Can a Man Live Without a Heart?

"Roar!" A deafening bellow thundered from beyond the heavens. It reverberated throughout the Yin-Yang Tomb, striking terror into the souls of all who heard it. Amidst flashing lightning and rolling thunder, in barely an instant, it smashed through the ruined arrays outside the burial mound and descended straight into the main burial hall. Heavenly Master Li jerked his head up, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. With a flick of his hand, a pool of azure light steadily expanded outward from beneath him, rising like an azure curtain. The barrier was like a flowing trickle, ceaseless and unbroken. But as it surged into the air above, it suddenly turned peerlessly tough, shutting out the ferocious dragon head. A harsh, screeching friction rang out as the two reached a deadlock. Standing beneath the curtain of light, Heavenly Master Li clicked his tongue in admiration. "This move has been gathering power for a long time; it was certainly no hasty strike. Luo Chen, you had this planned all along!" In the distance, Luo Chen's brows furrowed. He recognized it—this azure screen of light was precisely the technique that had previously deflected Shixiang's assault against Marquis Ziyi and his companion. As he recalled, Shixiang had called it the Glazed Gu. A Gu insect bred specifically for defense? A ruthless look flashed across Luo Chen's face. "Without a plan, how would I dare walk with an old fox like you?" Even as he spoke, the hand seal formed by his fingers abruptly shifted. "Detonate!" With a savage roar, the blazing dragon smashed violently into the light screen. The immense spiritual energy that formed its body instantly began to disintegrate. A surge of sheer, destructive might poured forth. *Crack!* To Heavenly Master Li's astonishment, fractures actually spread across the azure light screen. Through his mental link, he could sense that the Glazed Gu constituting the barrier had been shaken to death on the spot by the terrifying force. *Did I underestimate him after all?* Confronted by Luo Chen's exquisite daoist techniques and his swift, decisive tactical adjustments, Heavenly Master Li felt a deep sense of wariness rise within him. Yet his face betrayed none of it. Watching Luo Chen dive toward him from afar, while spatial ripples rolled with menace all around, he offered a faint smile. "You people are simply too bothersome. This old man is busy opening the coffin, so why don't you play with my little darlings first?" With a casual toss, ten golden beans, glowing with brilliant light like yellow soybeans, scattered across the ground. A startled cry came from the void. "It's the Bean Soldier Gu! Luo Chen, watch out!" Even without the warning, Luo Chen had already noticed and preemptively struck. Opening his mouth, he spat out three drifting wisps of mixed cyan and white true fire. In a mere instant, they incinerated the three golden beans with the strongest aura, the plumpest shapes, and the richest color. Yet there was no time left for the remaining seven. *Crack! Crack! Crack!* A chorus of bursting sounds echoed across the wide hall, like beans popping inside an intensely heated cauldron. In the next instant, seven figures materialized before their eyes. Each was cloaked in a black robe, and each radiated the potent aura of the Nascent Soul stage. The moment the seven appeared, three charged toward Luo Chen, three rushed toward Meng Shentong, and the remaining one guarded Heavenly Master Li—even retaining enough strength to reinforce the triple blood yoke that suppressed the Flying Yaksha. Facing the three oncoming Nascent Soul cultivators, Luo Chen did not evade. Instead, he drove his fist straight forward. "Not even Marquis Ziyi and his companions could stop me. You dare flaunt such petty tricks before me?" *Boom!* A single punch flew, unleashing a tempest of force. The entire space seemed to compress beneath the blow. As their black robes were blown back, they revealed the stiff, rigid, and already warping faces of the cultivators underneath. Like drifting willow catkins, Luo Chen twisted through the air, his iron fists striking in rapid succession. *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* After three consecutive punches, Luo Chen suddenly halted. Meanwhile, the bodies of the three Nascent Soul cultivators charging him detonated into mist, leaving behind neither corpse nor bone. They had not even had the chance to deploy the slightest technique, illustrating just how swift and ferocious Luo Chen's onslaught was. Yet as fast as he was, Meng Shentong was no slower. Using a void concealment technique, Meng Shentong slipped past his three pursuers and silently closed in on Heavenly Master Li. Just before he could strike, however, as his figure phased between substance and illusion, Heavenly Master Li let out a sneer. "In the end, that is not the Vacuum Gu passed down through the Luo Cult for a thousand years. The one you nurtured later has far too many flaws!" The black-robed cultivator guarding Heavenly Master Li dropped into a slight crouch and curved his hands in an embrace. A swirling vortex of airflow abruptly unfurled. Spinning with extreme speed, the vortex expanded wildly. A ferocious suction immediately dragged Meng Shentong's silhouette from the void, pulling him forward step by step. Beneath the howling gale, the hood of the black robe flew back, exposing the true face hidden underneath. The moment he saw that sinister, bluish-black countenance, Meng Shentong was horrified and blurted out, "Demonic Heart Gu Emperor!" No, that was wrong! It was not the Demonic Heart Gu Emperor himself, but the previous generation's