Chapter 99: Plucking Wool: The Second Battle Against the One's Own Thought

【Starting from the Apocalypse, Dominating Ten Thousand Ages】【】

After True Person Long Yu departed, a Solidification Pearl hung suspended in midair, spinning.

True Person Long Yu told Fang Shi that once Fang Shi was ready for everything, he should call his name.

At that time, he would lend his own power to Fang Shi to completely shatter the One's Own Thought.

The reason Fang Shi did not intend to act immediately yet.

Involved one important reason.

Although this world has low material attributes and high spiritual attributes.

It does not mean that everything Fang Shi gains here will be useless upon returning to Blue Star.

Spirit and matter can transform into each other; ordinary people perhaps cannot achieve this.

But under the rules of the Attribute Panel, Fang Shi will certainly obtain all the gains of this world.

For instance, increased attributes and Spirit Value, or reduced lifespan.

Will be inherited completely onto Blue Star.

Therefore, Fang Shi conceived an idea, a wool-plucking idea.

Plucking the wool of the Sages.

Clearly, although Blue Star is the prototype of this world.

On Blue Star, the rules of the Sages' One's Own Thought have long since ceased to function.

Otherwise, relying on a group of humans on Blue Star who swallow souls raw.

Every single one who levels up would fail.

But in this world, the rules of the Sages exist.

And Fang Shi obtained the Solidification Pearl capable of suppressing changes in the One's Own Thought.

If one does not make good use of this rule, would it not be a wasted trip?

After Fang Shi voiced his idea, True Person Long Yu looked at him strangely.

In the end, he said nothing.

Fang Shi still wanted to ask True Person Long Yu's opinion.

True Person Long Yu directly discarded the previous words and departed.

Leaving Fang Shi feeling somewhat uneasy in his heart, yet thinking that since True Person Long Yu did not warn him.

This approach must be safe, with no major problems.

"Consume 45,000 Experience Points to reach Level 10?"

"Yes."

"Please select the profession to advance."

"Qi Refiner."

"You have advanced to Level 5 Qi Refiner."

"Rules changing."

"Due to the excessive killing you have committed in a short time, your killing intent is too strong; the One's Own Thought has entered your body. Only Then Can Succeed after defeating the One's Own Thought and restoring life."

"The One's Own Thought has entered your body; quickly expel the One's Own Thought from your body or kill it, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable."

It was the familiar scene again: the pitch-black, boundless sea of consciousness.

Dotted with twinkling glimmers of Spirit.

"Fang Shi, we meet again."

The One's Own Thought's cruel and violent voice rang out, filled with joy and delight.

"I am you; of course I understand your thoughts. A greedy person like you will not miss a single opportunity to improve yourself."

"As long as you understand my benefits, you will meet me again."

Fang Shi said calmly: "Understanding changes nothing; your arrival is merely delivering an experience gift package to me."

"I would even welcome you coming more often; that way my Spirit Value could grow rapidly."

The One's Own Thought laughed: "You are truly naive; is the Sages' wool so easy to pluck?"

"I do not know how many fools like you have died at the hands of the One's Own Thought Dao."

Fang Shi raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"

The One's Own Thought smiled, revealing teeth as black as ink: "The One's Own Thought is originally used by the Sages to punish worldly people who break the rules."

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【Starting from the Apocalypse, Dominating Ten Thousand Ages】【】

"Even if someone happens to survive one tribulation, when the second tribulation arrives, the One's Own Thought will become stronger."

"It will no longer possess abilities identical to the original body,"

"but will wield power stronger than the original body."

Fang Shi said calmly: "There is such a thing? I did not expect that."

"However, I am curious: what kind of power have you gained this time, daring to chat with me here?"

The One's Own Thought chuckled: "Just chatting; isn't this what you said? Why rush? Rushing to die?"

Fang Shi shook his head: "I do not wish to die; the one who will die is you."

"What means do you have? Relying on that Solidification Pearl outside you?"

The One's Own Thought laughed wildly: "Come! Let us engage in a fierce hand-to-hand battle; I will show you what is the strongest sword technique beneath Sword Intent!"

"Sword, come!"

Swish!

Half of the divine consciousness in the Sea of Consciousness flowed like a river of stars, gathering in the Heart Demon's hand.

It formed a pitch-black long sword, demonic in nature.

Fang Shi followed suit; the remaining half of his divine consciousness also transformed into a long sword blazing with starlight, appearing in his hand.

