Longzang

Chapter 957 Someone is plotting against me
Ordinary people from all walks of life regrouped, once again taking the exam in groups of 100,000. The exam questions were the same as before, consisting of the same three questions.

Having learned from their previous experience, the mortals acted swiftly, quickly completing the three questions. However, this exam was far less effective than the last, only narrowing down the candidates to a few hundred, and even then, the results weren't entirely certain. Wei Yuan personally checked the few hundred shortlisted candidates, and sure enough, the Inner Demon wasn't among them.

It seems that the inner demon that has come this time is one that can bend and stretch.

Wei Yuan's expression was solemn. Clearly, the new inner demon had somehow learned of the previous person's fate, and this time his answer was flawless, without revealing the slightest flaw.

But soon the second test paper was handed out. This time, all the mortals were divided into two groups: half to fight and half to do the test. They would switch after an hour.

After the second batch of papers was finished, a bolt of lightning suddenly appeared in the sky above the human world and struck the head of a girl who looked only seventeen or eighteen years old!
The girl's face first showed confusion, then instantly turned ferocious, her eyes suddenly filled with hundreds of tiny pupils as she glared viciously at Wei Yuan in the air, her mouth uttering nothing but venomous curses.

But Wei Yuan didn't give her a chance to speak at all. Immortal light rolled in and instantly turned her into ashes.

With the second inner demon defeated, Wei Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. This time, he used Ji Liuli's method to deal with the inner demon. The second chapter of the exam mainly covered mathematics and some inferences derived from it.

The mortal realm has been operating stably for many years, and the vast majority of its inhabitants have been enlightened and possess a considerable foundation in mathematics. They know how to solve most of the problems on the exam papers. Even by the standards of the outer world, these mortals have essentially completed compulsory education.

But the trap is precisely set here. Several questions on the exam paper have two correct answers. One is to answer according to the default principles of the universe, based on the principle of carrying over from ten to one.

However, the Heavenly Dao represented by the purple dome is different; the invading monsters actually use a base-3 system. Calculating based on this leads to another answer. The mortal corrupted by inner demons likely has some mathematical background, but since there's no mention of number systems on the entire scroll, they were caught off guard, and sure enough, a ternary inner demon was revealed through deception.

With the second inner demon vanquished, Wei Yuan felt no joy whatsoever. The cultivators looked at the sky and saw that the azure sky was as clear as ever, which made them realize that things were not over yet.

Sure enough, not long after, Wei Yuan felt a vague sense of unease, as if a speck of dust had gotten into his eye.

Wei Yuan opened his eyes and said with a wry smile, "Another inner demon has arrived. This is the third one."

Ji Liuli's relaxed and composed expression vanished as he frowned and said, "Even if we wipe out this one, there will probably be new inner demons. We can't take shortcuts; we must start from the root and find a solution."

Feng Tingyu raised his hand and asked, "How is this inner demon different from the inner demon tribulation during Yu Jing's time?"

It's common knowledge that the disciples of the Mingwang Palace lack common sense. Feng Chutang explained, "The inner demon of Yujing is self-generated by the soul, which can be said to be a self-projection, or it can be regarded as the prototype of the Three Corpses. At that time, the essence of the inner demon tribulation was fighting against oneself. Some genius cultivators' inner demons will be mutated by external influences, but in essence, they are still self-generated in the sea of ​​consciousness."

However, what Wei Yuan is currently facing is a tribulation typically encountered only by those who have reached the Immortal realm. The demons all originate from beyond the heavens, so to be precise, it should be called the Heavenly Demon Tribulation. It's just that the older cultivators didn't distinguish between them clearly and used the same term interchangeably, which has persisted ever since. The problem now is that no one knows how many demons there are this time.”

"Isn't there any way to protect yourself?" Feng Tingyu asked again.

Feng Chutang sighed, "Wei Yuan is neither an immortal nor Yu Jing now. Although his mental world is vast, the basic rules of heaven and earth are not yet perfect. It is like a leaky house, full of flaws, and he cannot defend against the Heavenly Demons at all. But the imperfection of the rules of heaven and earth also has its advantages. The vast power of heaven and earth cannot be balanced, which will produce strong distortion and suppression. The stronger the Heavenly Demons that come, the stronger the distortion they will suffer. So the Heavenly Demons that come are not strong enough, otherwise there would be no way to resist them."

Feng Tingyu seemed to understand but not quite; he closed his eyes slightly and began to ponder.

Zhang Sheng suddenly said, "I'll test this Heavenly Demon's methods first."

A young Taoist priest appeared above her head. He raised his hand and pointed, and a celestial sword beside his seat automatically unsheathed and flew into Wei Yuan's brow. There were also three other celestial swords vaguely visible beside the young Taoist priest's seat, but they were still just phantom images and had not yet taken shape.

