Chapter 304

Chapter 304: Desperate Circumstances and the Hero’s Arrival

“No!!!”

The formation’s confinement caused Wandering Bug to let out a piercing scream. After his wail, he frantically assaulted the barrier, attempting to breach the City of Heart’s Prison.

This naturally failed.

The Grave Lord’s secret realm before them was a grand formation personally created by a grandmaster to seal the divine bodies of evil gods, possessing power of an extremely high rank.

Their previous success in breaking through and partially unleashing the evil gods’ power had only been possible due to the formation’s age, lack of maintenance, and the fact they weren’t its primary targets – allowing them to exploit a minor flaw.

But now, the City of Heart’s Prison’s seal had found its master.

Indeed, this formation’s activation had been initiated by Mu Lin himself.

Kindhearted, he couldn’t bear watching Wandering Bug waste all that effort for nothing. Thus, he decided to help create a proper battlefield.

Though Mu Lin currently held only partial control over the formations and couldn’t fully command the City of Heart’s Prison’s mechanisms, the formation’s inherent might still allowed him to trap Wandering Bug’s group inside the city, forcing them into direct combat with Crimson Child.

To be fair… Mu Lin didn’t completely corner them.

While the demon sect disciples behind this chaos deserved death, Jade Daoist and Zui Xiaoyao from the Daoist faction were uninvolved. They’d even opposed the descendants of evil gods’ schemes and could be considered blameless.

More crucially, Mu Lin wanted to prevent Crimson Child from devouring human race prodigies to grow stronger.

Thus, while activating the city-sealing formation, Mu Lin also triggered suppression barriers targeting Crimson Child.

The effect was immediate.

“Hummm!”

At Mu Lin’s mental command, a spectral tombstone materialized above the City of Heart’s Prison, hovering over Crimson Child.

“Hsss!”

Decaying energy rippled outward the instant the tombstone appeared. Simultaneously, an invisible link formed between the monument and Crimson Child.

Through this connection, the tombstone began slowly inscribing Crimson Child’s death portrait and true name.

“Crack!”

“CRASH!”

“Hsssk…”

Though small, the tombstone’s impact proved catastrophic.

First came crushing weight – Crimson Child might as well have borne an entire mountain. The pressure instantly shattered his limbs, forcing his massive frame to collapse knees-first. These impacts produced the initial sounds: bone fractures and the thunderous impact of flesh meeting stone.

Next came decay.

Death-energy seeped inside the body of Crimson Child, rotting his boundless vitality. The clearest evidence was the putrid stench now oozing from his form. Under the tombstone’s suppression, both his aura and physical size withered like drought-stricken plants.

Noticing this scene, the despairing Wandering Bug, Jade Daoist, and others suddenly had hope in their eyes.

“Attack now! Don’t let it recover, or we’ll all die!”

“Fight together! No more tricks—if he lives, we perish!”

“Kill him!”

“Divine Lord, strike!”

The weakened Crimson Child made the human cultivators bold again as they charged at him.

Sword energy, divine thunder, raging flames, and ghostly spirits—countless spells crashed onto the Crimson Child’s body.

Corrupted by decay and death, his defenses crumbled, and his immortality weakened. The first assault left him battered.

Encouraged, Wandering Bug and the others attacked fiercer, sensing victory near.

But their joy only fueled the Crimson Child’s fury.

“You cannot kill me!”

“I am a demigod! Even shackled by this death gravestone and rotting from within, I reign supreme!”

“Scream!!!”

A shrill female demon’s wail erupted from one head.

A ram’s head spewed black flames—dark, cursed, and unquenchable. Even cultivators’ magic failed to extinguish them, instead feeding the inferno.

“Avoid the black flames!”

Meanwhile, the bull’s head granted monstrous strength.

The snake head spat Toxic Mist that melted all.

The lion head devoured everything like a void—even Jade Daoist’s divine thunder vanished into its maw.

…

The soul-shredding wail, the bull’s brute force, the ram’s cursed fire, the lion’s unstoppable hunger… plus the falcon head’s speed and the deer head’s healing…

Transformed, the Crimson Child was no longer mortal. Though outnumbered and weakened by the death gravestone, he fought ruthlessly.

Hours passed, yet they couldn’t subdue him. He even killed one—Ghost Shadow, a demon cultivator who’d assassinated Mu Lin through curses. Skilled in ambushes, Ghost Shadow struggled in the City of Heart’s Prison’s open battlefield.

His death wasn’t wasted. During his final strike, while others distracted the beast, they destroyed one head—the ram’s black-flame spouter.

Under the death gravestone’s curse, it couldn’t regenerate. Without decay’s endless erosion, Crimson Child’s Lair might’ve regrown it. But for now, the wound remained.

