The countdown reached zero, and Jiang Keke immediately released A Xiang’s hand.
With a *whoosh*, she shot out like an arrow from a string, crashing toward the Mid-Stage Golden Core demonic beast closest to Yun Heng.
The meteor hammer in her hand carried a majestic momentum as it smashed down!
**[Open Gate: Starry Eye Survey]**
Yun Heng gulped down seven nine-veined spirit burst pills in one breath, instantly boosting his cultivation to the Late-Stage Golden Core.
The moment blood began to leak from his seven orifices, a starlight flashed in his eyes, and a vast amount of Qimen spiritual power poured into them.
In an instant, the world in Yun Heng’s eyes transformed into a pure vision dotted with stars.
The bodies of the twelve demonic beasts were all turned into star maps, and the most dazzling starlight within each map was where its vital point lay.
In this state, Yun Heng could even directly predict their next moves.
He was like a prophet.
When Jiang Keke was sent flying back by the force of the recoil, Yun Heng flicked his fingers.
The withered wood beneath his feet grew robustly as if meeting spring, transforming into a gentle, giant hand that caught Jiang Keke and lifted her up.
**[Rest Gate: Endless Life]**
As the incantation was uttered, imperceptible emerald spiritual runes spread quietly from Yun Heng’s feet, enveloping all his allies.
The slight turbulence in her blood caused by the recoil from the earlier clash with the lava demon wolf quickly settled under the nourishment of this spiritual power, which was as gentle as water.
Jiang Keke even felt her depleted physical strength recovering rapidly, as if an invisible spring behind her was replenishing her power.
“Keke,” Yun Heng’s voice transmitted clearly and steadily into Jiang Keke’s ears through the Qimen connection.
“3 feet to the front-left, the earth fire poison scorpion’s tail needle is preparing to strike downward; the trajectory has been marked.”
“5 feet to the back-right, the lava demon wolf is making its second pounce; there are three paths, I suggest taking the middle. The flaw is at the junction, and it is fleeting.”
Under the “super-calculation” vision of **[Starry Eye Survey]**, the movements of the demonic beast pack were no longer unpredictable pounces, but a fated network interwoven with various possibilities.
Yun Heng’s instructions “anchored” the simplest and most lethal path to victory directly into Jiang Keke’s combat instincts.
A sharp light flashed in Jiang Keke’s eyes, and she no longer hesitated.
Her figure moved like lightning. Instead of retreating, she advanced. The meteor hammer in her hand vanished, replaced by an iron staff, which she swung downward with all her might!
The scorpion’s venomous tail sting, which seemed certain to hit, was deflected at the critical moment by Jiang Keke using Yun Heng’s predicted trajectory.
With an incredible twist, she knocked it aside, causing it to plunge straight into the demon wolf.
Simultaneously, because of Jiang Keke’s sudden dodge, the demon wolf’s sharp claws raked across the scorpion’s body.
*Roar!*
The attacks of the demon wolf and the poison scorpion interfered with each other. Both felt the pain, and their eyes glowed with a fierce light, as if accusing the other of acting recklessly.
“Young Master, I see it!”
Jiang Keke gave a delicate shout. The iron staff disappeared, replaced by a giant axe. Wrapped in concentrated armor-piercing spiritual power, she slammed it into the ground beneath her feet.
The faint prelude to **[Kun Hexagram: Earth Pulse Fluctuation]** had already been silently laid by Yun Heng long before Jiang Keke’s movement.
*Boom!*
The ground collapsed in a small area and instantly turned into a thick, viscous quicksand marsh, trapping the poison scorpion and the demon wolf that happened to be right above it.
“**[Injury Gate]**, **[Shock Gate]** — **[Bitter Sea Soul Snatcher]**.”
Yun Heng’s voice was calm and waveless, yet it seemed to strike directly at the soul.
He did not point at any specific target. Instead, he cast the power of these two “gates” like invisible ripples, precisely broadcasting them toward the two demonic beasts that were temporarily unbalanced and glaring at each other in the quicksand.
First was the **[Injury Gate]**.
