chsdbacks Chapter 167 Chen Duo and the Great Completion of Demon Heart Crossing
Chapter 167 Chen Duo and the Great Completion of Demon Heart Crossing
While Nie Lingfeng was in seclusion, Chen Duo was also quietly cultivating.
Every morning, she would soak in the hot spring.
The hot spring water was scalding hot, but she wasn't afraid. After her phoenix bloodline awakened, her tolerance for temperature had greatly increased. She sat cross-legged on the warm jade, closed her eyes, and felt the spiritual energy of the hot spring and the life force of the warm jade seeping into her body little by little.
The feeling was like being immersed in a mother's amniotic fluid—warm, safe, and comfortable.
She could feel the spiritual energy entering her meridians through her pores and flowing slowly through her body. It flowed through her limbs, her torso, her internal organs, and finally converged at her heart.
Deep within her heart, that primal poison lingered like a black thorn. It didn't hurt normally, but each time spiritual energy flowed through it, it would tremble slightly, as if reminding her: I'm still here.
Chen Duo is not afraid.
She used her Phoenix True Fire to slowly envelop the thorn and gradually wear it down.
The Phoenix True Fire is an extremely yang and powerful fire, specifically designed to counteract yin and evil. Each time the True Fire burns, the black thorns become smaller and lighter. Although the process is slow, Chen Duo is patient.
Little by little, day by day, it will eventually wear away completely.
In the afternoon, she would practice the basic techniques passed down from the Queen Mother of the West.
Those techniques were passed down from the Queen Mother of the West, and they were profound and mysterious. There were methods for controlling fire, techniques for concentrating the mind, techniques for attacking, and techniques for defending.
Chen Duo learned very slowly. She grew up in the Medicine Fairy Society and had not received a formal education, so her comprehension ability was not as good as that of ordinary people. But she was very serious. If she didn't understand after one time, she would try twice; if she didn't understand after two times, she would try ten times; if she didn't understand after ten times, she would try a hundred times.
Nie Lingfeng once said: No need to rush, take your time.
So she's not in a hurry.
She sat cross-legged in her stone chamber, trying out the techniques little by little, following the incantations.
Fire control
With a thought, a ball of emerald-gold flame appeared in her palm. She controlled the flame, making it grow larger, smaller, rounder, squarer, transforming it into a bird, a flower, and even the likeness of Nie Lingfeng…
Concentrate—
Close your eyes and focus all your attention on one point. Clear your mind of distractions and let your heart be as still as water. Gradually, she can "see" her own heart—a calm lake, without waves or ripples.
attack--
With hands forming a hand seal, Phoenix True Fire condensed into a fire sword, which was thrust forward. The fire sword pierced the air with a sharp whistling sound, leaving a deep scorch mark on the stone wall.
defense--
He drew circles with his hands in front of him, and the Phoenix True Fire formed a wall of fire, enveloping him inside. The wall of fire burned, making a "whooshing" sound, like an indestructible barrier.
In the evening, she would meditate and regulate her breathing.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and circulated the Phoenix True Fire, slowly wearing down the black thorn. When he got tired, he lay down to sleep. When he woke up, he continued.
The days passed by.
Three months later, Chen Duo had changed a lot.
The primal poison deep within his heart had been almost completely worn away. Only a faint wisp of black energy remained, stubbornly resisting, but it no longer posed a threat.
Her complexion had become much rosier, no longer the sickly pale, but a healthy, vibrant rosy glow. Her eyes were also brighter; the emptiness and blankness in her emerald green pupils were gone, replaced by light, spirit, and...emotion.
She can smile now.
Although it was still a faint, shy smile, it was a genuine smile from the heart.
She's started to care about people now.
Every morning, she would use Phoenix True Fire to heat the spring water and brew a pot of tea for Nie Lingfeng. The tea was wild tea picked from the mountain, and it had a faint, refreshing fragrance when brewed. She would carefully place the teapot at the entrance of Nie Lingfeng's stone chamber, and then quietly leave so as not to disturb his cultivation.
She's started to act cute and affectionate.
Occasionally, she would tug at Nie Lingfeng's sleeve and whisper, "Come for a walk with me." Then the two of them would walk out of the cave together, stroll in the snow, look at the snow, the trees, and the distant snow-capped mountains.
She's becoming more and more like a normal seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl.
A girl who is loved and cared for.
During the last month of his seclusion, Nie Lingfeng sealed off the cave where he had been cultivating, telling Chen Duo that he would emerge in a month and that she shouldn't worry.
Then Nie Lingfeng sat cross-legged, no longer suppressing the demonic energy within his body. In an instant, the cold air and demonic energy inside the cave collided violently, and the world changed color.
Nie Lingfeng's meridians trembled violently, and the Qilin blood and the Nie family's mad blood burned like boiling fire. The power of the demonic blade burst out of his body, transforming into a ferocious, roaring Qilin demonic shadow behind him—another self that Nie Lingfeng had always suppressed and dared not face.
The demonic figure's eyes were bloodshot, its sharp claws aimed straight for his heart, and its fierce howl shook the cave walls, causing rocks to fall in a shower.
"You've spent your whole life running! Running from power, running from killing, running from your true self! Where do you think you can hide now?!"
Before the words were even finished, the demonic shadow pounced forward fiercely.
It wasn't an external enemy, but rather the culmination of his life's guilt, pain, killing, and fear—every punch, every blow, struck his most vulnerable heart. Scenes from the past exploded before his eyes: the terror of losing control, the shame of betrayal… a thousand demonic thoughts, like knives, slowly tore at his soul.
