Chapter 99

【From the Post-Apocalypse, Alone Through Ten Thousand Ages】

After the True Person Long Yu left, a Hua Shi Pearl hovered silently in midair.

True Person Long Yu told Fang Shi that when he was ready, he should call out his name.

At that moment, he would lend his power to Fang Shi to utterly shatter the heart demon.

Yet Fang Shi had no intention of acting immediately.

This involved a crucial reason.

Though this realm had low material affinity and high spiritual affinity,

it did not mean everything Fang Shi gained here would be useless upon returning to Blue Star.

Spirit and matter could be transformed into one another—ordinary people might not manage it,

but under the rules of his attribute panel, Fang Shi would fully inherit all gains from this world.

Such as increased attributes and spiritual sense values, or reduced lifespan.

They would be wholly transferred to Blue Star.

Thus, Fang Shi conceived an idea—an idea to pluck wool.

Wool from the sages themselves.

Clearly, Blue Star was the prototype of this realm,

yet on Blue Star, the sages’ heart demon rules had long since ceased to be effective

Otherwise, with the humans on Blue Star who swallowed souls whole,

every upgrade attempt would fail.

But in this realm, the sages’ rules still held.

And Fang Shi possessed the Hua Shi Pearl, capable of suppressing heart demon transformations.

If he didn’t exploit this rule properly, what was the point of coming here?

After Fang Shi voiced his idea, True Person Long Yu gave him a strange look.

In the end, he said nothing.

Fang Shi wanted to ask Long Yu’s opinion further.

Long Yu simply dropped his previous words and left.

This left Fang Shi uneasy, yet he reasoned that since Long Yu had not warned him,

this approach must be safe, with no major issues.

“Would you like to spend 45,000 experience points to reach Level 10?”

“Yes.”

“Please select your promoted profession.”

“Qi Refiner.”

“You have advanced to Level 5 Qi Refiner.”

“Rules are changing.”

“Due to the excessive killings you committed in a short time, your killing aura is too strong; a heart demon has entered your body. Only by defeating it can you secure survival.”

“Heart demon has entered your body. Quickly expel it or kill it—otherwise, the consequences will be dire.”

Again, the familiar scene: endless blackness within the spiritual sea.

Scattered sparks of spiritual sense glow drifted through the void.

“Fang Shi, we meet again.”

The heart demon’s cruel, violent voice rang out, filled with glee and delight.

“I am you—I understand your thoughts perfectly. A greedy man like you would never pass up a chance to grow stronger.”

“Once you recognize my benefits, you will meet me again.”

Fang Shi replied coolly: “So what? Your arrival is just delivering me an experience gift pack.”

“I’d even welcome more of you—then my spiritual sense value would skyrocket.”

The heart demon laughed loudly: “You’re naive. Do you really think you can pluck the sages’ wool so easily?”

“Countless fools like you have died on the path of heart demons.”

Fang Shi raised an eyebrow: “What do you mean?”

The heart demon smiled, revealing teeth as black as ink: “Heart demons were created by the sages to punish those who break the rules.”

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【From the Post-Apocalypse, Alone Through Ten Thousand Ages】

“Even if someone barely survives one trial, when the second comes, the heart demon grows stronger.”

“No longer identical to the host’s abilities,

but possessing greater power than the host.”

Fang Shi replied calmly: “I didn’t know such a thing existed.”

“But I’m curious—what power have you gained to dare speak to me like this?”

The heart demon chuckled: “Let’s chat, isn’t that what you said? Why the rush? Eager to die?”

Fang Shi shook his head: “I don’t want to die—you’re the one who will die.”

“What tricks do you have? Relying on that Hua Shi Pearl outside?”

The heart demon laughed wildly: “Come then! Let’s have a fierce hand-to-hand fight—I’ll show you what true sword intent means!”

“Sword, come!”

Shhh!

Half the spiritual sense in the spiritual sea flowed like a star river, gathering in the heart demon’s hand.

Forming a pitch-black, demonic longsword.

