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Back in the round chamber, Yi Huawei's gaze fell on the huge round stone table in the center of the room. He didn't rush to examine the exquisite map on the table, but instead bent down to carefully examine the shadowed area beneath the stone table.

Under the firelight, it was clear that the bottom of the table was not completely integrated with the ground, but rather had a gap about a hand's width between it and the ground.

Yi Huawei extended his right hand, fingers slightly spread, palm down, and slowly placed it close to the center of the bottom of the stone table.

A barely perceptible wisp of purple energy emanated from his palm, allowing him to perceive the intricate internal structure of the stone with exquisite precision. Having cultivated the Primordial Chaos Qi Gong to perfection, he possessed an extraordinary sensitivity to the flow and structure of energy in all things in the universe.

After a moment, his fingertip paused slightly at a certain spot. It appeared to be no different from the other stones, but under the perception of true qi, one could discover an extremely hidden, tiny protrusion that was almost integrated with the surrounding stone. Its interior was hollow and connected to a complex mechanism.

Yi Huawei did not press down hard, but instead pressed his fingertips against the protrusion and tapped it several times, sometimes lightly and sometimes heavily. The force and interval of each tap were completely different.

"Click...click...click."

A few barely audible whirring sounds came from inside the table. Immediately afterwards, a stone slab about two feet square near the center of the tabletop silently sank half an inch, then smoothly moved to one side, revealing a dark hole.

An aura far colder than any other place in the treasure vault, carrying an indescribable silence and death, quietly spread from the cave entrance.

Yi Huawei reached inside and his fingertips touched a cold, hard metal object with a surface covered in fine, raised patterns. With a slight exertion of his wrist, he pulled it out of the hidden compartment.

It was an ancient-style bronze jar, about a foot and a half tall, its surface covered with intricate and eerie Tantric runes, which seemed to possess a suppressive and sealing power. The mouth of the jar was sealed tightly with a dark golden metal, without the slightest gap. On each side of the jar was a curved bronze handle, also engraved with fine patterns. The entire jar was unusually heavy, far exceeding the weight one would expect from bronze of its size, and exuded an unsettling, chilling aura.

Dan Wanjing's curiosity was immediately drawn to the mysterious bronze jar. She leaned closer, her eyes wide as she examined the object that had been taken from the secret compartment.

"Master, what is this? Hidden so well, it must be a priceless treasure!"

Looking at the two rather handy-looking interlocking hands, Shan Wanjing subconsciously reached out, wanting to touch the delicate patterns on them.

The instant my fingertips touched the cold, icy arm on my left—

Without warning, fragmented and bloody images flooded her mind like a burst dam! They weren't clear images, but rather distorted patches of color, splattered crimson, broken limbs, desperate and hideous faces... Countless horrific, cruel, and nauseating scenes intertwined, forming a torrent of pure malice that assaulted her sanity.

At the same time, piercing screams, curses, wailing, and maniacal laughter—all sorts of inhuman sounds—were not transmitted through the air, but exploded directly in the deepest part of her consciousness! The sounds seemed to come from the deepest hell, the resentment and pain of countless wronged souls accumulated over countless years, frantically tearing at her soul, trying to drag her into that boundless darkness and madness!

Shan Wanjing's body stiffened instantly, her pupils dilated sharply but lost focus. Her face turned deathly pale in the firelight, her breathing stopped abruptly, and her whole body seemed to be frozen by invisible ice, with only a slight, almost imperceptible tremor spreading from her fingertips.

Yi Huawei sensed something amiss the instant Shan Wanjing reached out. The energy field surrounding the bronze pot rippled subtly yet dangerously as Shan Wanjing's fingertips approached. Just as Shan Wanjing's eyes glazed over and her body stiffened, Yi Huawei exhaled sharply and shouted:
"Duh!"

This low shout wasn't particularly loud, yet it contained the purest and most refined internal energy of the Hunyuan Qi Gong, further incorporating the precise control of spiritual power from the "Birth and Death from the Mind" secret technique. The sound condensed into a beam, penetrating the invisible spiritual pollution field as if it were tangible, reaching the depths of Shan Wanjing's nearly collapsed mind, like a resounding bell, dispelling the lingering resentful demonic sounds.

Shan Wanjing jolted awake, as if a drowning person had been forcibly pulled to the surface, her unfocused eyes suddenly regaining their clarity. She gasped sharply, staggering back two steps as if out of control, almost collapsing to the ground.

Cold sweat instantly poured from every pore of her body. The hair on her forehead and temples was immediately soaked and clung to her skin. Her clothes clung tightly to her back, icy cold, as if she had just been pulled from the water.

That brief contact felt like a battle that had exhausted her completely, leaving her utterly drained, her hands and feet ice-cold, and her heart pounding wildly, almost bursting out of her chest.

Dan Wanjing gasped for breath, her eyes filled with lingering fear. She stared incredulously at the eerie bronze jar that still lay quietly in her master's hand, daring not to approach it even a fraction closer.

