273: Martial Demon Realm!

The reason for such a good effect is inextricably linked to Xiao Shi’s previous destruction of the Soul Shard.

When he first thought of using the Soul Shard as an attack method, he deliberately created a large crack in this Soul Shard.

This resulted in the current effect.

Normally, if the integrity of a Soul Shard is not sufficient,

it can easily be interrupted during the process of comprehension.

Once interrupted at a critical moment,

it will greatly impact the entire comprehension process.

Furthermore, if the comprehension involves a powerful and profound cultivation technique, an interruption during the process could even lead to damage to the divine soul and mental confusion, among other serious consequences.

Although the cultivation technique that the demonized Xiang Zizhen’s Life Soul was comprehending at this time was not one of those powerful and profound techniques,

this continuous interruption also caused great trouble for his entire soul.

This was still because his Life Soul was much stronger than ordinary people’s.

Coupled with the fact that he was a Martial Demon Realm Expert, he did not suffer any damage.

If it were other Martial Soul Realm martial artists... once subjected to such repeated interruptions,

their entire soul would directly collapse from being unable to bear it.

The scene before him left Xiang Zizhen dumbfounded.

He was completely bewildered.

It was the first time he had seen a Soul Shard used in such a way!

Under normal circumstances,

Soul Shards are regarded by them as treasures for obtaining opportunities and good fortune.

Even Soul Shards with low integrity still hold considerable value.

After all, Soul Shards can be continuously completed by piecing them together.

If one could read powerful lost cultivation techniques and Secret Skills from within the Soul Shards,

the gains would be even greater!

It was Xiang Zizhen’s first time seeing a Soul Shard... used in combat.

And the effect was surprisingly good!

What he didn’t understand most was why his Demonic Body Clone had fallen into the comprehension of the Soul Shard?

He knew that

Soul Shards usually require the use of soul power to read them in order to immerse oneself in the scenes within the Soul Shard.

Logically speaking,

no one would read a Soul Shard during a battle.

Especially with his understanding of his own Demonic Body Clone,

it was even more impossible.

This was the most incredible key point that Xiang Zizhen found.

Although this method of fighting with Soul Shards was novel, ordinary people were destined to be unable to imitate it.

At the same time,

when Xiang Zizhen’s Demonic Body Clone fell into this state, Xiao Shi’s main body also successfully completed the deciphering of the array patterns.

He could now take Xiang Zizhen and leave the underground palace directly.

However, the current state of Xiang Zizhen’s Demonic Body Clone caused a killing intent to rise in Xiao Shi’s heart.

He felt that with the Demonic Body Clone’s current condition,

he might be able to kill him directly!

Thinking of this,

Xiao Shi did not hesitate.

With a movement of his body, he rushed towards Xiang Zizhen’s Demonic Body Clone with astonishing speed.

In this state, Xiang Zizhen’s Demonic Body Clone

had no ability to resist whatsoever.

He stood in place, his expression constantly changing.

One second he was immersed in comprehension, the next he was clear-headed.

In an instant,

Xiao Shi arrived before the fluctuating Life Soul.

In his hand appeared an ancient sword with a strong sense of age.

It was the Ferocious Soul Ancient Sword!

He held the sword with both hands.

And swiftly slashed at the Life Soul before him.

Whoosh!

When the ancient sword struck the Life Soul, the entire Life Soul instantly dimmed from the attack and retreated back into the Demonic Body Clone’s body.

Xiao Shi continued to charge forward.

Raising the ancient sword in his hand, he was about to completely annihilate him when

“Wait!”

Xiang Zizhen suddenly shouted urgently.

His voice was extremely anxious.

“Hm?”

Xiao Shi’s descending ancient sword paused.

He looked back at Xiang Zizhen.

“If you kill him, I will also have problems!”

Xiang Zizhen said quickly.

He quickly came before the Demonic Body Clone.

He raised his hand,

and pointed a finger at the Demonic Body Clone’s forehead.

This caused a black mark to appear on the Demonic Body Clone’s forehead.

When this black mark appeared,

the Demonic Body Clone’s body immediately began to disintegrate and dissipate inch by inch.

In an instant, only this black mark remained, which Xiang Zizhen reached out and grasped in his palm.

Xiang Zizhen was very excited and exhilarated by this.

It seemed to be incredibly important to him!

Xiao Shi had long since realized that Xiang Zizhen’s Demonic Body Clone was different from an ordinary clone.

Normal clones would not lose control.

However, Xiang Zizhen’s clone was not only beyond his control, but it had also fallen into the Demonic Path, becoming a completely independent soul.

It even set up a trap to kill the main body!

However, this was not the time to ask questions.

Xiao Shi immediately activated the array in the underground palace using the array patterns deciphered by his main body.

