"Grandma, do you know the goal of these heretic pract.i.tioners?" Little tyrant frowned as he asked. "I'm getting the feeling that Skybond Peak isn't simply their goal."

Ye Qingcang nodded as well. "Furthermore, these people seem to be extremely familiar with formations and barriers. They appeared within the sect without making the slightest sound."

"Barrier!" Zhu Yao felt a light bulb flas.h.i.+ng in her mind. She instantly recalled the matter that she couldn't think of earlier, and immediately after, her heart skipped a beat. Gritting her teeth, she cussed out. "The h.e.l.l!"

She turned around, and with her feet on her flying sword, she flew quickly in a certain direction.

"Grandma…"

"Granny…"

Before the two could even react, they could no longer see Zhu Yao's figure. They exchanged glances, and then, pulling out their flying swords one after another, they chased after her.

Zhu Yao flew extremely quickly, panic filled the depths of her heart. She wished that she could teleport right in this instant. She finally recalled of a nearby place where there was dense and rich spiritual energy. Tranquil Valley! The demons' gathering site she appeared in. Though the amount of spiritual energy within the valley itself was extremely scarce, the barrier outside the valley was constructed with condensed spiritual energy. Back then, with just a slight touch of her hand, the spiritual energy that seeped into her body directly pushed her towards the Foundation level. It could be seen just how dense the spiritual energy within it was.

Most likely, the spiritual energy of the entire Tranquil Valley was being used by that barrier, in order to protect the demons within.

According to her master, such a large-scale teleportation formation would not be able to send something too far away, while Tranquil Valley was the closest to Ness Cesary Sect. The more Zhu Yao thought about it, the more panicked she became. If those heretic pract.i.tioners truly did transfer Skybond Peak over there, then the demons at the valley would…

She was not naive to think that heretic pract.i.tioners would have such good hearts to let off the residents that were living there.

Zhu Yao flew quickly, and the span of a few breaths, she arrived at Tranquil Valley. However, from afar, she could see an enormous mountain floating in the sky, and it was slowly sinking into Tranquil Valley.

Her heart instantly beat faster, feeling enraged to point of wanting to cuss out at their moms. Sizzling flames of fury seeped out. These heretic pract.i.tioners sure are motherf**king imbeciles. At first, she thought that they would have merely transported Skybond Peak over. Looking at things now, they were actually thinking of sinking Skybond Peak into Tranquil Valley itself, wanting to use the advantageous barrier of Tranquil Valley to conceal it!

If Skybond Peak were to fall, it would be strange if those demons did not turn into flattened pancakes.

Zhu Yao's heart clenched. While she charged into the barrier, she began to chant an art. Several dozens of lightning streams flew towards the few Nascent Soul pract.i.tioners. The formation between them instantly scattered, and they flew off in several different directions. With the lack of the formation supporting it, Skybond Peak began to descend even faster.

Zhu Yao did not even have the time left to cuss out at their moms as she directly flew to the depths of the valley. Like a construction jack, she then desperately pushed against the entire mountain, slowing down its descent.

"Grandma…" Little tyrant and Ye Qingcang came rus.h.i.+ng over at this moment as well, as they looked at Zhu Yao whose face was fl.u.s.tered red from supporting the mountain.

"Head down, scatter the demons. Have them flee to the edges." Zhu Yao gritted her teeth as she held on.

"But, you…"

"Hurry and go! Just say it's 'Grand Qian's' order. They will follow you two." At the brink of life and death, she had no choice but to become Grand Qian once more.

Ye Qingcang and little tyrant exchanged glances for a moment. Then, as they gritted teeth, they obediently turned around and went to scatter the indigenous people.

Zhu Yao took in a deep breath, and then circulated her spiritual energy to meticulously cover Skybond Peak. She wanted to use her spiritual energy to move it out of Tranquil Valley, however, she saw those few Nascent Soul pract.i.tioners coming back. They did not initiate their attacks at the very first moment, instead, they simply looked in her direction with cold and expressionless faces.

"Just who are you people? And what's your goal?" Zhu Yao asked in a sunken voice.

However, they did not have any reaction!

A few moments later, one of them suddenly flew towards her, the spiritual energy around his body began to tremble intensely.

The h.e.l.l! Self-destruction again!

These people must have entered a cult, right? Why did they like killing themselves so much?

Like h.e.l.l I will allow you to self-destruct here!

"Little Eighth!" Zhu Yao shouted out loudly.

A ray of red light suddenly charged into the skies, the cry of a Phoenix resounded through the clouds as boundless fiery light shone across the horizon. A fiery sea of purple flames instantly formed in the air, and any object in contact with the flames was instantly turned into ash. Even the heretic pract.i.tioner that came charging over disappeared into the flames.

The entire Skybond Peak was surrounded by purple flames. An enormous purple Phoenix occupied the sky, dancing and spiralling. With every flap of its wings, a large sea of flames would emerge. The Skybond Peak that was still incomparably large earlier, like an ice-cream which was placed in an oven, began to slowly melt, decreasing in size at a speed visible to the naked eyes. In a few moments, Skybond Peak was reduced to one-fifth of its original size.

"Great, good job, Little Eighth!" Zhu Yao silently gave his little brother a praise.

The moment those words fell, the Phoenix in the sky suddenly seemed to have its flames extinguished. With a sizzling sound, it returned to the size of a pigeon and fell down. All of the flames earlier disappeared without a trace.

The h.e.l.l, do you have to be that weak to praise!?

Zhu Yao caught him. "Little Eighth…" How can you run out of battery at the key moment?

