Chapter 371: Its Name is

The Heavenly Fox's true form, the Sixth Tail, the shadowless short sword, its name is "Broken Defense."

Its ability is also very simple, just two words—Broken Defense.

After a simple test, Ren Yidao figured out the true value of this "Broken Defense."

It is truly broken defense, and in every sense of the word.

The Breaking Defense Sword is incomparably sharp, and its physical defense-breaking ability is terrifying.

If Ren Yidao's body, which is approaching the Heaven Realm, does not actively defend and resist, it is like paper before it, and would be torn apart easily.

Even if he resists with all his might, he can barely block it three times; the fourth time, his defense would be broken.

And this is just relying on its inherent sharpness; he hasn't even tested the effect after infusing it with Dharma Power...

Ren Yidao is currently very weak, and he is a little worried about accidentally stabbing himself to death.

Besides this, the Broken Defense Short Sword has another effect.

Mental broken defense.

Yes, this is a weapon that not only harms the body but also destroys the heart, a weapon that attacks both physically and mentally.

When the short sword stabbed into Ren Yidao, he felt a strange mental attack.

It caused no damage and did not harm his mental power, but it made him involuntarily recall the way he had just lost his composure.

It replayed that awkward and regretful state of mind over and over, repeatedly deepening the memory.

A pure screening theater of dark history.

It was complete mental torture, more uncomfortable than killing him.

Ren Yidao was successfully "broken" by himself, becoming the first soul to die under the Broken Defense Short Sword with eyes wide open in regret...

Ren Yidao finally managed to recover, took a deep breath, and said in a low voice:

"Too, too vicious!"

This sword truly offends the harmony of Heaven!

It conflicts too much with a kind person like me!

... I must hide it well and use it to deal with evil people!

Moreover, the Broken Defense Short Sword is nearly shadowless and formless; without careful attention, even he could easily overlook it.

It is absolutely a divine artifact for sneak attacks and backstabbing that one must have at home.

Ren Yidao thought for a moment and did not put the Broken Defense Short Sword away, but instead handed it to his past-life self.

Since he wants to launch sneak attacks, the movement of drawing it from behind every time is too obvious and would make the opponent alert in advance.

It is better to just let his past-life self hold it, and when the time comes, descend like a divine soldier to let them face the judgment of justice.

Furthermore, although his past-life self is not weak in strength, it is only strong in mental power; physically, it is a purely mortal body without any Dharma Power, so having the short sword will provide an extra layer of self-protection.

When his past-life self appeared, although Ren Yidao had severed his true self, his mental power had not decreased; on the contrary, it had surged several times over.

Like a rocket, it soared directly to the Void Refining Peak, just half a step away from entering the Heaven Realm.

And Ren Yidao could feel that this was not yet the limit; his mental power was just one final opportunity away from entering the Heaven Realm.

It is exaggerated.

If speaking solely of realm, the mental power represented by his past-life self is actually the highest among all of Ren Yidao's strengths.

The specific abilities and usage of his past-life self still need to be explored by Ren Yidao himself; it should be more than just a large projector that pulls enemies into an illusion.

"I should specifically study some mental power techniques later; such good resources cannot be wasted in vain."

After letting his past-life self carry the Broken Defense Short Sword and disappear and reappear a few times, Ren Yidao nodded with satisfaction.

"Good, just like this."

No problem, it is exactly as he envisioned.

His past-life self is also recognized as a part of himself and can disappear and appear while carrying the Broken Defense Short Sword.

After confirming this, Ren Yidao finally looked up and spoke to Mei, who was guarding him:

"Mei Jie, it is already done."

Mei did not answer, but the Mei Wood Branches covering his head began to slowly recede, and the Spirit Qi of the outside world surged into his nearly dried-up body.

Whoosh—

Ren Yidao's body was like a shriveled sponge, unable to control itself as it crazily absorbed everything around it.

Spirit Qi, Demon Qi, blood energy... he refused nothing and swept it all up!

This huge contrast from hell to heaven made Ren Yidao's soul tremble, almost causing him to moan aloud.

Ren Yidao did not immerse himself in this pleasure of long-awaited rain, but instead forced himself to stay alert and bowed deeply to Mei.

"Many thanks to Mei Jie for guarding me."

"For this kindness, Yidao is eternally grateful."

This bow was not just for the favor of guarding him; that was only a small favor.

The great kindness he was truly grateful for was what Mei had said.

If not for Mei's guidance at that time, Ren Yidao could not guarantee what path he would have ended up on.

On the path of cultivation, one wrong step and one might be doomed forever.

