He wasn’t the only one who was astonished. Hall Master Xing and Division Head Wei had narrowed their eyes as well, and killing intent could be seen in the depths of their gazes.
Naturally, they had seen those whose minds could dye the wall dark, but this was the first time they had seen the wall being colored to a shade reminiscent of ink!
This was no longer at the level of harboring malicious thoughts. The other party was a huge threat that they had to get rid of by any means!
Who could have thought that despite Sun Qiang’s seemingly harmless appearance and earnest attitude, his heart would be so sinister and terrifying?
“It’s fortunate that you didn’t agree to his demands and had him enter the Trial of Inner Demons first to ascertain his character… I dare not imagine what could have happened if you really agreed to him then!” Division Head Liao exclaimed in cold sweat.
Had Hall Master Xing really agreed to baring his Primordial Spirit to the other party, misfortune would have already befallen him!
“Division Head Liao and Division Head Wei, make preparations. We’ll make a move as soon as that fellow leaves the Trial of Inner Demons. We mustn’t allow him to get away alive…” Hall Master Xing said as a glint flickered in his eyes.
“Yes!” the two division heads responded resoundingly.
Shortly after Zhang Xuan stepped into the passageway, his surroundings changed so swiftly that it left him feeling as if he had stepped into another dimension.
Countless Night Illumination Pearls gleamed brightly above him, similar to the brilliant noon sun.
It was a sealed room. There was no path forward nor any exit. The walls were filled with all kinds of bizarre inscriptions.
Walking up to take a closer look, Zhang Xuan realized that the inscriptions were actually deformed demons, and there were more than a hundred of them around the room.
These demons were wearing all kinds of items—some were equipped with a golden pole in hand, some were carrying steel whips, and some had a necklace made of human bones. It was quite an eerie and inconceivable sight, and this gave rise to a hint of fear within one’s mind.
Am I already in the Trial of Inner Demons? Zhang Xuan frowned.
At the very center of the room was a zafu1, which was shrouded by a dense concentration of spiritual energy. It was probably a formation which could be activated.
Perplexed, Zhang Xuan walked up to the zafu and sat down on it.
Weng!
The moment he sat down, a certain mechanism in the room seemed to have been triggered. All of the demons inscribed on the wall suddenly emanated a brilliant glow, and it seemed as if they would tear out of the wall at any moment to tear him apart.
I see… The room establishes a link into the depths of the challenger’s heart and produces inner demons accordingly… Sensing the energy harnessed within the ripples of light, Zhang Xuan swiftly came to a realization.
He had imagined the Trial of Inner Demons to be a location filled with formidable inner demons, something similar to what he encountered in the Saint Ascension Ordeal. However, from the looks of it, his initial assumption was off.
The true demons lurked in the depths of one’s heart.
It seemed like sitting on the zafu had activated a formation which induced the birth of inner demons.
I wonder what my inner demons would be like… Zhang Xuan wondered.
Ever since he first started his journey, he had been cultivating the Heaven’s Path Divine Art and his path had been relatively smooth-sailing. He had never experienced desperation in relentlessly pushing for a futile breakthrough, nor the despair of being unable to advance forward no matter how hard one worked, so he had never really encountered any inner demon in the midst of his cultivation before… With this opportunity, he wanted to see exactly how fearsome inner demons were, and whether his mind was sufficiently resilient to withstand their temptation.
Weng!
The formations swiftly whirred, and the spiritual energy in the surroundings spun into action. The surroundings blurred, and Zhang Xuan found himself plunged within a world of perfect darkness.
It was similar to the situation he had faced when he had encountered his Heart Ordeal previously. Just as Zhang Xuan was scanning his surroundings carefully, bizarre demons suddenly rushed in from the surroundings.
Their forms were similar to the inscriptions he had previously seen on the walls, and there must have been at least a few hundred of them around.
“So many? Why would I have so many inner demons?” Zhang Xuan was stunned.
He was still thinking that he shouldn’t have too many inner demons—after all, wasn’t the cultivation technique that he practiced, Heaven’s Path Divine Art, supposed to be perfect? Yet, who could have thought that he would end up having to face so many of them simultaneously… If they were to charge at him all at once, would he be reduced to dust?
“No, something is wrong. If they are truly my inner demons, how could I still be conscious at this point in time?” Zhang Xuan frowned.
