If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1355 Returning to One's True calling, a soul-searching examination

"So it was all to bring about calamity in accordance with Heaven's will."

The purple-haired old demon not only showed a look of realization, but the vigilance and killing intent hidden in his eyes, as well as the demonic power that was about to be unleashed on his body, also dissipated by more than half.

"How many of you came this time, and who are you planning to rob?" she asked curiously.

The Soul Devouring Demon Lord looked wary and said, "Fellow Daoist should know the rules of the Holy Sect. Before the tribulation is successfully set up, not a single piece of information can be revealed, not even to disciples, masters, or elders."

The purple-haired old demon waved his hand, "Alright, I won't pry into what kind of calamity you're setting up, nor will I ask who the target of this calamity is. You just need to swear an oath—that your grudges and entanglements with me will end here."

The cause and effect have been completely severed. Before and after the calamity, I will no longer be entangled with you.

Then you can go wherever you need to go.

I returned to Baiyun Water Marsh to plan my Heavenly Dipper Technique.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's expression softened slightly. He turned to the Bewitching Heart Venerable and gestured for him to quickly get rid of the old demon.

Despite his resentment and frustration, Venerable Mi Xin said, "I swear to Demon Ancestor Rahu that after today's parting, I will never again inquire about the identity and origin of the 'Hundred Transformations Demon Lord,' nor will I seek revenge against him."

If this oath is broken, one will be tormented by demonic spirits, their hearts devoured, and never be freed.

The purple-haired old demon smiled gently, "Fellow Daoists, I wish you success in your tribulation and that your wishes will be fulfilled. I'm off!"

After saying that, she turned and sped off towards Mangdang Mountain, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Even after she disappeared, the Bewitching Venerable and the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord were still on guard.

They released their spiritual senses and carefully sensed for a moment. The Bewitching Venerable was the first to lower his guard and said with a gloomy face, "Soul Devourer, I have a favor to ask of you."

After we finish our calamity, you will help me kill this old demon.

Half of what I gained in this calamity can be divided among you.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord, who had been on high alert, immediately lost his composure upon hearing the Heart-Bewitching Venerable's words and shouted, "Have you forgotten your oath?"

"Of course I haven't forgotten, but that old demon insulted me too much. If I don't give him a good beating, my demonic thoughts won't be able to flow freely."

"I will not break my oath. I will not go to find the Hundred-Faced Demon myself; you are the ones who helped me kill him."

The Soul Devouring Demon Lord shook his head and said, "That old demon is no easy person. I didn't notice him when he appeared, and when he left, he instantly traveled dozens of miles and disappeared from my sight. I couldn't catch up with him even if I wanted to."

This kind of enemy is too terrifying; I don't want to provoke him unnecessarily.

The Venerable Bewitching Heart said, "It's not that there's no chance or result; I will give you—"

Before the words were even finished, an intense, boiling sense of crisis rose from my anus and instantly filled my entire chest, my entire atrium, and my entire brain.

Before he could react, a dazzling magical light erupted beneath him.

They were a hundred feet away from him, yet arrived in an instant.

"Ahhh~~" The Soul Devouring Demon Lord was also within the attack range, but he could still react: first, he retreated at lightning speed, and then released a great divine power—letting out a shrill scream of shock and anger, a stream of colorful smoke flashing with silver light shot out from his throat and shot towards the location where the demonic light erupted.

"No~~" At the last moment, the Bewitching Venerable finally unleashed his potential, quickly transforming into a Heavenly Demon state and disappearing dozens of feet away in an instant.

But the deadly crisis lingered and did not disappear.

In the next instant, two enormous, basket-like demonic claws emerged from the demonic light, grabbing the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord and the Bewitching Heart Venerable respectively. Then, the sharp fingers of the demonic claws transformed into sword energy.

Five fingers, five sword energies with different sword intents. The sword energies intertwined and were gently stirred. The space above the demonic claw was shattered into chaos.

