Although the disturbance caused by the Soul-Eroding Shadow Guards had been suppressed, that vile aura aimed straight at the heart silently spread through the Ancient Demon Star Altar like a plague. The tragic state of fallen comrades, the shadow of comrades killing one another, fear of unknown attacks, and resentment over deliberately magnified inequities in resource distribution all took root in the hearts of many low-level cultivators. Though order had returned on the surface of the altar, an atmosphere of oppression, suspicion, and restless unease surged beneath it like an undercurrent.
Li Wuyang, seated at the altar's core, slowly opened his eyes. His face remained pale, but the vision of Chaos Reincarnation in his eyes had grown deeper than before. By activating the Reincarnation Dao Rhyme from afar to purify the evil aura, he had clearly detected a purer, more concealed malicious intent hidden deep within the Soul-Eroding Shadow Guards' sinister power—the strand of Dao Heart Seed Demon power bestowed remotely by the Holy Lord of Annihilation! This power was incomparably insidious. It did not attack directly, but mingled with negative emotions and fluctuations of evil power like the finest dust, silently infiltrating, lurking, and waiting for the chance to ignite inner demons.
So it had finally come... an assault aimed at the Dao Heart. Li Wuyang understood perfectly. The Finality Council had changed its strategy. With frontal assaults obstructed, it had turned to attacking the heart. This method was even more vicious, intended to destroy the altar's will to resist from within and perhaps even drag him, a newly advanced quasi-Saint, into an Inner Demon Tribulation of eternal damnation.
He did not immediately use thunderous means to dispel the pervasive negative aura. Purification was easy; tempering the heart was difficult. This crisis was also an excellent opportunity for him