In the dark night, there was a silent flash of lightning, instantly lighting up the guesthouse. Sima Quan woke up with a start. He took a few deep breaths, only to find that he had unknowingly fallen asleep.
He rubbed the space between his eyebrows. He could no longer remember what had happened last night.
Suddenly, he felt a strong thirst. He sat up on the bed. There was an oil lamp on the wooden table. The light was as small as a bean, and it was very weak. There was not much oil left, and there was a chipped teacup beside it. Without thinking, he reached out to take it. However, his fingers seemed to touch something, and a piece of yellow paper floated down.
He was startled. He bent down to pick it up, and looked at it under the light. He saw a few lines of words written in cinnabar. The places where the words were written were like blood stains, and it looked very glaring.
"Write for one day, do not drink water."
"Write for two days, do not leave the inn."
"Write for three days, do not take off the mask."
What did this mean? Do not drink water? Do not leave the inn?
Mask? What mask?
He touched his cheek. There was only rough skin between his fingers, and there was nothing there.
However, as he shook the yellow paper, he became confused again. This handwriting was clearly written by him. From the records, he should have been here for three days, but his memory was still stuck at the moment when he arrived last night.
He was suddenly uncertain. Did he really write this?
Thinking about this, he suddenly frowned. Who was he? What was he doing here again?
It seemed like he could not remember.
He thought hard for a long time, and felt that there was something there, but he could not grasp it. He felt very suffocated, and unconsciously reached out to pick up the water bottle and shook it. He could feel that there was only a shallow mouthful of water in it.
He licked his chapped lips, and thought about what was written on the paper. He hesitated, and finally put it down. He felt that the room was very suffocating, so he got up from the bed and opened the window.
Another silent bolt of lightning flashed, and lit up the window. He casually glanced at it, but his eyes narrowed. On a tree branch in the distance, there was a floating figure. It seemed to be a person, and he could see that the long hair was draped over his shoulders, covering his face.
However, when he wanted to see a little more clearly, everything outside fell into darkness again.
He became nervous for no reason and could not help but take a few deep breaths. Even he himself did not realize that this reaction was becoming more and more like a person of flesh and blood, and no longer the original Sky Demon.
Putting down the window, he inserted the wooden pole and sat back on the bed. However, at this moment, his body slightly stiffened.
He felt that there was another person lying on the bed behind him.
He slowly turned around. However, the moment he turned around, the oil lamp struggled and flickered a few times. Finally, it reached its end and suddenly went out. The guest room suddenly became pitch-black, and one could not even see their own fingers.
He did not make a sound. He slowly stretched out his hand and tried to feel around. It was empty. There was nothing there.
As if his throat had been released, he let out a long sigh of relief. He reached for the wooden table and quickly found the teacup. Ignoring the reminder on the yellow paper, he took the teacup and drank the last bit of water left in it. Only when there was not even a drop of water left did he put the teacup aside.
An incomparably deep feeling of exhaustion came over him. He could not wait to fall asleep.
The last bit of spirituality in his mind told him that he must not fall into a deep sleep. Otherwise, he would definitely lose something and might even sink into oblivion forever.
He deduced that the source of all this should originate from this body. If he could jump out of it, he could break free from the shackles …
However, as soon as this thought arose in his mind, a strand of great terror appeared in his heart. It told him that if he ended his body just like this, then he would die as well, and it was even to the extent that it might implicate other places.
As for what it was, he could only faintly feel that it was related to him. However, he could not recall it.
He tried hard to overcome the feeling of fear. Ignoring the exhaustion and thirst in his body, he sat down cross-legged. He followed the trace of spiritual light and sat there motionlessly.
In this state of not sleeping, not eating, and not drinking, his body gradually withered. However, the spiritual light did not extinguish. The damage to his body instead caused his thoughts to gradually become lively.
After an unknown amount of time, a voice whispered in his ear, "If you do not sever the emotions of the world, you will not have a soul. If you do not give up your flesh and blood, you will not enter the Netherworld."
Before the door of the two worlds closed, Sima Quan did not receive a reply for a long time. He was about to send his avatar again, but at this time, he seemed to notice something. He stood up and walked in.
In the next moment, he found himself standing in a world surrounded by dark rings. Not far in front of him, there was a yellow-robed Taoist sitting with his back facing him. At the same time, a deep and faint voice traveled over. "Just Now, what you are experiencing is the existence of your human nature. Only by wearing it away can you become a true Mysterious Yin Demon. Why are you not willing?"
Sima Quan could understand the meaning of these words. However, although he was a Genyin Demon, he had cultivated the ancient books of the Netherworld Spring Sect. He was not a natural demon and was essentially still a cultivator. Therefore, he could not truly unleash the power of the Genyin Demon. Of course, he had his own advantages. However, if he were to discard his human nature, then he would undoubtedly be able to unleash more powerful supernatural powers than before.