"So tired!" Little Eighth pattered towards her shoulder, and then, like a dead bird, he laid on it, motionless. "So tired. I want to sleep! Seventh elder sister, you're abusing a young Phoenix."

"…" The h.e.l.l, you didn't even finish your work, yet you have the face to say I abused you!?

Zhu Yao had no choice but to cast the Nine Heavenly Lightning Art and summon a lightning bolt with the thickness of a bucket from the skies, instantly striking onto Skybond Peak which had long been burnt beyond recognition. The entire mountain began to turn into countless pieces of shattered rocks, exploding in all directions. She then immediately cast a wind-type art to blow all of the shattered rocks out of the barrier of Tranquil Valley.

"Yu Yao!" Her master's voice once again resounded.

In the next moment, several air tearing noises came from her side. Zhu Yao dodged to the side as several icicles brushed past her body. In the next moment, a woman wielding a crescent wheel knife came attacking her.

Zhu Yao immediately summoned a spiritual sword and parried, the crescent wheel knife instantly shattered into two.

Not the slightest bit of shock could be seen from the female heretic pract.i.tioner's face, as she summoned yet another spiritual sword to attack Zhu Yao. The remaining few Nascent Soul heretic pract.i.tioners surrounded her at this moment as well. Most of them summoned spiritual swords and icicles, and the attacks rained down in a dense manner.

Zhu Yao placed down a defensive barrier to block against the rain of attacks. Though the attacks were concentrated, she was not afraid at all. At the very most, dealing with them was but an inconvenience. Furthermore, she had to be careful and prevent the attacks from falling onto Tranquil Valley, so it was inevitable for her to be a little tied up.

Just as she was busy dealing with the attacks, the spiritual energy surrounding the female pract.i.tioner closest to her, suddenly began to tremble once more.

The h.e.l.l, just how dedicated are they to self-destruction? They will self-destruct whenever they get the chance. Are you all paparazzis?

Zhu Yao grew anxious. Turning a lightning stream into a whip, she attached it onto a spiritual sword and strongly swung it. The female pract.i.tioner's Dantian was struck head-on, stopping her spiritual energy from gathering. Under this strike, her spiritual energy scattered completely, so her self-destruction naturally stopped. Furthermore, she received a grave injury and she began to puke out a large amount of blood. However, she merely paused for a moment before continuing throwing other mystic arts to attack her. Not a single change could be seen on her face.

This wasn't right! Something was very wrong. The longer Zhu Yao fought, the stronger the strange feeling she had in the depths of her heart. Something was very amiss… with these few people. The way they were attacking was akin to throwing away their lives. However, every single one of them was strangely calm, as if they were not afraid of pain.

Are they really villains? Aren't villains supposed to be talkative? Before every single fight, they will always say a couple of lines to threaten, instill fear or gloat at our demise, right? Looking at their behaviour, they had clearly picked up the wrong cold and mighty characters' scripts!

It was if… they were puppets that only knew how to attack.

Zhu Yao whipped broken another heretic pract.i.tioner's Dantian when he was prepared to self-destruct, as the suspicion in the depths of her heart grew even heavier. Just what in the world are these heretic pract.i.tioners?

Those few heretic pract.i.tioners suddenly stopped, and then scattered quickly in all directions. Zhu Yao thought that they wanted to flee, but they then stopped not far away, and the distance between them was coincidentally out of the range of the lightning streams in her hand.

In the next moment, the remaining eight people began to self-destruct their Nascent Souls.

Zhu Yao's heart skipped a beat! The h.e.l.l! The h.e.l.l! The h.e.l.l! Do you guys have to be so persistent in dying!?

If eight of them were to self-destruct together, it would be akin to a nuclear bomb!

And from the looks of things, she would be unable to stop every single one of them in time. As long as one of them were to succeed, Tranquil Valley below would be completely doomed.

I definitely musn't let them self-destruct. However, even if she were to expand her barrier like before, it was impossible to protect the entirety of Tranquil Valley.

What to do? What to do?

Realmspirit, you a.s.s, hurry and lend me a hand! Earth is about to be destroyed by nuclear weapons!

The red glow from their bodies grew even denser, and just as they were about to explode…

Suddenly!

"Pea…" A green light flashed from her chest. An enormous pea appeared in the sky and with an 'aahh' sound, it opened its mouth wide. The eight people who were still in the process of self-destructing earlier, instantly turned into eight rays of light and entered Peapea's mouth.

"Ahmmuu!" Peapea closed its mouth and then returned to the size of a basketball, before flying back to her hand.

Zhu Yao: … What happened just now?

"Peapea, why did you eat something strange again?" Zhu Yao could not help but want to pull open its mouth. "Putting aside the demonic beast you teleported back then, they're living human beings this time! Even if you're hungry, you can't just eat anything! It doesn't matter if you get gastric pain, but what about my master who's stuck in there as well!?"

"Pea…" Peapea rolled about, and then suddenly opened its mouth. "Burp~" It let out a resounding burp.

A light white wisp of air floated out from its mouth, and Zhu Yao trembled from the sight of it.

Was it her imagination? Why did she feel that the wisp of air had the figure of a human, and that it had a head, face, and body? Furthermore, the word "soul" seemed to be written on its clothes.

"Peapea…"

Zhu Yao instantly went crazy. This wasn't teleportation! Peapea had truly just eaten humans! And it had even spat out a soul! "Don't turn into a zombie, hey! This is a cultivation novel, not post-apocalyptic world novel, hey!!"

