384: Chapter 384 Seed of Demonic Seed in the Dao Heart

The first pause stopped at the scene where Long Tianxing was buying the dog.

"In this marketplace, talk about coincidence—there just happened to be a heavily injured Core Formation little yao."

"And it just happened to catch Long Tianxing's eye. But because it looked too magnificent and extraordinary, Long Tianxing got stubborn with himself and wanted to find something more ordinary, so he happened to run into this little mutt."

"A little mutt just happened to become a Core Formation level guardian spirit, protecting Long Tianxing's path for a long time."

"If he hadn't actively given it up, it could have protected him even longer, to the point where even the yao calamity wouldn't have harmed him."

"So, do you think Long Tianxing's Opportunity was that Core Formation little yao, the Jade Slip in that cave, or this Core Formation guardian spirit?"

Zhou Yan stared at the image before him and spoke indifferently.

"Every single one of them."

"They are simply different results of him choosing different paths."

The Fifth Elder smiled slightly and waved his hand again, arriving at the scene of Wang Hu's apprenticeship.

"Wang Hu and Chen Wei indeed have the Karma of Master and apprentice. If the apprenticeship had been successful, Chen Wei, who is at Nascent Soul Perfection, would have certainly given him a great gift."

"And as a good friend, it would be impossible for Wang Hu not to share it with Long Tianxing."

"If it were given to Long Tianxing, would he then not have had to face the threat of the yao calamity?"

"Even to teach Wang Hu, Chen Wei might have returned after reporting for duty to teach him within the Wang Family."

"After all, his primary duty was just to guard this place; it was only because of his status as a soldier that it was inconvenient for him to enter directly."

"And if he were there as a teacher, he could be closer to this place, without needing to wait until he discovered a problem on the front line during command to rush over temporarily."

"However, also because of friendship, Wang Hu ultimately didn't go, and Chen Wei didn't stay."

"In the end, Wang Hu died to protect Long Tianxing, and Chen Wei still handed that Opportunity over to Long Tianxing—that was the Daoist."

"Although this Opportunity wasn't much, and Long Tianxing didn't really want it, that Old Daoist Priest indeed helped him a lot and enlightened him a great deal."

"If it weren't for his stubborn temper and the Dao Sect's habitual rigid adherence to principles, making them unwilling to accept him, then Long Tianxing's first Master would definitely have been him."

"Now let's talk about that evil demon."

The Fifth Elder shifted the image to the Seal beneath the town.

"That evil demon was originally the work of the Demon Sect, intended for use in sacrifices. Building the small town on top of it was never done with good intentions."

"It was fate that guided Long Tianxing to go and rescue them. It's just that on the path of fate, the more Luck is suppressed, the more obviously it resists."

"If the Luck had been unsealed ahead of time, perhaps it wouldn't have been much, but deliberate suppression instead caused more sacrifices."

"Of course, looking at the situation at the time, the Old Daoist Priest would probably still have died, but this way fewer innocent commoners would have been sacrificed, and his time of death could have been delayed."

"He might even have had some cultivation left, enough to support him until he sent Long Tianxing to the Southern Desert or somewhere."

"The summary is: it was driven by fate, and such was his Luck."

"And if Long Tianxing were to find out about all this, he would naturally break down."

"After all, it really is all related to him, just because he chose different paths."

"But then again, it really doesn't have much to do with him, as these things would have happened even without him. But that depends on whether he himself can accept it."

"So how could my meeting with him be so perfunctory? Although the truth is a bit perfunctory, meeting him was still something I actively caused."

"I stole his Luck and Karma, and through these connections, I took away a part of his Heart Demon while simultaneously bearing that portion of the Karma."

"So he also forgot many things and could start a new life with a new identity."

"But similarly, I went from an idle person to a busy one. In just a few short years, all sorts of matters have fallen onto my head."

"However, blocking is never as good as dredging; in the end, I still need you to help out."

