Chapter 153: Demonic Thoughts
Within the Twin Jade Realm, Song Yan sat in meditation beside the phantom of the Sword Seed, contemplating the origin of that spectral shadow. After Peach Blossom Wharf, the Twin Jade Pearl had stripped away the demonic flames upon the “Inner Demon,” giving rise to the ink-black waterfall and the Ink Pool within the realm.
Now that he reflected upon it, the whereabouts of those demonic auras and flames were plain as day.
Yet he could not blame himself for having overlooked them.
After all, the Twin Jade Realm was suffused with black and white throughout. At the time, he had merely believed that a wisp of formless spiritual intent left behind by Senior Zhou Ziyin had caused some change in the Twin Jade Pearl.
Furthermore, his subconscious mind had exaggerated the power of the Twin Jade Pearl to such a degree that he naturally assumed those demonic flames had already been dealt with by the pearl, requiring no further attention.
Now, upon reflection, no matter how formidable this treasure might be, he was merely a cultivator at the Qi Refining Stage. How could he have so carelessly dismissed those demonic flames that had burned for a thousand years without dissipating?
He silently admonished himself, though he did not reproach himself overly.
The lowliness of his cultivation and the narrowness of his perspective were not things that could be rapidly elevated overnight.
Even the greatest luminaries of the cultivation world had all matured step by step from humble beginnings.
Song Yan calmed himself, and his thoughts grew ever clearer.
What mattered most now was to ascertain several things.
First, to examine whether he had been corroded or influenced by this demonic energy.
Second, to determine what the spectral shadow lurking at the bottom of the Ink Pool truly was.
Finally, to discover how this entity might be utterly obliterated.
He reviewed everything from beginning to end. Every technique, every secret art, every sword skill he cultivated seemed to bear no trace of corruption.
The Dao Scripture he currently practiced was still that common-grade Qi Condensation chapter, and his cultivation speed remained unchanged.
Indeed, ever since he had absorbed the formless spiritual intent and supreme spiritual substances left behind by seniors, his cultivation speed had even improved considerably.
The effects of techniques such as the Hidden Sword Spirit Convergence Stance and other secret arts remained entirely normal, with no alteration whatsoever.
Before the appearance of the Ink Pool, Song Yan had mastered only two sword techniques: Sword Dao True Essence and Cloud Sword. After the Ink Pool appeared, the might of these two techniques had not changed in the slightest.
“It seems this thing, at least regarding cultivation, has no effect whatsoever.”
Yet based on his years of experience struggling in the cultivation world, this degree of demonic energy having absolutely no effect on him was fundamentally impossible.
“Could it be…”
His mind suddenly drifted back to the day after Peach Blossom Wharf, when he had retrieved the flying sword from Qin Ying’s Cosmos Bag.
That flying sword bore the name Inner Demon.
“Could it be influencing my mind?”
“No, no, that should not be the case…”
Song Yan immediately sought to deny this notion, for as far as he could tell, his thoughts and reasoning appeared entirely unchanged, everything normal.
Yet when he conducted a rough review in his mind, he found himself somewhat uncertain.
Upon careful recollection, since that time, his disposition had indeed become…
Extremely aggressive.
When Senior Brother Sun Zhengfu had informed him that Shan Zifeng had swallowed the spirit resources compensated by the Profound Abyss Sect, why had his first thought not been to report it to the sect, but rather to find a way to kill him?
When exploring the Foundation Establishment stage cave dwelling with the Rong and Wu couple, he had also stood in Che Ning’s position and considered whether he might bury everyone inside and claim the spoils for himself.
His dealings with the sinner Liang Feng of Cold Flower Valley on Northern Cliff Mountain, exchanging killing services with A Nian at Changping Ghost Mountain…
One matter after another, upon reflection now, none seemed to be the handiwork of the simple man he once was.
Yet things had progressed to this state without his slightest awareness.
Why was this so?
“…”
Subsequently, Song Yan carefully sorted through all of this, and he discovered something that surprised him.
That was, if all of these were indeed the influence brought by the Inner Demon, then that influence appeared to be entirely…
Positive.
