Eternal Life Begins with Learning

Chapter 448: Chapter 413: No Two Suns in the Sky, No Two Lords on Earth

"Once I control this Demon Realm, I can mobilize its power to remove the Demon Soul’s curse for you, little friend."

The True Demon spoke again.

Chu Mu remained silent. He naturally didn’t believe a word of the True Demon’s bullshit.

’If the True Demon could really remove the curse that easily, why would a mighty Tier Four True Demon resort to such a convoluted scheme? He could have just had me refine a Divine Shadow Pill and sneak into some Secret Realm to take care of it. Why go to all this trouble just to drag me in as a sacrificial pawn?’

’Still, even though I don’t believe him, right now...’

’...I don’t seem to have any other choice.’

Chu Mu’s expression wavered. After a moment, just as the True Demon was starting to grow impatient, Chu Mu abruptly turned and silently sat cross-legged before the Heart of the Demon Realm.

The True Demon froze for a second, then burst into a hearty laugh. "Good! Good! Good!"

"Once this is done, I will certainly not treat you unfairly, little friend!"

Despite his words, the True Demon then raised his hand with a swipe. An invisible Power of Imprisonment instantly coiled around Chu Mu once more.

The True Demon formed another hand seal, and several beams of light landed in front of Chu Mu. Chu Mu felt the temporary Imprisoning Technique solidify, transforming into a cage-like structure that resembled an Array Prohibition, but wasn’t one.

Trapped inside, his Essence, Qi, and Spirit were unrestricted, but it was as if he had been paralyzed—his physical body couldn’t move an inch.

Chu Mu’s expression was calm. He wasn’t surprised.

’This Demon is Tier Four, with at least hundreds, if not thousands, of years of Cultivation.’

’How could an old monster like that leave any openings?’

He gave the True Demon an indifferent glance before turning his attention to the Heart of the Demon Realm. After staring for a moment, he slowly closed his eyes.

His Divine Sense surged, and the sensation of transcendence washed over him once more.

It felt as if the entire Demon Realm was under his control.

From his previous experience, Chu Mu knew this feeling of complete control was merely an illusion born from being inside the Heart of the Demon Realm.

While he could perceive the entire Demon Realm through its Heart, that perception was the limit of his ability.

The crisscrossing network of veins throughout the Demon Realm was entirely under the control of the Demon Lord’s Residual Soul. Only by breaking that control could he hope to seize even a sliver of power over this domain.

But facing the endless, surging tide of Demons, he could barely spare an ounce of concentration for anything besides fending them off.

In effect, he would charge into the fray and seize control of a vein, only for the True Demon to immediately follow, refining it and taking that control for himself.

It was a hopeless situation, a classic deadlock where the snipe and the clam fight, only for the fisherman to reap the rewards.

’Unless... an external force intervenes...’

Chu Mu formed a phantom grip on his Flaming Blade. As he watched the overwhelming Beast Tide of Demons charge toward him, an idea began to form.

’The snipe and the clam fight while the fisherman profits... it’s a dead end.’

’But what if... the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?’

’I might just have a chance to survive...’

But at this moment, Chu Mu had no more time to think.

The overwhelming Beast Tide of Demons had already swallowed him whole.

In this situation, he was the clam, and whether he wanted to fight or not, he had no choice!

Once he entered the Heart of the Demon Realm, all choices were gone.

The Spiritual Radiance Blessing had long since descended upon him. Having entered the Golden Core Realm, both his True Flame and his Sword Intent had undergone another transformation. Consequently, the Mighty Power of his unique Human Sword Unity Technique had leaped to a level he’d once found unimaginable.

A single, casual slash of his sword annihilated several Demons.

With each Demon that fell, the Demonic Qi flickering around the crisscrossing veins of the world before him seemed to dim.

But just as quickly, another wisp of Demonic Qi would invade and take its place. The fisherman was reaping the rewards at a frightening speed.

Slash after slash, Demons fell one after another.