Demonic Heart Gu Emperor. Heavenly Master Li had simply refined his corpse into a Bean Soldier Gu. Ignoring the struggling Meng Shentong, Heavenly Master Li cast a wary glance at Luo Chen before turning around to cast incantation seals one after another at the black coffin. In the distance, Luo Chen's forward momentum abruptly ground to a halt. Three more Nascent Soul cultivators had closed in around him. There was no telling where Heavenly Master Li had obtained so many corpses of Nascent Soul cultivators to use as Gu-refining materials. Had Luo Chen not acted decisively earlier to destroy the three Bean Soldier Gu comparable in strength to the old Demonic Heart Gu Emperor, the situation would have been far worse. Even so, these repeated delays had bought Heavenly Master Li enough time to unseal the black coffin. Luo Chen glanced at Meng Shentong, who was locked in a struggle against the airflow vortex, and made an instant decision. Rather than advancing, he retreated, his figure flashing toward a corner of the hall. His hands turned a dark bluish-black as he reached out and snatched hold of something. "Aaargh..." A shrill scream suddenly rang out. It was Granny Hongye, the old woman pinned to the ground by a sharp sword. "Bear with it!" "I'll pull the sword for you and give you a chance at revenge." Without waiting for her agreement, Luo Chen gripped the hilt, paying no mind to the Corpse Rot Poison that spread across his skin, raising sizzling wisps of blue smoke from his palms. He gave a low shout. "Out!" With a heave of his arms, he tore the sharp sword free and flung it into a corner. Then, with a flick of his fingers, several medicinal pills sank into the old woman's wound. The pills melted upon entering her flesh, circulating rapidly through her limbs and bones. Though there was no time to purge the Corpse Rot Poison entirely, it was enough to temporarily suppress it. Granny Hongye struggled to her feet and looked at Luo Chen with deep gratitude. With a cold, grim expression, Luo Chen merely pointed toward Heavenly Master Li. A look of venomous hatred crossed Granny Hongye's face. "I will never forget the grudge of being stabbed in the back! He won't open that black coffin easily!" Her words dripped with resentment. How many years had it been? As an exalted Supreme Elder of the Hongye Cult, she had never suffered such humiliation and agony. Worst of all, this betrayal had come from Heavenly Master Li, her close friend of many years! In the next instant, Granny Hongye endured the searing agony of the poison and began manipulating the turtle-back compass before her. Streaks of radiant light burst forth from the Myriad Formations Gu. These streaks did not target the black coffin; instead, they shot out in all directions, sinking deep into the earth of the Yin-Yang Tomb. *Is she channeling the remnant array power of this place?* Luo Chen cast a thoughtful glance at the turtle-shell-like Gu insect, then turned away with calm composure. Only now did the three black-robed Nascent Soul bean soldiers rush over, brandishing magic treasures and unleashing spells toward Luo Chen. To this, Luo Chen simply took a step forward. Just as every attack was about to strike him, it veered off course by several inches. Strolling casually, Luo Chen brushed past them. Sharp sword qi flickered at his fingertips. Wherever he passed, the flesh of the three Nascent Soul cultivators fractured like a spiderweb. Inside them, there were no Nascent Souls formed of essence, energy, and spirit. "All the aura of a Nascent Soul, yet none of the substance. Heavenly Master Li, aren't your methods a little too weak?" Amidst his mockery, Luo Chen opened his mouth and spat. *Whoosh!* A sword pellet tore through the air, shooting straight for Heavenly Master Li's back. To everyone's surprise, Heavenly Master Li made no move to block the attack from behind, allowing the sword pellet to strike his body. *Buzz...* A strange hum echoed, and what followed left Luo Chen stunned. The moment that platinum sword pellet touched Heavenly Master Li's body, it vanished without a trace, like a clay ox plunging into the sea. No matter how Luo Chen pushed his divine sense, he could not detect the existence of the sword pellet at all. *A spatial treasure, or some bizarre divine ability?* Luo Chen frowned and, from a distance, unleashed the Prairie Blaze of the Fire Phoenix once more. At the same time, Meng Shentong broke free from the vortex's pull at great cost. The moment he burst free, he reached out and summoned a shimmering, water-bright saber into his grasp, slashing horizontally downward. The blazing fire phoenix and the spatial blade slash descended simultaneously. Yet that bizarre scene played out once again! The moment the two formidable attacks were about to touch Heavenly Master Li, both vanished abruptly. It was as if some colossal beast had opened its gaping maw and swallowed them in a single gulp. The commotion dissolved into nothingness. Without ever turning his head, Heavenly Master Li kept his eyes fixed intently on the black coffin. He let out a low growl. "Open!" In the next instant, the black coffin trembled violently. The lid slid back, and a gap slowly emerged. A glimpse inside the coffin met everyone's eyes. It was a face—half-yin and half-yang, half-black and half-white! Right then, a shrill, aged cry rang through the hall. "Don't even think about it!" Chains materialized from the stone walls of the tomb, darting like swallows returning to their nest to coil around the black coffin. The lid, which had opened only a sliver, snapped shut instantly. At this sight, a flicker of fury finally broke Heavenly Master Li's