Chapter 1233: Trapped

"Hmm!"

After imparting the Heart Devil cultivation method he had researched, Zhang Xuan nodded with satisfaction and commanded, "Transform back into your true form!"

"Yes!"

"Luo Ruoxi's" body shimmered, transforming back into the appearance of a Heart Devil. Its entire being exuded demonic energy, and a mere glance would leave one's thoughts in disarray.

"What is your name?"

"I... I am a Heart Devil that has just been born through thought; I don't have a name yet..." The Heart Devil looked ashamed.

"Alright then, I'll give you a name. Let's call you... Mo Jia!" After a moment of thought, he named the Heart Devil before him.

"Thank you, Teacher, for granting me a name!"

Mo Jia looked delighted.

"Mo Jia" (Devil Armor)... Armor... It seemed his teacher wanted him to guard like armor.

"You may leave!"

Just as it was marveling at its teacher's profound knowledge, the youth's voice called out, "You may leave!" Mo Jia quickly nodded, and with a mental shift, the dark space vanished without a trace. Zhang Xuan's vision blurred, and he found himself still standing before the spring, as if nothing had happened.

"Teacher Zhang... are you alright?"

Seeing him conscious, the voices of Zhang Jiuxiao and the others rang out.

He turned his head to see everyone looking anxious, fearing something might have gone wrong.

"Don't worry, I'm fine..." Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

"You... didn't experience the Heart Devil?" Seeing him completely unharmed, Zhang Jiuxiao was somewhat unconvinced.

This spring could reflect a person's chaotic thoughts, which were the root of Heart Devils. If the Heart Devil didn't attack, that would be one thing, but once it acted, it would undoubtedly transform those thoughts into a Heart Devil, leaving a person unable to live or die... How could nothing have happened?

"I did experience it..." Zhang Xuan smiled slightly, then frowned. "Why haven't you come out to greet the esteemed Master Teachers?"

"Yes!" A black mist shimmered, and the dark Heart Devil immediately appeared before everyone, its demeanor respectful: "Mo Jia greets the esteemed Master Teachers!"

"This..."

"Is this... a Heart Devil?"

Everyone's mouths twitched, and their eyes widened one by one, as if they had seen a ghost.

A living Heart Devil... and one that had come out and was so polite—this was a first!

"Teacher Zhang, what exactly is going on?"

Unable to contain himself, Hall Master Liao asked.

As the Hall Master of the Heart Temple, he had read countless books on Heart Devils. Such entities, born from the mind, were typically ferocious and tyrannical, to be avoided at all costs. How could this one be so well-behaved?

"Teacher enlightened me; otherwise, I would still be living a muddled existence, unaware of life or death. The thought makes me ashamed!"

Before Zhang Xuan could answer, Mo Jia exclaimed, full of admiration.

"Enlightened? Teacher?"

Their faces twitched, and everyone's eyes seemed on the verge of popping out.

This thing didn't seem to be a living creature... could it also be taken as a student?

"There's no need to dwell on such minor details," Zhang Xuan said, pointing at the spring. "Do any of you want to take a look?"

"I'll go!"

After a pause, Zhang Jiuxiao said.

He had been to this place once before. The spring reflected chaotic thoughts, which could give rise to Heart Devils...

A Heart Devil taken as a student... This was a first.

He wanted to try it too!

"Alright!" Seeing him approach, Zhang Xuan sent a wisp of his thought into Zhang Jiuxiao's body, and once everything was ready, he spoke: "Look."

"Yes!"

Zhang Jiuxiao's eyes fell upon the spring, and he immediately saw countless chaotic thoughts, swirling and rising, as if they could invade his mind at any moment and drive him insane.

Boom!

Just as he was about to sever these chaotic thoughts, a roar sounded before his eyes, and like Zhang Xuan before him, he entered a pitch-black space.

Whoosh!

A tall demonic figure slowly appeared before him, revealing a sinister grin.

"This Heart Devil... is me?"

The wisp of Zhang Xuan's thought within Zhang Jiuxiao's body saw the figure clearly and couldn't help but twitch its eyebrows.

He never expected that this descendant of the Zhang Clan's greatest Heart Devil would actually be himself.

"I... I must surpass you!"

He had initially thought of taking him as a disciple, but as soon as he saw the Heart Devil, Zhang Jiuxiao immediately became somewhat disoriented, screaming hysterically.

Unlike Zhang Xuan, who could control his thoughts, the moment the Heart Devil appeared, all the negative emotions in his heart surged forth, and he had already lost his rationality.

"Surpass me? Alright, I can let you surpass me. It'll be easy, as long as you cultivate according to what I say..."

The Heart Devil's voice was filled with temptation.

"Good!"

Zhang Jiuxiao nodded and fell into a state of indulgence.

"So this is how ordinary people encounter Heart Devils..."

Zhang Xuan was greatly surprised.

He had encountered Heart Devils three times, only feeling a trance during his first Tribulation of Conferred Saint. In other instances, he remained very clear-headed. He had thought others would be similar, but now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.

Heart Devils originated from the mind; the moment they appeared, cultivators could no longer control their inner thoughts, making them susceptible to attacks and prone to falling into qi deviation.

"Now that you've seen it, let's deal with it..."

Understanding how other people's Heart Devils were formed, Zhang Xuan's wisp of thought flew out from its hidden spot: "Mo Mo, be good. Your teacher is taking you as a disciple..."

"Jiuxiao won't be in any trouble, will he?"

Seeing Zhang Jiuxiao standing by the spring, his body involuntarily twitching, everyone's expressions turned solemn.

