Chapter 331 - 310: Dao Heart Demon Seed
In a hidden valley within the Great Cang Dynasty.
In the center of the valley floor, a plaza a thousand zhang across had been cleared and leveled.
The ground was paved with a type of deep cyan stone, engraved with simple Array Patterns to help gather Spiritual Mechanism and stabilize the Heart and Spirit, as well as an entire Heaven-Deceiving Array that Qi Yun had personally laid out.
At this moment, fifty figures stood solemnly on the plaza.
They were of varying ages and appearances, both men and women.
But all of them had sharp gazes and condensed auras, with the faint radiance of a Divine Soul flowing around their bodies.
Forty-eight of them possessed auras mostly in the middle to late stages of the Manifestation Realm. Their Divine Souls were solid, capable of manifesting vague forms to interact with the physical world.
The other two had auras that were clearly deeper and more restrained. Their Divine Soul fluctuations were perfectly integrated, faintly exuding a gentle yet resilient essence—this was the cultivation of the Yin Spirit Realm!
They were the first batch of "seeds," handpicked and secretly assembled by Zhao Xuanji.
All were reliable individuals, absolutely loyal to the Royal Family, with clean backgrounds and considerable talent for cultivation.
Among them were even a few scions from collateral branches of the Royal Family and Death Warriors who had been trained since childhood.
When they received the secret order, they only knew they were to participate in an extremely confidential and important mission concerning the future of the Dynasty. They were ignorant of the specific details.
Now, they stood in silence, holding their breath, their curious gazes fixed on the high platform at the front of the plaza.
Qi Yun, dressed in a Deep Blue Daoist Robe, stood on the high platform with his hands behind his back. He scanned the crowd below with a placid expression.
He did not deliberately release any oppressive aura. However, his intangible bearing—forged from cultivating across two worlds, establishing a Venerable Dao Foundation, and personally slaying a Yang God—exerted a faint pressure on a fundamental level. It made these Cultivators, considered elites in the Cangque Realm, feel suppressed, and they dared not show the slightest disrespect.
"From this day forward, you will train in this valley," Qi Yun began. His voice was not loud, yet it reached everyone’s ears with an unquestionable indifference.
"You will follow my every command.
The techniques I teach must not be shared with outsiders.
Violators will have their bodies and souls obliterated."
These few simple, emotionless words sent a chill through the hearts of everyone below. They responded in unison:
"We shall obey the Master’s decree!"
After his speech, Qi Yun began the preliminary instruction and selection process.
He did not immediately impart any profound Dharma Gates.
Instead, he had them demonstrate their respective Cultivation Skills, observing the characteristics of their Divine Souls, the depth of their foundations, and the precision of their control over their power.
At the same time, he also set up some simple trials to test their temperament, willpower, and even their tolerance for pain.
The Holy Sect had long-established templates for these procedures.
However, considering these "children" were still quite green, Qi Yun only chose some of the milder trials to prevent them from having a mental breakdown right at the start.
Throughout the process, Qi Yun appeared completely at ease. He could often pinpoint a crucial issue with just a few words or demonstrate an exquisitely refined Divine Soul manipulation technique, leaving everyone in awe.
The two Yin Spirit Realm Cultivators were especially shocked. They could sense that this Qi Master’s understanding of the Path of Divine Soul was far beyond their reach.
Many of his insights were unheard of, yet they struck directly at the core of the matter.
The initial screening and observation period lasted for over ten days.
During this time, Qi Yun used the information provided by Zhao Xuanji, along with his own covert investigations, to gain a deeper understanding of each person’s background and temperament.
「In the dead of night.」
Qi Yun resided alone in a renovated, rustic stone chamber deep within the valley.
The room contained only a stone bed, a stone table, and an Everlasting Lamp.
’Elder Cai,’ Qi Yun called out in his mind.
’I’m here, Qi the Kid.’ The voice of God of Wealth Cai Shen, tinged with weariness and ancient wisdom, immediately resounded in his Purple Mansion.
’What’s wrong? Feeling uneasy looking at this bunch of kids?’
’I am,’ Qi Yun admitted, his fingertips unconsciously tapping on the smooth surface of the stone table.
’This Zhao Xuanji is a great sovereign—patient and decisive, and by no means a simple character.
Right now, he needs me as an ’external power,’ so of course he’s polite.
But once the matter of Heaven’s Fall is successful... there’s no guarantee he won’t decide to get rid of me once I’ve served my purpose.
After all, to him and to this realm, I am ultimately an outsider.’
’Heh, a smart one.’ Cai Shen chuckled. ’The Emperor’s Heart Skill has always been the most difficult thing to fathom. Especially from a ruthless character who dares to undertake something like Heaven’s Fall.
You’re forging sharp blades for him, but how do you know those blades won’t one day be turned against you, the one who forged them?
Even if he doesn’t move against you for now, the people you’ve personally trained will ultimately be loyal to the Great Cang Royal Family.
Not to you, Qi Yun.’
’Exactly.’ A cold glint flashed in Qi Yun’s eyes. ’That’s why I must leave a trump card in place with these people.
I need to ensure that they can be used by me at a critical moment.
At the very least... they cannot become a blade pointed at my own back.’
’Kid, you’ve already bought quite a few things from me on credit. With compound interest, you’d better be careful you can pay it all back,’ Cai Shen said leisurely. ’But... for old times’ sake, I do have a Secret Technique that might be just what you need.’
’What technique?’
’The Dao Heart Demon Seed.’
Cai Shen’s voice took on a rare solemnity:
’This technique is neither righteous nor demonic. It was created by an eccentric genius during the Golden Tang Dynasty, an unusual art intended to analyze the nature of the Heart Demon and use demons to control demons.
