Chapter 343: Origin of the Evil Spirit

At the last possible moment, the evil spirit gritted its teeth and revealed a shocking piece of news. Even Jiang Fan abruptly halted. He stared at the black mirror and asked, "A spiritual artifact? Are you talking about this mirror?" As the owner of the Purple Sword, a spiritual artifact, he knew more about their power than anyone. Could this black mirror before him truly be a spiritual artifact?

The evil spirit in the mirror calmly stated, "I had originally intended to keep this spiritual artifact for myself. However, I can now share it with you, provided you spare my life."

Jiang Fan narrowed his eyes, his thoughts unreadable. The bolts of lightning radiating from his legs showed no sign of weakening; instead, they grew more intense. Startled, the evil spirit quickly said, "I swear I'm not deceiving you! This mirror is called the 'Ancient Mirror of Reflecting Hearts,' and it is a genuine spiritual artifact. Its purpose is to probe the inner thoughts of others, making it an unparalleled artifact for uncovering the world's secrets."

Jiang Fan continued to narrow his eyes, clearly not quite believing its claims. The evil spirit nervously added, "I'm not lying to you; if you don't believe me, I'll show you." The black mirror rotated to face Jiang Fan, casting a beam of light upon him. Immediately, the evil spirit stated, "Right now, you are thinking: 'Given that this evil spirit possesses such a powerful spiritual artifact, it should be invincible. Why then did it end up miserably trapped in the Sword Forest, only now barely developing consciousness?'"

"What?" Jiang Fan's heart violently shook, and his pupils sharply contracted. This was indeed his exact thought. The evil spirit had truly probed his mind simply by shining the mirror on him. He backhanded a sword strike against the black mirror. *Clang!* The black mirror sparked from the friction of the sword qi but remained completely undamaged. The evil spirit, sensing the danger, shrewdly manipulated the black mirror to turn its angle, ensuring it no longer shone on Jiang Fan. With a hint of pride, it asked, "Now you must believe me, right? As for why I'm in such a miserable state, it's all thanks to that despicable tiger demon, isn't it?"

"A tiger demon?" Jiang Fan's heart stirred. Could the tiger demon it spoke of be the former Emperor of Ten Thousand Demons, an invincible being almost at the Soul Transformation realm? That tiger demon had later suddenly vanished, plunging the demon race into chaos. The evil spirit, filled with towering hatred, recounted: "We jointly explored an ancient cave dwelling, seeking an opportunity to advance to the Soul Transformation stage. Our persistence paid off; we successfully found an unparalleled secret treasure that offered us a chance to reach the Soul Transformation realm. Unexpectedly, this tiger demon suddenly turned on me, striking with lethal intent. I was fortunate; a wisp of my soul managed to timely conceal itself within this ancient mirror, and then I fled all the way here. I then buried myself underground for many years, only recently reawakening."

Jiang Fan's heart was shaken. The evil spirit before him had once been a peerless expert, on par with a late Nascent Soul stage tiger demon! Everyone had thought it was merely an ordinary evil creature that had developed self-awareness. However, Jiang Fan merely listened to the story of the tiger demon's betrayal; he didn't fully believe it. Given that this entity, upon awakening, immediately sought to devour the vital essence of many martial artists, it was clearly not a benevolent being. It was difficult to determine who had betrayed whom.

He nodded, his eyes flickering. "Alright," he said, "I believe this is a spiritual artifact. Now, swiftly depart from this mirror, and I will spare your life." Since he had encountered it, he naturally could not let the Ancient Mirror of Reflecting Hearts slip through his fingers. And naturally, the evil spirit itself could not be spared.

"Heh, Your Excellency, we are both intelligent individuals; there's no need for us to state the obvious," the evil spirit chuckled. How could it not know what Jiang Fan was truly thinking? Leaving the black mirror meant certain death for it.

Jiang Fan's eyes narrowed. "If you don't leave, do you think you can live?" The evil spirit laughed. "If you didn't know the origin of this mirror, I believe you would eliminate me at all costs. But now, do you dare?" Jiang Fan fell silent. While his lightning technique could indeed penetrate the mirror and utterly destroy the evil spirit, the question was whether the mirror itself would be damaged in the process. It would be a great pity if a spiritual artifact were to be ruined in such a way.

