Inner Demons

Chapter 171: The Smart Man Share Comments

From the moment Yue Yunzi stepped out of the moon wheel until he asked that question, only a quarter of an hour had passed.

However, it seemed as though he had kept those words hidden in his heart for a long time… and today, he could finally pour them out freely.

Li Yunxin just stared at him, his gaze fierce and gloomy. After a full quarter of an hour of silence, the pupils in his golden eyes suddenly contracted into a thin line. "Do you know what happened to the last person who acted so clever in front of me?"

Yue Yunzi looked at him with a tolerant gaze. "I would like to hear about Lord Tongtian's methods—they must surely be beyond our imagination."

"The last person was a stinking Taoist priest named Qingliangzi," Li Yunxin said slowly, looking at him. "He thought I was a servant, blocked the road, and wanted to kill me. Ah... that fool."

He squinted, bared his teeth, and let out a low, gleeful sigh.

"First, I made him say everything he knew—just like you did today. Then, just as he thought he had figured out my scheme, I killed him—first, I blasted his physical body to smithereens, then I scattered his Spiritual Soul. That fool... he didn't know why until the moment he died—don't you think that was satisfying?"

Yue Yunzi smiled and shook his head, casually tapping the air. A few Albizia flowers that had drifted down from the tree then floated in mid-air, emitting a soft, gentle glow—like beautiful little lanterns.

"That Qingliangzi was a good friend of mine. Alas, what a pity." Yue Yunzi smiled and sighed. "He was a madman, but an interesting one. I used to only know that there was something wrong with the Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect, but I didn't know what it was. But he told me some things that pointed the way for me—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him my single-word teacher."

"Lord Tongtian, you brutally killed my good friend, my single-word teacher. What should I do with you?"Li Yunxin tilted his head back slightly. A very faint yet scorching mist rose from his nostrils, ears, and the corners of his mouth. He spoke in a low voice, but it already had the hoarse, savage tone of a wild beast. "A mere little man of the True Realm, what do you think you can do to me?"

Yue Yunzi felt the danger but paid it no mind. He smiled even more tolerantly and gently. He let out a long breath, raised a finger, and pointed at the bright moon on the crown of the Albizia tree. "Lord Tongtian, do you know what this thing is called? The Profound Light Precious Mirror. It is a magical artifact that I have been refining for over sixty years. It is best at—seeing through a cultivator's realm."

"I cherish my life and do not like to do things unprepared. Therefore, I greatly treasure this magical artifact. Thus, I know that Lord Tongtian's current cultivation is only at the peak of the Manifestation Realm. Lord Tongtian wishes to cultivate the path of good will. As a member of the Dragon Clan, you are well-versed and should know that demons, like us human cultivators, must transcend a tribulation when reaching the Broad Life Profound Mystery Realm and breaking through to the Supreme Indifference realm."

"To transcend the tribulation, one must sever emotions and abandon desires—Lord Tongtian must be thinking of re-cultivating the path of good will for this reason. As far as I know, when the path of malice reaches the peak of the Profound Realm... one is truly beset by inner demons—there is no need for a tribulation, one's cultivation will cripple itself."

"But... without a Dao Heart, how can one comprehend Supreme Indifference? The Daoist Orthodoxy has the Dao Heart, the Sword Sect has the Sword Heart. As for demons and Yin Spirits... isn't Lord Tongtian staying at the peak of the Manifestation Realm precisely to find this 'heart'?"

Yue Yunzi spread his hands. "Is Lord Tongtian really willing to break through the peak of the Manifestation Realm now and enter the True Realm... and lose this chance to find... hmm, what should it be called? As far as I know, apart from the true dragons, no demon has ever found something similar to a Dao Heart or Sword Heart—is Lord Tongtian willing to give up this opportunity? To wait until the next time your realm drops to the Intent Realm, to re-cultivate, and to find that spark of insight again?"

"Heh... at that time, the one Lord Tongtian encounters might not be someone as easy to talk to as me."

Li Yunxin fell silent and frowned in thought for a long time.

Yue Yunzi had unintentionally said something that confirmed one of his ideas.

—There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

Cultivators of the Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect had to transcend tribulations, to find a Dao Heart or Sword Heart at the peak of the Manifestation Realm before breaking through to the True Realm—in preparation for the "Supreme Indifference" realm, a prospect so incredibly remote that even with a sliver of hope, people would not give up on it.

And demons could absorb Votive Power and their cultivation could skyrocket.

But this debt had to be repaid eventually—at the peak of the Profound Realm, when breaking through to the Supreme Indifference realm. And most demons could not repay it.