It later evolved into a bizarre Dharma Gate for secretly controlling another’s Dao Heart and subtly influencing their will.’
’The caster must use a wisp of their own pure Dao Thought as a Demon Seed, covertly planting it deep within the target’s Dao Heart.
This Demon Seed is formless and intangible, blending perfectly with the subject’s own thoughts, emotions, and even their Divine Soul fluctuations, making it extremely difficult to detect.
Normally, the subject appears no different from anyone else. Their mind is intact, their memories are unharmed, and even their cultivation is unaffected.’
’What’s even better,’ Cai Shen added, ’is that the degree of control can be deep or shallow.
A shallow application merely provides subtle guidance, like planting a seed of inclination deep within the Dao Heart.
A deep application, however, can grant absolute control, determining their life, death, joy, and sorrow with a single thought.’
After hearing this, a sharp light flickered in Qi Yun’s eyes.
’What a magnificent Dao Heart Demon Seed!
Formless, intangible, merged with the Dao Heart, with control that can be deep or shallow... It’s exactly what I need!
Are there any limitations to this technique?’
’Of course there are limitations,’ Cai Shen said. ’First, it has extremely high requirements for the caster’s Divine Soul. Your Divine Soul must be pure and condensed, and you need meticulous control over your Dao Thought. Otherwise, the Demon Seed will be impure and easily rejected or trigger a backlash.
You don’t need to worry about that part. Thanks to the mysteries of this realm, your Divine Soul has improved greatly, enough to perform this technique.
Second, there’s a limit to how many you can maintain at once. With your current Yang God cultivation, you can probably stably control... about thirty people at the same time.
Any more than that, and the number of Demon Seeds will become a burden on your own Divine Soul.’
’Thirty people...’ Qi Yun mused, his gaze drifting toward the silent valley outside the stone chamber.
’There are fifty of them... that’s not quite enough.
However...’
’It’s worth a try!’ Qi Yun’s resolve hardened, and he hesitated no longer.
A vast and profound stream of information, accompanied by countless ancient Heart Method Mantras, Divine Soul Seal Techniques, and Visualization Atlases, flooded into Qi Yun’s Sea of Consciousness from the God of Wealth.
This Dao Heart Demon Seed was subtle and profound, involving the ultimate analysis and manipulation of Heart Thoughts, emotions, and Dao Foundation fluctuations.
If Qi Yun hadn’t already reached the Yang God realm, possessing a powerful and meticulously controlled Divine Soul, and with the Mastering All Skills Divine Technique as his foundation, he probably would have struggled just to get started.
He immediately closed his eyes and focused his mind, beginning to comprehend the technique within the stone chamber.
With the God of Wealth explaining the key points, coupled with his own extraordinary comprehension and deductive calculations from Daluo Heaven, it took Qi Yun only seven days to master the essence of the Dao Heart Demon Seed.
He even succeeded in condensing the first Demon Seed in his Purple Mansion.
It was an extremely subtle point of strange soul-light, capable of changing at will and merging with any emotional or mental fluctuation.
’Next up, the Daluo Decree.’
Qi Yun’s Heart Thought sank deep into his Dao Foundation, communing with the Supreme Divine Technique originating from Daluo Heaven.
A wisp of Cyan Gold light suddenly erupted, landing on his Magic Technique Panel.
[Magic technique auto-update complete. This is a minor version update. The technique’s effects have been adjusted as follows:]
[Dao Heart Demon Seed Great Skill 2.0: Control limit increased.]
In the next instant!
An intangible "limit" was broken.
Qi Yun clearly felt his mastery over the Dao Heart Demon Seed, as well as the number of "Demon Seeds" he could stably maintain at once, increase abruptly!
"It worked!" He opened his eyes, which shone with a divine light. "Now, I can control... sixty people at once!"
More than enough.
The rest of the training and instruction proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Qi Yun began to teach them more refined methods for using their Divine Soul, combination attack techniques, and how to use the Soul-Shaking Potion to quickly stabilize and strengthen their Divine Soul Origin.
And whenever they hit a bottleneck, he would directly intervene with Mastering All Skills, forcefully shattering the bottleneck to raise their Cultivation.
His teaching was strict, his demands were high, and the pace was extremely fast, causing these "seeds" to grow rapidly through both pain and reward.
During the instruction process, Qi Yun also silently began his "sowing."
He didn’t target all fifty people at once, but rather chose the most opportune moments.
He chose opportune moments: when their minds were exhausted and their willpower weakened after grueling training; when they achieved a breakthrough, their hearts surging with emotion and their minds in turmoil; or at the very instant they developed a sincere reverence, trust, or even dependence on him.
He sent wisps of the meticulously condensed Demon Seed, like the finest specks of dust, silently into the depths of their Dao Hearts, where they perfectly merged with a thought, an emotion, or a memory, and lay dormant.
The entire process was silent and left no trace.
One month, two months, three months passed...
As the training deepened, the fifty Cultivators’ cultivation improved under Qi Yun’s guidance. Their coordination grew more seamless, and their reverence and trust for the mysterious and powerful "Qi Master" grew ever stronger.
They were completely unaware that deep within their Dao Hearts, "seeds" of loyalty had already been planted.
For now, these seeds lay dormant, indistinguishable from their own true intentions.
But one day in the future, when the sower required it, a single thought would be enough for them to silently sprout and blossom into the "flowers" the caster desired.
The valley remained hidden, and the training remained arduous.
Only Qi Yun, gazing at the starry sky late one night, had a profound gleam in his eyes that spoke of having everything under control.
The hedges had been secretly planted; the sharp blades were gradually taking shape.
On the chessboard of the Cangque Realm, he was placing more and more of his pieces.
...