Inner Demons

Black Tiger Ravine. Qin Sang and the master and disciple, Gu Tiannan and Gu Yuan, lowered their escape lights onto a dirt road outside the village, concealing their figures as they drew near. In this isolated village, nine out of ten houses stood deserted in deathly silence. The morning mist had yet to disperse, and not a single wisp of cooking smoke rose into the air. Outside a few doorways sat emaciated, sallow elders, staring blankly into the distance. To Qin Sang, they conveyed only two words: utter despair! "Those evil fiends took away all the villagers brimming with vitality to serve as blood food, sparing not even the children, leaving only these old folks," Gu Tiannan sighed softly. "Have their remains been found?" Qin Sang asked. Gu Tiannan shook his head and pointed toward a black mountain behind the village. "There is a cavern behind the mountain, sealed by a demonic array, and there are two fiends, neither of them weak. Last time, I wounded one, but the other rescued him. Two fists cannot fight four hands, which is why I asked for your help, Junior Brother Qin." Qin Sang looked up toward the mountain behind the village. Aside from being somewhat tall, it had nothing unusual about it, yet under the gloomy morning sky, ghostly mists seemed to drift along its dark silhouette, looking truly eerie. He was eager to head up the mountain right away, eliminate the trouble, and return to the sect to report completion, but he still needed to hear Gu Tiannan's opinion. Gu Tiannan suggested waiting until noon to strike. "I do not know what wicked art this fiend cultivates, but yang energy is at its peak at noon. If we strike then, the yin and evil aura will surely be suppressed." The three of them found an empty house. Qin Sang sat in quiet meditation alone to adjust his condition, yet an inexplicable irritability lingered, refusing to settle for a long time. Something was wrong! Qin Sang's eyes snapped open, vigilance surfacing on his face. Reviewing everything that had happened from Shaohua Mountain to Guyuan Country from the beginning, he realized that in his haste to return and borrow the waist token, he had not thought through anything carefully. He had been led by the nose the entire way, obsessed only with finishing the mission as quickly as possible. Fiends causing trouble in a mortal country was a trivial matter, yet it had caught Martial Uncle Wen's attention, and he had deliberately sent him here. Was there any deeper meaning behind it? Was it truly just to silence critics? The situation regarding the evil fiends had also come solely from Gu Tiannan's account, yet Qin Sang had never pondered it deeply. At this thought, a cold sweat broke out all over him. In cultivation, there was talk of tempering the Dao heart and resisting inner demons, but Qin Sang had never taken it seriously. Relying on the aid of the jade Buddha, even the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation, derived from a minor heavenly tribulation, could do nothing to him—so why should he worry about inner demons? Only now did he realize that inner demons were not always tangible manifestations; his present state could very well be described as an infestation of inner demons. Ever since the Soul Pills lost their efficacy, his heart had been fraught with fear and worry, his mind entirely consumed with Foundation Establishment, driven by sheer impatience for quick results. Other than that, he cared about nothing and paid heed to nothing, like a man possessed. Inner demons affected not only one's Dao heart, but also one's mindset and actions. Leaving the sect to slay demons in such a state—he wouldn't even know how he died! Settle the heart, calm the spirit. Daoist Priest Jixin had taught him this long ago, yet he had forgotten it completely. Qin Sang recited the words silently several times, willing himself to forget the two words "Foundation Establishment," until he finally brushed away his tangled thoughts one by one. In the quiet recesses of his soul, he felt his mind grow a touch clearer and more lucid. A steadfast resolve toward the Dao, yet not enslaved by it. Though this did nothing for his cultivation base right now, Qin Sang knew he would certainly benefit from it in the future. ... Thump! Thump! Someone knocked on the door, and Gu Yuan called out softly, "Martial Uncle Qin." Qin Sang lightly dusted off nonexistent dirt from his Daoist robe, wore a natural, composed smile, and pushed open the door. Outside, the blazing sun hung