The body of the Bewitching Venerable lasted only half a breath before shattering into countless fragments. Before the fragments could even bleed, they were cut into even smaller pieces, ultimately returning to their origin as a cloud of demonic energy.

His demonic soul was also riddled with holes by the "Hundred Shots, Hundred Hit, Five Swords Tear the Sky Claw" technique, losing its magic and soul power, and turning into a weak demonic spirit.

The Soul Devouring Demon Lord was in slightly better condition and lasted longer.

Because the "Five Swords Tear the Sky Claw" originated from the method used by the Bewitching Heart Venerable to suddenly attack and kill, it is the most effective counter to the Bewitching Heart Venerable.

However, the Soul Devouring Demon Lord's physical body was no stronger than that of the Bewitching Heart Venerable. He only lasted for two breaths before his physical body was first shattered and then returned to its original form as demonic energy by the "Five Swords Tear the Sky Claw".

"Ever-Changing Demon Lord, you have broken your promise! The Demon Ancestor will surely keep his oath and make you suffer a terrible death!"

Moreover, a small portion of the Soul Devouring Demon Lord's soul escaped, unleashing a hateful curse upon the attacker.

The Bewitching Venerable can directly transform into a Heavenly Demon and freely travel through any dimension.

When he exists in his demonic form, matter cannot stop him, laws cannot stop him, and even the primordial energy of heaven and earth cannot stop him. Only a firm "wall of the mind" can prevent him from getting close.

This is the "Heavenly Demon Great Dao Rule" of the Pangu World, which granted him a certain degree of immunity to the Pangu Great Dao Rule.

To counteract this "bewitching demon" state, the Five Swords Sky-Tearing Claw uses the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth to evolve a fragmented miniature world.

Within this small world, Xiaoyu can use the "Tiangang Dao Fa" to reverse Yin and Yang and manipulate creation, directly weaving the "Great Dao Rules of the Anti-Pangu Great Dao" according to his own will.

In this way, the Bewitching Demon Lord in the "Bewitching Heavenly Demon" state can be trapped and strangled.

However, the Soul Devouring Demon Lord transformed into another kind of "extraterrestrial demon"—the Soul Devouring Demon.

Even the Soul-Devouring Demon could not resist the Five Swords Sky-Tearing Claw.

The Heavenly Claw's internal space was so powerful that even the Great Dao of Pangu was denied. How could the Soul-Devouring Demon, who was on par with the Bewitching Heavenly Demon, resist?
He couldn't resist, but he could use the Soul-Devouring Demon's talent—to devour and corrode souls.

First, he devoured his own soul, then projected the demonic spirit outside the Five Swords Sky-Tearing Claw space.

It's like he eats himself. After eating himself, the "new flesh" (demonic spirit) that grows can be projected into any spacetime dimension.

He projected the "new flesh" outside the Sky-Tearing Claw space, left a curse, and instantly crossed several dimensions, disappearing completely.

He used this trick to deal with Xuanmen cultivators in the past. Even if separated by the cave world of the middle realm and blocked by immortal arrays, it could still devour the cultivator's soul, turning it into a demonic spirit that could come and go in an instant, unstoppable.

"When have I ever made a solemn oath? Only deluded fools make oaths."

"I'm a great demon; I can break my promises and get rich whenever I want, and I can ambush you whenever I want."

Only then did the purple-haired old demon pass through the multicolored smoke exhaled by the Soul Devourer.

"Oh no, I've been hit! What kind of evil magic is this? My soul is decaying!"

The sneak attack just now was a long story, but in reality, the two sides only exchanged one blow.

Xiaoyu returned using the stealth technique of "Assassinating the Bewitching Demon Lord," and instantly launched an attack on the two demons.

The Bewitching Demon Lord fell for the trap without any resistance.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord remained somewhat vigilant. Or rather, the sense of crisis in his spiritual perception never completely disappeared, and he still had time to unleash his innate great divine power—the Soul-Devouring Demon Curse—on the suddenly returning old demon.

