The truth was suffocating

Crimson blood splattered everywhere, and the only female Dao Venerable's fair forehead was torn to pieces. Her pupils contracted, and her face was filled with disbelief.

Qin Ming hadn't expected that all three of the External Demons's punches would hit their target.

With a bang, the power of his final punch continued to penetrate, shattering the female Dao Venerable's forehead bone as the fist's light pierced through it completely.

The martial artist's three punches were a bit salty, and blood splattered, landing on his lips.

At the same time, Qin Ming's true form galloped over on horseback, swinging his sword down.

The female Dao Venerable's exquisite face, which had shattered like porcelain, was filled with astonishment, shock, and resentment at the last moment; her expression was quite complex.

Puff!

Her body, whose head had been blown off, was then cleaved in two by Qin Ming's true form with a long sword, instantly splitting into two halves, which then broke apart inch by inch, exploding into a cloud of blood mist.

"Careful!"

The Inner Demon Dao Venerable tried to transmit his thoughts, but it was clearly too late.

Qin Ming's mount had a glossy, Dark Light and shimmered fur, and it raised its head and neighed loudly.

This was Will Horse drawn from the body of the Inner Demon Dao Venerable, so it was naturally extraordinary; it had arrived in an instant just now.

With a deafening roar, Qin Ming's Six Sovereigns Bodies shattered in the distance.

After the female Dao Venerable's body disintegrated, her spirit remained. In the instant she was ambushed, she seemed to have a premonition that her physical body could not avoid the attack and made a decisive choice.

Comparatively speaking, the Six Sovereigns ' Body had significant flaws, and it was currently being destroyed by the enraged female Dao Venerable.

It is obvious that the female Dao Venerable's earlier "crushing victory" was quite dominant, and now, with her full-scale attack, she has achieved extremely bloody results.

"Be careful!" the Inner Demon Dao Venerable shouted again.

The female Dao Venerable's spiritual light flashed intensely, and she wanted to Curse: "Is the 'heart' in 'Be Careful' the 'heart' in your Inner Demon? What a dog demon!"

Her emotions were fluctuating wildly. When the dog demon first sent a telepathic warning, it was already a beat too late. What was the point of it still hypocritically shouting now?

She believed that the Inner Demon Dao Venerable himself was injured and wanted others to suffer the same fate as him.

The female Dao Venerable attempted to condense a blurry body using blood mist, her face covered in frost. She was very dissatisfied with the Inner Demon Dao Venerable and regarded him as her second rival.

Immediately, she teleported repeatedly to evade the relentless pursuit of Qin Ming's true form and the External Demons.

"You've misunderstood me!" the Inner Demon Dao Venerable tried his best to explain.

He appeared very sincere and said, "His Yin-Yang Qi, which are invisible and dispersed, surged forward in advance, severing my telepathic communication with you."

After Qin Ming unleashed a series of attacks without managing to injure the female Dao Venerable, he finally spoke, "Inner Demon Dao Venerable, your explanation is weak and unconvincing. You are injured yourself, yet you don't want others to remain detached from worldly affairs."

He was very considerate and explained things to the female Dao Venerable.

With a whoosh, a Wheel of Time suddenly appeared in the void, grazing a strand of Qin Ming's hair and nearly hitting his head.

In an instant, that strand of hair turned snow-white, as if it had been corroded by time for hundreds of years.

Qin Ming was horrified. If he had been even a fraction slower, he would have been hit. He had suffered a great loss from this move earlier and almost had his kidneys chopped off.

This Inner Demon Dao Venerable is truly dangerous, using the Light of the Mind to wield the Wheel of Time, making him all-pervasive and omnipresent.

The female Dao Venerable, standing at a distance, asked, "Is this mount a manifestation of your thoughts?"

She instantly transformed, her icy expression vanishing, replaced by a beaming smile, and asked, "Are you carrying him?"

Previously, the Inner Demon Dao Venerable could be indifferent; it was merely a fleeting thought lured out by his opponent. As long as he didn't feel embarrassed, it was nothing.

But now, being ridiculed like this by an acquaintance, he finally couldn't hold back and his face twitched a couple of times.

After exhaling a breath of turbid air, the two Inner Demon Dao Venerable almost simultaneously transmitted their voices to the female Dao Venerable.

"I know you're not seriously injured, don't hold it against me. It really wasn't my fault just now."

Our fields overlap—

Qin Ming tried to resonate, but only managed to catch two indistinct phrases.

"He's a traitor to the Jade Capital!"

"Disgraceful thief!"

Even so, the two young Dao Venerable uttered a couple of curses at the very end.

Qin Ming could only passively receive the telepathic messages; the two were clearly mocking him on purpose, making sure he heard their insults.