Nie Lingfeng gritted his teeth, but neither dodged nor avoided.
He no longer used the Ice Heart Technique to suppress it, but instead used the Ice Heart as a lamp to illuminate the source of the inner demons.
"I'm not running away anymore."
A single, soft word reveals the shackles of a lifetime.
He charged towards the demonic shadow and pressed his palm against its hideous heart.
Do not kill, do not behead, do not execute, do not annihilate.
Simply accept it.
Accept madness, accept killing, accept darkness, accept that part of yourself that you even hate.
"You are not my enemy."
"You are me."
Each word and phrase shattered the illusion like a morning bell.
The next moment, the Qilin demonic shadow let out a deafening roar, no longer ferocious, but transformed into rolling black and red demonic energy, which was completely absorbed into Nie Lingfeng's body through the pores of his body! Mad blood, Qilin bloodline, demonic nature, and Ice Heart Technique swirled and merged in his dantian, like the sun and moon in perfect harmony, the pure and the impure complementing each other.
Nie Lingfeng slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes flashed like a blood demon in an instant, and then as clear and bright as ice and snow in another.
The Snow Drinking Blade hummed softly in my hand. The blade no longer only exuded a chilling aura, but also a terrifying yet not bloodthirsty, domineering yet not insane demonic power.
Even when possessed by a demon, one cannot lose one's wisdom.
To slay demons is to live up to one's heart.
All things change with the mind; the demonic mind is used for one's own purposes. The demonic mind leads to great success!
One morning a month later.
Nie Lingfeng stood in the snow outside the cave, facing the rising sun, and slowly opened his eyes.
1 months.
For a full month, he barely left the cave. Every day was spent cultivating, cultivating, and cultivating again. When he was hungry, he ate dry rations; when he was thirsty, he drank snow water; when he was tired, he meditated to regulate his breathing. In addition, during the three months of seclusion, his clothes were torn, so he simply patched them with animal hides he had prepared in advance; his hair grew long and his beard became unkempt, but he was too lazy to take care of it.
He looked like a wild man.
But those eyes grew brighter and deeper.
It seems to hide stars, and it also seems to hide an abyss.
Today, he felt something.
Raise your head and look into the distance.
The sky over the Tianshan Mountains is always that vast, clear blue. But at this moment, in that blue, he "saw" something different.
wind.
It is not ordinary wind, but the most essential "wind force" that is omnipresent in the world.
It is formless and shapeless, yet omnipresent. When it is gentle, it can lift a feather; when it is violent, it can destroy a city and take down a stronghold. It is free, it is unrestrained, it is unbridled; it is the ultimate form of "movement".
He closed his eyes and focused entirely on feeling.
Then, he "saw" it.
From the wind's perspective, the world is no longer just the world, but a three-dimensional, flowing scroll composed of countless subtle forces. The mountains' forces are heavy and steady, the water's forces are agile and graceful, the clouds' forces are ever-changing, and the snow's forces are cold and pure...
And he can leverage these "forces".
No, it's not just about using it.
He can... blend in.
"I see……"
Nie Lingfeng slowly opened his eyes, a hint of understanding flashing in them.
"The third level of the Wuqiu Yijue—Unity with the Dao. It is not about forcibly merging with the Dao of Heaven and Earth, but rather... becoming a part of the Dao. I am the wind, and the wind is me. I am the force, and the force is me."
He raised his hand and gently waved it towards the distant snow-capped peaks.
He did not use any internal energy or activate any martial arts techniques.
He just casually swung his hand.
"call--!"
An invisible, gentle "wind," yet imbued with the power of heaven and earth, arose out of nowhere and blew toward the snow-capped peaks.
On the snow-capped peaks, the thick snow layer that had accumulated for countless years seemed to be stroked by an invisible hand, slowly sliding down and turning into a small avalanche that rumbled down into the valley.
"The wind god moves..."
Nie Lingfeng murmured the name.
This is not a technique, nor is it a martial art.
This is a "state of being".
A state of being where one merges with the winds of heaven and earth, where every movement carries the force and power of the wind...
From then on, the wind was no longer just his "tool," but a part of his "body."
"Finally... I've broken through."
Nie Lingfeng let out a long sigh of relief, and the first truly relaxed smile appeared on his face in three months.
He turned and looked at the cave.
Chen Duo was standing at the entrance of the cave.
She stood there quietly, wearing a white down jacket, a bright red scarf, and holding a panda plush toy. Sunlight bathed her in a soft golden glow, making her look like a painting, or a mountain spirit.
Those emerald green eyes were looking at him, filled with light, warmth, and so much more.
"Chen Duo".
Nie Lingfeng spoke with a smile, his voice carrying a sense of relief and a touch of emotion.
"We should head down the mountain."
Chen Duo nodded.
She didn't say anything, but walked forward and, as usual, reached out and gently tugged at the hem of his clothes.
The movement was very light and natural, as if it had been done a thousand times.
"Um."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
My months-long retreat has come to an end.
Nie Lingfeng has also undergone a complete transformation.
He looked up into the distance. Nie Lingfeng wondered if he had a chance to defeat the Old Celestial Master now.
Beyond the Tianshan Mountains lies a vast world.
In that world, there is Zhang Chulan, Feng Baobao, Wang Ye, Zhuge Qing, Zhang Lingyu, and everyone he cares about.
There are also unknown dangers, unknown enemies, and unknown challenges.