Shadow Demon

The Shadow Demon had just broken through, and unexpectedly, it already provided 50 points of Qi Refining cultivation.

This must be related to having practiced two flawless-realm sword manuals.

At this very moment, Yu Xiu suddenly felt all sorts of distracting thoughts rising in his heart—disordered, chaotic, and murky. It was as if he were remembering hundreds of past events simultaneously, or as if thousands of indulgent impulses had sprouted, yet he could not untangle a single thread.

Chaotic, very chaotic, extremely chaotic.

Heart Demon! Yu Xiu's heart stirred; he knew this was the precursor to the appearance of a Shadow Demon.

Sure enough, at that same instant, a voice suddenly echoed from the depths of his heart: "You have cultivated bitterly to no avail, delayed in breaking through your realm. You clearly did good deeds, saving eight lives, yet you were instead resented by Fang Jiming of the Inner Court. The sect did not help you, your peers in the Outer Court avoided you like a venomous snake, and no one was willing to stand up for you!

"Your talent is limited, your foundation is limited, and your comprehension is even more lacking. Your potential is simply insufficient!

"You are merely a discarded pawn abandoned by the sect. Since that is the case, why stay in this sect?

"Why continue to struggle?

"Give up, and I will take your place."

Yu Xiu was very familiar with this voice, for it was his own.

Yet, he was somewhat stunned. This Heart Demon, how is it so behind on the 'version' updates?

I have cultivated bitterly to no avail and am delayed in breaking through?

My comprehension is lacking?

Do you even hear what you are saying?

With my 94 comprehension, all my techniques and sword arts are at perfection. You say my comprehension is lacking and my potential is insufficient?

Brother Heart Demon, you are too far behind on the 'version.'

This bit of Heart Demon whispering did not cause the slightest wavering in Yu Xiu's Dao heart; in fact, he almost wanted to laugh.

He couldn't be bothered to pay it any mind.

Seeming to sense Yu Xiu's indifference, the Heart Demon whispered: "Stubborn and unyielding."

The next instant, Yu Xiu clearly perceived an unknown force detaching from his heart and leaving him.

The Shadow Demon has manifested! He suddenly opened his eyes.

He saw another version of himself appear before him—wicked, cold, as if formed from the convergence of infinite evil.

This is the Shadow Demon! Yu Xiu's eyes brightened.

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

Its appearance was also his own, likewise identical.

This is practically the perfect prototype for an external avatar!

He was very tempted and wanted to refine it instantly, making it his own external avatar.

But unfortunately, he had never come into contact with the cultivation methods for an "external avatar," and he did not yet know enough about the Shadow Demon.

Sooner or later, I will refine you!

Yu Xiu looked at the Shadow Demon that had already taken form and was still somewhat curious: "Palace Imperial Liquid Wine?"

The Shadow Demon was very irritable: "I do not drink wine; I am only here to replace you."

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

He said again: "Proficiency? Panel?"

The Shadow Demon was even more irritable: "Do not speak such nonsensical gibberish. Since you did not invite a sect elder to protect you today, you are fated to be replaced by me."

This blockheaded Shadow Demon doesn't even know about my destiny or my panel! Yu Xiu's eyes lit up again and again!

This was simply the perfect external avatar!

He didn't know if the panel had isolated his Heart Demon, if his past-life memories had only surfaced later—meaning this Shadow Demon lacked that period of memory—or if it was for some other reason.

Regardless, this Shadow Demon knew absolutely nothing that it shouldn't.

It was even behind by quite a few versions!

"Die, Yu Xiu, I will take over." The Shadow Demon pointed its fingers like a sword, and the move it unleashed was the Wild Goose Returning Sword that Yu Xiu was most familiar with.

Accompanied by the Shadow Demon's unique cold aura, internal energy erupted from its fingertips, transforming into three feet of Sword Qi. It thrust thirteen times in an instant, appearing both like a strike and a gift, instantly enveloping Yu Xiu. The sword momentum was exceptionally exquisite.

