I Possess a Scroll of Demon-Subduing Records

Two days and three nights had passed since they fled. Who would have thought that they would stop after running more than 100 kilometers and even find a hideout in the county town under the name of the Jingtian Sect?

The county town is quite lively now. Xiangxiang County is actually a relatively peaceful small county town. There is usually no trouble. Although people are not rich, they live a relatively good life. There are mountains and rivers here. People can make a living by the mountains and rivers. They also have land to cultivate. Moreover, it is located in the south, so there is basically no war.

This is a great place to retire.

Lin Yi's previous encounters with people like Manager Sun were merely a case of survivorship bias. It seemed that he hadn't met a single good person, but in reality, it was because the places he went to were prone to attracting bad people.

These days, only idle and lazy people would loaf around in teahouses. Manager Sun's shop isn't high-end either; upper-class people wouldn't go there, and hardworking and honest people wouldn't waste their money there either.

After two rounds of screening, those who remain will certainly not be many good people.

In such a small county town, the appearance of more than ten corpses laid out in broad daylight at the gate of the Jingyesi (a local military command) was enough to shock the villagers for a whole year. Even the county magistrate was terrified. When had such vicious bandits ever appeared in the county town? It was too terrifying!

But seeing the documents left by Lin Yi, the magistrate was relieved. The bandit was a bandit, but not so scary. Anyway, he hadn't done too many bad things. At most, he had won over the local gentry and made a little money, but he hadn't done anything too outrageous, so he wouldn't be targeted and killed.

In an effort to appease the villain, the magistrate of Xiangxiang County had a document left by Lin Yi copied and placed on the bulletin board at the entrance and exit of the county town, so that officials could read it to the people.

There weren't many literate people, and the same was true for the officials. But he only needed to tell the story vividly; he didn't have to completely replicate what he heard from the clerk. If he forgot something, he could embellish it himself without any problem.

In short, some brave men killed the villains who were aiding and abetting the evildoers, and also killed the monsters in Wuyun Ravine, restoring peace to the county town.

The uninformed public, upon hearing this outcome, naturally cheered and no one cared about the dead.

Lin Yi secretly monitored the situation and, seeing that everything was relatively stable, returned to his cultivation with peace of mind.

Jiang Linglong still hasn't returned. Her fighting spirit has vanished, but the situation is not optimistic.

Lin Yi was keeping an eye on her updates. Since last night, her status had changed to: "Trapped in a predicament, thinking of a way out, worried about her young husband at home."

This is a complete disaster. Even Jiang Linglong is in trouble and may not be able to come back for a while.

When Lin Yi left, he no longer thought about relying on Jiang Linglong to save him, but he never expected that Jiang Linglong would end up getting him into a predicament while they were fighting.

Right now, all he can do is keep improving his skills.

During the day, Lin Yi inscribed three more talismans on his spiritual platform, officially becoming a Six-Talisman Mage.

The Six Paths Register is entirely golden.

With his cultivation level in talismanic arts reaching the fourth rank, Lin Yi felt that his soul was very strong, but he could no longer summon new stone tablets in his mind to inscribe talismans.

Currently, Lin Yi's cultivation in both the Dao of Talismans and Qi Refining is stuck at the fourth rank.

However, it didn't matter. Lin Yi went out that night with the dark cloud in his arms. With the help of the dark cloud, he caught ghosts. Lin Yi was busy all night, but he only gained ten years of cultivation.

The dark clouds have greatly improved his efficiency, but it's still not enough. Back then, Lin Yi only had sixty years of cultivation after grinding for three months. Now, he's efficient at killing monsters, but his experience gain is low, and he's struggling to level up.

All three cultivation paths had reached a bottleneck, leaving Lin Yi helpless.

He was listless during the routine pep talk for his fake followers. He seemed to hear whispers in his ears, mostly girls' voices, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He just felt a little dizzy.

He Dong, who was pressed against him, felt it most clearly. Lin Yi had always been very calm and composed, but he hadn't been in good spirits these past two days.

"Could it be that a demon has been born in my heart?"

He Dong was not a human cultivator and did not know much about human cultivators' cultivation. Although she was very unwilling, she still took advantage of Lin Yi's Qi cultivation to slip away from him and go find Xiao Se.

Have you noticed that Lin Yi has been acting a little strange lately?

