Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

Not only the original evil spirit, but all the black energy that surged into the barrier has now transformed into hideous evil spirits.

There were a great many of these evil spirits, most of whom were soldiers dressed in Japanese military uniforms. Occasionally, one could also see a few samurai in heavy armor, or Onmyoji in loose hunting robes, or even Shinto priests in plain black robes.

A few figures looked familiar to Zhang Zhiwei; they were the Japanese pirates he had personally killed.

As for the vast majority of other evil spirits, Zhang Zhiwei did not have a deep impression of them, or even any impression at all, but he did not deny that these people died at his hands.

He doesn't remember simply because he doesn't care. It's like if you casually open a can of soda, do you remember what the can looks like? Or if you casually scoop up a mouthful of rice, do you remember what the rice looks like?

The people he killed held only so much weight in his heart, so it's normal that he doesn't remember them.

"Waaaaah..."

The mournful wails of ghosts echoed throughout the heavens and earth, and vengeful spirits surged forth in an endless stream, their numbers so great that they reminded one of a dense school of sardines in the ocean.

They all pounced on Zhang Zhiwei frantically. Even though Zhang Zhiwei's body was covered with vengeful ghosts and he had nowhere to bite, they were spirits and could overlap and cover his body layer by layer, trying to devour him completely!
The twelve gods of the seven generations of the divine world watched this scene with shock.

Countless evil spirits converged like rivers flowing into the sea, completely engulfing the golden giant and forming a writhing black mountain of flesh—a truly horrifying sight.

The gods discussed among themselves:
"Such a heavy atrocity, just how many people did he kill?"

“The karma from the past is beginning to backfire. The more people he kills, the more severe the backfire will be.”

"Cause and effect are cyclical, and retribution is inevitable. This is also a great calamity, compounded by the previous wind disaster, he will surely die without a chance of survival."

"Ten deaths without a chance of survival? If he dies, what will he become?"

"His physical body will perish, his soul will collapse, only his tempered and refined subjective will will remain. He will completely retreat into the spiritual world, but with will alone, he will no longer be able to interfere with the external world as he does now."

While the gods of the East were conversing, Zhang Zhiwei's great calamity was escalating.

Those who had died at his hands in the past turned into crazed demons who came to haunt him, crawling all over his body and tearing at him frantically, trying to rip him to pieces and eat him without leaving a trace.

Zhang Zhiwei was surprised to find that the Samadhi True Fire, which had always been invincible, could not burn these evil spirits. Even the thick golden light he used to protect himself could not stop their intrusion.

The demons pounced on him. Looking at them, they resembled a dense mass of barnacles at the bottom of a ship, a truly terrifying sight.

The Samadhi Fire is a life-threatening fire that burns away the spirit and soul, while the Golden Light Mantra is a means of protecting life and soul from external evils. The fact that both are now ineffective can only mean one thing…

Zhang Zhiwei concluded that the things now crawling all over his body were not, in essence, real evil spirits.

Moreover, Zhang Zhiwei knew very well that the people he had killed were not likely to become evil spirits. After all, his physical exorcism was still an exorcism, and their souls had been scattered. What conditions would they have left to become evil spirits? Let alone so many at once.

Not an evil spirit, ignoring wind disasters, ignoring Samadhi Fire, ignoring the Golden Light Mantra...

Connecting these pieces of information, Zhang Zhiwei instantly understood that this was a calamity stemming from cause and effect and destiny.

There's an old saying that karma is a cycle, and retribution is inevitable. Cause and effect, and destiny, are very complex; you could talk about them for three days and three nights and still not finish.
In short, cause and effect and destiny actually transcend time, that is, they transcend change.

Therefore, their feedback often affects the change itself.

Why the change? It refers to the trajectory of a person's destiny.

A person's destiny is not just about their current state; it is composed of the past, the present, and the possible future.

If certain causal factors interfere with you, the conflict will not only be with the current situation, but with the sum of everything from the beginning of the cause and effect to the present!

In other words, every "you" during this period will be affected.

You are the only true existence during this period. If you are affected, the consequences will directly fall on your head, and you will be aware of them and take corresponding actions, just like the typhoon in front of Zhang Zhiwei.