"Yu Yao…" Her master's voice suddenly sounded from within Peapea. "Those few heretic pract.i.tioners are not humans."

"Eh?" What did he mean?

"Their bodies are entirely covered in deathly aura. They had been dead for a long while, but their souls were forcefully trapped within their bodies, turning into puppets."

"Puppets?" Zhu Yao was startled. "But they are capable of using mystic arts, and they were casting them with ease." If they were puppets, they could not have possibly retained the cultivation levels of their former lives.

Yu Yan sank into silence for a moment. "Using mystic arts naturally require costs. Earlier, I mentioned before that the formation they used require an unique spiritual energy to perform the teleportation."

"Unique spiritual energy…" Zhu Yao opened her eyes wide.

"They used the souls that were sealed within their physical bodies!"

"…"

After these people died, their souls were sealed within their physical bodies and could not escape, and their bodies were then refined into puppets by someone, this was what her master meant. The person controlling them was using the energy of their own souls to cast the mystic arts they had in their former lives. The more they used arts, the more their souls would be consumed.

Zhu Yao felt a chill as she heard this. Just what kind of venomous mystic art was this? This was clearly an act of scattering people's souls. It was no wonder the soul she saw earlier was but a thin wisp of smoke.

"Then what Peapea did earlier was to…?"

"It's Bai Yuan's Dantian." Yu Yan replied with a sunken voice. "The purest water of River of Forgetfulness found at its very source. That was why it was able to separate the deceased souls from their bodies."

As he spoke, Peapea consecutively burped out seven times. With every burp, white smoke with the shape of a human being would emit out from its mouth, and every single one of them was incredibly thin. They were several times weaker than the ghosts she saw in the Netherworld. It was as if they could be scattered with just a light breeze of the wind.

Zhu Yao cast an Afterlife Art, sending those souls into the Netherworld. Pondering about this, the appearance of these few heretic pract.i.tioners were truly extremely ominous. Just who in the world could refine such human-shaped puppets?

Back then, no matter how much of a b.a.s.t.a.r.d Cheng Qingdiao was to use demonic beasts for experiments, his goal was to ascend. The level of this experiment had however jumped to experimentation on primates, right into human experimentation. This development was too quick, she couldn't process it at all! Just what kind of world did she find herself in? Why was every single person here a technological genius!?

Zhu Yao had Peapea revert back to the size of a pearl and then kept it. With a chest filled with suspicions, she flew back to Tranquil Valley. The appearance of Skybond Peak earlier had torn through a hole in Tranquil Valley's barrier. Strangely, the barrier seemed to possess a self-regeneration ability, as it was already beginning to close the tear.

A self-regenerating barrier was very rarely seen! At the very least, based on her knowledge, there hadn't been a single one. She wondered just who built it?

Wait a minute!

Earlier, those Nascent Soul pract.i.tioners wanted to use this barrier to hide Skybond Peak. In other words, they knew from the very beginning that it could regenerate itself?

"Master, have you ever seen such a barrier?" Zhu Yao asked a little anxiously.

"No."

Even her master did not know about it, yet those puppets were aware of it. Could it be that the person controlling those puppets was related to the barrier of Tranquil Valley? Zhu Yao felt a chilli n her heart. Just who was that person? What did that person want to do to Tranquil Valley? The ones living there were just indigenous people with IQ that had stepped into the borders of idiocy!

"Master, are you able to find out who placed down this barrier?"

Yu Yan was silent for a moment, before replying. "There should be three thousand minor formations within this formation, and all of their properties are different. It had circulated on its own for a very long time, and does not require to draw spiritual energy from pract.i.tioners. If we wish to find the pract.i.tioner who constructed this formation, I'm afraid it might not be easy. However, as long as it's a formation, there should be a formation core and a mantra to activate it."

Zhu Yao's eyes shone. "You're saying it's possible to find the formation core in this valley?"

"Mn."

If the formation core could be found, then at the very least, she could find out some useful information.

Little tyrant and Ye Qingcang came right at this moment. Zhu Yao immediately took the strong men in by force, and then headed to look for the formation core. Taking the opportunity when the barrier was still regenerating, there should be ripples of spiritual energy emitting out from the formation core.

She immediately expanded her divine sense to the maximum, and in an instant, the entire Tranquil Valley was within her eyes. She had at first thought it would be easy, but because spiritual energy was pouring in from outside the barrier due to the tear, there were several places emitting out ripples of spiritual energy. She remembered every single one of these locations, and then headed to each one to have a look.

In the end, she found an anomaly in front of a stone wall. That stone wall which looked regular at first glance, did not look any different from the rest of the stone walls all around Tranquil Valley, however, one could faintly sense spiritual energy seeping out of it, though not really evident. Strangely, when she swept her divine sense across it, she did not feel the slightest bit of obstruction, but an endless stretch of an empty, void world.

"Grandma, what is that?" Little tyrant suddenly pointed at a small shattered rock beneath the wall.

That rock did not look all that unique, however, after careful observation, she realized a hint of golden light would occasionally flash from it, as though it was emitting out flowing light when sunlight refracted from its surface. However, this refraction was occurring a little more frequently.

It seemed like this was the formation core.

Zhu Yao immediately descended onto the ground with her flying sword, and then walked there at a quick pace. Squatting down, she carefully looked at that rock. Suddenly, that rock seemed to have its power turned off, as it stopped s.h.i.+ning. Was it just her imagination?

"Little tyrant, the rock that we were looking at earlier was this one, right?"

"Mn." He nodded. "It's this exact piece."

