Chapter 348: Learned

"Thus, Meng Zizhong changed his tactics once again, employing the Earth Python technique. Since offense proved difficult, he opted for control, restricting the Black Wind Tiger Demon and striving to maintain the initiative."

"Learned."

Ning Zhuo carefully observed, constantly analyzing Meng Zizhong's tactical choices. The latter continuously probed, rapidly adjusting the type of spells based on the results, thereby keeping control of the battlefield in his hands.

Ning Zhuo placed himself in Meng Zizhong's shoes and asked himself, "If I were Meng Zizhong, could I do this?"

He shook his head internally.

On the surface, Meng Zizhong's actions didn't seem impressive, just ordinary.

But achieving ordinary things is not easy.

Ning Zhuo knew himself well, understanding that a lack of combat experience and proficient spellcasting techniques could easily disrupt his rhythm.

Although there seemed to be no close combat between the two, the frequency of clashes was actually high.

If Ning Zhuo was even a step too slow, pausing to think, he would miss a crucial opportunity and allow the Black Wind Tiger Demon to close in.

Once that happened, Ning Zhuo would find himself in a very passive position.

"Meng Zizhong has clearly cultivated earth-attribute spells for many years and has deep mastery. His Earth Spike technique, with its tricky and precise attack angles, specifically targets the lower body, seizing the enemy's weaknesses. Truly a model for our generation."

"Learned, learned."

That wave of Earth Spike attacks left a deep impression on Ning Zhuo. He secretly noted it down, determined to study this technique thoroughly and absorb the strengths of others to make them his own, thus becoming more excellent.

The Black Wind Tiger Demon roared, its voice filled with pain.

While maintaining the Earth Python technique, Meng Zizhong fully squeezed his spirit, controlling his Golden Core, unleashing magical power, and casting Earth Spikes.

Compared to before, this time, his Earth Spike casting was exceptionally difficult and slow.

It was like two strong men wrestling, with no extra strength for additional attacks.

Earth Spike, Earth Spike, Earth Spike!

The first Earth Spike struck the Black Wind Tiger Demon's thigh, breaking its leg bone.

The second Earth Spike attempted to pierce the Black Wind Tiger Demon's eye socket, but it narrowly dodged, losing half a piece of flesh from its cheek.

The third Earth Spike aimed for the Black Wind Tiger Demon's immobile chest, targeting its heart!

If this struck, the Black Wind Tiger Demon would be either dead or crippled.

At the crucial moment, the Black Wind Tiger Demon unleashed its potential, activating the demonic art of Flesh Grinding.

The muscles in its chest suddenly thickened, forming a vortex that ground against the Earth Spike's attack. After a few breaths of stalemate, the muscles exerted force like living things, directly crushing the tip of the Earth Spike!

The Black Wind Tiger Demon roared, desperately exerting force, and gradually pushed its arms up.

The Earth Pythons continuously emitted popping sounds, like a large bowstring snapping.

Cracks rapidly spread across the entire body of the Earth Pythons.

Finally, the Black Wind Tiger Demon's arms suddenly surged, completely breaking the two Earth Pythons into over a dozen segments.

The Black Wind Tiger Demon roared upwards, thus breaking free, and charged towards Meng Zizhong.

"What a pity." Seeing this, the Fox God sighed, "Meng Zizhong's mastery of the Earth Python technique is limited. If he could cultivate the Earth Dragon technique, he would surely have trapped the Black Wind Tiger Demon in one go."

Sun Lingtong, however, stared at the charging Black Wind Tiger Demon and said, "Its Gigantification technique isn't top-notch either."

"The reason for its excellent combat effectiveness is mainly because it cultivates the Flesh and Blood Devouring Demonic Art."

"This demonic art is best at cultivating blood and flesh, allowing its defense to greatly increase after it gigantifies."

"This battle still has a lot to unfold!"

Meng Zizhong's expression was grim. He continuously retreated, maintaining distance while casting Earth Wall technique, trying his best to slow down the Black Wind Tiger Demon's charge.

But his full-force spellcasting in the previous rounds had consumed a considerable amount of his magical power, and his Golden Core was dim.

Bang, bang, bang!

The Black Wind Tiger Demon crashed into the Earth Wall again and again, directly shattering it. Its speed increased instead of decreasing, and its roars were continuous, its power skyrocketing.

Meng Zizhong helplessly discovered that he had intended to use long-range attacks to wear down the Black Wind Tiger Demon, but several rounds of full-force spellcasting had instead caused him to consume too much magical power, momentarily entering a slump.

"I can't retreat any further!"

Meng Zizhong had reached a point of no retreat!

If he retreated any further, he would endanger the battle of his subordinate army. Although entering the army formation would provide strong buffs and various other offensive means.

But in that case, even if he won, it would be a pyrrhic victory. Other cultivators would be treated as cannon fodder and severely consumed.

Meng Zizhong trained his army diligently and cherished the elite force he had painstakingly trained with his heart and time.

He gritted his teeth and thought to himself, "So be it."

He made his decision and ignited the God Summoning Talisman!

The spiritual God Summoning Talisman burned into a few ashes in the blink of an eye.

"Gigantification God, quickly possess me!" Meng Zizhong roared.

The next moment, divine light like a pillar pierced through the clouds from high in the sky and shot straight down, instantly enveloping Meng Zizhong.

Meng Zizhong screamed in pain.

His entire physique expanded within the divine light, and in an instant, he also transformed into a small giant!

"Gigantification God!" Seeing this, the Fox God murmured, revealing a look of envy and longing.

There is a distinction between deities.