Zhang Sheng then closed his eyes slightly, and his divine sense appeared in the mundane world.

Amidst the everyday hustle and bustle of life, she no longer concealed herself; her robes fluttered, and she appeared as graceful as a fairy. She pointed to the sky, and the celestial sword appeared, then split into two, then four, and in the blink of an eye, it became endless, falling upon the mortals below, each receiving one.

In an instant, all mortals felt a great calamity was about to befall them. Some stood frozen in place, terrified; some wept bitterly; some fled in all directions; and some questioned the heavens. Suddenly, a black aura rose from an old man, as if he wanted to escape. But as soon as the black aura appeared, the million sword shadows vanished completely, leaving only the immortal sword itself hanging high in the sky.

The immortal sword transformed into a beam of light and vanished in a flash, while the black mist, accompanied by a scream, turned into green smoke.

Zhang Sheng did not stop, but bowed in the air, and another elderly Taoist appeared. The old Taoist seemed to hold a small pagoda in his hand, which instantly emitted endless light!
Under the bright light, the previously empty space suddenly developed faint cracks. Within these cracks, black energy swayed and moved like growing aquatic plants.

Zhang Sheng sighed inwardly and then left the mortal world.

Wei Yuan watched from the side, completely impressed by the two Taoists' skills and demeanor. He meticulously recorded their movements, postures, and even the spectrum of their spells, for future reference.

He admired Zhang Sheng even more, truly unable to comprehend how she came up with the idea of ​​three Daoist figures; he himself couldn't have come up with such a thing. There are only three Sword Tombes in the world, yet they seem to embody all the ultimate truths of the world; simply sitting there can force even immortals to automatically admit defeat.

Looking at our own lives, though there are many people, it fully illustrates what a mob is.

Han Li likes to play dumb to outsmart others, and he's inherently lacking in class. Jun Weizhi has the looks and demeanor, but his abilities are somewhat lacking. Furthermore, someone as exceptionally intelligent as him is prone to being petty and calculating, exuding a narrow-mindedness. As for Fuyao, her flirtatiousness is too direct and lacks charm…

In short, after witnessing these three methods, Wei Yuan now finds everyone disagreeable.

In the plaza, Zhang Sheng opened his eyes and said, "Wei Yuan's inner world's Great Dao is incomplete and cannot be sealed off; the Heavenly Demons will continue to emerge..."

At this moment, Wei Yuan suddenly gave a wry smile and sighed, "Another one has arrived... Are they lining up outside to get in?"

Zhang Sheng frowned. Another middle-aged Taoist appeared above his head, a ball of light appearing in his hand, the nature of which was unclear. The middle-aged Taoist disappeared after only a few breaths. Zhang Sheng had attacked three Taoists in succession, and his forehead was already covered with fine beads of sweat.

After the middle-aged Taoist disappeared, Zhang Sheng's face flashed with murderous intent. He said, "This is not actually a mental world, but a Dharma form, and it is hidden in this world. I was wondering why so many heavenly demons came here. It seems that this is not a coincidence, but someone's scheme."

Ji Liuli said, "If it's a scheme, then it's not just about marking the target, but also about opening a passage. That's a big deal!"

Zhang Sheng asked, "Does Immortal Lord Yan Shi have a solution?"

Ji Liuli sighed, "Our master didn't react beforehand, which means the person who plotted this was hiding in the shadows and their methods were extremely clever. Moreover, our master is currently under immense pressure, surrounded by powerful enemies who are all eyeing us covetously. Our master is practically sleeping with the Ancestral Sword in his arms."

Ji Liuli didn't say it aloud, but everyone understood. She worried that someone was secretly plotting something, using Wei Yuan to create an opening in Yan Shi's scheme, with the real target being Yan Shi.

At this moment, Wei Yuan understood everything and immediately said, "I understand. There's no need to alarm the Palace Master. The inner demon is nothing more than that; as long as the heavens don't break, it can't do anything to me. It seems this tribulation won't be over anytime soon, but that's alright, if it's not over, it's not over!"
"Bring it on, we'll deal with it; bring it on! Everyone, eat and drink as usual. I want to see how long the person behind this massive operation can hold out!"

Zhang Sheng pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's one way, but remember, you must not confront your inner demons head-on. Just let those people in the world of inner visions take care of it."

Wei Yuan laughed and said, "A mere inner demon, what's so scary about it? You underestimate me! Not to brag, but my Dao heart..."

Before Wei Yuan could utter his absurd words, Zhang Sheng coldly interrupted him: "I've already seen it. Your Dao heart is riddled with flaws, like a sieve. Putting aside everything else, just the word 'lust' alone could condemn you to eternal damnation!"

Wei Yuan's arrogance vanished instantly, and at the same time, a chill ran through him. How did his teacher see through his flaws when he had concealed them so well?

(End of this chapter)