Ling Tianwei was cultivating according to the modified Three Thousand Condensing Heaven Intent when he found himself conflicted. For some reason, however, he could not help but shudder, as though a gust of sinister wind had come whistling toward him.
That sinister qi was released by Liu Muyu through the Wuhun Banner. It could contaminate spiritual energy, and once inhaled, it would completely breed inner demons within a cultivator, taint their Spiritual Platform, and ultimately shatter their Dao Heart, leaving them unable to cultivate any further.
After leaving, Liu Muyu did not care whether Ling Tianwei was still cultivating or not. What the Wuhun Banner released was more than enough.
"Huff, huff..."
"The five elements, the five elements..."
At that moment, Ling Tianwei was considering the easiest place to begin. Without question, it was the Five-Colored Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
It could be said that these were the most superficial things.
Having seen Ling Tianwei's modifications, the Book Spirit understood what he intended. In the Book Spirit's eyes, he was utterly arrogant and conceited.
"What five-element Dao Intent? If Dao Intent were that easy to comprehend, every cultivator in the Cultivation World would probably possess it."
The Book Spirit grumbled inwardly, but naturally could not reveal such thoughts on the surface.
"As expected of Master. The five elements are the most common within spiritual energy. Starting from there, you will certainly comprehend Dao Intent."
Under Ling Tianwei's tyrannical pressure, the Book Spirit had no choice but to say something against its conscience.
Deep down, however, it was eagerly anticipating the moment Ling Tianwei discovered that Dao Intent could not be comprehended.
Yet Ling Tianwei was indeed as the Book Spirit had expected. At present, he had absolutely no clue about the five-element spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
According to the Five Intentions Condensing Heaven Art, the Dao Intent of heaven and earth originated from the laws, rules, and evolved phenomena of the world. Cultivating immortality was inherently an act of defying heaven, vying with heaven and earth for that tiny thread of Heavenly Secrets.
And that thread of opportunity was the Dao Intent of heaven and earth—a sliver of law stolen from heaven and earth.
To seize Heavenly Secrets with a human body—within the Cultivation World, being able to cultivate even a trace of Dao Intent was enough to widen the gap between oneself and other cultivators.
Even the Heavenly Origin Immortal Venerable had only comprehended five kinds of Dao Intent.
Of course, in Ling Tianwei's view, that was merely the Heavenly Origin Immortal Venerable's exaggeration. What nonsense about comprehending one Dao Intent making someone a favored child of heaven and opening a gap over others?
That was nothing more than blaming the road for being uneven when one could not walk properly.
This could be seen from the Heavenly Origin Dao Foundation Method.
Though he thought this way, Ling Tianwei still understood that there had to be a reason the man had managed to cultivate into an immortal. He had no great objection to something as fundamental as foundations.
Just as Ling Tianwei continued to absorb spiritual energy and explore the Dao Intent within it,
the spiritual energy contaminated by the Wuhun Banner Liu Muyu had used silently infiltrated the cave dwelling.
As a sacred land standing alongside Lingxu Sacred Land, Baiyuan Sacred Land had gone all out in order to thoroughly contaminate those seeds destined for ascension.
Formed from one hundred thousand resentments and refined by several seventh-grade artifact refiners through eighty-one processes, the Wuhun Banner was made purely to bring calamity upon people.
Moreover, most cultivators who had only just begun cultivating had Dao Hearts that were not yet stable. They had never experienced much.
The resentment born from one hundred thousand acts of Bone Marrow Extraction, flaying flesh, slaughtering kin, and blood-soaked torture was enough to let even a demonic cultivator rise one or two realms in a single leap.
The Corrupting Grudge Qi continuously invaded, while Ling Tianwei used the Fission Qi Gathering Method to draw spiritual energy inside.
The Corrupting Grudge Qi was inherently heavy and dense. Under the influence of the Fission Qi Gathering Method, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth became increasingly ferocious and baleful.
If Liu Muyu had remained outside the cave dwelling at this moment, he would likely have seen a layer of bloodthirsty, baleful, resentful qi spreading over it, making it seem like a demon's lair.
Unfortunately, Liu Muyu had no way of witnessing it himself.
As for Ling Tianwei, he had no idea that someone was stabbing him in the back. He felt nothing at all as he absorbed the Corrupting Grudge Qi.
That was because strange scenes were flickering in and out before his eyes, while faint whispers reached his ears.
Compared to Ling Tianwei's confusion, the Book Spirit of the Five Intentions Condensing Heaven Art was already dumbfounded, staring blankly at the resentment that filled the sky.
"This is Corrupting Grudge Qi... This is bad..."
As the spirit of an immortal art, the Book Spirit had seen many things and naturally recognized it.
This Corrupting Grudge Qi had originated from Evil Demons. In the era of the Heavenly Origin Immortal Venerable, those Evil Demons had loved refining such things.
