Inner Demons

Chapter 64: Going Home

The sorrows of life often stem from three things.

Separation from loved ones, meeting those one resents, and not obtaining what one desires.

For ordinary people, these things are inescapable. No one can achieve everything they wish for. When these things happen, simply enduring them and acting as if one doesn't care is enough to earn praise.

However, for cultivators, especially those of higher realms, the obsessive emotions thus generated can lead to serious consequences.

Cultivation is not an overnight endeavor, nor is it something that can be easily cast aside.

To give an example using something he was familiar with from his previous world, it would roughly be like fitness. Ordinary people are those who never exercise. But as they walk, eat, and get in and out of bed, their bodies also slowly grow and strengthen.

Cultivators, on the other hand, are a group of fitness fanatics who don't even spare a glance for pretty girls in the gym, only caring about their muscles. They put in a lot of effort and quickly gain strength far beyond ordinary people. But if one day they decide they don't want to exercise or cultivate anymore, they cancel their annual and monthly memberships, and become a shut-in...

They are still moving. They walk around to reach for the instant noodles on the bedside table—they are still moving.

Cultivators meditate, refine qi, and temper their bodies; this is a subconscious process. But even if they don't do these things, just walking around in the sunlight on the street, the qi in their bodies is still slowly cultivating and refining.

This means that once a cultivator enters a tribulation, they cannot escape the crisis by "temporarily stopping cultivation." They must face it and resolve it, either by Transcending Tribulation or succumbing to the tribulation.This is also why cultivators always want to actively "Transcending Tribulation." If you're not proactive and let the tribulation find you, then it will probably be like Li Yunxin's current situation—one moment he felt his mind was clear, the next, he had entered a tribulation.

Li Yunxin found this matter a bit tricky.

It wasn't the first time he had entered a tribulation. When he was eight, he had entered the "Freedom Tribulation." He still remembered his parents' surprised and incredulous reactions—the "Freedom Tribulation" was essentially about questions like "Why do you exist, what is the purpose of your life?"

This tribulation wasn't difficult to overcome—for someone wholeheartedly devoted to the Dao. Probably everyone entering the Manifestation Realm would encounter this tribulation. But the problem was... Li Yunxin was eight years old then, barely stepping into the Illusory Realm. As for "wholeheartedly devoted to the Dao"? What did a child know about wholeheartedly devoted to the Dao—of course, that was his parents' view.

At that time, Li Yunxin... truly had no thought of being wholeheartedly devoted to the Dao.

Perhaps because of his special identity, this tribulation came strangely.

Also because of his special identity, he overcame that tribulation. But the way and means of Transcending Tribulation were not what his parents had expected.

Now, having entered the "Delusion Heart Tribulation" due to "not obtaining what he desired," he knew the trouble was a bit big.

In fact, he had always had a thought—this "tribulation," in essence, meant that a person's thoughts influenced the process of cultivation. Perhaps one could control conscious awareness, but not one's subconscious, so unless the problem was completely resolved, the tribulation could not be overcome.

If he could, through some means, clear away his subconscious related to the "tribulation"...

This tribulation would largely be artificially eliminated.

But he couldn't do that yet—psychology was an extremely complex subject, and he believed that from ancient times to the present, probably no one had been able to do that.

So he had to Transcending Tribulation.

His life was threatened by Young Master Nine and Bai Yunxin, then he saw Liu Ling, was stimulated, and thus wanted to become stronger.

Less intense desires count as motivation. But overly intense desires are deluded thoughts.

His desires stemmed from his threatened sense of security and his extraordinary self-perception. If any ordinary cultivator in this world encountered such a situation, fear and dread would probably be more prevalent, and there wouldn't be this tribulation. But for him, fear and dread might exist, but they only further fueled his desire to fight.

His character, formed by the experiences of two lives, prevented him from bowing down and submitting—perhaps he could feign compliance, but he could never be truly tamed in his heart.

Therefore, to overcome this tribulation, there were only two ways.

Touch the threshold of the True Realm and find his Dao Heart.

Or eliminate the threat.

Compared to the former, the latter carried immense risk. He wouldn't do it unless absolutely necessary. To kill a great demon like Young Master Nine, he wasn't completely confident with his current strength and resources.

He wasn't in some game, nor was he an observer watching others' lives. He only had one life—only a fool would risk his life when there was still room for maneuver.

He decided to temporarily choose the former. He believed he had a shortcut—incense and vow power.

Perhaps with that... he could quickly unlock the restrictions completely, and then charge towards the True Realm!

He stood in the front courtyard, pondering for a while, then turned to look at the Cat Demon and Jiaxin in the house, and the four in the courtyard. He frowned again, thinking about the recent events and people he had encountered, gradually bringing the myriad threads together.

He felt he needed a net.

Hmm... a net that connects many things and events.

Some lines and points were already clearly visible. Others were still vague, but he felt that he might find an opportunity to pull them out.

Without a guide, he now had to face this tribulation alone.

Things were a bit tricky. But Li Yunxin believed he could handle it.

After a while, he vaguely heard the sound of firecrackers from the back street. Those were the firecrackers he and the old Daoist had bought yesterday.

Perhaps in a few days, the news would spread that he and the old Daoist were actually innocent. People in these times were superstitious about the power of officialdom and authority, which was actually a good thing. For example, "that old Daoist and young man went through the court and came back safely" proved their innocence more than anything else—at least in the eyes of those people.

This was excellent; it would bring in vow power.

Li Yunxin turned, intending to exit through the back door. But he stopped after only one step. He turned his head and frowned—

"Why is it so lively today?" he muttered.

Someone walked in, from the front gate. Li Yunxin leaped onto an old tree next to the rockery, standing on a branch as thick as a bowl. His eyesight was good; he could see the main gate... there were two people, and a horse.

One person and one horse were familiar. Li Yunxin frowned and thought for a moment, then remembered.

Yesterday afternoon, as he walked home and told the old Daoist how he had killed Madam Qiao Wang, he rested on the stone bridge and saw a man in black, with a knife, leading a black horse, slowly walking by.

Now, on the black-clad man's horse, sat an old man. Li Yunxin had never met Meng'e, but judging by his spirit and the newly bandaged wounds, he could guess it was him.

He thought for a moment and whispered to the back: "Tell the one at the door not to cause trouble, let them in."

He welcomed all variables and surprises now.

Good for weaving his net.