111: Chapter 111 The Inner Demon Strikes

When the fourth Heavenly Tribulation lightning bolt descended, the world was left with nothing but blue light.

It was a Water-element Lightning Tribulation—prolonged, pervasive, and capable of penetrating anything.

The giant bronze shield trembled violently in the air, the patterns of mountains and rivers on its surface flickering unsteadily, as if it would be melted by the lightning at any moment.

Qi Tianyuan stood within the formation, his hands forming hand seals, his expression grave.

The duration of this lightning bolt was longer than the previous three combined.

A full ten breaths.

When the last trace of the water-blue lightning dissipated in the sky, the radiance of the giant bronze shield had dimmed by more than half, and a faint crack had appeared in the center of the shield's surface.

Qi Tianyuan raised his hand to retract the Magic Treasure, looked down at the crack, shook his head slightly, and put it into his Storage Pouch.

He reached out and slashed through the Void Realm, and a small crimson flag flew out, transforming in the wind into a three-zhang-tall blazing flag that planted itself beside him.

The flag fluttered loudly, emitting scorching and domineering Fire-element Spiritual Qi.

The tribulation clouds were brewing the fifth lightning bolt.

But at this moment, a brief and eerie silence descended upon the world.

The thunder stopped, the wind ceased, and even the cheers and discussions from the distant peaks gradually died down.

An indescribable sense of oppression quietly spread like mercury.

Lin Xuan sat cross-legged in the Quiet Room, closing his eyes to regulate his breath and consolidate the insights he had gained from observing the tribulation.

Suddenly, his heart gave an unexpected jolt!

It wasn't palpitations, nor was it panic, but rather a kind of... irritation.

An inexplicable irritation.

Like the stuffy feeling in a sweltering room on a midsummer afternoon that makes one restless and agitated.

He opened his eyes and discovered that his breathing had become somewhat rapid without him realizing it, and his palms were slightly sweaty.

The Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Art operated automatically, the purple thunder seed within his Dantian vibrated slightly, and a cool Thunder Spiritual Energy flowed through his entire body, immediately suppressing that sense of irritation.

But Lin Xuan's brows furrowed.

Something was wrong.

This was not normal.

He stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open a crack.

Outside the window, the night was deep, and the tribulation clouds were still rolling overhead, but within that vast Heavenly might, it seemed that some other... things had been mixed in.

Intangible, formless things that pointed directly to the human heart.

"Ahhh!!!"

A shrill scream suddenly came from the direction of the main corridor of the Hundred Talisman Hall!

The sound was filled with fear, despair, and madness; it didn't sound like anything a human could produce at all.

Lin Xuan's heart skipped a beat.

Immediately after, more sounds rang out from various places—

"It wasn't me! I didn't do it! Don't come near me!!" a male Disciple roared hysterically.

"Hahaha... Everyone must die! You all must die!!" manic laughter came from another direction.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!" A heavy impact sound, like someone desperately banging their head against a wall.

"Let me go! I want to get out! This place is going to collapse!!" cries and shouts.

Chaos, sudden and unexpected.

Lin Xuan pushed open the door of the Quiet Room and walked into the courtyard.

The Emerald Bamboo Peak was still relatively quiet for now, but in the distance, in areas like the Hundred Talisman Hall, Artifact Refining Peak, and Danding Peak, countless warning Spell lights had already lit up, mixed with the fluctuations of Spiritual Qi collisions and the shouts of Law Enforcement Disciples.

The message Talisman suddenly became hot.

Lin Xuan injected Spiritual Qi, and Chen Hao's voice, clearly trembling and filled with lingering fear, came through:

"Lin, Lin Xuan! Something happened! Over here at the Artifact Refining Peak... Senior Brother Wang, that Senior Brother Wang who is usually the most silent and spends his days burying his head in forging, he suddenly went mad!"

"Just now, a loud noise came from the fifth earth fire furnace. When we ran over to look, Senior Brother Wang's eyes were blood-red, and he was swinging a forging hammer, crazily smashing the Cauldron! He was shouting, 'Why! Why do you all have a Master who cares about you! I've worked hard for thirty years and I'm still just a handyman! Smash it! Smash it all!'"

"He... he was trying to smash the core Cauldron! That Cauldron is connected to the main earth fire vein. If it really gets smashed, the earth fire in the entire workshop area will go out of control!"

