The art of controlling spirits

"The art of controlling spirits can only be practiced by those that have demonic blood running through their veins."

"That's also a rumor, isn't it?" Jie Fu Lian took a minute to calm down as he asked.

Hua Tianshu shook his head as he spoke, "It's not a rumor. It was confirmed."

"..."

"Uncle Fu, you really didn't know?" Duan Luoyang looked at Jie Fu Lian with a bit of surprise as he asked, "It was quite a famous revelation so I didn't think there would be anyone who would be unaware of it."

"That can't be," Jie Fu Lian muttered and gulped as he thought back to the time when he had first found the cultivation records.

<<The art of controlling spirits>> was a cultivation record that was divided into four parts. The first two parts of the cultivation record were inherited down and didn't have a physical copy while the last two parts of it had been recorded down and made into a manual.

At the age of ten, Jie Fu Lian had already inherited the first part of the cultivation record and two years later, he had also inherited the second part of the cultivation record.

All the knowledge contained within the first two parts was directly absorbed into his mind and it took him only four years to master it.

At the time, he had informed his father about the sudden appearance of the cultivation record, however, his father didn't seem to be shocked and seemed to have expected it.

Since Jie Fu Lian was quite young when he inherited the first two parts of the cultivation record, he didn't question much about it after having talked to his father. Since his father's response was quite normal, he naturally didn't think there would be anything more to it.

Now that he thought about it again, he wondered how he was able to inherit a cultivation record that neither belonged to his father nor belonged to his mother.

Later on, he even searched for the remaining two parts of the cultivation record and practiced them. Eventually, becoming a master in <<The art of controlling spirits>>.

However, even after mastering it, he had never found any relation between the cultivation record and demonic cultivation.

"What proof was there?" Jie Fu Lian questioned with a small frown on his face.

"The art of controlling spirits was originally made by an immortal called Xue Lan. During his time, he was famous and well-known for his righteous nature. He was selfless and helped anyone in need. He was part of a prominent sect but when his sect disagreed with his habit of helping the poor, he cut ties with his sect. He had a pure heart and a clear mind that wanted to help the ones who needed help the most. Even when he wasn't paid or thanked for the help, he was still uncomplaining."

Jie Fu Lian listened attentively and felt a bit useless as he thought, 'I mastered the entire cultivation record and yet, I didn't even know the name of the one who created it. How embarrassing...!'

"However, eventually, his reputation took a downfall when the truth about his origins was revealed. He was born to a demon and a human. He had demonic Qi coursing through his veins and all acts of benevolence and kindness he showed were nothing more than a cover for his demonic origins. Of course, if it had been just that, he could have still been respected by some for the work he had done. But..." Duan Luoyang suddenly paused and sighed before he continued.

"He had deep ties with the demon realm. He had the perfect constitution for demonic cultivation and yet he never strayed away from the righteous path, however, his heart wasn't following the same path as his body and mind."

Jie Fu Lian furrowed his eyebrows together and looked to be a little confused as he heard these words. Duan Luoyang had purposely framed his words in a way that didn't give any direct information but still implied the hidden truth that he was unwilling to voice out loud, however, Jie Fu Lian was never good at guessing hidden meanings.

Suddenly, Hua Tianshu cleared his throat as he interrupted Duan Luoyang and spoke, "Xue Lan was in love with a demon and the two had quite the intimate relationship."

Both Duan Luoyang and Jie Fu Lian choked on empty air.

With a sigh, Hua Tianshu continued, "It was a high-ranking demon who had murdered thousands, but Xue Lan still loved him. Their relationship eventually became the reason why Xue Lan lost both his reputation and life. Because of Xue Lan's natural constitution, it was hard for him to follow other cultivation manuals and records, hence he created his own. The art of controlling spirits is precisely one of those cultivation records that had been created to suit the body of a half-demon."

"Wait! Wait!" Jie Fu Lian put his hands up and stopped Hua Tianshu from speaking any further as he asked, "The art of controlling spirits was a cultivation record that is inherited by only blood descendants so how can Jie Fu Lian have inherited it?"

"He was probably adopted," Duan Luoyang shrugged his shoulders.

"..." Jie Fu Lian had the urge to punch the boy for carelessly speaking.

"Xue Lan had no relatives nor did he leave any descendants," Hua Tianshu revealed, "After his death, the cultivation record was passed onto his beloved who was a demon, and later, to the relatives of that demon."

Hua Tianshu didn't speak any further but Jie Fu Lian already understood the implication of the man's words.

"Is this information really reliable?" Jie Fu Lian questioned.

"It is."

Hua Tianshu wasn't one to lie nor was he one to believe baseless rumors or word of mouth. If such a man had confidently confirmed the information to be reliable then the information was probably as true as it could get.

Back when everyone was against Jie Fu Lian, he had heard accusations of him being a half-demon, however, he thought he knew himself the best, and hence, he didn't consider those accusations as anything more than baseless nonsense.

Now that the origins of his cultivation record had been investigated, even he couldn't help but question if he was a half-demon.

"Wait...!" Jie Fu Lian muttered as he gulped and had a sudden shocking realization, "The Yan sect harboring demons... The demon in question was me...?!"

Hua Tianshu nodded his head quietly while Duan Luoyang broke out laughing.

"Uncle Fu, how could it be you? It was Jie Fu Lian," Duan Luoyang enthusiastically corrected the man.

Right now, Duan Luoyang considered Jie Fu Lian to be a man called Fu Ming who happened to be friends with his Teacher so it was only natural that he laughed at Jie Fu Lian's words.

Jie Fu Lian immediately gulped and nervously corrected himself as he spoke, "T-That's right. It's Jie Fu Lian. Jie Fu Lian was the demon...?"

He slightly tilted his head up as he expectantly looked at Hua Tianshu.

Hua Tianshu sighed as he closed his eyes and spoke, "It wasn't just him. There were other demons hiding among the Yan Sect disciples."

Jie Fu Lian was left feeling a little dumbfounded as he heard this.

'It wasn't just him...?'

Wasn't that another way of confirming that his guess was right..?!

So he really was a half-demon?!

"The death of the Bai Family's second son was the main reason why the art of controlling spirits had been investigated and it was also the start of all the accusations made against the Yan sect," Hua Tianshu spoke as he continued, "Once we get to Xiujiang, we'll be able to get a better understanding of everything that had happened back then."

Jie Fu Lian gulped as he heard this but said nothing as a response and silently followed the man. He was still shocked at the revelation of his origins.

In reality, Jie Fu Lian had always known that his father and mother weren't actually his birth parents, however, he could have never guessed that he had the blood of a demon running through his veins.

He remembered the day when he had fought a high-ranking demon for the first time. The demon had told him, 'Although your mind is pure, your eyes have the darkness of the entire night sky trapped within. You have darkness within you. Darkness that I have never seen before.'

Could he have been referring to the demonic blood coursing through Jie Fu Lian's veins...?

"Shizun, why are we walking?" Duan Luoyang changed the topic as he casually questioned, "Can't we just use a transportation talisman?"

This question... Since the beginning, even Jie Fu Lian had been meaning to ask...!

Transportation talismans were expensive but not unaffordable! As a disciple of a big sect like HiuXue, Hua Tianshu was probably provided more than a thousand transportation talismans every month.

So why the hell were they wasting their energy on walking?

Was this man just being stingy?!

However, Hua Tianshu never answered that question and simply ignored it as he kept walking.