Here, he had no intention of being reckless. Both the spirit of the temple and the faintly visible rules of the ruins put a lot of pressure on him. He was not confident that he could snatch the treasure from the spirit of the temple. So when the spirit of the temple said that he could only choose one of the two, he just silently accepted it. Otherwise, only children would make choices, and he would have just snatched them all.

"It's quite surprising. I didn't expect that the human race would have such a long-term vision!" The spirit of the palace cast a glance of approval at Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan reached for the wooden box containing the Heart Nourishing Mantra, but just as his fingers touched the box, his heart suddenly started beating faster, and a strange force stirred up the evil memories hidden in his heart.

The first human he killed, the first alien he killed, and the first creature he killed against his conscience—it seems that as long as there is killing, the scene will be intensified and amplified by the power of the wooden box. This is a test of his murderous intent.

To cultivate the Mind Cultivation Technique, one must first defeat one's inner demons. So what are inner demons?

As the scenes of carnage magnified infinitely in his mind, a seed of evil entered Jiang Yuan's body and took root.

At this moment, it was as if everyone he had killed was watching him from an invisible perspective, questioning him in the darkness whether he was good or evil.

"Inner demons: the inability to distinguish between good and evil is an inner demon; a guilty conscience is an inner demon; unfulfilled regrets are an inner demon." The voice of the spirit hall echoed in the hall.

Jiang Yuan remained frozen in place, unable to recover for a long time. His inner demons, guided by the Mind Cultivation Technique, were amplified infinitely. Gradually, he lost himself. When he tried to escape his inner demons and looked back, he saw himself trapped in a quagmire.

"Can't we get out?"

Looking at his own endless struggle, Jiang Yuan vaguely saw the road ahead: he was constantly killing, and when he reached the end of the killing, he would also be slaughtered. It was a never-ending cycle of killing, and he suddenly felt that life was utterly meaningless.

"Slay your inner demons, and you can still take the treasure with you!" The spirit of the palace knew the outcome was already decided, so it gave this advice.

Slaying one's inner demons is not about defeating them, but rather about cutting off most of them and temporarily escaping this predicament. However, the remaining inner demons will return, and one will often be accompanied by them in the days to come—a nightmare that is hard to shake off.

It can be said that eliminating one's inner demons is only a temporary solution and not a permanent cure. If left unchecked, the inner demons will only grow stronger and stronger, eventually leading to the person being completely consumed by them.

"As long as you cultivate the Mind Nourishing Technique properly, your inner demons will disappear sooner or later!" The spirit of the palace smiled with a hint of certainty. In fact, this test was intentional, but the existence of inner demons could better urge those who obtained the Mind Nourishing Technique to cultivate it.

Jiang Yuan heard what Dian Ling said, but he did not choose to sever his inner demons.

The inner demons remaining within him will always be a major problem, something he cannot tolerate.

"You accuse me of murder, then I will kill someone with a clear conscience!" Jiang Yuan's previously confused eyes began to harden, and he swung the knife at himself, who was trapped in the mire.

The so-called inner demon is nothing more than an amplified mistake. If the inner demon only regards killing as a mistake, then it doesn't mind making the same mistake again and again!

If you're going to kill, then kill him completely. What inner demons could a truly virtuous or wicked person have?

Standing outside the door, Yu Tu clearly noticed the unrest inside the hall, especially Jiang Yuan, who was enveloped in a ball of light. After observing him for a while, she muttered to herself, "Why does this guy seem so unpredictable? Could it be that all strong people have some quirks? I wonder which poor girl will indulge his stinky habits in the future!"

Before Yu Tu could finish speaking, Jiang Yuan drew his gun and launched a violent attack, shattering the wooden box containing the Heart Nourishing Manual floating in front of him into dust with a single shot.

"Oh, you broke through the demonic barrier so quickly!" The spirit of the palace did not feel distressed when he saw the wooden box destroyed. Instead, he became very interested in this new purple-robed disciple.

The methods for dealing with inner demons in the Nourishing Heart Manual are actually quite rudimentary, but that applies to old monsters like it. Ordinary young people who are inexperienced in the ways of the world will find it difficult to break free from their inner demons in a short time, and thus be entangled by them for life, making it difficult to leave the Nourishing Heart Manual.

"The things are mine now!" Jiang Yuan opened his eyes, his gaze filled with a cold light and an incomparably stern intent. He saw through the Palace Spirit's intentions. The existence of the Heart Demon and the Heart Nourishing Technique was just like a long illness becoming a good doctor. It was simply a way to make him cultivate the Heart Nourishing Technique properly through opposing means.

"Very well, now that you've accepted the treasure, I'll respectfully bid you farewell, Purple Robe!" The spirit of the palace said goodbye in a very amicable manner.

"I'd like to know, are there any Jiuli people among those who entered the Epang Palace on this trip?" Jiang Yuan suddenly asked.

"Of course!" The spirit of the palace didn't hide anything and continued, "Xu Fu was a member of the Jiuli tribe, so his descendants are naturally also members of the Jiuli tribe. Moreover, as far as I know, his descendant has already obtained the identity of a disciple in blue robes. Apart from the three main halls, his access to the palace is not much different from yours!"

"He can get in?"

Jiang Yuan was surprised by this. He hadn't expected that Xu Yuan, who had just entered, could also obtain benefits from the Epang Palace.

"The one you mentioned is currently in the weapon-refining pavilion. If I'm not mistaken, he'll find the remaining weapon-refining materials in the pavilion in no time!" the spirit of the hall said deliberately.

"Damn, didn't you say that there weren't many treasures in the eighteenth front hall?" Jiang Yuan looked at the hall spirit with a surprised expression.

“That’s right, there are no more treasures, but that doesn’t mean there’s no trash!” the spirit of the palace said matter-of-factly. “Those spirit-grade refining materials are all trash; they don’t deserve to be called treasures.”

"So, there are still many things below the Spirit level in the Epang Palace!" Jiang Yuan's lips twitched. He, who originally had no greed, couldn't help but feel anxious when he heard that others were going to get there first.

"It's all rubbish, let's not talk about it!" Dian Ling shook his head, not wanting to discuss these things with Jiang Yuan.

"Yu Tu, let's go!"

Jiang Yuan burst out of the door, his destination clear: the Weapon Refining Pavilion.

"Ah, where are we going!" Yu Tu was still thinking to herself that this guy had a split personality when she didn't expect him to come to his senses and drag her away.

"Don't ask, the answer is always picking up trash!"

"This young man!" The spirit of the temple shook its head as it watched the departing figure. It sighed, "He's still a bit greedy. I wonder if someone like him will steal from the tomb if he becomes the tomb keeper. If that's the case, the tomb of the Lord of War will probably be completely looted!"

Although the spirit of the palace sighed helplessly, its expression showed little worry, but rather a strong sense of anticipation. Just as Jiang Yuan said, the battlefield of the fallen gods was over, and everything was like fleeting clouds, scattered and gone, with nothing to be nostalgic about.

"However, there is only one test left from the Lord of War when he passed away. If we can really complete it, then we can barely consider that we have completed the first step of our plan over the years!"