The bane of all mortal cultivators, Heart Demons were not merely the boogeymen constructed by elders to stress the importance of the Dao Heart, but genuine demonic entities born from the latent desires of all mortal cultivators.
Ancient Lianist scholars believed that the cultivation road had been jointly created by the Lords of Heaven and Hell. That by going through the hurdles of immortal cultivation, cultivators fed Heaven’s Will. And by letting their Heart Demons grow, they nourished Hell itself. Solid proof didn’t back these beliefs, yet the fact remained that Heart Demons could slowly corrupt careless mortal cultivators and force them into demonization.
Whenever the cultivator lost the war against their Heart Demon, the latter rose to devour their humanity, forcefully turning their mortal heart into a demon heart. Granted, Heart Demons ranked at the bottom of the infernal hierarchy, demons they remained. The reborn cultivator’s battle-power would exceed all previous limits, and their cultivation speed would experience a massive boost. Thenceforth, they’d live only to crush the fears and fulfill the desires that made them demons in the first place.
Needless to say, the Divine Spirits didn’t tolerate the existence of Heart Demons, and routinely had entire factions exterminated for the presence of a single such entity. For this reason, even heretics trod carefully with their Dao Heart, taking care not to let the Heart Demon spiral out of control. The resources they invested in that area surpassed most righteous cultivation forces.
Aiming to capitalize on Shui Haoyang’s corruption to launch an offensive on the White Immortal sect, the Dark Moon cult used its Heart mantras to restrain the Dongli Prince’s Heart Demon long enough to milk him of all his worth. As a Dongli prince and close relative of Guang Fanghu, Shui Haoyang had no trouble sneaking the Knives past the White Immortal sect’s lax screening process. In return for his good work, they granted him a Life Extinguishing pill and Dark Moon Coins—hoping to have him coordinate with them at a critical juncture.
Alas, they’d outsmarted themselves. By relying on his Klesha Heart and Word of Indulgence, Xinzi could expose, amplify and capitalize on Shui Haoyang’s corruption to turn him into the bomb that’d bring the Dark Moon cult to its knees. Now, under the gaze of myriads, Shui Haoyang not only betrayed the White Immortal sect for the Dark Moon, but completed his demonic rebirth. No matter how the Dark Moon cult tried to justify this, nothing could save them.
“Xinzi, you destroyed my beloved sister and drove her onto a path of no return. Today, I will do heaven, earth and men a favor, and remove you—this corrupt fraud of a monk—from the face of this world!” Still under the effect of the Life Extinguishing pill, and boosted by the demonic rebirth, Shui Haoyang’s aura rose to distressing levels—making his battle power comparable to a late-stage Pulse Condensation level expert. The Dark Moon Coins flew back into his hand, and driven by his growth, rippled with more destructive power than ever before.
The Knives, who’d remained stoic till now, shook as if struck by an epilepsy crisis, and for the first time since the assault’s start, ignored their targets to aim for a prey of their own choosing: Shui Haoyang!
Likewise, neither the vassal leaders nor the White Immortal sect elders would let the fiend run amok and threaten their factions’ future. Thus, for the time it’d take to neutralize Shui Haoyang, enemies became allies. Golden Core level experts led the charge, surrounding Haoyang before he could unleash his fury on Xinzi.
“Unfilial and unrepentant mongrel, stop this at once!” Surprisingly, the king of Dongli, Shui Jiankang, whose cultivation base never stood out among White Immortal sect elders, moved faster than any of his peers, than the Knives, and appeared before Shui Haoyang. The power of fatherhood, or the fruit of deliberate concealment? The answer would have to wait.
“Down!” Shui Jiankang raised his right hand, dazzling white sword light gushed forth—tearing through the Dark Moon Coins, before hacking at Shui Haoyang’s shoulder.
“Aaargh!” Letting out a shrill cry, the young prince flew back, but even as he crashed into nearby disciples, Shui Jiankang grabbed him by the neck—hoisting him up like a flimsy straw bag.
“Don’t let anyone destroy the evidence of demonic collusion!” Xinzi barked at the White Immortal sect elders, and though he didn’t name anyone, all knew that both the Dark Moon cult and Shui Jiankang were now incentivized to behead Shui Haoyang. In fact, if not for the Dark Moon Coins and frenzied animosity Haoyang cast at the White Immortal sect, they too wouldn’t be above suspicion.
The Sacrificial Knives didn’t delay, surrounded Jiankang, and drove their knives at Haoyang. “Get lost!” Explosive waves of sword force rolled out of Shui Jiankang’s sleeves, barrelling into the Sacrificial Knives, and slaying six instantly.
‘Jiankang, no matter what you do, keep a low profile or you will expose us all!’
‘Jiankang, now isn’t the time to mess around. You have to kill him!’
‘Jiankang, what is wrong with you? We didn’t tie our futures together to watch you drag us all into ruin!’ One after the other, the leaders of the Albizia court, Nameless Sword mountain, and Thousand Roads mountain, slammed Shui Jiankang with mental messages, attempting to cut short this clear lapse of judgment. Alas, they’d yet to say anything that Shui Jiankang had not thought of already. The sober monarch in him wanted to break Haoyang’s neck, but the father restrained the monarch’s hand—refusing to watch Haoyang die.
Shui Jiankang had 12 children, but of the entire batch, only two were born of his legitimate wife: Shui Haoyang and Shui Haoyue. A father shouldn’t have favorites, a king even more so, yet Shui Jiankang couldn’t help but love these two above all others. For them, even his plans and dreams became…secondary!
With Haoyang’s life on the line, the monarch had to make a split second decision. His instincts took over, but as the monarch prepared to fight tooth and nail for his son’s survival, Xinzi joined his hands in a prayer sign.
In that instant, golden wheels formed underneath the 20,000 array disciples. Array nodes multiplied, rotating at an absurd speed as runic symbols rose and crammed the atmosphere. Underneath the awe-struck gaze of the Sacrificial Knives, elders and vassal leaders, the 20,000 disciples stood up, united in a brand-new battle array. The golden sheen of light coating their forms vanished, replaced by dark-brown heavy armors.
Spiked helmets covered the heads, metallic gauntlets brandished razor sharp axes and robust shields. The 20,000 stood with perfect discipline, and in spite of flamboyant numbers, functioned as a single unit. Better, the formation organized them in units of 500 led by massive war chariots. Those lucky enough to lead these chariots occupied the safest positions in the array.
“The Funerary Rite of the Grand Legion?!” Shui Jiankang blurted out. Xinzi didn’t answer, and with a smile, aimed one finger at the Sacrificial Knives.
“Strike.” Xinzi ordered, and in sync, the 20,000 armored soldiers cleaved at the Sacrificial Knives. A flurry of radiant half-moons took off, slaughtering hundreds of Sacrificial Knives in a single assault.
From the early-stage of Pulse Condensation to the late-stage of Golden Core, not a single Knife present on the scene could struggle for his life. Broken pieces of meat and bones rained down, drenching the ground in the Knives’ blood. Undisturbed by this gory spectacle, Xinzi locked his eyes on the Dongli King, and with the poise of a tyrannical ruler, said:
“The Golden Lotus be praised. Your Majesty, let go of your son, and he might still live. Persist in error, and I will execute you both where you stand. The choice…is yours.”