Heart demons

"Big brother, there's no road ahead. Clouds and mist are blocking everything. How are we supposed to get through?"

Outside the valley, the baby-faced burly man scratched his head as he looked at the clouds and mist surrounding them, then addressed the prematurely aged short man.

The short man's face lit up at the sight of the mist. "Idiot! This is an array! Looks like we found the right place. No need to keep looking. This is it!"

The baby-faced burly man said, "Big brother, how do we break the array? I've never seen one before. I heard arrays are incredibly dangerous and can easily take our lives."

"Fool! This is just a simple illusion array. If someone were controlling it, we wouldn't dare enter no matter what, but the Lin Family's old geezer is dead. There's only one brat left in the family. All we need to do now is close our eyes and charge straight in." The short man's shrill voice rose with excitement. "You go first, second brother. I'll bring up the rear!"

"All right, big brother!"

The two charged into the mist, one behind the other. After blundering through it for who knew how far, they finally emerged and entered the valley.

Once inside, the baby-faced burly man opened his eyes and saw the Medicine Field nearby. He drew a deep breath, caught the faint scent of herbs, and immediately shouted with excitement, "Big brother! So many medicinal herbs!"

Before the short man could respond, he rushed toward one of the Medicine Fields. Once he saw the herbs growing there, he let out another excited cry. "They're all at least thirty to fifty years old! Ah! There are hundred-year-old ones too! Big brother, we're rich!"

The baby-faced burly man immediately tried to rush into the Medicine Field and harvest the herbs, but an earthen-yellow hemispherical barrier flashed into existence around it and bounced him away.

"Big brother, what's going on?" The baby-faced burly man turned toward the equally excited short man and asked in bewilderment.

After a moment's thought, the short man understood. Unlike the baby-faced burly man, who had only cultivated for a few years and knew little, he had spent decades clawing his way through the cultivation world. A little thought was enough to tell him this was a restriction, and entering required the corresponding token or hand seal.

With that realization, the short man immediately said, "Someone placed a restriction here. Never mind that. Business first. Second brother, let's catch the brat. That Lin Family boy must have a way to undo it!"

Then he dragged the baby-faced burly man, who kept gazing longingly at the Medicine Field, toward the courtyard nearby.

When the two Black Fiend Sect members broke through the Cloudmist Illusion Array and entered the valley, Lin Yun had already returned to his little courtyard. He was still sensing primordial qi, so he immediately detected the unusual auras emanating from them.

"One at the ninth level of Qi Refining, one at the eighth, but their magical power is muddled and chaotic, with a bloody taint. Two demonic cultivators..." Lin Yun saw through the nature of their magical power at a glance.

I have to say, this really is the world of A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality. The old man's barely gone, and these hyenas are already at the door, Lin Yun thought as he watched them approach his Medicine Field.

Then he began considering how to deal with them.

Although both were cultivators at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining, at least two levels above him, Lin Yun was confident he could defeat them easily.

After a moment's consideration, however, Lin Yun shook his head and abandoned the idea of confronting them directly.

Cultivating the White Yang Diagram required preserving the spirit and purifying the qi. Fighting such filthy magical power was especially taboo, lest that impure power contaminate his supremely pure innate true qi and impair the superior foundation he would forge in the future.

After thinking it over, Lin Yun finally gave a helpless sigh. "Sigh... there's no helping it. I may be a legitimate successor of the Daoist Orthodox School, but you two let greed cloud your minds, and now the qi of tribulation hangs over your heads. Let me serve as your demonic tribulation this once."

With that, Lin Yun quietly stirred his divine sense. Two thoughts became two formless heart demons, drifting out without a sound and slipping unnoticed into the two men's hearts.

As the short man dragged the baby-faced burly man toward the courtyard, he happened to catch the longing look the latter cast toward the Medicine Field.

A thought suddenly rose unbidden in his heart. So many medicinal herbs, all at least several decades old, and quite a few a hundred years old. If I took all of them, whether I used them myself or traded them for a high-grade magical artifact, wouldn't that be better than giving this idiot a share?

The Lin Family only has one brat left now. I can deal with him myself. Why should I share anything with this fool?

Besides these herbs, the Lin Family has wealth accumulated over hundreds of years! Who knows how many spirit stones they have!

And the Lin Family makes its living growing medicinal herbs and refining pills. There might be pills hidden in their home that can raise my cultivation. If I get those pills and reach the ninth level of Qi Refining, I can slaughter the hall master and take his place! Why bother giving him a share? All of this is mine!

Once greed stirred in his heart, it surged beyond all control. Killing intent gradually welled up as the short man looked at the baby-faced burly man.

As he was dragged toward the courtyard, the baby-faced burly man began muttering inwardly. Aren't we catching that Lin Family brat just to get a place in the blood sacrifice? Can't we raise our cultivation with these herbs just as well? Why bother taking part in a blood sacrifice to improve our cultivation?

At that thought, the baby-faced burly man suddenly recalled hearing somewhere that cultivation gained through blood sacrifices could never advance beyond the Qi Refining stage.

Once that notion arose, he could not help thinking, I have a three-spirit root. I'm a cultivator with a True Spirit Root! Big brother has a four-spirit root, a Fake Spiritual Root! He'll never get past the ninth level of Qi Refining in his life! He was the one who told me to use blood sacrifices to raise my cultivation. He doesn't want me to keep advancing!

That's it! Big brother has cultivated for over twenty years, and even with blood sacrifices, he's only at the eighth level of Qi Refining. I reached the ninth level in just seven or eight years. He's jealous of me! He wants to ruin me! Damn him!

An unreasoning flame of anger instantly flared in the baby-faced burly man's heart, but another thought intruded. But big brother was the one who led me onto the path of cultivation!

Ah! He did it on purpose! With my spiritual roots, I could have joined the Seven Great Sects! Instead, he took me into this sinister Black Fiend Sect! He wants to ruin me! Damn him! Kill! Kill! Kill!

The baby-faced burly man's eyes instantly turned bloodshot. His face filled with murderous intent as he turned toward the short man, let out a low roar, gathered magical power in his fist, and punched viciously at him.

"Kill!"

At the same time, the killing intent in the short man's heart surged uncontrollably. He too quietly gathered his magical power and struck at the baby-faced burly man.

In an instant, the two were locked in battle before the courtyard, trading blows and hurling spells and talismans at each other in turn.

Inside the courtyard, Lin Yun, keeping his deeds and name well hidden, rubbed his chin and sorted through the information he had gleaned from their minds. He paid no attention to their fight. They were already locked in a struggle that would end only in death.

*The Black Fiend Sect? The one led by the Yue Emperor as

its sect master? Judging by that, the war between the orthodox and demonic factions can't be too far off, can it? Has Han the Old Devil entered Yellow Maple Valley yet?

A short while later, as Lin Yun pondered his place in the timeline, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he broke into a grin.

"Oh~ They killed each other."

But then he sighed softly again. "This Nine Heavens Esoteric Demon Profound Scripture truly deserves to be the supreme inheritance of the Esoteric Demon Lineage. Just the crudest application of heart demons was enough to make these two, once so close, kill each other. A pity they were utterly unfit to be molded into anything. Otherwise..."