It's like the two of them are exchanging blows; you use your superpowers to attack me, and I use my superpowers to attack you.

This is a battle scene that Xiaoyu has been trying her best to avoid.

The colorful demonic mist spread out over a wide area, and Xiaoyu, who was about to unleash her "Five Swords Sky-Tearing Claws That Never Hit the Bullets," was unable to completely dodge it.

Only a little bit got on my body, and my physical body was unaffected, but my soul was like steel encountering rust-loving bacteria.

The once pristine stainless steel body is now covered in rust and constantly shedding rust.

Xiaoyu clearly felt her soul beginning to weaken continuously. She dared not stay there any longer, so she immediately grabbed the remnant soul of the Bewitching Demon Lord, quickly traversed thousands of miles, found a mountain, and used earth magic to burrow into the ley lines beneath the mountain.

Xiaoyu first spent half an hour checking her own condition.

The condition is not too serious for now, but the symptoms are very bad.

Her soul at that moment was like steel that had rusted. It wasn't like steel falling into sulfuric acid, where the corrosion was slower.

However, this process could not be alleviated, and reversing it—returning the rust to stainless steel—was impossible.

Xiaoyu tried all sorts of Taoist techniques and Buddhist scriptures, and even experimented with his own "Wind and Water Refining Spirit".

No matter how she changed or what methods she used, the corruption of her soul could never be removed.

It was as if a whale was entangled by barnacles. The whale possessed immense strength, and she had a vast amount of chaotic demonic essence, yet she had nowhere to strike.

"The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord's curse also stirred the power of the Great Dao. But this Great Dao is too unfamiliar; I've never seen it before."

After pondering for a while, Xiaoyu finally had no choice but to give up on self-treatment.

She knew nothing about the Soul Devouring Demon Lord, and had no idea what kind of demonic arts he cultivated or what kind of Taoist magic he comprehended.

They didn't even know where to begin in trying to break the "Soul-Eating Curse".

"Fortunately, I've captured the Bewitching Demon. I'll interrogate his soul first, find the Soul Devouring Demon Lord's lair, go there and become his 'godfather,' and all his symptoms will be cured."

She consoled herself with a word, then roused herself and confronted the Bewitching Demon Lord—no, at this moment it should be the Bewitching Heavenly Demon.

The state of the Bewitching Demon was extremely peculiar.

It is neither matter, nor energy, nor pure spirit; it is like a fusion of spirit and concept.

"Old Demon, it really is you!" Upon seeing the "Purple-Haired Demon Lord," the Bewitching Demon was filled with boundless hatred, gritting his teeth, "You are also a being who calls himself a venerable ancestor, yet you are so shameless."

They went back on their word without even turning back, betraying their promise and acting treacherously. How shameless and despicable!

Xiaoyu was astonished to see him changing his form while cursing.

From a conceptualized celestial demon, it was reclassified as the primordial spirit of an immortal, a broken and weakened primordial spirit.

"Look at yourself, how did you turn into a primordial spirit again? If you are in a primordial spirit state, don't blame me for interrogating you with fiery torture!"

When Venerable Mixin looked down, a look of surprise, anger, and annoyance flashed across his face.

He closed his mouth, narrowed his eyes, as if entering a meditative state.

After a long time, the fierceness and hatred in his body became less intense, and he began to become transparent and ethereal again.

It has become a concept that exists between existence and non-existence.

He transformed back into the Bewitching Demon, his eyes now devoid of shock, anger, and hatred.

He looked up at her, and Xiaoyu felt a wave of confusion wash over her.

"Good method, but it's useless against me." She shook her head, regaining her "Bodhi Mind State".

The Demon of Bewitching Mind tried his best to be free of desires and thoughts, "You've cultivated the Heart Sutra of Western Buddhism? Your level of attainment isn't low either. Just who are you?"