Through his Divine Sense Perception, he could feel wisps of Demonic Qi gathering like rain. Even his enhanced Spiritual Radiance was useless against it. The strands of Demonic Qi passed through his body as if it were an undefended territory, slipping through his Sword Intent Barrier and ignoring the erupting Sword Intent to brand themselves directly onto his Divine Soul.

Chu Mu paid it no mind, continuing to slash, one strike after another.

However, a closer look would reveal that his slaughter of the Demons had become far more restrained than before.

Each slash was an exercise in the ultimate control of his Sword Intent True Flame, felling only a handful of Demons at a time.

’This endless slaughter... perhaps it’s the perfect opportunity to temper the edge of my Sword Intent...’

With this sudden thought, Chu Mu’s grim expression shifted.

’From my current perspective, the backlash curse from the Demon Soul seems impossible to solve.’

’But obviously, nothing in this world is truly unsolvable.’

’Take Pill Poison, for example. To an ordinary Cultivator, it’s practically incurable. It’s common knowledge in the Cultivation Immortal Realm that there is no solution for Pill Poison.’

’Yet, with my Sword Intent, Pill Poison is merely a minor inconvenience.’

’Think of the bloodline corrosion in the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World. Of the hundreds of thousands of Cultivators in Chixia City, ninety-nine percent of those afflicted by the Demon Beast Bloodline’s corruption either became inhuman abominations, had their minds twisted, or suffered both fates.’

’But is the negative influence of the Demon Beast bloodline truly incurable?’

’In reality, it’s only "incurable" for the low-to-mid-level Cultivators with insufficient Cultivation.’

’This Demon Soul backlash curse is clearly no different.’

’It’s only "unsolvable" for me at my current level.’

’It only means one thing: my Sword Intent isn’t strong enough!’

’If I reached the terrifying level of a Sword Dao Nascent Soul, how could it possibly be unsolvable?!’

Chu Mu’s eyes flashed, and a wave of heroic spirit unexpectedly surged through him.

Tempering the mortal heart to forge a fearless will!

The sharpness of the Sword Dao lies in absolute, unwavering fearlessness!

No matter the enemy’s strength, no matter the disparity in power, the sword must be swung without a trace of fear.

As his mentality shifted, his already fierce Sword Intent seemed to gain an inexplicable new quality.

His expression impassive, Chu Mu stood with his sword before the overwhelming Beast Tide of Demons. One slash fell after another, each accompanied by a flash of crimson light.

He did not know where this path would end, but he was in control of the journey.

The turmoil within the Demon Realm manifested in reality, growing ever more terrifying amidst the endless slaughter.

The entire sky of the Demon Realm was now shrouded in demonic clouds. These boundless clouds seemed to gain Spiritual Wisdom, morphing into thousands of surging Demons that blotted out the sky like an apocalyptic catastrophe.

Yet, in the very center of these demonic clouds, a single crimson streak shone like a lone boat on a stormy sea. It looked as if it could capsize at any moment, but in truth, it was a Stabilizing Needle, remaining as firm as a rock no matter how terrifying the tempest, not wavering in the slightest.

As time passed, the crimson light was not only not submerged by the demonic clouds, but it began to shine with even greater brilliance, growing ever more radiant!

Atop the gatehouse of the Demon City’s North City Wall, a figure in a Gilded Dragon Robe stood, gazing up at the churning demonic clouds in the sky.

In the dim Demon Realm, he should have been an incredibly conspicuous figure. Yet as the man stood there, the Demon Puppets didn’t react. Neither Chu Mu, whose perception extended throughout the entire Demon Realm from its Heart, nor the True Demon, noticed him in the slightest.

"A Demon Soul’s Residual Thoughts, a curse of reincarnation... To encounter a True Cultivator of Sword Intent like this one, reincarnation is but a pipe dream. The only option left is... Demonization..."

"However... a melon plucked by force is never sweet."

The man’s lips curled into a faint smile. With a soft chuckle, the figure standing on the gatehouse slowly vanished without a trace.

The rolling demonic clouds in the sky continued to churn, and the crimson-gold light continued to shine with a dazzling glare.

Within the illusion manifested by the Heart of the Demon Realm, his Sword Intent raged, peerless and unmatched.