"It seems the enhancement you gained is in swordsmanship."

"Pity it isn't Sword Intent. I still wanted to see what the legendary Sword Intent looks like."

The Heart Demon sneered, "Sword Intent? If it were real Sword Intent, I'd just stand here, glare at you, and you'd be dead."

"Still able to speak with me properly?"

Fang Shi said, "Do you understand Sword Intent well? Can you tell me what Sword Intent is?"

"Think in your own way; don't talk about anything mysterious and obscure."

The Heart Demon laughed, "You already know I am the Heart Demon, yet you dare ask me these questions."

"Aren't you afraid I'll lead you down the wrong path?"

Fang Shi smiled, "A wrong path is still a path. At least I know this one leads nowhere, so I've eliminated it."

"Oh!" The Heart Demon chuckled, "Then I shall tell you of a true path."

"Sword Intent belongs to the realm of Intent. Calling it Sword Intent is merely the Intent of a Sword Cultivator."

"Just as a Pill Cultivator calls it Pill Intent, and a Fist Cultivator calls it Fist Intent; essentially, they are the same thing."

"And Intent is the profound application of the Heaven and Earth's spiritual energy."

"As a cultivator's cultivation grows, even with the poorest comprehension, upon reaching the Golden Core Stage, they will naturally comprehend it."

Fang Shi said indifferently, "You've spoken for so long, yet you only repeat these useless nonsense."

"Can't you say something useful?"

Boom!

There was no air within the Sea of Consciousness, but under the effect of the Materialization Pearl, a sonic boom rang out.

The pitch-black long sword tore through the void, carrying rolling waves of qi as it swept toward Fang Shi.

"Don't rush. Let's talk while we fight."

The Heart Demon's voice transmitted through divine consciousness, surpassing the speed of sound to reach Fang Shi.

Boom!

The same explosive roar sounded; Fang Shi drew his sword as well.

He was even faster, striking the Heart Demon's sword with a delayed yet first-arrival strike.

"Speak quickly, stop wasting words. If you die next, I won't be able to hear you."

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In a short span of time, they exchanged dozens of blows.

"You are truly too impatient. I'll speak, I'll speak."

"Intent, in fact, is summarizing a method for applying spiritual energy."

"But in reality, everyone's divine consciousness is different, and the essence of controlling spiritual energy also differs."

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【Ruling Eternity Alone Starting from the Apocalypse】【】

"That is why Intent emphasizes the need for one to comprehend it oneself."

"Your divine consciousness possesses..."

Whoosh!

Before the Heart Demon could finish speaking, the pitch-black long sword broke through Fang Shi's defensive circle.

In an instant, it sliced through half of Fang Shi's torso.

"Your soul has suffered damage; your divine consciousness value has decreased: 9 → 8."

Fang Shi's expression remained unchanged; even with his soul struck heavily, he remained unmoved.

Instead, he traded injury for injury, slashing toward the Heart Demon's arm.

Whoosh!

"Slash attack activated."

"You have inflicted 1 point of soul damage on the target."

The Heart Demon paid no mind; the gathering and scattering of his soul was suppressed by the Materialization Pearl.

But his recovery ability was not; in an instant, a complete arm grew back.

"You are truly ruthless. My swordsmanship is clearly superior to yours, yet I still had to trade injury for injury. What a failure."

Clang!

The long swords clashed again; Fang Shi took the opportunity to retreat.

"Continue speaking; don't be verbose."

Although Fang Shi achieved results, his mental energy was exhausted greatly.

He could clearly feel that compared to his desperate struggle, the Heart Demon's strikes were effortless.

It was like an assassin in the shadows; if a flaw were caught, Fang Shi would die instantly.

"You wouldn't let me speak. If you hadn't attacked, I would have finished long ago."

"First, your divine consciousness has... on the eighth stage..."

"Second, the spiritual energy's..."

"Third..."

Even though the Heart Demon kept explaining, the offensive did not slow.

It even accelerated, an attack like a violent storm and sudden rain, heading straight for Fang Shi.

Fang Shi had even fallen into deep thought.

The heart-demon seized the opening, and he suffered injury once again.

"Your soul has taken damage; your Spirit Sense value has dropped: 8→6."

"I always feel what you say makes great sense. You truly are my heart-demon, knowing me so well."

The heart-demon laughed wildly, his voice unrestrained and arrogant: "Go learn it then! I beg you, learn it quickly, or how will you defeat me!"

