Chapter 93

In the realm of consciousness, brilliant light surged forth.

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

If Fang Shi's soul were struck, it would be shredded instantly, his spirit scattering forever, ceasing to exist in this world.

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 split off from me by the Rule, carrying only some knowledge granted by the Rule."

"In truth, we aren't destined for mutual destruction."

"You want a body, don't you? I can find you one to possess."

"Then wouldn't we be able to coexist peacefully?"

"Fighting to a stalemate brings no benefit."

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

"Who told you we could coexist? Since you know I'm a manifestation of the Rule—"

"You should understand it's not I who wants to kill you, but the Rule that demands your death."

"No matter how much you talk to me, as long as you can't surpass the Rule, you can't stop my attack."

Fang Shi nodded: "That's true. Then let's fight for real—no more petty tricks."

No sooner had he spoken than the sword within the realm transformed again, instantly breaking free of the heart demon's restraint and continuing its assault toward the heart demon.

The heart demon chuckled, and an invisible wind stirred.

It pierced through the consciousnesses and shot toward Fang Shi.

"The realm of consciousness—the realm of consciousness—is a phantom sea, where I roam freely between illusion and reality."

"Oh!" Fang Shi smiled as well, his body dissolving 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.

Except for attacks of consciousness, soul, or magic power, no technique could harm him.

Yet the consciousness within the realm belonged to Fang Shi himself—the heart 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.

Thus, Fang Shi manipulated it without obstruction.

The only trouble 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 heart 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 heart 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 clearly? Did the Rule tell you?"

"What if the toads have already given up?"

"Or are you just fabricating lies to frighten me?"

The heart demon replied: "Whether you believe it or not, the chance of the toad people finding you is still high."

"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 heart demon scoffed: "How do you know I crave a body? I'm merely a manifestation of the Rule—what use is your body to me?"

"Earlier, I was just deceiving you—I even told you to die. Why didn't you believe me?"

The heart demon's words were half-truths and half-lies, not necessarily all true.

The situation outside truly matched what the heart demon described—it was very likely something unexpected would happen.

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

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

Therefore, Fang Shi decided to act.

Infinite radiance began to flash; the sword formed from consciousness surged toward the five strands of magic power.

The heart 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, the 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 heart demon.

Yet corroding the origin isn't simple—it requires investing the vast majority of one's soul to have any effect in a short time.

Therefore, Fang Shi was willing to sacrifice these strands of magic power and part of his soul to destroy the heart demon's vast majority of soul.

By then, the heart-demon, whose soul power has greatly diminished, will absolutely be unable to compete with Fang Shi in controlling the divine sense.

It will then be annihilated by Fang Shi manipulating the divine sense.

This is the root cause of the heart-demon's agitation.

"It is only a temporary loss; for such a loss, I can still accept it."

"Then, farewell, my heart-demon."

"Oh, never to meet again."

Because most of the heart-demon's soul had tangled too deeply within the magic power source in its attempt to usurp it, it could not detach itself for the time being.

Meanwhile, the soul of Fang Shi, which had taken up residence within the magic power source, took the opportunity to pull the heart-demon along.

"Ah!" The heart-demon began to emit a piercing shriek; after all, he was not Fang Shi.

He was merely a monster possessing Fang Shi's memories, and his tolerance for pain was far inferior to Fang Shi's.

The magic power source began to collapse, and the heart-demon's soul also began to dissolve.

"Fang Shi, you are ruthless, but with your magic power completely destroyed, let's see how you promote to Level 9."

"Moreover, this is not a final farewell; we will meet again."

"Your soul has suffered damage; your divine sense value has decreased: 5 → 4."

"Your magic power source has been destroyed; your magic power value has decreased: 14 → 9."

"You have conquered your heart-demon; your divine sense value has increased: 4 → 9."

"You have promoted to a Level 4 Qi Refiner, fail..."

"Rule conflict detected..."

"Priority determination..."

"You have promoted to a Level 4 Qi Refiner."

"You have gained 6 skill points."

"Your life value has increased by 15 points."

"Your magic power source has begun to recover; your magic power value has increased: 9 → 16."

A miraculous power appeared out of thin air, restoring the five strands of magic power that Fang Shi had destroyed.

Furthermore, due to the factor of vitality, an additional strand was added.

Fang Shi's expression could be described as incredibly dramatic; he had long been prepared for the cost of losing 5 points of magic power.

The harm caused by the heart-demon was too great; without eliminating it, he felt uneasy in his heart.

But he never expected a sudden turn for the better; there was actually such a thing as a rule conflict.

Is this a battle between the Sages and the attribute panel?

Fang Shi did not know, but he knew that all of this was favorable to him.