Having undergone the Heart Ordeal before, he knew that inner demons had the ability to place one’s mind in a befuddled state, thus creating an opening for them to strike… It was perplexing how there were so many inner demons around him, but he was still perfectly conscious.
Just what was going on?
“You’re indeed a smart fellow… Indeed, these inner demons aren’t yours but mine…”
At this moment, a voice laced with hatred suddenly sounded. Zhang Xuan quickly raised his head and looked over, and he saw an elder with a crimson line in the middle of his glabella walking towards him.
“Who are you?” Zhang Xuan was stunned by the sudden appearance of an intruder.
With a look, he could tell that the other party was a human just like him. But… why would this foreign-looking elder suddenly appear within the Trial of Inner Demons as well?
“You are asking who am I?” the elder’s face distorted in rage, and he looked as if smoke would pour out from the top of his head at any moment. “I am the person who was stomped to death by the house you have enchanted, Cang Xu!”
“You are Cang Xu? But… aren’t you dead?” Zhang Xuan asked hesitantly.
Cang Xu had already been reduced to a lump of meat by the time he saw the other party, so it was inevitable that he wouldn’t recognize the other party’s face. Who would have thought that he would meet the other party here? But… why would a dead person suddenly appear here?
Furthermore, he seemed to have said that all of the inner demons in the area belonged to him. What was going on?
“I was in the midst of using my Primordial Spirit to lay claim to your soul when I was suddenly stomped to death by that building of yours… Due to the link forged between your soul and mine, I was able to conceal a sliver of my will within your body. If you havdn’t come here, I would have been forced to lay dormant until the day I dissipated, but since you have delivered this opportunity into my hands, I’ll have you pay for your actions!” Cang Xu sneered frostily.
Crushed by the massive building of the Spirit Awakener Guild in the midst of executing his secret art, his Primordial Spirit dissipated on the spot. It was fortunate that with the strength of his secret art, he was able to slip a sliver of his will into Zhang Xuan’s body and continue existing as an inner demon.
Unless Zhang Xuan were to be forced to face his inner demons during an ordeal or a trial, as an inner demon, he would have been forced to lie dormant, unable to do anything at all. Yet, by a stroke of luck, Zhang Xuan chose to enter the Trial of Inner Demons and activated the formation which triggered one’s inner demons. How could he allow such a precious opportunity to slip past his fingers? Thus, he immediately got out and made his move.
As the villain who had tyrannized the Northern Meadows for many years, his hands were stained with the blood of innumerable innocent lives. As such, his presence and malicious thoughts swiftly triggered a reaction in the formation, causing several hundred inner demons to appear simultaneously.
“It seems like I have misunderstood the guild building…” Zhang Xuan shook his head.
At this moment, he suddenly recalled that mosquito bite on his soul back when he was in the midst of convincing the guild building to submit to Guild Leader Ruan and the others. He had shrugged it off back then, thinking that it might just be an imagination on his part. From the looks of it now, it was the working of the old fellow before him.
This would explain the abrupt movements from the guild building’s part as well. It was due to its great desire to protect its owner that it had made a move, but he misunderstood the other party’s intentions and thought that it was just acting willfully, and he even beat it up over the matter.
Thinking about it, he couldn’t help but feel deeply ashamed.
“You tried to claim my soul? You are a soul oracle?” Zhang Xuan noticed a peculiar phrase in the other party’s words and asked.
The ability to claim another’s soul was a secret art of the soul oracles. Yet, the fellow before him was actually able to execute it… Could he really be a soul oracle?
“I am not a soul oracle, that’s a secret art which I have inherited from an old senior… Hmph, you need not try to sound me out, you will be a dead person very soon anyway!”
Roaring furiously, Cang Xu thrust his arm forward. In that instant, an altar appeared beneath him once more. A brilliant gleam of light surrounded Zhang Xuan as it tugged his soul towards the altar, seemingly attempting to consume it.
“This…”
The tug on Zhang Xuan’s soul was so weak that he could hardly feel anything. However, the altar that had formed beneath Cang Xu had left him startled.
Without a doubt, that was an altar of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.
But… Cang Xu was clearly a human, so why would he have such a possession?
“You… betrayed mankind?” Zhang Xuan’s face turned cold.
It was inevitable that there would be some humans who would turn to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe to fulfill their desires. Even You Xu, the previous vice head of the Master Teacher Academy Physician School, had succumbed into his desires for a longer lifespan and chose to come under the command of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, let alone the others.
