Chapter 490

Chapter 490: A Dead End with No Way Out

“Is this the tomb of a high-level demon cultivator?”

Li Hui realized, feeling a surge of countless demonic thoughts after merely glimpsing the golden coffin, as if whispers filled his ears, urging him under the influence of demonic energy, driving him to a frenzied desire for slaughter.

“Inner demons?”

At that moment, his inner demons erupted!

Li Hui took a deep breath, and layers of light and shadow filled his mind, pulling him toward the demonic path.

“What a powerful demonic intent; this has triggered my Inner Demon Trial.”

Everyone harbors greed, lust, and malice in their hearts, but a righteous heart must be maintained and guided to avoid straying from the path. This Inner Demon Trial felt like a floodgate had opened, scattering the righteous intentions in his heart.

As the righteous energy faded, demonic thoughts surged within him. Li Hui revealed an evil smile and waved his whisk to unleash nine fire dragons, using their power to recklessly annihilate the demonic creatures.

“Boom, boom, boom…” The sounds of destruction filled the air, causing ashes to fly and his murderous intent to deepen, as if he had fallen into a bottomless abyss.

“Kill!” The whisk expended all its talisman power, and nine large symbols soared into the sky, shining far away, annihilating countless demonic beings.

This place was saturated with demonic energy, and the embroidered ball could not withstand it, hence it had previously been sealed. Now, no one would awaken Li Hui as he exhausted the talisman power of his whisk and unleashed the Cloud-Brush Dragon Claw Technique, continuing his massacre of the demonic beings.

The more demonic creatures Li Hui killed, the more the surrounding demonic energy intensified, influencing him even further!

This felt like a road of no return; killing demons led to being consumed by demonic energy, and he would never be able to climb back from the abyss.

Until he depleted the Qi of Taiqing and began to consume the talisman power of the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays to form a tornado, shredding the demonic creatures, stirring the treasure cabinet to cause a hint of clarity to rise on his forehead.

“Something feels off!”

Li Hui’s heart raced as he struggled to control his emotions. He suddenly sensed a cold and mocking voice within him, “You wish to freely cultivate, yet you live bound by constraints, doing things step by step. When will you be able to do as you please? When will you be able to follow your own path? So many tribulations block your way on the path of cultivation; why not cut through with one sword? The truth is you are timid; you lack the courage. Hand your spiritual sense over to me! As the leader of the Heavenly Talisman Sect, it is truly shameful to have sunk to this level. Since the silver snake wants to devour ritual artifacts and treasures, just forcefully seize them. Is there anyone below mid-stage Bosa who can resist us? Become a demon! Only by becoming a demon can you be carefree and supreme; only by becoming a demon can you dominate the world!”

“Demon? You think you can call me that? I exhausted every means to escape from Wan Nest Island precisely to avoid the path of the demons. Demons are bound by their own energy; you are a slave to your inner demons. I ride the winds and laugh in the face of hardship, soaring freely. Even if I become a demon and my power increases greatly, I’d just be fastening shackles on myself, boasting until the heavens to dominate the world.”

“Li Hui, you are too stubborn! From childhood to adulthood, you are like Wild Cow, running down a single path until darkness. Little do you know there are a million roads; since you prefer shortcuts, why not walk the demonic path?”

“Ha ha ha! Everyone wants to take shortcuts; I admit the silver snake has restructured many situations, but they are not shortcuts. Each time, it has been a life-and-death choice!” Li Hui laughed. “I prefer to take the straight path instead of circumvention. The power I gather from the silver snake is done rightly.”

“Outrageous! Taking the straight path instead of the circumvention is merely a delusion of the lowly. To gain opportunities, why not opt for the twisted?”

“Four words: ‘Rather break than bend!’” Li Hui roared, his body vibrating with powerful energy, shining like an unsheathed sword revealing its unmatched sharpness.

That’s the kind of person he was: resilient and steadfast. He traversed the path of cultivation, and his heart was immensely strong. His usual calm demeanor concealed a fiery ambition; within him, there could not be even the tiniest deception.