*Execution!*
On the poison scorpion’s hard shell, the tiny white marks raked by the demon wolf’s claws suddenly transmitted an agonizing pain comparable to being sliced open!
As for the demon wolf, the ordinary sense of being bound by the mud suddenly transformed at almost the same moment into the sensation of being pierced and crushed by countless red-hot iron needles.
Just a second ago, these were merely scratches, but now, the pain felt as if it were drilling into their hearts.
*Hiss!*
*Awoo!*
Two different but equally pained screams erupted simultaneously. Before they could adapt to the agony, the force of the **[Shock Gate]** was layered on top.
In the distorted world reflected by the scorpion’s compound eyes, the figure of the demon wolf crashing toward it suddenly expanded and warped.
It transformed into the terrifying natural enemy it had witnessed devouring its entire nest when it was young, pouncing with a monstrous greed and predatory desire!
In the demon wolf’s crimson pupils, the poison scorpion before it morphed into the former wolf king it had defeated and torn apart with its own paws during a territorial dispute.
The phantom dripped with foul black blood, carrying endless resentment and the silence of death, seeking to drag it down into a cold, eternal abyss.
The resonance of physical agony and mental terror instantly crushed the fighting will of these two Mid-Stage Golden Core demonic beasts.
They were no longer beasts hunting in coordination, but trapped animals struggling frantically within their deepest nightmares and extreme pain.
The poison scorpion’s tail needle no longer aimed at Jiang Keke, but wildly stabbed at the “natural enemy” in its hallucination.
The demon wolf’s claws and lava breath were also entirely vented upon the “resurrected former wolf king.”
The fratricide broke out instantly.
“Next one, directly above, red-beaked vulture,” Yun Heng’s command flowed like ice water through Jiang Keke’s burning battle intent. “**[Xun Hexagram: Formless Wind Bind]**.”
Jiang Keke did not hesitate for a second. Her trust in Yun Heng had become instinct years ago. She gave up on finishing off the two entangled demonic beasts and triggered a hand seal.
Changing her weapon again from a giant axe to a long spear, she thrust it forcefully into the low sky!
The red-beaked vulture, which had been circling and waiting for an opportunity while exuding the pressure of the Late-Stage Golden Core, was about to dive and interfere.
However, it suddenly felt the air around it turn as solid as iron, as if it had fallen into transparent amber. Every flap of its feathers became incredibly heavy, and its speed plummeted.
“A Xiang.”
Yun Heng’s gaze did not even leave the main battlefield. “Give a shout at that largest stone ape.”
A Xiang had long been infuriated that these lowly demonic beasts dared to offend them.
Hearing this, she immediately puffed out her cheeks and let out a sharp cry toward the rock-splitting giant ape that was pounding its chest and preparing to charge: “*Awoo!*”
This shout was not a sonic attack, but the trace of pure flood dragon pressure—from a higher level of the food chain—contained within it caused the rock-splitting giant ape’s movements to stiffen for a brief moment. The fear rooted in its bloodline forcibly suppressed its ferocity.
In that instant—
“**[Hidden Gate: Spatiotemporal…]**”
Yun Heng felt a sweetness in his throat and suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood.
“Young Master!”
Jiang Keke caught a glimpse of this from the corner of her eye, and her heart tightened.
However, the momentum of her long spear did not decrease, accurately piercing the chest of the red-beaked vulture that had been slowed by the wind bind.
Spiritual power exploded from the tip of the spear. Although the vulture was not significantly harmed, it cried out in pain and flew away.
But more demonic beasts had already recovered from the initial chaos, their blood-red eyes locking onto the suddenly weakened Yun Heng.
However, the rules had been rewritten. They were not canceled, only downgraded.
The starlight in Yun Heng’s eyes did not fade; instead, it grew even brighter. While spitting blood, his left index finger had already traced another simple rune in the air.
**[Hidden Gate: Mustard Seed Concealment]**
The spatiotemporal forbidden domain failed to unfold, but pure “concealment” took effect.
With Yun Heng as the center, the light, aura, and spiritual power fluctuations within a 3 zhang radius suddenly warped and blurred, like a block of ink dropped into water, quickly staining the surroundings.
