A single step sent the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi churning violently. The unseen pressure cracked the ground with a web of fine lines.

Just as a great battle was about to erupt, Liu Yu suddenly coughed. His tone held a hint of awkwardness and a fawning quality. "Ahem, actually, perhaps we could still reconcile."

"I admit, I killed a fair number of your people. But you also killed Cheng Lv and many of our Followers. It’s better to resolve enmity than to create it... Besides, if you keep fighting us, you might not be the ones to have the last laugh."

"Pah!"

Qin Zhou cut him off before the shameless words were even fully out of his mouth.

"You want to reconcile now? You’ve got to be joking."

Following him, Wei Zhong Mountain also spoke up. "If you bastards had even a sliver of a chance of victory, you wouldn’t be trying to reconcile. The fact that you’re begging for mercy now just proves one thing: you know you’re about to die!"

This time, even the usually aloof Ruan Shi let out a sneer. "I once thought you were fearless fanatics. It seems I overestimated you. You’re nothing but a pack of cowardly rats, clinging to life and only daring to pull tricks from the shadows."

Liu Yu’s plea for a truce was met with a chorus of derision, as everyone cursed him for his shamelessness.

Fei Yi, a True Disciple of the major sect, the Divine Void Sect, hurried to Zhong Ming’s side, urgently trying to persuade him.

"Zhong, don’t fall for their lies! They’re only asking for a truce now because they’re plotting something and trying to buy time."

Zhong Ming glanced at him, his expression calm. "You don’t have to tell me. I understand the principle of pulling out the weeds by the roots."

As he spoke, the gilded longsword in the hand of the Divine Monarch Dharma Aspect was already raised high.

But just as the battle was about to erupt once more, a muffled BANG! suddenly echoed from within Zhong Ming’s body!

The sound sent Zhong Ming’s aura into sudden disarray. The Divine Monarch Dharma Aspect surrounding him rippled violently, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Behind and to Zhong Ming’s side, the True Disciple from the Divine Void Sect who had been urging him on just moments before now held a mangled, faintly beating heart in his hand. His face was twisted in a vicious, crazed laugh. "Hahaha! Zhong Ming, you let your guard down!"

"Zhong Ming!"

"Zhong!"

The sudden turn of events caused the expressions of Qin Zhou, Ruan Shi, and the others to change drastically. They instinctively surged forward to form a protective circle around Zhong Ming.

One of them glared at the True Disciple of the Divine Void Sect, their eyes filled with horrified disbelief and fury. "Fei Yi! Have you gone mad? Why would you betray us?!"

"Hehe, this isn’t a betrayal," Yuan Rong said, stepping forward. Seeing that the sneak attack on Zhong Ming had succeeded, the gloomy look on her face vanished, replaced by smug triumph. "Senior Brother Fei Yi has always been one of us. He is a candidate for Divine Heir of the Five Viscera Divine Sect’s Heart Lineage. He came to the Qinghe Commandery Mansion under a different identity and sided with you for the sole purpose of delivering a fatal blow at the critical moment, ensuring our plan’s success."

"And from the looks of it, Senior Brother Fei Yi has succeeded magnificently."

After saying this, Yuan Rong turned to face Qin Zhou and the others, her tone dripping with mockery. "You were right about one thing earlier—if we had even the slightest chance of winning, we would never have sued for peace."

Her gaze locked onto Zhong Ming, the venom in her eyes practically overflowing. "But now, you’re the ones who are going to die. Especially you, Zhong Ming! You utterly humiliated me before. In a moment, I’m going to make you..."

Yuan Rong considered her earlier panicked retreat the greatest shame of her life.

She had been about to unleash even crueler threats, to describe in detail how she would torture Zhong Ming, but the words died on her lips. She suddenly froze, her body recoiling slightly against her will.

Staring directly at Zhong Ming, she saw no trace of panic or fear on his face, nor any of the frustration that should follow a betrayal. All that remained was calm and indifference, as if he weren’t the one whose heart had just been shattered.

What horrified Yuan Rong even more was that Zhong Ming’s aura, though briefly in disarray, was now slowly recovering. It showed no sign of the continuous decline she had expected.

"Are you... are you sure you destroyed his heart?" The terrifying scene made Yuan Rong cry out to Fei Yi, her voice laced with undisguised panic.

A large hole was also torn in Fei Yi’s chest. His face was flushed, and blood trickled continuously from the corners of his mouth.

Despite this, he nodded forcefully, his tone utterly certain. "Of course! To ensure the Heart Shattering Curse succeeded, I didn’t just detonate all the hearts I had in reserve—I detonated my own heart as well! At this close range, combined with the power granted by the Divine Spirit, I am one hundred percent certain his heart has been shattered to pieces!"

Looking at Zhong Ming’s nonchalant demeanor, he sneered, "Putting on an act. You think you can scare us just by toughing it out?"

"If you’re really fine, then I’m standing right here. Come and kill me!"

Fei Yi stood with arms outstretched, daring Zhong Ming to kill him. Zhong Ming... obliged.

BOOM!

The gilded longsword in the Divine Monarch Dharma Aspect’s hand descended upon Fei Yi, unleashing world-ending power! The golden Sword Qi ripped through the sky, igniting the air in its path and creating a deafening roar.

"?!"

At this, the smile on Fei Yi’s face instantly froze, replaced by utter horror.

Staring at the Divine Monarch Dharma Aspect, its power utterly undiminished, he let out a shriek of disbelief. "Impossible! Your heart was shattered! How can you still wield such power?!"

Though his heart was filled with terror, Fei Yi didn’t dare to meet the blow head-on. He hastily activated an Escape Technique, his body blurring into an afterimage as he tried to flee the range of the Sword Qi.

But Qin Zhou, Ruan Shi, and Wei Zhong Mountain were no pushovers.

Allowing Fei Yi’s sneak attack on Zhong Ming had been a grave oversight, and it filled them with rage. They weren’t about to give the traitor another chance to escape.

"Divine Sound: Soul-Stabilizing!"

"Black Mountain·Sealing Town!"

"Moonlight·Condensing Space!"

Three Binding Techniques struck Fei Yi at almost the exact same moment.

Divine Sound: Soul-Stabilizing staggered his Soul Spirit, Black Mountain·Sealing Town locked down his physical body, and Moonlight·Condensing Space froze the Spiritual Qi around him. In order to cast the Heart Shattering Technique, Fei Yi had already detonated his own heart.

As a member of the Heart Lineage, most of his abilities were activated through his heart.

With his heart destroyed, his power had plummeted.

In such a state, he was powerless to break free of the Triple Technique’s restraints and could only watch helplessly as the Morning Star Sword descended, splitting him in two.

"No!"

"Why?! Why did it happen like this..."

In his final moments, his eyes were still filled with endless confusion and bitterness.

He died without understanding why Zhong Ming, whose heart had been shattered, was completely unharmed.

He wasn’t the only one. Qin Zhou and the others were also filled with anxiety.

Afraid that Zhong Ming was only putting on a brave front, they drew in to protect him even more tightly, watching the remaining Cultists with wary eyes.

Zhong Ming couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.

"It’s alright, you can all stand down. I’m really fine."

When he saw they were still worried, Zhong Ming explained calmly, "His ’Heart Shattering Curse’ did indeed succeed. My heart... has been shattered."

Wiping the trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, his tone grew even more relaxed, tinged with a hint of nonchalance. "But, it’s only a heart. If it’s shattered, it’s shattered. To me, it’s of no real consequence."

"Huh?"

"Huh?!"