Fang Shi copied him exactly—the remaining half of his spiritual sense coalesced into a brilliant starlit longsword in his own hand.

“So your enhancement is in sword technique.”

“Too bad it’s not sword intent—I wanted to see what the legendary sword intent looks like.”

The heart demon sneered: “Sword intent? If it were real sword intent, one glare from me and you’d be dead.”

“Would you even be able to speak to me like this?”

Fang Shi said: “Do you truly understand sword intent? Can you explain what it is?”

“Think from my perspective—don’t give me vague, mystical nonsense.”

The heart demon smiled: “You know I’m a heart demon, yet you dare ask me such questions?”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll lead you astray?”

Fang Shi smiled: “A wrong path is still a path—at least now I know this one doesn’t work, and I can eliminate it.”

“Oh!” The heart demon chuckled: “Then let me tell you the true path.”

“Sword intent is a kind of realm—called ‘sword intent’ only because sword cultivators name it so.”

“Just as alchemists call it ‘pill intent,’ fist cultivators call it ‘fist intent’—in essence, they’re all the same thing.”

“And realm is the profound application of spiritual energy.”

“As a cultivator’s base grows, even the dimmest mind will naturally attain it by the Golden Core stage.”

Fang Shi replied coolly: “You’ve talked for ages, repeating the same useless nonsense.”

“Can’t you say something useful?”

Boom!

Though the spiritual sea had no air, under the Hua Shi Pearl’s influence, a sonic boom erupted.

The pitch-black sword sliced through space, sweeping toward Fang Shi with rolling waves of force.

“Don’t rush—I’ll talk as we fight.”

The heart demon’s voice, transmitted through spiritual sense, reached Fang Shi faster than sound.

Boom!

Another explosion rang out—Fang Shi struck back with his sword.

Even faster, he arrived first, smashing into the heart demon’s blade.

“Hurry up and talk—no more nonsense. Once you’re dead, I won’t hear you anymore.”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Within moments, they clashed dozens of times.

“You’re too impatient! I’m talking, I’m talking!”

“Realm is simply a systematized method of manipulating spiritual energy.”

“But everyone’s spiritual sense differs, and the essence of controlling spiritual energy varies.”

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【From the Post-Apocalypse, Alone Through Ten Thousand Ages】

“That’s why realm emphasizes personal enlightenment.”

“Your spiritual sense possesses...”

Shhh!

Before the heart demon finished speaking, his black sword pierced Fang Shi’s defense.

In an instant, it slashed through half of Fang Shi’s body.

Your soul has suffered damage; your spiritual sense has decreased: 9 → 8.

Fang Shi’s expression remained unchanged, unmoved even as his soul was struck hard.

Instead, he traded blow for blow, slashing at the heart demon’s arm.

Swish!

“Slashing attack initiated.”

“You dealt 1 point of soul damage to the target.”

The heart demon paid no heed; its ability to disperse and condense the soul was suppressed by the Solidification Pearl.

But its recovery ability remained intact—instantly, a new, flawless arm grew back.

“You’re truly ruthless. I clearly have superior sword skill, yet you still trade blows like this—what a failure.”

Clang!

The swords clashed again; Fang Shi seized the moment to retreat.

“Keep talking. Don’t waste time.”

Although Fang Shi had gained the upper hand, his mental energy was drained severely.

He could clearly feel that, compared to his desperate efforts, the heart demon’s attacks were effortless.

Like an assassin lurking in the shadows, one slip from Fang Shi would mean instant death.

“You’re the one who didn’t let me speak—if you hadn’t attacked, I’d have finished long ago.”

“First, your spiritual sense, at the eighth level, has…”

“Second, your spiritual energy…”

“Third…”

Even as the heart demon continued explaining, its assault did not slow.

It even accelerated, raining down attacks like a sudden storm upon Fang Shi.

Fang Shi, lost in thought, was caught off guard.

The heart demon seized the opening and struck him again.

Your soul has suffered damage; your spiritual sense has decreased: 8 → 6.

