Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Tang Jie knew that this was his Divine Soul.
The Divine Soul was only a wisp at this point, and Tang Jie needed to constantly nurture it in order for it to truly take form.
Tang Jie continued to circulate the mantra, sending spiritual energy into his Sea of Cognition, gathering his will upon that Divine Soul so that it could grow.
The growth of the Divine Soul was the most important step for a Heart Demon cultivator, deciding how high their cultivation would be, but it was also the most dangerous step. From the moment the first wisp of the Divine Soul was formed, Demonic Wills would start to be born.
As those countless wills turned into Divine Will and merged with the Divine Soul, the first Demonic Will was finally born.
This was a Heart Demon with a blurry face, born from the wicked thoughts within the human heart. As it had no specific concept as its base, it had no specific form, appearing like a cloud.
Unlike the stray thoughts of the Illusion Trial, Heart Demons were real existences, and their origin as evil thoughts meant that they had savage natures, and they were born within the most vulnerable Sea of Cognition. This was the scariest thing about Heart Demons. They weren't necessarily powerful, but they were born where the cultivator was weakest.
The moment this Heart Demon took form, it shrieked and lunged at Tang Jie's Divine Soul.
Souls were formless, so they couldn't be attacked. But a Divine Soul did have form, which opened it up to attack. And if a Heart Demon were to destroy the soul, the person would die, which was why this tribulation was so dangerous.
But the moment the Heart Demon appeared, Tang Jie began to chant a mantra.
As he chanted the mantra, golden runes began to emerge from the Divine Soul, dissolving into golden light. The radiance of the golden light struck fear into the Heart Demon, leaving it trembling and unwilling to attack.
A moment later, Tang Jie barked, "Go!"
One of the runes shone its golden light on the Heart Demon, and the Heart Demon howled and melted away like snow.
When the Heart Demon disappeared, Tang Jie felt his soul becoming a little cleaner, and the condensation speed of the Divine Soul became a little faster.
But the Divine Soul condensing faster also meant that Demonic Wills would appear at a faster rate.
A moment later, two Heart Demons appeared.
This time, Tang Jie saw a familiar face.
Shi Mo!
The youth's face was twisted into a most fierce expression. "Tang Jie, give me back my life!"
This sort of Heart Demon with an actual form was far more terrifying than the simple evil thoughts from earlier. They represented events that had actually happened! The previous were just evil thoughts, but these represented evil actions. This was a major difference that also indicated a completely different level of strength.
Although Tang Jie felt no guilt over how he had treated Shi Mo, in reality, he could not say that he had no connection to Shi Mo's death. For this reason, Shi Mo had still appeared, turning into a vicious spirit who had come to take his life!
Tang Jie could only sigh. Shi Mo's appearance had undoubtedly plucked at his once-pliable heartstrings.
Even so, Tang Jie continued to chant, and the golden runes in his Sea of Cognition lit up and struck the Heart Demon that had taken Shi Mo's form, vaporizing it into smoke.
Tang Jie's heart felt a little lighter.
At that moment, he felt like he could see Shi Mo's soul ascending, even giving him a nod.
Tang Jie knew that this wasn't actually Shi Mo smiling at him. It was his own heart washing away these matters that had gnawed at his mind, making his heart clearer, smoother, and more open-minded.
To charge at the Heart Demon Tier was to create the Divine Soul, to battle with the past, to wash one's soul.
With each washing of the soul, the formation of wills would accelerate. This acceleration would increase the formation rate of the Divine Soul and the formation rate of Heart Demons, increasing the danger.
But cultivators wouldn't be willing to slow down just because of this. After all, the faster the Divine Soul formed, the stronger and more complete it became.
The consequence of uncontrolled speed was having more and more Heart Demons appear.
This time, ten-some of them appeared, with dark faces and sharp fangs, wrapped in dark smoke. Screeching, they attacked Tang Jie, with quite a few of them being resentful spirits who had died to Tang Jie. These Heart Demons were clearly stronger than the ones that had come before.
"Wicked creatures!" Tang Jie coldly snorted in disdain and continued to chant.
The string of golden runes in the Sea of Cognition came together into a golden sword.
With one swing, a Heart Demon was obliterated.
The golden sword swung several more times, each swing taking down a Heart Demon. After ten-some slashes, the Sea of Cognition was clean once more.
