"Heart Demon."

Song Yan raised an eyebrow.

What an evil-sounding name. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Recalling in detail, during the great battle that day, when Senior Sister Qin Ying fought against that Demonic Cultivator, this Flying Sword indeed possessed power far exceeding that of a Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact.

Now that the overwhelming demonic aura had mostly dissipated, the spiritual essence of this Flying Sword had fallen back to the level of an ordinary Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact.

Spiritual Artifacts and Magic Treasures in the Cultivation World also have their own grades, and Spiritual Artifacts of different grades represent an Artifact Refiner’s understanding and skill in Artifact Refining.

Usually, for Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators like Song Yan, having a complete set of Low Grade Spiritual Artifacts for defense, offense, and support would be considered very well-off.

Medium Grade Spiritual Artifacts are generally obtained by Inner Sect Disciples who have advanced to the Late Stage of Qi Refining, under fortunate circumstances.

After all, it was a small place.

Song Yan heard that in Chu State, many Foundation Establishment Realm Loose Cultivators in the Cultivation World who weren’t doing particularly well also used ordinary Medium Grade Spiritual Artifacts.

Song Yan activated the spiritual power within his body, preparing to begin refining it, but the spiritual power suddenly surged towards the liangyi pearl.

"Hmm?"

The liangyi pearl, just like its unusual state during the great battle that day, began to slowly emit profound fluctuations.

Song Yan didn’t know what was happening, but by now the liangyi pearl had given him great help, so he simply held Spirit Stones and poured all his spiritual power into it.

The surrounding fluctuations and suction grew stronger and stronger, but strangely, these fluctuations seemed to only affect that dark-colored Flying Sword.

"Buzz—"

Finally, at one instant, the Flying Sword "Heart Demon" suddenly floated into the air.

With a flash of spiritual light, it actually disappeared..."?"

Song Yan frowned, his face full of confusion.

His Divine Sense sank into the liangyi pearl.

"Eh...?"

Compared to the last time he entered the Liangyi Realm, this time the scenery within was quite different.

A dark-colored heavenly waterfall had appeared near the Dao Seed phantom at some unknown time.

Below the waterfall, an Ink Pool stretched all the way to not far from the Dao Seed phantom.

"This is..."

He manipulated his consciousness, wanting to touch this surging dark color.

But before he could even approach the heavenly waterfall, merely hovering above the Ink Pool, he felt his mind become unstable and his head throb with pain!

Hiss...Gasp...Whispers of malice, tragic wails, and painful screams seemed to echo throughout the entire Liangyi Realm.

"What?!"

He quickly retreated, returning to the edge of the Ink Pool.

Song Yan, still shaken, stared blankly at the dark-colored waterfall cascading down.

"What intense malice..."

What exactly are these, and where do they come from?

He looked towards the Dao Seed phantom, where the "Heart Demon," which had disappeared from the outside world, was suspended.

Unlike the calm outside, in the Liangyi Realm, the dark-colored sword body currently suspended above the Dao Seed was once again, just like in Peach Blossom Dock that day, enveloped in monstrous demonic flames.

Only, the small sword formed by the nascent Dao Heart was slowly floating around it.

It seemed to be slowly dispelling and peeling away the dark demonic flames from the sword body, bit by bit!

However, perhaps because the Dao Heart was not yet complete, this process was extremely slow.

Everything before him was something he had never seen before... It didn’t matter, there were many things in the Cultivation World that Song Yan didn’t know or hadn’t seen.

But one thing that truly puzzled him was... why... would that tao tail flute also appear in the liangyi pearl?!

Song Yan looked at the tao tail flute suspended at the edge of the Ink Pool, feeling quite absurd.

"liangyi pearl... isn’t it only related to the Dao of Swords?"

In his original understanding, this liangyi pearl should have been a small Legacy created by an ancient Sword Sect to ensure successors, containing some classics and secret treasures.

Some special functions related to Sword Cultivators are understandable.

For example, after refining, it can project the Dao Seed phantom from one’s Zhen Dao Sword Mansion; although it doesn’t seem to be of much use currently, it’s related and makes sense.

Another example, like the evil sword "Heart Demon" now, being able to store certain Flying Swords into the liangyi pearl, is also a function related to the Dao of Swords.

But this tao tail flute... what’s the situation?

Could it be that it was detected to have evil Cultivator Qi and was brought in along with the Flying Sword?

Song Yan had to start re-examining this two-colored treasure pearl.

Perhaps, it was not as simple as he had imagined.

He began to recall in detail.

"The first time the Liangyi Realm changed was when that nameless incantation was Cultivated to a certain level..."

"It seems like it passed the most basic test."

"The second change was..."

"After returning from Jiran Valley, severing the Spiritual Root, condensing the Sword Seed, and later comprehending the nascent Dao Heart..."

