Chapter 93: Great Battle Against the Inner Demon: Rule Conflict

In the realm of consciousness, brilliant light surged forth.

During the previous exchange, the inner demon secretly struck, transforming the consciousness within into a long sword and launching it at Fang Shi.

If Fang Shi’s soul were struck, it would instantly be shredded into fragments, dissolving forever from existence.

Fang Shi smiled faintly, waved his hand, and the incoming sword instantly reversed course.

“These are my own consciousnesses—how could you possibly control them? Stop playing these petty tricks.”

“If you have no other moves, let’s chat instead. Tell me the secrets you know.”

“I know you’re not me—you’re merely a fragment Fenhua from the rules, carrying some knowledge bestowed by them.”

“In truth, we’re not destined for mutual destruction.”

“You want a body, don’t you? I can find you one to possess.”

“Wouldn’t that allow us to coexist peacefully?”

“Fighting to a stalemate brings no benefit.”

The inner demon chuckled, and the flying sword halted midair.

“Who told you we could coexist? Since you know I’m a manifestation of the rules—”

“You should understand it’s not me who wants to kill you—it’s the rules that demand your death.”

“No matter how much you talk, if you can’t surpass the rules, you cannot stop my attack.”

Fang Shi nodded: “That’s true. Then let’s fight properly—no more tricks.”

As soon as he spoke, the sword within the realm of consciousness changed again, instantly breaking free of the inner demon’s restraint and continuing its assault toward the demon.

The inner demon grinned, and an invisible wind stirred.

It pierced through the consciousnesses and surged toward Fang Shi.

“Realm of consciousness, realm of consciousness—it’s a phantom sea, where I roam freely between illusion and reality.”

“Oh!” Fang Shi also smiled, his body transforming into a raging wind and vanishing instantly from the realm of consciousness.

He had long known he was free within the realm of consciousness.

Fang Shi could freely wield any ability he possessed within the realm of consciousness.

He could even transform endlessly, create heaven and earth, become Pangu and give birth to all things.

Aside from spiritual sense, soul, and magic power attacks, no technique could harm him.

Yet the consciousness within the realm was his own—the inner demon could control it, and so could Fang Shi.

Moreover, since consciousness was an extension of the soul, it was essentially part of the soul itself.

Thus, Fang Shi manipulated it without obstruction.

The only complication was the five strands of magic power swirling within the realm.

Fang Shi tried to move them—he could barely stir them at all.

It seemed the inner demon had corroded the five strands of magic power most deeply.

“Aren’t you going to act? Lingering here in the realm of consciousness is a waste of time.”

The inner demon sneered: “You’re the one who should be anxious—the outside world isn’t safe.”

“Your current state? Step out of the realm and I’ll steal your body.”

“But the toads out there are searching everywhere for you.”

Fang Shi said: “How do you know so much? Did the rules tell you?”

“What if the toads have already given up?”

“Or are you just fabricating lies to frighten me?”

The inner demon replied: “Whether you believe it or not, the chance of the toads finding you is significant.”

“The longer you’re trapped in the realm of consciousness, the more dangerous you become.”

“So I’m not in a hurry.”

Fang Shi smiled: “You should be in a hurry too—as long as I don’t leave.”

“If my physical body is damaged, you—who crave a body—will surely stop it.”

The inner demon scoffed: “How do you know I crave a body? I’m merely a manifestation of the rules—what use is your body to me?”

“I was just deceiving you before—I even told you to die. Why didn’t you believe me?”

The inner demon’s words were half-truths and half-lies; they weren’t necessarily true.

The situation outside did indeed resemble what the inner demon described—it might turn dangerous.

Whether Fang Shi held firm in his consciousness or stepped out to fight,

He would suffer severe loss—either his body would die, or his spirit would perish.

Thus, Fang Shi decided to act.

Infinite radiance flared, and the consciousness-formed sword surged toward the five strands of magic power.

The inner demon shrieked: “You’re mad! You’re eroding the origin of the magic power—you’ll lose it permanently!”

The origin is the root of magic power; as long as the root isn’t destroyed, magic power can rapidly regenerate after use.

But if the root is destroyed, magic power can never regenerate—it becomes a one-time-use item.

The origin is also the key to controlling magic power, containing a portion of Fang Shi’s soul.

Hence, Fang Shi could manipulate magic power born from the origin with perfect ease.

But now, he could not control his own magic power.

This proved the origin was being corroded by the inner demon.

Yet corroding the origin was no simple task—it required investing the vast majority of one’s soul to have any effect in a short time.

So Fang Shi resolved to sacrifice these strands of magic power and part of his soul to destroy the inner demon’s majority soul.

Once the inner demon’s soul power was drastically reduced, it could never match Fang Shi’s control over consciousness.

It would then be eliminated by Fang Shi’s command of consciousness.

This was the true reason for the inner demon’s agitation.

“It’s only a temporary loss—I can accept such a cost.”

“Farewell, my inner demon.”

“Oh—never again.”

Since the inner demon’s majority soul had become deeply entangled within the origin of magic power, it could not break free at once.

Meanwhile, Fang Shi’s soul entrenched within the origin seized the chance and pulled the inner demon deeper.

“Ahh!” The inner demon let out a piercing scream—he was not Fang Shi.

He was merely a monster possessing Fang Shi’s memories, with far less tolerance for pain.

The origin of magic power began to collapse; the inner demon’s soul began to dissolve.

“Fang Shi, you’re ruthless—but now your magic power is destroyed. How will you ascend to Level 9?”

“And this isn’t goodbye—we’ll meet again.”

“Your soul has suffered damage: Spiritual Sense reduced from 5 to 4.”

“Your origin of magic power is damaged: Magic Power reduced from 14 to 9.”

“You have defeated your inner demon: Spiritual Sense increased from 4 to 9.”

“You have ascended to Level 4 Qi Refiner….”

“Rule conflict in progress…”

“Priority determination…”

“You have ascended to Level 4 Qi Refiner.”

“You have gained 6 skill points.”

“Your Life Value increased by 15 points.”

“Your origin of magic power begins to recover: Magic Power increased from 9 to 16.”

A mysterious force appeared out of nowhere, restoring the five strands of magic power Fang Shi had destroyed.

And due to the factor of vitality, an additional strand emerged.

Fang Shi’s expression was utterly bewildered—he had fully prepared to lose 5 points of Magic Power.

The inner demon was too dangerous; he could not rest until it was destroyed.

Yet unexpectedly, a twist of fate occurred—there was such a thing as rule conflict.

Was this a battle between sages and the attribute panel?

Fang Shi did not know—but he knew this was advantageous to him.