I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 322 - 187: Divine Skills - Heart Demon Substitute

Chapter 322: Chapter 187: Divine Skills - Heart Demon Substitute

"The rhythm of this world is so slow..."

Gu Shanhai complained, only then did he realize the issue, feeling like humans were living the life of a sloth, everything leisurely and slow.

He had been in Xuanji Realm for almost half a year now, but to Chengyun Sect, it felt like just half a month had passed. Whether disciples or elders, everyone was languid, either cultivating or pondering every day, and once they closed off for cultivation, it could be for ten days to half a month, coming out as if it were just yesterday.

Such a pace was utterly incompatible with Gu Shanhai. Every time he sought out someone, he felt as if he were forcing them into a 996 work schedule.

"Forget it, even the Sect Leader has such a leisurely demeanor, handling matters with years as the unit of time..."

A powerful cultivator taking a nap could mean the passing of a generation for mortals.

In this half year, Gu Shanhai had not practiced his own cultivation, and correspondingly, his Heart Demon had not gained strength either. Looking at it, it seemed resigned to its fate. Anyway, no matter how Gu Shanhai dissected or experimented on it, it remained silent, though still cursing inwardly, of course.

The reason it dared not curse out loud was because anyone with a sane mind knew it was better to keep silent at such times to avoid mid-process torture.

During this period of research, Gu Shanhai had finally completed his corresponding experimental studies.

He had thought it would take three to five years, but he had managed to finish in just half a year. However, it was only his own cultivation that was settled, not that all people could avoid their fates.

With limited data on hand, he could not manage such a large project, only his minor ones.

"Right, I have some good news for you, I’m planning to send you back," Gu Shanhai said to the Heart Demon.

The Heart Demon gave Gu Shanhai a cold look and snorted without speaking, thinking Gu Shanhai was surely finding another excuse to torture him.

Previously, using reasons like his skin being too smooth and wanting to cut it open or his forehead being particularly shiny and wanting to look at the internal structure to torture him in various inhumane ways.

"How can you have this attitude!" Gu Shanhai glared, very dissatisfied with the Heart Demon, "Look at you, eating my food, drinking my beverages, living in my abode, and now you even dare to snub me? Fine, today I must deal with you."

As Gu Shanhai performed his soliloquy, the Heart Demon hardened his expression, suggesting to bring it on, as he was not afraid anyway.

Seeing the Heart Demon like this, Gu Shanhai afforded no courtesy.

"You, after you go back, must take good care of yourself, remember to drink on time, smoke more if you’re not feeling well, and make sure to stay up late every day..."

Hearing this, the Heart Demon was struck speechless. He who followed these instructions would meet an early demise. Then, he also realized that this behavior was a bit unusual this time.

"Wait a minute, you’re modifying me!" the Heart Demon suddenly realized something was off with Gu Shanhai, having had half a year of being tormented by him, he had gotten to know some of Gu Shanhai’s objectives.

Though his strength hadn’t increased over the half year, his intelligence had grown sufficiently, much smarter than before.

"Less meddling in adult matters," Gu Shanhai answered perfunctorily.

The Heart Demon began to struggle incessantly. He wasn’t scared of dying, but he feared that Gu Shanhai had done something to him that would make living worse than dying.

"Don’t move around, or what if I mess it up," Gu Shanhai controlled the chains, forcibly restraining the other party. With his small build, struggling seemed futile.

A half-year with no increase in strength for the Heart Demon did not mean that Gu Shanhai hadn’t grown, the opponent was measured with cultivation as the standard, not by Shanhai himself.

"You’re doomed, the heaven and earth won’t let you off!" the Heart Demon seemed rather furious and powerless at this moment.

Gu Shanhai simply didn’t care about what the other said, instead focusing intently on his work, continuously modifying the Heart Demon with mana.

The composition of the Heart Demon was something he had figured out long ago; it was similar to a personality between a spiritual entity and a psychological illness, not a complete being, and it was for this reason that Heart Demons winning over cultivators to occupy their bodies would lead to mana exhaustion and death.

If the host dies, how could an illness survive on a corpse? At most, it extends its life a few days before dying.

After obtaining this information, Gu Shanhai was somewhat bemused—turns out a group of cultivators had triggered psychological illnesses.

Of course, it couldn’t quite be seen that way, since Heart Demons weren’t simply psychological issues and couldn’t be judged by common sense.

Gu Shanhai was swift in action. The Heart Demon was completely transformed into an odd and grotesque form.

"What all cultivators actually don’t know is, after they kill the Heart Demon, the Heart Demon doesn’t truly die but returns to the cultivation, oh, it should be that they return to the energy organs evolved from their cultivation. Hence, they feel that killing the Heart Demon allows them to increase their own strength levels."

"Essentially, this is an illusion. The mana originally belonged to them and was divided during their cumulative cultivation. That’s why the Heart Demon possesses the same strength as them."

"You didn’t know this either, did you?"

Gu Shanhai looked at the Heart Demon, now bereft of its spiritual intelligence and self-awareness, and said with a smile.

"Killing the Heart Demon as a method only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause. If you want to get to the heart of the matter, just refine the Heart Demon, and then send it back as an insider."