It could blend Corrupting Grudge Qi into heaven and earth, thoroughly defiling an area. Cultivators within it would find the power of their spells greatly reduced when using spiritual power, and would be utterly unable to recover spiritual power within it.
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Most terrifying of all, if one remained inside for too long, endless resentment would invade the body and seep deep into the Spiritual Platform. At that point, one would be unable to continue cultivating; the Spiritual Platform would be fouled, and divine consciousness would dissolve away.
Now that this thing had appeared once more and wrapped around the entire cave dwelling, the Book Spirit kept thinking of changing masters, changing masters.
But thoughts were just thoughts. Since it had acknowledged Ling Tianwei as its new inheritor, no matter how poor he was, it had to correct him. Faced with this Corrupting Grudge Qi, it absolutely could not let him fall victim to it.
"Master, Master..."
The Book Spirit used its spiritual consciousness to activate the immortal power lingering within the book.
In an instant, dazzling golden light flashed forth, and faint spiritual energy gathered. The Book Spirit wanted to use it to awaken Ling Tianwei.
Unfortunately, the Corrupting Grudge Qi existed precisely to contaminate spiritual energy and spiritual power. What was more, this Corrupting Grudge Qi had been refined by Baiyuan Sacred Land using the resentment of one hundred thousand people.
Rustle...
The Book Spirit's counterattack and resistance were utterly useless. The Corrupting Grudge Qi instantly wrapped around it, leaving it able only to protect itself.
Outside, the Book Spirit was resisting, trying to save Ling Tianwei.
Ling Tianwei, meanwhile, knew nothing of any of this, nor did he know that danger was sweeping toward him.
At that moment, he listened to the whispers by his ears and watched all manner of scenes flicker endlessly before his eyes.
On top of that, he had been cultivating in order to condense Dao Intent, and the Corrupting Grudge Qi had arrived at just the right time.
Those bizarre flashing remnants and whispers descended upon Ling Tianwei. Things that were enough to drive someone mad and contaminate their Spiritual Platform
instead became, in Ling Tianwei's mind—
"It worked. As expected, my talent is unlike anyone else's. The moment I entered meditation, I was able to glimpse a trace of Dao Intent."
Ling Tianwei sighed in admiration.
That was right. Ling Tianwei had already mistaken the chaotic illusions and inner demons produced by the Corrupting Grudge Qi tainting his Spiritual Platform for signs that his comprehension of Dao Intent was having an effect.
Under such circumstances, Ling Tianwei became even more certain of his exceptional aptitude. After all, the Heavenly Origin Immortal Venerable, who had created the Five Intentions Condensing Heaven Art, had spent more than a decade before seeing results when condensing his first Dao Intent.
Yet Ling Tianwei had caused Dao Intent to emerge and respond in less than a moment.
"Pseudo-Spirit Root, poor aptitude, what system, what Book Spirit, and the Heart-Questioning Stairway? If I had a Pseudo-Spirit Root and poor aptitude, how could I be this fast?"
Ling Tianwei could not help but snort coldly.
Naturally, Ling Tianwei completely ignored the bloody scenes appearing before him, the cold and mournful aura surrounding him, and the cries of children and elders ringing in his ears...
In Ling Tianwei's eyes, this was the manifestation of Dao Intent.
Was this not the myriad conditions of life—life and death, bitterness and sorrow?
Thinking of the novels he had read before, one had to undergo countless reincarnations to become immortal. Things like birth, aging, sickness, and death; all kinds of painful lives enough to make someone collapse and die hundreds of times; comprehending the many emotions of the mortal world...
So these sounds and these things were nothing worth mentioning...
Ling Tianwei did not find them frightening in the slightest. Instead, he pressed forward without hesitation.
Thus, facing the Corrupting Grudge Qi that was enough to make cultivators collapse, taint their Spiritual Platforms, and breed inner demons, Ling Tianwei charged straight at it in one rush.
He even directly drew it into himself.
And so, an unimaginable scene occurred. The Corrupting Grudge Qi that had originally shrouded the cave dwelling, along with the surrounding spiritual energy, all rushed into Ling Tianwei's body in one go.
Because Ling Tianwei was using the Fission Qi Gathering Method, in a place others could not perceive, he controlled the spiritual energy and slammed it into another point of the Corrupting Grudge Qi.
Before long, the Corrupting Grudge Qi and berserk spiritual energy turned the entire cave dwelling into a sea of blood-red light.
Black shadows could even be seen howling and shrieking throughout the cave dwelling. It had completely become a demon's lair.
At the center, Ling Tianwei sat cross-legged like the sole demon of this place, supreme resentment endlessly billowing in and out of his body.
Even some demonic cultivators would not dare absorb Corrupting Grudge Qi in such a manner.
As the Corrupting Grudge Qi rushed toward Ling Tianwei, the Book Spirit slowly broke free. The moment it looked up, it saw the scene within the cave dwelling, and its gaze fell directly upon Ling Tianwei.
"He has fallen to demonic corruption, he has fallen to demonic corruption! This is bad..."