"You're only just realizing this?"

Xiao Se glanced at He Dong sideways, his obvious mockery instantly igniting He Dong's anger.

Isn't this little vixen just trying to outdo others and show off how much she knows Lin Yi?

“I’ve been with Lin Yi day and night, and I noticed something was wrong a long time ago. I just thought he could handle it on his own. Now it seems he’s encountered a mental demon. You’re a cultivator too, you should know what to do!”

"Inner demons!?"

Xiao Se initially thought He Dong was referring to the feeling that Lin Yi had been cursed by Wang An, since such strange magic does exist. However, even if it were cursed, it wouldn't pose such a great threat to people. He didn't expect it to be this serious.

Inner demons, once associated with the word "demon," are naturally not a good thing.

Humans are different from other cultivators; they do not need to undergo tribulations, and their cultivation speed is much faster. A few decades of cultivation can rival the cultivation of hundreds of years of cultivation of demons.

But the way of Heaven is ultimately fair. The price of gaining great power in a short time is that it is easy to breed inner demons. Inner demons are born from the human heart and can also be destroyed by the human heart. But if inner demons cannot be destroyed, not only will one's cultivation be difficult to advance, but one may also step into the demonic path.

Therefore, the more important it is for disciples of a major sect to cultivate their character before passing on their skills. Cultivating the Dao is primarily about cultivating the mind, which is why many disciples have the experience of worldly life. Without experiencing the world and seeing through illusions, it is very easy to develop inner demons.

The emergence of inner demons is unpredictable. Like Qu Jing, who suffered the murder of her father and fellow disciples, she had a severe inner demon. Despite constantly questioning her conscience, she was still easily tricked by A Qi.

Some inner demons arise in a very subtle way. There was once a Qi cultivator in Longhu Mountain who, while condensing lead flowers, suddenly recalled his childhood when he was a child and his mother was annoyed by his desire for candy, so she scolded him.

The Qi cultivator went berserk on the spot, blowing up a small hill, and met a tragic end himself.

It's absurd that such an ancient thing could be brought up and become a mental obstacle.

Some cultivators speculate that inner demons are actually the tribulations of human cultivators. Just as demons and monsters have tribulations, inner demons of human cultivators are also tribulations, only the way and rules of dealing with them are different.

To deal with their inner demons, cultivators devised various methods, such as experiencing trials in the mortal world and cultivating a pure and desireless mind.

These methods are ineffective; some people gain profound enlightenment through worldly experience, while others, who were originally steadfast in their Daoist beliefs, become completely unable to escape the world after a single journey.

Some people who are pure of heart and have few desires can cultivate themselves without any obstacles, while others who are pure of heart and have few desires endure until the pressure explodes, leading to their death and the dissipation of their spiritual path.

The monks also developed the indulgence school, which advocates following one's heart's desires and doing whatever one wants, doing whatever one pleases.

As a result, many eccentric individuals emerged in the world, and those destined to become demons did so, while those destined to attain enlightenment did so.

This is what makes inner demons so terrifying; there is simply no single way to accurately deal with them. All methods may work, or each may backfire. People can only find methods that suit them best to cope with inner turmoil and obstacles as much as possible.

Therefore, all cultivators in the world turn pale at the mention of inner demons, and it's no wonder that He Dong sensed something was wrong and put aside his prejudices to discuss it with Xiao Se.

If Lin Yi really develops inner demons, even if they don't know how to deal with them, they should still find a way to guide him to overcome them.

"This matter should not be taken lightly. Lin Yi could not have developed inner demons for no reason. There must be some reason. We must find out his inner conflict before we can treat the problem effectively."

"But I can't fathom what Lin Yi is thinking every day."

Xiao Se largely agreed with He Dong's statement.

She had previously thought that Lin Yi had been subjected to underhanded methods, and had secretly placed many talismans on him, but they were of no use at all.

"Don't ghosts enter dreams? Why don't you go into Lin Yi's dream and see what he's thinking?"

"No, Lin Yi doesn't dream. If I use a mind-controlling technique, it will damage his soul."

He Dong rejected Xiao Se's suggestion without hesitation, and then said, "Why don't you go and talk to him?"

As sworn brothers, he shouldn't be hiding anything from you.

