58 Sea of Consciousness
In the southernmost region of this world lay a colossal volcano, exuding an ominous aura of death. As one journeyed northward, the landscape transitioned from desolate, barren lands to a domain dominated by towering mountains that seemed to pierce the heavens.
Beyond the mountains, the scenery changed into lush, green expanses. Further north, the lands gave way to vast oceans, while at the world's northernmost reaches, mystical Life jade waters existed, emanating an aura of life.
The entire world was enshrouded in turbulent clouds of chaos qi, menacing to corrode everything in its path. Yet, encircling the world was a delicately woven taiji symbol that served as a protective barrier. This symbol that was connected to countless array formations surrounding the world, not only kept the chaos qi at bay but also gradually absorbed and purified it.
At the heart of this world, in a unique realm where the qi of all five elements converged, a fragile soul existed. This soul was at the cusp of stepping into the nascent soul realm, and it was nurtured and safeguarded by the entire world.
This was Jianyu's inner-world core, which worked through a delicate yet intricately crafted harmony.
At this point, the majority of Jianyu's concentration was directed toward absorbing the chaos qi created due to forcefully absorbing foreign qi from treasures, without refinement. After successfully accomplishing that, he could then shift his focus to dealing with the embryonic inner devil.
Thanks to his memories and what he'd learned in recent years, Jianyu was aware that the inner-devil tribulation he faced now was a lot like the ones he'd faced before, perhaps even the same.
The inner-devil tribulations are designed to test a cultivator's mental fortitude just like in his previous life. They bring to the surface their deepest regrets, fears, and desires, aiming to divert them from their chosen path. Failing to overcome these trials results in the creation of an inner-devil, a mental enemy that threatens to seize control of one's mind.
In Jianyu's case, his inner-devil tribulations had been prematurely halted, leaving him in a perplexing situation with a half-formed inner-devil that proved more challenging to eliminate.
Each inner-devil possesses a core, a heartfelt source of torment for the cultivator. Conquering this core is the key to dispelling the inner-devil. However, in Jianyu's unique circumstance, where the inner-devil was still taking shape, identifying this core posed a great challenge.
Fire produces Earth, Earth bears Metal, Metal collects Water...
Jianyu began his meditation, continuing to refine and stabilize his qi for hours.
...
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...
Having partially subdued the turbulent Chaos qi, Jianyu decided to explore the depths of his sea of consciousness and resolve the matter of his inner-devil. As he concentrated his mind, he found himself in a shadowy realm.
No matter where he turned his gaze, there was nothing but an endless emptiness. Finding no discernable object, he cautiously took a step forward into this seemingly boundless abyss.
As he ventured deeper into the abyss, taking countless steps, Jianyu suddenly halted in his tracks.
*Splish *Splash
The sounds of water splashing startled him, causing Jianyu to peer down at his feet. There, he observed black waters covering the land beneath his feet, its reflective surface showing his image, but soon he found that his reflection was encircled by figures from his first life.
Raising his eyes to confront the people in the reflection, Jianyu was bewildered to find himself alone, with no one else around.
*SPLASH!!
Just as he was about to look back at the reflection again, a hand emerged from the water, latching onto his leg and tugging him into the inky depths. "Urgh-!" Jianyu groaned, hastily shielding his eyes from the rush of water that splashed onto his face.
|You...| A dull and somber voice spoke up, sending a shiver down Jianyu's spine. He looked up and was met with the visage of "his" grandmother, her once kindly and wrinkled face now twisted with anger and anguish. |It's all because of you that...|
Jianyu had seen enough. He turned to look at the others surrounding him.
|If only you took it more seriously...| He couldn't help but smile nostalgically, recognizing the familiar grumbling voice of Miss Bodyguard.
|Because of you, my sister...!| Although he didn't remember this person, Jianyu had a hunch as for why she was cursing him, and since there were many others in the crowd with similar stories, he didn't spend much of an effort to recall who she was.
And then, there was a child with eyes of a strange mix of black and blue, wearing an innocent smile. The boy simply stood there without saying anything, much like the how Jianyu remembered him to be.
A single, half-hearted flick of his sleeve, and that was all it took for Jianyu to disperse these shadows from his past life. He wouldn't allow his past to hold him captive. The recollections of his first life had grown so faint that, without this reminder, he wouldn't have recalled much about them at all. He simply didn't care enough anymore.
Nevertheless, there was one lingering thought about his past that occupied his mind, 'That boy... I wonder what happened to him...'
Setting his sights into the deep inky abyss, Jianyu continued to wander.
...
After some time, Jianyu arrived at the location of the "core" of his inner-devil. The murky ground beneath his feet felt sticky and slimy, and towering structures made of a similar substance loomed before him. These structures bore countless heads, all of which were eerily familiar to Jianyu.
As Jianyu stepped forward, the heads simultaneously turned towards him, emitting angry squeals and howls, cursing at him for various reasons.
[Fiend Suppression Blade]
Without hesitation, Jianyu unleashed a sword strike using an astral blade. As the blade passed through, it silenced the shouts of the countless heads and disintegrated the murky black constructs.
This technique was originally created by his sect to combat Abyssal creatures during a spillage of the "abyss" in his previous life. Modified by Jianyu to its current state, it had become a potent weapon against inner-devils and other similar creatures.
However, just as the screams were reduced to but a whisper, a malevolent force rebounded, and he heard an indiscernible voice.
|████| |██████████| |███████|
The whispers transformed back into agonizing screams, and Jianyu was forcefully expelled from his sea of consciousness.
...
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...
In his room, Jianyu clutched his chest and gritted his teeth in agony. A searing headache throbbed through him, and his body felt as if it were burning from the inside as his qi spiraled into chaos.
However, he tried to maintain his lotus position, meditating for hours until he could finally move around without the fear of dying to his own unstable Qi.
As he opened his eyes, Jianyu's expressionless face remained devoid of emotions, resembling more a meticulously crafted doll than a living being.
He exhaled grey clouds of impurities as he sighed, "For now, I can afford to overlook the inner devil, thanks to the Untethered Heart Mantra..." He mumbled to himself with no sense urgency present in his mannerisms.
The 'Untethered Heart Mantra', originally passed down from the great Dao sage to Zhou Tiandi, was a technique designed to allow its practitioners to perceive the world with the detachment of an outsider.
However, Zhou Tiandi had personally adapted this technique to a unique purpose. He had modified it to distance himself from his own 'emotions', enabling him to observe his own life as an impartial observer would.
Effectively rendering oneself immune to the influence of their inner devil, but at the same time, unable to conquer or resolve it.
Soon he returned to monotonous cultivation, refining his Qi as he had for the past days.
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