Slash after slash, the sharp edge of his Sword Intent swept through the Beast Tide of Demons. The corrosive Demonic Qi, falling like rain, could eat away at his Divine Soul and his physical body.

But... Sword Intent was born from faith; the Divine Soul was merely its vessel.

No matter how severe the corrosion, it could not dull the edge of that chilling sword light, nor could it obscure the Sword Intent Faith that believed nothing was beyond its cut.

On his Light Curtain Panel, his Sword Intent, having broken through the bottleneck of Returning to the Essence upon his reaching the Golden Core Realm, had now entered a completely new state.

The Light Curtain Panel named this new state "Skill Nears the Dao," a realm above Returning to the Essence.

And now, amidst this endless slaughter, the Skill Level value for his Sword Intent, displayed after the "Skill Nears the Dao" realm, was skyrocketing at an unprecedented rate.

With every slash he made, empowered by the Spiritual Radiance and his own fearless mindset, a faint sense of enlightenment would surface in his mind.

’Skill Nears the Dao...’

’Just from those four words, I can glimpse the profundity of this realm.’

’Nearing the Dao... that means that even if my Sword Intent is almost divine, according to the Light Curtain Panel’s rules, I still haven’t truly stepped onto the path of the Sword Dao.’

’And yet, anywhere in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, no one would look at my Sword Intent and think I hadn’t truly set foot on the Sword Dao.’

’The Light Curtain Panel’s harsh evaluation standards clearly apply to Sword Intent as well.’

The thought vanished as quickly as it came. Chu Mu’s focus became absolute, more intense than ever before. His eyes saw only the Flaming Blade, the blossoming of his Sword Intent with each successive slash, and the Demons being annihilated one by one.

Under the edge of his Sword Intent, the crisscrossing veins of the Demon Realm began to transform at a rate visible to the naked eye. Like a fortress changing its banners after a new king takes the throne, the Heart of the Demon Realm was beginning to change masters.

It was just that in this fight between snipe and clam, the fisherman—the True Demon—was the one reaping all the benefits.

Chu Mu remained focused, content for now to play the part of a pawn.

But in the back of his mind, a realization was dawning.

’Even if I bear the backlash curse from the Demon Lord’s Residual Soul, willingly act as a pawn, and help the True Demon with his Refinement of this Demon Realm...’

’...this True Demon will never let me live.’

’This has nothing to do with anything else.’

’It’s purely about benefits—about this Demon Realm.’

’The sky cannot have two suns, nor can the earth have two masters!’

’Even in a struggle where the fisherman profits from the fight...’

’...there is one undeniable fact.’

’I am the vanguard. I am the one fighting the Demon Lord’s Residual Soul for the Heart of the Demon Realm, man to man, sword to soul. I am the one enduring the backlash curse and seizing control bit by bit!’

’Even if the True Demon is the one who ultimately benefits and finishes the Refinement, my influence on the Heart of the Demon Realm will inevitably remain.’

’As long as I live, that influence will persist.’

’I would have the chance to turn the tables and snatch control of the Heart of the Demon Realm back from the True Demon.’

’Right now, that possibility seems minuscule.’

’But if I were to reach Tier Four and gain the Cultivation needed to clash with the True Demon head-on...’

’...that possibility would become infinite.’

’At the very least, I’m certain that with my influence over the Heart, the True Demon would be unable to use the Power of the Demon Realm against me.’

’This Demon Realm is the True Demon’s home turf, but it would also become my home turf as its pioneer!’

’The True Demon would obviously never allow such a fatal weakness to exist.’

’I... must die.’

’Only then will this Demon rest easy!’

The light of his sword bloomed, and a cold killing intent now laced its sharp edge.

Chu Mu looked out over the Demon Realm. Across the vast, crisscrossing network of veins, the crimson and the ink-black were now split almost fifty-fifty.

He extended his senses. Although the True Demon had already taken and begun the Refinement of the actual control, as Chu Mu continued to seize more, his own subtle connection to the Heart of the Demon Realm grew clearer and clearer...

...

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