Chapter 1162: The True Weight of "Once Proven, Forever Proven," Why Can You Draw on Spiritual Energy!?!?

She Shilan truthfully recounted her ordeal without holding anything back.

It wasn't some unspeakable secret.

She had merely taken a beating.

Even if Du Zhong had said those irreverent words, it didn't matter.

After all, she had refused, and had refused even at the threat of death.

Lu Ding listened, and could only think that the young man called Du Zhong was a complete idiot. People had come to kill you, and you were still thinking about making her your wife.

He really thought he was some protagonist of a novel, able to turn enemies into members of his harem.

What a lunatic.

As they spoke, the two moved quickly without the slightest pause. The village wasn't large, and Lu Ding wasn't the type to stand around talking instead of walking.

So by the time She Shilan had more or less finished her story, they had already arrived at the small building in the center of the village.

She Shilan said, "This is where the village chief of Niuxin Village resides."

"According to my sect's intelligence, the village chief of Niuxin Village is a great demon who has lived for over fifty years. His cultivation is extraordinary. You should be—"

She was just about to say "you should be careful," but before she could finish, Lu Ding kicked the courtyard gate to pieces with a single stomp.

He saw what was inside.

There, an old man in hemp clothing was applying medicine to the wounds Lu Ding had inflicted on Du Zhong.

Du Zhong, who had been fleeing in panic moments before, now lay on a chair, staring at Lu Ding with hatred but not a trace of fear.

He said nothing.

The old man continued his work without even turning his head. "Little one, shouting slogans about slaying demons and upholding justice is all well and good."

"But I can see that your cultivation has not come easily. Your talent is extraordinary, and you are bound to achieve greatness in the future. I truly do not wish to cut you down here and end your prospects and your life. Leave now, and I will let bygones be bygones."

Hearing this, Du Zhong grew agitated and tried to say something.

But a single glare from the village chief choked the words right back down his throat.

The old man wasn't being magnanimous. It was simply that killing Lu Ding would cost him dearly as well.

In the cruel environment of Tianjue Great Mountain, once he was wounded, the scent of blood would attract other terrifying existences.

Even if he killed Lu Ding, he wouldn't have an easy time afterward.

The Centennial Demon-Feeding of Lü Mountain was approaching. Death was inevitable—the entire Demon Continent would lose many lives.

But he wanted to die resisting Lü Mountain, not in internal strife.

Lu Ding looked at the old man with his back turned to him.

Enjoying playing the lofty master?

Heh...

Lu Ding stood still, feigning deep thought. "Hmm..."

The next second.

Lu Ding suddenly raised his palm, and heaven and earth shifted in an instant.

Opening with a divine ability ultimate move!!

"Human King's Loose Hands!!!!!"

The terrifying hand seal grasped the Five Elements, seized the four fundamental elements of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind, and shook space itself into countless fragments.

BANG!!!

A full-power sneak attack that no one could have anticipated.

It struck the Niuxin Village chief, who instantly spat blood and was gravely wounded. Half his body, along with half of the Niuxin Village behind him, and the great mountain behind the village, was instantly pulverized into dust!!!

At this moment.

What was shattered was not just the village chief's body, but also his ingrained way of thinking.

The man could no longer maintain the lofty demeanor he had shown at their first meeting.

"You... why can you draw on spiritual energy... you... pfft..."

He vomited gushes of blood.

Lu Ding did not rush to answer his question. He raised his hand, and a single [Way of the Jinche] chopped down, cleaving the old man in half at the waist, completely severing any hope of him pulling off some last-ditch trick.

He then reached out and seized Du Zhong, lifting him by the throat.

Only then did Lu Ding cast a cold sidelong glance. "I don't recall ever having clearly confirmed that I was under suppression."

Earlier, when Lu Ding was at the Ji Continent Lu Family, during his body's remaking by heaven and earth, he had mentioned this: "Born of heaven, raised by earth, sharing the lifespan of heaven, once proven, forever proven. He exists between heaven and earth. When three blossoms bloom—past, present, and future—he alone shall reign supreme!"

Since it was "once proven, forever proven," then so-called rules could not erase the existence of the spiritual energy within his body.

If he could be so easily influenced by someone else's rules,

then the prestige of "once proven, forever proven" would be far too low.

The reason Lu Ding had concealed it earlier was because the intelligence from Lü Mountain had mentioned the strangeness of this place, and also mentioned that this old man was troublesome.

So Lu Ding had played along!

By avoiding scaring the old man off, he had pinpointed his location, met him face to face, and struck him with an unexpected full-power sneak attack, achieving the greatest results with the least effort.

Although the hundred years had not yet arrived, and Lü Mountain disciples rarely descended the mountain.

But let's be real—Lü Mountain's divination methods were nothing to sneeze at.

They just couldn't calculate Lu Ding.

It wasn't like they couldn't calculate anyone else.

As for intelligence on what lay below the mountain, disciples took turns casting divinations and calculations every single day, updating in real time, waiting only for the appointed time to descend the mountain and purge the demons. Their pre-war preparations were carried to the absolute extreme.

So, fighting wasn't just about means and cultivation—you absolutely had to use your brain.

Lu Ding was arrogant, but he was also cautious. Especially having been pre-warned by his various junior uncles, senior uncles, and great-grandmasters, he knew that the situation on the Demon Continent was different from the outside world, so he had to "keep a card up his sleeve."

Du Zhong, clamped in Lu Ding's grip, said with difficulty, "B-but... didn't you say that if you weren't suppressed by the rules, then if you threw a punch, I'd be lucky to even have a piece of me left..."

Lu Ding laughed, black smoke surging around him. "Hahahahahaha... If I hadn't said that, how could I have left you a 'way out' that was actually a dead end, so you'd lead me straight to this dead old man?"

"If I hadn't said that, how could you have passed my information on to this dead old man, so he'd sit here like a fool waiting for me, letting me catch him off guard and cut off any possibility of him using tricks or backup?"

Du Zhong struggled but couldn't break free. He could only curse, "Y-you despicable bastard."

Lu Ding gave him a cold look. "Alright, enough nonsense."

He reached out toward the Niuxin Village chief. "Hand over the list."

In an instant.

Fear finally rose on the old man's face. "Lü... Lü Mountain disciple!!!!?"

Other than someone from Lü Mountain, he truly couldn't think of anyone else who would come demanding the list from him, because it would be useless to anyone else.

"Impossible!!! How could you possibly be from Lü Mountain?! The hundred years aren't up yet—how could Lü Mountain send people down?!"

"Niuxin Village hasn't even crossed the red line that would trigger a mission from Lü Mountain for its disciples to descend!"

"Even more so... I don't recall Lü Mountain having a young face like yours! Didn't Lü Mountain stop accepting disciples long ago?!"

A single [Way of the Jinche] sliced off one of Du Zhong's arms. Blood sprayed, searing pain hit, and Du Zhong trembled uncontrollably in Lu Ding's grip.

Lu Ding spoke. "Are you questioning me?"

"Can you not understand my question?"

"I told you to hand over the list. Are you deaf?!"

"Now, I'm going to say it one more time: hand over the list. Or do I need to chop him into a human stick piece by piece in front of you, then scrape him down to a skeleton bit by bit, and finally raze Niuxin Village to the ground and kill every last person left, before I ask you again and get a valid answer?!!"