Stop hiding.

"Roar!"

At this moment, the tens of millions of soldiers in the demon army let out a collective roar.

The roars were clearly filled with joy, excitement, and a thick, lingering intent to kill.

The three ripples transformed from the three mid-tier battle formations pierced through their bodies almost simultaneously, bringing about earth-shaking and immense changes.

The same recovery from injuries and replenishment of spiritual energy that the Vermilion Bird Army had enjoyed were now possessed by the demon army as well.

After the final ripple pierced through them, a split actually cracked open right on the foreheads of all the demon beasts.

The crack parted slightly, revealing a vertical pupil eye within.

"The Demonic Sect's battle formation—the Heavenly Gate Eye?"

Xu Zhe's expression changed instantly.

Had the enemy gone mad? Dared they actually use such a frantic and ruthless mid-tier battle formation?

To open the Heavenly Gate Eye, one had to be at least at the Celestial Immortal realm.

What realm were these demon beasts currently at? Yet they dared to forcefully open the Heavenly Gate Eye.

Even though it was only a small crack, it was tantamount to sacrificing all of these demon beasts' potential along with the majority of their current cultivation base.

"Boom!"

At that moment, from the foreheads of the thousands of demon beasts, dazzling beams of light erupted in unison from the cracks of the Heavenly Gate Eyes, radiating an aura that could destroy heaven and earth as they swept across the crowd.

Countless soldiers of the Vermilion Bird Army bore the brunt of it. The instant they were swept by the beams of light, their entire bodies snapped apart on the spot, and their life breath was extinguished.

This was not merely a one-hit kill; it was a far more tragic massacre.

In just a few breaths, upwards of ten thousand people fell directly.

"What kind of demonic sorcery is this?"

"Not good, retreat quickly!"

"Dodge those beams!"

"Ah..."

Cries of shock and screams echoed continuously among the crowd.

"Has that person from the demon clan lost his mind?"

Xu Zhe's scalp tingled; the opponent was far too unscrupulous.

Though this looked like a massacre of the Vermilion Bird Army, once the major battle concluded, this entire demon army would basically be rendered scrap.

A mid-tier battle formation like this clearly aimed at mutual destruction.

Xu Zhe had never expected the enemy to be ruthless to such an extent right from the start.

Feeling a pang of annoyance, Xu Zhe dared not waste any time. He immediately retrieved the remaining two mid-tier battle formations and rapidly activated them.

Boundless spiritual energy gathered once more, and two invisible waves of air swept outward.

The first battle formation took effect, and brilliant radiances flared over the bodies of the numerous Vermilion Bird Army soldiers. Bright silver lights instantly coalesced into sets of indestructible armor of white light, enveloping the exterior of everyone.

At the very critical juncture, more beams from the Heavenly Gate Eyes swept over, yet they were all forcefully blocked by the white light armor.

"Crack!"

However, soon enough, the white light armor of some soldiers withstood two sweeps of the beams, instantly emitting crisp cracking sounds and branching out with fine fissures.

Clearly, this thing could not hold out for long.

Yet at this moment, Xu Zhe's second battle formation followed closely behind.

This time, it produced no effect on the soldiers of the Vermilion Bird Army; instead, it manifested a series of hazy figures that drifted directly down into the midst of the vast demon army.

Many demon beasts in the demon army instantly had their attention diverted, their gazes following those hazy figures, only to watch helplessly as the figures vanished into thin air.

This was a sowing-discord type of battle formation, and also a casual creation of Xu Zhe from his previous life.

After all the hazy figures charged into the demon army, they immediately dispersed and entered the bodies of various demon beasts.

The so-called sowing of discord was actually more of a hallucinogenic effect.

Whether human or demon, once they absorbed this hallucinogenic substance, and under the guidance of the battle formation's power, their inner suspicions and doubts would be infinitely magnified, gradually overwhelming their reason.