Soon, his second and third heads were shattered.

This time, Fa Yan of the Heavenly Buddha Sect and Jade Daoist delivered the strikes.

Fa Yan activated the secret technique "Three Realms of the Womb," temporarily boosting his power ninefold. Using this enhanced strength, he shattered one of Crimson Child’s heads while retreating unscathed.

But after this attack, he collapsed from exhaustion, completely drained of combat capability.

Jade Daoist gambled everything by burning the Divine Lord’s essence. At this cost, he sliced off Crimson Child’s lion head with a single strike.

The bull’s head soon became riddled with holes from Wandering Bug’s assault. Transforming into swarms of venomous insects, the demon cultivator invaded Crimson Child’s body, gnawing viciously from within – particularly devastating the bull’s head.

Crimson Child retaliated by spawning countless bloodworms from its flesh to battle the poison insects. Simultaneously, through a bat-like head’s power, its body radiated cursed energy. Any insect biting its flesh became instantly weakened by dark magic.

Finding himself outmatched, the shameless Wandering Bug bargained: "Crimson Child, spare me! We’ve no quarrel. Let me live and I’ll stop attacking you."

"Help me kill Zui Xiaoyao, and you’ll live."

Wandering Bug refused, demanding: "Swear an oath to all divine beings first."

In this god-ruled world, specific vows held real power. Their previous cooperation relied on Crimson Child’s oath about the divine blood heart’s safety – technically truthful, though omitting his secret control over it. Had others obtained the heart before his activation, they could’ve refined it.

Though battered, Crimson Child remained confident of victory. "You’re unworthy of my oath!" It resumed attacking humans while clashing with Wandering Bug’s swarm.

The brutal conflict raged through City of Heart’s Prison. Combatants died continuously while revealing hidden trump cards. Crimson Child’s condition worsened – four hearts destroyed, seven heads shattered – but its monstrous vitality from Transformation maintained dominance.

Then came crushing despair. The black fierce tiger, demon king’s offspring who’d fought Crimson Child using his beastly physique, suddenly vanished after prolonged preparation – revealing spatial abilities of a high-tier holy beast. This escape from the sealed city left remaining human fighters vulnerable.

The development alarmed external observers – noble clans, Prince Liang, and Daoist elders – just before an earth-shaking crash resounded.

Some people, overcome with worry, stepped into the Grave Lord’s secret realm.

The moment these powerful beings entered, the Grave Lord’s countermeasures activated. Many immediately had death energy invade their bodies, while others got buried alive by sudden massive graves.

This terrifying display quickly cooled the enthusiasm of clan elders from powerful clans and Daoist elders, deterring them from forcing entry.

Yet their faces remained dark with tension.

Meanwhile, they brainstormed ways to aid their juniors.

“Can we find Crimson Child’s Lair’s weakness?”

“Pointless. After Transformation, he’s beyond mortal limits. Normal weaknesses won’t kill him.”

“The gap between Transformation and lower realms is too vast!”

Whether due to evil gods’ impending revival or their descendants’ peril, every elder seethed with anxiety.

Prince Liang – who lacked natural dominance but reached Earth Master realm through Dragon veins – silently prayed to heavenly deities for intervention. Yet even he knew Crimson Child’s Lair stood nearly invincible under the secret realm’s rules.

He cursed through gritted teeth: “Demon sect bastards! This mess is your doing! Never should’ve collaborated with you!”

As desperation peaked, Mu Lin sighed and teleported into City of Heart’s Prison via formations.

He acted for two reasons. First, to save Jade Daoist and Zui Xiaoyao – humanity’s hope against the calamity. Second, his brief control of the formation core prevented full annihilation of Crimson Child’s Lair. Others’ inflicted injuries gave him leverage; he couldn’t let the enemy heal completely.

“Now’s my chance.”

Though not fully controlling the city, Mu Lin’s foundation from Ping An Ancient County combined with City of Heart’s Prison’s superior energy veins elevated his city god’s manifestation from County City God to State City God – matching Crimson Child’s Lair’s realm.

Confident yet underestimated, Mu Lin’s sudden appearance initially sparked hope:

“Someone’s in the city! A turning point?”

“Must be! Who’d enter just to die? Wait… Mu Lin?!”

The revelation deflated all excitement:

“Damn false hope!”

“Talented but inexperienced – this battle’s beyond him!”

“Wandering Bug, Jade Daoist, even black fierce tiger failed! What can he do?”

“Reckless move…”

Dongfang Ya, Si Ye, and Master Meng Rui fumed: “Fool! Why go there?!”

Prince Liang and East Sea King frowned: “Brave but unwise!”