directly overhead. Qin Sang gave the master and disciple a slight nod. With a new frame of mind, he secretly observed and scrutinized Gu Tiannan. Recalling the records on the jade slip, evil fiends caused trouble in Guyuan Country every few years, and Gu Tiannan had handled it properly every time. His few requests for reinforcements had also been very timely, and the matters resolved impeccably. What a coincidence! Shaohua Mountain had one Sun De; why couldn't there be a second? Looking at Gu Tiannan's face, so ghastly pale that not a trace of blood could be seen, Qin Sang finally understood why he felt uncomfortable. That complexion was identical to that of a corpse, a sight he had witnessed countless times on the battlefields of Great Sui. Still, Gu Tiannan was already a hundred years old and an initiated disciple of Shaohua Mountain; one could not arbitrarily judge that he was problematic based on this alone, nor had Qin Sang sensed the slightest aura of evil from him. Protect himself, then watch how things unfolded. With thoughts racing, Qin Sang settled on this strategy. He focused his awareness on the Heavenly Star Tear and the ebony sword, staying prepared for any sudden turn of events, while also quietly readying several talismans and that black bead. Convinced he had covered every angle, he followed behind Gu Tiannan and his disciple, using escape techniques to head up the mountain. The mountain was not steep, and the three soon crossed the crest and reached the rear slopes. The cavern behind the mountain was remarkably conspicuous. Its entrance was a full few zhang wide, a pitch-black maw resembling a demonic eye set into the earth, brimming with dark fog that sight could not penetrate. Hidden in the shadows, the three observed the cavern. The demonic aura at the entrance circulated with regular precision, spinning circle upon circle like a vortex. Qin Sang could sense an air of danger within; Gu Tiannan's claim that a demonic array covered it was likely true. "Junior Brother Qin, do you have any means of breaking arrays?" Gu Tiannan asked via voice transmission. Qin Sang knitted his brows in thought. If he deployed the Ten Directions Yanluo Array, breaking the array with another array should not be difficult, but having decided to observe Gu Tiannan first, he felt it best not to reveal his trump cards beforehand. Taking out the Azure Wave Sword, he replied, "Senior Brother Gu, I primarily practice the sword path. Fighting enemies head-on is fine, but breaking arrays is not my forte." Gu Tiannan suspected nothing. Hearing this, he nodded and slapped his mustard seed bag. Five gleaming beams of sword light immediately flew out. Gu Tiannan muttered incantations, sending streams of spiritual power into the beams, which flared with brilliant radiance. Qin Sang looked closely and found that each of the five beams of sword light enveloped a spiritual sword. He instantly recognized a well-known spell from Shaohua Mountain called the Five Elements Dharma-Breaking Sword. It required five elemental spiritual swords and relied on incantations to channel the five elements spiritual energy of heaven and earth, serving specifically to break arrays. Qin Sang had learned of this spell while listening to a sermon by a martial uncle. Not only was cultivating it extremely time-consuming, but one also had to prepare suitable five-element spiritual swords, yet opportunities to use it were few, so he had never practiced it. Judging by Gu Tiannan's manner, his mastery of this spell was clearly exceedingly profound. As Gu Tiannan went through the motions, dense runes gradually covered the five spiritual swords, their light dazzling as each drew upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. "Go!" A sharp light flashed in Gu Tiannan's eyes. With a cold shout, he pointed from afar toward the cavern, and the five beams of sword light silently tore through the air. Seeing the Five Elements Dharma-Breaking Sword disappear into the depths of the demonic fog, there was no sound or movement at first. Gu Tiannan, however, was not worried in the least, smiling faintly as he gazed at the cave mouth. The next moment, a droning wail of swords echoed from within the cavern, followed by a violent tempest of worldly spiritual energy! Sword light tore through the gloom. Countless streams of spiritual energy were swiftly pulled into the cave entrance and then expanded violently. With a deafening boom, the demonic fog inside the cavern was blasted to pieces!