Night fell. Candlelight flickered thickly, and the flame atop the golden candleholder seemed ready to go out at any moment.
In the dancing firelight, five shadows crossed in a tangled jumble.
"You've all noticed it too, haven't you?" the old monk asked, raising his head slightly.
"Little Fang Ling's heartbeat is getting weaker and weaker... it should stop soon."
Zhao Manzi said, "The Devil Heart has failed to seize his body time and again over the years. I reckon it wants to give up rather than let little Fang Ling keep absorbing its energy for nothing."
"Though the Devil Heart has fused with the chaos saint body, its consciousness remains. Unless we erase it, it will always be a grave hidden danger," the fat man said heavily.
Sword Demon said, "The problem now is that the Devil Heart refuses to keep going. If it stops beating, little Fang Ling probably won't live long."
Flower Thief scratched his head and ears, wanting to say something but unable to come up with an idea.
"Is there any way to force it to keep beating?" he asked.
No one spoke. With their abilities, few things in the world could truly stump them.
Yet they were powerless in this particular matter. After all, what it involved lay at heights they had never reached.
"I'll extend his life. Giving him a few hundred more years won't be a problem," Zhao Manzi said heavily.
"A few hundred more years?" Flower Thief chuckled. "Manzi, you're planning to pour a lifetime of cultivation into him."
"You've only raised him for a few years. Have you really grown attached?"
Zhao Manzi looked at him and chuckled.
"I wonder who secretly poured origin qi into little Fang Ling yesterday, trying to restore his heartbeat to normal."
"Too bad it was like throwing a meat bun to a dog-not only did it do a damn thing, it even restored a little of the Devil Heart's strength," he said.
Flower Thief immediately grew flustered and sprang up. "I was just playing around!"
"I've got plenty of origin qi! What's wrong with having a little fun?"
"Enough. Stop arguing, or you'll wake the little fellow," the old monk said, raising a hand to motion Flower Thief back into his seat.
Suddenly, the five seemed to sense something amiss, and their expressions changed sharply.
They appeared in Fang Ling's room in an instant.
"Hm? First Master, why aren't you sleeping?"
Fang Ling fiddled with a mass of black mist in his hands, blinking at the five masters who had suddenly appeared.
The old monk and the others stared at the black mist in his hands, their eyes widening until they were too shocked to speak.
The black mist in Fang Ling's hands was the lingering will of the Devil Ancestor's Heart-the Devil Heart's consciousness!
And now that wisp of lingering will had actually been torn free!
"Little Fang Ling, what's that in your hands...?" the old monk asked.
Fang Ling said, "My chest has been feeling awful lately, all tight and stuffy."
"I'd already fallen asleep just now, but it suddenly hurt again and woke me up."
"It felt like something was blocking up my heart, so I got it out."
"How did you get it out?" Sword Demon asked.
"It was hiding inside and wouldn't come out, so I forced it out, and then it came out!" Fang Ling gestured with his hands.
"This thing makes me uncomfortable just looking at it. I wanted to throw it away, but it keeps sticking to me."
"First Master, can you help me get rid of it?"
The old monk murmured his assent and extended his left hand.
A gleaming golden swastika appeared in his palm.
He reached toward it, and the black mist immediately began to hiss. Before long, it vanished completely.
"Wow! First Master's Swastika Mantra is amazing! I need to hurry up and learn it too!" Fang Ling's eyes shone with excitement.
"Go to sleep first!" The old monk smiled kindly and reached out to pat his little head.
Then the five vanished from the room in an instant and returned to the main hall.
No one spoke. They simply looked at one another.
After a long while, Flower Thief laughed. "That little brat. He made us worry for nothing."
"To think the chaos saint body was this powerful. That really was unexpected."
Zhao Manzi said, "His constitution mutated long ago."
"Back then, his saint body was incomplete, so we used the Devil Ancestor's Heart to make up for it."
"The Devil Ancestor's Heart is eternal and indestructible. It can supply limitless energy."
"The incomplete saint body absorbed it ravenously. After these years of growth, it has not only recovered its vitality but surpassed its former state."
"What you don't know yet is that his blood eye has stabilized. It possesses terrifying power."
"Oh? Tell us more," Sword Demon said curiously.
"From what I can tell, that blood eye can warp space, and even tear it open directly!" Zhao Manzi said heavily.
"When he faces enemies in the future, he'll be able to unravel their attacks with ease."
"He could even banish them straight into the endless void, winning without drawing blood!"
"And those two treasure bones that were dug out of him have nearly regenerated as well," Zhao Manzi added.
"I've seen the most primordial runes on those two treasure bones."
"Heh. Those petty scoundrels who gouged out his heart and eye and stripped out his bones could never dream that little Fang Ling not only survived, but has become even more terrifying," Flower Thief said with a laugh.
"With his potential, there's a good chance he'll surpass that fellow White Emperor someday."
"All of us lost to White Emperor. If we can train a disciple who defeats him, we'll finally be able to hold our heads high!"
"The most terrifying thing about this little fellow isn't his constitution. It's his comprehension," the white-browed old monk said calmly.
"He learned Manzi's Galaxy Boundless Fist in just two years."
"By my estimate, he'll master this old monk's Swastika Mantra in another three years."
"Actually... the little fellow learned my Divine Movement Art last year," Flower Thief muttered quietly.
The fat man's eyes widened at that, and he snorted. "You rogue! You kept saying you wouldn't teach him any divine arts, then turned around behind our backs and let him learn your Divine Movement Step!"
Flower Thief gave an awkward chuckle and fell silent.
They had agreed not to teach him cultivation before he turned three, and to begin only afterward.
But he had broken that rule, secretly teaching little Fang Ling his Divine Movement Art as soon as the boy could walk.
That night, Fang Ling slept soundly.
He had never slept as comfortably as he had that night.
For every day of the past five years, he had actually been having the same dream.
He dreamed that people gouged out his heart and eye and stripped out his bones. No matter how he begged for mercy, they refused to spare him.
He had relived that dream countless times and often jolted awake in the middle of the night.
This time, he slept straight through until noon the next day.
He was sleeping blissfully, dreaming of eating delicious food.
But suddenly, a cold, stern voice dragged him from his dream back to reality.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Sword Demon stood before the bed, looking at him sternly.
Dazzled by the bright light streaming in from outside, Fang Ling could barely open his eyes. He mumbled, "I slept so well last night. I actually didn't have that nightmare."
"You won't have that nightmare again," Sword Demon said calmly.
The reason Fang Ling had repeatedly suffered that nightmare all these years was the Devil Ancestor's Heart.
Now that the Devil Heart's consciousness had been completely erased, he would naturally never relive that nightmare again.
"Really? That's wonderful!" Overjoyed, Fang Ling immediately climbed out of bed.
Before you continue