Even Tang Jie couldn't help but sigh in admiration at the power of the Wisdom Sword Mantra. It was truly the ideal technique for overcoming Heart Demons.
When other people took on the Heart Demon Tribulation, they primarily relied on various methods to protect the Divine Soul and secret arts to wear away at the Heart Demons such that the Heart Demons gradually died off over the course of their offensive. The greatest flaw to this method was that damage to the Divine Soul was unavoidable and the rate at which Heart Demons were eliminated was too slow. This meant that the formation of the Divine Soul was slow, causing it to be weaker.
The Wisdom Sword Mantra chose a different approach, opting for offense as the best defense, killing the Heart Demons with supreme power. If it were paired with a complete defense, the excruciatingly difficult Heart Demon Tribulation would become like a small appetizer to Tang Jie.
Alas, within the diagram, Tang Jie had limited resources to work with. Although he had the Wisdom Sword Mantra, he lacked a comprehensive method to protect the soul. His single Compassionate Clear Heart Formation was far from enough for defense. This meant that Tang Jie had to rely solely on the Wisdom Sword, and the slightest error would put him in danger.
Charging at Heart Demon in this unideal situation pushed what was required of Tang Jie to new levels. Even the creator of the Wisdom Sword Mantra, the Cloud Ancestor, probably had never completely relied on it to overcome Heart Demons, but Tang Jie simply didn't have a choice in the matter.
As the third wave of Heart Demons was exterminated, more Heart Demons rushed in.
Another person might still be going through the first wave. The speed and quantity at which Heart Demons were appearing for Tang Jie had far surpassed that of his peers.
Several dozen Heart Demons appeared this time. Their leader had a body like inky smoke, but its face was Zhuang Shen's. He floated in the Sea of Cognition, snarling, "Tang Jie, give me back my life!"
Tang Jie sneered and spoke through his Divine Soul: "You wanted to kill but failed, and me striking back counts as self-defense. I don't feel the slightest remorse about killing you. What right do you have to be my Heart Demon? Hurry up and vanish!"
The Divine Soul erupted with light, and under this white light, the Demonic Will that had taken Zhuang Shen's form shrieked, after which the Wisdom Sword swung down and dispersed it.
The Wisdom Sword wasn't the only way to remove Heart Demons. Asking one's heart and finding no guilt was the proper path!
A virtuous cultivator had no fear of Heart Demons.
Tang Jie was no saint, but he did not think of himself as someone who killed for pleasure. Most of the people he killed were his enemies.
Enemies weren't necessarily evil, but just like there was no crime for killing in war, when fighting an enemy, killing them was considered self-defense. While it was impossible to not feel any guilt about these deeds, it wasn't enough to unsettle one too much. Thus, even if they became Heart Demons, their power was limited.
As for Zhuang Shen, he had ambushed Tang Jie, so Tang Jie had killed him without even the slightest hint of remorse. Thus, with these words, he turned the Heart Demon to dust.
The Wisdom Sword radiated light and slew all the other Heart Demons, obliterating all opposition in its path.
Tang Jie's Divine Soul continued to grow more powerful and tough, and as it formed in the Sea of Cognition, it began to take on Tang Jie's appearance.
A moment later, hundreds of Heart Demons rushed at him.
The Heart Demons were even more savage and powerful, and their leader was clearly Gu Changqing.
Alas, whether it was Zhuang Shen or Gu Changqing, they had all been enemies, so whether they had been honest or lowly, they were all foes who needed to be killed without mercy. Tang Jie was fearless, continuing to cut down the Heart Demons without the slightest hesitation.
The number of Heart Demons began to climb at a slower rate, but their strength began to soar.
The people he had killed, hurt, or targeted all turned into Heart Demons and lunged at him.
Shu Mingyang, Tai Zhou, Nan Ningjiang, He Changan—Heart Demons with their forms appeared one after another. Even scoundrels like Chen Naixing, Chen Naian, and Qian Yingchen appeared to assail Tang Jie.
The Heart Demons came in wave after wave, assaulting Tang Jie's Sea of Cognition, battering at his soul.
As the Heart Demons appeared, the memories of the past began to deeply affect Tang Jie, drowning him in a sea of recollection. Various sounds and past actions intersected in his mind, particularly his shortcomings, regrets, and sorrows. They threw his mind into disarray, bringing his mood down and weighing his soul with negative emotions.
