The Demonic Heart Seed’s Trial

The short black-clad man, having relayed Ji Jie’s search for Tou via a communication talisman to Ji Jie, received the order to distract Yue Ye Si.

Manipulating events right under the nose of a Celestial Realm expert was no simple feat.

While Yue Ye Si was submerged in the lake, he returned to the surface.

Lingering for a moment over his previously made footprints, he then proceeded in the direction the tall black-clad man had taken.

Along the way, he meticulously erased the tall man’s tracks, leaving only his own behind.

Finally, he doubled back a certain distance, made a sharp turn…

Yue Ye Si pursued relentlessly, falling into several clumsy traps before finally apprehending a black-clad figure—

It was merely a wooden puppet.

‘I’ve been tricked!’

Yue Ye Si was consumed by regret, feeling utterly foolish for having lost her disciple.

She knew that wooden puppets were a forbidden art, requiring a controller within five hundred meters.

Consequently, she scoured the surroundings, searching for any clues left by the puppet’s master.

Indeed, she found a trail, but following these breadcrumbs led her to yet another wooden puppet, a discovery that felt like a profound insult to her intelligence.

She could not afford to waste any more time.

Following her adversary would only lead her astray.

She had realized how exceptionally cautious her opponent was; if she continued this way, she was unsure how many more puppets she would encounter.

Moreover, she would undoubtedly be led far away from Tou.

****

As night fell, the clouds in the sky abruptly parted, revealing a solitary moon that shone with exceptional brilliance.

Yue Ye Si ceased her movements, her head drooping as if lifeless, before she covered her face with one hand.

“Hahahaha! Ahahahaha!”

Sweeping aside the hair obscuring her eyes, she laughed maniacally.

Within her blue pupils, a crimson dot now bloomed, a terrifying sight that seemed to draw one into an abyss.

Demon.

“Die!”

Yue Ye Si seized the wooden puppet’s head, her hand suffused with an inky black demonic energy that poured into the puppet, swiftly coating its entire form like viscous paste.

When it came to forbidden arts, she was the true progenitor!

Just like that, the short black-clad man, who had been fleeing in the distance, suddenly found a pitch-black mire erupting beneath his feet, instantly engulfing him.

He struggled to escape, but numerous black hands reached out, grasping him and dragging him downwards.

“Dem… demon…”

This was the last message he relayed to Ji Jie.

“Die… everyone die!!! Ahahahaha! My little Tou, all who have harmed you shall perish.

Wait… wait for me, I’m coming to save you now…”

Ahahahaha!

Under the moonlight, Yue Ye Si held a fresh, crimson heart.

At her feet lay the short man, a gaping hole torn through his chest, his demise utterly gruesome.

*Squish*~~

Yue Ye Si took a bite, blood splattering, intensifying the already potent stench of gore.

The Heart-Eating Demoness!

Blood-soaked from head to toe, Yue Ye Si’s thin, crimson lips curved into a wicked arc, her laughter both enchanting and sinister.

“My little Tou, I crave… I crave so much more!

Tou… I long to devour… devour you…”

“Devour you…”

Ahahahaha…

****

Within a dark mansion, a room lay shrouded in purple gauze.

The two individuals on the bed had been sleeping soundly.

However, one of them, a maiden of unparalleled beauty whose face could bring tears to one’s eyes, suddenly sat upright.

Her body was wreathed in black demonic energy, her features contorted into a ferocious grimace, exuding a primal, bestial aura.

“Blood~~

“Hearts~~

“Oh dear! Little Shana, what’s gotten into you!”

Beside her, the girl who had been sleeping with her was a blonde youngster, whose hair was styled into a large bun, making her head, combined with the bun, resemble a gourd.

Her appearance was utterly guileless, suggesting a distinct lack of intellect.

This was none other than Tou’s fifth master, Shui Wu.

Noticing the black, murky substance covering the girl named Shana, Shui Wu, despite her revulsion, still reached for a bedsheet.

She intended to wipe Shana’s body as if cleaning off dirty water.

“Master… are… are you an idiot! This is demonic energy on me, how could a mere bedsheet wipe it away!”

The maiden Shana was one of the two most exceptional talents of the current demon generation.

With the return of the Seven Great Guardian Kings of the Demon Race, she had been fortunate enough to catch the eye of the Fifth King, becoming Shui Wu’s disciple.