The evil spirit stated, "Boy, I have lingered on for many years, solely to avenge the grievances of the past! If you can find a way to help me forge a body, providing a suitable vessel for this remnant wisp of my soul, then I will present this mirror to you as a token of my gratitude."

Jiang Fan pondered. He didn't believe a single word the evil spirit uttered. Before its demise, this entity had taken nothing else, only fleeing with this mirror. Clearly, this mirror was its most vital possession. How could it possibly give it away? Only by eliminating the evil spirit could he truly claim ownership of this spiritual artifact. However, since it was deeply hidden within the mirror, violently destroying it would inevitably damage the mirror. It had to be completely eradicated using a special method.

He recalled the Grand Void Ancient Tree, specifically a fruit that could only be picked once he reached the Core Formation stage. Within that fruit was sealed a cultivation method for soul attacks. This evil spirit was merely a wisp of a remnant soul, and its greatest fear was undoubtedly soul attacks. After a brief thought, Jiang Fan nodded. "Are you sure you won't play any tricks?" he asked.

Seeing Jiang Fan take the bait, the evil spirit declared, "I can swear to the heavens! If I deceive you, may five thunderbolts strike me!" Jiang Fan secretly curled his lips. *As if oaths meant anything.* However, what he needed to do now was to stabilize the other party. Once he broke through to Core Formation and cultivated the secret soul art, his first order of business would be to annihilate it!

"Alright, I'll temporarily believe you. How do you plan to condense this body you speak of?" Jiang Fan asked. The evil spirit replied, "I will write down the corresponding materials. You just need to collect them all and hand them over to me; you don't need to worry about the rest." As it spoke, it extended a wisp of black mist and wrote out a dense list of numerous materials on the ground. Jiang Fan's eyelids twitched at the sight. "You really dare to ask for these!" he exclaimed. "Demon Emperor's essence blood, demon core, bones, fur... You're asking too much of me!" These materials were almost equivalent to a complete Demon Emperor's corpse. Where was he supposed to get them?

The evil spirit chuckled. "By yourself, the hope of gathering them is naturally slim. But aren't I here to help? I know of a Demon Emperor's corpse that is exceptionally well-preserved. As long as you follow my instructions, obtaining it won't be a problem."

Jiang Fan pondered for a moment. He didn't truly doubt its words. While a Nascent Soul stage corpse was an unimaginable existence to him, it might not be so for this entity, who was once a renowned late Nascent Soul stage cultivator. "Alright," Jiang Fan nodded, "but I need to complete my own matters first. I'll help you search for the materials when it's convenient." After all, he was merely stalling for time. Once he broke through to Core Formation, he would simply end it with a soul attack. Why would he genuinely help such an evil remnant soul condense a new body?

"Naturally," the evil spirit readily agreed. "Moreover, I won't let you help in vain. During this period, you can use the Ancient Mirror of Reflecting Hearts as you wish." Jiang Fan's heart stirred with interest, but he remained wary. "How is this mirror to be used?" he asked. "If it involves dripping blood or separating a portion of my soul, then don't even mention it." Facing a bloodthirsty evil spirit, acknowledging mastery by dripping blood or transferring a portion of his soul into the mirror was absolutely not a good idea.

"You're quite vigilant," the evil spirit chuckled. "Don't worry, I need your help now. Compared to absorbing the flesh and blood of living beings and fully transforming into a true evil spirit, I naturally prefer for you to help me acquire a new body so I can resume my cultivation." A wisp of black mist emerged, forming a piece of text in the air. "This is the method to control the Ancient Mirror of Reflecting Hearts. Memorize it. After half a year of cultivation according to this, you should be able to barely control the Ancient Mirror of Reflecting Hearts."

Jiang Fan took a look and secretly found it amusing. This control method was, at best, equivalent to a Low-Grade Profound-tier cultivation technique. He grasped it in an instant. Did he really need half a year? He nodded unassumingly. "Alright," he said, "I've committed it to memory. I'll cultivate it when I have some free time." The text condensed by the black mist immediately dispersed. The evil spirit was very satisfied with Jiang Fan's straightforwardness and smiled meaningfully. "We've become acquainted through conflict," it said. "As a token of sincerity for our cooperation, I will now present you with another grand gift."