The mortals within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World were organized once more, still taking the examination in cohorts of one hundred thousand. The test this time was identical to the previous one, consisting of the exact same three questions.
With their prior experience, the mortals worked swiftly and finished writing their answers in no time. Yet the efficacy of this examination was far inferior to the last. It pinpointed only several hundred suspects, and even then, without any real certainty. Wei Yuan personally inspected the hundreds of targets that had been singled out, and sure enough, the inner demon was not among them.
It seemed the inner demon that had arrived this time knew how to adapt and bide its time.
Wei Yuan looked grim. Clearly, through some unknown means, the new inner demon had learned what befell its predecessor. Its answers were entirely airtight, leaving not the slightest flaw.
Soon, however, a second examination paper was distributed. This time, all the mortals were split into two groups: half fought while half solved the problems, rotating after two hours.
When the second group finished their papers, a bolt of thunder suddenly split the sky of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, striking straight onto the crown of a girl who looked barely seventeen or eighteen!
The girl’s expression flickered with bewilderment before instantly turning hideous. Hundreds of densely packed pupils materialized within her eyes, glaring venomously at Wei Yuan up in the air as her mouth spewed vile curses.
Wei Yuan gave her no chance to speak. Immortal light rolled forth in waves, instantly refining her into calamity ash.
With the second inner demon eliminated, Wei Yuan finally let out a sigh of relief. The method used against the inner demon this time had been Ji Liuli's idea; the second paper consisted primarily of arithmetic, along with several logical deductions derived from it.
The Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World had been running stably for years. The vast majority of mortals within had already been enlightened and possessed a solid grasp of basic mathematics, so they knew how to solve most of the problems on the test. Even by the standards of the otherworldly realm, these mortals were equivalent to having completed compulsory education.
Yet the trap had been laid precisely there. Several questions on the paper had two correct answers. One followed the default Great Dao of Heaven and Earth of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, which was based on base ten.
The heavenly dao governing the purple sky patches, however, differed; the invading monsters actually operated on base three, carrying over every three units. Calculating on that basis produced an entirely different answer. The mortal possessed by the inner demon had a high probability of knowing arithmetic, yet the test paper made no mention whatsoever of numerical bases. Lulled into dropping its guard, the inner demon using base three was indeed tricked into revealing itself.
Despite exterminating the second inner demon, Wei Yuan could not feel the slightest bit of joy. The cultivators glanced up at the sky; seeing that Qingming's heavens remained as clear as ever, they knew the ordeal was far from over.
Sure enough, before long, Wei Yuan felt a faint, nagging discomfort, as if a grain of sand had blown into his eye.
Wei Yuan opened his eyes and gave a wry smile. "Another inner demon has arrived. That's the third."
The ease and composure vanished from Ji Liuli's face as well. Frowning, she said, "Even if we wipe this one out, more will likely follow. We can't rely on shortcuts anymore. We must investigate the root cause and devise a fundamental countermeasure."
Feng Tingyu raised her hand and asked, "How is this inner demon different from the inner demon tribulation during Scenery Command?"
It was a well-known fact that disciples of the Hall of the Bright King lacked common knowledge. Feng Chutang explained, "A Scenery Command inner demon is born of one's own divine soul. It can be seen as a projection of the self, or as the embryonic form of the Three Corpses. At that stage, the tribulation is essentially a struggle against oneself. Some genius cultivators may find their inner demons mutating under extraterrestrial influence, but fundamentally, they still arise from within the sea of consciousness.
"What Wei Yuan is facing right now, however, is a tribulation one should only encounter after becoming an immortal. Every one of these fiends hails from beyond the heavens, so strictly speaking, this is a celestial demon tribulation. It's just that past cultivators couldn't distinguish between them clearly and used the terms interchangeably, a habit that has persisted to this day. The trouble now is that no one knows just how many fiends there are."
"Is there no way to defend against them?" Feng Tingyu asked again.
Feng Chutang sighed. "Wei Yuan is neither an immortal nor a Scenery Command cultivator yet. Although his mindscape world is immense, its fundamental worldly rules are not yet complete. It leaks on all sides and is riddled with openings, making it impossible to keep celestial demons out. But incomplete worldly rules also bring an advantage: when that colossal power of the world cannot achieve balance, it generates severe distortion and suppression. The stronger the incoming celestial demon, the harsher the distortion it suffers. That's why the celestial demons arriving now aren't exceptionally powerful; otherwise, there would be no defending against them at all."
Feng Tingyu half-understood, closing her eyes slightly as she pondered his words.
Zhang Sheng suddenly said, "Allow me to test this celestial demon's methods first."
Above her head materialized a young Daoist. The Daoist raised a finger, and an immortal sword resting beside his seat unsheathed itself, flying directly into the space between Wei Yuan's brows. Beside the young Daoist's seat, the faint silhouettes of three more immortal swords flickered, though they remained incorporeal phantoms that had yet to take shape.
Zhang Sheng then closed her eyes slightly, her divine thought already manifesting within the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World.