He then carried Xiang Zizhen out of the underground palace.

Swish!

The two of them, teleported by the underground palace’s array, successfully appeared outside the underground palace.

However, they did not rush back immediately.

Instead, they found a quiet, uninhabited place to talk.

“Thanks to you this time, otherwise I would have most likely fallen into the hands of my clone. I owe you my life!”

Xiang Zizhen said with a serious expression.

“What’s the situation with your clone?”

Xiao Shi finally asked his question at this point.

It seemed now that

whether it was killing Qin Mo or colluding with the Blood-colored Soul Body to plot against Xiang Zizhen,

everything was orchestrated by his Demonic Body Clone.

Xiang Zizhen was stunned.

“You don’t know?”

Then he carefully looked at Xiao Shi.

It was then that he remembered that the other party was still in the Martial Soul Realm.

It was normal for him not to know the reason.

He sighed.

“All of this is because of the Martial Demon Realm!”

“Because of the Martial Demon Realm?”

Xiao Shi was somewhat surprised by this.

He had thought of many possibilities,

but he never expected the root of all this to be the Martial Demon Realm.

“The Martial Demon Realm is actually a semi-public realm. Many people only know the name of this realm, but they don’t know the relevant information about it. Most people have very little understanding and knowledge of this realm.”

“They only know that this realm is very special, but they don’t know the specific special features.”

Xiang Zizhen said.

Xiao Shi nodded.

That was indeed the case.

This was quite different from the previous realms.

For example, when he was in the Entering Martial Realm, he already knew some information about the Qi Martial Realm. After reaching the Qi Martial Realm, he could then know some information about the Blood Martial Realm.

Only upon reaching the Martial Soul Realm, he knew nothing about the subsequent Martial Demon Realm.

He only knew that this realm was very special and very dangerous.

Many Martial Soul Realm Experts, after reaching the Life Soul stage, even if they had the ability to challenge the Martial Demon Realm, would often give up.

They would rather remain in the Martial Soul Realm for life

than challenge the Martial Demon Realm.

Xiang Zizhen did not keep him in suspense.

He began to tell Xiao Shi about the Martial Demon Realm.

“The Martial Demon Realm is divided into two stages in total.”

“The first stage is called Demon Transformation.”

“The second stage is Fusion Demon and Demon Slaying.”

“Let’s talk about the first stage first.”

“As the name suggests, the key to breaking through from the Martial Soul Realm to the Martial Demon Realm actually lies in differentiating a Demonic Body Clone!”

“This Demonic Body Clone can be seen as the embodiment of one’s many negative emotions, but according to our saying, we refer to it more as... an Inner Demon!”

“Everyone has their own Inner Demon. As their cultivation realm improves, the Inner Demon will become a major obstacle on the martial artist’s path.”

“To ascend to the peak of martial arts and achieve sainthood, one must first slay the Inner Demon!”

“The Martial Demon Realm, in simple terms, is a realm for eliminating Inner Demons.”

“But it is also possible... that it could create a powerful Demon!”

Xiang Zizhen sighed.

“As you’ve seen, the Demonic Body Clone I differentiated, whether in terms of its strength, intelligence, or methods, is not weaker than my main body...”

“This is also the most dangerous aspect of the Martial Demon Realm!”

“Every Demonic Body Clone differentiated by a Martial Demon Realm martial artist will possess strength not weaker than the main body. At the same time, its soul will be completely independent, unaffected by the main body’s control, meaning an evil version of oneself will be born.”

“And the second stage of the Martial Demon Realm, Fusion Demon or Demon Slaying, requires waiting until the Demonic Body Clone has grown to a certain extent, then either slaying it or integrating it into oneself. Only then... can one eliminate the Inner Demon and achieve the Great Perfection of the Martial Demon Realm!”

“In other words, once a Martial Demon Realm martial artist differentiates a Demonic Body Clone, they need to try every possible means to eliminate the Demonic Body Clone...”

“But similarly, the Demonic Body Clone is also trying every possible means to eliminate the main body.”

“Many Martial Demon Realm martial artists engage in long-term battles of wits and courage with their demonized clones.”

“However, Martial Demon Realm Experts who can resolve their own demonized clones are incredibly rare...”

“Some Martial Demon Realm martial artists remain in this realm for hundreds of years, or even until death, unable to break through, precisely because they cannot kill their own demonized clones.”

Xiao Shi understood in his heart.

He finally understood why the Martial Demon Realm was special and why it was dangerous!

This realm meant facing another version of oneself!

Using oneself as the greatest enemy!

No wonder some people, even if they had the ability to challenge the Martial Demon Realm, would ultimately give up.

They would rather remain in the Martial Soul Realm for life

than challenge the Martial Demon Realm.

