bones before its own essence was ready.

The result? A Demon Body that was incomplete—half-formed, lacking true power.

That was why it could only rely on raw strength.

All its other abilities—its techniques, its spells—were useless.

Feeling Lu Qing’s penetrating gaze, the beast finally spoke, voice trembling.

“Boy… how did you know the name of that one? Who are you?”

“That one?” Lu Qing asked, voice flat.

“You mean your former master?”

“YOU DO know!” The beast’s voice cracked with shock, its eyes wide with disbelief.

“Who are you? Are you… like me? A soul reborn from another world?”

The words sent a ripple through the onlookers—especially Lihuo Ding’s “Yan,” whose mind surged with alarm.

“Guess,” Lu Qing replied, not answering.

The beast exhaled sharply, as if finally understanding.

“Of course… I should have known.

In this backwater world, how could a being like you—so unnatural—ever arise?

You’ve just revived, and already you’ve triggered Jie Yun, weathered a thunder trial.

Even in the Tian Yuan Da Shi Jie, few like you exist.

You’re just like me… a soul from another world.”

It stared at Lu Qing, searching his face for any sign of truth.

But Lu Qing’s expression remained unchanged—calm, unreadable.

“Finished?” he asked.

“Then go in peace.”

With that, the War Blade shot from his hand, flying straight toward the beast’s forehead.

It came without warning.

Even though the beast sensed it, its body was too broken, too weakened to move.

The blade pierced its brow with a sickening thud.

The beast’s eyes widened in shock.

Its massive body trembled violently, shaking the ruins of the city gate.

Then, it collapsed—lifeless.

Its eyes dimmed.

Its Demon Body’s vitality faded away, like a dying flame.

No words.

No last breath.

Just silence.

Lu Qing didn’t pause.

He tossed a cloth bag into the air.

It inflated instantly, ballooning to the size of a small house.

The mouth opened, releasing a green glow that swept over the beast’s body.

A miracle unfolded.

The beast’s corpse began to float, shrinking as it was drawn into the bag.

Just as it was about to be fully consumed—

A sudden black flash erupted from within the Demon Body, streaking toward the city gate, desperate to escape.

“Knew you’d try that,” Lu Qing said, not surprised at all.

In an instant, he hurled a small furnace.

It moved with impossible speed, catching up to the black light in the blink of an eye.

“No… another Spirit Artifact?!”

The black light shrieked in disbelief, then was swallowed whole by the furnace—gone, silent.

With the spirit core gone, the bag’s absorption became effortless.

Within moments, the entire Demon Body was sealed inside.

The bag shrank back to its original size, floating silently back into Lu Qing’s hand.

Only then did he turn his gaze toward the remaining Xian Tian Jing cultivators—still standing in stunned silence.

They had been awestruck by the spectacle of the bag devouring the beast.

Now, feeling Lu Qing’s eyes on them, they all flinched.

Except Wei Xinghe, everyone else trembled inside, fearing a massacre.

They had all heard the monster’s words.

And they had seen Lu Qing’s treasure—his sword, his bag, his furnace.

Could he be about to silence them all to protect his secrets?

Lu Qing saw their fear in their eyes.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak—

A sudden sensation gripped him.

He looked up, sharply.

The heavens trembled.

A colossal Dao Yin descended from above, shaking the very foundations of the world.

“Fourth Heaven and Earth Dao Yin?”

Wei Xinghe’s heart pounded.

This time, the Dao Yin came without warning—sudden, unexpected.

And it had just followed the death of the Demon Cultivator.

Too much coincidence.

“Dao Yin… again?”

Yan’s voice echoed in Lu Qing’s mind, equally stunned.

“Is the evolution of Heaven and Earth Rules accelerating too fast?

Did we really reach the Fourth Heaven and Earth Dao Yin already?”

“Master,” Lu Qing asked, voice grave, “after this Dao Yin, what changes will the world see?”

“I can’t say for sure,” Yan admitted.

“I’ve never experienced this Qi Lu Fu Su before.

But the Lihuo Sect once unearthed fragments of records from a secret realm.

After the Fourth Dao Yin, Heaven and Earth Rules will evolve further.

The restrictions on strong cultivators will loosen.

At the very least, those at the Zhu Ji realm will no longer vanish from the world.”

“So… the powerful from the Four Secret Places may finally be able to reemerge?”

Lu Qing’s eyes narrowed, thoughtful.

“Possibly. But don’t be too certain.

I only know what the Lihuo Sect found—whether it’s true or not… remains to be seen.”

“Should be accurate,” Lu Qing murmured.

He extended his senses, feeling the subtle shift in the world’s fabric.

And he felt it—the rules of Heaven and Earth, evolving in the deeper layers of space.

The invisible bonds restraining the strong were loosening.

The ceiling he had just begun to touch—his previous limit—had risen once more.

Yan was right.

The Dao Yin had loosened the world’s hold on its strongest.

The sudden sound of the Dao Yin had taken everyone by surprise.

For a long moment, the Xian Tian Jing cultivators stood in silence, listening.

When the final echo faded, and stillness returned—only then did they exhale.

Though they’d heard the Dao Yin before, each time it rang out, the overwhelming, infinite essence of the heavens filled them with reverence.

No one dared speak.

No one dared move.

But just as they thought it was over—

A golden light descended from the sky.

It struck Lu Qing’s body, then plunged straight into his brow cavity, vanishing instantly.

“Huh?”

Lu Qing’s shock was profound.

That light had come out of nowhere—no warning, no trace.

Even he hadn’t reacted in time.

“Xiao Li, get me Hu Fa!”

He barked, not wasting a second, calling out to the hidden Xiao Li.

Then, he plunged his consciousness into his brow cavity to investigate.

Inside, he saw it—a fist-sized orb of golden light, floating calmly in the inner space.

Warm. Gentle.

Just looking at it brought peace and stillness.

It was… familiar.

Too familiar.

He’d seen it before—on his master.

“Merit Light… How is this light in my brow cavity?”

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end