But your past self was different. This faint existence, which most people would consider illusory, would be affected by cause and effect silently. If the cause and effect were too strong, your past self might be completely torn apart on the line of fate.

If a person has no past, then naturally there will be no present or future.

Destiny is a line, and the future is a product driven by the inertia generated by the sum of the past and present.

Although powerful cultivators can break free from the inertia of the past by fully grasping the present moment, thus autonomously creating the future, this still cannot be considered true "defying fate".

Because the past remains the foundation of the future. Even if only a small part of the past is destroyed, that person's fate is sealed.

When fate has run its course, death is inevitable. As for how one dies, that remains to be seen.

Once the thread of fate is broken, a person loses all control over their own destiny and can only passively accept the arrangements of fate, waiting for the end of their destiny.

Zhang Zhiwei's fate was also scattered. His fate was originally set for a typhoon, but he was able to withstand it, so those "evil spirits" reappeared.

It's like when Zhuge Liang suddenly fell seriously ill, he set up the Seven Star Lamp to prolong his life, trying to reconnect the broken threads of fate and defy destiny, only to have Wei Yan suddenly appear and ruin his plans. This kind of calamity is one after another.

Perhaps Wang Mang was the same; he also sensed the situation and did something similar to Zhuge Liang's Seven Star Lamp arrangement, or even more. But fate intervened against him one after another, and in the end, a meteorite fell from the sky.

Two calamities struck in quick succession, neither of them being easy to deal with.

Between two evils, Zhang Zhiwei decided to deal with the typhoon first, and then deal with the "evil spirits" after the typhoon had passed.

At this moment, beset by both internal and external storms, Zhang Zhiwei felt as if his soul was exposed to endless gales.

The gale was like a thousand sharp blades, constantly cutting into his soul.

He even found it difficult to distinguish how much of this spiritual pain came from the typhoon and how much came from those "evil spirits."

This kind of pain is unbearable for ordinary people, and they could easily suffer a mental breakdown if they are not careful. But Zhang Zhiwei's subjective consciousness remained high and undisturbed by delusions, so he was able to deal with it rationally.

At this point, to try to use the Three Calamities to temper oneself would be an act of arrogance.

Although Zhang Zhiwei was arrogant, he wasn't a reckless madman who couldn't grasp the situation. His thinking was clear, his mind as sharp as a mirror, and he immediately made the choice most suited to the current situation: focus all his efforts on dealing with the typhoon!

He began to unleash his own "Purple Mansion Divine Thunder" to shatter the all-pervasive gale.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Every meridian in his body was roaring, and thunder and gale clashed fiercely in every corner of his body.

However, because the pressure he is currently under is too great, even if he does not intend to use the wind disaster to temper himself again, this state of being overloaded under life-or-death crisis is itself the best form of tempering!

Meanwhile, within the microcosm of the human body, the "National Master" was watching this scene unfold.

As Zhang Zhiwei's inner demon, he naturally knew the predicament Zhang Zhiwei was currently facing.

This can be said to be the biggest crisis Zhang Zhiwei has ever faced, and also the perfect opportunity he has been waiting for for many years to defy fate!
To him, Zhang Zhiwei had always been impeccable. Ever since his first attempt to test him resulted in a severe beating, he had never truly found an opportunity to strike. He even thought at one point that he would never have that chance again.

But now, this opportunity has actually appeared! It's right in front of us, within reach.

The "Imperial Advisor's" face remained expressionless, but his eyes were far from calm, flickering constantly. He was conflicted, hesitant.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Logically speaking, he should seize this opportunity, wipe out Big Face Thief in one fell swoop, and then take over for himself!
This idea was incredibly strong, and it was something he had been waiting for all along.

But why... can't I make this decision?

The "Imperial Advisor" pondered for a long time. If it were before, he certainly wouldn't have hesitated. But after experiencing that sudden enlightenment and breaking through his identity as Zhang Zhiwei's true form, he began to waver regarding his long-held goal.

Is the goal I've always held onto truly my own heart, or just an obsession imposed upon me by the outside world?
It is only natural that one's inner demons would turn against one's true self.

But... but who made that rule?
Why must inner demons always act this way? Why can't we live authentically?

