Volume 1 Chapter 24: Demon Heart

Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tries to find it, he still can't grasp anything yet. After the war, he truly had no reason for invincibility anymore. Maybe it's better to indulge himself in wealth and beauty?

Fang Zhaoge widened his eyes as he backed up from the pond that reflected his face. Just now, it was distorted into a face that was filled with a heinous, devilish sneer.

His forehead was wet with cold sweats. That self-enticing moment…

So that's how a Demon Heart was formed. Fang Zhaoge smiled wryly to himself. Turns out, he could also get one just by thinking too deeply.

Actually, the existence of the Demon Heart exists not only in cultivation. In his previous life, it also existed. After all, it was a form of self-doubt and self-hate. It was poisonous and utterly dangerous.

However, as Immortality was based on tranquillity and pureness, just a little bit of self-doubt and self-hate could form the manifestation of a Demon Heart, which was himself.

A part of him who wanted to stray from the path of Immortality and enjoyed the enticement of wealth, women and power. It was the ultimate hindrance of a cultivator!

"I wonder if someone else had formed a Demon Heart while being a Qi Refinement junior. It's probably only me, huh?"

Fang Zhaoge self-depreciates himself again. This is why a Demon Heart was very dangerous. Once someone forms it, they'll just keep falling.

However, an explosion of will suddenly burst out, and Fang Zhaoge widened his eyes and jumped to his feet.

He panted as he ran from the pond. Almost! He's almost engulfed by the Demon Heart! Just a step away from depravity!

"F*ck, why is Demon Heart so scary?! I did nothing, yet I almost fell right there and then!"

Fang Zhaoge couldn't care anymore, and he ran as fast as he could! He truly needs a consultation with his Sister Zhi!

Once someone falls to their Demon Hearts, what becomes of them is nothing more than their shell! They'll be filled with pure instinct to satiate their greed and desires!

In short, they'll become human animals!

Fang Zhaoge noticed the notification on his face, and his eyes were filled with relief and gratitude.

"So my luck hasn't run out yet. After a month of self-doubt, my willpower increased by another 10%. Just a 10% increment, yet I could immediately break through the confinement of my own self. So that also counts as a seclusion..."

[Current Willpower Amplification: 133.1% Original Willpower]

His heart has become firmer. He must absolutely increase the grade of the No Life Cultivator quality! It's a must!!!

After running at full speed with the strength of trillions of suns, in just a few seconds, he ran all the way from the subsidiary force of Star Institution's headquarters to the Scorching Sun Sect.

Arriving before the gate, he did not need to clarificate. As an Overlord, his rights were basically like a God. Thus, he instantaneously appeared in his cottage, where Li Mengzhi calmly cultivates.

His eyes widened. His Senior Sister… is at Qi Refinement realm?

"Hm? Who? Oh, it's Junior Brother. Here, sit. I know you're curious as to why I'm like this."

Li Mengzhi opened her watery eyes and mischievously smiled at him. However, her joyous face fell when her Junior Brother's face was pale as snow. He looked like a ghost!

"Junior Brother, what's wrong?"

"Sister Zhi, I… formed a Demon Heart."

The cottage turned silent. Li Mengzhi took a second to react. But that one second was extremely long in his eyes. He calmly sits before her and waits for an answer.

After a second, Li Mengzhi's eyes turned cold as she stared at him. Fang Zhaoge could imagine that her mother was definitely like this when Li Mengzhi described her as the coldest woman!

"What happened?"

"I think I lost my purpose, Sister Zhi. I'm already invincible. Nothing in this world could threaten me. Thus, when I asked myself the reason to seek invincibility, I wavered, and it was formed."

Li Mengzhi snorted as she coldly looked at him in contempt, "You? Invincible? Listen to me, Junior Brother. The Forbidden Zones… the beings inside wouldn't even consider you as a speck of dust. That's how utterly powerful they are. But you dared to claim yourself as invincible? How about the moment you ascend? Not to mention those ancestors, even those heavenly geniuses could beat you up if they teamed up!"

"You know it's a different thing, Senior Sister. They're too far away from me, and thus I consider them as beings beyond me. I didn't consider them. That's just how… contemptuous I was before my Demon Heart was formed… And I haven't even ascended yet, thus I have yet to see them with my own eyes."

Fang Zhaoge smiled wryly. Every person who claims himself as invincible is always like that, no? They didn't consider the beings above them, and would loudly exclaim "Shameless!" if a being above their realms attacked them.

You claimed yourself as invincible, so why are you crying when they attacked you? Fang Zhaoge was lucky he could overwhelm everyone even if he was just a Qi Refinement junior.

Looking at Fang Zhaoge's guilty expression, Li Mengzhi's gaze softened. Although her eyes are cold, at least her tone isn't as contemptuous as before.

She sighed, "In the end, Father's prediction has come true. That most cultivators who have become invincible from the beginning would lose their sight of their goal and form a Demon Heart earlier on. It's also true that without hardships and real life battle experience, no matter how prodigious a cultivator is, they would be easily defeated by a sound of mere, worldly conviction…"

"Junior Brother, Father left something for you in case an occasion like this happened. Remember that the road of cultivation is to defy the heavens and to carve and forge our own fate! As controlling fate is too pretentious and presumptuous, at the very least, we could control where we're heading to!"