“The way is the way; I am me. Where does the demonic path come from? Where does the demon within me come from? Inner demons, retreat!” Li Hui’s force was unyielding. Regardless of his innate quality, his innate character had been tempered.

A saying rang true: A sword’s sharpness emerges from polishing, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from bitter cold. He endured hardship and challenges, yet never strayed from his essence; he remained true to himself.

“Humph, obstinately ignorant; there will come a time for you to suffer…” The demonic thoughts temporarily receded, but he still needed to quickly find a way out; otherwise, he could not avoid the fate of falling into the abyss.

Li Hui glanced at the whisk and smiled wryly, “It’s over. If Jieyin knew I wasted this much, he’d surely scold me for centuries. Plus, I am utterly empty inside; it takes days to cultivate the Qi of Taiqing outside, and in this demonic realm, gathering energy is nearly impossible.”

Let alone the Qi of Taiqing; even spiritual energy was scarce here. The treasure cabinet repelled demonic energy, absorbing spiritual energy, yet it fell short of covering his consumption! Flying became a mere fantasy, relying on body refinement for swift movement.

Two hours slipped by, and Li Hui’s anxiety grew more pressing.

He desperately searched for materials to draw demonic talismans to reduce the nearby demonic energy, but after combing through, he realized that nothing could be found; the demonic creatures here all originated from the golden coffin, which seemed to be a transcendent demonic magic, having evolved to its peak.

Unable to find materials for talisman-making and no way out, it was evident that the demonic cultivators inside the golden coffin sought companions in death, making entry easy but exit impossible…

“What to do? I’m left with only the three golden needles left by Senior Ji.”

Li Hui pondered, “If I die here, can I use the golden needles to summon my future self? If I don’t die here, maybe I’ve already fallen into demonic corruption; summoning my future self would be even worse, wouldn’t it?”

“This…”

“Ah! It’s really perplexing; it feels like a death loop, much like endless hell.”

“Should I use the golden needles or not? If I use them, which one should I pick? The first needle is Late Wanxiang Stage, lasting two quarters of an hour. The second needle is Mid-Hongfa Stage, lasting two hundred moments. The third needle is Early Erudition Stage, lasting only thirty moments.”

“Late Wanxiang Stage? No, if my future self hasn’t fallen into demonic corruption, then that wouldn’t be enough to break through here! So the safer choice is to use the second golden needle to summon my Mid-Hongfa Stage self.”

“Two hundred moments equal two hundred breaths; though not long, it should allow for substantial feats at that level. I wonder if the consciousness will align with the present me or with my future self?”

Just then, a terrible wave of demonic creatures surged towards him. He had previously wiped out countless ones, yet unexpectedly, so many had evolved again in just two hours.

“Here goes! I bet my future self hasn’t fallen into demonic corruption.” Li Hui took out a golden needle and inserted it into the back of his neck, watching as the demonic creatures flooded in like a tidal wave, ready to consume him.

No sound, no phenomena; his body felt as if it were torn apart and devoured, becoming fodder for millions of demonic creatures, but something was different after all.

Suddenly, a deep aura descended.

A narrow crack opened in the air, suddenly expanding, as if lifting the curtains to see in all directions.

“Eh? Am I back in the past?” A voice of surprise echoed from nowhere, then murmured, “The heavens are in flux; why am I using the golden needle in Jun Mo Xiao’s tomb? I remember entering demonic corruption and attacking the golden coffin, obtaining Jun Mo Xiao’s heritage while simultaneously inheriting the elderly demon’s belongings and successfully leaving this place.”

“Hmph, to drag me back at this moment makes my sect one possibility within time. However, shadows are not reality; of course, I must carefully arrange to set myself on the path of demons, and to go even further.” Li Hui, Cold Smile, scanned the demonic creatures around him and declared, “Haven’t you seen your master? Why don’t you retreat?”

“Buzz…” The surge of demonic energy intensified, and the demonic creatures trembled, halting their advance out of fear.