Xu Zhe considered himself an upright, righteous, and decent person, and he always disdained the use of drugging tactics.

Therefore, he preferred to call this kind of battle formation a discord-sowing battle formation.

Only superficial people would call it drugging; decent people understood that it was only through the guidance of battle formation runes that such effects could be produced.

Those who understood, understood!

"Boom!"

Soon, nearly one-fifth of the demon beasts on the field were affected.

To be precise, all the demon beasts were affected.

However, most of the demon beasts had no interest in the "traitors" among their own kind, except for that one-fifth who became highly sensitive. They directly aimed the Heavenly Gate Eyes on their foreheads at their neighboring "traitor" companions, unleashing world-shattering killing blows.

In an instant, thousands of demon beasts fell directly beneath the beams of light. No matter how tough their physical bodies were, they could not withstand such a killing blow. Their physical bodies snapped apart one after another, and even their life force was severed.

This sudden turn of events caused no small amount of chaos within the demon army.

Those demon beasts that had not cared about traitors in their ranks immediately became vigilant as well, guarding against their companions by their sides.

Once a seed of doubt was planted, this suspicion began to magnify further.

Like a viral contagion, another batch of demon beasts lost their reason and could not help launching attacks against their suspected targets.

However, this time most of the demon beasts were no longer capable of activating the Heavenly Gate Eyes and instead engaged in close combat using their innate bloodline abilities, fighting fiercely with physical force.

After all, the Heavenly Gate Eye was an innate magical ability that could only be opened at the Celestial Immortal realm. Even though it was only cracked slightly open, and even though they had exhausted their potential and would lose most of their cultivation base afterward, the number of times they could activate it at this moment was extremely limited.

Thus, the pressure on the Vermilion Bird Army side suddenly eased significantly.

With the white light armor and the first three buffing battle formations, the group had greatly enhanced their defensive capabilities.

Yet the demon army now also possessed a buffing battle formation, which similarly allowed them to recover from injuries and replenish spiritual energy. Even though they had fallen into chaos, they ultimately still retained one more battle formation effect than the Vermilion Bird Army.

For a time, the two armies once again fell into a well-matched stalemate.

Many soldiers of the Vermilion Bird Army quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Damn it, to think the demon clan beat us so miserably the last two times simply because they were holding back their strength and didn't go all out?"

"These tactics are simply too terrifying."

"If not for our Master Xu, what would our fate have been?"

"Without a doubt, total annihilation."

When everyone thought of this, lingering fear gripped their hearts, and they broke out in cold sweats.

They dared not imagine the scene of total annihilation; even Martial God Chu would have been powerless to turn the tide.

"Fortunately, we have Master Xu."

"Right, Master Xu is still the most brilliant, taking the demon clan's things and letting us use them."

"Hahaha, this feels too damn good."

"If it feels good, go kill more demon beasts, stop just laughing."

"I'll toast a cup—Master Xu is awesome!"

"Yeah, awesome, awesome, awesome!"

Amidst the laughter and banter of the Vermilion Bird Army, the sabers slashing at the demon beasts and the magic arts striking them became visibly more ferocious.

They were not fools; on the contrary, they were an extremely elite unit. Naturally, they knew that the current evenly matched situation was extremely precious. If they did not seize the opportunity to kill a few more, heaven knew whether the demons had even more terrifying methods to deploy.

On Xu Zhe's side, he too let out a slight breath of relief.

Fortunately, it was only a mid-tier battle formation; otherwise, if that wave of Heavenly Gate Eyes had been any stronger, reaching the level of a high-tier battle formation, the Vermilion Bird Army probably would have suffered losses exceeding half their numbers.

This was simply going too far.

The methods of a Celestial Immortal realm expert were actually crammed into a mid-tier battle formation and forcefully activated.

It was utterly unreasonable.

"If you really push me to the limit, I'll unleash the sixth set of mid-tier battle formations I've newly developed and trap you all to death."