Yet, her Master Shui Wu seemed quite foolish!

Exceedingly so!

Were it not for the surging demonic energy emanating from Shui Wu, Shana would truly suspect her of being an impostor.

“It’s demonic energy! Th-th-then that’s even worse! How am I supposed to use you as a cuddle pillow and sleep like this!!”

“Cuddle pillow? Sleep?”

Three ominous black lines suddenly appeared on Shana’s pained face.

Disregarding the strange demonic energy covering her, she cracked her knuckles, then lunged at Shui Wu like an immense shadow.

“Didn’t you say that us sleeping together would make my demonic energy stronger?

I’ve always felt something was off, and my demonic energy hasn’t shown any signs of increasing.

It seems you…”

Shana’s face, contorted as if she meant to devour someone, suddenly drew close to Shui Wu, startling her into a trembling ‘Eeeh—’ as she recoiled in terror.

With a *thud*, she tumbled backward, landing headfirst on the floor.

“It seems, Master, your true colors are finally showing!

You claimed you’d teach me powerful forbidden arts, but in reality, you just lusted after my body, didn’t you!

You pervert, over a hundred years old and still so foolish.”

“My… my dear disciple, your master truly didn’t lie to you!

I’ll transmit my demonic energy to you right now, so you can truly understand what a powerful demoness is.

Eeeeyahyahyahyah!”

Shui Wu, having fallen and hit her head, found her already less-than-sharp mind becoming even duller!

Thus, she sprang up, unleashing her vast demonic energy, which descended upon Shana like a colossal mountain.

A Celestial Realm expert against a Spirit Vein Realm cultivator.

Shana should have been utterly paralyzed, pressed to the ground by such immense pressure!

Yet, this time, she merely knelt on one knee on the bed, dripping with cold sweat, but feeling an undeniable surge of strength within herself!

A sudden pang of guilt struck her, for she realized this power might have been bestowed upon her by Shui Wu.

Despite such immense strength, she had been so disdainful of Shui Wu, calling her a century-old fool.

How hurtful that must have been!

She couldn’t help but raise her head, her face flushed with shame, intending to apologize to her master.

However, Shui Wu seemed utterly astonished.

Her mouth hung open as she stared intently at Shana’s heart.

“Dem… Demonic Heart Seed! Your Demonic Heart Seed, how could it… it’s about to ex… explode! Ahhh! Run!”

“Huh?”

Shana felt her face being smacked repeatedly, producing loud *slap, slap, slap* sounds.

Actually, her foolish master didn’t seem to understand why this was happening to her.

Moreover, she had no time to question Shui Wu further; her body was consumed by blackness, and the Demonic Heart Seed in her chest felt as if it were ablaze.

She recalled being awakened by this very scorching pain, which was now intensifying to an unbearable degree.

“Mas… Master… what… what exactly is this… It hurts… it hurts so much…”

She writhed on the bed like a fish caught on a hook, her body contorting in agony.

“How should I know!

It looks like your Demonic Heart Seed is burning your demonic energy.

This… this I think I remember… I think I’ve seen it somewhere before!”

Shui Wu felt a sense of familiarity with the scene, but how could her dull mind recall the details?

She paced frantically around the room like a grasshopper on a hot griddle.

“The Demonic Heart Seed belongs to the Heart-Eating Demoness; can you contact her?

She might know something!”

Knowing full well her master’s foolishness, Shana prompted her.

“The Heart-Eating Demoness! Oh! I know!”

At the mention of the Heart-Eating Demoness, Shui Wu’s eyes instantly cleared considerably.

“Hehe! My dear disciple, this is a trial!

If you persevere through this pain, you will gain many benefits!”

“What benefits?”

“Hmph! The benefits are absolutely enormous, so don’t you worry!

Hurry and lie down, and experience the feeling of your demonic energy expanding even further after being burned.”

Realizing what was happening, Shui Wu didn’t hesitate, using her own power to pin Shana to the bed, preventing her from thrashing.

‘Demonic Heart Seed, Demonic Heart Seed.

Hehehe! That means Yue Ye Si used demonic energy.

But can she truly control herself in her current state?

She wouldn’t try to kill me again like a hundred years ago, would she!’

A shiver ran down her spine at the memory of Yue Ye Si’s madness a century ago, when she had attempted to devour her heart.

‘How utterly terrifying!’