He frowned deeply, and through resonance, he released his most powerful divine sense, discovering that the female Dao Venerable was like Great Abyss in the mist, extremely ethereal and profound.

Could she be even stronger than the Inner Demon Dao Venerable?

Qin Ming stood side by side with the External Demons, facing the three bodies of the two Dao Venerable, showing no fear, and began to take the initiative to attack.

He knew that he had very limited time and needed to achieve results as soon as possible.

"A fleeting moment is eternal; the mind is boundless."

The Inner Demon Dao Venerable was not speaking the True Words in public, but was using special means to send a message to the Female Dao Venerable so that they could cooperate better.

The paths they took were all inclined towards the Spirit Domain.

"Finish him off in a single breath!" This was the female Dao Venerable's response.

She had taken three punches, leaving her head covered in a thousand cuts – it was hardly a pleasant experience, and she naturally remembered it vividly.

The world of the mind is boundless, where even time can be frozen; a moment and eternity are both within the spellcaster's single thought.

The sword light unleashed by Qin Ming's true form, and the fist light blasted out by the External Demons, were swallowed up by the boundless fog, as if he had fallen into Abyss.

At this moment, he could not see the road ahead, nor his opponent; the Light of the Mind could not extend too far, and his spiritual perception seemed to be suppressed by this world.

If he were to forcefully investigate and release his divine sense, he would eventually be absorbed by the fog, severing his connection with it.

Boom!

Qin Ming's body was like a furnace, unleashing his full power of Chaos Force to illuminate the Great Abyss World and attempt to dispel the surrounding fog.

His brow furrowed deeply. This mental realm was strange; he couldn't seem to reach its end. Could it be that he was being suppressed by the combined forces of the two Dao Venerable?

However, he was confident that his Mental Field was no less than anyone else's.

Qin Ming judged that this was a manifestation of a profound mental technique; his Divine Power was no weaker than anyone else's, but he was trapped in a specific Secret Method space.

In an instant, his mount, the Will Horse, turned into pure energy and disappeared from his seat.

He vaguely heard a sigh.

That was the voice of the Inner Demon Dao Venerable. For him, it was a relief; otherwise, it would have been truly embarrassing.

Qin Ming and the External Demons stood back to back, casting spells with all their might. At this moment, all kinds of Secret Technique related to the mind were unleashed, and then his Light of the Mind boiled, scorching the Great Abyss.

Not only that, he has unleashed his full power, expanding his Spiritual Field and revealing his Primal Unity True Form, using force to break through the laws, aiming to shatter this territory and transcend it.

"The realm of the mind is limitless; the world is as vast as one's thoughts. Even if you possess unparalleled magical powers, you cannot fill the boundless void."

"In the space of the heart." The Inner Demon Dao Venerable spoke.

Qin Ming said, "If you were strong enough, why would you need to tell me all this?"

The Inner Demon Dao Venerable spoke, "Because I am also undergoing a transformation. The realm of the mind is infinite. While dragging you in, we ourselves are also entering the game."

The female Dao Venerable spoke up, "This is fair. We are all working on our own spiritual journeys, each on our own path. Once we reach the core of our inner selves and understand ourselves, we can break free from this predicament."

Qin Ming frowned. He knew this woman was no ordinary person. They had fought when they first met, and the female Dao Venerable had briefly clouded his senses. Her Divine Power was frighteningly strong.

He even suspected that the female Dao Venerable he had ambushed and destroyed with three punches was a fake, not her true form.

If that's the case, it's rather terrifying.

Is it only now, when it comes to the realm of the mind, that she's personally getting involved?

Qin Ming said in a deep voice, "A fair duel? Don't try to distract me. Let's see what you can do to me!"

The female Dao Venerable spoke, "Interesting. It seems you have a deficiency in your mind and spirit, a significant problem, and you're deliberately numbing yourself."

The Inner Demon Dao Venerable smiled and said, "That makes it even more interesting. You will have to fight against your own true self, and you will not be able to escape unless you uncover the ultimate truth."

Qin Ming ignored it, allowing himself to enter a state of Mind Clarity. His spiritual senses instantly shone brightly, and he leaped up, standing on a golden bridge, gazing at the unknown road ahead.

Here he can understand his own heart, dispel illusions, and glimpse the various Nodes of interest related to himself, thus choosing the right path.

"Is there a flaw in your soul, a hidden danger?" His eyes were incredibly deep.

This is not divination, but rather a process of sorting through various complex clues to find the most suitable path for oneself in the future.

"What lies hidden at the very depths of my Subconscious, at the very end of my true self? Is there a problem?"

Dao Patterns bloomed beneath Qin Ming's feet, his footprints accompanied by blooming lotus flowers. He strode forward, approaching the so-called truth.

The golden bridge expands, stretching forward to the horizon.

Qin Ming muttered to himself, "Could it be related to my true origins?"

