My cultivation method shines upon all heavens.

The sky was overcast, and thick clouds pressed down on the dense forests of Xiaocang Mountain.

On the clearing outside the dense forest, a hundred Yin Tiger Guards clad in black iron armor stood ready, the runes on their armor shimmering faintly in the dim light.

Holding cinnabar banners, they stood in some mysterious positions, completely surrounding the open space.

In the center of the encirclement, three demons and one person stood facing each other with a stern expression.

The mandrill stood on one leg, its long arm hanging down, its sharp claws gleaming eerily;

The spotted leopard was agile, with its four paws on the ground, its tail hanging low like a whip, and a deep gurgling sound coming from its throat.

The wild boar demon, covered in bristles, was enormous. Its thick tusks curved out from the corners of its mouth, and white steam billowed from its nostrils. Its four hooves pawed at the ground restlessly.

Lu Ming stood between the three demons, his body covered in blood. His torn robes revealed peeling flesh, and blood dripped from his fingertips.

His breathing was heavy and rapid, and his chest heaved violently.

"Hurry up... what are you dawdling for!"

Beside the path to the underworld, Wang Chengbao leaned against a huge rock, cracking sunflower seeds while impatiently berating the crowd:

"After we've cleared this area and set up the nodes of the demon-locking array, we'll meet up with Lord Wei."

He was also dressed in black iron armor, the plates of which were covered with intricate runes, and the long-handled demon-slaying spear at his waist gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

"That piece of trash..."

Lu Ming's expression remained calm, but his heart was filled with murderous intent.

Three days have passed since he reported the demon's whereabouts.

Shi Lei's ability to rise from an ordinary citizen to the Lin family's powerful position and eventually become a centurion shows he was no complete incompetent.

In three days, he mobilized five hundred Yin Tiger Guards, but he did not act rashly.

He first dispatched three hundred fully armed elite troops in three groups to sweep through the surrounding mountains and forests, and set up nodes of the demon-locking formation to ensure that the slaying of demons would be foolproof.

The team that Lu Ming was assigned to was personally commanded by Wang Chengbao.

For three days, Wang Chengbao had been forcing him to fight demons constantly, while the hundred elite soldiers watched coldly from the sidelines, never offering any help.

Over the course of three days, in order to conceal his strength and prevent others from seeing through his abilities, he was almost covered in wounds.

New and old wounds overlapped, the blood dried and then became wet again, wet and then dried again.

"roar--!"

At that moment, the mandrill could no longer suppress the violence within him.

With a sudden stomp of its single foot, it sent pebbles flying and leaped into the air. Its right claw rose high, and five streaks of cold light, accompanied by a foul wind, slashed down at Lu Ming.

"The Green Ox carries Yin energy!"

Lu Ming narrowed his eyes slightly, raised his right hand, and went to meet the attack.

"boom--!"

As the immense force struck him, he intentionally suppressed all the supernatural abilities surrounding him. His body jolted violently, and he let the blood rush to his throat and spill out from the corner of his mouth.

"Mount Rift Push!"

He gathered his strength and unleashed his power, pushing forward with his right palm after releasing the force. The palm strike was as powerful as a collapsing mountain, slamming heavily into the mountain demon's chest.

The mandrill howled in pain, its body being pushed backward and flying through the air, rolling twice on the grass before finally getting to its feet.

However, before he could even catch his breath...

The leopard demon suddenly darted out from the side, its speed so fast that it left only a blurry afterimage.

The claws sliced ​​across his chest, tearing a long gash in his clothes with a hissing sound.

The skin and flesh were torn open, and five bloody welts stretched from the left shoulder to the right rib. Fresh blood gushed out instantly, soaking half of the robe.

The leopard demon moved swiftly, striking its target and then fleeing thousands of miles away.

However, Lu Ming reacted extremely quickly.

He suddenly exerted force from his waist and hips, and his right palm swept across all directions.

"Yokogake Sweep!"

A powerful palm strike spread out in a fan shape and hit the leopard demon's hind leg squarely.

The leopard demon let out a mournful howl, limped into the grass, leaving a trail of mottled blood.

Just when his old strength had been exhausted and his new strength had not yet emerged.

"Awooo—!"

The wild boar demon seized the opportunity and stomped its four hooves on the ground.

The massive body rammed into him, its thick fangs digging straight into his abdomen.

"puff--!"

Lu Ming suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, which splattered onto the wild boar demon's mane.

The immense impact caused him to bend over, his internal organs felt as if they had been struck by a hammer, and his vision went black.

He clenched his teeth, desperately suppressing the excruciating pain—

"Take a picture of Zhenshan!"

His right palm, imbued with the force of a mountain, slammed down, striking the boar demon squarely on the neck.

The wild boar demon let out a deafening scream, and its massive body suddenly slumped down.

His limbs dug four deep trenches in the ground, but he was ultimately forced back by his palm strike, staggering back to the sides of the other two demons.

But before he could give chase, the mandrill and the leopard demon pounced on him again, fighting desperately.

Claws whistled through the air, carrying the stench of blood and a violent killing intent.

The three demons were now aware of their predicament.

Like a cornered beast, driven to the brink of despair, its killing intent and brutality are fully unleashed, determined to tear this human apart even at the cost of mutual destruction.

"Boom boom boom—!"

The three demons and one person clashed again.

Claws scraped against the armor with a teeth-grinding scraping sound, while fists and palms slammed into the fur with dull thuds.

Lu Ming darted and weaved among the three behemoths, each collision adding a new wound to his body.

Beside the Netherworld Path, Wang Chengbao squinted at the figure in the arena who was becoming increasingly unsteady in battle, and a thought struck him:

"It seems... this is all the strength he has."