Cang Xu was definitely a human, but he was using an altar belonging to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe to execute a secret art which only Otherworldly Demons should have known of—what clearer signs of betrayal could there be other than this?
“Hehe, a smart fellow you indeed are. However, I’m afraid that you won’t live to tell the tale!” Sneering coldly, Cang Xu tugged on the light with all of his might, wanting to drag Zhang Xaun’s soul into the altar.
Yet, despite his efforts, Zhang Xuan remained firmly rooted to the spot as if a mountain. Even drawing on every last ounce of strength within him, the other party still didn’t budge in the slightest.
“Why won’t he budge?!” Cang Xu howled in desperation.
He had already claimed many souls with this secret art, and each time, he was able to pull the other party’s soul into the altar with relative ease. Yet, why couldn’t he move the fellow before him?
“Betraying mankind and learning such demonic arts to harm your own kind, you do deserve to die.” Zhang Xuan uttered coldly.
He was still feeling bad that the guild building which he had enchanted had ended up crushing the other party to death, but from the looks of it, it seemed like it was a blessing in disguise after all.
Zhang Xuan was a peaceful person, but against those who had betrayed their own brethren, he wouldn’t hesitate to make the killing blow.
For such a person, he had actually pummeled the innocent guild building… It seemed like he would have to apologize to the guild building after this matter was over.
“Move! Move! Why won’t you move!”
While Zhang Xuan was deep in thought, Cang Xu was still tugging with all his might, to the point where veins had popped on his head and he was about to suffocate from breathlessness, but his efforts were not showing any results.
If only he still retained his strength as a Primordial Spirit, he would have long rushed over and killed the other party himself. He wouldn’t have to go through so much trouble.
“Have you had enough yet?” Seeing how that fellow was still tugging at his soul relentlessly, Zhang Xuan frowned in displeasure.
You just can’t give it a rest, can’t you?
Just because I left you to do as you please for a while, you thought that I was a person whom you can climb over easily?
“Die! You brat, die!” Cang Xu roared furiously.
“You said that you want my soul, right? Sure, I’ll draw out my soul for you then.” Zhang Xuan said with a chilling smile.
Hu la!
A ten-meters large soul leaped out from Zhang Xuan’s body and flew in the direction of where Cang Xu was tugging towards.
Paji!
The massive soul crushed down on Cang Xu’s body, causing the weakened inner demon to be flattened into a pancake, just like how his physical body was crushed by the guild building back then.
At the same time, the altar also shattered to innumerable pieces under Zhang Xuan’s bottom.
In the first place, the altar had been fueled by Cang Xu’s soul. Given that Cang Xu retained barely a sliver of the strength he originally wielded, it was inevitable that the altar wouldn’t be able to withstand the weight of Zhang Xuan’s soul.
The crushed Cang Xu didn’t dissipate immediately this time around. Instead, he muttered indignantly, “Why? Why wouldn’t it work…”
His body and Primordial Spirit had been destroyed under the weight of the guild building, and it wasn’t easy for him to slip a sliver of his will into his mortal enemy’s body in the form of an inner demon. He thought that at the very least, he would be able to exact his vengeance.
Finally, an opportunity was presented right to him, but he ironically ended up suffering the same fate as he did previously…
Just what kind of monster have I got myself tangled with…
“It’s still too early for you to cry. Now that you’re an inner demon, you still have long days ahead of you…” Zhang Xuan uttered coldly.
An inner demon existed in a form similar to a soul. Unless Zhang Xuan were to execute his soul arts against it, it wouldn’t dissipate that easily.
However, it seemed like Zhang Xuan’s words had ended up sparking something within Cang Xu’s mind instead. A cold smile crept onto his lips, and he roared, “You’re right. I am an inner demon now, why should I fear you? Everyone, kill him together!”
He was the one who had produced all of the inner demons, and through his secret art, he was able to control all of the inner demons as well. As long as they were to make a move together, he would surely be able to kill that monster before him and exact his vengeance!
“Hm?”
Zhang Xuan frowned as he watched the inner demons slowly heading towards him. Even he would have difficulties dealing with several hundred inner demons simultaneously. However, at this moment, a voice sounded, “Master, that technique of using an altar as a medium to claim souls… it seems to be a secret art which I have created!”
Fell asleep last night in front of my comp while translating~~ Anyway, this is the chapter for last night. Going to start on the one for this morning.