Zhou Yan nodded, then swung a punch back at the Fifth Elder. Under the Fifth Elder's astonished gaze, that punch, which contained a massive amount of Heart Demon power, landed solidly on the Fifth Elder.

This punch shattered the other's body into pieces like broken glass. And before the other completely disappeared, he managed to say one thing.

"When did you find out?"

Watching the other completely dissipate and feeling that the surrounding Heart Demon power had been depleted quite a bit by this punch, Zhou Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"I found out right from the start, of course."

"The Fifth Elder never has the habit of calling me Saint, except when he wants to swindle money out of me."

Zhou Yan had sensed something was wrong from the very first moment this fellow called out 'Saint'.

Because the System panel was always a trap, he naturally and secretly activated his Golden Eyes of Delusion Breaking.

Only then did he discover that the other's origin was not just the Fifth Elder's Clone.

That Clone should have been a will-less Luck-transferring machine, but an inexplicable golden light had occupied this Clone, causing it to take human form.

And through these Heart Demons and the residual consciousness of the Clone, it had learned information about the Fifth Elder, Long Tianxing, and himself, though it was all too one-sided.

Zhou Yan clenched his fist, feeling the sensation and feedback.

"This guy isn't a Heart Demon either, so what exactly is it?"

Just as Zhou Yan was speaking, a figure walked up behind him.

Zhou Yan turned around and looked at the newcomer; it was precisely Zhou Yan's female avatar, Kong Xuan.

Except this one was composed of Heart Demons.

Then Zhou Yan revealed a smile, reached out his hand, and modified Long Tianxing's Heart Demon slightly.

"Fortunately you're here; it really is an unexpected pleasant surprise."

This was something he had caught a glimpse of while observing the Heart Demons—it was just a very small Heart Demon that was almost about to disappear.

Through the series of observations just now, Zhou Yan had already quietly grasped the other's situation.

That shell was indeed a method preserved by the Fifth Elder, and this method was still continuously running; it was just a shell borrowed by the other to put on an act.

Although he didn't know who that fellow was, the other had indeed helped him suppress the development of the Heart Demons for a long time.

At the same time, he had told him many things from the perspectives of Long Tianxing and the Fifth Elder. According to him, the meeting between the Fifth Elder and Long Tianxing was not an accident.

Long Tianxing had encountered some problem at the time and happened to be discovered by the Fifth Elder, who then stole that portion of his Karma, or something similar.

That was why a certain degree of memory loss occurred, and if he were allowed to recover his memories, the Heart Demon would backfire on him.

And his Heart Demon concentration was ridiculously strong, so it could only be alleviated through constant transportation and expelling the Heart Demons outward.

The reason the Fifth Elder didn't have Long Tianxing come find him like Wang Yao did was likely because he also considered those Heart Demons outside to be Long Tianxing's, and worried that Zhou Yan wouldn't be able to solve it, so he had been using his own method to alleviate it.

If the things outside were also Heart Demons, Zhou Yan indeed wouldn't have any way to deal with them.

But that fellow who was some unknown thing just said that the things outside don't belong to Long Tianxing now, and he only needs to solve the current Heart Demon.

Since it was an unknown existence, it was hard to say how much he could be trusted. However, with that move just now, Zhou Yan only shattered the shell used to imitate the Fifth Elder and didn't hurt that fellow.

This also showed that the fellow was not ordinary and probably wouldn't lie to him about such small matters.

But it also wouldn't do for him to truly follow the other's method exactly; who knows what the other was thinking, so he still had to find his own way.

Ultimately, combining it with this unexpected surprise, Zhou Yan had a super high-school-level idea.

Zhou Yan spoke to the Heart Demon in front of him that looked exactly like his female avatar.

"Are you willing to follow me?"

The Heart Demon also just smiled slightly and said:

"I am."

[Ding, obtained new Family member 'Long Tianxing'.]

