Twin Beasts of Life and Death

Yin Po greedily absorbed the abyssal aura. The nether-death black qi around her swiftly transformed, growing thicker and fouler, carrying an eerie rhythm that profaned life.

Her inner demon may have always been "a twisted craving for immense power" and "a betrayal of the orthodox Great Dao."

Now that she had voluntarily embraced the abyss, the backlash from her inner demon was instead at its weakest, because to a certain extent, she had already "accepted" the path represented by that inner demon. But the price was that her Dao heart had completely slipped into the abyss, while her humanity and reason were being rapidly eroded and replaced by a cold will of corruption.

The emotional colors that belonged to "Yin Po" were fading from her eyes, leaving behind only pure greed for and submission to the power of the abyss. Venerable Lingfeng of the Time Sword Sect, meanwhile, found himself in a trial space that was a constantly flowing river of time formed from countless sword lights.

Within that river were reflected countless fragments of choices, regrets, and mistakes from his life of cultivation: missed opportunities, fellow disciples he had failed to save, bottlenecks in the Sword Dao, the helplessness brought by the passage of time...

All those regrets and his obsession with "perfection" transformed into swords of inner demons, ceaselessly attacking his sword heart.

Yet Venerable Lingfeng merely stood quietly at the riverbank, watching those reflections. His gaze was complex at first, but gradually settled into calm.

"The sword heart is clear and lucid, revealing oneself. Only with flaws does one know to strive forward;

Only through mistakes is cultivation proven.

The past cannot be pursued, but the future may still be hoped for. My sword cuts down the obstacles ahead and protects the righteous Dao in my heart—it