Chapter 75 What kind of desolation awaits the things his inner demons want to do...?
During the one-sided conversation, the chilling energy, like asphalt about to solidify, slowly shifted towards the sky once again.
Xiao Huaiyuan's response was to swiftly sever Lord Yun's restless tentacles.
In the blink of an eye, all the thousand hands were severed.
Although Xiao Huaiyuan's soul was shattered like glass falling to the ground, its strength far exceeded the level expected of someone in the Mahayana stage. The meditating Dharma image behind him faintly reflected golden light, and every gesture contained a strong sense of the laws of heaven.
If Fu Ming were here, he would surely realize: this is the moral exemplar the system was talking about. Xiao Huaiyuan has accumulated so much merit that he could practically produce relics on the spot.
Lord Yun's inability to intervene in the battle inadvertently relieved a lot of pressure on Fu Ming, who was fighting on the other side.
Above the sky, Fu Ming single-handedly erected a spherical barrier amidst the towering waves.
Carrying the injured Yang Pei and her junior brother, the fragile and crystalline bubbles floated lightly upwards.
Fu Ming had no desire to get entangled in a fight with "Yang Huan." They could be resurrected indefinitely after they died, so it was pointless to waste time with them.
The most urgent task is to go to the next level.
Unfortunately, the enemy understood the principle of "if the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to the mountain," and their large and small, dark hands relentlessly reached out to grab them. Stared at by pairs of lifeless, fish-like eyes, Fu Ming's figure shrank even further, his sleeves growing much longer and dangling beyond his fingers.
What's worse is that the already half-open neckline has become almost completely open. If he hadn't used his overly long sleeves to cover it up, it would have been no different from exposing his breasts.
Oh no, Xiao Huaiyuan is probably going to take advantage of the situation again.
Fu Ming was on guard the whole way, but his junior brother behaved himself the whole way.
Is he overthinking it?
For some reason, Fu Ming felt a sense of loss, even a little strange. Shouldn't his junior brother be so well-behaved, obedient, serious, and upright in his memory?
The Guixu Fuming knew that the waters of the eight directions and nine fields, and the flow of the Milky Way, flowed into it, and the amount of water neither increased nor decreased; this was the Guixu.
It is said that the Eye of Guixu is the place of reincarnation, the place where souls return to be reborn. Fu Ming speculates that it is either in the sea or in the sky. However, the path downwards has been blocked by dead souls, so the only way forward is to seek the way upwards.
As if guided by some unseen force, when he ascended to a high place, the countless stars in the sky rapidly shifted, forming a giant eye that covered the entire sky.
Is this what it means to pluck the stars from the sky?
Just as he had fantasized countless times while reading male-oriented novels late at night, Fu Ming reached out to touch the sky that was so close at hand.
At that moment, the giant eye opened, and the star trails in its pupils spun faster and faster, like a bottomless vortex, pouring all the turbid water in the world into Fu Ming's mind.
...
No.
That's an emotion, or rather...
Demonic energy.
The Primordial Devouring Heaven Record operated automatically, and the tattered book within Fu Ming's divine consciousness frantically absorbed the surrounding demonic energy.
His consciousness seemed to fall into an invisible, formless, pure white world, where many people gathered, some kneeling in worship, some reaching out to grasp at the air, and some simply curling up. They did not open their mouths, but their voices echoed and overlapped like ripples.
For some reason, Fu Ming knew that they were the inner demons of people in the world.
"I'm so hungry, and it hurts so much."
"Mom...am I going to die?"
"Oh God, is there anyone who can save us...?"
"Little sister, please, please don't fall asleep, okay?"
The inner demon has no physical form, but when Fu Ming walks forward and touches the inner demon, the complex emotions belonging to that person will instantly surge up.
Questions, pain, regret, leaving home, separation from family, and being separated by death.
The stories told are nothing more than these, but repeated so often, they always evoke a sense of unease in the listener.
Even cultivators with spiritual roots who can cultivate the Dao still have many inner demons. Fu Ming listened carefully and found that their worries were nothing more than lifespan and death, no different from those of ordinary people.
The will of Heaven is unpredictable, and man is helpless against it. Is the only hope to be found in the next life? Why must the world be so bitter?
If it were someone with a more fragile heart, they would probably get lost in these countless doubts.
Fu Ming understood, but he didn't get caught up in it. He continued walking towards the direction where people were kneeling in worship. He was always like this; nothing could stop him.
He encountered the inner demons of many acquaintances; they were not kneeling, but standing or sitting, in various postures.
Lin Han hugged her own arms, and Fu Ming heard her mutter that their parents had been gone for a long time, and that she, as the eldest sister, had raised her two younger siblings, but unfortunately, they also died young. Later, she had taken care of them a lot, perhaps out of compassion for Fu Ming, who had also lost his parents.
The two sisters, Fang Xiaoquan and Fang Xiaohui, huddled together, their upper bodies pressed close together, as if they were sticking together for warmth. They complained to each other that every bone in their body ached after taking the medicine, and they didn't know when they would die. But if they didn't take the medicine, they had nothing to eat, which was really a headache.
