Wandering Swordsman |

The spiritual energy absorbed the residue like a sponge, silently taking it into itself, and even... becoming more solid?

Shen Mo's pupils contracted slightly, but his heart suddenly raced.

"So that's how it is..." A huge wave of emotions surged in his heart. "The incongruous power in this holy spring, even if it is harmful in itself, can be destroyed by the Heavenly Demon Qi and then 'transformed' into spiritual nourishment. If I don't have the Heavenly Demon Qi, I can only let this power invade me without noticing."

"But for me, who possesses the aura of the Heavenly Demon... this is not a threat but a tonic?"

A barely perceptible smile curved his lips.

"The aura of celestial demons can recognize and shatter it, while spiritual energy... can absorb and assimilate it!"

An extremely audacious idea took shape in his mind.

"Since that's the case... then I might as well... absorb it like crazy!"

He stopped resisting and instead relaxed all his meridians, allowing the incongruous power within the sacred spring to surge in like a tide.

Like a lurking beast, he opened his invisible maw, greedily drawing upon the unseen, incongruous power of this sacred underground spring.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Bruce had already knelt by the spring, raised his silver staff high, and begun to chant.

The deep, solemn Latin chants echoed throughout the space like a spell: "Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus..."

With each recitation, the glow of the sacred spring intensifies, and ripples spread across the surface of the water, as if an invisible force is resonating within it.

The "disharmony" forces lurking within the sacred spring became even more active, frantically drilling into Shen Mo's body.

Meanwhile, Shen Mo closed his eyes and concentrated in the water, a silent war and feast unfolding within his body.

The demonic energy surged like a black tide, annihilating every invading wisp of energy.

Spiritual energy, like spring rain nourishing all things, absorbs and transforms the shattered residue into its own use.

In his dantian, the wisp of spiritual energy that was originally as clear as the moon began to show faint golden patterns, as if it had been refined to be even purer.

"Interesting..." Shen Mo murmured to himself, "This sacred spring that the Vatican used to tame heretics has now become a 'heavenly treasure' for my spiritual evolution."

He could even feel his soul perception slowly improving. The aura of heaven and earth, which he could only vaguely sense before, was now as clear as the lines on his palm.

"If I didn't possess the aura of the Heavenly Demon, I would surely have perished at this sacred spring today." He opened his eyes, and the deep blue spring water reflected his profound gaze, which contained no piety, only a calm and mocking understanding of everything.

Outside the spring, the cardinals were still devoutly chanting scriptures, completely unaware that their proud "holy spring" was being used as a breeding ground for spiritual practice by a "heretic".

Meanwhile, Shen Mo in the spring had quietly undergone a reverse baptism—

He was not corrupted by the power of the sacred spring; instead, he transformed the power of the sacred spring into his own spiritual energy... and became even stronger.

......

As dawn breaks, golden sunlight streams through the stained-glass windows atop the Vatican Hill, casting dappled patterns on the marble floor, creating a scene reminiscent of divine pronouncements.

However, beneath this sacred radiance, an invisible undercurrent is quietly surging.

In the land of the Holy Spring, within the vast domed space buried deep underground, the azure spring water remains as calm as a mirror, shimmering with a faint glow, as if it contains the first ray of holy light at the beginning of the world.

However, upon closer inspection, one would find that the light was somewhat dimmer than before, like a candle flame that had burned for too long and was slowly going out.

Shen Mo slowly rose from the spring, his bare feet stepping onto the cold stone steps. Water droplets dripped from his hair, making a soft sound in the silent space.

He changed into plain white clothes, his expression humble, as if he were just a devout newcomer waiting to be chosen.

However, only he himself knew that in that seemingly gentle baptism, a silent war had already ended.

The mysterious power in the holy spring, that extremely hidden, almost invisible corrosive force, did not invade his meridians. Instead, it was completely shattered by the demonic energy within his body.

Even more astonishingly, the crushed residue was quietly absorbed by the wisp of spiritual energy deep within his dantian, transforming into nourishment for himself!

A faint smile appeared on his lips, but there was no joy in his eyes, only a knowing calm and mockery.

"This so-called 'baptism' is nothing but an elaborate trap," he murmured to himself. "They want this unknown power to merge into their bodies, turning it into a time bomb within them..."

"It's a pity..." He clenched his fist lightly, his knuckles making a slight cracking sound, "You don't know about the existence of the Heavenly Demon Qi."

"This time, I used your 'holy spring' to complete my first reverse evolution."

......

In the morning, Shen Mo followed "Faceless" to the martial arts testing ground set up by the Holy See for the selection of inquisitors—an ancient arena located on the side of the Holy Mountain.

This place was once an execution ground for heretics, but now it has become a yardstick for measuring the potential of warriors.

The test consists of three parts: strength, agility, and reaction speed.

The first test featured a towering obsidian monument, three zhang tall, standing in the center of the arena, its surface inscribed with ancient runes. In front of it lay a massive black gold hammer weighing a thousand jin, said to be able to be moved only by those with "divine power."

When it was Shen Mo's turn, a chorus of disdainful whispers arose around him. "The heretics brought by the Faceless Lord? They probably can't even lift a hammer," a young cultivator sneered.

Shen Mo remained calm as he slowly stepped forward. He did not exert any force, but simply placed his palm lightly on the hammer handle, closed his eyes, and concentrated for a moment.

In an instant, a domineering aura emanated from his palm, flowing down the hammer and into the ground. The air in the entire arena seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then--

"Boom!"

With a deafening roar, the obsidian monument cracked open, the fissure spreading rapidly until it finally collapsed with a deafening crash! Stone chips flew everywhere, blotting out the sun.

The entire room fell silent.

The old deacon, his hands trembling, opened the ancient book, his voice hoarse: "The records... show that the closest thing to this in history was a five-inch crack... This person... actually caused the entire stone tablet to collapse!"

Everyone was shocked; their eyes no longer held contempt, but only awe.

Shen Mo was startled: "It seems that even the one percent of power I suppressed was still too much."

Next, the second test was conducted. Guided by instructions, Shen Mo passed through three corridors and arrived at a dark corridor filled with traps.

Hundreds of moving targets are embedded in the wall, popping up randomly every three seconds in unpredictable positions.

"Hit as many targets as possible within a quarter of an hour." As the deacon announced the rules, he handed the test needles to Shen Mo.

Before he finished speaking, Shen Mo had already moved.

With a flick of his sleeves and a slight bend in his fingers, he seemed to be plucking invisible strings. Dozens of silver needles shot out silently, hitting the bullseye with pinpoint accuracy.

The entire process was smooth and efficient, with not a single needle missing its mark.

When the last silver needle pierced the bullseye, exactly twelve minutes had passed.

"Impossible!" a supervising deacon exclaimed. "Even 'Faceless' took fifteen minutes to hit all the targets back then!"

The people around them erupted in uproar again.

Shen Mo simply smiled faintly, silently thinking, "These tests from the Holy See are utterly insignificant compared to dodging the attacks of demon beasts in Demon Refining Mountain."