Chapter 165: The Aura of Punishment

Because earlier, during Lu Fang's conversation with the Chancellor, he had overheard that the Luo Sha Kingdom was located in a special place, and such places typically had restrictions on entry and exit.

Yue You shook his head, then nodded: "This place is indeed special, but it is accessible—only very few know of it; unless you specifically inquire, no one would ever find out."

"Over the years, the Wenyuan Academy in Shangjing discovered a special passage leading deep into the Scorched Lands, but because it is far too dangerous and quite distant from the Luo Sha Kingdom, few have used it."

Lu Fang exclaimed: "So, after this mission to the Luo Sha Kingdom is complete and we return to Shangjing, I could still enter the Scorched Lands? It's just farther from the Luo Sha Kingdom?"

"Yes."

Yue You confirmed.

Lu Fang did not utter that remark casually—he had just been speaking with Yue You when his Devil Heart suddenly informed him it had sensed the presence of "Punishment's" aura.

The place it sensed was in the exact opposite direction from their current path, which startled Lu Fang greatly.

He had previously speculated that one day "Punishment" might escape its confinement in the Lesser Upper Realm and come here to seek the Devil Heart within his body.

But encountering it so soon filled him with a sense of crisis.

If anyone could enter the depths of the Scorched Lands, then couldn't Punishment also come through there into the Great Zhou?

If the Devil Heart could sense Punishment's aura, then couldn't Punishment sense the Devil Heart too?

This was certainly not a good thing.

Lu Fang nervously asked inwardly: "Can Punishment sense your aura too?"

Devil Heart: "I'm not certain, but it likely can. The sensation is too strong to be ignored under any circumstance. Had you never come to the Scorched Lands, perhaps it wouldn't have sensed me—too far away, and this place is still special."

"But now that it has sensed my existence, I believe it will find any way to locate me."

"Sigh, to be honest, I don't want this either—but it has already happened."

Lu Fang fell silent for a moment, then hesitated: "Are you lying to me again?"

After all, the Devil Heart had once harbored ill intentions; now, it claimed to sense Punishment's aura—but only it sensed it, and there was no way to verify whether it was true.

Perhaps it was simply trying to pressure him.

After all, given Lu Fang's nature, he might use the Devil Heart for his entire life, making it impossible for the Devil Heart to ever achieve its goals.

By mentioning Punishment's aura, under the weight of unknown fear, Lu Fang was highly likely to act— he had never been one to sit idle.

The Devil Heart let out a hoarse laugh: "I can prove I'm not lying. Do you want to sense Punishment's aura myself? I can let you feel it."

Lu Fang hesitated, then shook his head: "I won't give you any opportunity, and I won't use you."

Devil Heart: "No, no, no—you misunderstand. You don't need to give me any opportunity or use me. I can make you feel Punishment's aura directly—though the sensation may be unpleasant. I'm only warning you."

Almost as soon as the words ended.

Lu Fang's heart seized; his entire body froze. Gasping for breath, he turned back toward the depths of the Scorched Lands—he now clearly sensed a familiar aura, far away.

It was Punishment's aura.

It was miraculous!

It wasn't the Devil Heart telling him—he inexplicably knew that aura was Punishment's.

"Come…."

A voice, directly calling upon Lu Fang's heart, grew louder with each cry, until finally it was like countless thunderbolts splitting open above his heart.

Sweat broke on Lu Fang's forehead; every hair on his body stood on end. Unconsciously, he activated the Heavenly and Earthly Forces—and only then did he breathe again; he had nearly suffocated.

Devil Heart: "Now do you believe me? Did I lie to you?"

In the instant it spoke, the calling voice and the sensed aura vanished from Lu Fang's mind. He gasped for air—what he had just felt was unbearable.

"Are you alright, Marquis Wen?"

Yue You, standing beside Lu Fang, noticed the anomaly and asked with concern. Before Lu Fang could answer, he frowned: "Did you just hear the calling from the depths of the Scorched Lands?"

"This…"

Lu Fang stared at Yue You in shock.

Everything that had just happened was between him and the Devil Heart inside his mind—how could Yue You know he had heard the calling?

Seeing Lu Fang's expression, Yue You grew serious: "It seems you truly heard the calling. Just ignore it. When I first came to the depths of the Scorched Lands, I heard that same unknown call."

"Not just me—in fact, many here can hear that unknown calling."

"But over a lifetime, one hears it at most a few times; some may hear it only once."

"It's not dangerous—as long as you ignore it."

"I see." Lu Fang forced a smile: "General Yue, you've heard this calling too—did it affect you at all?"

Yue You nodded firmly, reassuring him: "No effect at all. As long as you ignore the calling, legend says it's emitted by unknown entities from various Lesser Upper Realms."

"If you ignore it, you're safe—but if you grow too curious and follow the calling in your heart to that place, it becomes extremely dangerous."

"There's another theory: some say this danger is also an opportunity."

"But undeniably, anyone who has sought the depths of the Scorched Lands has mostly died there; only a tiny few gained some opportunity and soared beyond all bounds."

Hearing this, Lu Fang asked the Devil Heart:

"I felt Punishment's aura—you weren't lying. But you just said you didn't want this—why? If Punishment comes for you, isn't that good for you?"

Devil Heart: "I don't want Punishment to find me. Inside your body, I retain my consciousness and all the bloodline memories."

"Those memories are wondrous—I can't bear to lose them."

"If Punishment finds me and pulls me back into its body, it has the power to erase my consciousness entirely—and that's what I refuse."

Lu Fang's eyes lit up: "Before you left Punishment's body, you had no consciousness?"

Devil Heart: "I gained consciousness only at the very moment I left Punishment. It used some secret technique—but after decades in this special place, part of my bloodline memory awakened, revealing that I had possessed consciousness far longer than I realized."

"Punishment erased my consciousness several times. That feeling was unbearable—I had been close friends with Punishment, and it once said it enjoyed conversing with me, yet it secretly erased my consciousness."