Li Yunxin… he had never thought that far ahead. Until today, he had been forced. When no one was forcing him, he had a gentle and calm disposition—at least on the surface. But if someone thought he was easy to bully and poked him for fun, they would have to face terrifying and frenzied retaliation.

But having come this far, he really hadn't thought about Supreme Indifference.

However, he was unwilling to end up as just a "great demon at the peak of the Profound Realm"—the feeling of having someone above him was very unpleasant.

But… the Daoist Orthodoxy sought the Dao Heart, the Sword Sect sought the Sword Heart, all in order not to lose their resolve for the Dao when severing emotions and abandoning desires. Although he was reluctant to admit it, it was indeed a fact—desire was the driving force for all living beings in this world to strive upwards.

Desire… Li Yunxin had it.

But the so-called "emotions" they sought to abandon…

Li Yunxin raised his head. The ferocious expression he had before slowly receded. He even yawned—a puff of mist billowed from his mouth, rising gracefully before dissipating in the air. "Easy to talk to? What do you mean by that?"

His silence made Yue Yunzi believe his own judgment.

The Taoist priest smiled and reached out to brush away an Albizia flower that had slowly drifted in front of him with the wind. "Actually, I really want to try what it feels like for a Master realm cultivator to kill a former Profound Realm Dragon's Son. But after thinking about it, I have more important things to do. Lord Tongtian is also a smart person and should know that in this world today... a great calamity is about to arrive."

"The True Dragon established a dynasty. Although in the view of my Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect, it is loosely organized, it is still a dynasty. This is the first non-human, alien dynasty to appear since demons have existed in this world. Many cultivators do not agree with this, thinking that demons are always a disorganized mess, and that this so-called 'dynasty' is a joke. But they have not noticed one thing—"

"In the two thousand years since this 'dynasty' was established, not a single great demon of the Profound Realm has been killed. And before that? Every few decades or hundreds of years, a Profound Realm great demon would fall in battle. Whether you admit it or not, whether those short-sighted cultivators admit it or not, the Divine Dragon Dynasty does exist, and with just the majesty of the True Dragon for two thousand years, it has restrained all the demons in the world. Your power is growing stronger and stronger."

Li Yunxin let out a sneer but said nothing.

Yue Yunzi didn't mind his attitude and instead fell into his own thoughts. "Therefore, the current general trend in the world is that the Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect rule the Human Dao, while the Divine Dragon Dynasty rules the Demon Dao. In fact... this has been the default pattern for two thousand years. One human dynasty after another has divided up the known world of our Celestial Sphere. However, taking the Qing Kingdom as an example, taking this Weicheng as an example—"

"The Prefect of Weicheng issues orders from the Prefectural Office, which spread throughout the entire Weicheng Prefecture. But this Weicheng Prefecture is such a large piece of land, and Weicheng only occupies one percent of it. The land where humanity rests and recuperates is only thirty to forty percent. What about the rest of the land? It is occupied by demons."

"Demons do not establish official residences, but a great demon like the Lord of Dongting... if it really went mad, what would the Prefect of Weicheng amount to? It is fortunate that the Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect exist—the demons are entrenched in various places but do not dare to go mad. Therefore, Lord Tongtian—the Divine Dragon Dynasty is an invisible dynasty that overlaps with the empires of the Human Dao. This point... even many demons are not aware of."

"I have never taken orders from anyone," Li Yunxin muttered maliciously and darkly.

Yue Yunzi smiled tolerantly, as if looking at a child or a pitiful opponent he had already conquered. "Therefore, since there is a continuously growing Divine Dragon Dynasty, and the Human Dao is becoming more and more prosperous under the protection of the Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect, then there is a problem. The more prosperous the Human Dao is, the stronger you demons who rely on Votive Power for cultivation become. The stronger the demons become, the weaker the Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect become—we are digging our own graves."

"So, there must be a battle between the Daoist Orthodoxy, Sword Sect, and the demons. In fact, I highly suspect... was it because we sat by and watched the Divine Dragon Dynasty grow stronger that we angered the Celestial Beings, to the point that for three thousand years, there has been no word from the Celestial Beings, and the Two Saints do not dare to ascend?" Yue Yunzi's eyes shone as he looked at Li Yunxin. "But the Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect are not yet ready. They... are cultivators, but not warriors. You are warriors."

Li Yunxin looked at him lazily and sneered, "Taoist priest. You have fallen into delusion. This is your Delusion Heart Tribulation."