Like the Fox God, who belongs to earth spirits, confined within the Mist Hidden Mountain and extremely difficult to leave the mountain.

Corresponding to earth spirits are heaven spirits.

The Gigantification God is a heaven spirit, able to move freely under the sky without restrictions on its range of activity.

Bang bang bang!

The Black Wind Tiger Demon finally dragged Meng Zizhong into close combat.

The Black Wind Tiger Demon's fist and foot attacks were as fierce as a hurricane, clearly having the upper hand.

Meng Zizhong relied on his long-handled warhammer, gritting his teeth and continuously defending. With the help of the God Summoning technique, he was able to stabilize his position and fight back and forth with the Black Wind Tiger Demon.

Ning Zhuo's eyes did not blink. Seeing this, he had another realization.

"The pace of close combat is too fast. Although Meng Zizhong is skilled in spells, after being suppressed, he has only cast one Stone Armor technique to buff himself during this long period."

"This time, it's the Black Wind Tiger Demon's turn to take the initiative."

The clash between the two temporarily entered a stalemate.

At this point, Ning Zhuo could roughly assess the specific combat power of the Black Wind Tiger Demon and Meng Zizhong.

The Black Wind Tiger Demon focuses on close-quarters combat, with very few long-range methods. Meng Zizhong, on the other hand, has some mastery in both long-range and close-range combat, making him more balanced. In long-range combat, he primarily uses earth-attribute spells. In close combat, he relies on the God Summoning Talismans obtained through daily prayers and wishes to deities, which buff him.

Judging by the rapid response of the Gigantification God, Meng Zizhong is either very devout to the Gigantification God or has made significant offerings to the temple.

"If these two Golden Core cultivators cannot determine the winner, then the outcome of this battle will likely be decided by their subordinates."

Realizing this, Ning Zhuo directed more attention to other parts of the battlefield.

The demon cultivators, following their king, roared down the mountain, deliberately bypassing the clash between the two Golden Core cultivators and aiming their fangs at the human cultivator army.

The demon cultivators were like battering rams, charging directly into the crowd.

Human cultivators were sent flying one after another!

But they quickly climbed up and ran about as if nothing had happened, rushing back to rejoin the battle.

These cultivators were all covered in heavy armor of a unified design. The main material of the heavy armor was Lustrous Profound Steel, and coupled with the defensive formations on the heavy armor, a part of the demon cultivators' attacks would always be deflected when they landed on the heavy armor, failing to land solid blows.

This effect immediately reminded Ning Zhuo of the Slick Oil Talisman he possessed.

"No, the heavy armor alone cannot achieve such effective defense."

"There is also a large array, buffing the cultivator army, allowing each of them to benefit greatly."

Ning Zhuo immediately saw the clue.

This was the result of the human cultivators forming their formation earlier.

The demon cultivators had difficulty inflicting fatal casualties on the heavy-armored cultivators. When they entered the formation, they felt as if they were trapped in a quagmire, every movement restricted, and their speed greatly reduced.

"This should be an earth-attribute array - the Earth Trap Array, right?" Ning Zhuo asked, his tone uncertain.

He had gained knowledge from books and knew about the Earth Trap Array, but he had never seen it with his own eyes.

The Fox God nodded, "Exactly the Earth Trap Array."

Just as they were speaking, there was a sudden commotion in the center of the cultivator army.

An earth rat demon cultivator launched an attack from underground and successfully breached the formation plate buried four feet underground.

Once the formation plate was broken, the entire Earth Trap Array began to rapidly disintegrate.

The demon cultivators were liberated, their speed returned to normal, and they took the opportunity to counterattack, stirring up a bloody storm among the human cultivators.

Many human cultivators, suffering from backlash due to the broken formation, were in poor condition and were tragically killed by the demon cultivators.

At the critical moment, the core members of the Meng family among the cultivators showed their prowess, stepped forward, and loudly ordered, "Form battle formations!"

After a period of chaos, the cultivator army suffered many casualties, but they also caught their breath and formed battle formations.

This time, it was a mobile battle formation, which had many differences from the static formation previously set up with formation plates.

The core of the formation was the commander, and the eyes of the formation were the elite commanders.

The battle formation rose, buffing every human cultivator. Especially the elite commanders within it, who felt a surge of immense power, and because the buffing power was so strong, they all had the illusion of being invincible!

The leaders in the army were able to stand firm against the demon cultivators and began a frontal confrontation.

With them bearing the pressure, the other cultivators felt at ease, maintaining the battle formation with increasing freedom and ease.

This relaxed stance further accelerated the operation of the mobile formation, allowing the leaders to gain more buffing power.

The human leaders gradually began to suppress the numerous demon cultivators.

The scale of victory gradually tilted towards the human cultivators.

One after another, demon cultivators fell under the siege of the cultivators, perishing on the spot.

The Black Wind Tiger Demon, which had been unable to break through for a long time, couldn't help but become impatient upon seeing this scene. It trembled all over and activated its innate ability, Night Shadow Yin Sha.

The next moment, its entire body surged with yin sha energy, and the shadow on the ground came to life, actively standing up, like a basin of black ink.

The Night Shadow was about to pounce on Meng Zizhong, but unexpectedly, Meng Zizhong was not surprised but delighted, shouting, "I've been waiting for this move!"

The Black Wind Tiger Demon's innate ability information had already been exposed. How could Meng Zizhong lead his army to attack without a countermeasure?

A mirror flew out from his arms.

The mirror floated above Meng Zizhong's head, radiating mirror light that shone on the Tiger Demon's Night Shadow.

The Night Shadow was completely suppressed, rapidly withered, and finally dissipated!