Perhaps, he would have awakened on his own at some point and regained his sanity.

Or perhaps, this world would have completely lost a cultivator named Ren Yidao, leaving behind only a Great Demon of the Heavenly Fox clan filled with hatred.

No one could say for sure.

Mei turned to the side, did not accept his bow, and shook her head:

"Junior brother need not thank me."

"I merely repeated the words you once used to persuade me; I did nothing."

"It was you who helped me first; I am merely imitating you."

"Moreover, no one can help you with the Heart Demon trial; it is something you must overcome on your own."

Compared to before, Mei's attitude could be said to have undergone a monumental shift.

She was no longer the cold, icy figure from when they first met, but had become gentle; one could not tell at all that she was a Great Demon with Heaven Realm strength.

Yet her change was not because of the improvement in Ren Yidao's strength, but because of his previous guidance, and it also contained a sense of empathy born from sharing the same plight.

It also included a portion of maternal instinct activated upon seeing Ren Yidao's pathetic state after his breakdown...

To Mei, Ren Yidao was Jian Xinxin's junior brother, a heaven-gifted talent who appeared to have extraordinary aptitude and a silver tongue.

But from Mei's perspective, he was actually an immature youth of few years.

Ren Yidao's previous breakdown only deepened this ridiculously mistaken impression of hers.

Now that the youth had realized his errors and turned back, not having gone astray, she naturally felt happy for him.

"I must also congratulate you on successfully breaking through to the Void Refining Realm."

"Although I do not know the current situation of the Earthly Realm, in the past, I had never seen anyone possess such strength at your age."

A Great Cultivator at the Void Refining Realm who had just turned one hundred years old was an absolute genius, whether judged by the standards of the Demon Race or the Human Race.

This was still with Mei being unaware that Ren Yidao was a dual cultivator of body and law; otherwise, her shock would have doubled.

Ren Yidao stood up, no longer mentioning the matter of gratitude, and silently recorded this event in his heart.

"Mei Jie, regarding today's events, as well as the affairs of my Demon Race, I hope you will not mention them to anyone."

I hope you can understand that when I bring this up now, I am referring primarily to these "today's events."

"Hehe."

Mei covered her mouth and chuckled twice, smiling as she promised:

"Rest assured, since Junior Brother trusts me, I naturally will not be loose-lipped with others."

Mei had a grace to show Ren Yidao, and he was likewise her benefactor...

After receiving this guarantee, Ren Yidao did not bring up anything else, never once thinking of asking Mei to swear an oath of secrecy.

If you suspect someone, do not use them; if you use them, do not suspect them.

From the moment he revealed his identity, Ren Yidao had already made all his preparations.

The worst-case scenario was that Mei would inform the world of this matter.

But she was a demon now too; how many people would believe her?

Would the people of the world believe what she said, or would they think she was throwing mud at a Human Race heaven-gifted talent?

Furthermore, Ren Yidao did not believe that Jian Xinxin would fall in love with a woman who would betray him.

He trusted Jian Xinxin and believed in his judgment, so he also held trust in her.

Regarding the matter of his own background, Mei was the first person to know besides Jing Yueqin, but she would not be the last.

As Ren Yidao's strength grew ever stronger, the people around him would slowly come to know this truth.

Perhaps when a certain day arrived, when he had sufficient strength and sufficient certainty, that matter would no longer be a secret.

One day, the entire world would know the truth of all this.

"... Perhaps, that day will not be too far off."

Ren Yidao chuckled twice, silently hiding this thought in the depths of his heart.

His strength was not yet sufficient, and the timing was not yet ripe.

He had to wait.

Wait quietly.

Fortunately, he did not lack patience.

"Mei Jie, how many days have passed since I began my seclusion?"

When he went into seclusion to prepare to break through with all his might, he worried that his Fox Tail Clone in Wentian would be affected, so he took the initiative to run outside Wentian City to find a place to hide.

Now that he had just crawled out of the snow cave and was slowly heading back, he did not know exactly how much time had passed.

"About ten days and nights."

Ren Yidao did the math and felt confident.

"That is not too late; there is still time to make it back..."

"I told Cang Lan and the others ten days as well; I wonder if they listened and went back."

After pondering for a moment, Ren Yidao prepared to bid farewell to Mei:

"Mei Jie, after I obtain the Soul Returning Grass, I must return to Demon Emperor City; I still need to stay there for a while to handle some matters."

"I remember you said earlier that you were going to see Senior Brother Jian; are you planning to leave directly?"

"Mm."

Mei nodded and said without hesitation: "Since I have already decided, I do not wish to continue waiting any longer."