Jiang Jie, who always loves to slack off, was once an active member. However, after seeing his admired senior brother suffer a qi deviation and die in the Demon Realm, he suddenly became dejected upon returning.
Even the easygoing and optimistic Xu Yan had his inner demons. Sword cultivators had always been the main force in the Tianyan Sect's battles, and his master and fellow disciples had also died one after another in various places. Therefore, his inner demons were always repeatedly reading the letters in his hand and looking back at the news of the deaths of his relatives and friends.
The Calabash Taoist dispersed his cultivation to preserve the spiritual energy of Kunlun Mountain, leaving no trace of his soul in the world, and thus no inner demons resided there.
Fu Ming's mind stirred slightly. Could his own and Xiao Huaiyuan's inner demons be here?
Further ahead, he caught a glimpse of a tall, upright figure, quite similar to Xiao Huaiyuan. Just as his fingertips were about to touch the shoulder, the shadow vanished like mist.
However, the inner demon that was holding the knife suddenly appeared nearby, its color lighter, somewhere between black and white.
The inner demon lazily howled, "I really want to go home. I haven't even played a single game of the new AAA game that I bought at full price."
Fu Ming chuckled at himself. Why was he so bothered by such a trivial matter? The whole vibe was off. However, he remembered that the series had gotten progressively worse, and he had only bought it out of nostalgia.
He was a visitor from another world, and was also fortunate enough to live an extra life. He had no obsessions, and therefore no deep-seated pain.
If there was anything he absolutely had to do right now, he thought about it and figured it was probably to take responsibility for his junior brother.
A thin red thread tied his wandering kite to another person, bringing him additional worries.
Xiao Huaiyuan clearly had a demon in his heart, so why did it dissipate when he was about to touch it? Fu Ming was a little concerned about this.
Of course, saving the world is also a very important main quest.
"Fu Ming, come this way."
In the distance, at the edge of this pure white world, the thick fog that had enveloped it slowly dissipated, revealing a towering white jade statue that seemed to pierce the sky. The upper half of the statue's face was mysteriously destroyed, leaving only half a nose and a mouth—this was the source of the people's worship.
His mouth opened and closed, his voice steady and unremarkable, like that of an elder in every household.
"Why don't you come over? Don't you want to know the answer?"
Is this a deity, god, Buddha, or some kind of supernatural being?
Fu Ming became wary.
A long sword instantly appeared in his hand, and he drew it as he approached.
In the outer realm of his mind, Fu Ming, whose soul had been separated, slumped in "Xiao Huaiyuan's" arms. The well-behaved "Xiao Huaiyuan" finally dropped his pretense and brazenly caressed every inch of his flesh, which was clearly visible.
Xiao Huaiyuan chose to close his eyes, out of sight, out of mind, but the noisy chatter around him did not go his way.
The considerate Lord Yun dictated for him: "Since Fu Ming's soul has flown elsewhere, he can only be slaughtered at this moment. His clothes are half undone, and he can't resist. Tsk tsk, that imposter is really lucky with women. Sect Leader Xiao, what do you think?"
He spoke vividly, yet the domineering soul power imbued with the laws of nature stubbornly guarded the sky, giving the intruders no chance to take advantage.
This greatly displeased Lord Yun. According to previous intelligence, Xiao Huai was far less difficult to deal with than Fu Ming. His plan did not leave much room for dealing with this person, so now he could only try to win him over psychologically.
"Sect Leader Xiao, aren't you curious? You clearly didn't participate in the sacrifice, nor did you die, so why did an illusion suddenly appear out of nowhere?"
Lord Yun's smile deepened: "Because that is your inner demon."
The reason why Fu Ming couldn't detect it was because it was originally a part of Xiao Huaiyuan, only it happened to occupy his body.
Xiao Huaiyuan's soul finally trembled for a moment.
If his darkest thoughts were fully exposed to Fu Ming...
A reptile-like spirit seized the opportunity and burrowed toward the other side of the sky.
At the same time, Fu Ming made a very bold decision.
He wants to devour all the demonic energy in the world.
The statue revealed much information to persuade him to convert, concerning both the demon realm and the great calamity.
This space is the original Demon Realm. The Demon Realm was originally a colorless space independent of the Three Realms, bearing the worries and anxieties of mortals, like a small lake beside a river, rising when full and receding when low. However, this reservoir was eventually breached by a flood, and after the dam broke, it destroyed the Underworld, which governs reincarnation, and poured into the human realm.
The extinction of demons, the flight of evil spirits, and the decline of spiritual energy are all ultimately related to the accumulation of resentment.
The statue has a half-smile: "However, the suffering of humankind is endless, and natural and man-made disasters have never ceased. It would be better to live here forever."
Fu Ming raised an eyebrow: "After saying all this, do you just want me to convert, or do you want to control me?"
"What is it about me that you covet? Let me guess, the Primordial Devouring Heaven Record?"
The statue remained silent, and Fu Ming knew he had guessed correctly.