"Then why isn't it s.h.i.+ning anymore?" The barrier in the sky was still not yet completely restored either. "It can't have run out of battery, right?"

Zhu Yao repeatedly sized up the piece of rock, and had even used her divine sense to inspect it. There was not the slightest bit of irregularity to it at all, let alone any flowing of spiritual energy.

Could it be that she was wrong? Zhu Yao looked around her surroundings, stood up, and then looked at the large stone wall in front. She knocked on it forcefully as a test, and it was a stone wall alright. It was rather hard too, and it did not look like a formation core either. Why did she not sense anything when she tried inspecting it with her divine sense then!?

"Granny!" Ye Qingcang suddenly cried out, as he pointed beneath her feet with a shocked look.

"What is it?"

"The… rock, I saw it moving a little earlier."

Zhu Yao was startled. She carefully looked at that piece of rock from earlier. It was still quietly staying put on the ground, without any noticeable difference to be seen. "Are you certain?"

"Mn." He heavily nodded.

Zhu Yao then inspected it carefully again.

It was a formation that not a single person had discovered for many years, and even the demons were unaware of it as well. Could it be that this formation core was able to move on its own? This was simply too intelligent, right?

However, even after looking at it for such a long time, she didn't notice anything at all. She had no choice but to give up.

In the end, when she took two steps back, Ye Qingcang once again sounded out. "It… It moved again."

She had no choice but to inspect it again, but she found nothing off about it again.

The moment she stood up, Ye Qingcang called out for the third time. "Granny, believe me. It moved again just now."

The h.e.l.l! You're making me out as a fool here!

This time, Zhu Yao had kept an eye on it, and then carefully compared it from before. Indeed, several centimeters of the soul around the rock had loosened a little. The rock had truly moved.

"This can't possibly be a rock spirit, right?" Zhu Yao nudged the rock and rolled it about. It was completely impossible to discern that it had turned into a spirit. "Little Cang, if you have an eye disease, you have to cure it!"

"Granny…" Ye Qingcang felt like crying.

"Alright, alright. I believe you." Zhu Yao was irritated as well. With a flip of her hand, a ball of flames appeared above her palm. "Whether it can move or not, we will know once we test it out, right?"

She intentionally leaned the flames towards the rock. In the end, before she had even gotten close, that rock immediately rolled far away.

The rock once again emitted out the golden glow they saw earlier. Two large words flas.h.i.+ng with golden light, like captions, appeared above the rock – You beast!

Zhu Yao: "…"

Little tyrant: "…"

Ye Qingcang: "…"

Was it cussing at her? It definitely was, right!?

Those two words slowly floated up. Like a projection, it floated up a meter high. Not only did the words grow larger, they became bolder as well. And then, a golden light flashed as the words changed – You're not even letting off a rock!

Yo, it sure has a huge temper. It seemed like it was truly the formation core, and an intelligent type at that.

"Be obedient and stay put!" Zhu Yao immediately stepped forward to grab it. "Let me look at you."

That rock however was extremely defiant, flying right up. The row of words above it changed once more – What are you trying to do to my body?

"…" Why did she feel like she was an evil tyrant trying to tease a young girl? She just wanted to inspect the heart of the formation core and deduce the shape of the formation.

The rock nudged and then flew five meters away – Don't come over here, I rather die!

Everyone present: "…"

Just how much did it hate people touching it? You're a freaking formation core, do you have to be that concerned about your chast.i.ty!?

The corner of Zhu Yao's lips twitched. She immediately cast an art to form a net of spiritual energy in the air, blocking the formation core rock's escape route. Then, as she retracted her hand, the rock came flying towards her.

The formation core rock began to forcefully smash against the spiritual energy net, but its effort was in vain as it continued to fly towards her.

The words above the rock began to change like a flooding message board.

– You greedy beast who covets my body, don't touch me!

– You all will regret this!

– Don't, don't touch me!

– Please let me go?

– Ah! Don't!

– It hurts~

Zhu Yao: "…"

Little tyrant: "…"

Ye Qingcang: "…"

The h.e.l.l, just what version of intelligence does this rock have? Just what kind of things are inside its head? I clearly haven't done anything yet!

Zhu Yao held onto the rock with a darkened expression, and she could not help but add. "Don't be afraid, I will be gentle."

The two little ones: "…"

Eh? This seems to be developing in a strange direction?

Just as Zhu Yao was about to insert a strand of divine sense into the rock in her hand, it suddenly began to heat up. As Zhu Yao was not prepared for this, her hand fumbled and loosened. The rock immediately flew out and emitted out a light dozen times more blinding than before. Even Zhu Yao could not help but narrow her eyes.

A row of words once again floated above the rock – You guys will pay for violating me.

The h.e.l.l am I violating!? -Faints!-

This old lady did not do anything at all. Also, just who in the world has the fetish of violating a piece of rock!?

Just as Zhu Yao was about to retort, she shockingly realized she could not move any part of her body at all. What was going on?

"Grandma!" Little tyrant suddenly cried out.

Zhu Yao looked forward. The stone wall that did not have the slightest of movement earlier, suddenly revealed an enormous golden formation, as foreign symbols filled the entire wall. Before she could even clearly see what the formation looked like, she was a.s.saulted by a powerful pulling force.

Even little tyrant and Ye Qingcang was sucked into the formation. Right before she entered the formation, she could faintly see a new row of words appearing above the rock.

– Other than my owner, no one else is allowed to touch me.

In the next second, light flashed in the surroundings. The place was filled with golden flowing lights, and they flowed towards the back, as though her entire being was speeding forward.