This sort of mental disruption was also a part of the Heart Demon Tribulation. It wasn't conspicuous, but it was terrifying, slowly seeping into the heart like a light drizzle, affecting each and every cultivator. The accumulation of negative emotions made a person feel tired, lacking in confidence, and want to give up, weakening the strength of their counterattacks. Ultimately, it allowed the Heart Demons to infiltrate the soul.
This was also the trial that cultivators found was most difficult to deal with in the Heart Demon Tribulation. For this reason, overcoming the Heart Demon Tribulation involved three things.
The first was the Origin Heart. If a person did not feel guilt, then while one couldn't guarantee that there were no Heart Demons, there were bound to be fewer of them, making the Heart Demon Tribulation easy to overcome. Tang Jie felt no guilt about Heart Demons like Zhuang Shen and Gu Changqing, so he had no fear of them. But he had killed quite a few people, so there were quite a few Heart Demons.
The second was the mantra. Regardless of the state of the Origin Heart, a powerful soul-protecting mantra was a necessary foundation. When cultivators cultivated, they ultimately cultivated their strength. And the Wisdom Sword Mantra was a powerful mantra for overcoming Heart Demons. Without this mantra, Tang Jie would have been defeated long ago.
The third was the will. One could not contend against the intrusion of Heart Demons and stray thoughts without a hardy will. Those who lost this trial wouldn't die, but they would become demons.
Fortunately, the Basking Moon Sect was an expert at this. Its mantras were righteous and hardened the will, and considering that Tang Jie had a tough will to begin with, he was able to hold on.
Even so, the waves of Heart Demons still left Tang Jie exhausted.
And as time progressed, the Heart Demons grew stronger and stronger, plummeting out of the sky like demons from beyond. Even though Tang Jie was constantly swinging his mantra sword, there was no end to the demons, and some of them didn't even die to one blow anymore. As he looked around at the endless Heart Demons, he couldn't help but sigh. This truly was Karma for all of the death and slaughter he had produced.
In this situation, Tang Jie couldn't keep his Divine Soul completely unharmed, and a Heart Demon would occasionally ram into it.
Each collision was like a scratch across his heart, leaving Tang Jie in immense pain.
The defense provided by the Compassionate Clear Heart Formation was becoming less and less up to the task, and the offensive from the Heart Demons only intensified.
Tang Jie's complexion turned pale, meaning that the Divine Soul was starting to show damage from the endless attacks. The damage to the Divine Soul would directly affect the body so that Tang Jie felt it as well. And if the damage worsened, it would result in unhealable injuries that not even the Dao of Life could restore. If the Divine Soul were destroyed, that meant certain death, which was exactly what made the Heart Demon Tribulation so terrifying.
But Tang Jie couldn't back out now. He had to face down these difficulties and conquer them.
Tang Jie continued to chant the mantra and swing the sword. Those negative thoughts failed to infiltrate Tang Jie's mind and instead were pushed back.
The greater the danger, the more fearless he was!
No negative emotion could affect him. As his situation grew more perilous, his voice became steadier, his words resounding like bells, dispelling the evil spirits within his Sea of Cognition.
This allowed him to miraculously last until the very end, his Divine Soul continuing to grow. Finally, it attained complete human form, taking on Tang Jie's appearance. While it was all still made from smoke, all of his features were clear and distinct.
As the Divine Soul completed its formation, the Heart Demons unleashed one last desperate assault. They washed over the Sea of Cognition, blanketing Tang Jie's soul in darkness.
As the black smoke encroached, Tang Jie's eyes turned red, brutality and slaughter beginning to influence his mind.
He was still chanting the mantra, the golden light was still shining, the Wisdom Sword was still slaying, and the Divine Soul was still holding on, but all of this seemed insignificant, and there seemed to be no hope of victory.
His will was wavering, his soul sinking into the darkness!
The Heart Demons started to laugh and sing, celebrating a new member in their ranks.
At that moment, a laugh suddenly came from that Divine Soul wrapped in darkness. "You really think you've won?"
As that voice spoke, a shining radiance swept over the Sea of Cognition.
The Heart Demons wailed as they melted away under this light, together with that endless demonic energy.
Tang Jie's Sea of Cognition was instantly clear and bright, the Divine Soul standing tall and proud.
He had overcome the Heart Demon Tribulation!
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