Shadow Demon

I'd just broken through, and I already had 50 points of Qi Circulation cultivation.

It must have had something to do with practicing two Flawless Realm sword arts.

At that very moment, Yu Xiu suddenly felt countless distracting thoughts rise in his mind—chaotic, jumbled, murky. It was as if he were recalling hundreds or thousands of memories all at once, or entertaining hundreds of reckless impulses, yet he couldn't make sense of any of them.

Chaos. Utter chaos.

A heart demon! Yu Xiu's heart stirred. He knew this was the precursor to a Shadow Demon's appearance.

Sure enough, at that same moment, a voice suddenly rang out from deep within him. "You've cultivated bitterly to no avail and still can't break through. You clearly did a good deed and saved eight lives, yet Fang Jiming from the Inner Court holds a grudge against you. The sect won't help you, and your fellow disciples in the Outer Court avoid you like the plague. No one is willing to stand up for you!

"Your talent is limited, your Root Bone is limited, and your comprehension is even worse. You simply don't have enough potential!

"You're just a cast-off the sect has abandoned. If that's the case, why stay in this sect?

"Why keep struggling?

"Give up. I'll take your place."

Yu Xiu knew that voice well, because it was his own.

But he was a little dazed. Why is this heart demon running on an outdated version?

I've cultivated bitterly to no avail and still can't break through?

My comprehension is lacking?

Do you even hear yourself?

My comprehension is 94. I've mastered every technique and sword art. And you're telling me my comprehension is lacking, my potential insufficient?

Brother Heart Demon, you're way too many "versions" behind.

This little whisper from the heart demon did nothing to shake Yu Xiu's Dao Heart. If anything, he almost wanted to laugh.

He couldn't be bothered to respond.

As if sensing Yu Xiu's indifference, the heart demon muttered, "Stubborn fool."

The next instant, Yu Xiu clearly sensed some unknown force breaking away from him.

The Shadow Demon's taking shape! His eyes snapped open.

Another version of himself stood before him, sinister and cold, as though formed from all the evil in the world.

So this is a Shadow Demon! Yu Xiu's eyes lit up.

Its aura was that of someone who had just entered the Qi Circulation Realm, exactly the same as his own.

Its appearance was his own, too, identical in every way.

This is practically the perfect prototype for an external incarnation!

He was tempted to refine it on the spot and make it his external incarnation.

Unfortunately, he had never encountered a cultivation method for external incarnations, and he still didn't know enough about Shadow Demons.

One day, I'll refine you!

Looking at the Shadow Demon that had fully taken shape, Yu Xiu was still curious. "Palace Jade Liquor?"

The Shadow Demon was irritable. "I don't drink. I'm here to take your place."

Huh. My Shadow Demon doesn't have the memories of my previous life. Yu Xiu was surprised.

He asked again, "Proficiency? The panel?"

The Shadow Demon grew even more irritable. "Stop spouting nonsense. You didn't ask a sect elder to protect you today, so you deserve to be replaced by me."

This idiot Shadow Demon doesn't know about my fate or the panel! Yu Xiu's eyes lit up again and again.

This really was the perfect external incarnation!

He didn't know whether the panel had cut off his heart demon, whether his memories of his previous life had only awakened later, or whether there was some other reason.

Whatever the reason, the Shadow Demon knew nothing it shouldn't.

It was even several versions behind!

"Die, Yu Xiu. I'll take over." The Shadow Demon joined its fingers like a sword and struck with the Wild Goose Returning Sword, the technique Yu Xiu knew best.

Internal Qi surged from its fingertips alongside the Shadow Demon's unique, chilling aura, forming three feet of Sword Qi. It thrust thirteen times in succession, each thrust seeming to withdraw and advance, enveloping Yu Xiu in an instant. Its swordplay was extraordinarily subtle.

The Shadow Demon's unique, chilling aura was especially insidious. It could stir up fear, distracting thoughts, and agitation in a person's heart, keeping them from calmly facing their opponent and weakening their strength by thirty percent in an instant.

Yu Xiu forcibly suppressed the distracting thoughts and agitation welling up in his heart. He flicked the longsword in his hand, sending out a clear ring, then turned his Internal Qi into Sword Qi and struck as well.

The Shadow Demon's Wild Goose Returning Sword isn't mastered either. It's riddled with openings!

It was way behind the current version!

Yu Xiu merely sent out a casual thrust. Yet in the Shadow Demon's eyes, it seemed like an untouchable ray of light. It struck thirteen times, each attack aimed at taking his life.

But after Yu Xiu's casual thrust came in, the Shadow Demon's thirteen strikes seemed to become feints: they couldn't touch him or cut him. Instead, the Shadow Demon itself seemed to turn into a fool, sending its head straight toward Yu Xiu's sword, unable to dodge no matter what.

Its sword momentum has run its course. There's no chance to pull back and counterattack now. Yu Xiu even had the leisure to critique the Shadow Demon's swordsmanship.

In truth, he was also comparing his former self with his present self.

The Shadow Demon wielded his old swordsmanship; he wielded his current swordsmanship.

In other words, his former self, with 9 points of comprehension, stood no chance against his current self, with 94.

Even at the same realm and with the same cultivation, it made no difference. The gap in comprehension was too great, and the gap in swordsmanship was even greater.

"Pfft!"

The sword was plain and unadorned. There was no surprise, no flourish. It pierced the Shadow Demon's head with ease.

"You..." Shock and confusion filled the Shadow Demon's cold eyes.

How could this happen...

They had the same cultivation, the same realm, even the same sword art.

The Shadow Demon had its unique, chilling aura and could stir up distracting thoughts and agitation in its opponent's heart. It clearly held every advantage. Why was Yu Xiu's swordsmanship so much better?

Updates really happen that fast?

That was the Shadow Demon's last thought. Then it turned into black smoke and vanished.

The Shadow Demon was dead.

It died quickly.

A crisp ding rang out as something hit the ground.

It was the spiritual item left behind after the Shadow Demon's death.

It was an irregular, dark-green object with the sheen of jade. Mysterious material seemed to flow within it, faintly resembling a blue-green fish.

Yu Xiu's eyes lit up. He bent down and picked it up. A warm sensation seemed to seep into his body, leaving him feeling thoroughly refreshed.

"It should be something good," Yu Xiu guessed.

But he couldn't identify it.

That didn't matter. If he couldn't identify it, someone at the Outer Court's Internal Affairs Hall surely could. He should be able to sell it for a good price.

He chuckled, put the spiritual item away, and headed straight for the Internal Affairs Hall.

He also needed to visit the Library Pavilion.

After entering the Qi Circulation Realm, he could go to the Library Pavilion for free and choose one Qi Circulation cultivation manual and one Qi Circulation sword art.

Anything beyond that came with a set price.

As long as you had money and contribution points, you could browse the entire Library Pavilion.

Yu Xiu's Bamboo Cottage was on the southern side of the mountainside, while the Internal Affairs Hall stood at the summit.

He made his way uphill. Halfway there, he suddenly heard a series of shouts.

"Shadow Demon, vile fiend! How dare you wreak havoc in the Qingwei Sword Sect? Submit at once!"

"Junior Brother Zhang was foolish. How could he dare to break through alone, only to die at the Shadow Demon's hands!"

"Kill it!"...

Yu Xiu paused. Did a fellow disciple try to break through alone and get possessed by a Shadow Demon?

Greed brings disaster!

What? I was greedy too?

I killed my own Shadow Demon. How is that greed?

That's called refusing heaven's gift at your peril!

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