However, he thought for a moment and said resolutely, "Discard the human nature is not what I want. I was born a human, so naturally, I should be a human."
The so-called human here did not refer to the body that resided in the world, but rather his self-awareness. As long as he acknowledged his identity as a human, then no matter how his Dharmakaya changed, he would not be considered a demon. Because the changes of supernatural powers were usually based on the root, a different thought would naturally result in different paths, skills, and divine wills.
The yellow-robed Taoist, who had his back to him, did not speak anymore. He stood up and walked into the depths of the darkness. His footsteps did not look fast, but he flew far away. Soon, he disappeared into the darkness and could not be seen anymore.
Sima Quan stood up. The scenery around him shattered, but he was still standing in front of the inn. He extended his hand and touched his face for a while, only to remove the mask. In an instant, the feeling of weakness quickly left him, and some of his consciousness, which had already faded away, also clearly surfaced.
He no longer had a body of flesh and blood. His entire body was filled with a boundless supernatural power that could destroy the heavens and the earth.
The mask still had a strange smile on it. Until now, he still could not figure out whether he had put on this item the moment he entered this place, or whether he had put it on later in the illusory realm.
He silently examined it and realized that he had comprehended a supernatural power. Perhaps it should not be said like this. Rather, it should be said that this was originally a method that he possessed, but because his path was incomplete, he could not use it. Now that he had experienced this round of twists and turns, it was as if he had been enlightened by someone.
Not only could this supernatural power reconstruct the flesh and blood of himself and countless demons, it could also be combined with one's thoughts and desires when facing an enemy, turning the opponent back into a body of flesh and blood, making them think that they were a mortal. Just like the illusory scene that he had experienced Just Now. In this way, even if he had monstrous skills, he would not know how to use them. He could only fall into the mortal world and have his consciousness and divine Qi continuously whittled away until he was defeated and died.
At this moment, he understood. Just Now, the Taoist was not trying to persuade him to completely transform into a demon. Instead, he was giving him a chance to choose, either to abandon a human and become a demon, or to refine a demon and become a human. He made the latter choice.
He waved his sleeve and walked forward, entering the inn again. However, the scene inside was very different. What appeared in front of him was a surging Netherworld River. He did not know where it came from, and it was difficult to see the end.
After taking a look, he did not hesitate and stepped in. With a bang, his whole body was swept into the muddy and deep river, and then he followed the surging flow all the way to an unknown place.
In the Qinghuan Palace, Zhang Yan glanced at the Gate of the Two Realms. Just Now, he felt an obscure Weili at that moment. This was most likely left behind by Ancestor Ling You. As for the specific situation inside, he could wait for Sima Quan to return before asking about it.
After thinking about it, he calmed his mind and continued to stare at the movement in the silence. After a long time, a feeling arose in his heart, and he looked in a certain direction.
To find the essence of creation, unless one's cultivation had reached the level of Great Virtue, even if one had the help of a magic tool, to a large extent, one's own luck was still the key to finding the essence of creation.
This time, however, it was Taoist Ren Du who was the first to find a fragment of creation. Although it was an extremely small fragment, Ji Zhuang might be able to use it to see that existence's Soul Fragment. Therefore, he did not hesitate at all. He immediately clenched his fist and punched!
At this moment, Taoist Ren Du had already sensed the existence of the essence of creation, but he did not immediately take it. This was because deep in his heart, he did not want to hand it over to Jizhuang Daoren. Instead, he wanted to swallow it himself. He believed that if others saw it, they would do the same.
However, if he did it too hastily, it was very likely that Ji Zhuang would notice it. Therefore, he had been very careful and tried his best to restrain his Qi so that the situation here would not be leaked. But at this moment, an unstoppable Dharma power fiercely collided with him, and then all the senses were dispersed. It was as if a calm lake was suddenly flushed by a flood, and it was instantly stirred up into a mess.
Taoist Ren Du instantly lost his sense of the fragment. However, when the Dharma power of both sides collided, he also realized that it was Zhang Yan's doing. He knew that Zhang Yan was very powerful, so he had no intention of fighting back and immediately chose to retreat.
Jizhuang Daoren could also see what was happening here, and he couldn't help but frown. He didn't know that Taoist Ren Du intended to keep this fragment, but he saw that Zhang Yan was able to intercept the fragment in advance. He couldn't tell if it was because Taoist Ren Du was weak, or if it was the same for everyone. If it was the latter, then it would be impossible to carry out the plan in front of him.
Just when he felt that things were getting tricky, he seemed to sense something. He looked outside and saw that the skinny Taoist had appeared again. He couldn't help but have a thought, and he said slowly, "My friend, you are here again. Have you changed your mind?"
The skinny Taoist said in a deep voice, "What are you looking for?"
Jizhuang Daoren felt the urgency behind this Taoist's back, and he was a little more confident. He said, "I can't tell you about it for now, but you can indeed help me. As long as you enter my territory, I will definitely be able to protect you."
…
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