The "national advisor" felt that this was not something he truly wanted to do subjectively, but rather a delusion imposed upon him by the objective world.

Although that big-faced thief is really despicable, always bossing him around and ordering him around, it's still a bit of a shame to actually get rid of him... I can't bring myself to do it...

This was a thought that went against his status, but it was a strong one. The "Grand Preceptor" felt that this might be his true subjective desire.

Thinking of this, the "Imperial Advisor" steeled his heart and gritted his teeth!

"To hell with the backlash from my inner demons! I'll do whatever I want! Nobody can stop me!"

He transformed into a monkey-shaped lightning bolt and suddenly darted out from the microcosm of his human body!
Suddenly, a monkey with a blue head and white body, crackling with violent lightning, appeared out of thin air next to Zhang Zhiwei!

"Big-faced thief, I'm here to help you!"

Zhang Zhiwei glanced at the "Imperial Advisor." Since this monkey's breakthrough, he hadn't been able to fully see through the other party's thoughts. But even so, he could tell at a glance that the other party's appearance this time was not to take advantage of his predicament, but to genuinely want to help him.

Although we don't know what the monkey was thinking, it would be great if someone could help share some of the pressure.

Zhang Zhiwei immediately suppressed the surrounding Samadhi True Fire to avoid accidentally injuring his own people.

"Okay! Let's do it together!"

As a demon within himself, the mental world is his domain.
Lightning surged wildly around him, and his body swelled up, transforming into a terrifying demonic ape ten zhang tall, with flames and electricity erupting all around him.

He clasped his hands together and pulled them sharply to the sides, and a long, lightning-fast staff appeared out of thin air.

He wielded the lightning-struck staff, like a demon god of chaos, and smashed it fiercely towards the raging storm!

"Disperse, you old Sun!"

Every swing of the stick shatters the invisible wind!
He also tried to attack the evil spirits on Zhang Zhiwei's body, but found that they seemed to be non-existent and could not be hit at all.

After trying several times without success, he simply gave up and focused on dealing with the terrifying windstorm for Zhang Zhiwei!

The surrounding Japanese deities all looked surprised upon seeing this scene.

"Why would there be outside help? This heavenly tribulation can actually invite outside help?"

In their understanding, heavenly tribulations arise from changes in those who are destined to face them. If outsiders interfere, the heavenly tribulation will become even more massive.

However, after the monkey appeared, the celestial tribulation did not show any signs of expansion.

As beings in the spiritual world, they should be able to know such things with a single thought, just like divination in the inner world.

However, Zhang Zhiwei's influence was simply too great. Asking him anything about Zhang Zhiwei in the inner realm would only result in receiving a terrifying fireball as the answer.

Therefore, even those Japanese deities had no way of knowing the relationship between the "Imperial Advisor" and Zhang Zhiwei.

With the help of the Imperial Advisor, Zhang Zhiwei finally felt a little relieved. But this did not mean the crisis was over; the storm was intensifying, and the number of evil spirits was constantly increasing.

Although the "Imperial Advisor" was not attacked by those "evil spirits," he gradually began to feel the strain in the face of the increasingly violent wind disaster. His strength was still quite different from that of Zhang Zhiwei himself.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhiwei felt that he could no longer continue to passively endure the beating, and he decided to deliver a severe blow to this calamity.

He gathered yang lightning in one hand and yin lightning in the other, then suddenly brought his hands together. The two completely different types of lightning intertwined, connected end to end, spinning wildly, and finally reached a wondrous state of yin and yang in harmony.

A black and white yin-yang symbol-shaped ball of lightning took shape in his palm.

The ball of lightning was spinning wildly, faster and faster, until it became invisible to the naked eye!
Soon, golden flames ignited around the lightning ball, its interior flowing with a halo like liquid gold, and its surface pulsating with countless fine electric currents, dancing wildly like golden snakes!
It was like a tiny, artificial sun compressed to its extreme, floating quietly in Zhang Zhiwei's palm, emanating a chilling, destructive aura!

This is Zhang Zhiwei's ultimate move, created by combining Yin-Yang Thunder Technique—Ball Lightning! (End of Chapter)