Chapter 35
Lin Queli’s eyes widened.
This cliff was very steep and bottomless. He couldn’t have come down on his own, but being held by Helan Xue like this, protected by his spiritual energy as he rode his sword, he rushed to the bottom!
“Shizun…!”
The tree roots attacked them like countless tentacles, but none could get close to them. The moment they got close, they were split open by Helan Xue’s sword qi.
Helan Xue held Lin Queli and turned a few circles in the air as they fell. The dizzy Lin Queli could vaguely feel the strong wind of the tree roots piercing past them. He was so scared he hugged Helan Xue tightly, almost burying himself in his arms.
Sob, sob, sob, sob, waaah!!
Lin Queli directly turned into a koala, his limbs tightly wrapped around Helan Xue.
In his daze, Lin Queli seemed to feel Helan Xue’s hand, which was behind him and on his back, gently stroking him.
Lin Queli felt that this must be an illusion.
After the two landed, Lin Queli stood up unsteadily. Before he could react, he saw several more tree roots stabbing at them.
Helan Xue protected him from behind, and with a swing of his sword, the last few tree roots were shattered.
…
After the tree roots fell to the ground, the surroundings returned to silence.
But the fog was still thick, and it seemed even thicker at the bottom of the cliff. Lin Queli couldn’t even see Helan Xue clearly in front of him.
Lin Queli paused and asked, “Is the tree demon… dead?”
Helan Xue shook his head. “That was not its main body.”
“Then where is the main body?”
Helan Xue looked ahead.
It was dark at the bottom of the cliff. The sunlight from above couldn’t get through. Looking up, there were still mountain walls and trees, and even the sky was not visible.
Ahead was a deeper place. The tree demon must be lurking in it.
Lin Queli swallowed hard. “Then we… do we go in directly or wait for the others to come?”
But then again, did Helan Xue need support?
If others came, it wouldn’t be to help Helan Xue, but to learn, right!
Helan Xue: “No need to wait.”
After learning of the tree demon’s whereabouts, besides the Myriad Sword Sect, the Demon Clan had also come. Shouyang was fighting with the Demon Clan up above, while the other young people were clearing the remaining tree roots. They might not have the ability to come down and fight.
Just as the two were about to move forward, they saw Helan Xue suddenly pause.
Lin Queli looked at him, not understanding, but he saw Helan Xue frown slightly, his expression seeming a little off.
He closed his eyes and felt for a while, then sat down under a tree on the side to meditate, his face dark. The air around him became a little condensed.
“Shizun…?” Lin Queli was a little flustered. What’s wrong?!
It can’t be… the Soul-Severing Powder is really effective??
Helan Xue said with his eyes closed, “Wait for half an incense stick’s time.”
He entered deep meditation.
Lin Queli sat beside him uneasily, looking around warily.
After entering deep meditation, Helan Xue could vaguely sense Lin Queli squatting beside him, his nervous emotions like a little hamster guarding its territory.
But he didn’t have the extra energy to comfort his little disciple, because he did indeed feel that something was wrong with his own state.
If Lin Queli wasn’t here, he wouldn’t have bothered, but he didn’t want to in front of his little disciple…
Forget it.
Helan Xue adjusted his breathing.
And not long after Lin Queli squatted down, he saw the tree roots around them begin to move strangely again.
Lin Queli swallowed hard. He didn’t know what the tree demon’s intelligence was like, and if it would take advantage of Helan Xue’s deep meditation.
Thump—!
Okay, it seems it would.
“Eek, ah!!” Lin Queli jumped up and hastily threw out all the moves he had learned.
Fortunately, his spiritual energy was not weak, and he actually managed to repel the ferocious tree roots.
But the tree roots this time were different from the ones that had attacked them before. It seemed to be… the source?
Although Lin Queli had repelled the tree roots, he was also pushed back a few steps by the other party’s demonic energy, and his chest felt a little uncomfortable.
And the repelled tree roots came back again. Just as Lin Queli was about to adjust his breathing, he saw a sharp cold wind stab at the tree roots.
“Shizun, you…”
Lin Queli was stunned.
Helan Xue’s eyes were blood red. He looked at the tree demon with a cold face. Every attack contained a monstrous killing intent and desire to kill. Let alone the tree demon, even Lin Queli was affected and collapsed to the ground.
