Redemption of a Born Demon

The Free Heart Technique, which had been running smoothly, developed a crack. He felt as if he had returned to his twenty years of cultivation, where Demon Tribulations sprang up one after another, making it impossible to focus on anything else.

Lotus’s guess was correct. Hong Datong held a very important place in Yi Beidou’s heart. It could be said that without Hong Datong, there would be no Yi Beidou today; his life had been changed by this person.

In truth, Yi Beidou had long since contemplated his relationship with Hong Datong and had made some mental preparations. However, he had not anticipated that when he truly faced this issue, the Demon Tribulation that appeared would be so powerful.

Watching the light in Yi Beidou’s eyes gradually dim and the Demon Flame around him begin to flicker erratically like a candle in the wind, a smile tugged at the corner of Lotus’s lips.

He knew this man had fallen into a Demon Tribulation.

"It’s time for you to make your move, Fellow Daoist Hua Qing."

Lotus muttered to himself, as if sending a message to some unknown existence.

"Understood."

A voice responded.

At the same time, high in the sky over ten kilometers from Yi Beidou’s plane, a humanoid figure, almost completely blended with its surroundings, was speeding through the air.

Riding the clouds and mist, weaving through their midst like one of the Immortal Gods, its speed could actually rival the world’s most advanced fighter jets, and it wasn’t even using its full power.

If anyone were to witness this scene, they would surely mistake it for a divine miracle.

In reality, however, this figure was not a physical entity. It was a condensation of a Life Magnetic Field—a Yang Spirit that had left its body, the mark of a powerful cultivator.

However, an ordinary Yang Spirit, even if it could leave its body during the day, could not travel too far from it, much less fly at high altitudes. Otherwise, it would inevitably be torn apart by the chaotic celestial Gang Wind above the nine heavens and dissipate into a glimmer of rainbow light.

Zhou Qingchen, for example, had used the method of a Yang Spirit leaving the body, allowing his own Life Magnetic Field to depart from his physical form and fly into the upper atmosphere to transcend the Celestial Spirit Tribulation, thereby enhancing his Cultivation.

But clearly, this flying Yang Spirit had broken many taboos.

Its physical body was in an unknown location, perhaps thousands of kilometers away. Yet it flew through the heavens, impervious to the Gang Wind of the nine heavens. In a sense, this was already the True Immortal Cultivation spoken of in Taoist Myth.

This was the Divine Power possessed by the powerful being codenamed "Huaqing Immortal"—a Sleeper from All the Sons, an ancient Secret Organization within Donghua.

Heaven-Reaching Yang Spirit.

At this very moment, Huaqing Immortal had also noticed something was wrong with Yi Beidou.

The Demon Flame enveloping the fighter jet had clearly dimmed and receded. It flickered erratically, giving the impression of a candle in the wind. Its defensive power had obviously been greatly reduced.

’It seems Lotus and his group have succeeded.’

With a thought, Huaqing Immortal’s form accelerated once more. He rapidly closed the distance with the squadron, surpassed it, and entered a large bank of white clouds ahead.

It wasn’t just Huaqing Immortal; the various factions on the ground, who had been monitoring the flight through all sorts of methods, had noticed it as well.

"Yi Beidou’s Demon Flame has receded? Is he doing it on purpose? But he hasn’t held it back at all this entire time."

"It’s highly likely something has happened to him personally. Who made a move? Who could possibly pull this off? What kind of method did they use?"

"This area is closest to the territories of the Pioneer Group and the Original Vein. Did someone from one of those two make a move? Was it a Spirit Cultivator from the Pioneer Group, or one of those mysterious folks from the Original Vein?"

"..."

Many people discussed this in low voices.

On the plane, Wang Han heard the alerts coming through the communication channel and realized something was wrong. He called out several times, but Yi Beidou didn’t respond.

He was just about to report to headquarters when a sudden cry of alarm came over the comms.

"Look out!"

Wang Han whipped his head around to look forward.

From within the bank of clouds ahead, a gigantic golden palm suddenly extended, like the hand of a Deity, reaching to grab him.

Cloud-Seeking Palm!!

The sight made everyone’s mind go blank for a moment.

They were flying at an altitude of over ten thousand meters!!

Whose Palm Force could possibly reach this high?

After a moment of shock, Wang Han reacted instantly, about to maneuver the fighter jet into a barrel roll to evade.

However, the giant palm, which had been several kilometers away just a moment ago, moved with unimaginable speed. It was like it had teleported, appearing directly in front of the jet and giving Wang Han no room to react.