Li Mengzhi merely voiced out her conviction, yet even the world seemed to nod in reverence! The wind surged as the earth broke apart! Fang Zhaoge was in awe. This is a true Dao Heart!

"It's also dad's fault. He didn't even teach you anything. He just gave you a qi lake and a bunch of techniques before he left. I knew it, he's thinking about playing with Mother all day long!"

Soon, the mischievous Li Mengzhi returned as she complained coquettishly. She quickly took out a simple swan-shaped pendant. It was made out of a mysterious material, something Fang Zhaoge doesn't recognize.

Li Mengzhi simply smirked and tapped his hand, forcefully giving him the pendant.

"Now, you can go to the bottom of the Sword Peak and see what Father has left behind. I hope you can return with an unbreakable Dao Heart that remains firm even if the whole world is against you!"

Although he was anxious, he was also curious, "Sister Zhi, are there many like me who formed a Demon Heart early on?"

"Hm? Why did you ask such a thing?"

"Well, I just felt like I was the worst cultivator out there to form one when I was just a mere Qi Refinement junior…"

Fang Zhaoge felt embarrassed. Why am I so f*cking bad? Am I this weak-willed?! Damn! I must upgrade that No Life Cultivator quality! Fang Zhaoge reminded himself for the gazillion times.

"No, actually, it's quite usual. Oh Junior Brother, you have no idea how many invincible geniuses who fell because of their delusional invincibility. It's also their master's fault for not setting a higher goal for them. That's why in the Immortal World, many forces have spread the rumors of the mysterious world above the Immortal World. So those invincible geniuses wouldn't lose their sight!"

"Young geniuses have lived for too short, and they have no idea what they want, most of the time. It's different from the old cultivators who have a lot of experience. Hence, over 85% of geniuses in history actually fell because of their Demon Hearts! As for the rest? Some have already become the head of the major forces, while the top geniuses who survived have ascended long ago…"

Fang Zhaoge was enlightened. So it's all because of Demon Hearts! Tsk, a goal is truly important for cultivators.

"What about you, Sister Zhi? What's your aspirations that you used as a foundation for your Dao Heart?"

Li Mengzhi stayed silent for a while. She looked at the direction of the Immortal World, which was way above the mortal world!

"I think I have the same aspiration as my mother. Well, living in your mother's womb for over 500 years would do that to you, right?"

"My mother wants to prove that a woman with her zither could dominate all the weapons in the world with my father by her side. I also want to prove to her family that her daughter that she conceived with my father is something that none of the younger generations of that clan could compare!"

The effect was even more ridiculous than before! The sky shook, the earth surged, and the sea was disturbed! It was less than a second, but it was enough to prove how utterly strong Li Mengzhi's Dao Heart was!

"But Sister Zhi, how about after that?"

Fang Zhaoge lost his sight after the war and witnessed the despairing fact that the Forbidden Zones were too high for him to take on. So how about Li Mengzhi?

"After that? I'll swing my sword to the beings that restrained my world and fight to the death! But it's still too far, Junior Brother. However, don't despair, but be brave! Be courageous to face them even though you're unbelievably small in their eyes!"

Li Mengzhi's smile was heroic yet coquettish. It's the most perfect image of a swordswoman who could sever everything while maintaining the exhibition that made her who she was!

"It was the same case for what's going on in the Forbidden Zones. Don't despair, but be courageous! You'll reach them eventually, so don't treat it as something impossible!"

This time, Fang Zhaoge admitted. He was indeed entranced. Don't despair, but be courageous to face them… It's a simple set of words, but how utterly difficult it was to face a being countless times stronger than you that you couldn't even be considered an ant in their eyes?

And it was uttered by a seemingly weak woman like Li Mengzhi… how could he, a man, not be inspired by her?

This is the meaning of a Dao Heart! The intention to face things deemed impossible while maintaining bravery! Fang Zhaoge has his own enlightenment, and a shocking aura bursts out!

"I understand, Sister Zhi! Don't worry, when I come back from master's leftovers, I'll definitely be a Junior Brother you're proud to have! I'll be the bravest of men!"

He was in high spirits!

Don't despair, but be courageous! The true meaning of a cultivator!!!

As Fang Zhaoge was hopping around the peak in excitement and valor, Li Mengzhi just smiled happily. She looked as he went down the Peak, his face showed that he is ready to face the tests her father left for him.

"Thankfully, you did not get devoured by your Demon Heart when it was formed. Father was right, you are indeed a qualified disciple. But if you want the right to be with me, Father gives a quite… hard prerequisite to fulfill…"

Li Mengzhi's face turned conflicted. She pats her own face. She also looked at the pond beside her. Thankfully, her face isn't that embarrassing…

"Father is too powerful. How can I find myself a husband in the future? Junior Brother, you're truly my only hope…"

She also wants to be like her mother!