Xu Zhe glared at the demon army ahead, wearing a fierce expression.

Alas, his high attractiveness, extraordinary temperament, and pure heart meant that no matter how fierce his expression was, it only looked cute and baby-fierce.

This caused many of the female soldiers around him to flutter their hearts.

No matter how tomboyish a woman was, deep down she ultimately harbored a girlish heart.

Seeing a cute kitten, one would inevitably want to pet it and cuddle it.

Such was their state of mind at this moment.

If not for the formidable enemy currently locked in fierce battle, they definitely would have rushed over to pet and cuddle Xu Zhe.

"Xu Zhe!"

At that moment, an angry shout suddenly rang out.

From the rear of the demon army, Lan Zhen appeared once again.

His face was full of fury, his eyes practically spitting fire as he stared viciously at Xu Zhe, wishing he could tear Xu Zhe into pieces.

Originally, he had completed his mission and had no need to appear again; he only needed to wait for the Vermilion Bird Army to be annihilated, and he could directly follow those high-ranking lords to implement other grand plans and continue to achieve monumental meritorious service.

However, before he left, Xu Zhe had dropped remarks that thoroughly disgusted him.

Normally, this wouldn't have been a big deal, but next, Xu Zhe had actually unleashed a mid-tier battle formation, turning the tide of the battle and causing the demon army to suffer several massive setbacks.

This completely exceeded Lan Zhen's expectations.

He immediately understood that Xu Zhe's previously claimed method of turning defeat into victory referred to these mid-tier battle formations.

Therefore, Lan Zhen went straight to explain to one of the lords, but the reply he received was that he must continue his mission, and his primary target was to capture Xu Zhe alive.

Having no other choice, Lan Zhen had to bite the bullet and return.

In truth, he still felt somewhat guilty.

After all, he had not betrayed them from the very beginning; rather, halfway through, the people of the Northern Territory Province had seized an opportunity to take him away and secretly grant him an audience with several lords of extraordinary origins.

After weighing the pros and cons, Lan Zhen very rationally chose to defect to that side, returned to lurk within the Vermilion Bird Army, and awaited this opportunity.

Only when the actual betrayal happened did he realize his heart wasn't ruthless enough—at least not as ruthless as he had imagined.

After all, these were comrades he had fought shoulder-to-shoulder with for many years; memories of past camaraderie, and the countless soldiers who had once spared no effort to protect him at the cost of their lives, flooded his mind.

Yet in the end, he ran away without stopping, leaving the majority of the Vermilion Bird Army—who trusted him implicitly—stranded deep in the belly of the demon army to be slaughtered at will.

At the time, he gritted his teeth and told himself it didn't matter; as long as the Vermilion Bird Army was utterly destroyed, he wouldn't have to face them anymore, and he could ultimately escape those damn feelings of guilt.

As it turned out, Xu Zhe turned everything around.

So much so that now he had to come out and face these "comrades" he had hoped never to see again.

"Xu Zhe, you truly deserve to die." Lan Zhen shouted angrily, stepping out continuously from the demon army, consumed by resentment.

He hated Xu Zhe for meddling, and hated Xu Zhe for directly causing him to have to return.

All the fault lay entirely with Xu Zhe.

"Ptooey!"

Suddenly, a mouthful of thick phlegm spat out from the crowd, landing directly in front of Lan Zhen.

Lan Zhen dodged it, but his expression turned extremely ugly.

Because he saw at least tens of thousands of balls of spittle and phlegm flying toward him in the wake of that one.

Every single glob of spit came from the Vermilion Bird Army.

"You dog, you still have the face to come back?"

"Hoh, what Deputy Commander Lan? Turns out he's just a dog of the demons."

"Shameless wretch, daring to betray the human race. You aren't fit to be human."

Numerous soldiers of the Vermilion Bird Army burned with righteous indignation, glaring daggers at Lan Zhen.

Countless curses echoed across the battlefield.