In less than ten minutes, she once again fell downwards. Right at the moment she was about to land face flat on the ground, the restriction on her body was released. She hurriedly cast a wind-type art, preventing the three of them from meeting the fate of being crippled in time. However, her head was still stuck into a pile of mud.

Pueeh…

It had been a long time since she crawled on the ground. Just as she was about to check on the other two, she heard a female voice behind her.

"You did pretty well, rock spirit."

A woman in black robes suddenly appeared in this barren s.p.a.ce. She had a very bewitching appearance, and charm was exuding out from every single one of her movements. Raising her hand, she looked like she wanted to touch the rock that was floating in the air. However, her hand simply pa.s.sed through it, and her entire body swayed a little right after.

"You did pretty well, rock spirit."

That rock sparkled with golden light, a row of words appeared above it – At your service, mistress!

"These people will definitely die from the heart demon, and they sought it themselves as well. Though it's a pity about those puppets of mine… However, this way, no one will know about my mistress… Ehhh!?" That woman's expression gravely changed, as she looked at Zhu Yao who was crawling up, astonished. "Y-Y-You… Why are you fine?"

"Ah?" Zhu Yao patted off the dust from her clothes. "Should something have happened to me?"

"You… Why aren't you in deep slumber, trapped within your heart demon?" Her eyes were wide open, and her face was filled with utter disbelief.

"How should I know?" Zhu Yao rolled her eyes. "Most likely, your heart demon system has short-circuited?"

"Impossible… Everyone possesses obsessions, and through desires will one fall into a land of dreams." She muttered. "Everyone has their own heart demon, so how you possibly not have one?"

"And you're blaming me?" The corner of Zhu Yao's lips twitched. "If you can't figure out this problem, then don't think about it anymore. Let's have a nice chat about what you're plotting here, shall we?"

Zhu Yao immediately threw a lightning bolt over. With a loud bang, she instantly turned the soul and rock charred black on the outside, and tender on the inside.

Rock: — What happened to the promise of having a nice chat?

Woman: Same question!

Zhu Yao immediately summoned a set of soul imprisoning chains, trapping that woman's soul. With a flash of lightning light, like a screen with bad reception, the woman's figure distorted a few times, before slowly turning white and falling onto the ground.

Seeing this, the rock spirit shone with a brilliant golden light and charged right at Zhu Yao.

Not even bothering to glance at it, she sent a slap right towards it, instantly slamming the rock into the ground. With the pressure of a DemiG.o.d released, that rock instantly lost the strength to retaliate. Three words appeared above it.

— Ah. It hurts~

Zhu Yao did not pull any punches this time, as she directly sat right on the rock. Her eyes swept towards the white soul on the ground.

"Speak. Were you the one who launched a surprise raid on Ness Cesary Sect, and created those Nascent Soul puppets?"

Than woman was unable to resist, yet she still pulled the corner of her lips and laughed out ominously. "So what if I am?"

"Why did you do all those things? What's your goal?" Zhu Yao continued to ask.

The woman did not reply immediately, and her eyes were filled with contempt. "Heheh, you think you have what it takes to know of my masterplan?"

Zhu Yao flipped her hand, and lightning sparks once again filled her entire body. "With what I'm capable of, you don't even have the strength to retaliate at all."

"Speak. Just what are you trying to do? Who is this mistress you speak of?"

The woman's expression stiffened for a moment before immediately returning to normal. She did not reply, but the rock which Zhu Yao was sitting on could not hold it in any longer. Golden light shone brightly. As though it was afraid Zhu Yao wouldn't see it, the light even tilted towards the side, revealing a string of words.

Zhu Yao was startled for a moment, and right after, she thought of an idea. "I really wish to see how is your mistress going to take me on?"

– Hmph, my mistress is incredible. Everything in this world should listen to her commands.

"Yo, who doesn't know how to make up a lie? Where is your mistress? Call her over here and let me have a look!"

The rock seemed to have grown anxious, as golden light shone even more brightly than before. Just as a string of words were about to appear…

Suddenly, the trapped soul emitted out a bright red light, instantly breaking through Zhu Yao restraints and then flew in her direction.

Zhu Yao's figure moved, taking a few consecutive steps back.

That woman however stopped next to the rock. With her five fingers hooked, she suddenly struck at the rock. Her fingertips pa.s.sed directly through the rock.

"Hmph, useless!"

The rock that was still s.h.i.+ning with brilliant golden light earlier, flashed a few times, revealing a final string of words.

— You're, not mistress's envoy…

Then, it completely dimmed. It no longer had any signs of life, turning into a regular shattered rock.

The h.e.l.l, what's this situation? Internal conflict?

Zhu Yao was stunned for a moment. Just as she thought about restraining the female soul again, the red light from her body shone even brighter. This simply looked just like – self-destruction!

The h.e.l.l, why self-destruction again?

Zhu Yao cast an art, wanting to stop her. However, strong winds suddenly blew around her, instantly blocking her entire line of sight. That ominous and slightly complacent laughter sounded from within.

"This dimensional s.p.a.ce will soon be mine. The Three Realms will all be mine!"

Three Realms? This person's goal is to unify the Three Realms? Isn't this something the Devil race always desire for? Does a soul like you have to really act like an avant-garde?

"I suggest that instead of stopping me, why don't you keep watch over those two who had fallen into their heart demons? They are destined to die here!"

When her words fell, a powerful push force a.s.saulted her. Zhu Yao immediately retreated towards the area next to little tyrant and Ye Qingcang, and then brought up a barrier.