Xiao Yu grinned and said, "Don't you understand the situation yet? Or do you think I can only interrogate the primordial spirit and can't deal with a demon like you?"

Should I remind you? You were in your demonic state when I shattered your demonic body, bound your soul with a single move, and finally captured you and brought you here.

—Luckily, I had the Great Destroyer, and I even managed to trigger the Great Destroyer, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to deal with such an evil being.

Upon hearing this, the Bewitching Demon King became agitated again: "Who exactly are you? Why do you know so much about my Demon King's spells? Now that you've won, are you still unwilling to reveal your true face?"

"Alright, I'll grant your wish." Xiaoyu transformed into "Jiang Taigong" in an instant.

Uh, he really is Jiang Ziya.

She had seen a portrait of Jiang Ziya in the Ying family's treasure vault.

These were spoils of war collected from the Qi royal palace when Ying Zheng conquered the six states.

"Who are you?" The Bewitching Demon asked, filled with doubt and surprise.

"You don't even recognize me, how can you be a Heavenly Demon?" Jiang Taigong Xiaoyu said disdainfully.

"You, you really are Jiang Taigong?!" The Bewitching Demon transformed back into his primordial spirit, his expression a mixture of fear and confusion. "If you are Jiang Taigong, why did you expose Hong Daoren?"

"You seem very afraid of me, why?" Xiaoyu asked curiously.

The Enchanted One was stunned for a moment, then said angrily, "You dog, you are not Jiang Ziya, you are still deceiving me with a false identity."

"It seems you really don't understand your situation!"

Xiao Yu stopped arguing with him and immediately returned to her old ways, releasing evil fire to burn his primordial spirit.

"Ahhhh~~~"

The Venerable of Bewitching Hearts screamed in agony, quickly abandoning all distracting thoughts and reuniting with the "demonic path," transforming into a Heavenly Demon.

In his demonic state, he was completely indifferent to the evil fire, the fire of resurrection, and the true fire of samadhi.

Xiao Yu didn't take it seriously. He activated his Sword Bone Divine Power, and all five of his fingers transformed into bone swords.

Each finger evolves into a different element of sword energy.

Her five fingers danced on her palm like five separate little people.

The dancing sword energy merged together, forming a temporary world of sword energy.

Xiaoyu cannot create complete laws of the Great Dao in this world of sword energy, but she can separate this space from the Pangu World, and then she can independently write the rules within the space.

It may not be effective against all Heavenly Demons, but at least the "Method for Annihilating the Bewitching Venerable" deduced by the Great Destroyer Father will definitely work against the Bewitching Heavenly Demon.

"Ahhhh~~~" Even in the Heavenly Demon state, the bewitching form and essence continued to be worn away.

The extreme pain allowed him to break free from the "demonic path" once again and transform back into his primordial spirit.

Moreover, probably because his very essence was damaged, he could no longer enter the state of the Bewitching Heavenly Demon.

"You're too useless! You can't even maintain a stable Heavenly Demon state, yet you still have the nerve to call yourself an ancestor?"

"Can you remain a demon forever? Even if the demonic cultivators of our Pangu world achieve Dao in a different way, this is all they can do."

At this point, Venerable Mixin suddenly realized, "You don't even know this kind of question? You're not the Demon Ancestor, you're not a demonic cultivator at all! Who exactly are you?"

"But your demonic arts are definitely not fake, and you also have the method of transformation and the torture of evil fire!" A flash of lightning struck the mind of the Bewitching Venerable, and he exclaimed in shock and anger: "Yu Fengxian, you are Grand Tutor Yu Fengxian of the Great Qin Dynasty!"

No wonder someone with such a high level of skill and such great strength would still hide their true intentions, resort to underhanded tactics, launch sneak attacks, break their promises, and act without any scruples.

"So it was you. No wonder."

(End of this chapter)