"Inner Sage, Outer Demon, protect my path."

The External Demons also stepped onto the golden bridge, gradually merging with him.

Snap!

Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder roared ahead, flames roared into the sky, a scene resembling the end of the world.

The sky was torn apart by lightning, and the earth's core was burned by fire. The two merged and permeated the heavens and the earth, and everything in the world seemed to be destroyed.

"This is my inner world, how can it be like the end of the world?"

This is not a good omen. He explored his true self, only to find that everything had been destroyed. Was the external prosperity merely an illusion?

This place belongs to the deepest part of the Subconscious; he was touching the very source of his soul. How could he witness such a horrific scene?

Then, Qin Ming discovered a tattered cocoon, full of cracks, and the creature inside was about to emerge, exuding a sense of oppression that made him feel inexplicably suffocated.

As he drew nearer, my mind was in turmoil, and my consciousness felt like it was about to collapse.

"You've come." A familiar voice echoed from within the cocoon of my heart.

In an instant, Qin Ming felt a chill run down his spine, because after a moment's thought, he knew who it was; he was no stranger to this person.

"Li Wanfa, you did a great job." The cocoon in his heart slowly cracked, and a clearer voice came out. The heartbeat there grew louder and gradually became deafening.

Qin Ming stood frozen in place, his hair standing on end.

Who is Li Wanfa? A peerless genius on the New Life Path, and the last disciple of Sage.

However, both master and disciple were killed by Wu Yao of the Eighth Realm, becoming his present and future incarnations respectively.

"I'm a performer!"

Qin Ming felt a chill run down his spine, Divine Capital of collapse.

The greatest ordeal he encountered in his life was the calamity of the Wu Yao. He was ambushed and killed by the witch doctor on the way, captured, and imprisoned for several years.

He managed to escape this calamity by using Secret Method recorded in the "Nine Heavens Scripture" to hide in the Abyss Hell.

Just when he thought all the suffering was over, he unexpectedly found Wu Yao's heart cocoon again in the deepest part of his heart.

This sent a chill down his spine. So many years had passed; had he still not escaped that most serious life-or-death crisis?

On the golden bridge, the External Demons, gradually merging with Qin Ming, nodded to the cocoon of the heart in the mist ahead and said, "Yes, I've arrived. After eight years of arduous cultivation, I've finally seen my true self."

What does he mean? Is seeing one's true self the same as seeing the Wu Yao?

Qin Ming felt a chill run down his spine and took a few steps back.

The so-called External Demons's body partly comes from the fragments of bones, true blood, and old skin that Qin Ming shed when he Tribulation Crossing, and partly from Li Wanfa's origin.

This person—has been here all along?

No wonder there are relevant records in Ancient Texts, which specifically remind people to be cautious about anything involving the origins of others or, more importantly, the substances within the sect.

Qin Ming's fist shone with unprecedented brilliance as it blasted towards the External Demons beside him!

The heart cocoon trembled, and the voice of Wu Yao rang out, saying, "You are me, and I am you, why must we kill each other?"

"Who the hell are you!" Before the light from Qin Ming's fist had faded, he began to swing his sword, slashing at the External Demons around him and also attacking Xin Jian.

Li Wanfa vanished suddenly, transforming into Yin-Yang Qi, which then re-condensed beside the heart cocoon.

He said, "I know all the techniques you are proficient in, so let's not fight. Besides, we are two sides of the same coin, and such a struggle is meaningless."

Qin Ming felt as if he had fallen into Hell, his heart was ice-cold, and after touching the so-called truth deep within the origin, he felt like he was suffocating.

The cocoon of the heart cracked, Divine Rosy Radiance shone forth, and the Wu Yao's grand voice resounded, saying, "Do you know the truth of what happened back then?"

Qin Ming stared ahead, remaining silent.

Wu Yao said, "How can you, a Fifth Realm cultivator, escape the ambush of the Eighth Realm expert?"

He paused slightly, then said, "The truth is, I Body Seizure you back then. However, to be on the safe side, I used a special Secret Method to plant an undetectable mark deep within your mind, just in case, to mislead the outside world. After all, you were too dazzling back then, an Anomalies; taking you down too roughly might attract the attention of some old monsters."

Qin Ming stood frozen in place, his entire body radiating an icy chill.

In his heart, a raging spiritual tsunami was raging, and a flickering ember of his heart was always at risk of being swallowed up by the waves.

He growled, "Evil Spirits, how dare you disturb my Daoist heart?"

However, no matter how hard he tries, even with the Light of the Mind burning brightly, he can hardly get close to the cocoon in his heart.

Wu Yao spoke up, "You are me, and I am you. Together with Li Wanfa, we are a trinity, and now it's time for us to merge and become one."

Boom!