An enormously loud explosion resounded. The woman was all blown apart, and her pieces scattered in all directions. Red light filled her front line of sight, and only dense smoke could be seen from all around her.

Zhu Yao cast a wind-type art, slowly dispersing the dust and smoke. The place where that woman was standing on earlier was now replaced by an enormous hole.

Died?

What happened to the promise of unifying the Three Realms?

Was it all talk?

"Master?" Come and resolve my doubts.

"That woman earlier was most likely a strand of divine sense away from her original body." Yu Yan said in a deep voice.

"Divine sense?" Zhu Yao was stunned for a moment. "And I thought she was a ghost." She clearly had yin energy circulating around her body.

"That was just a disguise."

"In other words, her original body isn't here."

"Mn. She most likely knew that she isn't able to defeat you with just a strand of divine sense, and thus decided to self-destruct."

Being capable of separating her divine sense proved that she was most likely a DemiG.o.d. The number of DemiG.o.ds in the cultivation world could be counted by hand, yet she had never seen one that looked like that woman.

Furthermore, who was this mistress the rock spirit spoke of?

Why was she getting the feeling that this instance was becoming even more difficult?

A thousand kilometers away.

A person in white robe wobbled, and a scent of blood suffused from her body, as if she was about to puke out blood. Clenching her fists, she suppressed the urge down.

In front of her, a kind-looking middle-aged man walked over. He bowed, and then said. "Sovereign, we were still a step too late. Office Sh.e.l.l Sect is already… Haah, we did not discover any remnants of those heretic pract.i.tioners. What should we do now? Do we still head back to Ness Cesary Sect to continue the tournament?"

"Mn, let us go!"

It had already been four hours, yet little tyrant and Ye Qingcang was still asleep. Zhu Yao had used several methods, yet no matter what she did, she could not wake up the two from their deep slumber. She had even tried to enter the two's divine senses, but no matter how she called out to them, they did not have the slightest of reactions.

It felt as though the two of them had already entered a deep state of hypnosis, and were unable to wake up no matter what.

Furthermore, as time went past, their expressions worsened. It looked as though they had encountered a difficult question that they could not solve.

Earlier, that woman mentioned that the two of them had fallen to their heart demons. Heart demons originated from the desires found in the deepest parts of the humans' hearts. How could she possibly know what their desires were!? If they wanted to escape, they had no choice but to rely on their own realizations. Zhu Yao instantly felt a sense of powerlessness.

What to do? At the very least, it would be good to see what kind of heart demons they had!

Ting!

Just as she pondered about it, a familiar sound suddenly rang. The notification bell that was silent since the start of this version finally rang once more, even Zhu Yao was startled a little.

A conversation window instantly appeared before her, and a string of d.a.m.nable words were on it.

"Heart Demon Mirror" Artifact. A good partner for souls. Do you want to know the secrets of others? Do you want to know the other face of the person you love? The Heart Demon Mirror can satisfy all of your requests. Let all secrets be exposed, and let all lies be forced upon ghosts! Heart Demon Mirror, an item that you deserve to have. The rights to interpretation of this product lies with the user. If it is used to break the law, then it's all done by the user!

Why did she feel as though she had become a paparazzi.

Ting!

Please choose:

The corner of Zhu Yao's lips twitched. What's with this immoral set of options? Was this truly not a selection panel for certain unhealthy videos?

Though she had long known that Realmspirit had terrible morals, she did not expect it to be this incredibly horrendous.

With a darkened expression, she tapped on B.

The conversation window flashed, instantly disappearing before her eyes. What replaced it was a pair of screens, which looked as though had come from a television set. They appeared above little tyrant and Ye Qingcang, who were still lying on the ground. Furthermore, they were even fifty-one inches in length, and had high definition.

She was beginning to feel even more like a paparazzi who was peeking at others' secrets, what to do?

"Sound Storing Stone?" Her master's cold voice suddenly rang in her ears.

Zhu Yao was startled, as she directly pulled Peapea out. "Master?"

Peapea flashed with a white glow, and her master's figure appeared next to her right after. "This floating object is very similar to the 'Sound Storing Stone' (television) of your world!"

"You can see it!?" Zhu Yao was completely dumbfounded. Why did she feel as though her master's functionalities had leveled up after that trip to her world?

"Mn!" He nodded. He stepped forward, and then actually tapped on the "On" b.u.t.ton, something he had taught himself to do.

Zhu Yao: "…"

The screens flashed, and then slowly showcased the videos. Zhu Yao was able to recognize little tyrant in the middle at first glance. Was that his heart demon?

The content of the videos was rather similar to that precognitive dream she had back then, but the scenario was very hectic, and that it was starting from when little tyrant was young. Similar to what Zhu Yao knew, he was first an astounding disciple in the Inner Sect. However, after he failed to establish his Foundation and exposed his penta spirit veins, he was chased out of the sect. What's different from reality was, she did not appear. Little tyrant became a wandering pract.i.tioner, but because of his cultivation level which had dropped to incredibly severely, he was bullied everywhere he went, and had gone through a very difficult life.

The final scene was little tyrant curling himself up in the corner of a wall, trembling. Then, an ominous voice resounded. "No one cares about you, no one is worried about you. It's fake. Everything is fake…"

Even little tyrant's actual face was beginning to turn green, as a strand of deathly aura rose from his body.

"Little tyrant!" Zhu Yao could not help but call out.

The person in the screen seemed to have paused for a moment. The person who curled up into a ball, slowly raised his head. His pair of eyes slowly regained clarity, as he shouted out. "Grandma?"

