Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 677 Breaking the Demon

Chapter 677 Breaking the Demon

The night, like a flawless giant tent, shrouded the sky above Zhimaling.

I don’t know when it started, but the nights here have been tainted with an evil aura.

From then on, ghosts and monsters ran rampant, and strange phenomena occurred frequently.

Many people are forever lost in this bizarre and desolate forest, and even in death they cannot find peace.

Some people managed to get out and spread the rumors to the outside world, but in the end, they only became gossip for people to talk about over tea.

Until tonight.

boom--

Just before dawn, in the darkest hour, a loud bang, like a thunderclap from the heavens, suddenly exploded on the ridge.

The source of that sound... was the sound of a mountain stele inscribed with the three large characters "Zhimaling" being smashed by a single blow.

And right now, the only one who can do this is Yun Shili.

He didn't use any new tricks; it was the same trick he used a while ago to "open a window" in the Zhenwu Hall on Wudang Mountain.

Of course, this situation is different from the last one: last time he was carrying burdens and surrounded, so he had to hold back some strength when he made his move; but this time he attacked the target at close range in an environment without any interference, and Tamao specifically emphasized that he should "go all out", so the power of his attack was several times greater than last time.

slam-la-

A moment later, the ancient mountain stele finally crumbled under Yun Shili's earth-shattering blow, turning into a pile of rubble in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, the evil aura that shrouded Zhimaling seemed to have shattered into countless fragments, just like the mountain monument, and gradually dissipated.

And what about Yun Shili...?

"Hoo..." After making such a move, even Brother Yun was a little unsteady on his feet, so he simply sat down on the spot, following the staggering momentum from the move, and began to regulate his breathing.

But to his utter surprise, just as he caught his breath and before he could even catch his breath, he heard a series of hurried footsteps nearby.

Yun Shili dared not be careless and quickly turned his head to look. Just then, he saw two figures rushing out of the woods and running towards him.

The one running in front was a strange black shadow that was gradually becoming "clearer," resembling a dried corpse; and the one running behind... I'm sure you've all guessed it—Cao Le.

From Yun Shili's perspective, without the "demon-revealing mirror," it shouldn't have been possible to distinguish between Cao Le and Cao Wei'er. However, Cao Le was chasing the shadowy figure while laughing and cursing maniacally behind him: "Hehe~ Don't run away! Didn't you come to take my body? Come on~"

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a case of one thing subduing another.

Here, the book subtly reveals that the shadowy figure's ability is a power somewhere between "possession" and "parasitism." It is not simply about taking over and controlling someone else's body, nor is it about coexisting with people like "Venom" (referring to the Marvel character of the same name). Instead, it uses "infinitely amplifying the evil thoughts in people's hearts" as its core method, slowly eroding and transforming people into something inhuman.

That is... the demon.

By now, some readers may have already realized something. I won't keep you in suspense any longer, so I'll just say it directly: the original form of this thing was once a person.

Long, long ago, he was also a renowned swordsman in the martial arts world, named Yue Tiexuan.

At his peak, Yue Tiexuan was at least among the top ten figures in the martial arts world, if not the leader of the righteous faction. Back then, he could easily rally hundreds of martial arts practitioners to his cause at any moment.

However, beneath his glamorous exterior, he also harbors many unspeakable secrets.

For example, he was secretly jealous of talent and coveted the martial arts skills his disciple had acquired through a fortuitous encounter, so he threatened and suppressed his disciple in various ways; another example is that he once accidentally killed his good brother, and then framed innocent people in order to get away with it; many years later, his good brother's son went around hunting down innocent people in order to take revenge, but he pretended not to know and remained indifferent in order to maintain his image of being highly respected.

In the end, his enemies still caught up with him, and fearing the consequences, he chose to jump off a cliff and commit suicide.

Those who frequently read martial arts novels know that in the martial arts world, the mortality rate of jumping off a cliff is lower than drowning in a cesspool, so Yue Tiexuan obviously did not die.

However, he could no longer "live" like a human being... because after falling off the cliff, he fell into the hands of a sorcerer.

This evil Taoist is called True Lord Fire Lotus.

In that era, Xiao Zhun hadn't even been born yet, and Huo Lian Zhenjun was still young. Therefore, Yue Tiexuan just happened to become the material for young people to do "scientific research".

The topic that True Lord Fire Lotus studied is very familiar to everyone. Judging from his later actions, it is not difficult to deduce that he has always been dedicated to turning people into "demons".

Why would he do this? Actually, we've already given a clue earlier...

As you may have noticed, the more directly one's five disciples, including himself, created "karma," the faster they died.

Those who practiced "sexual cultivation" like Fairy Shuiyuan didn't kill as many people as the others, so they died a little later. On the other hand, those like Demon Lord Jinding, who gradually turned to the righteous path through alchemy, are still alive.

Now let's go back to this Fire Lotus True Monarch. This guy is the type who "I want the goods, but I don't want to pay for them." So he came up with a plan: instead of taking action himself, he would guide and entice others to take action, while leaving some "backdoors" for himself. Once the "others" had been fattened up, he would use the "backdoors" he had reserved to absorb their cultivation.

In this way, wouldn't others bear all the "karma" while I gain all the spiritual cultivation?

Of course, this is just his own logic...

The mighty Heavenly Dao wouldn't allow you to exploit such a loophole, would it?

