Chapter 148: The Source of the Heart Demon

“Why didn’t you ask for help?” Jiang Li couldn’t understand. “From what I know, the Dao Sect had a true disciple even five hundred years ago. The current Sect Master, Bai Hongtu, once tried to draw your sword. Why didn’t you explain the truth to him and ask Immortal Elder Changcun for help?”

The Sword Sovereign let out a cold snort. “Absurd. We sword cultivators—why would we ever seek help from others?”

“……”

Jiang Li had good reason to suspect that the Sword Pavilion’s stubbornness was inherited from this very man.

“So what’s your plan? Keep this deadlock going until your lifespan runs out?”

A soul can’t remain outside the body indefinitely, nor can it possess others freely. Otherwise, every cultivator would be immortal.

The soul is still bound by the limits of the original body. The Sword Sovereign had lived for 1,500 years, but his soul had been outside his body for 4,000. A Tribulation Stage cultivator can live around 10,000 years. If the Sword Sovereign remains in this state for another 500 years, he’ll be forced into reincarnation, and his heart demon will perish with him.

But Jiang Li didn’t see that as a good outcome.

The Sword Sovereign was silent—he hadn’t come up with a better solution either.

Clenching his teeth, he growled, “In any case, I absolutely must not go to the third level. Even with me assisting at the side, there’s no guarantee of victory. The heart demon could escape mid-battle and wreak havoc on the Nine Provinces!”

Jiang Li also found it strange. Defeating a heart demon wasn’t a big deal for him, but the real mystery was the system’s mission.

The system would never assign him a task that his Golden Core self from five hundred years ago couldn’t complete. Yet right now, defeating the heart demon seemed to be the only way to complete the mission [Gain the Sword Sovereign’s Soul’s Approval].

The system thought he was just Golden Core, and it expected him—Golden Core with a Tribulation Stage soul—to beat a Tribulation Stage heart demon that had taken over a body?

At that moment, the system’s voice chimed in.

【Considering the host’s difficulty, the system can temporarily enable the “Avoid Heart Demon” function】
【Friendly reminder: avoiding a Tribulation Stage heart demon requires consuming 1.05 million Source Points. The system can loan them to the host, to be repaid at a monthly interest rate of 3%】

…You really have a wide range of services. Even high-interest loans?

Jiang Li was speechless and promptly rejected the offer.

“I am Jiang Li, current Human Sovereign, Mahayana Stage. I can help you eliminate your heart demon.” Jiang Li told the Sword Sovereign truthfully.

But the Sword Sovereign didn’t believe that anyone could reach the Mahayana Stage.

“Fellow Daoist, don’t try to trick me. There’s no such thing as Mahayana. I believe it’s just a myth…”

Jiang Li thought this guy was impossible to reason with—so he simply drew the sword.

The Sword Tomb’s rules activated, and Jiang Li voluntarily teleported to the third level.

“D*mn it, why are you going to the third level?!” The Sword Sovereign panicked, his sword intent surging as he guarded his surroundings. “Fellow Daoist, why are you being so impulsive? If the heart demon escapes the Sword Tomb, what then? You’re the Human Sovereign—don’t you care about the safety of all living beings?”

The third level was pitch black. On a throne sat a solitary figure, surrounded below by a forest of sword blades.

“I heard there’s a trial in the third level. What’s the trial, exactly?” Jiang Li asked with a smile.

The figure looked down at Jiang Li, voice cold and emotionless. “Junior, watch your tone.”

The Sword Sovereign’s heart demon couldn’t discern Jiang Li’s strength and assumed he was Tribulation Stage too. Internally, he was delighted—today might be the day he escaped the Sword Tomb.

“As your elder, I’ll show you what it means to shatter all techniques with one sword!”

He didn’t even take Jiang Li seriously. After all, he was the strongest sword cultivator—invincible among peers before Tribulation Stage, and even among Tribulation Stage cultivators, he could dominate!

The heart demon drew his sword—this was a spirit sword the Sword Sovereign had personally forged, fusing countless insights into the Sword Dao, using materials like Star Cores, Sun and Moon Essence, Yellow Springs Water, Dragon Fangs, and Phoenix Feathers. Its quality was infinitely close to an Immortal Artifact!

That dazzling sword lit up the entire space, separating heaven and earth into light and shadow. It was pure white, the epitome of speed and sharpness, capable of annihilating both flesh and soul.