Lan Zhen's face turned livid and gloomy as he dodged all the spit. Without uttering a word, he charged straight at Xu Zhe.

"Hiss!"

Watching the path Lan Zhen had walked, Xu Zhe couldn't help drawing a sharp breath.

It was his first time witnessing what it meant to "be drowned by a single spit from everyone."

Tens of thousands of people spitting consecutively, and aiming at the exact same target—even though the target dodged, the spittle gathered on the ground to form an actual puddle, would you believe that?

"Deputy Commander Lan, why bother? What's so good about the demons?"

Xu Zhe felt a tinge of sympathy for Lan Zhen and asked with concern, standing right where he was.

He was also curious; although he felt Lan Zhen's character was subpar, there was no reason for him to fall so low as to betray humanity and run off to join the demons.

Was this a distortion of one's orientation, or the degradation of one's hobbies?

"Shut your mouth!" Lan Zhen finally snapped, roaring in a shrill voice.

In a flash of motion, he transformed from within the demon army into a streak of black shadow like lightning, shuttling across the space and appearing before Xu Zhe in the blink of an eye.

"Master Xu, watch out!"

"Blue dog, get lost!"

"What kind of status do you think you have, daring to make a move against Master Xu?"

Countless surrounding soldiers of the Vermilion Bird Army, even though their realms were far lower than Lan Zhen's, rushed forward without the slightest hesitation.

Seeing this, Lan Zhen grew even more irritated.

Monstrous killing intent filled his heart and occupied his mind.

All of this was originally his to command; once upon a time, countless people had been willing to sacrifice themselves and lose their lives for him.

Yet now, apart from curses, there was only thick phlegm.

"Go to hell, all of you!" he roared furiously.

The Qi radiance on the long spear in his hand soared to the heavens, multiplying into thousands that swept outward horizontally.

"Boom!"

A bronze sword suddenly materialized, growing larger in the wind to nearly ten meters long and two meters wide, abruptly blocking the path horizontally.

All of Lan Zhen's spear combat arts smashed against the giant bronze sword and shattered instantly.

Xu Zhe himself was also repelled a few steps, and the giant bronze sword held horizontally before him slightly vibrated.

"Master Xu!"

Seeing this, the crowd cried out in alarm.

They had wanted to step forward and block Lan Zhen for Xu Zhe, yet they hadn't expected Xu Zhe to intercept Lan Zhen himself.

This was a genuine deputy commander level expert in the early Tribulation stage, comparable to a demon king!

How could Master Xu, merely at the Nascent Soul stage, block Lan Zhen's... well, this freak actually blocked it.

Everyone stared with wide-open eyes.

Then they watched as Xu Zhe, completely composed, swiftly pulled out over a dozen golden fruits, crushed them into juice in an instant, and gulped it down.

The entire movement was extremely fast, smooth and practiced in a way that made one's heart ache.

Yet when they saw Xu Zhe's complexion suddenly flush with vitality, his condition better than anyone else present on the field,

everyone was dumbfounded once again.

He was totally fine after that?

A Nascent Soul cultivator forcibly deploying a magic treasure and taking a furious strike from an early Tribulation stage expert head-on, and he neutralized it just like that?

"Normal." Not far away, Qin Wurong stared in a daze before speaking expressionlessly.

"Nothing out of the ordinary."

Jiang Zhiyong, He Han, and the others nodded out of habit as well.

"Ho... How is this possible?"

At the same time, Lan Zhen panted heavily, staring in disbelief at Xu Zhe, the fury in his eyes intensifying.

A Nascent Soul cultivator had actually blocked a strike from him without sustaining the slightest damage.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lan Zhen felt profound humiliation.

"Cough, well... Deputy Commander Liu, stop hiding. There wasn't time to give the secret signal just now, but you really ought to make your move now."

Suddenly, Xu Zhe looked up toward the sky and said with a helpless expression.