"This Hall of All Laws is truly miraculous!"

The bottleneck that had plagued him for half a year had shattered as naturally as breathing. After personally experiencing the wonders of the candle flame, Qi Yun couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

By borrowing Wei Zhen’s comprehension, he had finally broken through to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

After calming his joyful emotions slightly, Qi Yun prepared to leave the Hall of All Laws.

But just as he was about to move.

Three cackling White Bone Skeletons suddenly flew out on their own, circling him chaotically like headless flies. The ghostly flames in their eye sockets flickered rapidly, emitting a clear warning.

"Hm? This is bad!"

Watching the White Bone Skeletons fly out for no reason, Qi Yun was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized something was wrong.

The Skull Curse had an automatic defense mechanism.

He must have been ambushed by some sort of covert attack, triggering this mechanism. But the power targeting him was no ordinary one; the White Bone Skeletons couldn’t defend against it, which was why they could only circle him.

He snapped his head around to look at the bright yellow candle flame, his brows furrowed tightly.

’I was too careless!’

Although he couldn’t figure out what kind of attack he’d suffered, it was precisely this kind of invisible, intangible assault that was the most unsettling.

His eyes flickered. Qi Yun immediately circulated his True Qi, sending it through every inch of his body in search of anything unusual.

However, after circulating his True Qi several times, the feedback was that everything was normal. Qi Yun’s frown deepened.

’I’ve got it!’

With a flicker of thought, Qi Yun immediately formed a Spell seal. A domineering, arrogant, scorching fire Qi erupted from his body.

"Li Fire falls to chaos, a demon’s thought the core.

By evil, the righteous is controlled; Bing and Ding are forged in reverse.

The heart’s flame incinerates the Dao; the Sword Demon is born.

Slaughter Heaven, sunder Earth; all creation burns as one!

Open!"

Chanting the Spell and letting out a low shout, violet-red Nanming Demon Fire, mixed with a blazing Sword Intent, instantly erupted from Qi Yun’s body, transforming him into the fiery, humanoid Sword Demon!

The Nanming Demon Fire is one of the seventy-three great flames of Heaven and Earth.

Its primary functions are to devour demons, transform the unnatural, and seize hearts and thoughts.

It specializes in burning away all that is false, illusory, and evil.

"There really is a problem!"

The instant he transformed into the Nanming Sword Demon, Qi Yun immediately sensed a trace of something strange within him.

This strangeness was not in his physical body.

It was hidden within the thoughts of his Sea of Consciousness.

It was a "thought" as small as a speck of dust, yet it shone brilliantly, as clear and bright as a diamond.

As if sensing Qi Yun’s gaze, the "thought" seemed to possess a spiritual nature. Realizing it had been discovered, it immediately tried to flee, about to vanish into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness in the blink of an eye.

"You think you can run?!"

With a cold snort, Qi Yun immediately sent a wisp of Nanming Demon Fire into his Sea of Consciousness. It transformed into a line of fire, shooting straight after the dust-sized "thought".

The Nanming Demon Fire was extremely fast, and inside Qi Yun’s own Sea of Consciousness, it caught up with the fleeing "thought" in just an instant.

The flame twisted, and in a flash, it ignited the "thought"—something hidden so deep it was utterly undetectable without specialized Techniques.

Violet-red firelight illuminated his Sea of Consciousness.

But the dust-sized "thought" was quite resilient. It burned for a full ten minutes before it was finally reduced to wisps of nothingness and dispersed.

The moment this "thought" was annihilated, a portion of the information it contained was naturally intercepted by Qi Yun.

"Outer Demon Contamination Path?

There’s a possession method this abstract?"

After learning the full story behind the "thought" from the intercepted information, a strange, peculiar expression appeared on Qi Yun’s face.

The Outer Demon Contamination Path.

This was a possession Secret Skill created by the Holy Sect.

As everyone knows, even if a Qi Refining Cultivator uses every method available—including but not limited to Elixirs, Spiritual Objects, and Secret Skills—their lifespan is capped at a hundred and thirty-six years.

This number is actually lower than that of some long-lived mortals.

But this is a number decreed by fate.

A fate that applies only to those who pursue Cultivation and seek the Dao!

If one cannot successfully reach Foundation Establishment before this age, even the most powerful Qi Refining Great Perfection Cultivator can only resign themselves to their fate and enter the cycle of reincarnation.

So, to give a better chance to some Inner Mansion Disciples who had great potential but slightly poor luck, the Holy Sect created this Outer Demon Contamination Path method.

After cultivating this possession method, one can refine a "Heart Thought" from within themselves and turn it into a candle flame, which contains a portion of their own insights and comprehension.

As long as the candle flame formed from the "Heart Thought" is touched by another Cultivator who absorbs the insights within, the "Heart Thought" will silently slip into their Sea of Consciousness.

In the days that follow, this "Heart Thought" will subtly influence the host, guiding them down the original master’s cultivation path and absorbing power from them in the process.

Once the host reaches the original master’s Realm, the "Heart Thought" will leave the body, seek out the original master’s current incarnation, and help them wipe away the dust of their past life to remember their former self. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Abstract. Truly abstract.

This kind of possession method, not to mention the immense time it takes, what’s the point even if it succeeds and helps the original master recover their past life’s memories?

They’ll only have memories, not their Cultivation.

Do they really expect the Holy Sect to take them back as a disciple?

They’re more likely to end up in the talent market."

After reading about the effects of the Outer Demon Contamination Path, Qi Yun shook his head. This possession method didn’t actually harm the host directly.

The real hidden danger was the imperceptible distortion of their future path in the Dao.

Having unraveled the darkness hidden within the Hall of All Laws, Qi Yun let out a small sigh of relief. No matter what, he finally felt a little more at ease.

Stabilizing his spirit, Qi Yun turned and walked toward the hall’s entrance, preparing to leave.

But he had only taken two steps before his pace began to slow, eventually coming to a complete stop.

Turning slightly, he glanced back at the rows of faintly burning candle flames lining the corridor behind him. A horrifying thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

’The Hall of All Laws in the Outer Mansion stores the "Heart Thoughts" of Qi Refining Cultivators. Their Cultivation is still shallow, so their "Heart Thoughts" can only carry a small portion of their insights.

But what about the Hall of All Laws in the Inner Mansion?

Do they also store "Heart Thoughts" there? How much insight would they carry? In other words, could the "Heart Thoughts" there carry... something else?

’The Outer Demon Contamination Path has many flaws, but this is just the version that Outer Mansion Disciples practice.

Do the Inner Mansion True Cultivators practice this same version?

Or perhaps... this Hall of All Laws is just a testing ground.

A place specifically designed to test the feasibility of the Outer Demon Contamination Path.

After all... this possession method was created by the Holy Sect itself...’ A thin film of cold sweat broke out on Qi Yun’s back at the thought.

’If I hadn’t discovered this secret in time...

...wouldn’t I, carrying this "Heart Thought," have become just another sample in this bizarre experiment?’

Forcibly calming the tremors in his heart, Qi Yun closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. After a long moment, he slowly opened them again, his composure restored.

’The Holy Sect is full of pitfalls.

Big pitfalls hiding smaller ones, and the small ones are hidden deep.

From now on, I have to be much more careful.’

...