The giant palm snapped shut, enclosing the entire plane.

Instantly, all the instrument lights in the fighter jet went out as the plane lost all power. The pilot, Wang Han, had his eyes roll back in his head as he lost consciousness.

The entire aircraft then began to spin like a falling leaf, plummeting toward the ground.

"Wang Han! Copy, please respond! Copy, please respond!"

The other members of the squadron shouted over the radio, but there was no response.

"He’s been shot down! The plane carrying Yi Beidou has been shot down!!"

"Cloud-Seeking Palm? To be capable of something like this... it has to be either the one from Abyss Court or the one from Donghua’s All the Sons."

"The young are always too arrogant. It’s likely more than two Sleepers made a move this time. I’m afraid he won’t escape this tribulation."

"..."

The various factions burst into discussion. The upper echelons of the entire world were shaken, and the hearts of the Donghua Group’s top leadership leaped into their throats.

Meanwhile, within the Illusion Realm, Lotus watched Yi Beidou, the smile on his face growing wider.

’Huaqing Immortal succeeded. As long as Yi Beidou remains lost in the Demon Tribulation, capturing him alive afterward will be a simple matter.’

’With this man in my grasp, it’s like I have Hong Datong by the throat. I’ll have no trouble forcing him to show himself and finding out what I want to know.’

At that very moment, however, a look of utter shock appeared on Lotus’s face. He saw that Yi Beidou, who had been staring blankly, had suddenly regained clarity in his eyes.

"Thank you for helping me mend my final flaw and overcome my greatest Demon Tribulation."

Yi Beidou spoke with calm composure.

"You..."

An expression of disbelief crossed Lotus’s face, and he couldn’t help but take two small steps back. ’How could he possibly escape a Demon Tribulation that could endanger his very Daoxin so quickly?’

"You’re right. Perhaps I have always been my master’s pawn. Perhaps I have never attained true freedom. But so what?"

"In this life, between heaven and earth, there has never been true freedom. Since we eat the five grains, how can we sever our worldly ties? Heaven and earth bind us, society binds us. Between people, there are superiors and subordinates, classes, hierarchies. All things in this vast mortal world—time, fate, destiny, the affairs of the world like a game of chess—are like invisible shackles, trapping us within."

"Even if one breaks through to become an Earth Immortal, gaining an ageless lifespan, one still cannot escape the fate of destruction, of one’s flesh and blood being devoured and absorbed by others. What, then, is true freedom? Man is not an omniscient, omnipotent God; true freedom does not exist as a final state. Freedom is a process of verification through practice. To break one shackle is to gain one layer of freedom. This path is endless."

"So what if I am a pawn? It is not a shameful thing. No one is born powerful. One always needs a bit of fate and opportunity, and the shackles that come with them are the price one pays. This is perfectly fair."

"Perhaps without my master, I would not have reached this point today. But I would also never have degenerated to the ending you projected in your Illusion Realm. My mastery of the Free Heart Technique was not granted by some Immortal’s blessing. It was the culmination of my twenty years of perseverance, of shattering countless Demon Tribulations. It is a testament to my practice that cannot be taken away for any reason, a truly steadfast Daoxin. The heights I have reached today could never have been orchestrated or achieved by the power of any single person!"

"Learning from you that my actions can help my master makes me very happy. Now I no longer need to consider how to shed this layer of karma. With the karma repaid, the shackle releases itself. I am one step closer to freedom."

"If one day I truly meet him again, I will personally test him and see if the Great Dao he achieved by using me is worthy of existing in this world."

Yi Beidou’s voice was calm, but within the Illusion Realm, it resonated like a great bell, causing the entire realm to tremble.

His form seemed unchanged, yet at the same time, completely different from before.

Then, Yi Beidou’s gaze shifted to Lotus. In that instant, Lotus couldn’t help but feel his scalp tingle, a terrible premonition rising in his heart.

He immediately tried to withdraw from the Illusion Realm and sever his connection to Yi Beidou, but it was too late.

"The way of the Spirit Cultivator, the Human Dao River... These are things I have never encountered before, and I am very interested. You have attacked me repeatedly. This time, I will collect the interest. I shall borrow your power to glimpse the true essence of this path!"

Yi Beidou’s voice boomed. Suddenly, the Demon Flame erupted within the Illusion Realm, suffused with Jade Power. The tails of the flames transformed into tens of millions of threads, swarming toward Lotus from all directions to ensnare him.