Chapter 1134: Taming the Inner Demon

It was the ruthless man who spoke.

"Yours?" Zhang Xuan was stunned.

"That's right. This altar captures the souls and primordial spirits of master teachers to nourish one's own primordial spirit. It's an extremely vicious method!" the ruthless man's voice continued.

"Nourish... You mean, this guy joined... your other part?"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

"You guessed correctly. It should be!" the ruthless man replied.

In the battle against Master Confucius back then, he was killed, his body blown to pieces. However, his cultivation had long reached the level of regeneration from a drop of blood. Although he had turned into dust, given enough opportunity, he could still be resurrected, just like the finger bone from before. After his resurrection, he couldn't sense other existences and felt that he was the ruthless man. To regain his full strength, he had to devour each fragmented part to reassemble them all. There had been no news until now, but unexpectedly, Zang Xu, who came looking for trouble, had actually joined another part of him.

"Master, if I can devour this part, my strength will definitely increase significantly..." the ruthless man said, full of excitement.

"Alright, I'll find a way to perform a soul search!"

Zhang Xuan nodded. The current ruthless man had completely submitted to him, and an increase in his strength would greatly benefit Zhang Xuan as well.

The communication with the ruthless man happened in an instant. Around them, inner demons surged forth at Zang Xu's call. Unlike human attacks, inner demons don't use moves or brute force; instead, they invade the sea of consciousness, creating various illusions that lead to mental collapse and a loss of inner defenses. As the inner demons surged, Zhang Xuan indeed felt a slight dizziness in his head. Zang Xu was a peak Primordial Spirit realm expert, and the inner demons were of the same level as him. Coupled with their overwhelming numbers, even with Zhang Xuan's firm resolve, it would be difficult to resist if they all surged forth.

"Wait!"

Knowing that once his mind was invaded, he would certainly go insane, Zhang Xuan activated the Heaven's Path Divine Art within his soul body and glared angrily: "You are Zang Xu's inner demons, why are you attacking me?"

These inner demons were all drawn from Zang Xu by the surrounding formation. Why were they coming for him?

"Hehe, he's already turned into an inner demon. How could he be as delicious as you?"

"I know you want to reach a higher level and become a more powerful master teacher. As long as you listen to me, I can help you achieve your goals quickly..."

"Your state of mind has flaws. Believe me, I can help you compensate for your shortcomings..."

Various seductive voices emanated from the surrounding inner demons, causing people to become engrossed and easily lose themselves.

"Nothing new..." Zhang Xuan shook his head. Originally, he felt a bit dizzy as the inner demons attacked, but upon hearing their seductive words, claiming his cultivation method was wrong and his state of mind had flaws, he immediately sobered up completely. The Heaven's Path Divine Art was his greatest confidence and reliance... Flaws? What a joke! You're going to instruct the Heaven's Path Divine Art... Who do you think you are? For inner demons, your level is really too low...

"Although I don't know how you inner demons came to be, your forms somewhat resemble souls. Do you really want to continue living in such a muddled state, always hiding in corners, never daring to appear openly? Don't you... want to grow stronger and stand out?" Changing his tone, Zhang Xuan's words became magnetic.

"Huh?"

The many inner demons stopped, looking at each other in confusion. They were trying to mislead him, but how had he ended up misleading them? Shouldn't you have fallen into a coma, allowing us to exploit your weakness? Shouldn't you have blindly trusted us and become hopelessly lost? How are you... so clear-headed, and even want us to become stronger? But... what he said was actually quite enticing!

"When cultivating souls, one must guard against the Five Declines of Soul Power, and the same must be true for inner demons. I have a set of cultivation techniques here that I can share with you. If you practice diligently, perhaps you can avoid disaster..." Just as they were at a loss, Zhang Xuan's voice continued to resonate. Immediately, it was as if flowers were falling from the sky, and the surrounding spiritual energy surged. It seemed that as long as they practiced the cultivation method he described, they could surpass their limits and grow increasingly powerful.

"Inner demons are born from the heart. If the heart is pure, you naturally have no place to stand. Think carefully, how tragic is that! Your existence is determined by cultivators; your fate is not within your own control... Do you feel helpless? Powerless? But it doesn't matter! As long as you cultivate according to the techniques I impart, you can take control of your own destiny and become your own master..." The voice continued. The inner demons, who had been hesitant before, now clenched their fists excitedly, their faces flushed. Combined with the Teacher's Mandate of Heaven and the demonic sound, the words were simply too seductive. Even the inner demons couldn't resist them.

"Don't hesitate, don't waver. Believe in yourselves, you can certainly do it. You don't have to live such a difficult life. Come, listen to my words, and you will become stronger..." Zhang Xuan extended his palm.

*Whoosh!* All the inner demons, their faces filled with excitement, flew over. With a flick of Zhang Xuan's wrist, a jade bottle appeared, and with a gentle motion, he collected them into it.