"That's not necessarily true. He's been hiding quite a few secrets from me. He didn't mention you were the Ghost King before, and he didn't tell you about his poor health either, did he?"

You said he's not in good health?

He Dong's eyes were filled with an eerie look.

Foolish woman, you have no idea how healthy Lin Yi is!

However, such a misunderstanding is acceptable. He Dong coughed and said, "He probably didn't hide it from you on purpose, did he? You didn't tell him you were a woman either!"

Xiao Se: "!"

That ghost is truly despicable. If we weren't on friendly terms and discussing Lin Yi's issues together, she would have definitely given us a piece of her mind!

"I also have my own reasons. Fine, I'll go talk to him. Just don't cause any trouble."

"I promise I won't cause trouble."

He Dong said with a serious expression.

She doesn't have any bad intentions, so why would she cause trouble?

He Dong quietly returned to Lin Yi's arms, while Xiao Se, looking rather strange, came to Lin Yi's room. Just as she was about to enter, she heard Wang Jinxuan talking to Lin Yi.

"Master, it seems I've reached the next level."

Wang Jinxuan's voice sounded excited, and Xiao Se couldn't help but purse her lips. She was about the same age as Wang Jinxuan, and Wang Jinxuan also lived a life of luxury. Even if he wasn't as talented as her and could cultivate to the third rank, he should at least be at the fifth or sixth rank, right?

The poor study literature, the rich study martial arts. In the Qi Refining stage, the most important thing is diet. With Wang Jinxuan's family background, he only entered the Rank 1 at the age of eighteen. What kind of god-like good-for-nothing is he?

Xiao Se felt genuinely disgusted, while Lin Yi was much gentler.

Although he also felt that Wang Jinxuan was a bit inexperienced, Lin Yi still praised her for her breakthrough, saying, "Not bad, not bad, keep up the good work."

Wang Jinxuan bowed deeply and said, "Master, I have no way to repay your great kindness. I have no money on me right now. Would it be alright if I offered myself to you?"

Xiao Se: "???"

How could there be such shameless people in the world?

Chapter 163 Carving the Talisman on the Flower

Not only was Xiao Se shocked, but He Dong was also stunned when she snuggled back into Lin Yi's arms.

Good heavens, she was on guard against Xiao Se every day, but she never expected there to be such a reckless Wang Jinxuan.

Although she felt that Lin Yi wouldn't like a woman who was simple-minded, silly, and useless, she couldn't resist the fact that the woman was being offered to her!

What kind of girl is so unreserved?

Lin Yi was speechless for a moment. He was about to say something to Wang Jinxuan, but when he saw her big, bright eyes and seemingly simple expression hiding her deep unease, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.

Of course, it's impossible to agree to that.

"You should watch less of that nonsense. You are my disciple. Once a teacher, always a father. As long as you cultivate diligently and uphold justice, that will be the best way to repay your teacher."

As for the joke about offering yourself in marriage, please don't make such a thing. You are a young lady from a prestigious family, and now that you are the daughter of the Demon Emperor, your status is even more noble. If you were to marry in the future, you would at least have to go through the proper formalities of marriage, so how could you demean yourself like that?

"But didn't you also say that all men are born equal?"

At first, Wang Jinxuan just mingled in the crowd and shouted along, but now she has become a devout follower of her master's teachings.

She deeply agreed with Lin Yi's reasoning, so when Lin Yi said that she was a young lady from a prestigious family, the daughter of the Demon Emperor, and of noble status, she no longer agreed.

Lin Yi: "..."

He was just trying to comfort her, saying that it wasn't that he was rejecting her, but that she was of high status and he couldn't easily offer himself in return.

Unexpectedly, Wang Jinxuan also learned the tactic of using one's own weapon against oneself, leaving Lin Yi speechless.

Seeing his silence, Wang Jinxuan also became serious, no longer joking around, but saying with a solemn expression: "Master, my father taught me a principle."

He said that it doesn't matter if a girl is a little stupid, a little willful, or a little strange; the most important thing is to be grateful, remember kindness, and repay kindness.

I know you sacrificed a lot to help me escape. If you just abandon me, the world is vast, and a master like you can roam freely. I'm the one who's dragging you down. So, when I said I'd repay you with my body, I meant I'd be willing to do anything Master asked of me. For example, the Demon Emperor's Secret Realm, which others would covet, Master can take if he wants it.