"Delusion? Hahaha." Yue Yunzi laughed happily. "No. This is my Dao Heart. I have transformed my delusional heart into a Dao Heart, and with my delusional heart, I have entered the True Realm—to kill all the demons in the world is both my delusional heart and my Dao Heart!"

"Because they are not ready, I will make them ready." The five strands of Yue Yunzi's long beard moved without wind, making him look like a celestial being. "So I will not kill you—even though I could kill you now with just a finger."

"I was observing before because I did not know the inner details. Now that I have seen through your scheme, I still will not kill you because I want to use you."

"Do you think I don't know? That Liu Ling is in the lair of the Lord of Dongting. At this time... add another Dragon's Son, Yazi. The Dragon's Son, Yazi—colluding with the Lord of Dongting in the Wei River, his vicious nature erupting, brutally killing thirty-six cultivators of my Daoist Orthodoxy!"

"First, the Ghost Emperor caused the fall of four high-level cultivators. Then, the Dragon's Son harmed dozens of low-level cultivators—you see, there is both quality and quantity. If the Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect still do not go to war with the demons, how can they speak of protecting the world?!"

"And at that time... I will be in Weicheng. And since I was a secular person before, I have the best understanding of the current situation in Weicheng and the Wei River. Thus, the vanguard must be me. Once I get my hands on these—" Yue Yunzi let out a comfortable breath, "—no one will be able to take them from my hands again. Those people... hehehe, what do they know of power and schemes. I will get more—until I can—"

He stopped abruptly, giving Li Yunxin a strange look.

Li Yunxin also looked at him.

After a long look, he asked, "So, what do you need me to do?"

Undisguised joy appeared on Yue Yunzi's face. He clapped his hands and laughed loudly. "Good—as expected of the world-shaking great demon Lord Tongtian! Such boldness, if you were not of a different race, I, Yue Yunzi, would definitely befriend you!"

"I have no interest," Li Yunxin snorted coldly.

The ecstatic Yue Yunzi didn't care at all about the other's bad attitude. He stroked his beard and smiled. "What Lord Tongtian needs to do is kill those thirty-six cultivators. Lord Tongtian has already noticed them, right? They are mixed in with those workers, easy to spot."

"If Lord Tongtian kills them, I will not disturb you from continuing to cultivate the path of good will. Because only when Lord Tongtian enters the True Realm and finds a Dao Heart can you become a strong enemy of my Daoist Orthodoxy and Sword Sect. I need a strong enemy—that old creature, the Lord of Dongting, is trapped in the lake and cannot move more than a zhang away, so he's not much of a threat. But a Dragon's Son who was once in the Profound Realm and has now re-cultivated and found a Dao Heart is the most terrifying enemy." Yue Yunzi let out a long, comfortable sigh. "A demon finding a Dao Heart—apart from the Divine Dragon, who was born incomparably powerful, there is no such example. Whether we go to war or not... I will get what I want. And you, Lord Tongtian, are my opportunity."

"So you see, you can be of use to me. If you do this for me, I can stay in Weicheng and manage my power—at the same time, I also need you to continue to exist and become stronger, so that this situation can continue—" Yue Yunzi looked at Li Yunxin seriously. "Lord Tongtian, will you do this or not?"

Li Yunxin lowered his eyelids and sneered. "And what if I don't?"

Yue Yunzi's smile vanished, and he said, word by word, "Then, you are seeking death."

The situation Yue Yunzi expected—Li Yunxin erupting in a rage—did not occur. This "Lord Tongtian" only looked at him grimly.

So he understood that the other party had fully grasped the current situation—even the most arrogant demon wanted to live.

He snorted coldly. "If you don't do it, I still have other opportunities. That Liu Ling is in the hands of the Lord of Dongting—with some planning, I can still achieve the same situation, it will just take more effort."

"But for you, as soon as I cast a talisman from my hand, another Profound Realm cultivator will arrive within five days, and you will surely die! I have told you all this now because I am in a relatively good mood... If you make me lose my good mood, hehe, being skinned alive and having your tendons pulled out will be your fate! You'd best behave yourself and think it over carefully!"

After Yue Yunzi said this, with a flick of his large sleeve, his figure suddenly transformed into a golden light and shot into the "Profound Light Precious Mirror."

And the two colorfully dressed attendants who had been standing by his side suddenly transformed into a flash of green light and disappeared—two Albizia flowers fell from mid-air.

The night wind began to blow again, and the voices from the front courtyard could be heard once more.

Li Yunxin sat motionless in the darkness, his brow slightly furrowed.

Ah... Yazi is afraid of water?

He really didn't know that at the time.

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