He curled up on the side, suppressed and unable to move. The feeling was… very similar to the two times he had been suddenly suppressed by an unknown “demon”!
Lin Queli’s first reaction was, could it be that the elusive, unknown “demon” had chased him here?
But that was impossible!
At this moment, even Lin Queli could barely breathe, let alone the tree demon.
Seeming to sense the threat of death, the tree demon fought with all its might. In an instant, Lin Queli’s vision was filled with dense tree roots and vines, entangled together into a huge spherical object, with a swirling black qi in the center.
It was the Demon Sword fragment…!
This was the tree demon’s main body!
“Rumble—!”
In almost an instant, Lin Queli looked up and saw the whole world being swept by a blizzard. The surroundings were covered in frost, and the heavens and earth shook.
In the wind and snow, Lin Queli saw the tree demon shatter into pieces, not even leaving a scrap.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, dizzy from the overwhelming spiritual energy.
After the tree demon turned to dust, Helan Xue walked towards Lin Queli step by step.
Instinct told Lin Queli that the situation was not good. He curled up and crawled backwards in fear, but he didn’t have much strength.
The next moment, Helan Xue was in front of him.
His neck was choked by Helan Xue, and he was lifted up together.
Lin Queli’s feet were off the ground, and he squeezed out a sound in fear. “Shi-Shizun…”
If Lin Queli had only felt that this feeling of being suppressed was somewhat familiar before, now he was completely sure. That hot, almost invisible hand choking his neck… was from his Shizun!
Not a demon, but Helan Xue!
Lin Queli’s eyes widened, looking at Helan Xue in disbelief, his whole body trembling.
Why…
Is this another Helan Xue, another side of Helan Xue, or the so-called “inner demon” of Jin Chan?
Helan Xue looked at him with a sinister gaze and said word by word, “You have demonic energy on you. Are you a demon?”
“No… no! Shizun, it’s me… cough… Lin Luo!”
Lin Queli looked at his Shizun, who he didn’t know how much reason was left, and was so scared he almost cried out.
Just kidding. Anyone who knew that the demon they had been thinking of was their Shizun would be scared to tears!
He had dodged the demons and the tree demon, but he wouldn’t be killed by Helan Xue’s hands just like that, right? This is too terrible!
But there was nothing in Helan Xue’s red eyes, no light, no fluctuation.
In the past, although Helan Xue’s eyes were cold, Lin Queli could see himself in his golden eyes.
Lin Queli screamed in his heart, “System! Da Zhuang! Help me!”
【Umm, umm… Helan Xue seems to be controlled by his inner demon, and his spiritual energy is out of control!】
Lin Queli now knew why Helan Xue had suddenly started meditating just now. It must be because he was affected by the Soul-Severing Powder. But he hadn’t completely suppressed his inner demon before he was forced to interrupt and attack, and he had even used a lot of spiritual energy to kill the tree demon, so now…
…Then what should he do!
【Host, don’t worry too much. Helan Xue is a big shot. He has been living with this inner demon for hundreds of years. Just wait a little longer and he’ll suppress it with his cultivation! It’s not a big problem!】
I can’t wait!
Lin Queli trembled all over, his head tilted back, his legs kicking. He only felt his vision gradually darken. It was a big problem!
【Th-then, anyway, you are the Demon Lord, and your spiritual energy is not weak, right? You can help him channel it!】
“Cough, cough…”
Lin Queli tilted his head back, his legs kicking. He only felt his vision gradually darken.
He hastily grabbed Helan Xue’s wrist and tried to infuse his spiritual energy into it. He was not good at channeling either, but Helan Xue had done it to him a few times before, so he roughly understood the feeling of spiritual energy being guided.
The single spirit bead on Lin Queli’s hand collided with Helan Xue’s, and a faint light flashed.
Whoosh—
As if a flash of light passed, when he opened his eyes again, Lin Queli found himself in a… village?
Huh?
Lin Queli was a little confused.
He touched his neck. No feeling.
Where’s Helan Xue?
Where is this?
Lin Queli looked down and was startled. He seemed to have “shrunk.”
This body was wearing coarse linen clothes, and it was a young boy, about fourteen or fifteen years old.