He and A Xiang, Wang Hongqiao, and even the grand bell dharma artifact in the air became looming and indistinct, their presence almost merging with the surroundings.
The several demonic beasts that were about to pounce instantly lost their clearest target, their movements showing instinctive hesitation.
**[View Gate: Mirror Flower Water Moon]**
The second transformation followed immediately.
On the north and south sides of where Yun Heng originally stood, two “Yun Heng illusions” emerged. They were identical to him, even their aura fluctuations were exactly the same.
The illusions even simulated details like his slight panting and the wiping of blood from the corner of his mouth.
They simultaneously performed different casting gestures—one looking like it was about to summon lightning, and the other as if it were setting up an array.
The offensive of the beast pack was immediately diverted and confused. They could not instantly distinguish which was real and which was fake, nor could they judge which threat was greater.
“Keke, come back.”
Yun Heng’s voice rang directly in Jiang Keke’s mind, its location untraceable.
Jiang Keke did not hesitate. Using the recoil from her strike against the vulture, she flew backward and landed within the blurred hidden area.
The moment she entered, she felt the sensation of being locked onto by the external demonic beasts greatly diminish. Yun Heng’s slightly hurried breathing was clearly right beside her, yet she could not see him.
The already transparent grand bell suspended above them came down, serving as the outermost physical defense to completely isolate the demonic beasts from the interior.
“Young Master…”
Jiang Keke tentatively reached out in one direction. Judging by the feel of the arm, she had likely grabbed correctly.
“I am fine. The backlash from the pills came a bit earlier than expected.”
Yun Heng’s voice was low but remained steady.
It was not actually backlash. It was just that Yun Heng’s combat style still retained the habit of using the power of laws from his previous life.
Given his current cultivation, which had been temporarily boosted to the Golden Core stage, forcibly using them would inevitably draw the wrath of heaven.
However, this was not a major issue.
The star maps shifted in his eyes as he rapidly analyzed the battlefield.
The two demonic beasts struck by **[Bitter Sea Soul Snatcher]** were still killing each other and were already both injured.
The red-beaked vulture had been repelled by Jiang Keke; being a flying beast that highly valued its life, it likely wouldn’t dare to attack again for a while.
The remaining nine demonic beasts, including that Early-Stage Nascent Soul rock-splitting giant ape, were being stalled by the illusions and the grand bell dharma artifact, watching hungrily.
Although the grand bell dharma artifact could withstand all attacks below the Deity Transformation stage, it was ultimately a turtle shell.
Hiding inside it would even block most of the perception of the arrays arranged outside. Secondly, Yun Heng could not fight a battle of attrition; he could not withstand the erosion of the fire poison.
Thirdly, Yun Heng did not dare to gamble on the strength of the demonic beasts that might be drawn here by the commotion.
Therefore, they had to settle this quickly.
The Nascent Soul giant ape had already suspiciously raised its rock fist, preparing to indiscriminately smash the areas where the two illusions were located.
“A Xiang,” Yun Heng looked at the huffing flood dragon girl beside him and said quickly, “Can you be ‘fierce’ at that big monkey again? You don’t have to actually fight it, just make it pay more attention to you.”
A Xiang nodded vigorously and took a deep breath. This time, it wasn’t just a sharp cry, but a low roar with her head held high, showing the first signs of dragon majesty.
The sound was not loud, but it carried the natural pressure and provocation of a high-level bloodline toward a lower-level creature.
Not only that, she decisively used her claws to scratch a piece of her skin, boldly exposing her aura.
The rock-splitting giant ape’s movements indeed faltered. Its crimson eyes turned toward the hidden area.
Although it could not see the specific target, the throbbing of its bloodline and the sense of provocation made it furious, causing it to temporarily ignore the illusions.
Yun Heng seized this moment and continued his instructions. “The countdown begins now. I can only maintain this formation for 50 breaths.”
The starlight in his eyes suddenly contracted, turning into the most condensed lines of prediction, connecting once again to Jiang Keke’s perception.
“Keke, I need you to hold them off until I open the **[Death Gate]**.”