Then, that set of pervertedly magnificent panels appeared before Zhou Yan.

And Zhou Yan quickly made a bunch of adjustments for Long Tianxing and gave him the status of a Main City NPC.

Looking at this situation that had arisen in an instant, Zhou Yan didn't know if laughing now would be a bit unscrupulous; after all, he really was taking advantage of someone in a precarious state.

This was also the miraculous effect of the Law of the Heart and Six Desires Heaven that Zhou Yan had discovered.

Because one of Long Tianxing's Heart Demons was himself, his control over this Heart Demon was unimaginable.

Inherently, after he successfully invaded using a Law Divine Ability, he had extremely strong control over Heart Demons, and when the other's Heart Demon was himself, this control could basically turn the other's Heart Demon into his own Heart Demon.

And Zhou Yan had indeed done exactly that.

He backhandedly refined Long Tianxing's Heart Demon, making it his own Heart Demon. Since he himself didn't have any Heart Demons, this Heart Demon became a blank slate that he could control at will.

Plus, Long Tianxing was currently in a state of confusion, and this Heart Demon just happened to be able to represent Long Tianxing, so naturally, the contract was successfully signed.

A set of smooth combo moves had mortgaged Long Tianxing to him.

But Zhou Yan didn't intend to just take advantage of him.

He turned around and released the Kong Xuan Heart Demon, beginning to greedily absorb the Heart Demon power of this world.

He quickly absorbed all the Heart Demons of the little dragon, Wang Hu, and the Old Daoist Priest, making them into nothing more than the initial mental knots.

This meant that when Long Tianxing faced these now, he only needed to walk out of the final mental knot; he didn't need to face Heart Demons at all.

And if he couldn't walk out of the mental knot, Heart Demons wouldn't breed because of one or two mistakes, because the Heart Demons would be eaten by the Kong Xuan Heart Demon.

At this moment, Long Tianxing's Heart Demon was Zhou Yan's Heart Demon, and Zhou Yan was one with the Heart Demon, so Long Tianxing's Heart Demon equaled Zhou Yan.

Additionally, since Long Tianxing had become a game NPC and a Family member, he also gained some game characteristics, just like those artificial players in the main city.

And the main direction of these characteristics' effect was on this special Heart Demon, giving him a certain level of authority over the Heart Demon space, as if a Home had been opened up.

And since Zhou Yan wouldn't harm 'Old Long', unless a super massive Heart Demon was born that he couldn't muscle through, Long Tianxing wouldn't have any more Heart Demons; from now on, he would only have mental knots.

Although he didn't know if this was good, it was a necessary solution.

Zhou Yan packed up all the preparations and also let out a sigh.

"Junior Brother Long, your Senior Brother has handled everything for you. You better not fail to even cross a mental knot."

"According to what that fellow said, you probably had problems because all these things accumulated and exploded together, all becoming Heart Demons."

"But you're at the Core Formation Stage now; it shouldn't be to the point where you can't handle remembering some hidden memories. At any rate, this is your second playthrough."

Having done what he could, Zhou Yan withdrew his power. If it still didn't work, then he had no other way.

And the final result was naturally that Long Tianxing successfully broke through the mental knot and remembered everything.

He successfully broke that bamboo and obtained a string of prayer beads from within it.

Also, because the Heart Demon was eradicated and because of the bamboo, it was equivalent to him personally experiencing a Heart Demon Tribulation, using this Opportunity to achieve Nascent Soul.

Just as he was lamenting the recovery of his lost memories, he saw Bai Ling and Suo Jialuo fighting fiercely.

Then he transformed into a tile and continued to play dead, leading to the previous scene.

And Zhou Yan had also returned beneath the bodhi tree at this time. Just as he returned, he saw rows of black dots approaching in the distance.

Opening the mini-map to look, it was densely packed with red dots.

And when this situation occurred, it could only mean one thing: a massive horde of the Yao Race was approaching.