“I always feel what you say makes sense—you truly are my heart demon, knowing me so well.”

The heart demon laughed wildly, its voice unrestrained: “Go learn! Please, hurry up and learn—otherwise, how will you defeat me?”

“Best of all, break through your sword intent mid-battle—give me a grand surprise!”

“Otherwise, you’ll never have another chance to master sword intent!”

Of course, not everything the heart demon said could be trusted—truth and falsehood were entangled, impossible to distinguish.

Fang Shi only wished to use the heart demon’s thoughts to spark his own insight.

To shatter his own cognitive barriers.

As expected, the heart demon revealed many things he had never considered.

And following this line of thought, it seemed genuinely viable.

Fang Shi would not let the heart demon’s words deter him from studying.

After all, if the heart demon was using reverse psychology, Fang Shi might never learn sword intent at all.

Thus, the balance lay entirely in Fang Shi’s own judgment.

But Fang Shi had confidence—without confidence, he would never have challenged the heart demon!

Boom!

Endless explosions erupted; flames surged like dragons from Fang Shi’s center, raging outward in all directions.

In an instant, they completely engulfed the heart demon.

“Tiger Sword Art perfected”: Your understanding of this sword art has reached perfection. You may now expend a minimum of 4 magic power points to unleash a heartfire—this flame burns all things, sentient or not, dealing a minimum of 8d6 burn damage.

Tiger Sword Art was the second sword art Fang Shi had studied deeply since perfecting Bai He Sword Art.

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【Starting from the Post-Apocalypse, Alone Through Eternity】【】

Due to the opening of the Upper Dantian and the refined control of spiritual energy over spiritual sense, this sword art advanced rapidly in a short time.

During his time at Long Yu Mountain, Fang Shi had sensed this sword art was on the verge of perfection.

But he held back—ever since learning of the heart demon’s existence, he had been preparing.

He had confirmed from the middle-aged scholar that when a heart demon appears, it inherits only the abilities the host possessed at that moment.

It does not inherit any breakthroughs achieved afterward.

Fang Shi had planned it all: he would perfect Tiger Sword Art during his battle with the heart demon, then strike a devastating blow.

Because the heartfire derived from Tiger Sword Art had a unique trait—it could leap along the mind, unextinguished and relentless.

It was devastating against creatures capable of splitting consciousness.

And the Solidification Pearl granted by Long Yu True Person made Fang Shi’s strategy nearly flawless.

This was why the heart demon kept speaking of sword intent, luring Fang Shi’s thoughts toward it.

And it had genuinely explained correct methods for part of sword intent.

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

It knew his thoughts, and understood that a Fang Shi who had unlocked heartfire would be his greatest threat.

The reason Fang Shi had been distracted and wounded earlier was not because he was pondering sword intent.

He had been thinking about Tiger Sword Art—how to perfect it.

“I don’t need to master sword intent to surprise you.”

“This is a flame that attacks along the mind—how will you stop it?”

Fang Shi’s gaze was cold and detached as he watched the heart demon slowly perish within the flames.

“Fang Shi! Fang Shi! I know your greed—you won’t stop here.”

“I hope when we meet again, you’ll surprise me once more.”

“Then, your mid-battle breakthroughs will no longer work.”

“I’ll show you what true domination means. What true cruelty means.”

The heart demon laughed wildly again; the agony of soul-burning felt to him like a gentle breeze.

He was not only stronger than the first heart demon Fang Shi had faced—he was also far more resolute.

“Heh. There won’t be a next time.”

“You have defeated your heart demon; your spiritual sense has increased: 6 → 15.”

“You have defeated your heart demon; your Sword Art I → Sword Art II.”

“Sword Art II”: As your battles multiply, your mastery of sword weapons has become extraordinary. Among ten thousand warriors skilled in sword weapons, your ability stands out. The longsword is your hand, an extension of your limbs—you can sense even a feather resting upon it. Damage +5, Accuracy +5, Attack Speed +2, Critical Hit +1, Critical Multiplier +1.