"Although I still cannot clearly separate the current me from the past me even now, there is one thing: our feelings are the same."

"I want to see him."

Clap, clap, clap.

"Good, good, good. Then I wish you all the best and a reunion soon."

Ren Yidao's applause caused Mei's expression to change; she glared at him with some embarrassment and raised her hand as if to strike him.

The youth laughed and dodged, saying as he ran:

"Oh right! Mei Jie, after you leave this time, it is best not to return here again."

"Why?"

Ren Yidao blinked and smiled: "This is the Cave Abode of a Demon Race great power; you occupied his Cave Abode, and this matter cannot be kept hidden."

"Once we go back this time, even if I don't say anything, others will tell him the situation. When he returns later, he will definitely come to cause trouble for you."

"Hmm?"

Mei's brows twitched; she did not quite understand what Ren Yidao was saying. She stopped controlling the branches to chase and strike him, and asked in return, "This Cave Abode, isn't it ownerless?"

"It isn't; this place has an owner."

Ren Yidao also noticed that Mei's expression was wrong. Realizing something, he furrowed his brows: "Could it be that you have always thought this Cave Abode was an ownerless object?"

Mei did not explain, but instead responded directly with action.

She waved a hand toward the side, and several branches spread out, pushing a giant rock backward to reveal a hidden secret passage.

"Look."

Led by Mei, Ren Yidao walked into the secret passage. After traveling for a moment, he entered a brightly lit secret chamber.

There, Ren Yidao saw a withered, thin figure sitting facing the wall.

The person was dressed in Daoist attire, wearing a deep purple robe that looked somewhat familiar to Ren Yidao.

"This is..."

It was the corpse of a Daoist, but it was somewhat different from an ordinary corpse.

A huge fissure had split open on his back, and one could see the hollow space inside.

It was just an empty shell with only skin; there was nothing inside!

It was as if... an adult insect had broken out of its cocoon.

This is!!?

Ren Yidao's brows were tightly locked, and he said slowly:

"Feathered Transformation?"

Feathered transformation and ascending to immortality.

"Corpse-Dissolution Immortal?"

In the Daoist schools, there is a saying: they believe that after a Daoist attains the Dao, they can abandon their physical body and depart as an immortal, or leave no corpse behind, merely entrusting an object to remain in the world while they ascend to Heaven.

This process is called Corpse-Dissolution, and the Immortal who attains Ascension this way is called a Corpse-Dissolution Immortal.

Within the Daoist schools, this can be considered a sign of successful cultivation.

While Ren Yidao frowned in silence, Mei handed a Jade Slip to him and said slowly:

"He is the original owner of this Cave Abode. He left behind a Jade Slip, claiming he had already glimpsed the secrets of Heaven and could attain the Dao and Ascension, so he gifted this place to the next fated person to arrive here."

"In the Jade Slip, he said his surname is He, his name is He Yuyou, he calls himself True Person He, and his title is Hermit of Leisurely Clouds."

Wait...

What?

Ren Yidao's expression changed, and he turned his head to ask:

"What did you just say he called himself?"

Mei sensed that something was wrong from Ren Yidao's reaction, and her expression also became serious.

"True Person He, do you know him?"

Ren Yidao's brows furrowed, his expression shifted several times, and finally, he returned to calm.

"Ah... yes, I also know a True Person He, though not very well; I only just met him recently."

"Coincidentally, it was he who told me the location of this island and the method to enter, asking me to come and retrieve the Soul Returning Grass."

"He also claimed to be the owner of this island."

Ren Yidao moved to the front of the Daoist, his eyes narrowing.

"However, the True Person He I know, he is not called He Yuyou, but calls himself..."

Ren Yidao stared at the Daoist before him, his voice slowing and softening:

"He Shou."

Demon Emperor City.

He Shou, who was in the middle of painting, paused his movements. He raised his hand to rub his face, smoothing out the somewhat sagging skin.

"This skin is a bit old."

"It is time to change to a new one."

He did not care about this small matter, but instead applied the final stroke, then stepped back to admire it.

"Haha!"

"Good, very good, very good!"

Dozens of scrolls were laid out before him, and the person in the paintings was entirely Ren Yidao.

Walking, chatting, lazy, playing... all of them were Ren Yidao's actions in Demon Emperor City during these days.

Moreover, in these scrolls, only Ren Yidao had no facial features depicted.

"Soon, it will be soon!"

"He will be coming back soon, right?"

"When the time comes, I can change my name."

"At that time, I will be..."

He Shou grinned, and from his mouth came a voice exactly the same as Ren Yidao's:

"Hu Shou."