"Best to break through the Sword Intent right in the midst of battle and give me a huge surprise!"

"Otherwise, you will never have another chance to learn the Sword Intent!"

Of course, the heart-demon's words could not be taken entirely at face value; truth and falsehood were mixed, making them hard to distinguish.

Fang Shi only wished to borrow the heart-demon's line of reasoning to inspire himself.

To break through his own barriers of knowledge and perception.

As expected, the heart-demon mentioned many things Fang Shi had never considered.

And following this train of thought, it seemed truly feasible.

Fang Shi would not throw out the baby with the bathwater and abandon research just because of the heart-demon's words.

After all, if the heart-demon were using reverse psychology, Fang Shi would never learn the Sword Intent in his entire life.

Therefore, judging the proper degree of trust relied entirely on Fang Shi himself.

But Fang Shi had confidence; without confidence, he would not have challenged the heart-demon!

Boom!

Countless explosions began to erupt; flames surged like dragons, centered on Fang Shi, and roared outward in all directions.

In an instant, they completely engulfed the heart-demon.

"【Tiger-Fierce Sword Technique Perfected】: Your comprehension of this sword technique has reached perfection. You may consume a minimum of 4 points of magic power to unleash a Heart-Fire. This flame can burn all things, whether sentient or insentient, inflicting a minimum of 8d6 burn damage."

The Tiger-Fierce Sword Technique was the second sword technique Fang Shi had been diligently studying since achieving perfection in the White Crane Sword Technique.

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【Ruling Ten Thousand Ages from the End of the World】【】

Due to the opening of the Upper Dantian and the Spirit Sense's precise control over spiritual energy, this sword technique advanced by leaps and bounds in a short time.

During his time at Longyushan, Fang Shi had already sensed that this sword technique was on the verge of breaking through to perfection.

However, Fang Shi held back; ever since he learned of the heart-demon's existence, he had been preparing.

He had already inquired clearly from the middle-aged scholar that the moment a heart-demon appears, it only inherits the abilities possessed by the host body at that time.

It does not inherit abilities broken through in the midst of battle afterward.

Fang Shi had planned it perfectly: he would perfect the Tiger-Fierce Sword Technique while battling the heart-demon, then deliver a devastating blow.

The Heart-Fire derived from the Tiger-Fierce Sword Technique possessed a unique trait: it could leap along the mind, refusing to extinguish until its task was done.

For monsters capable of splitting consciousness, it held extremely lethal power.

Furthermore, the Solidification Pearl bestowed by True Person Long Yu made Fang Shi's tactics nearly perfect.

This was why the heart-demon kept speaking of Sword Intent, luring Fang Shi's thoughts entirely onto the Sword Intent.

And it even genuinely explained part of the correct method for comprehending Sword Intent.

The heart-demon was a monster possessing Fang Shi's memories.

Knowing Fang Shi's every thought and feeling, it understood that Fang Shi, having comprehended the Heart-Fire, would be its greatest threat.

The reason Fang Shi had previously lost focus and taken injury was not because he was pondering the Sword Intent.

He was instead contemplating the Tiger-Fierce Sword Technique and how to perfect it.

"I do not need to learn the Sword Intent to bring you a surprise."

"This is a flame that can attack along the mind; how will you block it?"

Fang Shi's gaze was indifferent as he watched the heart-demon gradually perish within the flames, speaking coldly.

"Fang Shi! Fang Shi! I know the greed in your heart; you will not stop here."

"I hope that when we meet again, you can give me another surprise."

"By then, your tactic of breaking through in the midst of battle will no longer work."

"I will show you what true crushing domination is, and what true cruelty is."

The heart-demon continued to laugh wildly; the pain of burning soul was, to him, like a gentle breeze.

Not only was it stronger in ability than the first heart-demon he had encountered, but its will was also far more powerful.

"Heh, there will be no next time."

"You have defeated your own heart-demon; your Spirit Sense value has increased: 6→15."

"You have defeated your own heart-demon; your Sword Technique I → Sword Technique II."

"【Sword Technique II】: As the number of battles increases, your mastery of sword-type weapons has become godlike. Among ten thousand people proficient in sword combat, your ability stands out! The long sword is your hand, an extension of your limbs; even a feather landing upon it you can perceive with ease. Damage +5, Accuracy +5, Attack Speed +2, Critical Hit +1, Critical Multiplier +1."