A Heart Demon is formless and traceless, leaving neither shadow nor trail.
It seems to be triggered externally, but in truth, it is born from the heart.
When Song Ciwan crossed space and instantly appeared before Dong Qi and Zhang, a cold light was gathering on the tip of Dong Qi’s sword. This was his second strike. Sword Qi had already ford, and he was about to switch tactics to lunge at Song Ciwan once more.
At the sa ti, Zhang had also raised his saber high. Gathering his qi and focusing his spirit, he bellowed, "Villain, taste my Eight-direction Wind and Cloud Saber!"
The two were close friends, and their unspoken coordination when fighting as a team was never lacking.
As Martial Artists of the Innate Second Transformation Enlightennt Realm, when they joined forces, the oppressive aura was imnse. With one saber and one sword directed at a single target, it created the inescapable feeling of being trapped between heaven and earth, a pressure like a raging tempest that could stun the spirit of anyone who faced it.
Song Ciwan had used the Wind Shadow Skill to cross the distance in an instant, bringing herself face-to-face with the two Martial Artists. At this mont, it looked less like a counterattack and more like she was walking right into a trap.
In a flash, just as the saber and sword were about to strike Song Ciwan, the tip of the sword suddenly swerved!
At the sa ti, the angle of the saber strike shifted as well.
The sword that had been aid at Song Ciwan now lunged toward Zhang; the saber that had been ant for Song Ciwan now swung toward Dong Qi.
The saber and sword reversed course at the last possible mont. The sword was like a bolt of furious lightning; the saber, a wind-cleaving gale.
In that brief instant, it was like a flash of light, a teor streaking across the empty sky.
"AHH!"
"You..."
Both n cried out in agony at the sa ti.
Unlike their earlier probing attacks, where they had held back, this ti Dong Qi and Zhang had unleashed their full power!
However, despite unleashing their full power and seemingly intending to attack their common "enemy," Song Ciwan, both n had inexplicably turned on each other at the critical mont. By so bizarre consensus, they had once again chosen to direct their most ferocious attacks at their closest friend.
The blade sank three inches into his chest, unleashing a chaotic blast of Sword Qi.
Zhang, pierced by the sword, coughed up a stream of fresh blood. His eyes widened as he stared at Dong Qi, hissing, "You... How could you be so cruel..."
Dong Qi, in turn, had his chest cleaved open by the saber. His body was nearly severed in two, the saber’s energy rapidly destroying his flesh and consciousness. With his last breath, he mumbled, "Right back at you... I’m no match... for you..."
Before he could finish, his body fell in two pieces with a pair of heavy thuds.
A mont later, Zhang fell backward onto the ground as well.
And just like that, both n were dead. Two dense clouds of essence burst forth from their bodies in an instant. The Heaven and Earth Scale materialized, and this ti, without Song Ciwan needing to act, it swiftly absorbed the two clouds.
[Death Qi. Source: Death of an Innate Second Transformation Enlightennt Realm Martial Artist. Weight: Three catties, six taels. Tradable.]
[Death Qi. Source: Death of an Innate Second Transformation Enlightennt Realm Martial Artist. Weight: Three catties, seven taels. Tradable.]
Though they died by mutual slaughter, the true cause was the stirring of their Heart Demons.
Thus, from a karmic standpoint, their deaths were on her hands.
This was precisely why the Heaven and Earth Scale had appeared on its own, absorbing their Death Qi automatically without Song Ciwan needing to capture it manually.
But in truth, even if Song Ciwan hadn’t unleashed the Void Illusion Demon Sword, would the two n not have killed each other anyway?
No. Before Song Ciwan had even appeared, they were already locked in a fierce battle!
On the street, children were still shouting with glee as they chased one another.
An older boy, holding a long, thin firework tube, ran ahead, laughing.
THUMP THUMP THUMP. He ran, stepping right over the bodies of Zhang and Dong Qi. The two n were like phantoms, like thin air, and the boy passed through them as if they didn’t exist.
More children followed, chasing after him. They laughed and shouted, their young faces flushed red with joy.
None of them knew that two Innate Martial Artists lay dead right beneath their feet.
Once all the children had run past, Song Ciwan stepped forward. She summoned the Heaven and Earth Scale and had it collect the two bodies from the ground.
She had no intention of touching anything on their bodies directly. The Heaven and Earth Scale would take everything, and she would sell it all in one go.
This held true even if they possessed a Primordial Longevity Pearl.
After collecting the two bodies, Song Ciwan once again dissolved into the wind and departed.
Her mindset had shifted once again. Previously, when she’d first discovered that people in the Mortal World couldn’t see her, a secret sense of security had unconsciously taken root in her heart.
’After all, the "I can see you, but you can’t see " dynamic is enough to go to anyone’s head.’
Even though Song Ciwan hadn’t lost her head—and had long suspected that this condition was shared by all Cultivators who erged from Illusory Nether City—there had been no one else around her at the ti. Thus, an undeniable, secret pleasure had inevitably influenced her.
It wasn’t until this mont, after encountering Dong Qi and Zhang and engaging in a battle that decided life and death in a split second, that this secret pleasure shattered like a bubble with a resounding POP.
’The fragility of life is such that no matter how high you climb, there is always soone higher.’
’Compared to others, one can never be the strongest.’
’Compared to other hearts, one’s own heart can never be the most resolute.’
’And when a finite life is asured against an unpredictable destiny, it becos even harder to keep up with fate’s ever-changing whims.’
’So, what is to be done?’
’Should I just give up on the idea of longevity?’
No. Song Ciwan would never entertain such a thought. She would only beco more determined in her pursuit of longevity, and she would find her own Dao on that path!
’No matter how unpredictable the mortal world may be, as long as my will is firm, I will remain unmoved.’
’Every day, I will be a little more resolute than the day before. Every mont, I will be a little stronger than I was the mont before. I will always maintain a sense of reverence, a sense of vigilance, and do my best to walk this path for as long as I can.’
’If one day, through so misstep, my journey cos to an end, as long as I have done my utmost, there will be no room for regret.’
As she flew upon the wind, the True Qi within her surged. As countless thoughts flashed through her mind, her cultivation in the Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting rose rapidly.
In the path of cultivation, nothing is more treasured than a mont of epiphany.
Anyone can practice arduously, but an epiphany depends entirely on a flash of Spiritual Light.
This was the joy of grasping the Dao.
Unconsciously, Song Ciwan began to combine her Wind Manipulation Technique with the Escape into the Night. She beca more than just a wisp of wind in the night sky; she beca the shadow within the wind, and the void within that shadow.
She moved through the Mortal World, unseen by its people.
Along the way, she encountered other ’fellow Cultivators’ who had also erged from Illusory Nether City. For the most part, they ignored her just as the mortals did.
She also witnessed many conflicts, all of which she did her best to avoid.
Through this, Song Ciwan made another discovery. It turned out that while Divine Dao Skills were rarely seen in Pinglan City, on the other side of the world, there was no shortage of people pursuing them.
The things one might assu couldn’t exist under the sun were, in fact, thriving in the dark corners, never to be extinguished.
Among the Cultivators from Illusory Nether City, most conflicts erupted over Divine Dao Magical Artifacts.
Song Ciwan had no need to join such struggles. She was but wind within the shadows. Then, at a certain mont, she looked up and saw that she had arrived—the Hongsheng Martial Arts Hall was right before her!
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