Yi Huawei's arm remained steady as he held the ominous-smelling bronze jar, his gaze falling on Shan Wanjing's pale, sweat-drenched face:

"This is not a treasure, but an extremely evil object from the demonic sect. Guard your mind and do not approach it again."

Dan Wanjing nodded, still shaken, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. She then took two steps back as instructed, keeping an even greater distance from the bronze pot. The terrifying experience of that brief encounter was deeply etched into her mind.

.........

The "Evil Emperor's Relic" was originally a burial object discovered by Xie Bo, the first Evil Emperor, in an ancient tomb dating back to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, when he was searching for a set of silk manuscripts related to medicine.

Although Xie Bo was incompatible with the orthodox society that exclusively revered Confucianism at the time, leading to his cynicism and eccentric behavior, he was not an irredeemable evil person. He devoted himself to medicine, hoping to use his medical skills to unravel the mystery of the most mysterious classic of the Demonic Sect, "The Great Method of Planting Demons in the Heart of the Dao".

When Xie Bo discovered the evil emperor's relics, they were placed under the neck of the tomb owner. They were covered with blood spots and crystal-like mottled. Because of its crystalline and translucent characteristics, it was classified as citrine. In fact, it is very different from any other citrine stone.

What intrigued Shepard the most was that the crystal sphere seemed to contain some kind of strange power. After a long period of experimentation, Shepard made an astonishing discovery: the crystal sphere possessed the peculiar property of absorbing and storing human essence and vital energy.

This discovery is truly remarkable.

Within the demonic sects, various evil techniques and methods for absorbing the power of others have long been circulating. However, no matter how skilled the practitioner, absorbing another's true energy is only auxiliary or temporary; no one can truly and permanently possess decades of another's power and significantly and endlessly increase their own. Even if it were possible, due to the inherent differences in true energy, it would only be harmful, easily leading to the danger of qi deviation. A more advanced method is through the art of "replenishing the body's essence," absorbing the other's primordial yin and yang, but this is still only auxiliary and carries inherent risks; it is not the superior path.

But Yuan Jing is another mysterious thing.

Taoism speaks of the Three Origins, which in the heavens are the three lights of the sun, moon, and stars; on earth are the three essentials of water, fire, and earth; and in humans are the three substances of essence, energy, and spirit. The process of refining essence into energy, refining energy into spirit, and refining spirit into emptiness is precisely the entire Taoist cultivation process.

Among the three elements of primordial essence, primordial energy, and primordial spirit, primordial essence is the foundation of everything. Primordial energy and primordial spirit are obtained by cultivating and elevating primordial essence. Primordial energy and primordial spirit vary from person to person due to different circumstances and methods of cultivation, but primordial essence remains the same.

This discovery thrilled Xie Bo. After years of research, he finally created a method to inject primordial essence into the crystal sphere. At that time, he was not far from his death, so before his death, he poured all his primordial essence into the sphere and instructed his next generation to find a way to extract the primordial essence from the sphere.

From then on, the crystal sphere was named "Holy Emperor's Relic".

This presents the most troublesome problem for the Heavenly Heretic Path among the two sects of the Demonic Path and the Six Paths. A person as learned, insightful, and wise as Xie Bo is truly a once-in-a-century find. Although successive generations of inheritors have racked their brains and tried every possible method, it's like sitting on a mountain of treasure, yet unable to share even a fraction of the benefits. Furthermore, due to the lack of proper methods, the relic continuously absorbs all sorts of harmful and harmless energies, making the problem even more complex and difficult to solve.

However, all the evil emperors of the past, unless they died a violent death, would infuse their primordial essence into the relics before their passing, in accordance with their dying instructions. This has become the way of passing away chosen by the successive leaders of the Heavenly Evil Path.

Due to various changes, researching how to extract the essence of relics became an extremely dangerous undertaking; a single misstep could easily lead to demonic possession. Occasionally, someone would be able to extract beneficial vital energy from the relics, indeed multiplying their power, a fact that fueled the relentless pursuit of successive generations. However, how to extract the essence from the relics remained a mystery. It wasn't until Xiang Yutian, with his extraordinary talent, cultivated the "Great Method of Planting Demons in the Dao Heart" and suddenly comprehended the method for extracting the essence of relics that Xie Bo's dream was realized.

At this time, Xiang Yutian encountered a problem while cultivating the Demon Seed Technique. He also saw that none of You Niaojuan's four disciples were capable. Before his death, he entrusted the relic to Lu Miaozi, instructing him to find capable people from other factions of the Demon Sect and pass it on to the relic. This would unify the Demon Sect and end the centuries-long fragmentation and incessant infighting within the Demon Sect.

Finally, Lu Miaozi concluded that no one in the Demonic Sect was qualified to receive the relic, so he secretly hid it in Yang Gong's treasure vault.