In particular, the Shadow Demon's unique cold aura was tormenting; it could incite timidity, distracting thoughts, and restlessness in a person, preventing them from calming their mind to face the enemy, causing their strength to be weakened by thirty percent in an instant.

Yu Xiu forcefully suppressed the distracting thoughts and restlessness rising in his heart. His long sword flickered, emitting a clear ringing sound, and then his internal energy transformed into Sword Qi as he also unleashed a strike.

The Wild Goose Returning Sword used by this Shadow Demon is not at perfection either; it is full of openings!

It really was behind by many versions!

Even though it was just a casual sword strike, in the eyes of the Shadow Demon, it seemed like a ray of light that could not be touched. It unleashed thirteen strikes, each one lethal.

Yet, after Yu Xiu delivered this casual strike, those thirteen strikes of the Shadow Demon seemed to become feints—they could neither touch nor cut anything. Instead, the Shadow Demon itself seemed to become a fool, thrusting its head straight toward Yu Xiu's long sword, unable to dodge no matter what.

The sword momentum is spent; there is no longer a chance to retract the force and counterattack. Yu Xiu even had the mental capacity to critique the Shadow Demon's swordsmanship.

In truth, this was also a comparison between his former self and his current self.

The Shadow Demon was using his own previous swordsmanship, while he was his current self.

In other words, the version of him with 9 points of comprehension stood no chance against the version of him with 94 points of comprehension.

Even with the same realm and cultivation base, it was impossible; the gap in comprehension was too vast, and the disparity in the level of swordsmanship was even greater.

"Shhh!"

A sword strike without brilliance, devoid of surprises or flashy movements, easily pierced through the Shadow Demon's skull.

"You..." The Shadow Demon's cold, dark eyes were filled with astonishment and confusion!

Why was it like this...

It was clearly the same cultivation base, the same realm, and even the same sword technique.

The Shadow Demon possessed a special, chilling aura and could stir up distracting thoughts and restlessness in the human heart, clearly holding every advantage. Why then was Yu Xiu's own swordsmanship so much higher than its own?

Version update, is it really this fast?

This was the Shadow Demon's final thought before it turned into black smoke and dissipated into nothingness.

The Shadow Demon was dead.

It died very quickly.

A crisp "ding-dong" sound echoed as something hit the ground.

It was the spiritual object left behind after the Shadow Demon perished.

It was an irregularly shaped square object, dark green in color and jade-like in texture, with mysterious substances faintly visible flowing within it, resembling a green fish.

Yu Xiu's eyes lit up. He bent down to pick it up, and as it touched his palm, a warm, gentle aura seemed to seep into his body, making him feel completely at ease.

"This must be a good thing," Yu Xiu surmised.

But he could not identify the object.

It did not matter, however; if he could not recognize it, there would certainly be someone at the Internal Affairs Hall of the Outer Court who could, and it should fetch a good price.

He chuckled, stowed the spiritual object away, and headed straight for the Internal Affairs Hall.

Besides that, he also needed to make a trip to the Library Pavilion.

After entering the Qi-Circulation Realm, he was entitled to select one free Qi-Circulation Realm cultivation technique or sword manual, as well as one Qi-Circulation Realm sword technique from the Library Pavilion.

If he wanted more, everything was clearly priced.

As long as you had the money or contribution points, reading through the entire Library Pavilion was not a problem.

The bamboo hut where Yu Xiu resided was on the south side of the mountainside, while the Internal Affairs Hall was located at the summit.

As he made his way up the mountain, he suddenly heard a series of low shouts coming from ahead.

"Shadow Demon evil spirit, how dare you run rampant in our Qingwei Sword Sect! Submit to justice!"

"Junior Brother Zhang was foolish! How could he dare to break through his realm alone, only to lose his life at the hands of a Shadow Demon!"

"Destroy it!"

Yu Xiu paused. A fellow disciple tried to break through their realm alone and had their body possessed by a Shadow Demon?

Greed is a killer!

What? I was greedy too?

I was just slaying my own Shadow Demon; how is that greedy!

That is called: if heaven gives you a gift and you do not take it, you will suffer the consequences!