Chen Hao caught his breath, his voice tight: "Fortunately, his Master was nearby and used a 'Spirit Binding Spell' to freeze him. He has already been taken away by the Law Enforcement Hall, but Senior Brother Wang was still roaring when he was dragged away, his eyes were red... It was too terrifying."

Lin Xuan asked in a deep voice: "Are there others?"

"Yes!" Chen Hao's voice lowered further, "I just heard from people in the neighboring workshop that one of their Senior Brothers also suddenly started self-harming, frantically slashing his own arm with a carving knife, saying 'It's dirty, it's too dirty, these Materials are all dirty'... He was also subdued and taken away."

After a pause, Chen Hao's voice carried lingering fear: "Lin Xuan, this isn't right, is it? How could so many people suddenly go mad? And they are all Senior Brothers who usually look quite normal, even a bit introverted and taciturn..."

Lin Xuan looked toward the Rising Sun Peak; the tribulation clouds were still there, but he could faintly hear the clear ringing of swords and some kind of profound, low chanting coming from the Golden Sun Grotto-Heaven.

"It is the Heavenly Tribulation." Lin Xuan said in a low voice, "The Lightning Tribulation is halfway through, and the Heart Demon Tribulation and Yin Fire Tribulation have arrived. The one Undergoing Tribulation must resist the Heart Demon themselves, and the aftereffects of the Heart Demon Tribulation... will stir up the dark obsessions within the hearts of the surrounding living beings."

"Heart Demon Tribulation?" Chen Hao clearly hadn't heard this term before.

"The tribulations on the path of cultivation are not just lightning." Lin Xuan explained simply, "External tribulations are easy to block, but Heart Demons are hard to guard against. The Heart Demon that Senior Brother Qi is facing right now is likely a hundred times more dangerous than the lightning we are seeing."

"Then he..."

"All we can do is guard our own minds." Lin Xuan interrupted him, "Stay in a safe place, operate your Cultivation Technique, and calm your mind. Don't let your thoughts run wild."

Ending the communication, Lin Xuan walked back into the Quiet Room.

But he did not close the window.

He wanted to see to what extent this sudden Heart Demon chaos, triggered by the Heavenly Tribulation, would develop.

In the direction of the Hundred Talisman Hall, the chaos seemed to have been quickly brought under control.

Several powerful Divine Senses swept across that area; it must have been the resident Foundation Establishment deacons or Golden Core Elders who had taken action.

Lin Xuan saw several figures being carried and dragged out of the hall by Law Enforcement Disciples; some were still struggling and roaring, while others had already gone limp like mud, their eyes hollow.

Lin Xuan was somewhat familiar with most of the Disciples being dragged out.

One of them was none other than Senior Brother Sun, whose expression had been strange during the earth vein tremors earlier—the Disciple of that Talisman Master deacon who had been taken away by the Law Enforcement Hall.

At this moment, Senior Brother Sun's face was as pale as paper, his eyes unfocused, and he was muttering to himself: "Master... it wasn't me who reported it... I really didn't say anything... Don't come looking for me..."

Another Thin Tall Man being dragged out—Lin Xuan remembered that he seemed to have had a few interactions with that mole in the General Affairs Hall, Deacon Wang An.

At this moment, his left cheek was swollen high, and blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth; he had clearly taken a beating when being subdued, but there was a kind of crazy, relieved smile in his eyes.

Besides those who clearly had "problems," there were also some Disciples who looked completely normal on a daily basis.

For example, a female Disciple who usually worked at the exchange counter and was always gentle, was now being supported by two female Law Enforcement Disciples as she came out, her face covered in tears, her whole body trembling, repeatedly saying: "I was wrong... I shouldn't have taken that bottle of Medicinal Pill... I really needed it too much..."

There was also a young Disciple whom Lin Xuan remembered having good talent for Talisman making; only at Qi Refining Level 4, he could already steadily draw Medium Grade Tier 1 Talismans, and his future should have been bright.

But at this moment, he was curled up on the ground, holding his head with both hands, groaning in pain: "Not enough... still not enough... they are all improving... I can't catch up... I will never catch up..."

Jealousy, greed, fear, guilt, obsession, delusional thoughts...

The dark sides that were suppressed by reason and morality in daily life, under the influence of the aftereffects of the Heart Demon Tribulation, were like a Pandora's box being opened, gushing out frantically.