…………

Yi Huawei placed the bronze jar, which exuded an ominous chill, steadily on the round stone table, and once again extended his right palm, hovering it about three inches above the jar.

A pure, condensed, and almost tangible pale purple aura slowly emerged from his palm, spreading downwards like a living thing, quickly enveloping the entire bronze jar. The purple aura formed a tight yet gentle barrier, completely isolating the evil energy fluctuations within it from the outside world.

Having completed this step, Yi Huawei extended his left hand, his five fingers hooked, precisely gripping the dark gold sealed jar opening. The Northern Darkness True Qi silently seeped into the metal, sensing and disrupting its internal structure. With a barely audible hiss, the seemingly seamless seal opened, releasing an even denser, almost suffocating aura of chilling stillness, accompanied by a faint smell of blood. However, it was immediately contained by the outer layer of Primordial Chaos Qi field, failing to spread even slightly.

Yi Huawei reached his right hand into the jar, and when he took his hand out again, there was something in his palm.

It wasn't the dazzling gemstone one might imagine, but rather a crystal sphere about the size of a fist, with an incredibly peculiar texture. It possessed a semi-transparent, murky quality, its interior a dark, dull yellow base, its surface covered with countless mottled, dark red lines of varying shades, resembling dried blood. The sphere itself didn't emit light; instead, it seemed to absorb the surrounding light, dimming the aura around it. It lay quietly in Yi Huawei's palm, tightly enveloped by pure true energy, yet still emanated an indescribable, eerie suction force, like a miniature abyss, solidified with countless acts of despair and greed.

Dan Wanjing subconsciously took another half step back, still shaken by the terrifying impact. However, she saw that her master's hand was as steady as a rock, and the warm purple aura firmly enveloped the crystal ball, preventing even a trace of its malevolent energy from leaking out.

"This is the relic of the Evil Emperor."

Yi Huawei's voice echoed in the empty stone chamber, dispelling some of the chill: "What it contains is not simply true qi or internal energy, but the essence of the life cultivation that the evil emperors of the Demonic Sect poured into it before their deaths—the most primordial life essence. Its power is immense, but its nature is mixed and violent, and it is also mixed with countless negative thoughts and death energy. Ordinary people who touch it will immediately suffer a backlash, at best going insane, at worst dying."

He looked up at Shan Wanjing with a deep gaze: "Wanjing, your foundation is solid and your temperament is quite resilient, but if you want to bear this power, you still need to go through trials. The process may be painful, so you need to keep your mind clear and your thoughts unwavering in order to gain the benefits and avoid the harm."

Upon hearing this, Shan Wanjing instantly understood her master's intention. Her master was actually going to bestow upon her the primordial essence of the Evil Emperor's Relic, a supreme treasure of the demonic sect, a relic capable of causing a sensation throughout the world!
Shock, disbelief, and overwhelming emotion instantly overwhelmed her. Shan Wanjing knew that her master's skill was profound, far surpassing the mortal realm, and he truly did not need external aids to enhance his cultivation. Yet, his choice to bestow this opportunity upon her showed a love and nurturing heart as heavy as a mountain.

"Master..."

Dan Wanjing's voice choked slightly with emotion, a thousand words stuck in her throat, but in the end, they only turned into a deep bow: "Wanjing... I am unworthy... I will certainly live up to Master's expectations!"

Without further hesitation, her gaze hardened. She followed the instructions, walked to the stone table, sat cross-legged, and tried to calm her turbulent emotions. She focused her mind, activated her family's secret technique, and adjusted herself to her optimal state.

Yi Huawei nodded slightly, offering no further words of gratitude to Shan Wanjing. With his left hand, fingers joined like a sword, he flicked the air, sending out several gentle yet precise finger strikes that landed on several major acupoints around Shan Wanjing's body, temporarily strengthening the resilience of her meridians. Simultaneously, his right hand, holding the Evil Emperor's Relic shrouded in purple aura, slowly moved it to a point one foot above the Baihui acupoint on the top of Shan Wanjing's head.

"Guard your mind and spirit. Whatever you feel is illusory. If you do not have a single thought, no evil can invade you!"

Yi Huawei shouted in a deep voice, like a morning bell striking the lake of Shan Wanjing's heart.

Before he finished speaking, the purple aura in his palm trembled slightly, revealing a tiny crack.

In an instant, a torrent of icy coldness, rage, and indescribable chaos, like the waters of a bursting dam in the Milky Way, or like the tangible malice of countless vengeful spirits, rushed into Shan Wanjing's Baihui acupoint through that narrow opening!

"Well--!"

Dan Wanjing trembled violently, as if struck by lightning! An indescribable chill instantly swept over her entire body, as if her blood had frozen. Following closely behind was excruciating pain! The force was too immense, too violent, surging wildly into her meridians, almost bursting them! Her meridians felt unbearably strained, and her dantian felt as if a block of eternal ice had been thrown into it, churning endlessly. (End of Chapter)