A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

"Are you thinking that it doesn't matter if the secret realm collapses, you've done your best, and then you can live a carefree life?"

As they spoke, the inner demon Zhu Cheng had already climbed up to Zhu Cheng's waist. He stretched out several arms and tightly hugged Zhu Cheng's body, like an octopus, wrapping himself around him tightly.

Zhu Cheng's pupils suddenly contracted.

"You're talking nonsense!"

He gritted his teeth and squeezed out those three words.

But his voice, carried on through the blood, sounded so weak and so pale.

The evil thoughts that were assaulting his mind were increasing.

Various hallucinations began to appear before his eyes—

He saw himself as a child, locked in a small dark room, reciting those tedious Four Books and Five Classics;

He saw himself as a teenager, forced to practice archery and horsemanship, things he had no interest in at all;

He saw himself as an adult, overwhelmed by so-called "responsibilities" and "missions".

The purple hue in his eyes grew stronger and stronger.

The bulge on the right side of the inner demon Zhu Cheng suddenly burst open with a "poof".

A toddler's head popped out from inside.

The child looked to be only five or six years old, with a round face and big eyes; he was quite adorable.

But his eyes held a clever and cunning glint.

He tilted his head, looked at Zhu Cheng, and spoke.

The voice was childish, with the unique babyishness of a child, but the words that came out made Zhu Cheng's heart tremble.

"I don't want to learn the Four Books and Five Classics, or archery and horsemanship... Why can't I go to school like other children?"

The young child's eyes held a naive confusion.

Why...do I have to carry these burdens?

Zhu Cheng opened his mouth, as if to say something, but couldn't utter a word.

Then, the bulge on the left also broke.

A boy's head popped out from inside.

The boy looked to be fourteen or fifteen years old, with delicate features, but his brows carried a composure and maturity beyond his years.

His eyes, unlike those of a young child, were not lively; instead, they held a deep, suppressed light, as if carrying a heavy burden.

He began to speak, reciting, word by word, the content he had memorized countless times:

Confucius said: "Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar? Is it not the mark of a gentleman to remain unperturbed when others do not recognize his merits?"

His voice was steady and standard, without a trace of emotion, like a pre-programmed reading machine.

Sun Tzu said: "War is a matter of vital importance to the State; a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected."

He continued reciting, one article after another, one book after another, as if he were trying to pour out everything that had been crammed into his brain over the years.

His eyes were empty and numb, like a puppet whose soul had been hollowed out, leaving only an empty shell, mechanically repeating the things etched into his bones.

Zhu Cheng looked at the boy, at his precocious appearance, at his eyes that had completely lost their childlike liveliness, and felt as if his heart had been squeezed hard.

The inner demon Zhu Cheng looked at him with a grin, a strange and twisted smile on his ferocious face.

"Admit it..."

The voice of the inner demon Zhu Cheng was like a venomous snake, slithering into Zhu Cheng's ears.

"You've been suffocating under this damn responsibility for a long time..."

He stretched out several arms from different directions, hugged Zhu Cheng's head, and turned his face towards himself.

"You need to rest..."

The inner demon Zhu Cheng's face moved closer to Zhu Cheng's face, with less than an inch between them.

Zhu Cheng could see his own reflection in the eyes of the inner demon Zhu Cheng—

That disheveled version of myself, being corrupted by evil thoughts, on the verge of collapse.

"So, stay..."

The voice of the inner demon Zhu Cheng carried a hypnotic magic, penetrating deep into Zhu Cheng's mind, word by word.

"Stay here...give yourself to me..."

His voice grew softer and gentler, like he was coaxing a child who was about to fall asleep.

"Get a good night's sleep..."

Zhu Cheng's eyelids began to grow heavier and heavier.

Those evil thoughts, as if they had found a breakthrough, surged into his mind even more frantically.

He felt his consciousness being peeled away little by little, being swallowed up little by little, and dissipating little by little.

He felt like he was really about to break down.

The exhaustion, the repression, the loneliness, and the struggles of those years all came rushing back.

It was like a mountain pressing down on his shoulders, making it hard for him to breathe.

He was really tired.

I really want to rest.

Even a short rest would be nice...

"I...want...to...rest..."

Zhu Cheng's voice was very soft, as if it came from a very, very far place.

The purple hue in his eyes had spread to his entire eyeballs, turning his originally black pupils into an eerie purple.

A triumphant smile appeared on the face of the inner demon Zhu Cheng.

Hehe, if only I could possess this body that possesses dragon energy...

The moment he touched Zhu Cheng—

A golden light burst forth from Zhu Cheng's body!

That light was warm and pure, carrying an inviolable holiness, like a small sun suddenly shining in the depths of the sea of ​​blood!

"boom--!!!"

Golden light, like a tide, spread in all directions, pushing the surrounding blood back several feet.

The inner demon Zhu Cheng was struck by the golden light, letting out a shrill scream. His entire body felt as if it had been branded with a hot iron, emitting a puff of black smoke, before he quickly retreated.

"Damn! This dragon energy is way too overpowered!"

The curses of Zhu Cheng, the inner demon, echoed through the blood, carrying a hint of resentment, anger, and helplessness.

He stood not far away, looking at the faint golden aura surrounding Zhu Cheng, his eyes filled with apprehension.

When Zhu Cheng was bathed in that golden light, the purple hue in his eyes vanished as quickly as ice and snow melted away.

He snapped back to his senses, gasping for breath, feeling his back soaked in cold sweat.

He looked down at the inner demon staring at him with venomous eyes in the distance, and felt a wave of fear wash over him.

Almost...

Just a little bit more...

He was about to be consumed by his inner demons.

Zhu Cheng took a deep breath, then seized the opportunity, pushed off with both feet, and swam vigorously towards the sea of ​​blood.

His figure rose rapidly in the blood, growing farther and farther away, smaller and smaller.

The inner demon Zhu Cheng stood there, watching Zhu Cheng's departing figure, and spat.

"Pooh!"

He cursed, then turned into a pool of blood, merging into the surrounding sea of ​​blood and disappearing.