This lowly commoner, after three days of continuous attrition, was still able to fight against three powerful demons of the highest level.

A chill ran through him, and he involuntarily shivered.

But he quickly suppressed the chill and muttered to himself:

"It's alright... This kid is almost out of breath. Even if he doesn't die now, Shi Lei has already promised to help him on his way at the crucial moment."

He kept reassuring himself, but involuntarily gripped the spear at his waist.

Half an hour later, Lu Ming finally managed to kill the three demons.

He was covered in blood and staggered out of the encirclement.

Wang Chengbao didn't even glance at him, and waved his right hand: "Get moving!"

The hundred Yin Tiger Guards behind him responded and moved.

Using the corpses of three demons as a base and the still-wet blood on the ground as ink, they quickly carved intricate array patterns into the surrounding soil and rocks.

The array patterns meander like snakes and intertwine like spider webs, each stroke precisely placed in its designated position.

Then, each of the hundred people stood at a designated point and deeply inserted the cinnabar talisman flags in their hands into the ground.

As the last Yin Tiger Guard planted the talisman flag into the ground—

"boom--!"

A beam of crimson light shot into the sky, and countless mysterious runes appeared and spread out in the air.

Centered on the ruined temple on Thousand Eyes Mountain, similar red lights also shot into the sky from two other directions.

Three beams of red light converged and spread in the air, evolving into an intricate array that covered the entire mountain.

Then, red light filled the sky.

A beam of crimson-gold light descended vertically from the center of the formation, heading straight towards the dilapidated temple on Thousand Eyes Mountain.

"Demon-Locking Array..."

Lu Ming straightened up, panting, and looked up at the crimson-gold pillar of light before him, his heart filled with awe.

As far as he knew, the Great Zhao Demon-Locking Formation was derived from the Taiping Dao (Way of Peace) back then.

Its profound mystery and ever-changing nature made an indelible contribution to the human race's suppression of demons.

Only now, witnessing the sky filled with crimson light and countless evolving runes, did he truly appreciate the immense power and exquisite nature of this formation.

"What are you looking at! Get out of here... Can you take responsibility for delaying Lord Shi's important demon-slaying mission?"

Wang Chengbao turned his head and gave him a cold, sidelong glance.

Lu Ming glanced at him indifferently, did not reply, and walked straight towards Thousand Eyes Mountain.

Wang Chengbao shrank back under their gaze, then muttered angrily:

"Hmph... You don't even realize you're about to die. Let's see how long you can keep up this arrogant act!"

Having said that, he followed after them resentfully.

In this perilous night, it's safer to follow these lowly people.

……

As night deepened, Thousand Eyes Mountain appeared.

A beam of crimson-gold light, like a giant bell turned upside down, enveloped the entire dilapidated temple.

The dilapidated temple was completely silent, without a single sound.

On the temple walls, blood-red runes lit up like vines, and crimson light flowed and intertwined on the surface, like chains binding the temple layer by layer.

In the open space in front of the temple, two hundred Yin Tiger Guards, holding torches, surrounded the dilapidated temple.

At this moment, most of the people are gathered in twos and threes eating and resting, chatting and gossiping.

"Speaking of which, this demon-locking formation was created by that evil Taoist Zhang Jiao, which greatly facilitated the human race in suppressing demons. Shouldn't we thank him? Hahaha!"

"Shh...Are you out of your mind! Do you think you can just casually utter the name of that sorcerer?"

"Alas, I've heard that the Yellow Turban Army is advancing with unstoppable momentum. That sorcerer has personally come to Luoyang, and the Twelve Pillar Gods are being held back by him, unable to move. The entire region is currently engaged in fierce battles..."

"Why would he abandon his upright position as the leader of the Way of Peace, ruining his lifelong reputation for virtue in an instant? Why did he commit such a rebellious act?"

"Hmph, I heard it's for those displaced, lowly people! Why not just let those ants at the bottom die? We're all dragged into this, living in constant fear!"

Lu Ming crouched behind a huge rock, taking in all the discussions of the crowd.

He silently untied the wine gourd from his waist, uncorked it, and tilted his head back to gulp down a large mouthful of blood wine.

The intense medicinal power slid down the throat into the stomach, where it exploded with a bang, like a warm ember burning in the abdomen.

The heat flowed along his meridians to his limbs and bones, continuously repairing the hidden injuries within his body and simultaneously propelling his cultivation forward.

He looked at the scroll beneath his eyes:

[Martial Arts: Cloud Dragon Concealment (Low-grade Earth-level Technique; Perfected 36000/40000)]

[Martial Arts: Thunder Tiger Roar (Mid-grade Spiritual Scripture; Perfected 100/4000)]

[Celestial Point: 16]

Cultivation in the Bone Forging Realm is still slow, but with the combined support of Xiao Wanjun, Crimson Blood Wine, and Body Tempering Pills, the progress of "Hidden Cloud Dragon" is quite rapid.

"Lu Ming, are you alright?"

A very low voice came from the side of the rock.

Lu Ming turned his head and saw that it was Fan Wu, who had been missing for a long time.

His face now looked more weathered, with a new scar on his forehead, and a hint of ruthlessness about him.

Clearly, they've suffered a lot during this period.

He cautiously looked around before crawling to Lu Ming's side, looking at him with concern.

Lu Ming smiled at him, without exchanging any pleasantries, and lowered his voice to say:

"Fifth Uncle... I remember during the final assault, you ran as far away as possible, you know?"

Fan Wu was slightly taken aback, then his face fell.

After a long pause, he grasped Lu Ming's hand and whispered:

"You...be careful!"