"Teacher Zhang has a very high level of research on Heart Devils... Since he allowed him to go forward, there won't be any problems!" Hall Master Liao said.

"That's good then..."

Everyone nodded, and just as they were about to speak, they saw Zhang Jiuxiao exhale a mouthful of turbid air and slowly open his eyes.

Immediately afterward, another completely dark demonic figure appeared before the crowd.

Zhang Xuan looked over and instructed, "Why haven't you paid your respects to the esteemed Master Teachers yet?"

"Yes, Mo Yi greets the esteemed Master Teachers!"

This Heart Devil's face was filled with respect.

"Mo Yi?"

The previous Heart Devil looked bewildered.

Why did that name feel a bit off?

Full of doubt, it then heard its teacher's voice continue: "Who's next?"

"I'll give it a try!"

Hall Master Liao stepped forward.

Not long after, another Heart Devil appeared not far away, bowing and looking at everyone: "Mo Bing greets the esteemed Master Teachers!"

"Mo Ding greets the esteemed Master Teachers..."

"It's not about guarding like armor, but... Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding..."

Hearing this, the first Heart Devil finally understood. It had thought Teacher Zhang had given it such a grand name, but it turned out to be so casual.

It felt so frustrated, it almost wanted to spit blood.

"There are already four Heart Devils. Who else wants to try..."

Looking at the several Heart Devils lined up before him, Zhang Xuan nodded with satisfaction.

"I'll go..."

Hall Master Wei quickly stepped forward.

Boom!

Before he could even reach it, the ground shook. Two massive spring eyes continuously churned, and the water inside visibly receded, as if a bathtub stopper had been pulled.

A stone staircase slowly appeared before them, descending downwards.

"What's going on? I still wanted to try more Heart Devils..." Zhang Xuan frowned, surprised that the spring had begun to dry up after only four attempts.

"If you wish to see me, then come down..."

Before the words faded, the ferocious voice of the ruthless individual from before rang out again, seemingly filled with rage.

It was no wonder he was furious.

He had thought that as long as the opponents gazed into the spring, Heart Devils would be produced, allowing him to completely control everyone, effortlessly turning them into his subordinates who would obey his commands... But to his surprise, the few Heart Devils that appeared were all taken as students by the other party!

If this continued, the other side wouldn't just stay the same; they would become stronger and stronger!

He had generated Heart Devils to control them, but they had turned into tools for them to become stronger... The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became!

If he hadn't been locked up and unable to come out, he would surely have rushed over and slapped Zhang Xuan to death long ago...

He had seen people who didn't follow the rules, but never someone who broke them so completely!

It was infuriating.

"Let's go!"

Hearing this individual speak, Zhang Xuan, still not entirely satisfied, beckoned to everyone and started walking down the stone staircase.

Although the spring water had just receded, there was no dampness or mud on the stone steps. The surrounding walls were carved from some unknown stone, making it difficult to discern the scenery in the darkness.

With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Jiuxiao took out several night-shining pearls and tossed them down.

Their soft glow immediately illuminated the area below the staircase.

It was a spacious hall, but its interior couldn't be seen due to the limited visibility.

Zhang Xuan led the way down.

Upon entering, they immediately saw bodies standing upright all around. Their appearances and figures hadn't changed at all, but their souls were gone. It was impossible to tell how long they had been dead!

Soul-less Golden Figures!

"This..." Zhang Xuan frowned.

From their attire, it was clear that almost all of them were Master Teachers... Master Teachers refined into golden figures...

His eyes narrowed, feeling a surge of anger, when he heard Teacher Ji's anxious voice from the side.

"Vice Hall Master Liu..."

He then saw Teacher Ji standing before one of the golden figures, his eyes filled with anxiety.

"Vice Hall Master Liu?"

"Yes, this is Liu Yiyu, the Vice Hall Master of our Master Teacher Pavilion. He disappeared three years ago. We thought... he had gone into secluded cultivation somewhere, but we never expected him to be here!"

Teacher Ji's body trembled.

"This..." Zhang Xuan paused, about to offer comfort, when he saw Elder Wu also approach a golden figure: "Elder Xing..."

"Elder Xing is an elder of our Master Teacher Pavilion. He disappeared eight years ago. How could he be here...?"

An elder from the Master Teacher Pavilion couldn't help but say.

Illuminated by the night-shining pearls, everyone walked forward through the hall and soon saw many familiar faces, almost all of whom were Master Teachers around the Primordial Spirit realm.

Most of them had disappeared within the last twenty years. Everyone had thought they had perished, never dreaming that they would become these inhuman, ghastly things here.

"These are Soul-less Golden Figures! Shells that Witches can possess..."

Zhang Xuan sighed.

"Despicable!"

Elder Wu's face turned pale, unsure if it was from his lingering injuries or from anger: "I must report this matter to the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters. Harming Master Teachers and refining them into puppets... this is an unforgivable crime!"

"Hehe, report to the Master Teacher Pavilion?"

Before the words faded, the ruthless individual's voice continued: "It's too late now..."

Crash!

As the voice ended, everyone heard a roar, and then saw that the entrance they had just used was blocked by a stone door.

"It's the Dragon-Severing Lock!"

Recognizing it, Zhang Xuan's expression darkened.

It was none other than the Dragon-Severing Lock, specially refined by Heavenly Craftsmen. Once closed, even a peak Nascent Divinity realm expert would find it difficult to break open.

Whoosh!

While they were still in shock, they then saw that the numerous Soul-less Golden Figures around them simultaneously opened their eyes.