Before he could figure out the situation, he looked up and saw several common people surrounding him, all with sad faces.
“You… why did you only come now! We’ve been waiting for a cultivator to save us…”
“It’s too late, it’s too late… the village is gone!”
Lin Queli turned his head and looked carefully. The village before him was only in ruins. There were corpses wrapped in white cloth everywhere, and the air was filled with a thick smell of burning and decay.
Someone was crying and kneeling before him, tugging at the hem of his clothes. “If you had come a moment earlier… my child would not have been killed by the demon! Aren’t you a cultivator! Why didn’t you keep your promise? The Myriad Sword Sect clearly said they would arrive before today. You promised to save us…”
Someone behind him seemed to be arguing, “No! It’s because we encountered other demons in Linjia Village on our way here. They had planted explosives and were about to detonate them…”
“Is the life of Linjia Village a life, but ours is not!”
“If it had been a moment earlier, just a moment earlier…”
The smell of blood in his nose was nauseating, and the accusations in his ears were suffocating and oppressive.
Lin Queli took a step back in fear, feeling dizzy, and a sourness suddenly appeared in his chest, as if a feeling that did not belong to him had suddenly appeared, perhaps this fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy’s.
—I made the wrong decision.
…
When he opened his eyes again, the surrounding clamor had completely disappeared. He was in a quiet room, a stark contrast to the previous scene.
The room was surrounded by copper walls and iron walls, covered with talismans and scriptures. He saw himself kneeling before an old man.
Lin Queli was now sure.
After his spiritual energy had merged with Helan Xue’s, he had entered Helan Xue’s “inner demon” and become Helan Xue. This was Helan Xue’s sea of consciousness.
The old man looked down. “Your love turned to hate, and your killing intent became your nature. How can you become a cultivator of the Dao of Cangsheng? A cultivator of the Dao of Cangsheng has the world in their heart and should have compassion, not like you.”
The echo in the room was deafening, and the old man’s voice was powerful.
The young Helan Xue cupped his fists. “This disciple is at fault.”
“Forget it…” The old man placed a string of cinnabar prayer beads in Helan Xue’s palm. “This string of prayer beads is a warning. Restrain yourself and return to propriety. Cultivate your body with tranquility and nourish your virtue with frugality.”
“If you really cannot control your hostility, then direct it at the demons. Kill all the demons for the sake of the common people and sweep away all the snow in the world.”
“This disciple will remember it in his heart. From now on, I will focus on slaying demons and exterminating evil.”
From then on, that string of prayer beads was infused with love and hate. Every cinnabar bead became scalding and piercing, just to separate its owner from these “superfluous emotions.”
…
These scenes seemed long, but they were only a moment.
Lin Queli suddenly woke up and saw the red in Helan Xue’s eyes dissipate. He saw himself seem to pause, and then his hand suddenly loosened.
Without the restraint, Lin Queli immediately fell down and was caught steadily by Helan Xue.
Lin Queli was dizzy, and his neck still throbbed with pain. He didn’t notice the strange emotion in Helan Xue’s eyes, just said in a hoarse voice, “Shizun…”
He grabbed Helan Xue’s collar, seeming to still be a little uneasy, wanting to confirm if this was really his Shizun, if his Shizun had returned to normal.
“Mmm.”
The person Helan Xue was holding was now leaning against him with tears in his eyes, his chin resting on his shoulder. He could hear his rapid and uncomfortable breathing.
Helan Xue’s hand rested on Lin Queli’s back.
The Soul-Severing Powder did not discriminate. After the momentary fusion of their spiritual energy and divine sense, Helan Xue had also touched Lin Queli’s sea of consciousness and seen his inner demon.
No, that wasn’t an inner demon either.
Perhaps Lin Queli was big-hearted. He didn’t even have an obsession. His sea of consciousness was gentle and soft, at most… a wish?
There, Helan Xue saw a blurry figure.
The figure was dressed in white with white hair, unreachable, untouchable, and even more uncatchable.
Before the sea of consciousness dissipated, Helan Xue saw the figure look back.
—It was himself.
Helan Xue saw “Helan Xue.”
At the bottom of the cliff, the thick fog had not yet dispersed, and the remains of the tree demon were scattered on the ground. The two were now close together, their hearts beating through their flesh.