Qin Ming poured all his energy into his magic, using the Light of the Mind to pierce through the Heaven-Opening.

However, he was never able to reach the heart cocoon ahead, nor Li Wanfa.

Wu Yao said, "Your consciousness was intentionally left behind by me to mislead the outside world. Eight years have passed, and it has been completely eroded by me. My mark is everywhere. Now it's time for it to return."

Qin Ming felt himself sinking, falling into the golden vortex illuminated by the inner cocoon.

Without uttering a word, he focused all his energy on circulating the Fundamental Scripture, his consciousness merging with the Heavenly Light, constantly exploding and pushing the light of his mind to an extreme point, illuminating all directions.

Even the cocoon in front of them, and Li Wanfa, were teetering on the brink of collapse, about to be ignited.

Wu Yao said, "Indeed, it will be difficult to completely eliminate you. You truly deserve to be the youngest Ancestor of this era, one of the most extraordinary Anomalies. Your foundation is too solid. It seems that I will have to pay a certain price to take your place."

He continued, "I admit I was careless back then, and an accident happened. But I survived with a trace of my mark, which I implanted in your heart. The power of the Eighth Realm has been revived, and it can suppress you. Everything here belongs to me."

With a thunderous roar, the cocoon of the heart burned and cracked completely, and Wu Yao's soul emerged, exactly the same as it had been back then.

He and Li Wanfa stepped forward together, unleashing their Light of the Mind to suppress Qin Ming, regardless of the cost, even at the cost of shattering and collapsing this world of spiritual origin.

"How dare you!"

A roar resounded throughout the heavens and earth, and Qin Ming's entire mental world trembled as if it were about to collapse.

Deep within that Subconscious, a colossal face slowly rose, filling the entire sky. In comparison, Qin Ming, Wu Yao, and Li Wanfa all appeared far too insignificant.

It was a golden-haired berserker ape, its size was so enormous that only its face, which covered the sky, was visible, looking down at the creature below!

The oppressive feeling was overwhelming, filling every inch of the void; he was extremely violent and carried a destructive aura.

He stared at Wu Yao and Li Wanfa and said, "I allow you to presumptuously control everything, to reside here, and to hone your skills."

"Your physical will will eventually be refined anyway, but in the process, you should not shake the Spirit Root."

"Xin Yuan!" Even the mighty Wu Yao exclaimed in shock.

Qin Ming's head felt like it was going to explode, and his whole body went numb.

What's going on here? How did the legendary "Xin Yuan" get trapped inside me?

He stared at the face that filled the sky and felt a sense of familiarity; this ape looked somewhat like Cao Qianqiu!

Some people in Night Prefecture have already concluded that Cao Qianqiu is a Xin Yuan, and that there is a real master behind him.

Qin Ming was lost in thought. Could it be that he, too, was connected to the person in question?

The golden ape spoke, "You are the strongest Xin Yuan I have slain, flawless and perfect. My other Xin Yuan will combine to form a elixir, becoming the Light of the Mind. My true form will also merge with you. This is the strongest transformation in history, Great Nirvana with the potential for immortality, making you eternal in this world."

His divine might was unparalleled. With a single palm strike, even a powerful being like Wu Yao emerging from his cocoon could not withstand that heavenly might.

Filled with resentment and despair, Wu Yao roared, "It was you! Heaven and earth are unjust! How could you live so long!"

Within the giant palm of the Xin Yuan, his body cracked and, without any suspense, he exploded, transforming into endless streams of light that Qin Ming's entire spiritual world, nourishing his collapsed soul essence and restoring it to its original state.

Li Wanfa didn't even have time to utter a sound before he was shattered to pieces, and a shower of light rained down, revitalizing some barren lands.

Full of vitality.

"Am I Cao Qianqiu?"

Qin Ming was completely dumbfounded, standing there like a clay or wooden sculpture.

He said absentmindedly, "No, I am the true master behind Cao Qianqiu. All the Xin Yuan will be combined into the medicine and used by me, including my true body, which will also be integrated into it?"

The truth was so horrifying that he felt like he was suffocating.

The overwhelming golden hand slowly disappeared into the depths of the sky, and the vast and unfathomable pressure gradually subsided, leaving only that enormous face behind.

Were Wu Yao and Li Wanfa so easily eliminated?

Qin Ming asked, "Who exactly are you?"

The golden ape spoke, its voice deafening, saying, "Understanding Your Heart, Questioning Your Xin Yuan, you've finally reached this point."

Qin Ming felt various streams of light intertwining, and endless scenes flowing towards his eyes.

His face contorted as he shook his head violently.

The golden Xin Yuan pointed to the sky and said, "I come from there. Wu Yao recognized me. Now that you know your true identity and have seen the Xin Yuan, you should know who you are, right?"

(I'll write another chapter later.)