Indeed, since the incident at Silent Valley, his temperament had grown somewhat more mature. Yet for the current state of the cultivation world, this was hardly worth mentioning.
But the Inner Demon…
Had him assume the worst of all adversaries.
Had him employ the most extreme measures to cut through complications with decisive strokes.
Had him face troubles in ways that maximized his gains.
When viewed in this light, it became most peculiar.
Did the Inner Demon not drive cultivators into deviation, cause their breakthroughs to fail, and lead them to their own destruction?
Song Yan felt that what had transpired within him exceeded his understanding entirely.
Most alarming of all, he himself had been utterly oblivious to such changes.
If he had not practiced the Eye of the Void and traced the overflowing demonic energy to that spectral shadow at the depths of the Ink Pool, he had no idea when he would have discovered this.
“…”
“Yan Yan?” Just as Song Yan was lost in thought, Xiao He’s voice reached her from outside, forcibly pulling her divine sense back to reality.
He opened his eyes to find the serpent child gently tapping his forehead with its little tongue.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Xiao He’s tone was suspicious. “Your complexion looks terrible, as though you’ve seen a ghost.”
He had indeed seen a ghost.
“Xiao He, I am going out for a moment. I shall return shortly.”
“Alright~”
Song Yan departed the cave dwelling. With the Lingyun Movement Technique deployed at full power, he traversed the mountain gates with swift efficiency.
He made directly for the Inner Gate Scripture Pavilion.
The collections within the Inner Gate Scripture Pavilion far exceeded those of the Outer Gate Library.
He searched all around, yet could find in short order no more than a handful of texts pertaining to the matter of the “Inner Demon.”
The few he did find were not only sparse in content, but their descriptions were also vague and mystical, offering no practical value.
Nevertheless, every account regarding the Inner Demon indicated one thing.
That the Inner Demon could only be resolved by oneself, and no one could rely on external forces or objects to banish it.
Beyond this, the recorded content consisted of nothing more than tales of cultivators who had been consumed by their Inner Demos, bringing about their own ruin and wretched fates.
Reading these left Song Yan terrified.
Was it truly so grave?
Yet why did he now feel that the Inner Demon was actually helping him?
Could it be that his original nature had been too gentle and kind, and the Inner Demon’s thirst for slaughter and violent disposition had compensated for this shortcoming?
But had there not been among the countless cultivators throughout history who had fallen to deviation through their Inner Demos someone like himself?
What, then, differentiated him from them?
Was it the Sword Heart and Sword Intent?
No, that could not be, for even among sword cultivators, there were those who had fallen to the demonic path.
“…”
Unable to arrive at an answer, he could not help but heave a long sigh.
He was about to return the book in his hands when he noticed a line within it.
It was an annotation, not part of the original text, perhaps penned by some senior of ages past.
“The most terrifying aspect of the Inner Demon is not that it makes one become wicked.”
“Rather, it will forever use the thing a cultivator desires most in the depths of their heart as bait, thereby subtly influencing their many decisions.”
This too was a vague and mystical statement.
“…”
Song Yan returned the book and departed the Scripture Pavilion.
“The thing one desires most?”
On the way back, he turned this phrase over and over in his mind.
If he were to say what he desired most, it would surely be freedom.
This was, one might say, the very foundation of his aspiration to pursue the Dao and his will toward the Sword Dao.
“If that is the case…”
Reflecting upon all that had come before, what the Inner Demon had brought him thus far was not a corruption of his soul, but rather a breaking free from constraints.
It was the liberty of casting off moral shackles, the satisfaction of swift retribution, the decisiveness of no longer needing to deliberate over every consequence.
This was precisely the most perilous temptation the Inner Demon had offered him.
Downward freedom was not true freedom.
To chase after instinct and desire was merely to let oneself run wild.
Having understood this, the knot in Song Yan’s heart suddenly dissolved completely.
The Song Yan of this moment possessed a Sword Heart of crystalline clarity, its edge revealed in its full brilliance.
His former dread of the Inner Demonic had stemmed from the unknown.
Now, since he had yet to find a method to dissolve the Inner Demon, then…
Why not devise a way to harness it, to make it serve as a source of strength?