Currently, it only controls those who have converted to the Heavenly Restoration Society, who are essentially kneeling demons. However, if it wants to absorb all the people in the world, it needs to specifically shatter those demons and integrate them into one.
If the old world is shattered, what will it become?
The God of the New World.
Ten thousand years ago, gods did indeed appear in the cultivation world, and the eight ancient clans are said to be descendants of these gods.
Based on his discussion with Xiao Huaiyuan during the morning class, Fu Ming speculated that it was just a cultivator who had started his path to enlightenment earlier.
However, will the cultivation world still need gods ten thousand years from now?
Perhaps, maybe, what they need is a responsible civil servant.
When persuasion failed, the statue switched to threats and inducements: "Have you seen this sea of demonic energy? If you hesitate for even a moment longer, countless people will die because of you. Without merit, you will not become an immortal."
"But if you cooperate with us, after the matter is accomplished, we will grant you the opportunity to ascend to heaven, or make you a god who rules the three realms, as you wish."
Fu Ming slowly drew his sword and laughed, "Why make it so complicated? I can become an immortal on my own merits. As for reshaping the Three Realms..."
"I can come alone."
The long sword pierced the earth, and countless inner demons twisted and melted like lard in a frying pan. Rolling demonic energy gathered towards the gap and surged into Fu Ming's body.
Behind Fu Ming, a Dharma image with the same face as his appeared, which became solid and tall as the demonic energy increased, growing to almost the same height as the statue.
To be honest, absorbing demonic energy was still extremely painful. The resentment of strangers seeped into his limbs and bones, as if he were being gnawed by a thousand insects.
He can still handle it.
What's truly mysterious is that Fu Ming's divine sense seemed to be filled with countless tiny visitors, pouring out their grievances and interrogating him.
Why suffer? Why be weary? Why die? Why can't we forget our troubles?
Fu Ming simply said, "Joy and sorrow are two sides of the same coin. If you forget the past, you will no longer suffer, but you will also lose joy. Is that really a good thing?"
He was very serious about proposing practical solutions and explaining what he had learned from the system's tasks. He would probably say that adopting a simple, even foolish, method to improve the current situation was better than coming up with a perfect but impractical plan.
Fu Ming put his index finger to his lips to signal silence: "I will not promise you any perfect future."
"But I understand what you want: not paradise, not immortality, but a warm little home that shelters you from the wind and rain, a decent harvest, the ability to read and write, access to medical care when you are sick, and someone to take care of you in your old age."
"Whether you enter the Taoist path or do some small business, as long as you can support your family, you won't have to worry about life and death."
"As for those who cultivate the Tao, I guess you probably don't enjoy killing and robbing, spending your days risking your lives, right?"
The inner demons listened quietly, and the restless demonic energy subsided. Some shadows dispersed, while others remained.
Fu Ming patted Lin Han on the shoulder, who was handling the miscellaneous tasks of the Tianyan Sect, patted Fang Xiaohui and her brother on the head, and then gave Xu Yan, who was chatting endlessly, a slap on the elbow.
In the end, only a shadow remained in his sea of consciousness.
Xiao Huaiyuan.
To be precise, it was Xiao Huaiyuan in his youth who didn't want to leave.
Outside the Demon Realm, Xiao Huaiyuan's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
The man who wanted to cause trouble had been subdued by him. His own inner demons should not be able to bear to hurt his senior brother no matter what. What else was there to worry about? But what happened to his senior brother?
He suddenly opened his eyes and saw his inner demon kissing the sleeping Fu Ming deeply. Silent tears fell on Fu Ming's cheeks, which also stirred his own emotions.
So, deep down, that's what he really wanted to do.
On the other side, the young Xiao Huaiyuan stubbornly maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far from Fu Ming, wanting to get close to him, yet seemingly enduring something.
Fu Ming finally realized what was so strange about Xiao Huaiyuan since entering the second level of his mental domain. He was too much like the young Xiao Huaiyuan.
That junior brother, who kept his thoughts to himself, never spoke of anything, and was stubborn and lonely, was willing to suppress his sharpness in order to follow him. He was far less adept than he was when he later became the head of the Tianyan Sect.
Fu Ming rediscovered the joy of teasing his junior brother.
"Xiao Huaiyuan, just say what you want. Do you think your senior brother would refuse to give it to you?"
Xiao Huaiyuan, who was slightly shorter than Fu Ming, maintained the spirit of inquiry that Fu Ming had taught him: "Do you really give me whatever I want?"
"Of course, when has your senior brother ever lied to you?"
"My senior brother has clearly lied to me many times."
Was he really that bad? Fu Ming was lost in thought. Although he liked to joke around with his junior brother, he hadn't gone so far as to lie to him.
Fu Ming opened his arms and took the initiative to hug his junior brother, gently touching his forehead to his, trying to sink into his sea of consciousness.
At this moment, Fu Ming had no idea what kind of absurd and outrageous dream awaited him.
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Author's Note: Xiao Huaiyuan and the inner demon are the same person, and they will merge soon!
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