Chapter 54: "Inner Demons" (Part Two)
“Heart Demon.”
Song Yan raised an eyebrow.
Such a sinister name.
Thinking back, during the great battle that day, when Senior Sister Qin Ying fought the demonic cultivator, this flying sword indeed displayed power far beyond that of an ordinary mid-grade artifact.
Now, its overwhelming aura had faded considerably, and the sword’s spiritual resonance had settled back to the level of a typical mid-grade artifact.
Artifacts and treasures in the cultivation world, too, come in ranks. The grade of an artifact reflects the craftsman’s understanding and mastery. For a Qi Refining cultivator like Song Yan, to possess a full set of low-grade defensive, offensive, and auxiliary artifacts was already considered quite extravagant.
Mid-grade artifacts were usually acquired only by late-stage inner sect disciples, and then only if fortune favored them.
After all, this was a remote place.
Song Yan had heard that in Chu, many mediocre itinerant Foundation Establishment cultivators relied on nothing more than ordinary mid-grade artifacts.
He channeled his spiritual power, preparing to refine the sword, but suddenly his energy surged toward the Two Elements Pearl.
“Hm?”
The pearl, as during the battle, began to emit mysterious ripples.
Song Yan didn’t know what was happening, but the pearl had helped him greatly before. He simply gripped a spirit stone and poured his energy into it.
The surrounding pull and turbulence intensified, but strangely, only the black flying sword seemed affected.
A deep hum—
In an instant, the sword, “Heart Demon,” floated up, flashed with light, and vanished.
“What?”
Song Yan frowned, puzzled.
He extended his consciousness into the Two Elements Pearl.
“Huh…?”
Compared to his last visit, the inner realm had transformed yet again.
At some point, a jet-black heavenly waterfall had appeared near the shadow of the Dao Seed. Below the falls, a pool of inky blackness stretched close to the seed’s phantom.
“What is this…”
He directed his awareness toward the surging darkness, but as he hovered above the inky pool—without even approaching the falls—his mind reeled, his head throbbed as if splitting open.
Hissing…
Sibilant whispers of malice, wails of grief, screams of agony—all seemed to echo across the entire inner world.
“What?!”
He hastily retreated to the pool’s edge, heart pounding, staring at the black waterfall.
“So much malice…”
What exactly were these things? Where had they come from?
He looked up at the Dao Seed’s shadow. Suspended above it was the “Heart Demon,” the sword that had vanished from the outside world.
Unlike its calm exterior, within this realm, the black sword above the Dao Seed once again blazed with demonic flames, as it had in Peach Blossom Hollow.
Yet the embryonic Dao Heart, in the form of a tiny sword, slowly orbited around it, seemingly trying to dispel and strip away the black flames from the blade.
Perhaps because the Dao Heart was incomplete, progress was excruciatingly slow.
Everything before him was utterly unfamiliar…
No matter; there was much in the cultivation world that Song Yan had neither seen nor understood.
Yet one thing left him truly perplexed…
Why had the Gluttonous Tail Demon Flute also appeared within the Two Elements Pearl?
He stared at the flute, hovering at the pool’s edge, finding it almost absurd.
“Isn’t the Two Elements Pearl supposed to be related only to the sword path?”
In his understanding, this pearl was a miniature legacy crafted by an ancient sword sect to preserve some texts and secrets for future generations.
Functions related to sword cultivation made sense. For example, after refining, one could project the phantom of the Dao Seed from their own Sword Mansion—though this seemed useless for now, it was at least logical.
Or, as with the sinister sword “Heart Demon,” certain swords could be stored within the pearl—again, a sword-related function.
But this demon flute…
What was going on? Perhaps, detecting demonic energy, it had been swept in along with the sword?
Song Yan was forced to reevaluate the two-toned treasure.
Perhaps it was not as simple as he had believed.
He began to recall carefully.
“The first change in the inner realm occurred upon reaching a certain level with the nameless incantation…”
“That seemed like passing a most basic test.”
