Slaying the Inner Demon!

At some unknown moment, a sword appeared in An Jing's hand.

Holding the sword, he felt as if an infinite, mighty power had been bestowed upon him. An Jing instinctively wanted to step forward and use this formidable strength to destroy, slaughter, and annihilate all the people and things he loathed into nothingness.

How exhilarating, how liberating it would be to follow his heart's true desires!

However, the moment before he took that step, An Jing stopped.

Because he suddenly recalled a dream from his childhood: the sun that burned the entire world to ash.

Because he suddenly realized that none of this was real; it was merely an illusion. Even if he were to slaughter everything, this world would remain exactly as it was, unchanged.

Because, he wanted to cut.

Therefore, he would cut!

But he would not cut these illusory phantoms; instead, he would cut—

[Cut the Heart Demon!]

Without a moment's hesitation, An Jing swung his sword down—

He struck the hazy black mist!

Hum— The clear, bright sword light shattered the black mist. Not only that, but the sword in his hand swept in a ring, tracing an arc, and then struck the other eight people connected to his consciousness, ruthlessly severing all the black mist that had been entangling their souls!

Instantly, the eight souls cleared, no longer struggling within their heart demons!

"Not enough!"

Having severed his heart demon, An Jing's eyes were incredibly clear. He looked across the entire formation, at the other groups of boys and girls who were similarly being plagued by the Heavenly Demon.

The result left him stunned, followed by immense heartache.

Unlike the first group, which had suffered no casualties thanks to An Jing's direct intervention and had broken free from the Heavenly Demon's torment, the other groups had suffered heavy losses despite some lucky individuals awakening their Fate Grid.

In the 'Knowing One's Destiny' stage, including Bai Qinghan, two people awakened their Fate Grid, while five had their bodies stiffen and their spirits dissipate, dying midway.

In the 'Obtaining One's Desires' stage, five people awakened their Fate Grid, while seventeen had their skulls burst and their internal organs rupture, dying on the spot.

Finally, in the 'Extinguishing One's Hatred' stage, four people awakened their Fate Grid, while nine suffered a reversal of blood and qi, dying as their bodies bled out.

Thus, a total of eleven awakened their Fate Grid, thirty-one surrendered their lives to the Imperial Heaven, and sixty-six remained alive.

Even knowing that these people had already been corrupted by the flesh of monsters and could never have successfully awakened, An Jing still found it hard to accept. Those familiar faces he had lived with for so long had died so easily, dying so miserably.

So silently.

"Heavenly Demon, how dare you!"

Just as his anger flared, An Jing saw the souls of other junior brothers and sisters being dragged by the pitch-black Devilish Qi, heading toward the profound darkness.

He could no longer hold back; he roared in fury and drew his sword!

This strike was executed with perfect fluidity. As An Jing thrust his sword, the strength of his entire body flowed through his waist, shoulders, arms, wrists, and hands, reaching the hilt, the guard, the blade, and the tip!

This was a strike where his internal energy was perfectly transparent, spirit and flesh united, as if aided by the divine!

After An Jing thrust this sword, the sword qi erupting from the depths of the earth veins within the Grand Ritual of Imperial Heaven Star Fiend shifted slightly. Numerous clear and bright sword lights were gathered together, transforming into a beam of light composed of pure rage and killing intent.

It whistled straight out, slamming into a core deep within the black mist, shattering it with a crisp crack.

Sword qi overflowed, and the pitch-black Devilish Qi was completely purged.

The chains entangling the souls of the boys and girls, the demonic intent inducing them to sink into delusions and fantasies, were all thoroughly pulverized by the surging sword wind and then blown away.

[Strange...] As the Devilish Qi dissipated, the Heavenly Demon's voice carried a hint of curiosity: [Why are you... able to control this sword intent?]

"Get out!"

Without answering, An Jing scolded. Just now, some cold thoughts had seemed to surge into his soul and brain, but the hilt in his Divine Sea vibrated slightly, and a pure sword intent swept them away.

If it were a heart demon, it might have been able to disturb An Jing slightly, as it was a product of his own heart, but an external Heavenly Demon could never bypass the Fuxie Sword Spirit.

"An Jing." Having received the impact, the sword spirit regained its composure and said, "Next, I must suppress the remnant soul of the Heavenly Demon within Xuanming Valley. This will take some time. You must hold off those people from Xuanming Manor; do not let them notice the anomaly in Xuanming Valley."

At this, the sword spirit sneered, "Don't worry, I have seen through the essence of this ritual formation—since they dare to drive my residual power and the power of the Heavenly Demon for their own use, let them taste the backlash of the Heavenly Demon!"

"No problem."

As the dim Devilish Qi scattered like smoke, An Jing slowly exhaled and retracted his sword.

Accompanying the sword spirit's words, a series of information regarding the 'Grand Ritual of Imperial Heaven Star Fiend' suddenly appeared in his mind, along with many incantations and sacrificial methods to control the grand formation: "Thank you. I will not let them have their way."

Muttering to himself, An Jing solidified the anger in his heart, turning it into the purest killing intent, protecting his soul and the souls of the other boys and girls from being invaded by the Heavenly Demon.

It was at this moment that he suddenly felt his spirit tremble. A sensation of scorching heat rose from the depths of his soul, surging outward, overflowing beyond his body and mind, and then...

—Resonating with the Heavens!

Hum!

Outside.

The giant hand of black mist that had originally reached out from Xuanming Valley to shroud the formation suddenly shuddered slightly and slowly lifted. Sharp, peerless wounds suddenly appeared on its five fingers and palm, and sword qi flowed, forcing it to retreat.

"Why is this? How could the Hand of the Heavenly Demon be forced back?!"

Frowning deeply, Manor Master Yao had presided over the ritual more than thirty times and had never seen such a bizarre situation.

But soon, he saw an anomaly that made him abandon deep thought and feel incomparably pleasantly surprised.

To the far west of the great formation, within the Xingji group, a blindingly bright starlight mixed with scorching, oppressive baleful energy rose majestically.

At the center of the altar, An Jing had his brows knit together, a scarlet-red star hanging above his head, surging like flaming blood light.

Streams of blood-colored flames poured down like a river, transforming into a flaming wheel behind his head.

The flaming wheel rotated, manifesting totem anomalies of soldiers clashing and the execution of punishment.

The scorching aura of blood and iron overflowed, the killing intent surging and turbulent, sharp as swords and blades, carving out seemingly chaotic yet ancient and profound blood-red patterns in the surrounding air; the pitch-black Devilish Qi could not get close at all, being completely shredded and repelled from afar.

"Incredible!"

Seeing this ferociously baleful Fate Grid anomaly, Manor Master Yao almost blurted out 'terrifying,' but he quickly became ecstatic, his grip on the jade dagger turning his knuckles white: "Another rare fate! A Fate of the Star Fiend!"

Those dead children were not even worth a glance in his eyes; being recycled as blood energy was already their greatest value.

Only someone like An Jing, who had awakened the rare fate they craved so much, could make him this excited.

"Two great rare fates, the rise of my Divine Cult is imminent!"

However, after his wild joy, Manor Master Yao found it a bit difficult to discern: "But, what kind of Fate Grid is this? Yinghuo, Blood Fiend, it also seems to carry a touch of Taibai?"

"Could it be... [Yinghuo Guarding the Heart]?!"