Chapter 988: Heart Demon Trial (Requesting Moon Tickets)

In barely a moment, the boundless flood of worldly desires surged forth and drowned Xu Jin.

So fast that Xu Jin had no time to activate the Five Aggregates Divine Thunder.

For this endless tide of worldly thoughts arose not from without, but from within.

In but an instant, Xu Jin was plunged into the illusion of worldly desires.

And all of them were negative.

The purer the golden light of divine faith beneath Xu Jin’s statues in Kunling Domain, the fiercer the backlash of these worldly thoughts.

They were the suppressed longings of his hundreds of thousands, even millions, of believers.

Love unattainable.

Longing without reunion.

Seeking without reward.

Regret unredressed.

Toil without fruit.

In that single moment, the countless grievances and resentments of Xu Jin’s tens of millions of believers erupted all at once against him.

In but an instant, Xu Jin began to sink.

The scene shifted, becoming the moment in Jinshan County when Xu Jin first failed to ignite a star.

He felt his cultivation was hopeless, his return impossible.

Life suddenly turned utterly despairing and dark.

After sitting motionless by the river all night, he had intended to leap in and see if he could return—but then he thought, since he was here, why not experience life?

With only the silver he carried, he went to the largest pleasure house in Jinshan County: Liuxiang Pavilion.

Welcomed by a chorus of courtesans, the madam led her girls forward and urged Xu Jin to choose one for the night.

The first approached him, her powder thicker than her skin, her smile shedding flakes—he frowned.

The second came forward with a light laugh, revealing large yellow teeth—he waved her off.

When the sixteenth was brought to him, the madam could barely hold her composure: “Young master, this is our courtesan queen—she excels in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, singing, flute, and zither. If you still find her unworthy, no one else in the city will suit you.”

A girl of sixteen was brought before Xu Jin—her figure was decent, better than the dozen or so he had dismissed—but no matter how he looked, she felt ordinary, uninspiring.

Just mediocre.

He waved her away.

“Damn it, this kid’s here to cause trouble!” A gang of thugs immediately beat him black and blue and threw him out.

Walking the streets, Xu Jin looked dazed. “What’s happened to me? Where should I even go?”

The scene shifted, and suddenly his father Xu Dajiang’s voice rang out: “You good-for-nothing waste! How could you sink so low? I fed you, I clothed you!”

A barrage of kicks and punches left Xu Jin unconscious.

When he awoke again, Jiang Er was tending to him.

“Brother, it’s alright—I believe in you,” Jiang Er said gently, but instantly, a gang of thugs burst in and dragged her away. Xu Jin rushed forward to fight, but was kicked until he spat blood, his legs broken.

As they left, one thug urinated directly on Xu Jin.

The human world is truly cruel.

Staggering, Xu Jin crawled once more to the edge of the Dajiang River—this time, he had dragged himself there, drenched in torrential rain, his face ghastly.

He struggled for one final moment.

“If I jump in, will I leave this place? Will I escape it?”

“I might as well jump.”

In his mind, a faint spark flickered—reason told him escape would solve nothing.

But the rain poured down, icy and biting, as if freezing even his heart.

Laden with countless negative emotions and wills, they relentlessly battered Xu Jin’s spirit, threatening to drag him into the river of countless worldly desires and drown him.

Suddenly, an umbrella appeared above his head.

The torrential rain halted instantly; the piercing cold vanished, replaced by a gentle warmth.

As Xu Jin looked down, Ning Yuchan’s face, holding the umbrella, appeared in his vision.

She said nothing. Not a word.

Her arched brows and almond eyes locked onto him, longing to speak but unable to.

Yet beneath the torrential rain, her knuckles turned white, the umbrella trembled, as if about to shatter and dissolve.

“Ning Jiaotou, what are you—”

Xu Jin was confused.

But with Ning Yuchan shielding him, he finally had a moment to look at her—and saw her legs were whole.

No iron crutch.

In an instant, Xu Jin froze.

He suddenly realized something.

And this sudden realization caused the faint spark he had guarded in his spiritual altar since the start of his cultivation to blaze forth with brilliant light.

It was the Star Art of the Spiritual Altar he had painstakingly cultivated since his first steps on the path.

Beneath the endless tide of worldly desires, it had preserved his last shred of lucidity.

Now, that spark ignited—suddenly, Xu Jin remembered everything; in a single thought, he sensed the truth.

“This isn’t me—not now, not before.”

“This is an illusion!”

“Yes—it’s a heart demon!”

“But this isn’t me!”

“I am me!”

In an instant, Xu Jin—who had been crawling toward the roaring river of worldly desires—his eyes cleared, he sat upright instantly, and all illusions vanished.

Almost simultaneously, Ning Yuchan’s phantom dissolved.

Inside the Great Saint Palace’s meditation chamber, Ning Yuchan, whose spiritual sense had enveloped Xu Jin, saw her spiritual force instantly dissolve and retreat; as blood welled from her lips, she collapsed unconscious.

The spiritual sense of the Emperor of Wind and Splendor, which had veiled the Great Saint Palace, silently extended, lifted the unconscious Ning Yuchan, and fed her heavenly treasures to mend her soul—then the Emperor exhaled in relief, though his face bore deep unease.

“This heart demon trial is far more formless, insidious, and brutal than I imagined—arising from within, responding to the outside, nearly impossible to defend against. Jin’er nearly sank completely. The Divine Path truly is exceedingly difficult!”