Dongxuan Spiritual Realm

Chapter 88 Darkness in the Heart
Xiao Lingyu used the Pure Yang Sword Aura to sweep up Jing Lei and his son Jing Han, transforming them into a streak of silvery-white light that soared into the sky and headed straight north.

Once they had completely disappeared into the horizon, Yang Qisheng flew away from Wanliu Village on his sword and returned to Longgao Mountain.

First, they checked the note left for Ye Yunqiao and found it hadn't been touched. Ye Yunqiao hadn't returned. Then they went to the Rising Dragon Cave on the mountaintop, but it was shrouded in clouds and mist, and Master Mingyi hadn't come out of seclusion either.

Calming himself down, he first took out the paper sedan chair in the Night-Shining Cave.

The sedan chair was set aside for the time being; the main focus was on the sixteen wooden puppets.

Shen Jin was surprised to hear that the Empty Void Prince had been executed. After learning what had happened, he was very happy: "So it was the Yunyang Sect who took action. No wonder, otherwise the Pure Yang Mirror would have been difficult to deal with."

The other wooden figures also said, "Great! He's dead, and we can finally be free."

Yang Qisheng asked, "My master taught me the Lingbao Duren Jing, which can help everyone break free from the constraints of their current wooden bodies and be reincarnated without any further hindrances."

Shen Jin raised his wooden arm: "You can send those seven to reincarnation. We nine brothers have a different way to overcome our tribulations."

It turns out that nine of the sixteen puppet sedan chair carriers were unorthodox cultivators who died in the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation a hundred years ago. After their deaths, their primordial spirits, through various reasons, attached themselves to the flying swords they had forged and sank into the ruins.

With guidance from Cui Wushe, the Empty Void Prince used the Soul Searching Technique to find them one by one, seized their flying swords to forge the Nine Void Swords, and refined their primordial spirits into wooden puppets to become sedan chair carriers.

Therefore, the nine of them are one group, while the other seven were selected by Young Master Kongxu from Cui Wushe's Lesser Yin Hell. They are cultivators from the past twenty or thirty years and are not from the same generation as the previous nine.

Shen Jin and the others were forced to become sedan chair bearers and ghost servants, and naturally they were unwilling to accept it.

All nine of them were highly skilled cultivators in the Refining Qi stage before their deaths. Although they all followed unorthodox methods, they each possessed unique skills. By coming together and studying for several years, they actually developed a method for refining ghost pills from ghost immortals, then using the ghost pills to overcome heavenly tribulations, constantly refining them with the thunder and fire of the heavenly tribulations, eliminating yin and advancing yang, changing the nature of the golden pills, and finally nurturing the nascent soul.

They are unwilling to be reincarnated because of the mystery of the next life; who knows what the next life will be like?
Most likely, they forgot about cultivating immortality, lived a simple and ordinary life as mortals, and if they were lucky, they could die of old age, and then their three souls would return to heaven and their seven spirits to earth, returning to nature.

Those who are unlucky and suffer misfortune and torment die with resentment in their hearts, becoming vengeful ghosts.

It would be better to start from here, continue cultivating, and try again on the path to immortality; at least theoretically it's feasible.

They made up their minds, and Yang Qisheng not only did not stop them, but also returned the Nine Void Swords to them.

One of them, named Bai Tan, regained his immortal sword after many years. Overjoyed, he could hardly believe his eyes.

He exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "Fellow Daoist, you truly deserve to be a disciple of the orthodox Xuanmen sect! Not only did you save us from our suffering, but you also returned our flying swords to us. You are truly admirable."

"These swords originally belonged to you seniors, so it is only right and proper to return them to you."

The nine people praised, "Fellow Daoist Yang is kind and courageous; his future achievements will surely be limitless!"

They planned to continue their cultivation and begged Yang Qisheng to send them back to Shen Jin's former cave dwelling—the Silver Toad Cave on Jidou Mountain in Saxinghai.

Shen Jin said, "I have a unique silver toad that can cure all diseases and detoxify all poisons. I also have star-scattering cold iron. I will definitely choose the best one to give to you, fellow Daoist."

The other eight also repeatedly promised that if they had the opportunity to return to their caves and retrieve their belongings, they would reward them handsomely.

Yang Qisheng readily agreed. On the one hand, he found the gifts these people wanted to give him very interesting, such as the silver toad with a winnowing basket, which he was particularly eager to see.

He doesn't necessarily have to receive anything in return; even if these people have nothing to offer him, he'll still agree. As the saying goes, if you're going to help someone, help them all the way. It's not appropriate to leave these people on Longgao Mountain; a trip to Saxinghai will broaden their horizons.

He temporarily prepared a cave room, placed the nine wooden puppets inside, and let them cultivate on their own. He would send them back when he had time.

Yang Qisheng shattered the remaining seven puppet bodies and used the techniques in the "Scripture of Salvation" to repeatedly cleanse their primordial spirits until they were completely purified before sending them to be reincarnated.

This time, they eliminated three demon disciples of the Taiyin Ghost Path and obtained three treasures: the Black Heart Lamp, the Soul-Stealing Rope, and the Heart-Severing Knife.

The Heartbreak Blade was originally a side-skill flying knife, but it was directly sent into the Myriad Swords Gourd, where it was left to be tempered and refined by the Celestial Fire within.

Furthermore, the Panlong Sword and Fengming Sword, which were left behind after Bao Wancheng was killed and were used by Chu Hanfeng and Shi Wenyan, were also put into the gourd.

The vengeful spirits and evil ghosts in the Black Heart Lamp are all transferred to the Soul-Crossing Fan for nurturing. Once their resentment has dissipated and they have accumulated enough, he will gather them together and send them away.