calm facade. "You deserve to die!" With an enraged roar, Gu insects flew from his body one after another, numbering in the hundreds and thousands in the blink of an eye. Countless Gu formed a pavilion around him, which relentlessly expanded outward in all directions. Seeing this, Meng Shentong's face fell. "A Gu house!" Without hesitation, he shot directly toward the entrance of the passage. Yet a despairing sight met him: the entrance began squirming and contracting, leaving no path for escape. Upon hearing the words "Gu house," a look of panic and fear crept across Granny Hongye's face as well, causing the Gu insect controlling the formation in her hands to pause for a brief moment. Seizing this opportunity, Heavenly Master Li swiped his hands, coated in illusory flames, across the dense web of chains sealing the coffin lid. "Open for me again!" A thunderous shout detonated, and the entire lid of the black coffin was shoved aside. Inside, a young man clad in black-and-white Daoist robes appeared before everyone. In his hands, he held a jade bowl. Within the bowl, two tiny black-and-white fish swam leisurely. At the sight, Heavenly Master Li reached out to grab it. Right at that moment, sparks burst beside him. "Luo Chen!" Heavenly Master Li's eyes nearly tore from their sockets as the previous-generation Demonic Heart Gu Emperor stepped in behind him to block the strike. Yet Luo Chen, having expended immense magic power to execute a sudden fire-escape displacement, ignored the obstacle entirely. His right hand plunged straight ahead. His hand ripped through the old Demonic Heart Gu Emperor's flesh, his arm unnaturally extending as it ignited with golden flames, piercing directly into the center of Heavenly Master Li's back. "Your Demonic Heart Gu—I'll be taking it!" Luo Chen chuckled softly. Grasping Heavenly Master Li's heart, he violently yanked his arm back! Illusory flames lunged in pursuit, yet amidst the flickering flare of the golden fire, they failed to delay him for even a fraction of an instant. *Huuu...* Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Luo Chen dashed back into a corner. He looked down at the object in his hand, his eyes gleaming with joy. *Thump! Thump! Thump!* A vivid, brightly colored heart—severed from the body, its vessels torn—continued to beat rhythmically. Its surging vitality was undeniable. "So this is the Demonic Heart Gu?" Not far away, Heavenly Master Li slowly turned around, a hole piercing straight through his chest, while holding the jade bowl in his hand. He shoved the mangled remains of the old Demonic Heart Gu Emperor aside, letting the corpse collapse to the ground, his eyes glaring venomously at Luo Chen. "How did you know my Demonic Heart Gu was residing in my heart?" Luo Chen weighed the heart in his hand, causing it to beat even harder. Under Heavenly Master Li's narrowing pupils, he said with a light chuckle, "It wasn't hard to guess. Since it is called the Demonic Heart Gu, it naturally belongs within the heart." "The Gu matches its name?" Heavenly Master Li refused to believe that he had dared to take such a risk based on a mere hunch. Luo Chen shrugged, his tone carrying a touch of flippancy. "Back in the Fierce Peak Great Hall, I listened quite attentively to your lecture, Elder." "'If one wishes to enter the Dao through Gu, one must not treat them merely as supplementary cultivation tools. Rather, one must understand their principles, discern their nature, and cultivate body and soul in tandem before progress can be unimpeded.'" "That is what you said, and that is what I heard. Naturally, you would practice what you preach and act accordingly." "What's more, the Hundred Poisons Body Refinement Technique you passed to me also requires placing the King Gu in one's stomach." "Following that lineage, I was quite willing to believe that your Demonic Heart Gu was nurtured upon your very own demonic heart!" At the end of his words, Luo Chen's hand blurred, and the beating heart vanished into thin air. "Now, can you tell me: without a heart, can a man live?" Heavenly Master Li's body trembled slightly as he glared daggers at Luo Chen. He finally understood why Luo Chen had refused without hesitation when he offered to give him the Demonic Heart Gu in exchange for killing Meng Shentong. From the very beginning, Luo Chen had guessed that the Demonic Heart Gu was fused with his own heart. How could anyone simply give away their own heart? He was not a Soul Formation cultivator after all. Without a heart, his physical body would wither, leaving his Nascent Soul without an anchor, and his Great Dao would be severed forever. Thus, that offer had been impossible from the start. And now, this thief had the gall to ask him if a man could live without a heart? "I can live! Of course I can live!" With a vicious sneer, Heavenly Master Li tossed the jade bowl into the air. A swarm of Gu insects converged, plucking the two fish from the bowl and merging them into the Gu house. "Once I kill all of you, I will still live!" In the next instant, the Gu house Fengbo Pavilion unfurled completely, enveloping the entire Yin-Yang Tomb. Not only that, but Heavenly Master Li beckoned casually, and the Corpse Rot Sword flew into his hand. From the ground, the triple blood yoke that had somehow emptied flew up, clamping shut over his hollow chest. Furthermore, wisps of illusory flame flared up around him, blazing furiously. Heavenly Master Li soared into the air, gripping his longsword, bathed in flames, and looked down upon the three cultivators on the ground, their faces filled with varying expressions. "Now, it is your turn to endure this old man's wrath!"