Chapter 1293: Heart Demon

In a lush green valley within the Taiyi Immortal Sect, lay a sprawling compound. It featured both exquisite pavilions and towers, as well as a garden brimming with exotic flowers and rare plants. Next to this floral expanse stood a blue stone pavilion.

Chen Xianger and Chen Haibin sat in the stone pavilion, sipping tea in silence. Chen Xianger gazed at the five-colored speck of light high in the sky, her brow deeply furrowed.

"Grandfather, do you think he will succeed?" Chen Xianger hesitated for a moment before asking.

Chen Haibin took a sip of the spirit tea and replied meaningfully, "Do you wish him success, or do you wish him failure?"

"A bit of both. I don't know what I truly hope for." Chen Xianger's expression was complex. She had loved Wang Mingren and hoped for his success, yet she also hated him and wished for his failure.

"I don't know if he will fail or succeed," Chen Haibin explained slowly. "However, the Inner Demon Tribulation is not easy to overcome. Even with the Three-Element Spirit-Calming Incense, he might not be able to conquer his inner demons. He is similar to Xu Zihua, but Xu Zihua has self-awareness, while Wang Mingren lacks it, or perhaps he is overly confident. I don't have high hopes for him. He has done too many immoral deeds in his life, making the Inner Demon hurdle much more difficult for him than for other cultivators."

Chen Xianger let out a soft sigh and said nothing.

Inside a spacious courtyard, Wang Mingren and Chen Xianger sat in a stone pavilion drinking tea. A young girl in a blue dress with chubby cheeks ran around playfully.

"Be careful, Dong'er, don't fall," Chen Xianger asked caringly, embracing the young girl in the blue dress and taking out a blue handkerchief to wipe her sweat.

"Daddy, when will you take me back to Qinglian Mountain? I've never been there before!" the young girl in the blue dress asked with a smile.

"We'll go back in a while. Husband, I've already prepared some gifts. Here's the list; see if it's suitable." Chen Xianger took out a blue jade slip and handed it to Wang Mingren.

"Wife, our Wang family values male offspring. I plan to take a concubine; what do you think?" Wang Mingren's gaze was fixed on Chen Xianger.

Chen Xianger was slightly startled. "Take a concubine? Male offspring? How about Senior Sister Li? I think she has a liking for you too. Or Junior Sister Sun?"

Wang Mingren frowned. "I said I'm taking a concubine, and you're not angry?"

"What's there to be angry about? Didn't you say it yourself? Your family values male offspring, and I can't bear a male heir. If you want to take a concubine, then do so. I don't object." Chen Xianger smiled sweetly, appearing perfectly sensible.

"How much longer will you pretend? Understanding, sensible, always defending me in front of others—this is not the Chen Xianger I know at all. Fakes can't be real, and real things can't be faked." Wang Mingren sneered. With a raise of his hand, a red light shot out, instantly piercing Chen Xianger's body. The red light then swirled, piercing the young girl in the blue dress.

Soon after, a rapid ringing of bells sounded.

"Not even sparing your wife and child, you truly deserve to die!" an angry male voice boomed from the horizon. As soon as the words were spoken, the void twisted, and a colossal red sword qi, over a thousand zhang long, descended from the sky, carrying immense heat waves as it struck down towards Wang Mingren.

Wang Mingren took a deep breath, stood motionless, and gritted his teeth.

The expected intense pain did not come. Instead, Chen Xianger's voice rang in his ear: "What? You close your eyes when I say a few words to you. You won't even look at me? Is that vixen the only one in your heart?"

Wang Mingren opened his eyes to find himself in a spacious stone chamber. Chen Xianger sat opposite him, glaring angrily.

"You went to the Northern Frontier specifically for that vixen, didn't you? And you lied to me, saying it was for cultivation. You really are something." Chen Xianger sneered, showing Wang Mingren no respect at all.

Wang Mingren rolled his eyes at Chen Xianger and said with a cold face, "What I do is none of your business. I know what I'm doing."

"Hmph, you'd best not let me find out you've done anything out of line, or I won't spare you." Chen Xianger flung out a harsh warning, then turned and left.

Wang Mingren frowned, gazing at Chen Xianger's retreating back, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Wang Mingren sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, his eyes tightly closed. Beside him was a red incense burner; the Three-Element Spirit-Calming Incense within it was nearly burnt out. The more inner demons one faced, the longer it took and the harder it was to overcome the Inner Demon hurdle.