In an instant, the entire scene began to collapse and shatter…

Zhu Yao was stunned as well. Her voice was effective? Joy filled the depths of her heart, only to see that scene change right after, as a new scenery replaced the former.

The h.e.l.l, there's a series of heart demons?

The scenes shown on the screen continued to change. Every single time, the two of them would experience different lives, yet they were all different from their lives in reality. Various incredible developments would surface halfway through, and they would routinely have their hearts questioned, with every question deepening their despair. It was basically a doc.u.mentary on "just how many possibilities are there in my life". There was even a faint feeling that whenever it was time to choose the path of their lives, they would powerlessly be guided into despair.

Ye Qingcang at the side was the same as well. Though the contents were different, the methods were completely the same.

So this is a heart demon. It was simply an all-rounded psychological hara.s.sment, and the type which used negative examples. Should she celebrate the fact that the two of them had sufficient immunization, preventing the heart demons from breaking through their final line of defense?

However, if they were going to be tested like this over and over again, their minds would crumble eventually. They would be influenced by the scenarios within, and then, they would submerged within their own minds, unable to escape ever again.

"Master… What should we do?" This was simply an endless cycle of nightmares. Though they should be aware that they were all fake, they would still be influenced by them after staying inside for a long time. She could see that as the number of times they experienced the heart demons increase, the more they were unable to discern an illusion from reality.

Yu Yan sighed. "These are their own knots in their hearts. If they are able to see through them, their state of mind and resolve will naturally improve, and their cultivation will rise. If they are unable to see through them…"

Then they will die! The little radish that she raised through great difficulties had yet to ripen, how could she possibly watch on as he continued to drown? She could do nothing but watch…

Eh, wait a minute!

Why didn't she get caught up by her heart demon? If her master was not affected because he was just a strand of divine sense, then why was she standing here alive and well? This was illogical!

Ting!

A conversation window suddenly popped up.

Congratulations on discovering a hidden skill – Heart Demon Immunity, a pa.s.sive skill. You receive the t.i.tle: Pui! You shameless bystander!

The h.e.l.l is this Heart Demon Immunity? Clearly, it was added later on, right? Also, the point of this message was the retort at the back, right? Also, what are you trying to say by bolding that?

Before she could even retort, the screens hanging above little tyrant and Ye Qingcang suddenly vibrated, and then, they actually began to close in on each other. The two fifty-one inches high definition screens turned into a single screen of a hundred and two inches!

Was this to cut costs?

The scenes being shown synchronized as well. Little tyrant and Ye Qingcang appeared inside at the same time, and the contents were uniform too. However, probably because they had pa.s.sed the trials before this, the scenario this time was different from the miserable lives from before. It was a scenario where they had paved their way through the Great Dao, and the time was set several hundred years later. The two of them had both nourished their Nascent Souls, though Ye Qingcang had become the Sect Master of Ness Cesary Sect, while little tyrant had become the leader of wandering pract.i.tioners. The both of them had immense fame behind their names, and were both high-leveled individuals.

While Zhu Yao was wondering what the trial was this time, Ness Cesary Sect and Wandering City were suddenly attacked. When she saw the leader behind the a.s.sault on both locations, Zhu Yao simply felt like cussing out – motherf**king b*tch!

Wasn't that extremely familiar face… hers? How did she become the boss of the villains!?

Behind the screen, little tyrant and Ye Qingcang both had shocked expressions as well. Fortunately, she had merely flashed her face before leaving the scene right after. Otherwise, she would have truly wanted to look for the person who came up with the scenario for this heart demon, and give him some counselling.

However, the moment she flashed her face, the scenario within the screen instantly changed. She was cussed by the people inside as a b*tch, and the Great Dao paved by little tyrant and Ye Qingcang was in complete turmoil. Filled with killing intent, the various clans and sects, along with wandering pract.i.tioners, all surrounded and attacked Tranquil Valley. On one end was the crowd who wanted to take revenge and seek justice, while the other were two people who had been nurtured to how they were now because of the guidance of that person.

The two youths fell into a dilemma.

That strange voice suddenly resounded once more. DIfferent from the temptive nature that clearly wanted to pull them into the abyssal depths like before, this voice was dull and merely asked a single question: Which side should I stand on?

The h.e.l.l! She could not help but cuss out at the person who came up with this question. This was too hard to choose, wasn't it?

This was basically a dead question! If they choose to stand on her side, they, who stood at such a high position but decided to cover for their enemy, would betray the trust of the ma.s.ses. If they were to choose the greater good and exterminate her, then they would turn ungrateful, people that repay good deeds with blood. No matter which side they choose, they would be wrong. It was basically asking them: Are you going to forgive her and become an unjust b.a.s.t.a.r.d? Or are you going to kill her, and become an ungrateful b.a.s.t.a.r.d?

Either choices would lead them down the path of depravation!

Zhu Yao could not help but hold her breath. This should be their final heart demon. This question is even harder than the ones in university entrance exams, hey.

She could do nothing else other than watching their two faces and their final decisions. Little tyrant was already covered in sweat, and his face looked like it was in pain. Ye Qingcang was the same as well, and even the word 'bug' on his face was fading and darkening over and over again, making its presence known.

For some reason, Zhu Yao had a feeling that the answer to this question could possibly remove this bug once and for all. Ye Qingcang became a bug because his sins were too heavy, as he killed to stop killing. However, because she forcefully intervened, he had still yet to walk on the path of slaughter, and neither was his hands stained in blood yet. However, no matter which answer he were to choose, he would most likely be destined to walk on the same old path.