"If I put them in here, they really won't escape?" Based on his previous experience, inner demons would naturally dissipate as long as one wasn't swayed by their allure. However, the ruthless man had told him that these entities could be entirely captured for his own use and had explained the method of collection. Only then did Zhang Xuan use the Teacher's Mandate of Heaven, speaking with such eloquence.

"As long as you use the altar you obtained from King Hongye to seal the bottle's opening, they won't be able to get out. When you want to use them, just open the stopper, and they will certainly have an unexpected effect..." the ruthless man said.

"Understood!" With a grab of his hand, the altar he had obtained from King Hongye appeared. With a gentle tap, a special seal enveloped it, and the massive altar slowly shrunk, settling atop the jade bottle, forming a stopper. As it gently settled, the inner demons inside indeed fell silent, as if they had vanished without a trace. Upon reaching the Saint realm, his True Qi had undergone some mysterious transformations, like the ability to change size. This had been quite troublesome before, but now, it was nothing. The Purple Sun Beast, as a sacred beast, had been able to transform into a size of over ten meters using this very method.

"You, you..." He had thought that with so many inner demons, this young man would quickly succumb and be at a loss. He never dreamed that in the blink of an eye, all the inner demons would betray him and be subdued by the other party... Zang Xu trembled all over, terrified to the point of madness.

"Soul Search!" Ignoring the other party's terror, Zhang Xuan performed the soul search technique unique to a Spirit Awakener. This method was extremely damaging to the soul, but this guy had joined the Otherworldly Demons and even tried to kill him. No punishment, no matter how severe, would be excessive.

*Zzzzzt!* In an instant, the soul search was complete. Zang Xu, being merely a wisp of thought to begin with, could no longer endure it. He collapsed instantly, vanishing without a trace.

"It's actually in the swamp lands of Jibei City..." After the soul search was complete, he immediately knew who this guy had learned his secret techniques from. Zang Xu, originally just a petty thief, along with Dao Kou, had been chased everywhere. After fleeing into the swamp, they thought they were doomed, but instead found a legacy in a special cave. As for who the inheritor was or what kind of person they were, they didn't know. They only knew that every so often, they had to use their primordial spirit to activate the altar, capturing cultivators' souls to provide for the other party's consumption. Among these souls, master teachers were preferred. Over the years, countless master teachers had died by his hand. It was precisely for this reason that he wasn't afraid upon knowing Zhang Xuan was a master teacher and still proceeded to attack.

"We'll see about this later..." After digesting these memories, Zhang Xuan ceased looking. His spirit returned to his body, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw that all the inner demons had vanished. He had also recovered from the previous illusion, and before him was still the ordinary room, illuminated brightly by the luminous pearl. The scene just now felt like a dream, leaving him somewhat dazed. He looked down and indeed saw a jade bottle in his palm: "It seems it wasn't a dream; I really did subdue these inner demons..." The corner of his mouth twitched. He had initially thought it was fake, but upon seeing the jade bottle and feeling the sealed contents within, he realized it was all real.

"Let's see if my state of mind has changed..." During his prior Saint Ascension Tribulation, encountering inner demons had caused his state of mind to surge, reaching 23.1. With so many inner demons this time, would the effect be even greater? He quickly took out the mind-testing stone and glanced at it, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"How can this be?" His state of mind was still the same, only 23.1, without any change. It was as if the inner demons he had just experienced had no effect at all.

"Master, those inner demons aren't yours. Even if you successfully mislead them, it won't help your state of mind at all... It's normal for it not to increase!" Knowing his thoughts, the ruthless man sent a telepathic message.

"Alright..." Zhang Xuan was filled with melancholy. Why did others have so many inner demons, but he didn't? He didn't even get a chance to improve his state of mind. Wasn't that too unfair? How truly lonely.

*Boom!* As he was sighing, the wall before him trembled, and a passage appeared, as if he had passed the inner demon test and activated some mechanism. No longer dwelling on it, Zhang Xuan stood up, glanced inside, and seeing no danger beyond the door, he slowly walked in.

It was another enclosed room, with a smooth crystal ball standing in the center. As his palm touched it, a light flickered, and a figure abruptly appeared before him. It was an old man whose age couldn't be determined, only that his beard and hair were white.

"To be able to reach this place means you have passed the previous inner demon assessment, and your state of mind is already flawless, making you qualified to receive my legacy..." The old man stroked his beard: "I am the founder of the Hall of Mind. This hall was created to temper one's state of mind, and what I wish to impart is the Hall of Mind's highest secret art: the Glazed Heart Refining Scripture!"

"The Glazed Heart Refining Scripture?"

"This heart-refining technique can drastically reduce the number of inner demons. When cultivated to mastery, your heart can become like glazed glass, flawless and pure, unperturbed by inner demons. Your primordial spirit will become consolidated and perfectly smooth, and your strength will also increase!" The old man smiled as he looked over: "Only geniuses capable of withstanding the Inner Demon Grand Formation are qualified to learn it... Your presence here indicates you possess the aptitude. Are you interested in learning?"

"No interest!" Zhang Xuan replied.

"..." The old man.