“The second change was…”
“After returning from the Silent Valley, after severing my spirit root, condensing the sword seed, then comprehending the embryonic Dao Heart…”
“And this time…”
“Receiving a flying sword?”
Song Yan felt this guess was hasty.
“No, no…”
“After the Silent Valley, my sword broke, and I later used sect points to claim a new one. Fully refining it caused no such phenomenon…”
He murmured to himself.
“Is it because this sword is of a higher grade—a mid-grade artifact?”
“Or…”
He gazed at the tiny sword dispelling demonic flames, lost in thought.
“Or is there something special about this ‘Heart Demon’?”
…
Chu State. Sheyang Sect.
Sheyang Sect was located on the border of Xin’an and Guangling Prefectures.
Today marked the entrance examination for a new batch of disciples, now concluded.
Of all the young men and women brought by various patrons, plus a pair of siblings who arrived on their own—thirteen in total—only three possessed spiritual roots, and one of those had roots of all five elements, making cultivation hopeless.
Thus, only two were accepted into the sect.
Sheng Nian and his younger sister Sheng Yun stood at the mountain gate.
Sheng Yun’s face was streaked with tears, pleading and unwilling. “Brother, can I not stay here?”
“I have three spiritual roots—I can go to Dongyuan Immortal Sect. Let’s find Brother Yesheng…”
“No.”
Sheng Nian shook his head, his gaze resolute.
“When A-Yan came home, he said all six great sects in Chu are the same. The inner and outer sects are worlds apart.”
“That Immortal said, with this Sheyang Sect disciple token and your three-root talent, you can enter the inner sect by special exception.”
In matters of importance, Sheng Nian was never indecisive.
Since he and Song Yan had killed Tong Chuping, more and more strange folks from the jianghu appeared in Shiliang Town—even cultivators had shown up. If Song Yan hadn’t arrived in time, the consequences would have been dire.
He didn’t understand the ways of the cultivation world, nor why that “Wandering Immortal Xin Shan” was so desperate to find him.
But he knew this: if he did not leave Shiliang, the townsfolk would be drawn ever closer to the chaos of the martial and cultivation worlds.
So, carrying the Sheyang Sect token, he brought Sheng Yun all the way to the sect.
In the entrance test, Sheng Yun was found to have three spiritual roots, while he had none.
His own path to immortality was hopeless; naturally, he was disappointed.
But if this let his beloved sister escape danger and gain the sect’s protection, he could see the good in it.
“Yun, listen to me…”
Sheng Nian looked into the girl’s eyes.
“This life, I have no hope of cultivation, but A-Yan said…”
“In the world of cultivation, there are hidden masters and ancient legacies—some methods can let even those without roots step onto the immortal path.”
“If you cultivate diligently, and one day find such an opportunity, perhaps you could help me ascend, right?”
Not far away, an inner disciple waited to guide Sheng Yun.
Hearing their words, she sighed inwardly.
Hermits in the clouds, mysterious elders, relics of the ancient era, forbidden legacies—which of these are easily found? Which is not born amid the blood and strife of cultivators?
Even if this girl had unmatched talent and extraordinary fortune, and one day truly found a trace of the immortal way, gained the strength and right to claim it…
By then, her brother would likely be old and frail, his path forever severed.
The great Dao is lonely; so-called friends and family in the mortal world are but mirages. Who knows—by the time she emerges from her practice, a hundred years may have passed, and all that remains is a handful of earth for remembrance.
She would understand this, someday.
Watching Sheng Nian’s figure disappear along the mountain path, Sheng Yun wept as if her heart would break.
…
“How is it?”
…
“Now that the immortal path is severed…”
A gentle breeze swept the mountain road, and a faint voice sounded in the youth’s heart.
“Shouldn’t you give up at last and become my disciple?”
…
“No spiritual roots—so what?”
“In the Devil’s path, every step to immortality is seized from others…”
“Why bow to anyone?”
…
“Cultivation is, after all, defying the heavens… Practice demonic arts, steal spiritual essence, slay all you wish to slay!”
“All for the sake of becoming immortal! Only this…”
“Only this is truly defying fate!”
…
…