Chapter 31: Possessed by Demons?
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Seeing that the demon beasts had finally all retreated, and with Qin Yitian standing by with his sword as a protector.
Lu Qingshan felt extremely relieved as he took out a pill from his storage ring and swallowed it. He then closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and began circulating the Returning Ruins Scripture to recover the spiritual power that had dried up within his Dantian.
...
Inside the Cold Pond.
The inheritance of the Demon Spirit continued, and the densely packed Demon Script that glowed with a fluorescent light kept flooding into the body of the West Palace's Great Rat King, making him appear increasingly mystical and extraordinary.
And just as Lu Qingshan was on a slaughtering spree slaying demons, the layer of evil energy that had gathered on the surface of the Cold Pond began to violently churn. The Primordial Spirit Pearl also began to emit thick waves of evil energy.
The evil energy grew denser and denser until, at last, it gradually broke free from the hold of the Cold Pond, rippling outwards like waves.
Boom!
It seemed that the Demon Spirit inheritance had reached a particularly crucial juncture as the Primordial Spirit Pearl suddenly let out a loud explosion.
At that moment, the entire Demon Spirit Tomb trembled slightly, and the originally orderly evil energy within the West Palace finally surged into motion, rapidly converging towards the center, with the Cold Pond as its nucleus.
The Great Rat King of the West Palace was engulfed by endless evil energy.
The Demon Script overflowing from the Primordial Spirit Pearl shone brightly, protecting the Great Rat King from being affected as he absorbed the evil energy that had been nurtured by the Four Spirits Qi Nurturing Formation for a hundred years.
Because Lu Qingshan was not far from the Great Rat King, he, just like the Great Rat King, was at the very center of the evil energy.
Without any warning or preparation, the thick red evil energy, almost liquefying, washed over Lu Qingshan, completely engulfing his figure.
But Lu Qingshan had no Primordial Spirit Pearl to protect him.
With Qin Yitian's help, Lu Qingshan's consciousness had just become clear, but it was ignited again in an instant.
The evil energy, like a flood, surged into his body, overwhelming his mental defenses with unstoppable force.
Now, Lu Qingshan was completely in a state beyond his own control.
He instinctively clung to the last bit of clarity within his Divine Soul, but that was all he could do; he could not drive away the evil energy that lingered around his Divine Soul.
Moreover, because the evil energy continued to barrage his Divine Soul relentlessly, that last bit of his sanity was slowly fading away.
Slaughter, bloodthirst, demonic nature, and malevolence...
Countless terrifying thoughts intent on destroying heaven and earth kept burgeoning, growing at a high speed under the nourishing of the evil energy.
Lu Qingshan clenched his teeth, his rational mind told him that these ideas were wrong, but these thoughts, uncontrollably, kept emerging.
In front of him, numerous bloody scenes appeared, with an expanse of white bones strewn all around.
And hideous Resentful Spirits wailed and roared in his ears, making him feel restless and agitated.
These chaotic thoughts, bizarre notions, and malevolent ideas were assaulting his Divine Soul, trying to destroy his sanity.
The slaughters of his past were magnified endlessly, becoming shackles he could not escape.
Heart Demons proliferated, and Lu Qingshan found himself in the most dangerous situation he had ever faced on his path of cultivation.
This was an experience he had never had before.
In the game, it was impossible to encounter demonic possession like this.
Therefore, at this moment, his extensive game experience was of no help in face of this situation, leaving him with no strategies to deploy. He could only rely on his own tenacious will and composure to desperately delay the growth of the Heart Demon, but it was getting harder and harder to maintain, and the situation was worsening.
"How can I subdue these flying thoughts of unease in this long and troubled night?" Lu Qingshan asked himself.
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The moment Lu Qingshan was enveloped by the evil energy, Qin Yitian immediately sensed his predicament.
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She could clearly see Lu Qingshan's muscles begin to knot and swell, contracting and then relaxing, as strands of blue veins protruded prominently, terrifyingly like wriggling earthworms.
Expressions on Lu Qingshan's face were constantly changing, at times ferocious, at times savage, with the occasional fleeting moments of clarity.
Blood-red patterns spread across Lu Qingshan's handsome face; despite the ferocity, they somehow added a demonic charm.
Possessed by demons?
Qin Yitian's heart trembled, knowing that Lu Qingshan was facing the dire situation of a Heart Demon emerging.
Heart Demons usually manifested when high-level cultivators broke through their current realms.
Yet due to the influence of nefarious energy, Lu Qingshan encountered this at the Foundation Establishment Stage, making his already dire situation even more perilous due to his relatively low cultivation.
To subdue the Heart Demon, the cultivator had to rely solely on themselves; no one else could intervene.
However, as the spirit of Lu Qingshan's Life-bound Sword, Qin Yitian was capable of doing something extra.
For instance, she could clearly sense the confusion in Lu Qingshan's heart.
And… she could transmit her voice to Lu Qingshan, who was now cut off from his five senses, to resolve his doubts.
"If you sit in peaceful contemplation during a quiet night, and thoughts run wild, yet you explore the source of this restlessness, questioning its cause, won't you then find where the peaceful heart truly resides?"
Lu Qingshan faintly heard Qin Yitian's voice.
It was like an enlightening moment, and that last bit of consciousness helped him make the correct choice.
He opened his heart wide, released his Divine Soul, and reexamined his propensity for slaughter... Find more to read at empire
Was he too fond of killing? Perhaps.
In less than a year, he had gone from a mortal to a cultivator at the perfection of the Foundation Establishment Stage, all founded on countless acts of slaughter…
But had he killed indiscriminately? Had he regrets?
No! No!
Every act of slaughter was justifiable, following his own beliefs, and every bloody deed was a consequence of his remorseless sword.
Without seeking dust outside, without settling inside, both paths are obliterated, leaving only a serene nature.
Guided by Qin Yitian's words, Lu Qingshan's clarity began to regather, and a speck of Spiritual Light appeared atop his Divine Soul, expelling and cleansing some of the malevolent energy.
This speck of Spiritual Light rapidly expanded, first like a stream, then like a river, and finally like the rolling torrents of the Yangtze River, washing over his Divine Soul from beginning to end.
The crimson malevolence that lingered around his Divine Soul stood no chance against this miraculous Spiritual Light.
After a moment.
Lu Qingshan opened his eyes, the crimson in his pupils had completely vanished, but a sharper, several times more intense killing intent was now veiled within.
Yes, the nefarious energy was gone, and his wisdom had regained its clarity, but the killing intent that had risen in his heart had not disappeared; in fact, it had become even sharper.
But at this moment, Lu Qingshan, with a sudden surge of killing intent, appeared exceptionally calm.
The emergence of the Heart Demon and its subsequent suppression had brought Lu Qingshan's understanding of killing intent to a new realm.
Killing intent in itself was not wrong; it should be that the heart controls the killing intent, not that the killing intent controls the heart.
Killing intent need not be tumultuous or overwhelming with fury, nor does it need to stem from deep-seated hatred or a field of corpses. Rather, it's like the calm surface of water, quiet yet containing boundless potential, more like a reflection from the depths of the soul.
"I'm lucky to have you," Lu Qingshan said to Qin Yitian, filled with relief.
If not for Qin Yitian's timely guidance at the crucial moment, it was hard to say what state he would have ended up in.
"My lord," seeing Lu Qingshan regain clarity, Qin Yitian's beautiful face showed a sincere smile, her eyes curving, "you seem a bit different from before, don't you?"