After all, not everyone has the ability to defeat another enemy with the same abilities, the same intelligence, and who knows them inside out.

Xiao Shi felt his scalp tingle when he thought that when he reached the Martial Demon Realm, he might have to face another powerful enemy who was as steady as an old dog, accustomed to hiding behind the scenes, and would not easily show himself.

“This truly is a troublesome realm!”

He couldn’t help but exclaim, then asked,

“What happens if the Demonic Body Clone kills the main body?”

“Do you remember what I told you? What we, the Orthodox Faction martial artists, pursue is sainthood! And what the Demonic Path forces martial artists pursue is Demon Transformation!”

Xiang Zizhen said solemnly.

“The Demonic Body Clone we differentiate is the purest form of Demonic Cultivator. Once the clone kills the main body, the clone will enter the second stage of the Martial Demon Realm.”

“This will be a further step towards the path of Demon Transformation.”

Xiao Shi suddenly realized.

“So that means...”

“The Martial Demon Realm is also an important branching point for becoming a saint or transforming into a demon?”

“The main body slays the clone, and then can become a saint.”

“The clone slays the main body, and then can transform into a demon?”

Xiang Zizhen nodded and said,

“That’s right.”

“So this realm is very dangerous. A slight mistake could lead to the creation of a powerful Demonic Cultivator!”

“But to advance further in martial arts, one must differentiate a Demonic Body Clone and resolve it.”

Xiao Shi suddenly remembered that when he was about to kill Xiang Zizhen’s Demonic Body Clone earlier, Xiang Zizhen had said that if he killed his Demonic Body Clone, he would also have problems.

“Must the Demonic Body Clone differentiated in the Martial Demon Realm be slain by oneself? Can others not kill it?”

Xiao Shi asked.

“Yes.”

Xiang Zizhen nodded.

“This is another danger of the Martial Demon Realm!”

“Once one’s Demonic Body Clone is killed by others, or dies for other reasons, the main body will not only cease to have any further improvement in strength and cultivation, stopping at the Martial Demon Realm for life, but will also experience a significant drop in strength.”

“Although still in the Martial Demon Realm, their strength and cultivation will drop to a level comparable to the Martial Soul Realm.”

“Therefore, in the Martial Demon Realm, there are three different types of Martial Demons.”

“The first type is the weakest Martial Demon Realm Expert, which is when the clone or main body is killed by others.”

“The second type is the Martial Demon Realm Expert who has differentiated a Demonic Body Clone but has not resolved it, which is the most common type of Martial Demon Realm Expert.”

“The third type is the Martial Demon Realm Expert who has slain or integrated the Demonic Body Clone, which is the most powerful Martial Demon Realm Expert.”

“Although they are all Martial Demon Realm Experts, there is a world of difference in the strength of these three types of Martial Demon Realm Experts!”

After listening to Xiang Zizhen’s explanation,

Xiao Shi couldn’t help but recall the several Martial Demon Realm Experts he had met.

It was obvious that

the Thousand Weapon Mountain Ancestor was the strongest Martial Demon Realm Expert who had successfully resolved his Demonic Body Clone.

While Xiang Zizhen and Wu Muzhen were only the second, most common type of Martial Demon Realm Expert.

As for the first, weakest type of Martial Demon Realm Expert, Xiao Shi had not yet encountered one.

This also gave him a more comprehensive understanding of the Martial Demon Realm.

At the same time, he also understood why half of the Star Luo Province belonged to the Demonic Path forces!

With the Star Luo Lord’s formidable strength, it would certainly not be difficult to eliminate the Demonic Path forces.

But once the Demonic Path forces were eliminated... the Demonic Body Clones differentiated by these Martial Demon Realm Experts would have no place to survive.

This was clearly extremely disadvantageous for many Martial Demon Realm Experts.

Therefore,

even if the Star Luo Lord possessed the strength to destroy all Demonic Path forces, he would tolerate the existence of the Demonic Path forces.

A controllable Demonic Path forces

would certainly be more beneficial for the development and growth of the Star Luo Province than destroying all Demonic Path forces.

“What about the Demonic Cultivators of the Demonic Path forces... what is their situation in the Martial Demon Realm? Surely they don’t differentiate a righteous clone, do they?”

Xiao Shi suddenly thought of those Demonic Cultivators who had fallen into the Demonic Path before the Martial Demon Realm.

How did they break through when they reached the Martial Demon Realm?

“I don’t know much about the Martial Demon Realm of the Demonic Path forces.”

“I only know that...”

“Although they don’t differentiate clones, they need to destroy some of their own emotions to form the purest demonic thoughts.”

“But this is only different in the first stage of the Martial Demon Realm.”

“The second stage is completely consistent with the second stage entered after the Demonic Body Clone kills the main body.”