This strike was the fusion of the Sword Sovereign’s Twelve Forms—a technique the heart demon had also mastered. Thus, it contained the intent of the Heart Sword.

The moment Jiang Li saw it, infinite sword intent surged toward him, seemingly about to shred him apart.

“Dodge it! This is my strongest move!”

Though arrogant, the heart demon didn’t underestimate Jiang Li. He struck with his full strength.

The Sword Sovereign lunged forward, trying to block the heart demon’s sword. But as only a soul, he couldn’t use his full power and was sent flying by the attack.

The heart demon saw Jiang Li standing still, not even dodging, and was furious. “Ignorant brat! How dare you not dodge! Let’s see what you’ll use to—”

Facing this heaven-splitting sword, Jiang Li pressed his index and middle fingers together. Just as the tip of the blade reached three inches from his eyes, he flicked.

With a clang, the sword—and the heart demon with it—rolled away like a tumbleweed.

Jiang Li sighed. If this really was the Sword Sovereign’s strongest move, then Bai Hongtu truly deserved his title as the number one sword cultivator in the Nine Provinces.

Bai Hongtu’s swordsmanship had far greater power than this.

The heart demon was stunned. He couldn’t even react.

How could there be such a massive gap between Tribulation Stage cultivators?!

Jiang Li didn’t care what he was thinking. He closed in on the Sword Sovereign’s body and slapped it with his palm, casually forcing the heart demon out.

Run! I have to run!

The heart demon was terrified—this youth’s power was far beyond anything he’d imagined. He had inherited the Sword Sovereign’s memories and had seen terrifying Outer World Demons, but even they weren’t as terrifying as this young man!

An Immortal! This was someone at the Immortal level!

The heart demon turned to flee. Jiang Li tossed aside the Sword Sovereign’s body, then threw a punch like a dragon. The force whipped up a storm—this punch carried the Dao of Ultimate Destruction and crushed the heart demon.

Heart demon plus Sword Sovereign’s body—equivalent to a full Tribulation Stage—was easily annihilated by Jiang Li.

The Sword Sovereign had seen much in his life, but he couldn’t even comprehend Jiang Li’s techniques. That palm and that punch were beyond his understanding.

“Human Sovereign Jiang, are you really Mahayana Stage?” The Sword Sovereign gave a sheepish smile, all arrogance gone.

Jiang Li didn’t answer. Instead, he asked, “Sword Sovereign, do you know where your heart demon came from?”

“Please enlighten me, Your Majesty.”

“It’s pride. Breaking through the Death Tribulation, surviving by risking your life—achieving Tribulation Stage through an epiphany between life and death—that is indeed something to be proud of. It’s normal for cultivators to have pride. Even Fusion Stage cultivators deserve to be proud—they are, after all, the elite among millions of cultivators.”

“But pride is not arrogance. You let your pride go to extremes and became arrogant. Your mind became clouded, and you couldn’t see yourself clearly. That gave rise to your heart demon, without even knowing why.”

“After losing to the heart demon, even knowing you had no solution, you still refused to seek help. You were like this, and so was the Sword Pavilion under your influence. They would rather be targeted by the Fearless Alliance than ask the Human Sovereign Hall for help. They nearly went extinct.”

“If I hadn’t stepped in, your Sword Pavilion wouldn’t have lasted even a hundred years.”

The Sword Sovereign wasn’t a heartless person. He had been determined to revive the Sword Pavilion, showing his deep affection for his sect. When he heard that the sect nearly vanished because of him, he was shocked and guilty. Even if he had defeated his heart demon, he would’ve regretted it for life.

He manifested his soul and bowed deeply to Jiang Li.

“Thank you, Human Sovereign Jiang, for helping the Sword Pavilion. I, Chen Jiannan, hereby swear to devote my life, even unto death, to fighting the Outer World Demons!”

Jiang Li accepted his bow and waved it off. “You don’t need to deal with the demons. The Nine Provinces are protected by a grand formation. With me here, the Outer World Demons are no longer a threat. But you do need to fix your arrogance. If another heart demon shows up, I won’t help next time.”

The demons that had threatened the Nine Provinces for nine thousand years were dismissed with a wave—this shocked the Sword Sovereign. Outer World Demons were Terrestrial Immortal-level monsters, yet they were no longer considered threats. His understanding of Jiang Li’s power changed again.

So this… is the terror of the Mahayana Stage.

“Thank you for your guidance, Human Sovereign.” The Sword Sovereign bowed sincerely once more.