"This time is..."

"Obtaining a Flying Sword?"

Song Yan felt this guess was a bit hasty..."No, no..."

"Previously in the Jiran Valley battle, my Flying Sword shattered, and later I spent some contribution points in the Sect to get a new Flying Sword, and there were no anomalies during its complete refining..."

Song Yan murmured in his heart.

"Is it because this Flying Sword is of a higher grade, being a Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact..."

"Or..."

He looked at the small sword slowly floating and dispelling the demonic flames, falling into deep thought.

"Or is there something special about this ’Heart Demon’?"

...Chu State, Sheyang Sect.

The Sheyang Sect is located at the junction of Xin’an Prefecture and Guangling Prefecture.

Today was the entrance examination for a new batch of Disciples of the Sheyang Sect, and it had just concluded.

Thirteen young men and women brought by various patrons, and a pair of siblings who came on their own, only three had Spiritual Roots, and one of them had all Five Elements Spiritual Roots, making Immortal Cultivation hopeless.

Therefore, only two people could be admitted into the Sect.

Sheng Nian and Sheng Yun, the siblings, stood at the mountain gate.

Sheng Yun’s face was full of tears of pleading and reluctance: "Brother, can’t I not stay here?"

"Anyway, I have three Spiritual Roots, I can go to the Dongyuan Immortal Sect, let’s go find Brother Ye Sheng..."

"No..."

Sheng Nian shook his head, his gaze resolute.

"A Yun said when he returned home earlier that the Six Major Sects of Chu State are all the same. Inner Sect and Outer Sect are worlds apart."

"That Immortal said that with this Sheyang Sect Disciple token, given your three Spiritual Root Aptitude, you can be exceptionally promoted to the Inner Sect."

Sheng Nian was not an indecisive person when it came to important matters.

Ever since he and Song Yan jointly killed Tong Chuping, more and more strange Jianghu figures came to Shiliang Town, and even Cultivators appeared at that time!

If Song Yan hadn’t arrived in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Although he was unclear about the situation in the Cultivation World, and he didn’t know why that "Hermit Xin Shan" was desperately looking for him.

But he knew one thing: if he didn’t leave Shiliang, then the villagers in the town would only get closer and closer to the disputes of the Jianghu and even the Cultivation World.

So he took the Sheyang Sect Disciple token and Sheng Yun, and traveled all the way to the Sheyang Sect.

In the recent entrance examination, Sheng Yun tested with three Spiritual Roots, while he himself had no Spiritual Roots.

It was naturally disappointing to have no hope of the Immortal Dao.

However, if he could use this Opportunity to keep his biological sister away from him, and with the Sect’s protection, he didn’t necessarily think it was a bad thing.

"A Yun, listen to me..."

Sheng Nian looked seriously into the young girl’s eyes.

"Brother has no hope of Cultivating the Dao in this life, but A Yun said..."

"There are some reclusive experts in the Cultivation World, or ancient Legacies, that have methods to allow Mortals without Spiritual Roots to step into the Immortal Dao."

"If you Cultivate diligently, and find an Opportunity in the future, perhaps you can help me step onto the Immortal path, right?"

Not far away, an Inner Sect Cultivator was waiting to receive Sheng Yun.

Hearing the two speak, she sighed silently in her heart.

Reclusive experts in the clouds, profound Dao experts, ancient inherited treasures, unorthodox Legacies.

Which one is easy to obtain, and which one wasn’t born amidst the bloody storms of the Cultivator world.

Even if this little girl has unparalleled Aptitude and extraordinary Luck, and truly one day finds an Immortal trace, and has the strength and qualifications to seize an Immortal Opportunity... by then, her brother would probably already be old and frail, with his Immortal path cut off.

The Great Dao is desolate, and so-called relatives and friends in the Mortal world are like Mirror Flower, Water Moon; perhaps after coming out of seclusion from Cultivation, a hundred years would have passed in the Mortal world, leaving only a mound of yellow earth to mourn.

She would understand in the future... Looking at Sheng Nian’s departing figure on the mountain path, Sheng Yun’s tears fell like rain..."How is it?"

..."Now that the Immortal path is cut off..."

A gentle breeze came from the mountain path, and a faint voice echoed in the young man’s heart.

"You should finally give up, and acknowledge me as your master, right...?"

..."What if you don’t have a Spiritual Root?"

"In Demonic Cultivation, everything on the path to Immortal Ascension can be taken from others..."

"Why should you care about others’ opinions?"

..."Cultivating Immortality, Cultivating Immortality, is inherently Heaven-Defying... Cultivate Demonic Techniques, seize spiritual essence, kill all those in the world you wish to kill!"

"Everything is just for Immortal Ascension! This..."

"Only this deserves to be called Heaven-Defying change of fate."