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"It wasn't entirely that." Ling Qing's smile faded. "I do indeed feel some regret over Pangolin.

"But what I never expected was that Uncle-Master has now comprehended the Primordial One Qi and can suppress the demonic thoughts in his heart."

Canglingzi explained, "It is not suppression. I merely followed your advice and fixed these demonic thoughts upon this game of chess before me.

"If I win, I can wash away the hatred in my heart and clear my spiritual platform.

"If I lose, it will not be a case of demonic thoughts invading my heart, but of my death and the dissipation of my Dao.

"Only by clearly seeing every single move can I ensure that I will not be misled and lose to Taishang Laojun.

"If I die, the heart demon will find it hard to survive alone as well. In order to fulfill its obsession, it will certainly make me win.

"So now, the heart demon and I are joining forces to fight Taishang Laojun."

"Uncle-Master's method is ingenious," Ling Qing praised. "A heart demon is not an external demon; it is formed from the obsessions in one's heart.

"Once your objective becomes the same as the heart demon's, it naturally will not trip you up.

"Once the objective is fulfilled, the heart demon's obsession will vanish as well, and it will be resolved."

Canglingzi nodded. "That is precisely the reasoning."

Canglingzi had found a way to resolve the influence of demonic thoughts upon the mind, while Pangolin had finally joined the Heaven-Piercing Sect as he wished and begun his revenge against Ling Qing.

On Ling Qing's side, he and He Xiangu first went to the imperial palace, returned a whole bookshelf of scriptures, then apologized to that old Daoist on Pangolin's behalf, making up for their wrongdoing.