Inside the realm, she no longer concealed herself. Her robes fluttered, ethereal and transcendent like an immortal. She pointed toward the sky, and that immortal sword appeared, promptly splitting from one into two, and two into four, multiplying endlessly in the blink of an eye before descending upon the mortals below—one sword falling toward each person.
In an instant, every mortal felt as though catastrophic doom had struck. Some stood frozen, paralyzed by sheer terror; some wept aloud; some fled blindly in every direction; and others shouted accusations at the heavens.
Suddenly, black qi surged from an old man, attempting to flee. But the moment the black qi showed itself, the millions of sword phantoms vanished without a trace, leaving only the true immortal sword hanging high in the sky.
The immortal sword turned into a streak of radiance that flashed and vanished; the black qi dissipated into a wisp of blue smoke amid a piercing shriek.
Zhang Sheng did not stop there. Instead, she bowed toward the sky, and an elder Daoist appeared. In the old Daoist's hands seemed to rest a miniature pagoda, which instantly poured forth boundless radiant light!
Under that luminous glow, faint, ghostly fissures appeared in what had seemed empty space. Within those rifts, black qi drifted ceaselessly like thriving waterweeds.
Zhang Sheng sighed inwardly and departed from the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World.
Watching from the side, Wei Yuan was thoroughly awed by the bearing and techniques of the two Daoists. He committed every posture, movement, and even the spell's light spectrum to memory in detail for future need.
What he admired even more was Zhang Sheng herself. He truly could not fathom how she had conceived of a dharma idol featuring three Daoists; had it been him, he could never have imagined such a thing. The Sword Tomb of the world possessed only three figures, yet they seemed to encompass all the supreme principles under heaven—merely sitting there, they could compel an immortal to concede defeat.
Looking back at his own Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, vast though its population was, it was the very definition of a disorderly rabble.
Han Li loved playing the pig to eat the tiger, inherently lacking an aura of grandeur. Jun Weizhi had the looks and the style, but his strength fell just a bit short. Furthermore, someone as clever as him tended to haggle over every detail, exuding pettiness from head to toe. As for Fuyao, her coquettishness was far too blunt, lacking nuance...
All in all, after witnessing the methods of the three Daoists, Wei Yuan found fault with everyone around him.
Back on the plaza, Zhang Sheng opened her eyes and said, "The Great Dao of Wei Yuan's mindscape world is incomplete, leaving it impossible to seal. Celestial demons will continue to arrive in an endless stream..."
Just then, Wei Yuan let out a bitter laugh and sighed, "Another one has arrived... Are they queuing up outside waiting for admission?"
Zhang Sheng frowned. Above her head, a middle-aged Daoist manifested, holding a cluster of light whose true form remained indistinct. The middle-aged Daoist appeared for merely a few breaths before vanishing. Having summoned all three Daoists in succession, fine beads of sweat now covered Zhang Sheng's brow.
Once the middle-aged Daoist vanished, a flicker of murderous intent crossed Zhang Sheng's face. "His realm cannot truly be considered a mindscape world yet; it remains merely a dharma idol, and one hidden within this world at that. I was wondering why so many celestial demons were arriving. It seems this is no accident—someone has calculated this scheme against him."
Ji Liuli said, "If it's a deliberate scheme, they haven't merely marked the target, but opened a pathway as well. That is a massive undertaking!"
Zhang Sheng asked, "Does Immortal Monarch Yanshi have a solution?"
Ji Liuli sighed. "Grandmaster showed no reaction beforehand, which proves the schemer is lurking deep in the shadows with extraordinarily sophisticated methods. Moreover, Grandmaster is under immense pressure right now, surrounded by powerful foes watching like hungry tigers. He is practically sleeping with Ancestor's dharma sword clutched to his chest."
There was one thought Ji Liuli left unsaid, but everyone present understood it: she feared someone was laying an insidious trap, using Wei Yuan to draw Yanshi into exposing a weakness, with Yanshi as the true target.
By now, Wei Yuan understood the whole picture. He declared at once, "I understand. There is no need to disturb the Palace Master over this. The inner demons have only so many tricks. As long as the sky doesn't collapse, they can't do anything to me. It seems this tribulation won't end anytime soon, but no matter—if it won't end, then let it drag on!
"Generals to counter incoming soldiers, earth to stem the flood! Everyone, eat what you will and drink what you will. I'd like to see just how long the mastermind behind such a massive undertaking can hold out!"
Zhang Sheng pondered for a moment and nodded. "That is one approach, but remember: do not clash head-on with the inner demons yourself. Simply let the people within your mindscape world take action."
Wei Yuan laughed heartily. "They're merely inner demons, what's there to fear? You underestimate me too much! Not to brag, but this Dao heart of mine—"
Before Wei Yuan could finish his boast, Zhang Sheng coldly cut him off: "I just inspected it. Your Dao heart is riddled with openings, leaking like a sieve. If nothing else, the single vice of lust alone is enough to doom you for eternity!"
Wei Yuan's swagger vanished instantly. At the same time, a chill ran down his spine. He had concealed that flaw so thoroughly—how on earth had Teacher seen through it?
Chapter 952