On a mountain peak near the crimson mountain, a hint of worry appeared in Xu Zihua's eyes. The thunderclouds high in the sky grew larger and larger, covering the sky and blocking out the sun, emitting rumbling thunder.

Ximen Feng's pearly teeth bit her red lips tightly, her beautiful eyes filled with anxiety.

"Master, if the Nascent Soul formation fails, can my husband truly not survive?"

Xu Zihua let out a soft sigh and said, "The Three-Element Heart-Protecting Pill, one of our sect's three great secret medicines, can extend life, but only for a few years. When that time comes, he will still die. If it weren't for this limitation, I would have already attempted the Nascent Soul stage myself."

"The Three-Element Heart-Protecting Pill!" Ximen Feng gave a bitter smile. The Three-Element Heart-Protecting Pill was a unique secret medicine of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, not easily circulated. Even with ample contribution points, one could not exchange for it without significant meritorious deeds. The Three-Element Heart-Protecting Pill was a sacred healing medicine; it was said that as long as a cultivator had a single breath left, taking it could bring them back from the brink.

In a secluded courtyard, Liu Jin cursed Wang Mingren vehemently. Wang Qingshan lay motionless on the ground, his body dismembered.

"Who told you to act on your own?! I repeatedly warned you to simply hold your ground, not to launch an unauthorized attack. Because of you, Senior Brother Ye's nominal disciple is dead, and your grand-nephew is dead too!" Liu Jin reprimanded him without ceremony, his face contorted with rage.

"This disciple also didn't expect, Qingshan, he actually..."

"Didn't expect? Is this something you *didn't* expect? Did I tell you to attack on your own? Because of you, Senior Brother Ye's favorite disciple is dead, and your grand-nephew is dead! Even if I wanted to let you go, the Hall of Enforcement would not spare you!" Wang Mingren's face turned pale, covered in cold sweat.

"From today onwards, you will stay here and not go anywhere else." Liu Jin flicked his sleeve and strode away.

"How is this possible! How could Qingshan be dead!" Wang Mingren embraced Wang Qingshan's corpse, his face full of remorse.

A rush of footsteps sounded as Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan walked in.

"Qingshan, what happened? Uncle Mingren, how could Qingshan end up like this?" Wang Changsheng roared loudly, his gaze grim, his eyes filled with rage.

"Changsheng, Ruyan, listen to me explain! We were ordered..." Wang Mingren hastily began to explain, his expression panicked.

"You killed Qingshan, you bastard! I'm going to kill you!" Wang Changsheng struck Wang Mingren with a punch. Wang Mingren instantly flew backward, spitting blood incessantly.

"Stop, Changsheng! I didn't want this either! I didn't expect..."

"Bullshit! Back then, I kept you by my side and personally taught you. Later, I sent you into the Taiyi Immortal Sect and even gave you a large sum of spirit stones. No matter how much hardship or difficulty the family faced, did I ever impose conditions on you? I asked you to help borrow the Haotian Mirror, and you flatly refused. For your own cultivation path, you dragged Qingling and Qiuming to apprehend evil cultivators, delaying their own cultivation. When three of the family's strongholds were attacked, you hid far away, not caring at all. Now you want to gain merit, so you drag Qingshan into danger. You are selfish and never consider others! I don't have a clan uncle like you!" Wang Changsheng's figure flickered, suddenly appearing before Wang Mingren, his right fist swinging towards Wang Mingren's head.

"No—"

Inside the secret chamber, Wang Mingren sat cross-legged on the meditation mat, his features contorted as if enduring some unbearable pain. He suddenly opened his eyes, his face flushed crimson.

"Pfft!" Wang Mingren opened his mouth and spurted out a large mouthful of fresh blood. The Golden Core in his dantian shattered into pieces, his face rapidly aged, and his hair turned long and grayish-white.

Shattering the Core to form the Nascent Soul—success meant advancing to the Nascent Soul stage; failure meant death. Wang Mingren had originally thought his inner demons were primarily Chen Xianger, but it wasn't so. His inner demons stemmed from his selfishness. He had harmed others for his own benefit, doing many things that indirectly damaged the cultivation paths of others for the sake of his own. These deeds were all his inner demons.