As he converted more and more ghosts, his Dao heart became increasingly stable. In addition, with the nine worms eliminated, the harm from various evil spells and curses became less and less, and the Five Elements Divine Fire Furnace became more and more stable. Outside the Five Elements Flames in the furnace, a layer of merit flames formed from the Five Virtues could be seen. It was also five-colored, but even purer and more condensed.

According to the "Scripture of Salvation," when the fire of the five virtues is gathered to a certain degree, it can transform into the divine flame of the Heavenly Heart.

That is one of the three most powerful flames in Taoism. It not only possesses unparalleled power but also has endless uses. Once it is refined, all evil spirits in the heavens will not only be unable to harm it, but will not even be able to get close to it.

Moreover, this fire is also a necessary condition for opening the spiritual realm and cultivating to the level of a divine lord!
Both the Black Heart Lamp and the Soul-Stealing Rope are extremely evil demonic artifacts, and Yang Qisheng hesitated whether to destroy them.

The inner demon Xiaoqian appeared out of nowhere again: "Master, these two items are both treasures. If you don't want them, you might as well give them to me!"

Yang Qisheng pondered for a moment and said, "What's the difference between you using them and me using them directly?"

After receiving twelve streams of primordial energy, the demon's body became even more solid. He chuckled and knelt before Yang Qisheng, fawningly massaging his legs: "Of course it's different. I am a demon, a demonic heart and mind severed by my master."
As long as Master maintains a righteous mind and thoughts, I will never be able to cause any trouble. Master, as the saying goes, the implements themselves are neither good nor evil; it is people's hearts that are good or evil. Evil magic used for good is good, and righteous magic used to harm the innocent is evil.

The previous owner had devoted countless efforts to the crafting of these two treasures. For example, the Soul-Stealing Rope required the condensation of human resentment and dark energy into threads, with at least three thousand threads forming a single line, three thousand threads forming a rope, and three thousand ropes forming a single rope.

Afterwards, many more steps are needed to finally forge this treasure, and the Black Heart Lamp is even more time-consuming and laborious. If these two magical treasures were in my hands, they could be put to many wonderful uses. For you to destroy them like this is nothing short of a waste.

"Give it to me, and if you encounter any heretical cultivators in the future, you won't have to worry about it at all, lest you get your mind and hands dirty. Just teach me how to use it to fight fire with fire, so that those evil demons can get their just desserts. Wouldn't that be better?"

Yang Qisheng's gaze fell on the paper sedan chair: "Senior Shen and the others have been to Shaoyin Mountain and Taiyin Cave. They said that in the future, having this sedan chair will make things twice as easy. Taiyi Palace and Taiyin Sect will definitely have a life-or-death battle in the future, and these things should come in handy then."

He then gave Xiaoqian the Black Heart Lamp, the Soul-Snatching Rope, and the sedan chair, but took back the Three Corpse Staff and the Nine-Headed Mirror.

Yang Qisheng knew what Heishan Xiaoqian was going to do, but he believed he could control the situation.

Heishan Xiaoqian is his inner demon, a product of his obsessions and delusions, created through the opportunity opened by the Mingyi Zhenren Dongxuan Lingjing.

In reality, Heishan Xiaoqian is also him, representing the darker side of his heart.

Everyone has delusions and a dark side; these things objectively exist.

Whether it's the Black Heart Lamp or the Soul-Stealing Rope; or the Three Corpse Staff or the Nine-Headed Mirror.

These evil magical artifacts were ones he himself couldn't bear to destroy.

People who dare not face their own hearts, who dare not admit that their inner demons are also a part of themselves, who take the good deeds as their own and the bad deeds as the work of their inner demons, will eventually suffer from mental breakdown and become possessed by demons.

Yang Qisheng is able to bravely admit that his inner demons are the dark side of himself.

As his magical power increases, he will develop more obsessions and delusions. Even without Heishan Xiaoqian, other inner demons will arise. These inner demons are not outside the body, but inside the heart.

Yang Qisheng continuously rejected all the demonic thoughts that had arisen within him and transferred them to Heishan Xiaoqian.

This inner demon will become increasingly evil, and even if Yang Qisheng doesn't actively give him vital energy, his strength will only grow stronger.

The Lingbao Duren Jing (Scripture of Salvation of the Lingbao) clearly states that as long as one accumulates enough of the five virtues, one will not be disturbed by inner demons or have one's mind affected.

If one can refine the Heavenly Heart Divine Flame, one will never be disturbed by any demons, including inner demons. When one cultivates to become a Celestial Immortal, one can refine inner demons into one's own "Demon King Incarnation" or "Wrath Incarnation"!
If you can't reach that level in the end, you can use the method to completely refine and eliminate the inner demons during the two stages of gathering herbs and refining elixirs, and using the Golden Elixir to restore the elixir.

Therefore, it is acceptable to appropriately enhance the power of one's inner demons and use them to do some dirty and tiring work. However, it is essential to keep them within a controllable range and prevent the demons from controlling oneself or having any influence on one's thoughts.

Xiaoqian was overjoyed to receive two magical treasures. She especially liked the underworld sedan chair. She flew straight in, closed the curtain, laughed a few times, and then the sedan chair and she disappeared into thin air.

The cave was dimly lit. Yang Qisheng stared at the spot where Xiaoqian had disappeared and silently closed his eyes.

Xiaoqian is his inner demon, and the inner demon will always be in his heart, not in his physical heart, but in his consciousness.

Yang Qisheng focused his mind into the Five Elements Divine Fire Furnace in his abdomen, using his thoughts to gather energy and his energy to ignite the fire, causing the fire to burn brighter and brighter, with five colors of light—blue, red, yellow, white, and black—appearing in turn.

The grand ritual has failed, and evil spirits will roam the world from now on, giving these inner demons a great opportunity to flourish.

(End of this chapter)