She could not help but keep her eyes on the screen and hold her breath, as she awaited his choice.

He suddenly raised his sword and closed his eyes. As if he had made some sort of decision, he loudly said. "Granny is my benefactor, and thus this Ye cannot lay his hands on her. My fellow daoists trust in me, and I cannot betray their trust either. This Ye doesn't have a way to appease both sides, nor will I make a decision to stand on either side. I hope that with my life alone, it will be sufficient to pay for all her past sins." After he said that, with a twist of his sword, he instantly stabbed into his own body.

Zhu Yao was completely dumbfounded. He actually gave up on choosing and did not stand on either side. Instead, he firmly held onto his own heart. In a certain sense, he had indeed managed to find a win-win solution. After that stab, the erratic spiritual energy around his body instantly calmed down, and even the word 'bug' on his face had faded quite a bit. Only a faint and shallow mark remained.

Zhu Yao grew excited. Could this be considered as a blessing in disguise?

Little tyrant was left!

She hurriedly turned her head back to the screen. Behind the screen, Ye Qingcang had already committed suicide, and his body began to turn transparent. He was leaving the heart demon, and little tyrant was standing right next to him. Strangely, the crowd did not pay much attention towards Ye Qingcang who was lying on the ground, and was instead looking intensely at the standing little tyrant. In the first place, they were illusions born from their hearts, so naturally they would not possess much emotions.

That voice once again sounded: What is your choice?

The crowd behind the screen shouted out in unison as well: What is your choice?

Little tyrant's expression was clouded. He could not help but glance at the "dead" Ye QIngcang on the ground, and was stunned for a moment. Then, he raised his head and swept his eyes across the approaching crowd. His eyes, however, began to clear up little by little, and he suddenly laughed out loud.

As though he had thought of something funny, his laughter ripple across the air, spreading towards every corner.

"What's my choice? I don't choose anything." He suddenly spoke, giving an answer that was out of everyone's expectations. "Why do I have to answer such a nonsensical question? I have known grandma since I was ten. Though he has a sharp and bad tongue, she is the first person to ever truly care about me, even when that child was not even the slightest bit related to her. In this world, she is the only person left who kept a piece of pure and unadulterated kindness, kindness that not a single other person in the cultivation world ever possesses. In her eyes, it felt as if the world looked completely different from ours. Not only did she teach me how to cultivate, she is more importantly someone who has taught me how to be a person. During the time when everyone gave up on me, she was the only one who said it didn't matter. With someone like that, you're saying she's the one who attacked Ness Cesary Sect and Wandering City? Don't make me laugh. You people are asking me what my choice is? I choose, to believe her! I believe that she wouldn't do something like that. I believe that these choices do not exist in the first place. I believe that everything, everything here, is but a mere illusion."

Zhu Yao was instantly moved. As expected, she did not pamper him for nothing. He actually saw through the heart demon's nature.

With every "believe" he said, his body would s.h.i.+ne with a white light, and it was growing brighter and brighter. Then, the screen cracked, shattering resoundingly!

Ye Qingcang who was lying at the side sat up at this moment as well, panting out loud. He finally woke up from his heart demon.

"You woke up!"

"Granny…"

Zhu Yao was joyous, and she hurriedly turned to look at little tyrant at the side.

The h.e.l.l, what was going on? Clearly, little tyrant was the one who broke through the heart demon, so why was his present state even worse than before? Sweat was not the only thing coming out of his body, as even blood was leaking out now, hey!

"Little tyrant!" Don't scare me, hey!

"Grand… Grandma…" He tried his best to open his eyes. Though he was awake, his expression showed that he was in worsening pain, and the spiritual energy surrounding his body was incredibly chaotic!

"He's about to form his Azoth Core." Yu Yan said in sullen voice. He had received an enlightenment from the heart demon.

Eh? So soon?

Yu Yan sliced his hand in the air, breaking open a pa.s.sage of flowing light. "There is no spiritual energy here, bring him out to form his Azoth Core."

Only then did Zhu Yao regain her senses. She hurriedly carried little tyrant up and walked into the pa.s.sage. "Little Cang, follow after me!"

"Ou!" Ye Qingcang was stunned for a second, before hurrying after the three people into the void s.p.a.ce that was suddenly sliced open. The moment he entered it, flowing light flashed across his eyes. In the next moment, they had already returned to Tranquil Valley.

"Take the opportunity while the barrier has yet to restore completely, and head out!" Zhu Yao pointed to the remaining small hole in the barrier in the sky, and then flew out on her flying sword while carrying little tyrant.

The moment they got out of the barrier, the surrounding spiritual energy began to rapidly pour into little tyrant's body.

Zhu Yao brought him to stable ground and sat him down. "Little tyrant, focus and calm yourself down. Don't think of anything else and concentrate on forming your Azoth Core. Understand?"

"Mn." Little tyrant nodded, a streak of blood leaked out from the corner of his lips again. Sitting in a lotus position, he then began to guide spiritual energy into his body and break into the Azoth Core Realm. The chaotic five types of spiritual energy slowly calmed down, and they began to orderly gather in little tyrant's body.

Zhu Yao placed down a few formations in his surroundings. Then, with Ye Qingcang, they took a few steps back and kept watch over him.

Probably because his state of mind and resolve had risen by a huge amount this time, little tyrant was very successful in forming his Azoth Core. Other than the rampage of spiritual energy in the beginning that caused his meridians to receive some injuries, the process had been really smooth and steady.