Chapter Thirty-Four: Practice

After emerging from seclusion, King Yurong’s cultivation skyrocketed, and he truly made a name for himself at Wuzhang Mountain. The territories of the two fallen leaders merged, conveniently uniting in the absence of any other great demons. Persuaded by human envoys, the three factions became one. Even with King Yurong’s newfound strength, the Wuzhang Cavern’s power alone could not swiftly subdue the now human-led force. It was only a matter of time before victory was secured, so within the cavern, they were already celebrating the anticipated unification of Wuzhang Mountain.

That was, until today, when Yuan Wuji emerged from his own seclusion.

Yuan Wuji nodded in acknowledgment to King Yurong, then walked to the highest seat in the central hall and sat down slowly.

"Yang Vanguard, how long was I in seclusion, and what has happened?" Yuan Wuji inquired of Yang Ta.

"My lord... Before your seclusion began, you killed the Giant Python King and the Bear King. Since then, the three factions combined into one during your five years away. Later, the Second King emerged and kept them in check, but could not defeat them quickly. Now, eight years have passed since you entered seclusion," Yang Ta replied, trembling with fear before Yuan Wuji, only steady thanks to King Yurong’s infusion of spiritual power.

"It’s just as well they've become a single force—saves me the trouble of killing them one by one," Yuan Wuji said with a dismissive stroke of his chin.

"My lord, please, you must save Wolf Vanguard—he’s losing his mind!" Upon learning of Yuan Wuji’s return, Black Moon rushed at once to the central hall of Wuzhang Cavern.

On the second day of Yuan Wuji’s seclusion, Black Moon assisted Heicheng in refining a Blood Cloud Pill. As soon as the pill was consumed, Heicheng seemed to go mad, attacking everyone he saw, stripped of all self-control.

With no healers to be found atop Wuzhang Mountain—since only the human kingdoms had such people and kidnapping them was child's play for a cultivator of Black Moon's level—he brought several back, but none could help Wolf Vanguard. The first was slain by Black Moon in frustration. The second refused to treat Heicheng, calling him a demon, and was killed by Heicheng himself. The third, the fourth... each met the same fate.

Soon, physicians vanished en masse from the human kingdoms, causing widespread panic. To this day, healers remained a protected class among humans.

After repeated failures, Black Moon found himself helpless, even considering disturbing Yuan Wuji’s seclusion. Yet whenever he stood before that closed door, the overwhelming aura leaking from within warned him that Yuan Wuji was at a critical juncture. Any accident could have dire consequences. So Black Moon could only wait.

"What’s wrong with Wolf Vanguard that you need my help?" Yuan Wuji knew full well what was wrong with Heicheng, but feigned ignorance, toying with Black Moon.

Yuan Wuji signaled for King Yurong to escort the others out, leaving only himself and Black Moon in the hall.

As they all withdrew, Yuan Wuji made no effort to restrain the strange aura emanating from him.

The aura rolling off Yuan Wuji was so unsettling that Black Moon involuntarily summoned his spiritual power, filled with dread at what Yuan Wuji had become.

"My lord, Heicheng went mad after refining the Blood Cloud Pill. Please, I beg you, save my nephew." Terrified as he was, Black Moon dared not withhold his plea.

"I instructed Wolf Vanguard to recuperate before refining the pill, but you insisted you could help. You see the other three vanguards are just fine, don’t you?"

"My lord, I understand your meaning. As long as your demands are not excessive, I will do my best to accommodate you," Black Moon replied, catching Yuan Wuji’s drift—he was shifting responsibility and asking for a favor in return.

"I only wish to know about the Wuzhang Cavern and King Yurong," Yuan Wuji said.

"I cannot speak of my master’s business, but I’ll tell you anything else," Black Moon replied. Clearly, his master held a place above all else in his heart—otherwise, he wouldn’t remain silent even at the risk of his nephew.

"Tell me everything you can," Yuan Wuji demanded, not really expecting Black Moon to divulge everything.

"It was my master who secretly enabled King Yurong to seize Wuzhang Cavern. The life force inside the cavern balances the water and fire within King Yurong—otherwise, if he cultivated, the conflicting forces within him would destroy him. But I cannot tell you when King Yurong obtained it."

"Is that so?" Black Moon revealed little, offering no clues, not a word more than necessary.

Still, since he’d promised, Yuan Wuji would treat Heicheng—but for such a shrewd old fox, he’d exact a price from his nephew.

Yuan Wuji followed Black Moon to the cave where Heicheng was imprisoned. Faintly, they could hear snarls from within.

"It’s been eight years. If you hadn’t come out of seclusion, my lord, I’d have taken my nephew to my master by now," Black Moon admitted, showing just how much Heicheng meant to him.

"Let’s go in," Yuan Wuji said, curious to witness the Blood Cloud Pill’s side effects for himself.

Back then, ten pills were refined, but only four bestowed. Of them, Heicheng alone was gravely wounded—now the first to show these side effects.

In the center of the cave stood a stone pillar, and to it was bound Heicheng. His eyes burned crimson, his features twisted, and at the scent of life he bellowed ceaselessly at Yuan Wuji and Black Moon.

"You didn’t have to bind him so tightly," Yuan Wuji remarked, seeing Heicheng wrapped head to toe in iron chains—layer upon layer, until he resembled a ball of metal.

"My lord, you don’t understand. Ordinary ropes wouldn’t hold him; even a few chains would break in minutes," Black Moon replied, a deep ache in his eyes as he gazed at his nephew.

"Enough. Leave this to me," Yuan Wuji said.

Black Moon hesitated, but seeing no other choice, turned and left the cave.

Once alone, Yuan Wuji approached Heicheng. The aura radiating from him was so overpowering that Heicheng fell silent, terror plain in his blood-red eyes.

"What should I take from you?" mused Yuan Wuji. Missing limbs wouldn’t do. Heicheng was but a beast who’d cultivated into a demon, owing his power to Black Moon’s efforts. Now, he made an ideal specimen for Yuan Wuji’s cultivation. The Heaven-Devouring Demon Heart had no use for Heicheng’s flesh and blood; the Myriad Demon Devil Heart would consume his whole body in an instant. Only something deeper would do.

"Half your primordial spirit, and half your soul, I think. If anything goes wrong, you can hardly blame me—ha! You’ve been mad for eight years already," Yuan Wuji laughed, the glint in his eye chilling to behold.

Now, Yuan Wuji possessed both the innate Heaven-Devouring Demon Heart and the acquired Myriad Demon Devil Heart. He knew well the former’s power: through devouring the flesh and blood of powerful beings, he could strengthen himself, or devour another’s primordial spirit to nourish his own. The Myriad Demon Devil Heart, on the other hand, could devour any living thing to increase its strength—but unlike the Heaven-Devouring Demon Heart, it nourished the soul itself, not the primordial spirit.

Put simply, the primordial spirit governed the three souls and seven spirits, while the soul governed the seven emotions and six desires—fundamentally different domains.

What would happen if Yuan Wuji devoured half of Heicheng’s soul and half of his primordial spirit? Even he did not know.