In any case, from Yue Tiexuan to Huolian Daxian, and then to Xiao Zhun and Wen Yuzhai... Huolian Zhenjun has never succeeded.

The two episodes involving Fire Lotus Immortal and Xiao Zhun were both ruined by Shuang Xie, and as for Wen Yuzhai's side... we'll mention that in later chapters, so there's no rush to talk about it here.

Let's talk about Yue Tiexuan now.

After enduring a great deal of inhuman torture, Yue Tiexuan's body was eventually refined into a large, towering rock. Huolian Zhenjun felt that the material was useless, so he simply left. Later, an unsuspecting official from Daming came to this place and, seeing the conspicuous rock, carved the three characters "Zhimaling" on it, using it as a monument to the place.

Unexpectedly, after a few more years, and perhaps due to a lag in the Fire Lotus True Monarch's experiment, Yue Tiexuan eventually became a demon.

However, his "physical body" had turned into stone and he was completely unable to move, so it... yes, we have to use "it" again here... it can only come out to cause trouble in a form that is similar to a consciousness.

Originally, Yue Tiexuan shouldn't have been that powerful, but the officials of Da Ming had carved the three characters "Zhi Ma Ling" on his body. Friends familiar with Taoist arts should know that "words" or "symbols" have power. This power is sometimes related to the writer's identity or strength, and sometimes to the symbolic meaning or authority behind the words.

As for Yue Tiexuan... the official status of this "mountain stele" obviously gave it a great boost. From then on, the Zhimaling mountain forest became a land constantly eroded by evil will under its influence.

It can be said that, at least before the monument at Zhimaling was destroyed, even Yun Shili could not stop Yue Tiexuan from "possessing" him, because Yun Shili and Yuwei were not in the situation of "sharing a body". Similarly, Tang Chou and Xu Wei could not... It just took Yue Tiexuan more time to corrupt those who were kind or had a strong will.

But today, Yue Tiexuan was brought before Cao Le by Situ Ao...

Cao Le and Cao Wei'er are different from the others. Cao Le, who has lived in the world of consciousness for a long time, has a control over this world that is similar to that of the master of a "controllable dream". Yue Tiexuan, who rushed into this sea of ​​consciousness, is like entering Cao Le's playground.

It sensed something was wrong as soon as it entered, but it was too late to run away. At that moment, a loud melody started playing...

To make a long story short, although Yue Tiexuan eventually escaped Cao Le's "Tsukuyomi"-like consciousness environment, he was severely injured. Moreover, Cao Le was now able to detect his presence in reality, so the two began a chase.

Cao Le pursued, while the biggest demon on Zhima Ridge escaped...

Driven by instinct, Yue Tiexuan unknowingly fled towards his physical body, only to be unexpectedly destroyed by Yun Ge's "base raid" at that moment.

At this point, Yue Tiexuan, having lost the power of the inscription, gradually became "clearer" again and turned into a physical entity.

This entity is indeed a "demon," but it is very weak, after all, it was originally a failed experiment.

But in Yun Shili's eyes, this was still a real threat...

At this moment, Brother Yun was in a state of severe exhaustion. He was not only unable to use his internal energy to defend himself, but also unable to use his lightness skill to escape. In fact, his limbs were weak.

Seeing the "monster" charging towards him, Yun Shili, in this desperate situation, could only follow his instincts for fighting and survival—he reached into his clothes and groped around, using whatever he could find as a weapon.

Two seconds later, he grabbed the hard object he thought was a mirror and quickly pulled it out.

"Hmm?" But when Yun Shili held it up to his eyes, he realized that there was no mirror at all. What he was holding was clearly that spine bone whose function was unknown.

Only then did he belatedly realize that such a "mirror" did not exist in reality; it was merely something he had obtained in an illusion. Therefore, since emerging from the "coffin," he had never seen it again and had even "forgotten" it for a time...

In reality, besides the jade tail, the only thing that has been helping him all along is this spine. In the illusion, it can be a mirror or something else.

"what!"

Before he could think any further, Yue Tiexuan had already reached him. In his haste, Yun Shili let out a startled shout and suddenly raised his hand... When he came to his senses, the spine in his hand had already pierced into Yue Tiexuan's body.

Back then, Wang Shilian, the former leader of Wudang Sect and the owner of this "innate spiritual bone," sacrificed himself in the "Sword and Saber Demon Slaying" battle, which was orchestrated by Huolian Zhenjun. As a result, his spiritual bone fell into the hands of Shuiyuan Fairy and was forged into a demonic weapon.

Now, after several twists and turns, this whisk, which was transformed from a spiritual bone, first helped Shuang Xie open the secret chamber in the back mountain of Wudang. Later, during Chun Kong and Gu Qiying's accidental encounter, it used its own dual holy and demonic source characteristics to dissipate part of the power of the two and itself... Today, it has guided Yun Shili several times, and at this last moment, it has destroyed Yue Tiexuan, the remnant demon body created by the Fire Lotus True Monarch.

After this journey, it can be said that Master Wang, though dead, is still alive, as if his spirit continues to live on and is still striving to do something.

In the darkness of the universe, cause and effect cycle, evil may prevail for a time, but good will always triumph over evil.

bang——

A moment later, a loud bang rang out, and the demonic shadow vanished instantly. The spirit bone, as if it had finally completed its mission, exhausted its last bit of power and turned into dust.

It was at this moment that the eastern horizon began to lighten.

This long night has finally come to an end.